Chapter 10
HANNES
“Do you have a plan?” Countess Dariah asked as I pushed Dante out of my way and burst through the door to Natasha’s room.
“It’s a trap. You can’t go after her,” I warned, barging past them with Dante and André on my heels.
“That’s exactly what they want you to do. It’s why they took her,” André argued.
“There is no scenario in this world in which we let you do that,” Dante guaranteed, and both the Countess and Natalia turned—sharply raising an eyebrow at him.
Now, I wasn’t exactly an expert on women’s behavior. However, growing up surrounded by Alpha she-wolves, I was certain nothing good ever came from a woman raising her brow at you that way, let alone two of them.
The “Excuse me?!” was always implied.
Lifting a hand to stop Natalia from burning his ass to a crisp, I attempted to diffuse the situation. “She’s not asking you for permission, Dante.”
“I’m not asking you at all!” she barked, facing us all with flaring red eyes. “I wasn’t even talking to you. Are you in my head again, listening?”
I had to give it to her. The look she leveled Dante with made him actually back away. She was going to kill him and enjoy it.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, André finally sighed. “We are not in your head. Hannes and I possess enhanced hearing, and Dante had his ear stuck to the door.”
Giving her one of his sinful smirks, Dante chanced moving closer to our mate once more. “I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that you love me.”
Oh, the poor, stupid bastard.
For a reason that he clearly didn’t see, that only served to infuriate her more.
Natalia’s nostrils flared.
“Can we please discuss this?” I interjected, calling her attention back to me while the Beast fought against my skin, sensing danger and wanting to take over to protect me.
There was danger, alright, but not the kind he feared for me. With a grunt, I pushed him back, hating that he’d so easily taken over when her fire arose earlier. It didn’t help that my stupid ass staggered back by instinct.
I knew she’d never hurt me on purpose, it had all been an unfortunate accident… but did she know that?
Natalia’s expression softened when our eyes met once more, and the spark of remorse danced in her gaze. Taking a settling breath, she nodded and walked toward the sitting area, retaking the armchair.
“Well, I leave you all to talk about this,” the Countess announced. “I need to speak to my husband and Antoine to see what they’ve been able to uncover about the attack and the Vampiri with fake abilities.”
She walked past us and left the room, but my attention was still glued to Natalia and the trail of wetness that glistened over her skin when she turned.
Knowing she’d cried made me want to rip into someone, preferably one of the bastards who attacked her in the boathouse. Mostly, I just wanted to take her in my arms and kiss her, make her mine, and take away the pain she was focusing on surviving right now.
Grabbing the armchair next to her, I dragged it before her and sat down while Dante and André stood at either side of me, facing her.
“Their attack didn’t turn out the way they wanted,” I explained gently. “It failed, and that’s why they took your mother.”
“I know…” she conceded, crossing both arms over her chest. “I’m still going after her.”
“They are going to use her as bait. It’s just a means to get you out of here and into their territory—wherever that is,” André explained, trying to make her see reason.
“They want you to react. And they’ll try their best to be ready for you this time, which means as many of them as it takes to capture you. It’s a trap, Natalia.”
“I know that too. I’m not stupid, André.”
“I never said you—”
“No! Of course, you didn’t call me stupid.” She smiled at him, sarcasm dripping from her voice. “You just thought I needed you to point out the painfully obvious because I couldn’t possibly make that conclusion on my own.”
“Natalia, that’s not what we are doing,” Dante intervened before things got out of control. André and Natalia hadn’t been on the best of terms since she awoke. “We just want to help you understand the risks. If they get their hands on you—”
“They will harvest my blood to create minions just like me that they can control, and then they’ll kill me. I know. Probably to destroy the world, or some shit like that.”
“How do you know they want to harvest your blood?” I asked, disconcerted. The only ones who knew exactly what had occurred in the boathouse before we arrived were the Viscountess and Natasha, and our mate was currently blocking her own memories from Natalia.
Blinking, she paused for a moment, seemingly taken aback. “It slipped through the fog just now,” she admitted in a whisper. “Not the whole scene, just that fact. Perhaps now that I know what happened, Natasha’s hold is loosening a bit?”
“She probably wants you to understand,” I offered reassuringly.
Nodding at the possibility, our mate seemed to search her mind.
“I only get the blink of a moment, but I can see Anastasia being restrained by Natasha’s uncle. He had her by the throat while another man, a Vampir, said they had come for Natasha’s blood, and they were going to bleed her slowly to get it… but they were not expecting my fire.”
“No.” The back of my armchair suddenly buckled, crushed by André’s hand while the rage turned his eyes red, and sunlight trembled in and out of existence outside the window.
“Absolutely not!” Dante barked. “There is no way in hell we are letting you anywhere near those—”
“I understand the risks!” Natalia snapped, standing up to them.
“The real risk is that they will torture Anastasia if I don’t save her.
She was already attacked and left for dead once.
She lost her wings and the chance to see her daughter, Natasha, grow safe and loved.
What else does she need to sacrifice before we are willing to risk something for her?
Her life? She deserves better than that, and so does Natasha! ” she roared.
Her red eyes bore into each of us, the intensity in her gaze driving the point home.
“I know you want Natasha to be safe, and Anastasia would probably rip your heads off if she knew we were even thinking about going after her,” Natalia added. “I get it, guys. Natasha is your mate and your number one priority, but I can protect her too. I can protect them both.”
Lifting her arms, she let the fire rise out of her palms, blue flames dancing up her forearms and eerily illuminating her determined face.
A powerful wave of heat radiated from it, piercing my skin, and successfully reminding me of the agonizing pain I’d suffered under it just last night.
Worst of all, it called onto the only part of me that was immune to her power.
The one I had fought so hard to repress not even ten fucking minutes ago.
The Beast.
Fur rippled out of my pores before I could try to stop it, the transformation taking merely a second as my body grew and adapted, no longer susceptible to her Eternal Blaze.
Damn it!
Surprise and regret illuminated Natalia’s face when she took in my new form, and she closed both fists. The action slowly extinguished the fire. “Hannes, I-I didn’t mean… I wasn’t going to hurt—”
“I know,” I reassured, not wanting her to feel bad even though my voice mixed with the Beast’s.
It was too late, and I could see it in her eyes.
After a few seconds, she regained her bearings and glanced at us, her back straightening.
“The people in this room hold more power than anyone could ever dream of. The indestructible Beast, the formidable Lord of Twilight, and the Vampir Ancient who can literally channel the energy of the sun…” She gestured to each of us as she purposely reminded us.
“The three of you alone can take on anything and win. And then there is me. The first Vampir-Wolf Shifter hybrid. There is nothing my Eternal Blaze can’t obliterate.
We have to go rescue Anastasia. Otherwise, what the hell is all this power for? ”
What the hell is all this power for?
André, Dante, and grimly I looked at each other. Not so long ago, we had asked ourselves a similar question.
“This is what she saw and kept from us…” Dante murmured in realization.
“There is no fucking chance she would have seen them coming after her daughter and not prepared us for it,” I argued.
“Anastasia?” Natalia asked again, but we didn’t answer.
We couldn’t. Our minds were reeling with information and putting the pieces together.
“Unless she didn’t see them taking Natasha,” I corrected. “She saw them taking her and what would come after.”
“Natasha trying to rescue her…” André finished.
“That is where she’ll need us,” Dante somberly agreed.
“Can somebody please tell me what the fuck you are talking about?!”
Troubled, I turned to her. “This is why your mother got the three of us together, as your mates, to protect you not from the boathouse attack but from what is coming next.”
Her keen gaze traveled over all three of us, considering everything we had discussed, and she finally sighed. The fire died inside her—pun intended.
“Not that I don’t appreciate having three powerful mates as my bodyguards, but I can charbroil every single one of your assess if you piss me off, so technically, I don’t need you.
” She lifted a hand, suddenly interested in her long nails.
“I mean, I’d rather think she did it because every woman deserves to have her own harem of sexy supernaturals.
” With a shrug, she placed the hand on her hip. “But what the hell do I know?”
Dante chuckled while André shook his head, fighting a grin. I, however, grinned widely at her, enchanted by her character, her sarcasm, and her strong will.
“I’ll attest to that. If anyone knows you can charbroil anyone is me,” I huffed half-heartedly.
Her saddened eyes connected with mine, but she offered me a small smile.
“I think it’s time,” I told the guys, and both of them instantly straightened.
“Are you sure?” Dante asked and I nodded.
“I am.”
“Again. What the fuck are you talking about?” Natalia threw her arms in the air.
“No time to explain… I have preparations to make.” Turning around, I stepped out of the room.
“Hey! Come back here, Beasty boy. I’m not done with you!” Natalia yelled after me, making my smile widen.
With each stride I took away from her, the Beast let go, and I transformed back into a man. I may not be able to talk to my Beast side like Natalia did to Starlight, but he was going to get a piece of my fucking mind anyway because the last thing I needed was to cock-block myself.
Briefly stepping into my room, I changed into fresh clothes—ones not enchanted by Dante. I wasn’t going to lie, the regular flannel shirt and jeans were a direct challenge to the Beast not to take over, or I’d be left naked in front of everyone next time I changed back.
Let’s see how long that took… Not that I minded being naked. I was a Wolf Shifter after all.
I reached for my cell phone, dialed, and headed for my sister’s room.
Alyce opened the door just as the line began ringing. “Is Tasha okay?”
“Yeah, she’s far stronger than we give her credit for,” I answered, stepping inside and giving a nod to Vanessa, who sat on the bed, hugging a pillow to her chest.
“You two might want to pack. We are leaving tonight.”
“Where are we going?” Both Vanessa and Alyce asked just as a new voice came through the line.
“Hi, thing number two. What’s up?”
My mouth stretched into a huge smile. “Hey, Aunt Zelin. Whatcha doing?”
“Making hot cocoa. What do you need? You only call when you need something.”
“Aunty Z…” Alyce whispered, glancing back at her girlfriend a moment before her eyes widened in recognition.
Chuckling, I shrugged. “How about a ride home?”
“Is it time?” Alyce asked just as Vanessa jumped off the bed, going to her side.
Lowering the phone from my mouth for a second, I smiled at her. “It’s time.”
“Why not?” Aunt Zelin answered, tugging my attention back to her. “We deserve a vacation, and I’m sure Gustav wouldn’t mind a week in the Great Alps.”