Hearts of Warriors Ch. 05

Andrei did know the power of a mate. He knew exactly just what he'd been willing to do to keep Loretta safe. He'd done terrible things in the past when she was threatened. He wouldn't hesitate to do far more terrible things if she was in danger.

Somewhere out there was another male who felt that way about his daughter. While he could never be completely happy that this male was taking his Lily from him, just knowing that she was with someone who would give his life for her settled him down a bit.

"What did she tell you about this mate?" he finally asked Kallum, reluctantly conceding that there was nothing he could do to stop the mating even though he dearly wanted to. He knew it was his problem, not Lily's or the male she'd chosen. It would be hard to work through the issues but thankfully his own mate would help him through it.

Kallum finished his sandwich as he watched his parents, swallowing down a glass of milk. "Not a lot, but she sounded pretty determined." He started to laugh. "She told me to fuck off and leave her alone so I figured I'd give her a couple of days' breathing space before getting in contact with her again. I suggest you give her some space too. Trust in her. She knows what she's doing."

"She was frightened, Kal. She told me she was a monster." Andrei's tone was harsh.

"Dad, she's so much like you at times. I'm sure you've done things that have frightened you. I know she'll work through it and only become stronger because of it. You have to let her discover who she is as a person. She obviously couldn't do that here at the compound. She'll come home when she's good and ready."

Loretta walked across the kitchen, pride shining in her eyes as she looked at her son. Kal leaned down and embraced her, feeling her lips brush his cheek gently.

"You are the most amazing young man," she sighed softly. "I'm so proud of you, Kallum. I couldn't wish for a better son."

He tried not to puff up too much from the warm approval in his mother's voice but he was fighting a losing battle. He may be an Alpha male and was sure of himself in that role, but he would always crave his parents' love and approval. He squeezed Loretta in a big bear hug, revelling in her warmth and love.

A moment later his father squeezed his shoulder, respect apparent in his eyes when he turned to look at his son. "You'll keep us informed when you speak to your sister again?"

"I won't let anything happen to Lila, Dad. I love her just as much as you do."

*****

There was a second Jeep parked in front of the main house when they arrived back at the compound. Lily's eyes connected with the man that was loading a pack into the back of the vehicle Mac's expression was remote; nothing showed in his eyes as he quickly perused her and then turned to Karn.

The blood on the other man's clothes automatically caught his attention. "What happened?" His tone was as devoid of expression as his face though the tension in his body was unmistakable.

"Ruminskey, why don't you head inside and check on Brandon?" Karn said quietly keeping his gaze fixed on his friend.

For a moment Lily considered arguing with him. She wanted to know what he was going to tell Mac, and hoped to learn where her mate thought he was going. Karn's pale blue eyes turned towards her. She swallowed at the coldness she saw in them and decided to head inside as ordered.

She shot Mac a final glance but his entire attention was on Karn. It was as if she didn't exist. With an angry scowl on her face she stomped up the steps into the house.

Karn breathed out slowly as Lily vanished in the house. He quickly scanned the area to ensure no one was hovering around and then he turned to his friend. "Where the fuck do you think you're going, Mac? You're not dumping this shit in my lap. This is your problem, not mine."

Cold blackness met his words. Mac's eyes drilled into his as his muscles tightened even more. "Answer my question," he said calmly. There was no threat in the words but it was there in the calm tone he used.

"Lily's what happened," Karn hissed out as quietly as he could. "You had me take her to your little fuck nest, Mackenzie. Did you think she wouldn't put two and two together and come up with four? She lost control of her wolf and just about ripped my fucking throat out. So I'm asking you again, where the fuck do you think you're going because I am not going to take care of your problems for you. I like my head firmly attached to my body, thank you very much."

Mac stared at Karn, shock rippling through him. Lily had almost killed him? The thought was just ludicrous and yet his friend was deadly serious. He was turning to look back at the house even though he tried hard not to. She'd been upset about him taking women to his bed the night before. It wasn't as if she wasn't aware of that fact. Why had being at the apartment caused her to lose control of her wolf?

He stared at the door for a long moment then he walked around the car and pulled out his pack. He slammed the rear door loudly. "Send her to my study in fifteen minutes." He turned and walked towards the house with Karn falling into step beside him.

"What are you going to do, Mac?" Karn's anger had faded as soon as he'd seen the expression on his friend's face. He'd only seen that expression a few times and usually someone ended up seriously hurt at the end of it. He was suddenly afraid for Lily.

"I'm going to teach her it's unacceptable to attack a member of my team without provocation, Karn. I suggest you fuck off and find some way to clear the rest of the house while you're at it."

"Mac...!"

"Just do it, Karn!"

Karn watched Mac take the stairs three at a time, his concern escalating at the barely restrained fury radiating from his friend. He should have handled this differently but it was too late now. Once Mac made a decision there was no swaying him.

He turned and headed into the living room, spotting Lily on one of the sofas with her partner-in-crime, Brandon.

"Ruminksey, Mac's office in fifteen minutes. Brandon, get everyone front and centre now. We're all going for a little run."

"But Mac said last night we had the day off today," the younger man protested. He was only just awake and didn't fancy going on any hike. He gave a startled gasp as Karn suddenly blurred and pulled him up by his throat.

"That wasn't a request, boy," Karn said quietly, his face a bare inch away from Brandon's. He tossed him roughly in the direction of the open doorway.

Brandon didn't need to be told twice, quickly recovering his balance and hurrying from the room.

Lily was staring at Karn in shock. She'd never seen him react in such a feral manner before. It made her heart thump in a painful rhythm. "Karn?"

His expression was completely closed as he looked at her, his big body tense. "Don't challenge him," he finally said, working to push down his unease. "He's dangerous and don't you ever forget that. He won't hurt you physically but he's a cruel bastard and isn't loath to use more psychological means to achieve his aims."

She felt a thrill of fear rush through her body even as her brain refused to accept that Mac would ever do anything to hurt her. Karn may have known him for a long time but Mac wasn't his mate. There were different rules when it came to mates. They didn't hurt each other. So why did she suddenly feel so afraid?

Fifteen minutes didn't seem like a long time but time dragged for Lily as the house suddenly emptied and she was left alone with Mac. She heard him come downstairs and go into the study. He must have known she was still in the sitting room, but he hadn't looked in or called her to follow him. Swallowing hard, she approached the study door and knocked before entering.

Mac was sitting behind his desk, his long hair loose and falling over his shoulders in silky waves. His eyes were fixed firmly on hers but there was no warmth in their dark depths. His expression was the perfect bland mask that vampires managed to master over their very long lives. He looked so beautiful but he also looked deadly.

He reminded her of her father when he was displeased with something she'd done and she felt her heart kick up a beat as she walked further into the room after closing the door behind her.

"That's far enough."

It was a command and there was no disputing it so she halted in the middle of the room and clasped her arms behind her back, standing to attention automatically. If she'd pleased him with her instant obedience there was no clear sign of it.

He left her standing there for a full ten minutes, his gaze never leaving her face. It was hard to take his scrutiny. She couldn't read his expression, couldn't predict what he was going to do and she couldn't stop the feeling of trepidation that was running through her confusion.

Mac finally stood up slowly, walking towards her as her heart kicked up a beat and her fear escalated. She held her position though, and was careful to keep her gaze slightly lowered. Karn had said not to challenge Mac and for once she was going to do what she was told. Something told her it was very important that she heed those words of advice.

"I can scent your fear," Mac said softly, his head bending slightly to inhale against the side of her neck without actually touching her. "There's nothing more heady to a predator than the scent of its prey's fear. It's intoxicating; it excites the beast within."

Lily swallowed hard and tried to dampen down her response. She ran through all the mental exercises Rayne had ever taught her to rein in her emotions.

"Good mental discipline," he said, inhaling again. "So you are strong enough to control yourself when you're being threatened." He straightened and when he looked at her this time, his eyes were molten blackness. "So where the fuck was this discipline when you tried to rip out the throat of the man who has protected your fucking ass all your life?"

His expected fury still managed to startle her. Lily backed away a step instinctively, confusion on her face. Guilt washed over her and she fought to stop her bottom lip trembling. She didn't need Mac to tell her she was out of order for what she'd done to Karn. She knew that already.

He stalked forward and she stepped back again, kept retreating until her back slammed against the door with her arms pinned behind her as Mac loomed over her. The heat of his closeness had her body reacting instinctively. The threat of his fury should have turned her off completely and yet she was reacting to it in a feral manner.

Lily knew without a doubt that he wouldn't hurt her. He was trying to scare her, trying to get a specific reaction out of her. And he would continue to crowd her until she gave him what he was looking for. Mac was determined to teach her a lesson; she just didn't know what it was.

"Did you like my bedroom, Lily?" he whispered against the shell of her ear.

Pain lanced through her and she stifled down the sound that wanted to rip from her throat. She trembled and her wolf growled.

"Did you like the satin sheets, little Vârcolac?" he continued, his voice low and husky. "Did you imagine what it would feel like to lie on those sheets as my body covered yours, or were you imagining other women lying there? Is that what set you off, Lily? Did you have images of me sliding deep inside other women, pounding hard and fast into their luscious bodies as I drank down their sweet blood?"

Her wolf howled a mournful sound. The animal rose up within her as she tried to escape his words, tried to escape the raw agony searing through her body. His words conjured images she didn't want to see. Her wolf snarled in a combination of fury and pain as it sought to protect her.

"Don't you fucking dare shift," Mac hissed in her ear. There was no compromise in his tone. It was an order, one he expected to be obeyed.

Sweat broke out on her brow as she fought to control her wolf. She wanted to surrender to her beast, wanted to hide and lick her wounds but his words stopped her, demanded she obey him. Her wolf snatched control and she felt the shift begin.

"If you fucking disobey me you're out of here, Romanov. No second chances," Mac grated in her ear.

She screamed, her denial and fury in the raw sound that escaped her. She wrested control from her wolf, sweat trailing down the side of her face as she pushed the animal down ruthlessly, forcing her to obey. It was torture; the struggle for control left her breathless and exhausted, but she finally won the battle, her chest heaving from the exertion.

Mac hadn't moved away from her, had remained so close they were almost touching. She would have ripped into him without conscious thought if she'd shifted with him so close while her wolf was panicked and threatened. She could have killed him and he would have just stood there and let her do it. She didn't know how she knew that but she did.

"Never lose control, Lily," he finally breathed against her neck. "Without conscious control of your beast, it's just a mindless, savage animal. It will react instinctively and you'll hurt people you care about. You have the strength to control your wolf if the need is great enough."

He pushed away from her moving to sit behind his desk again. "You can go catch up with the rest of the team, finish out the run."

She swallowed hard, opened her mouth to speak but he was studiously ignoring her, turning to his laptop and beginning to tap on the keyboard. She swallowed a second time and took a hesitant step forward.

"I would suggest you leave before I change my mind," he said coldly, still not looking at her. "Karn likes you and he'd be pissed at me for tossing you out before he's had the chance to teach you the control you obviously need, otherwise your ass would be out of here right now."

He looked up then and his eyes were as cold as his voice. "As soon as Karn tells me you're not a danger to anyone, you're out of here, Lily. I don't give a fuck what little fantasy world you're currently living in. You want to think I'm your mate then fine, go right ahead. But let's get one thing clear: I will never mate with you. The sooner you believe that the better."

Lily let his words wash over her, waited for her wolf to surge forward to protect her as pain suffused her. Her animal remained silent and dormant within her even as she wept inside at his rejection. She could feel tears gathering but she bit her lip hard to stop them.

Mac could fight the mating pull all he wanted but she wouldn't give up. If he seriously didn't want her then he wouldn't have allowed her to stay at all. She'd be leaving so quickly her head would be spinning. She straightened her spine and tilted her chin defiantly, glaring at him before turning away and leaving the study without a word.

Mac stayed behind his desk as still as statue. He listened to Lily leave the house and followed her scent until she vanished into the trees in the direction the others had taken earlier. As soon as he was certain she was far enough away, he threw back his head and let out a bellow of rage so loud the windows shook. His fist lashed out and he punched through the mahogany table, splitting it in two jagged pieces that crashed to the floor.

Rage he'd never experienced before took hold and he reached for the broken wood to hurl it across the room. The broken table shattered further when it hit the wall, sending chunks of wood and plaster flying everywhere. He whirled furiously, looking for something else to break, something else to pound into oblivion.

There was nothing close at hand so he punched his fist through the nearest wall, swinging over and over again until his hand broke and bled profusely. Only when he couldn't swing another blow did he drop to his knees and hang his head, his breaths coming out sharp and fast.

He closed his eyes and saw Lily's frightened face before him. Her big brown eyes had been terrified and then so full of pain. The scent of her fear still lingered in the room, her anguished scream still resounded in his head. Her pain crashed over him, breaking him in two.

He had to push her away, had to make her hate him but it had ripped him apart.

He'd always thought the loss of his wife and child would be the worst anguish he'd ever have to bear. Hurting Lily was a different kind of pain, but it was just as intense, just as soul destroying. He craved to go to her, to beg her forgiveness but he knew he couldn't. She didn't belong with him no matter how much he wanted to keep her. He couldn't be who she needed him to be, but he could do his best to help her learn enough control.

It would be torture to have her so close and yet never touch her, but he deserved to suffer for what he'd just put her through. All he had to do was stay as far away from her as possible. If he couldn't be close to her then he would entrust her to Karn. He had every faith in his friend. He knew she would be safe with him. And after today's little lesson, she would never lose control of her wolf again and accidentally hurt the other man.

He just prayed that Lily would learn control soon and be gone quickly. He prayed he would not need to repeat today's lesson. He'd ripped her to shreds because it was the only way to keep her safe. He didn't think he'd have enough self-control to do it again, not when he could still feel each and every emotional wound he'd inflicted on her.

If he lost control, it would be disaster for both of them when Andrei Romanov came to claim his only daughter.

* * * *

Lily ran. She ran so fast tears didn't have time to fall down her face; they simply vanished as soon as her eyes filled with moisture. She wanted to scream out loud but she could sense the other Praetorians not too far ahead. They would hear her and turn back and she wouldn't be able to explain why she was so furious she was ready to level some trees.

The shock of Mac's taunting and outrageous behaviour was wearing off and she was starting to feel anger. It wasn't just anger, it was a slow burning fury that was ready to overwhelm her. She was also furious to note that her wolf was still dormant within her. "You traitorous little hussy," she hissed at her animal. "He says roll over and you're on your back in two seconds flat."

Of course her other half ignored her completely. Their mate had exerted dominance and like a good little submissive the stupid animal was playing possum and probably wouldn't show itself for days.

Although she was angry with Mac, she did concede that she'd needed some help with her wolf. If she'd been able to control her emotions better she would never have accidentally hurt Karn.

She slowed to a stop and leaned over to catch her breath, fighting the urge to throw up the food she'd eaten earlier. She could have killed Karn, and had come so close to shifting and hurting Mac too.

"You okay, Andrea?"

Brandon's voice startled her and she almost shrieked as she straightened abruptly to see him standing a few feet away from her. Heart thumping wildly, she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.

She'd been so distracted she'd let a vampire sneak up on her. Sure it was only Brandon, but if it had been someone intent on hurting her she wouldn't have stood a chance against them. It was stupid to let her guard down; she couldn't allow herself to get so distracted again.

"Thought you were supposed to be running with the rest of them," she answered, ignoring his question.

He grinned at her and rolled his eyes. "Karn scented you. Told me to double back and make sure you caught up with the rest of us. I wasn't about to argue with him; didn't want to be tossed about like a rag doll again. He's in one shitty mood today. What did you do to upset him earlier? And why did Mac want to see you?"

Lily rearranged her ponytail, making it more secure. Brandon's presence was soothing her and she gave him a quick smile. "I've been known to piss off the most docile of people. Pissing off bad tempered bastards is easy after that," she answered. "Come on, show me where we're being tortured before Karn decides he wants his pound of flesh from me as well."