Page 66 of Bad Moon Rising (Dark-Hunter 17)
"I don't know. I don't." She scooted off the desk to retrieve her pants and dress.
All he wanted to do was take her in his arms and hold her for the rest of eternity.
Fang pulled her locket off and handed it to her. "We can't get caught. Your mother is the Grand Regis Ursulan and my brothers rule both seats for the Lykos. Us being together would void every treaty Savitar has in place."
She nodded as she fastened her pants. "It would pollute our bloodlines."
He pinned her with a hot stare. "And I really don't give a shit."
Cupping his cheek in her hand, she smiled up at him. "Neither do I."
"Aimee?"
They both looked at the door as they heard Mama Lo's voice in the hallway.
Ah, shit! This was bad.
"Where is that girl?"
"I have to go," she whispered before she vanished.
Fang cursed. But no sooner had she gone than Mama Lo opened the door to his room. He used his powers to camouflage what they'd just done.
At least he hoped he did.
Nicolette scanned the room suspiciously. "Where is Aimee?"
He knew he couldn't deny that she'd been here since her scent would be more than evident to Nicolette's heightened senses and while he could mask most of it, he couldn't remove every trace of her. "I don't know. She brought some peroxide to me and vanished."
Which was true so Nicolette wouldn't smell the lie on him. He just left out some really important details.
Nicolette sighed. "There is another contingency of bears downstairs for her to mate with. I swear, she's never where she's supposed to be."
Fang had to ride herd on his temper at those words as well as the urge to go downstairs and skin a bear. "If she comes back for the peroxide, I'll let her know."
"Please do so."
He caught a strange note in her voice. "Is something wrong?"
"Non."
But he knew she was lying. "What is it?"
"Nothing." She left and shut the door.
Frowning, Fang opened it to watch her leave as Wren came up the stairs. Nicolette curled her lip at the tigard, but said nothing.
Wren, for his part, made an obscene gesture behind her back. He paused as he realized Fang had seen it.
"What's the deal with the two of you?"
Wren shrugged. "She thinks I'm a freak. I think she's a bitch. Nicolette doesn't believe our races should mix and she hates me for being a mongrel."
"She accepts me."
"I'm a little different from you."
Fang snorted. "No offense, Wren, you're a little different from everyone."
Marvin came running up the stairs with a banana. He leapt onto Wren's shoulder and chattered at Fang, pointing the banana at him like a gun. That spoke for itself. They both were whacked.
"Why do you stay here?"
Wren took the banana from Marvin so that he could peel it for the primate. "The same reason you do."
"And that is?"
Wren glanced toward the stairs. "She's the only person or animal I've ever met who truly is kind. I don't have any family and when I was brought here, I didn't trust anyone. I still don't. Except for her."
Aimee. He didn't say her name because he didn't have to. She was the only one Wren ever really spoke with.
"You love her?"
"As a sister and a friend. I'd die to protect her." Wren stepped closer to him and lowered his voice. "I've seen how you two look at each other and it scares me."
"Why?"
"Because even though it's frowned on, it's accepted for Katagaria to be with Arcadian. But for the species to blend . . . take it from someone who was crossbred, you don't want to go there. And if not for her, then think if the Fates are cold enough to give you children. The hatred of others drove my mother mad and in the end she hated me for it."
"We're not mates, Wren. You know as well as I do that we have no control over that."
"Of course you do. If you don't sleep together, you don't mate. That you control." He broke off a piece of banana and gave it to Marvin. "Trust me, wolf. Stay away from her for both your sakes." Wren left him and headed toward his room.
It was a warning he didn't really need.
Fang returned to his room while those words rang in his ears. The problem was, he wasn't getting hard for any other woman. It already felt like the Fates had mated them. . . .
What am I going to do?
He pulled up shortly as he saw a shadow in the corner.
It moved forward into the light to show him the last person he expected to see.
Thorn.
