Chapter 14
A loud, pounding knock has me opening my eyes before Nariko wakes up. I check on her through our bond; her soul is sound asleep, the steady breaths easing my worry that whoever is at the door woke her up.
The fucking knocks don’t stop.
Snarling under my breath for being interrupted, I kiss her shoulder and slide on a pair of sweatpants.
I sniff the air and growl.
It’s Ruka.
And he is fucking furious by the weight of his emotions.
Checking the mirror, I keep the messy hair, but scrub off the dried blood on my neck, then speed towards the living room. I rip the door open, leaning one arm against the door trim.
“Knock like that again on my fucking door while my ma—Nariko is asleep and I’ll kill you where you stand.”
“You wouldn’t kill me. It would hurt my sister if you did.” He stands tall, and to my surprise, there isn’t an ounce of fear between us. For a human, he is brave.
Fucking storm chasers.
They are numb to all the dangers since they chase it themselves.
“She’s here, then?” he asks with so much disappointment; the emotional daggers hit me in the heart.
Whether I like it or not, he’s family. I have to protect him for Nariko.
“Yes, she’s here. She’s been with me while you’ve been gone chasing clouds.” I probably shouldn’t have said that, but he’s pissing me off with his condescending attitude.
And if she were still in heat? I’d rip his fucking head off.
If she were still in heat.
It hits me right then that the fire in my veins, in my cock, is gone. The desperation to feel her against me isn’t clawing at my skin. There’s an ache between my own legs from coming so much over the last two days.
She’s pregnant.
I smile knowing the truth, and then it fades; the happiness is gone because I don’t know how Nariko will take it.
“Fuck you, Oklahoma. You know damn well we do more than that.”
I kick the screen door open, and Ruka steps back. I invade his space, doing my best for the predator in me not to rise to the surface.
“You chase clouds that can kill her. I’ve lost one person I love to storms, and I won’t lose another.”
“That isn’t up to you, and the moment you try to dictate what she can and can’t do, she’s gone from your life. If you cage her in, she will break free.” He steps forward, narrowing his familiar brown eyes at me. “I can’t wait until she wakes up to her senses.”
I smirk, knowing his wish will never come true. “We’ll have to see about that, won’t we?” Not that he will ever get his wish. We are bonded for life.
Not that he will know anything about that.
“I want to talk to her.”
“She’s asleep. I’ll tell her you came by.”
His jaw ticks with frustration. “I want to talk to my sister now.”
I’m tempted to use my vampire power to mystify him. Then, he won’t bother me or my mate anymore, but I know Nariko would never forgive me if I messed with her brother’s mind.
I hear her before we can see her. She walks light on her feet; the pad of her steps ease my frustrations. Nariko sighs, a light, airy exhale that I wish I could inhale for myself.
“You aren’t going to invite me in? Pretty rude, don’t you think?” Ruka asks, crossing his arms as if he could ever intimidate me.
A vampire.
I can kill him before he has the option to string together another thought.
“Nope.” I open the screen door for Nariko, and she has our blanket wrapped around her, her hair tangled and messy from the last few nights we’ve had together.
She smells so good. Of us. Marked and claimed for all to see.
Nariko tightens the blanket around her and yawns, scrubbing her eyes. “What is the fuss about you two? It’s early. The sun is barely up.”
I bend down and kiss her cheek, wrapping my arms around her from the back. “I’m sorry, Sugar. Ruka wanted to talk to you, and I told him you were asleep. He didn’t seem to care about that.” I bend down and whisper in her ear, so low only she can hear me. “And I know how much you need your rest.”
“Oklahoma,” she giggles, leaning her back against me. “Not now.”
Ruka groans, disgusted. “Okay, can I talk to my sister, please?”
“Whatever you need to say, you can say in front of Oklahoma, Ruka. We are together now, so he is part of the team.”
A sourness turns my stomach at the thought of being on a storm chaser’s team. I’m not interested in learning about the weather. I know what it can do. I refuse to let Nariko chase alone. She needs to be protected, and I don’t trust Ruka to do it. He can’t save her like I can.
I can’t lose her.
I can’t lose someone else to the wickedness of a vortex.
“I would like to talk to you in private.” Ruka shuffles his feet. “Please,” he adds, his tone becoming solemn.
“Go on, Sugar. I’ll stay right here.” Thunder fusses in the distance, and the leaves rustle together as the wind picks up strength, the warm air perfect for tornadoes.
I grab the post to the porch and swing out, peering up at the sky to see the clouds forming fast, building quicker than I’ve ever seen. An uneasy sensation stirs in my chest, an electricity in the air that I’ve never felt before.
This storm isn’t normal. Living in Tornado Alley, bad weather is part of life here. Being in a place like this, one has to accept the possibility they could die.
This spurt of storms over the last few days has been unusual. Every supercell has formed quickly, stronger with every day that passes. Ruka and Nariko are human. They can’t sense what I can.
Settling into a rocking chair, I eavesdrop, not giving Ruka any privacy when it comes to my mate.
I watch her, every moment recorded in my memory so it lasts forever.
The way she moves, so elegantly, so softly, like she’s afraid to hurt the ground she’s walking on.
The way her hair blows when the wind wants to brush it, the strands dancing in the gusts.
The way her lips move when she speaks or how her lips pout while she’s in thought.
Secretly, I love annoying her. She’s so fucking beautiful when she gets worked up. Her fire, her tenacity for never backing down, is the biggest aphrodisiac I have ever encountered.
I smile, rocking in the chair when her new scent blows over to me, the usual potent aroma of rain mixed with another scent I know all too well.
Me.
I lean forward, focusing on my mate and her brother arguing in Japanese. I can’t understand what they are saying, and I get irked with myself for not knowing how to speak her language.
My top priority is learning Japanese so we can have conversations too.
While I don’t know what they are saying, body language can be read, and Nariko is furious.
My mate throws her hands in the air as she yells at her brother, dropping the blanket she had wrapped around her. The wind carries it a few feet away, swirling like a twister, spinning until it falls to the ground.
The bitterness of frustration and anger sinks into me from Ruka and Nariko. I stand, leaning against a pillar, crossing my arms as I watch the argument become more heated.
Ruka grabs at the sides of his head, laughing at his sister, his cackle dripping with disbelief. He spins around, kicking at the ground. He taps the side of his head, a gesture that makes me growl, and I walk down a step, wanting to make my presence known.
He stretches an arm out towards the house, my name clear on his lips.
Nariko’s voice becomes higher; her words catch in her throat from hurt. To my surprise, she shoves Ruka, pointing a finger in his face as tears run down her cheeks.
Absolutely not. No one makes my mate cry. No one makes her feel bad about herself. Fucking no one. Not even me, and if I ever do, I hope she puts me in my place.
I take another step, anger building in my chest that’s coming from Nariko. She is livid.
“You know what,” I yell, interrupting them mid-shouting match. “I’m going to go grab a shirt. I’ll be right back.” Their fighting is about to come to an end.
They don’t hear me through the ruckus of the noise they create. I use my speed to grab a Dead Man’s Ranch shirt and tug it over my head while I run outside again.
Just in time to see Nariko shove her brother again.
I might not like Ruka at the moment, but what I do know is he loves her. He’s worried about her. The warmth of his love for her blooms in my chest, and that’s the only reason I haven’t killed him for how he has spoken to her.
No one, fucking no one, raises their voice to Nariko.
I jump down the steps at the same time thunder clatters in the sky. Nariko wipes her cheeks free of tears, and Ruka stands there with his hands on his hips, his gaze tilted toward the morning sky.
Stepping between them, I press my hand against Ruka’s chest, and as gently as I can, shove him back. I might have added a little too much pressure, and he stumbles, arms flailing, and he smacks into the fence.
“That’s enough,” I warn him, blocking his ability to look at his sister.
“I will deal with a lot for Nariko when it comes to you, but I won’t ever be okay with you yelling at her.
You won’t speak to her like that again.” I’m nearly nose to nose with him, my true nature hovering at the surface.
A pale red hue overcomes my vision, and Ruka scrubs his face, then narrows his eyes to see if he saw what he thought he did.
I love to keep him guessing.
“I’m going to take her on the tour of the ranch. You all need some space. With all that yelling, you’ll wake the damn neighbors.”
“You don’t have neighbors,” Ruka retorts, straightening his shirt, then peeks over my shoulder at Nariko.
I step in his way. “If I did, you would have pissed them off with your loud mouth.”
“Oh, fuck you, Oklahoma. You know my sister, what, a few days, and you think you know what is better for her than I do?”
I can’t stop the snarl that escapes me. His eyes widen, and the smallest amount of fear trickles from him.
Good.
He should be afraid of me.