Chapter 11
Natalia
I remembered the day I boarded that plane like it was yesterday.
It was burned in my memory. I could still feel the heat of the desert, the way the breeze had played along the hair on my arms as if it was trying to hold me back, but it was the look in his eyes that had been seared into my soul ever since.
It had been three months since I’d seen him, and I still could feel his touch on my skin as though he was right there beside me.
I thought I saw him time and time again.
Behind me in line when I went to my favorite coffee shop in the morning.
Across the street when I walked back home.
I’d started searching the crowded streets for his face, but I never found it. Not really.
Maybe I just wanted to see him, and I was making everything up in my head.
A gentle breeze picked up around me and I stopped my morning walk through the park. I sat down on a nearby park bench, staring at the pretty flowers planted around one of the big trees in front of me.
The sky was clear blue, no clouds in sight.
Such a beautiful day should make me happy, but I just felt empty. Emotionally. Physically. Mentally.
I sighed heavily.
Since my time in Vegas, I’d taken a number of contracts.
I hadn’t needed to. I’d made more than enough money with the Asamire deal, but I wanted to keep myself busy.
I’d even agreed to several ones of the supernatural variety.
My bank account was quite full right now.
It didn’t help me feel any better about any of it.
That didn’t stop me from trying to fix that feeling. Over and over again.
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Einstein knew that, but it still hadn’t sunk in my own head yet.
Deep down, I knew what was missing. There was no way I was going to admit that to myself. Not ever.
Someone sat down on the bench next to me.
I didn’t look at the person until she cleared her throat.
I turned my head and almost started when I took in the shape of a woman.
She was wearing a black hooded dress that covered most of her skin.
There was a pair of big sunglasses blocking much of her face, but the way her pale skin glimmered in the sunlight was enough for me to recognize her under all that heavy clothing and makeup.
“Isabella,” I started.
“I’ve been looking for you, Natalia. I found your sister first, but she wasn’t the one who pulled the trigger and killed my Nathaniel,” she murmured pointedly.
“What did you do to her?” I asked, hiding my fear under a cloak of bravery.
“I didn’t do anything to her. She walked into her college biology class with all of her parts still attached as they should be,” she replied, her voice calm and matter of fact. It was chilling.
“Was she still the same way when she left that class?” I asked apprehensively.
“I don’t know. I didn’t feel like waiting around,” she said.
I leaned back against the park bench, placing my hands so that they lay palm up on my thighs. I was armed and knowing her, she probably suspected that.
“Are you here to kill me?” I questioned. Strangely enough, there was no fear in the way that I said those words. Instead, there was an odd sense of acceptance. I’d taken so many lives that it was perhaps darkly poetic that it might end like this.
“No. I’m not here to kill you,” she replied softly.
Startled, I turned to face her. I didn’t say anything at all, choosing to study her expression instead. I saw in her a quiet, reserved reluctance.
“I wanted to, at first, but I thought better of it. I wanted to make you suffer for what you did, so I set about to watching you and it’s clear to me that you’re already doing a good job of doing that to yourself,” she continued.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I scoffed.
“You’ve been marked, Natalia. I can smell him all over you. Your wolf shifter has claimed you and that has intricately changed your scent. It’s meant to ward off other creatures like me. I almost didn’t recognize you at first because of it,” she explained.
“I belong to no one,” I muttered.
“I’m sure that used to be true, but it isn’t anymore,” she chuckled knowingly.
I ran my fingers through my hair, still not willing to believe what she was saying and knowing she was right at the same time.
“He will come for you,” she added, and I shook my head. “The bond between a wolf and his mate is not something you can run from. The more you try, the stronger it will get.”
“You should just kill me and get it over with,” I countered, and she shook her head.
“No. I have a responsibility to my clan. I could kill you and I could make sure you suffered, but that would only bring the Lupo pack down on us. Our position in the city has been a bit of a struggle since the Asamire gathering, but in time we will grow strong once again. Instead of making waves against Adrian and his pack, I thought we could sit down and talk woman to woman about how our relationship could be mutually beneficial to each other in the future,” she added.
“I don’t know how I’d be of any help to you,” I replied.
“You haven’t returned to the strip since that day, have you?”
I shook my head.
“Adrian Black has turned into a powerhouse. He bought out all of the Asamire properties and forced what was left of them out. Vegas used to be a city run by vampires. Even when he first surfaced, I underestimated him, but that’s changed.
Now he’s the kingpin of the most powerful family in the city,” she explained.
“Vegas is his now and he’s just permitting the rest of us to stay. ”
I was strangely proud of him for using the Asamire gathering to his advantage.
“So, you’re here in an attempt to gain favor with me,” I deduced carefully. I looked at her knowingly and she smirked.
“You’re intelligent for a human, I’ll give you that,” she observed, laughing softly.
“What exactly is it that you want from me?”
“You have a very specialized set of skills, Natalia Kotova. Along with that, you have the reach of your father at your back,” she began.
“You’ve been doing your research,” I laughed.
“I have. I have my own resources too,” she smiled.
“I can see that. You know, I thought it was impossible for vampires to walk underneath the sun and here you are sitting next to me in the light of day.”
“Thick fabric, lots of sunblock, and a personalized makeup with a few very specific ingredients. You’re also sitting in the shade, which is helpful, but this will only last for so long before I need to get back indoors so that I don’t burn to death,” she clarified.
“That’s convenient,” I grinned. “But you still haven’t told me what you want from me.”
“You’re an impatient human too,” she taunted lightly.
She cleared her throat, and I knew the time had finally come for her to reveal her cards.
“I want to propose an alliance between you and me. We don’t need to involve the Council or the rest of the Lupo pack.
Instead, I will give you my word and you will give me yours,” she offered.
“What kind of alliance?”
“I would like to count on you and Adrian Black as my allies. The Lasombre clan has survived in Vegas for a long time, and I would like your word that we will be allowed to continue. We will make no moves against you and in turn, you will not come after us,” she proposed.
“I haven’t spoken to Adrian since I left Vegas, Isabella,” I warned her.
“I understand,” she replied. She left the words unspoken, but it was clear to me that she thought that wouldn’t be true for much longer.
“Vow this to me, and I will never threaten you or your sister ever again,” she added. “Don’t make me take this to the Council.”
I knew of the Council, but I had never interacted with them myself.
From what I understood, they were an organization of all the shifter families and vampires throughout the world.
Their word was law, and they had the power to end a family if necessary.
It had existed for centuries. Every single source rumored that they were not to be messed with.
“If I did take it to the Council, they would demand retribution in return for you killing my mate. You’re not just a human anymore. You’re a wolf shifter’s mate and the rules of the Council apply to you,” she continued.
“They may now, but I wasn’t his mate when I pulled that trigger, Isabella,” I countered, and her smirk grew bigger.
I had a feeling I just passed some sort of test.
“True enough,” she replied.
“I don’t take you as a woman who would lie about something like that,” I replied, and she chuckled quietly in return. “In fact, bringing your issue to the Council would probably be more trouble than it was worth for you, wouldn’t it?”
She smiled knowingly and shook her head, impressed.
“The Council arrived in Vegas shortly after you left, Natalia,” she murmured.
“They questioned all of us that were involved. When it became clear that the Asamire had been attempting to seize power over all of the vampire clans in the city, the Council made sure they paid for their mistakes. Some of them escaped, but the wolves hunted them down. The rest of the Asamire were torn limb from limb in front of us in warning.”
I turned my head to see a haunted look in her eyes.
“I take it the Council hasn’t had to visit your city before,” I replied, and she shook her head.
“The Asamire clan has remaining members in other parts of the world, but they’ve been wiped clean from Las Vegas.
Their plan was to get us all in the same room, blood drunk on pretty virgins.
They never planned on letting any of us leave that room that night.
As a show of power, Banu was going to be the one to kill Nathaniel and me.
If not for you and the Lupo pack, we all would be as good as dead.
The Council holds them in high regard for keeping the Asamire clan in check when the rest of us could not. ”
“I see.”
For a moment, I sat back and thought about everything she’d said.
“All I ask is that you communicate our agreement to Adrian. Let him know that I had no ill will toward you or him or his pack. I just want to ensure a safe place for my own clan in the fallout,” she said, and I could hear the sincerity in her tone.
Carefully, I reached over and grasped the top of her hand with mine. “You give me your word that you do not intend to harm my sister, Adrian, or his pack,” I asked cautiously.
“You have my word,” she vowed. I could see the red of her irises through her sunglasses.
“Then you also have mine. The Lupo pack and the Lasombre clan will be allies from this day forward,” I swore.