Chapter 11

Trisha’s P.O.V:

A knock on the door brought my attention back inside the room. Neema stirred at the sound but didn’t wake up so I hurried towards the door, wincing as my injured leg strained, and opened the door to a worried looking Mark.

“Morning, Mark…” I greeted him awkwardly, not knowing what else to say.

“Sorry if I woke you up, Lucas asked me to come fetch you, and to bring you these.” He held up a duffle bag in his hand.

Ignoring his use of the word ‘fetch’, I took the bag from him and proceeded to close the door when his gruff voice stopped me. “Your wallet and ID are inside the bag.”

“And my phone?” I asked frowning.

“We had to destroy it. Can’t have those leeches tracking you all the way here.” Mark said in a heavily accented voice.

“Those leeches are my friends and family!” I snapped at him. “And I need to see Lucas, right now!”

Mark gave me a dark look. “Alpha is in a meeting right now. He’ll meet you for lunch in an hour. I reckon you utilize that time to wash up.”

Slamming the door on his face, I turned back to the room and went to throw the bag in a random direction when I saw Neema sitting on the bed, an amused look in his eyes. “What are you smiling about?” I glared at him, which only caused him to grin wide.

“You don’t belong here at all.” He tilted his head to one side making his hair fall on to his face. “Mark called your kind leeches on purpose, he wanted to get a reaction out of you so he could use it against you when the time came and Lucas would be compelled to throw us out.”

I huffed and dropped the bag down on the floor. Then I went and fell on the bed beside Neema, my legs hanging off the sides. “I was tempted to claw out his eyes, but then we won’t have anywhere to hide.”

“Why won’t Damien help us?” Neema asked; his voice curious.

“He can’t help us honey.” I lifted my hand to run my fingers through his hair. “In order for him to help us, I’d have to tell him about you, and that’s too great of a risk.” Because Neema wasn’t what he seemed, he wasn’t just a human boy…far from it. It was the reason I was fighting so hard to protect him. A lot more was at stake than just one human life.

“Will you tell Lucas?” He frowned, his distrust for the Werewolves clear on his face.

“Only if it’s absolutely necessary.” Neema had trusted me with the biggest secret of his life, a secret Vandal had killed his entire family for, just so he could get to Neema. The poor boy had to endure unimaginable torture, which included witnessing his family being slaughtered right in front of his eyes and then at Vandal’s hands when he refused to co-operate. I couldn’t betray his trust. It meant a lot to me that this little boy with his big innocent blue eyes that had seen far too much in this young age than any person does in a lifetime; trusted me to protect him. To keep him safe.

“Let’s get ready.” I said getting up from the bed and reaching for the duffle bag. “We meet Lucas in an hour for lunch.”

This time, I had to ask for Mark’s help to get Neema cleaned up and changed so I could get ready in the meantime. Mark obliged happily, showing a politeness and tenderness towards him that I knew would never be directed towards me. So, with Neema gone, I utilized that time to change and check my wounds.

The scratches on my hands and knees had vanished and I knew it had more to do with Damien’s blood than the herb paste.

A sudden jolt of memory had me shivering as I remembered the taste of Damien’s blood on my tongue as pleasure surged through my veins like liquid fire.

My knees bucked as I fell on the bed. My visceral reaction to Damien had me worried. It was a good thing that I was alone, without any werewolves around, or they would’ve easily scented my arousal.

And that was what bothered me. Damien had never been this close and personal with me before. Yes, we had chemistry. Whenever we were in the same room, the tension was so thick it could be cut with a knife. However, after that first night when I met him in the garden, was privileged enough to hear a voice gifted by the Angels, he had always been the cold Vampire King that took no prisoners.

But then…why did he suddenly offer me his blood?

****

Lucas was waiting for us in the same office room I was brought to yesterday. Three bowls sat on top of the desk, covered by plastic wrap and a bottle of blood, discreetly coated in silver foil. I raised my head to find Lucas give me an awkward grin.

“Come on buddy, lets grab a seat.” I told Neema who had hid behind me at the sight of Lucas. I can’t blame him though; Lucas can be quite intimidating even when he wasn’t trying to be.

“Hey there!” Lucas came around the desk and crouched down in front of me. “Why don’t you come up here and show me that pretty face of yours.”

Neema peaked from around me, his cheeks puffed in anger. “I’m not pretty! I’m a man!”

Lucas and I both looked at the other and suppressed a smile. “You sure about that?” Lucas tilted his head, dark brown hair sliding across his forehead. “Don’t you need to be a few inches taller to be a man?”

“I am tall!” Now he just looked embarrassed as he came from behind me and stood in front of Lucas. Lucas was still a foot taller than him even in his crouched form but he hunkered down even further.

“Will you look at that? We’re the same height!” Lucas managed to go head to head with Neema and that brought a smile on his face.

“Does that mean you can be my playmate?” Neema asked in his adorable baby voice and with such hope that it brought tears to my eyes.

Neema had never known a childhood. Born into slavery, his only home had been that little cell in which his family had been put together. But then Vandal had learned about his secret and he had tried to manipulate the boy. His family had died protecting him from that monster but it hadn’t been all in vain, Neema had escaped. He had found me and now an entire pack, including the Supreme Alpha of the werewolves were protecting him. I’d promised to give him his life back, his childhood back and I plan on fulfilling that promise even if it’s the last thing I do.

“Of course little man.” Lucas told him now, smiling widely and then he opened his arms for Neema and he walked into them. It was heartwarming to watch after how he had been treated by men with power, and when Lucas looked up at me with Neema still in his arms, his eyes too were glossed over. Something told me he understood Neema and I was grateful for it.

Glad that Neema had been welcomed into this family, we had a quiet lunch and then Neema was sent, unwillingly, back to our room with some games and drawing supplies and a brooding Mark by his side. At first I had thought it was a bad idea to send Mark with him, but then I’d seen the change in Mark’s eyes just as he was exiting the door and how Neema looked up at him in wonder and I knew that they’ll both be just fine.

“Why was my phone destroyed?” Was the first thing I asked Lucas as soon as Mark and Neema were out of ear shot. We weren’t completely alone, however. I could hear several heartbeats from the hallway. This entire tree-house was inhibited by at least ten werewolves.

“It was necessary, Trisha.” Lucas was calm, he’d expected me to ask questions and by his posture, I could tell he was ready to answer them all. “Phone cards can easily be traced, especially by those of Royalty and Novelty. If they can pinpoint our location, they’ll come with an army and there’ll be a lot of unnecessary bloodshed.”

“But I need to contact Jordan.” I told him. “And my associated who’re fighting this case alongside me. God only knows what rumors Vandal has spread to cover up my disappearance and my father must be going insane with worry.”

“Fine.” He nodded. “I’ll give you an untraceable cell phone this evening with a scrambler so no one can find our location. But you’ll have to make all calls in front of us. We’ll know if you try to contact Damien.”

I fisted my hands on my lap. “Am I to be a prisoner here, Lucas?”

Lucas frowned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “It’s not that simple Trisha. I trust you, not because you stood against your kind and came to us for help, but because of the lengths you’re going to, to protect Neema. All I’m asking for is to have some patience. There is a lot I need to show you, trust me when I say this, I can’t wait for you to know. But we’ll need time.”

I’d caught Lucas unaware, I realized with a start. The timeline he’d given me, till Sunday, it had been so he could prepare for Damien. But Vandal’s attack on me had changed everything.

And even though Lucas had been unprepared, he hadn’t hesitated to help me and Neema. He hadn’t even asked questions or waited to verify if I really was in danger or if it was a trick by Damien to capture him, he’d just said yes. Because he trusted me even when he had no reason to. So, maybe, for once, I should do the same and put my trust in him.

“Why?” I asked quietly.

“Why what?” He asked, his topaz orbs locked to my blue ones.

“Why do you trust me? Why did you offer to help me? Why are you treating us nicely when every other wolf here obviously hates us.” And why do I feel like I can trust you with some of my deepest, darkest secrets?

“Because I admire you, Trisha Redfern. Because I want you to admire me back.” He smiled then, a slow sensuous smile. “And because I want to take you right now, right here on this desk and make sure everyone in this colony can hear your screaming my name, loud and clear.”

I sucked in a deep breath, my throat going dry all of a sudden. I’ve never had someone tell me they wanted me in such a raw confession. Sure I’ve had plenty of lovers in my two hundred years of existence, but nothing had been permanent and the men I had dated would consider dirty talk vulgar. They were too refined, too much of a gentleman.

I’d heard that wolves were sexual creatures, but the way Lucas’s eyes trailed over my body now, it felt like a caress, like he was undressing me with his eyes. My heartbeat sped up and I could feel heat pool between my legs, and I knew the instant Lucas smelled my arousal. His eyes closed and his nostrils flared as he took in a deep breath. I clenched my thighs instinctively, but all it did was increase the throbbing in my inner muscles.

God, how many months has it been since I was with a lover. Far too long if I was reacting so wantonly to Lucas’s unabashed provocation. I closed my eyes for a few seconds, took a few deep breaths and when I opened my eyes again, I felt more in control of my body.

“There are a lot of hurdles we need to cross if you want me to admire you, Lucas.” I told him while keeping my voice neutral. “You have something against Vandal; I need to know what it is.”

At the name of Vandal, Lucas’s eyes narrowed, a sudden glow emitting from their depths that told me his wolf was very close to his skin. His voice, when he spoke, was no longer the warm husky tone I’d come to associate with Lucas; it was hoarse and edgy, on the verge of a growl. “Fine. Come with me.”