Touch of Temptation (20 page)

“We got a call from one of our cousins and had to meet up with him before we could head here,” Ashe replied, slipping his heavy pack off his shoulder. “I’m sorry we weren’t able to help at the compound. Quinn was just filling us in on what happened.”

“This thing with your cousin,” Kierland said, crossing his muscular arms over his chest as he held the vampire’s pale gray gaze. “Would it have anything to do with that family trouble you refused to tell me about last week?”

“Don’t worry,” the vamp evaded with a sharp smile. “It’s nothing we can’t handle.”

Kierland looked frustrated, but he let the subject go. “Did you hit any trouble on your way here?” he asked Gideon, who was pushing his dark hair back from his face, the uplifted position of his arm revealing the gleaming Sig he had holstered under his jacket.

“Didn’t hit any trouble,” the vamp drawled, his deep voice holding a hint of a Scandinavian accent. “But there are a few things we need to tell you. And let me just preface by saying the news isn’t good.”

“What’s happened?” Kellan asked.

“Just before we came into the Wasteland, we heard from an uncle who’s been living in the States. A story has just broken on the news over there. From what he told us, it sounds like the American media have caught wind of some kind of supposed paranormal activity taking place in a rural town somewhere in Texas. We don’t have confirmation yet, but we think the Death-Walkers might be taking another shot at building up that little army of theirs.”

“Son of a bitch,” Kierland cursed, his green eyes burning with a hot, angry glow. “I don’t effing believe it.”

“The Consortium’s trying to do damage control,” Ashe added, “but they’ve sat around for too long. This thing is gaining momentum. Even if they get a lid on things in Texas, who knows what will happen next time?”

“What about the Collective?” Quinn asked, sliding his gaze toward Seth.

The Collective Army had always done their best to hide any proof of the ancient clans that fell into their hands, even going so far as to devise a chemical compound that would destroy any evidence of their kills.
From what Kellan understood, the Army didn’t want other human vigilante groups to interfere with its hunting, but he also suspected that the Collective enjoyed working outside the laws of any government.

“From what I hear from my sources,” Seth replied, “the Army’s basically in chaos right now, and the threats of revolt are growing stronger. I don’t think they’re in any position to help contain anything, much less put a stop to it.”

Kierland cursed again, and Aiden rolled his shoulder, saying, “With the way things have been moving, it was only a matter of time before something like this happened.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it,” Kierland grunted. “If the humans find out about us, how understanding do you think they’re gonna be, Ade? You think Jamie will be safe? Your fiancée might be human, but what about your daughter?”

The tiger-shifter scowled, his amber eyes bleeding to gold. “You think I don’t know how dangerous this is?” he growled. “But what the hell are we supposed to do? Christ, we still don’t even know how to kill the bastards!”

“But we might have a lead,” Kellan cut in, quickly explaining what Raine had told them about the death journal.

“I’m afraid that isn’t the only bad news we’ve got,” Gideon went on to say. “We’ve also heard that the Shaevan have attacked the Deschanel in retaliation for the village in France. Looks like the Death-Walkers’ plans to create chaos are working, and now all hell’s breaking loose.”

Quinn scrubbed his hands down his face. “God,” he muttered, “this is turning into a friggin’ bloodbath.”

Just then, Juliana Sabin walked over, her delicate features etched with strain as she joined the group between Kierland and Ade. “I’m sorry to interrupt,” she said, “but we…” Her words trailed off as she caught sight of the Grangers, but she quickly tore her gaze away from them and cleared her throat, focusing on Kierland as she said, “We have a problem. The scouts I sent out this morning to make sure our way would be clear to my family’s compound have just returned. None of them were killed, but they were attacked by a group of Death-Walkers. Apparently, the Walkers wanted them to deliver a message.”

Kellan sensed that things were about to get a helluva lot worse. “What’s the message?”

“They wanted you to know that the Infettato enjoyed the Watchmen…and now they’re ready for more.”

“Shit,” Quinn snarled, his dark eyes burning with fury. “The humans who’d been infected in the village must have killed the unit I called in to watch over them.”

“But how?” Seth asked, his deep voice edged with disbelief. “They were so weak they could barely stand.”

“They must have gotten stronger.” Quinn forced the words out through his clenched teeth. “Just like that bastard we talked to said they would.”

“So what are we gonna do?” Aiden asked, a deep scowl seated between his tawny brows.

“Actually, it’s not the Death-Walkers that we need to worry about.” The husky words were Raine’s, and everyone looked toward Seth’s tent, where the frail psychic stood just outside the entrance, her pale face pinched
with an expression that was equal parts discomfort and determination. “They’ve already left the Wasteland, but they brought the Infettato here. The infected humans are to the southwest of us.”

“Then they’re blocking our way to the Sabin compound,” Juliana murmured.

Catching Raine’s gaze, Kellan asked, “Are you sure?”

“My sight is hardly working well at the moment, but I saw this clearly just now. The Infettato are coming for us, tracking us by scent.”

Chloe joined the growing group with Morgan, and while the female Watchman threw her arms around Ashe Granger’s neck in a friendly hug and demanded to know where he’d been, Chloe made her way to Kellan’s side. “What’s going on?” she asked him, her expression showing her concern.

Though he knew she was waiting for an explanation, Kellan could only stare at her, momentarily lost in how beautiful she looked in the dusky morning light, the pale shades of sunshine playing softly over the dark strands of her hair. She’d been through hell the past few months, and yet, she hadn’t once complained. Instead, she’d kept herself busy that morning helping with whatever tasks she could find, fitting into the group as if she’d been a part of it forever, and taking the time to personally thank everyone for coming to the Wasteland to make sure Kellan made it safely out of the compound. He could tell they were all charmed by her, and although he read the slight wariness in her gaze, as if she was still worried about how the Mallory curse would affect the group, Kellan hadn’t seen any signs to make him think that the curse was influencing anyone. She’d explained
to him, during one of their quiet conversations in the middle of the night, how the curse could affect large groups of people, telling him about a time that her sister Monica had won tickets to a Colts game and taken Chloe for her birthday. They’d been having a wonderful time, until they realized the people around them were becoming increasingly aggressive as the Colts fell a bit behind on the scoreboard. By the third quarter, when the Colts were only down by a touchdown, a violent fight had broken out, and the sisters had been forced to crawl through the aisles in order to escape.

“Kellan?”

He jerked back to awareness as she said his name, stunned that he’d actually zoned out there for a few seconds, considering they were in the middle of a crisis. Ignoring Aiden’s muffled laughter, he cleared his throat and said, “The Infettato are on their way here.”

“Ohmygod,” she whispered, and he grabbed her hand, aware of his brother’s curious gaze. “What do we do?”

Giving her hand a reassuring squeeze, he said, “We’re going to have to fight.”

“Maybe not,” Juliana murmured, drawing everyone’s attention.

“You got an idea?” Seth asked.

“There’s a small mountain range that begins on the eastern side of this forest,” Juliana explained. “A waterfall runs down the face of the mountain, completely covering the entrance to a series of caverns.”

Kierland nodded as he grabbed hold of Morgan, who had finally stopped hugging Ashe, and pulled her close. “I’ve seen the waterfall when I was running patrol.”

“Yeah, me, too,” Aiden added. “It looks like it feeds into some kind of hot spring.”

The wind whipped at the long strands of the Deschanel’s hair as she said, “If we poured some of the holy water you brought with you into the spring, it might be enough to keep the Death-Walkers from following us, should they change their minds and head back in our direction. I’m thinking that if we can make our way through the falls and into the caverns, then we could travel beneath the mountains, and actually come out not far from my family’s compound.”

Gideon, who had been silently observing the interchange, asked, “And what about the Infettato?”

“If they’re tracking us by scent,” Juliana replied, “then the water should cover our trail. They’ll have no idea where we’ve gone.”

“Considering we don’t know how to kill them,” Quinn grumbled, “this might be our best option.”

“Maybe,” Ashe muttered. “But I hate running from a fight.”

“We’re not running,” his brother pointed out with a crooked smile. “We’re strategically postponing.”

“Right,” the vamp snorted, curling his lip. “Now why didn’t I think to look at it that way?”

“Can’t help it if you’re slow,” Gideon drawled, his gray eyes glittering with laughter, and Kellan could tell that the guy got a kick out of riling his brother.

“Considering all the shit we have coming after us,” Kellan said, keeping a tight hold on Chloe’s hand, “we need to put survival before our desire to kick ass.”

“The only downside I can think of,” Juliana added, “is that it’s going to make our trip a little longer.”

“So long as it’s safer,” Kierland said, sliding a warm
look toward Morgan, “I don’t give a damn how long it takes.”

“Does anyone else know about these caverns?” Aiden asked, his black sweatshirt printed with white letters that read: “Come over to the dark side… We have cookies.”

“I can’t say for certain,” Juliana said in response to the shape-shifter’s question, “but I assume that the Sabins aren’t the only ones who’ve discovered them.”

“Then we’ll need to stay sharp,” Quinn muttered.

Aiden gave a husky bark of laughter and lifted his brows. “Aren’t we always?”

“He said
sharp,
not sarcastic,” Chloe drawled, and Kellan grinned, thinking again about how perfectly she fit in with his friends.

Crossing his muscular arms over his broad chest, Ashe Granger suddenly turned his piercing gaze on Juliana, his voice a little rougher as he said, “You really think you know what you’re doing?”

Taking a deep breath, she lifted her chin and answered his question. “I think I know this land better than you do.”

Ashe arched his brows and snorted. “That’s because between the two of us, honey, you’re the outlaw.”

“Go to hell,” she growled, spinning on her heel and storming away, while everyone in the group turned to stare at Granger, including his brother. Not that he noticed. Instead of acknowledging their curious looks, the vampire kept his dark gaze locked on Juliana Sabin…and Kellan could have sworn the guy was staring at her ass as she walked away.

Thursday afternoon

T
HOUGH
K
ELLAN HAD BEEN
more than a little skeptical, Juliana’s plan to throw off the Infettato had actually worked, and it had been a surreal experience as they’d made their way through the waterfall that hid the entrance to the caverns. While the waterfall itself had been freezing, the pool had been wonderfully warm, heated by natural hot springs that Juliana said spread beneath the mountain, warming the route they were using to reach the Sabin compound. And thanks to the waterproof bags that Quinn had brought in case of a heavy snowfall, they’d been able to keep their belongings dry; the kerosene lanterns that Juliana’s scouts had provided lighting the way as they traveled deeper into the mountain.

While the situation was hardly ideal, Kellan couldn’t help but feel that they were off to a good start, a bit of luck finally going their way. Still, they remained on high alert, knowing it paid to be cautious. After everyone in the group had made it into the first cave—aside from Garrick and two of Juliana’s scouts, who were taking a treacherous shortcut out of the Wasteland so that the soldier could reach Raine’s family—Raine had sensed that the Infettato had lost their scent. But the infected
humans hadn’t given up, driven by their insatiable hunger, and according to the psychic, were still searching for a new trail to follow. And despite the fact that the Death-Walkers had already left the Wasteland, Kellan and the others had still emptied a gallon of salted holy water into the pool, just to be safe, which had nearly wiped out their travel supply.

Never one to particularly like tight, enclosed spaces—something he had in common with Morgan—Kellan had been relieved to find that the caverns were larger than he’d expected, with a ceiling of at least twelve feet and a width of thirty feet or so in most places. He was currently walking with his brother and Morgan, while Chloe walked up ahead, talking with Juliana. Every now and then, the Merrick witch would look over her shoulder and smile at him—and every time she did, that simple act of connection hit him like a punch to the gut, sucking the air right out of his lungs. Though he was trying to give her some space, and sensed that she was doing the same for him, Kellan knew it was only a matter of minutes before they would gravitate back to one another, talking about everything from movies and music to their favorite authors and sports teams. Innocuous subjects, but ones that allowed them to tread carefully into the other’s life, like roots slowly tunneling into the ground, until the seeds of friendship could intertwine themselves with the shoots of what was already a full-blown affair. Only, it was a friendship unlike any that Kellan had ever known, flavored by the need to unravel her, piece by piece, until he was able to get inside and explore every part of her, each intimate detail dazzling to him in a way that he still didn’t fully understand. All he knew was that he wanted to break her open, but not
with malice or harm. He just wanted to take her apart so that he could gather the scattered pieces into his soul…and be the thing that bound her together.

But it was a double-edged sword, because it meant he had to break, as well. Meant he would need her to bind him back together, when Kellan knew damn well there was nothing she could do to keep him in one piece. He was already broken in a way that couldn’t be undone. That couldn’t be fixed.

And I’m a bastard for taking this thing further
, he silently growled, disgusted with himself. He knew they were heading for a nasty, ugly collision with a brick wall, the outcome inevitable. And yet, he couldn’t make himself stay away from her. Chloe Harcourt was like his own personal brand of crack that had him completely hooked, and while there were actually times that he wished he could blame his obsession on the Mallory curse, Kellan knew it would have been a lie. What he felt…it was
real
. He just wished he knew how to prove it to her.

“You know, I’ve been watching you all day,” Kierland suddenly rumbled at his side, “and all the while, you’ve been watching the witch with this hungry look in your eyes that I’ve never seen you have before. She has you hooked, doesn’t she?”

Kellan arched a brow, deciding to turn the tables on his brother by saying, “I’ve been meaning to ask you the same thing about Morgan.”

Instead of reacting with a sarcastic comment, like he’d expected, Kierland actually gave a husky bark of laughter and reached out, pulling Morgan tight against his side. “She’s got me hooked, all right,” his brother
murmured, leaning down to press a warm kiss on Morgan’s smiling mouth.

“You know,” Kellan drawled with a slow, shit-eating grin, “if you think about it, Kier, you actually
owe
me for getting you into this mess.”

Kierland immediately shot him a dark glare, his muscles coiling with tension, but Morgan simply patted his chest, soothing the Lycan’s anger as she slid Kellan a wry smile. “I know you love pushing your brother’s buttons, but be careful, Kell. He still wants to wring your neck for scaring the hell out of him with your crazy-assed plan to get captured.”

Kellan accepted the warning with a jerk of his chin, then quietly said, “You know, the two of you still haven’t told me what you went through to get here. I imagine it was a pretty rough trip.”

For the next half hour, Kierland told him about how he and Morgan had traveled into the Wasteland with Ashe Granger, after Kellan had disappeared, his brother’s voice getting rougher when he admitted that he’d almost lost Morgan the night he’d gone out on his own to find Kellan, determined to stop him from going through with his plan. Morgan had followed him, and had been attacked by a group of Death-Walkers. She’d been badly injured in the attack, before Ashe and the Sabins managed to scare the creatures away, and it was only the healing power of Kierland’s mating bite that had saved her life. The bite had marked her as his brother’s for all eternity, and Kellan couldn’t have been happier for Kierland, knowing the guy had been crazy about Morgan for years.

Kellan had just finished thanking the couple for everything they’d gone through to help him, when ahead
of them Ashe started walking beside Juliana, who was still talking to Chloe. They couldn’t hear what was said between the two Deschanel, but within thirty seconds Juliana’s spine had stiffened and she’d quickly crossed to the other side of the tunnel, putting as much space between her and Granger as possible.

“What’s the deal with those two?” Kellan asked, glancing at his brother.

With one arm draped around Morgan’s shoulders, Kierland shrugged. “No one knows, but they’ve been like that since they met last week. I guess she just rubs him the wrong way.”

“Looks like the little vamp doesn’t care for him eith—”

Kellan’s words suddenly trailed off as Gideon Granger took Juliana’s place beside Chloe, the dark-haired, good-looking vamp walking so close beside her that their arms touched as he said something that made her laugh.

“Gid,” Ashe muttered. “Move away from the witch, bro.” The vampire cast a quick glance back at Kellan, who had his hands fisted at his sides, and added, “The sooner the better.”

Gideon turned his head toward his brother. “There a problem?”

“Just do it,” Ashe grunted, “or the Lycan’s going to have your bloody head.”

Without even bothering to glance in Kellan’s direction, Gideon gave an arrogant snort. “He can try.”

While Chloe sent a curious look over her shoulder, Kellan heard Ashe mutter, “Not the time or the place, Gid. So get the hell away from her.”

Something in his brother’s dark look must have convinced him to heed the warning, because the vamp gave
an irritated roll of his shoulder, then turned his attention back to Chloe, his deep voice laced with irritation as he said, “Sorry, sweetheart. I guess you’re currently off-limits.”

Kellan couldn’t hear what she said in response, but as Gideon moved away from her, he could sense that the bastard was still interested. “I hate to cause trouble,” Kellan muttered under his breath, “but I think I’m going to have to kill your new friend.”

“Aw, don’t mind Gideon,” Kierland rumbled. “He won’t push it too far. He’s just yanking your chain.”

Kellan ran his tongue over his teeth, his voice a little grittier as he said, “I don’t give a shit what he’s doing. He stays away from her, or he’s done.”

Aiden came up on Kellan’s other side, whistling under his breath as he whacked him on the shoulder. “I never thought I’d see the day you were actually jealous, pup. Are we going to be brothers-in-law, then?”

“Shut up, Ade.”

“I’m sorry, brother,” the tiger-shifter drawled, clearly enjoying himself, “but this is family business. Seeing as how I’m marrying her sister, it’s only right that I suss out your intentions.”

“My intentions are none of your goddamn business,” Kellan growled, but the words had little effect. The ribbing continued throughout the long day of trekking through the meandering string of caverns, until he was ready to wring Aiden’s bloody neck. By the time they’d made camp that evening and settled down around another one of Juliana’s smokeless fires, he was wound up and aching, the poison eating him raw inside. Juliana continued to send him questioning looks, as if wondering how long he was going to keep the truth to himself,
but he responded each time with a curt shake of his head, and she would look away again. But even now, the vampire was talking to Chloe as the two of them kept company with Raine, and he couldn’t help but worry that she would say something he didn’t want said.

“The Merrick likes you,” Morgan murmured, pulling him from his private thoughts as she sat down beside him.

“Of course she does.” Kellan slid the female Watchman a wry smile. “I got her out of that place. That probably makes me her most favorite person in the world.”

With a roll of her gray eyes, Morgan said, “It’s more than gratitude, Kell.”

“Then what do you call
that?
” he asked, watching as Chloe left Juliana and Raine to make her way over to Jamison, who was sitting by himself on the top of a boulder, reading a book. Acting as if they’d been longtime friends, Chloe sat down beside the Lycan and started chatting with him. Jamison quickly set his book aside, giving her his full attention, and Kellan felt something raw and possessive settle in his gut, his nostrils flaring with aggression.

“Is she trying to make you jealous?” Morgan asked uneasily.

“That sneaky little witch,” he muttered under his breath, watching as Chloe leaned a little closer to Jamison. “I don’t friggin’ believe it.”

Morgan’s tension mounted. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on, or leave me hanging in the dark?”

Kellan popped his jaw, fighting to control his temper. “She’s testing her theory.”

“Her theory on what?” his brother rumbled from
behind them, obviously eavesdropping on their conversation. “How to piss you off?”

“Not the time,” he muttered, his patience already spread thin. “So back off, Kier.”

“Kellan,” Morgan said gently, “does this by any chance have something to do with the fact that Chloe’s a Mallory witch?”

With a sharp nod and a low curse, he moved to his feet…and headed toward his prey.

M
AKE A PASS AT ME
. Put your hand on my knee.

With her muscles tensed to the point of pain, Chloe repeated the mental commands, the pressure in her head so tight she was surprised her skull hadn’t split in half. Jamison Haley was a nice guy, but her little experiment didn’t seem to be working. Even though she was certain she’d caught him watching her earlier with a gleam of male interest, which the curse should have been cranking up now that she was focusing her attention on him, nothing was happening. If anything, Chloe seemed to be scaring the hell out of the poor guy as she moved a little closer to him, his worried gaze starting to flick toward the place where she knew Kellan was sitting.

Kellan had told her the horrible story about how Jamison had been captured by Spark and tortured by Gregory DeKreznick. He’d been dying when the Watchmen had found him, and Kierland had bitten him to save his life, changing him to a werewolf. After everything he’d been through, she hated playing with his emotions, but she didn’t know what other choice she had. She needed to test the curse, and she was too afraid to try her theories out on any of the other men in their group. The situation sucked, but she had to make some kind of play for
a reality check, because it was becoming painfully clear that her feelings for Kellan Scott were out of control.

Last night, Chloe had fully expected him to be furious over her admission about the curse and her suspicions that her Merrick blood could be affecting it, but instead, he’d made love to her again and again throughout the surreal hours of darkness, drowning her senses in wave after wave of devastating, erotic pleasure.

And the day had been even more unsettling, because every time she got close to him, she found herself falling for him a little harder. A little deeper…

God, there was so much danger here. Not from Kellan himself, but from how much she was starting to like him. Enjoy him. She wasn’t even talking about the sex, though it was un-freaking-believable. It was just being with him, spending time with him. He was funny and protective and smart. Arrogant, but humble, as well. The guy was simply too good to be real, and Chloe knew she needed to get a grip now, before she was so far gone she started begging him for more than sex. No way in hell could she let that happen, because as incredible as he was, Kellan Scott had never once made mention of any kind of future relationship between them, as if their time together was limited to their escape from the Wasteland. If she wanted to be able to walk away from this thing between them with her heart still in one piece, she
had
to remember that he was only in this for the physical, and not the emotional.

Suddenly checking his watch for the fifth time in just as many minutes, Jamison said, “It’s, uh, getting pretty late.”

Taking pity on the poor guy, Chloe finally gave up her scheme and told him good-night, her thoughts mired
in chaos as she headed for the small cave where Kellan had told her he would be setting up their tent.