Forever (Book #3 in the Fateful Series) (27 page)

Nadia hadn’t fared any better than she had. The third guy had easily snatched the lamp from her hands and held her down while Darwin tied her up too.

When they were left alone, she couldn’t decide if she regretted picking a fight or not. She’d risked having them both beaten in retaliation. Luckily that hadn’t happened and again, she wondered if these guy were good or straddling the fence in that regard. They could have also punished them by letting them continue to go without food, but they hadn’t done that either. The werewolves had still fed them breakfast even after their defiance. Of course, they no longer trusted them and had secured them to the bed to release their hands so they could eat, without the use of utensils. Starved as they were, they’d eaten the hot meal with their fingers, and Danielle had discovered that boxty were just Irish potato pancakes. She liked them. And for some reason, with this pregnancy, she wasn’t as sick to her stomach. The bacon, which was more like a ham to her, hadn’t made her nauseous and she’d eaten all of it except for the fat on the edges.

As soon as they’d finished eating, they’d been re-bound and left alone.

Danielle tried to get loose like she had with the witches, but the werewolves, being men probably, were better at tying knots. The scrape on her hand from the first time hurt like crazy when she’d attempted to pull her hand free of the ropes. She gave up on the endeavor and dropped her head back against the pillows.

“You can’t get out of it again, can you?”

“Nope.”

“I hate this,” said Nadia.

Danielle sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“Would you stop apologizing?”

“But—”

“It’s not your fault!”

She didn’t believe that, but she kept quiet anyway. It wasn’t worth the energy to argue with her friend.

Time ticked on, and with nothing to look at besides the rows of boards making up the ceiling, she fell asleep knowing there were a total of twenty five boards slanting down from each side of it. Unconsciousness slid over her, and she was vaguely aware of the annoying fact that her hands were going numb and her feet were tingling.

Danielle snuggled closer into the cradle of his chest because, it seemed, she could never get close enough to Ethan. Her head was nestled against his chest as she watched in almost hypnotized wonder as his fingers traced caressing circles into the palm of her hand that drove sensation from there, along her arm, and to the middle of her spine. Unable to stop her reaction, she laughed as a shudder worked its way through her body. Then it was his turn to laugh, at her. At the reaction he was able to draw out of her so easily. His chest bumped against her shoulder with his mirth.

Struggling against subconscious reminders of reality, Danielle rooted her senses into this forgotten memory, unwilling to recognize the fact that she wasn’t really here. With him.

Careful fingers left her hand, gathered her chin between them, and lifted her face. His mouth covered hers and her eyes slid shut. Instead of watching what he was doing, she simply felt. She felt the warmth of his breath fill her as his lips parted and pressed more firmly against hers. She felt the smile that came to his mouth still connected to hers. And she felt his fingers glide around her ribcage before tracing the length of her spine as though he were carefully counting each one.

When her thought process fogged further with passion, he pulled away and requested, “Have faith in me, Danielle. Have faith in us.”

Danielle had been so lost in this memory that she was a little surprised when she realized they’d apparently been having another conversation. The first part of it, she’d missed and couldn’t recall even as she tried to.

“But how can you know we’ll be able to come back together in life, especially if we’re born in different eras?” she heard herself say, again not remembering it until hearing it.

“Because we’re meant to be,” he answered with a rich conviction in his voice that she was used to hearing from him. His lips touched her temple. The puff of his breath tickled her skin. “I know that what we have isn’t temporary. Alive or dead, in body or spirit. This is forever.”

How can he know that? “Forever is a long time, Ethan. What if you get tired of me? What if I get tired of you?”

Ethan laughed softly and smacked her hip in a punishment that didn’t cause pain. “Forever. I promise eternal commitment.” A vow. His chin dropped against the top of her head. His finger twisted a lock of her hair around it. “And I promise to keep it interesting so you don’t get tired of me.”

As if to prove it, or to seal the deal, he was kissing her again. His arms cinching around her body in a firm hug that showed her instead of told her that he meant what he said.

And how could she question that? Ethan knew every secret wish of her heart, every private fantasy, and every treasured dream of her soul. They may not truly remember this time together, but he’d somehow recognized those personal things about her when they’d met, just as she instantly recognized those things about him also.

The dream shifted from her bright past with Ethan to Lucas, and darkness. Every shadow morphed into him as a vampire and as a werewolf, shifting back and forth between the two. Ethan’s warnings also replayed through her mind. “You should fear him, Danielle.” “Never be alone at night.” “You’re not safe here.” “He’s after you because of me, because of conflicts in our past.” Danielle knew that whatever Lucas had done, it had to have been really bad, because Ethan wouldn’t talk to her about it. Every time she brought it up, he skirted around it and changed the subject. She’d caught a glimpse of his panic when Lucas had revealed his new curse and his continued intentions to do her harm. What was Lucas capable of? Too soon, she’d find out....

An awareness of her aching body, numb fingers, and tingling toes drew her from the dreams holding her unconsciousness captive. Danielle shuddered as if to shake the images of Lucas out of her mind and redirected her thoughts, clinging to Ethan’s words just as she had done to him in her memory. Frowning though, she puzzled over how those memories had been so sensation-rich. How could she
feel
him if they were nothing more than spirits? She had no way of explaining that, except that perhaps spirits could feel other spirits.

Danielle opened her eyes and covered her yawn with bound hands. She took a moment to frown at the color of her fingers because the circulation was seriously hindered.

“You’re awake,” whispered the voice of her nightmares.

Jolting upright, Danielle automatically tried to defend herself when she recognized Lucas’ dark eyes looking into hers. But she couldn’t get free of the ropes wrapped tightly around her ankles and wrists. Instead she scrambled backward bumping against Nadia who was still asleep. “What do you want?” she snapped, tempering her volume slightly so she wouldn’t wake Nadia. Her friend didn’t need this.

Lucas laughed. “The cure, obviously.”

She felt her eyes narrow. “You don’t want to be cured.”

While sliding a hand through his black hair, his mouth twitched and Danielle suspected she was right. He had to have lied to the other werewolves, and she couldn’t figure out the reasons why he would do that, except that maybe he knew he couldn’t get past her guards without their help.

Lucas wore jeans and a dark gray t-shirt with the scary image of a skull printed on the front. From what she’d seen so far, the other werewolves didn’t dress like him, and she suspected that even though Lucas was socializing with werewolves now, he was still keeping himself separated and not really connecting.

The others clearly wanted the cure from her, but Lucas just as clearly wanted something else. Was it still revenge on Ethan he sought? If that was the case, hurting her now would do it. Ethan would be devastated by the loss, especially since another baby was involved. Swallowing a mouthful of fear without success, she remembered the worry in Ethan’s expression, the concern he tried to hide. Ethan couldn’t hide much from her, just as she couldn’t hide things from him, and so she knew Lucas posed an even greater threat to her than the other werewolves did. That knowledge wasn’t helping her to stay calm at the moment.

An evil amusement filled Lucas’ expression as he sat down on the edge of the bed, drawing closer, his fingers gently touching hers.

Everything inside her recoiled, and she yanked her hands away from his touch. “Back off,” she bit out.

“Or what?” he asked, leering at her, moving closer still.

She couldn’t go any farther back without knocking Nadia off the bed. Another glance in her direction told her Nadia was still out cold and she hoped it stayed that way.

“I said back off,” she repeated.
Or I’ll hit you with my elbow.
At least they’d bound her arms out in front of her, and there were certain things she could still do, damage she could still inflict.

A cruel hand captured her face, the tips of Lucas’ fingers bit into her skin. His breath puffed against her face. “Ethan didn’t really think he could keep you hidden forever, did he?”

“What happened between you and him that has made you so bitter?”

“This isn’t about the past anymore.”

Danielle swallowed, her eyes rounded.

Lucas continued. “This is payback for taking the vampire curse from me,” he whispered, obviously because he didn’t want the other werewolves to know his plan. And why would he? Ethan had been right. Unlike the other werewolves, Lucas
wanted
to be cursed. Clearly he’d been quite fond of being a vampire with all of its monstrous advantages. Danielle believed his becoming a werewolf was an act of desperation and only his second choice, because it seemed that vampires had more powers than werewolves did. Lilith, the sorceress who’d created the vampire curse, had chosen to reward her and Ethan for being the first to solve her riddle and discover the cure. Of course, she’d been annoyed with vampires like Beon who’d wanted to stay cursed to maintain immortality, but since he’d also been willing to let it be a choice, Lilith had forgiven him. When Lucas and the other opposing vampires had tried to kill her and Ethan, Lilith had completely removed the curse they’d enjoyed so much, making them instantly mortal again. And if Lucas, or any of those opposing the cure, sought to become a vampire again, they would simply die instead of being turned.

“You did that to yourself when you attacked us,” she pointed out.

“If it wasn’t for you—”

“Lilith made that decision, not me.”

“It doesn’t matter. You’ll pay, and so will Ethan.”

Danielle didn’t need any more motivation than that to strike. Her arms swung up and her left elbow connected with his nose.

Layered strands of black hair flipped up and back as his head did the same. Lucas spat out a swear word as his hand shot to his nose. Before he’d covered it, she’d seen the trickle of blood oozing from his nostril. Anger flashed in his expression a split second before he wound back and swung a fist at her face. With quick reflexes she blocked it, but he swiftly redirected. Remembering the baby, she drew her knees up afraid he’d hit her in the stomach. His fist connected with her ribs and she groaned in pain. As a werewolf, he didn’t have the strength of a vampire, but he was easily stronger than any mortal man, and she worried that he may have cracked a rib as the wind was sapped from her lungs.

His fist flew toward her for another hit. This one found the side of her head and stars exploded in her vision before she passed out.

When she woke up this time, her head was pounding out a beat that matched the thumping of her heart.

“You’re awake.” She’d heard that question before, but this time she knew it was Nadia, and relief lifted the tension that was settled on her chest like a heavy brick.

Danielle looked at Nadia. Her eyebrows lifted when she took in the fact that Nadia was kneeling beside the bed with a huge smile on her face. The excitement-filled expression reached into Nadia’s vibrant green eyes and reminded Danielle of happier times. Giving her hand a tug, Danielle winced as the tight strands nipped at her raw skin and the bruised muscles along her ribcage surged with pain. She also felt a throbbing on the side of her head where Lucas had hit her hard enough to knock her out. These were not those happy times.