chapter 3

There was a soft knock on his office door. Dragos lifted his head to find Eddy poking his in. “Hey, Dragos? Alpha Wulfenbach is here to see you.”

Dragos nodded. He’d been hoping to see the wolf alpha. “Good. Send him in.”

“Dragos.” The tall dark-eyed wolf strode into Dragos’s office as if he owned it, a cocky grin crossing his face as he held out his hand in greeting. “Good to see you again, old man.”

“And you.” He stood and offered his hand to the alpha. “How have you been, Noah?”

“Worried. We still haven’t found my missing enforcer, and his wife is beyond consolation. She feels he’s lost to us, and I’m inclined to agree.”

Noah settled down on the chair opposite Dragos’s desk. Despite his relaxed posture, Dragos knew he was anything but. “Iva Yamauchi is still missing as well. Does Mina have any clues on where she might be?”

“No, other than the fact that Yew is dying. The dryads are doing their best to keep her tree alive, but they’re slowly losing the battle.” It had been two-and-a-half months and there was still no sign of her.

The string of curses that fell from the alpha’s lips would’ve made a sailor blush. “That’s not good.” He stood up and began to pace, the spacious office far too small to hold him. “If Yew falls the entire balance of the forest will be altered forever. The other three might never recover from that.”

“I know.” Noah had reason to be upset. Yew’s death would affect the

wolves on a personal level. They were primarily forest creatures, roaming at will through Mina’s territory. They were a part of the forest in a way only

another shifter could understand. When the forest mourned, all the shifters did as well, its sadness seeping into them. “Parker believes that whoever has, or had, your enforcer may also have Iva.” Why, he wasn’t certain, but Parker’s instincts were usually sound. He’d been hunted for thirty years by a deranged witch, and while some might call him paranoid, Dragos understood the instincts that had kept the man alive and Terri-free for so long.

Parker wasn’t the only one who’d once been hunted.

Noah nodded. “I’m beginning to believe the same thing. They’ve both gone too far off the radar for anything else to be true.” He gave Dragos a look that worried him. “Damn it. I’d hoped you’d come to a different

conclusion.”

Gods above, Dragos hoped they were wrong. Van Helsings were the humans who hunted supernaturals, either because they believed

supernaturals were spawn of their Satan, or worse: for sport. If the Van Helsings were involved and hadn’t killed Yew yet—

A thundering sound echoed through Dragos’s mansion, startling them both.

It was never wise to startle an alpha werewolf, especially one who thought his pack was being threatened by Van Helsings. Noah immediately dropped into a crouch, fangs and claws evident as he turned toward the office door. He sniffed the air and growled. “What the hell is that?”

Dragos took a discrete sniff and bit back a curse. His day was about to get interesting. “I believe it was the door.” Dragos settled back in his seat, trying not to show that his hands were shaking. He and Noah were both predators. Showing weakness in front of Noah could only lead to a fight. Dragos might or might not win, but either way it could throw off the balance of power he’d so carefully cultivated. He and Noah worked well together. The last thing he wanted to do was shake that alliance.

Besides, Dragos shouldn’t have been so startled. He was feeling the lack of his sotiei, the grounding influence she would have on him if she were by his side. Her absence was making his hard-won calm disappear like fog under the morning sun.

Noah snorted and rose from his defensive crouch. “Helluva doorbell.” “You have no idea.” Few beings had the power to rattle his home like

that. The man at the door was one of them.

Eddy came tearing into the room as if the hounds of hell were on his ass. “Company!” He then dove under Dragos’s desk and cowered.

Noah, bless his heart, strode over to Dragos’s desk and parked his behind on the edge, crossing his ankles as he sat, effectively hiding Eddy from view. The spark that made him a good alpha meant he protected those

weaker than himself, pack or no.

If anything happened to Dragos, his will stated Noah was to become mayor. He couldn’t think of anyone else who’d protect his people better.

Dragos could have told Noah that his gesture was useless as the scent of his visitor drifted into the room in the wake of Eddy’s mad dash. Trajan

would be able to follow the scent of his Renfield for over two miles, no matter where the Renfield went or who attempted to protect him.

Dragos sometimes missed having his senses that sharp all the time.

The man who strode into his office bore little resemblance to the brother that Dragos remembered. He was dark-haired and gray-eyed, but where Trajan had once sparkled and bubbled with curiosity, he was sharp-eyed and stern. Dragos refused to stand, refused to acknowledge that Laurentiu’s

second son had any more power than he did. In Maggie’s Grove, Trajan was just another shifter, albeit a legendary one. Dragos was the one with the power here, and Trajan would soon learn that, one way or another.

Trajan stared at Dragos’s desk with a strange expression of longing for one or two heartbeats before transferring his gaze to Noah. Dismissing the alpha werewolf almost contemptuously, he looked at Dragos, his expression angry. “I need to speak to you. Alone.”

That was a bad move on his brother’s part. Noah was a stubborn bastard on the best of days.

“No.”

Dragos didn’t even need to see the expression on Noah’s face. The derision was obvious in his voice. The only way Noah was leaving the room now was if the house fell down on his head.

“Dragos, call off your pet wolf. This is serious.” Dragos snorted, amused. “Trajan Ibanescu—” “Lord Trajan Ibanescu.”

Dragos continued as if his brother hadn’t spoken, grateful that Noah hadn’t reacted to the fact that Dragos had a brother. “—I’d like you to meet Alpha Noah Wulfenbach, the Maggie’s Grove wolf pack alpha and alpha of the United States.”

The title did little to thaw his brother’s icy demeanor. “Nice to meet you.” Trajan turned his attention back to Dragos, and for the first time he saw something other than ice or longing. He saw fear. “Vasile is coming.”

If both of his older brothers were coming to his town, something bad was about to happen. He bit back the urge to clench his teeth. Instead, he yawned, as if the news meant nothing. “Father sent him?”

Trajan smiled bitterly, sending a shiver down Dragos’s spine. “You know

how Father is.”

Yes, he did. Laurentiu Ibanescu wouldn’t send one of his sons if his plan was to kill Dragos. He would come himself, ready to rend and tear and destroy. No, something else was going on. “When do you expect him to

arrive?”

“Any day now, as he was right behind me.”

Since Vasile, unlike Dragos, could fly when the sun was in the sky, his eldest brother would probably arrive within a day or two. “Wonderful.”

“Not a happy family reunion, I gather?” Noah shot Dragos a cocky grin.

Dragos grinned back. “I’d rather dance naked in sunlight covered in cooking oil and bread crumbs.”

“Dragos,” a masculine, British-accented voice tsk’d. “Southern fried bloodsucker is so last season. No one serves that at their parties anymore. Far too gamey.”

Wonderful. Just what he needed, to have Parker and Amara stop by to

check up on him during an unwanted family reunion. Parker had his hand to his chest, an exaggerated look of horror on his face.

Amara took one step in front of her lover and eyed Trajan like a weed she wanted to pull. Her red curls were vibrating, phantom red leaves appearing and disappearing, dancing with her hair in a display that would have made a man weaker than Dragos run for the hills. Bark crawled up her arms as she prepared to defend her friends. “Dragos? Problem?”

“Calm down, Woody.”

Dragos gasped a laugh at the nickname. He never would have thought Noah and Amara would become so close, considering their history, but

Noah’s apology for the attack he and his wolves had made on her had gone

a long way to cementing their friendship.

Amara’s bark receded as she stared at the alpha. “Woody?” Noah shrugged. “Master Splinter?”

Parker’s eyes grew wide. “Oh, I like that one.” He grunted as Amara’s elbow impacted with his stomach.

“Do you allow just anyone to enter unannounced, brother?”

Parker’s brows rose. The other vampire might be a vegetarian, but he still had all his hunter’s instincts. “Brother?”

This should be interesting. “Trajan Ibanescu, Dr. Parker Hollis and his

sotiei, Amara Schwedler.”

“Consorting with dryads now, are we? Oh, how the mighty have fallen.” Trajan tsk’d. “For shame.”

That was it. Dragos was done. Trajan was not going to insult any more of

his friends. He looked his brother up and down and allowed a sneer to cross his face. “So they have.” He stood and gestured toward the office door.

“Have a pleasant evening.”

His brother stood there for a few moments before it sunk in that Dragos meant him, not the others in the room. The arrogant smile slipped from his face. If Dragos didn’t know better he’d swear his brother looked concerned. “We aren’t done yet. There are things you don’t know.”

Dragos allowed his eyes to turn red. His hunter’s eyes. Trajan paled but didn’t back down. His gaze darted toward the desk before he straightened his shoulders, staring Dragos right in the eye. “You can’t kick me out.”

Bully for him. His brother had grown some balls after all this time. Too bad he hadn’t used them where their father was concerned. Maybe Trajan would eventually be able to stand up to the old man without wetting his pants.

Maybe. When unicorns burst in rainbow-colored farts from Dragos’s ass. “Watch me.”

Trajan growled, causing Eddy to whimper from his hiding place. “Dragos

—”

Noah straightened and allowed his power to roll through the room.

Despite their being different types of shifters Trajan reacted, bowing his head in submission to the more powerful alpha wolf. Trajan might be the bigger shifter, but when it came to alphas size didn’t matter.

Power, on the other hand...

Parker and Amara, bless them, didn’t react, but Dragos knew they

weren’t going to let it go. They were going to ask questions he didn’t want to answer. He needed to get his brother out of here.

“You need to leave. Now.” Noah’s voice was deep, powerful. An alpha in

his prime, and one of the most powerful in all the Americas, Noah was not one to trifle with. Both Trajan and Vasile would learn that if they tried baiting the wolf.

Noah’s bite was far worse than his bark. Trajan shivered. “Yes, alpha.”

Noah touched the back of Trajan’s neck, indicating his approval of the gesture. “Do not return unless Dragos invites you.”

“Yes, alpha.” Trajan backed out of the room, his wary gaze glued to Noah as if the alpha would strike him down at any moment.

Once Trajan was gone, Parker turned to Dragos. “You throw such

interesting parties.”

Dragos rolled his eyes and collapsed back into his chair. Noah’s brows slowly rose. “Brother?”

There was a tug on his leg. He looked down to see Eddy shaking like a leaf. “Can I pee my pants now?”

He shook his head at Eddy, fighting the smile his Renfield’s antics were trying to bring on. “It’s a very long, very convoluted story. Suffice it to say, we had a falling out. I left, my father’s men chased me and tried to kill me, I found my way here and founded Maggie’s Grove. The end.”

“The end, my shiny white arse.” Parker grunted when Amara poked him in the stomach. “What? It’s obvious there’s more to this than his prickly lordship being a douche.”

“No, no, that’s pretty much it.” Dragos grinned when Eddy snorted out a laugh. He pushed back his chair and gave his Renfield a hand up. “Can you bring some refreshment for yourself, Noah and Amara, please?”

“Will do.” Eddy turned to the others, his composure still shaky but trying his hardest to be what Dragos needed right then. “Tea good?”

“I’ll help.” Amara joined his Renfield.

Dragos smiled as Eddy instantly relaxed. It was ingrained into a Renfield to take care of a sotiei. Amara’s volunteering was sheer genius, and her

sweet personality would put Eddy at ease. The cookie jar was safe for another night thanks to the hamadryad.

“Thank you.” Dragos hoped she understood the double meaning, but he

shouldn’t have worried. She nodded to him before taking Eddy’s arm. The color immediately returned to his face, his power kicking in as

Amara led him away. Whatever the Renfield was picking up from the town’s hamadryad was making him comfortable once again in his own skin.

“I do believe she’s made another conquest.” Parker was watching them

fondly, the Renfield obviously no threat to his bond. Eddy had brought out Amara’s protective instincts.

Poor Trajan. Dragos almost felt sorry for him. Amara would rip his face off through his anus if he even thought about hurting Eddy.

“So.” Noah crossed his arms over his chest and tried to stare Dragos down. “Brother. Excuse me, Lord Brother.”

“We have more important things to worry about than my prick of a brother.” Dragos settled back down at his desk. “Like whether or not your beta and Yew are truly being held by Van Helsings.”

Noah sighed, but allowed it to go. Dragos was under no illusion his patience would last. As a shifter, Trajan technically fell under Noah’s purview while in Maggie’s Grove. There was no way Noah would let a

shifter threat slide on his territory. “My wolves have reported the same human scents coming and going from the edge of town. Not often enough to raise a town-wide alarm, but often enough to make a note of. Add in the two disappearances, with no traces of the missing people inside Maggie’s Grove, and Van Helsings were bound to come to mind.”

“Yew wouldn’t be able to stay away from her tree for long.” Parker

settled on the sofa, his pose deceptively relaxed. The ruling dryads were close friends with Parker and Amara. This touched them both deeply.

“She’ll die simply from prolonged lack of contact. Mina and the rest are

doing what they can, but unless she returns to her tree...” Parker shrugged.

“My wolf would do everything in his power to free himself. He’s strong.” “Do you think he’s dead?”

Noah closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Yes.” The question in Parker’s expression was answered before he could voice it. “As alpha, I can feel my immediate pack. He’s gone, and his mate confirms it. Damn it.”

Dragos scowled. “Van Helsings usually do kill their prey, but I’d hoped...” It was why he’d initially dismissed the thought of Van Helsings being involved. They knew Iva was still alive because her tree hadn’t died. Van Helsings weren’t known for capturing prey.

Noah shook his head. “You’re so caught up in Maggie’s Grove you don’t pay attention to the outside world. Times, they are a’changin’. The latest

crop of Van Helsings has scientists who want to study us, dissect us to see what makes us tick.”

Parker shuddered. “That’s revolting.”

“It’s more than that, it’s dangerous. What if they figure out how to make vampires, or learn that werewolves are born, not made? What if they learn the DNA markers that make us what we are? With gene therapies and stem cell research, they could try and recreate the things the gods put in place.”

Dragos shuddered. “That’s why they’re hanging on to Iva and your beta.”

“I think so, yes.” Noah dropped his arms and sighed.

His night just kept getting better and better. “I want the wolves on border patrol.” Amara and Eddy returned, with two trays of tea and munchies.

“Thank you, Eddy.”

“You’re welcome.” Eddy, looking a lot better, settled on the arm of the sofa next to Amara, who had sat next to Parker. “Something felt fishy with your brother, by the way.”

“Oh?” And here Dragos had assumed Eddy’s response had been more to what his brother was, not what he wanted.

Eddy’s expression turned distant as he tried to express what he’d sensed from Trajan. “There was a conflict inside him, as if he wanted to do one thing but was being forced to do another and he didn’t know how to fix it.” Eddy frowned thoughtfully. “He’s powerful, but there’s a light inside him that’s slowly being eaten away by this conflict.” Eddy looked up at Dragos, his expression sincere. “He’s not a bad man, Dragos. I think...I think he was trying to joke with you, not insult you.”

“What do you mean?” Surely his brother had changed. Hadn’t he? Was his beloved older brother still in there, not completely extinguished by Laurentiu’s hatred?

“When he said what he did about how the mighty had fallen and you got angry, I could sense his immediate remorse. I don’t think he meant to hurt you or make you angry. He feels...” Eddy suddenly looked baffled. “He feels good in my head.”

“So you don’t think he’s working with the Van Helsings? This is too much of a coincidence in my book, your brother showing up like this.” Parker stared at the Renfield, his eyes flickering with red light.

“No, I don’t. Not even my father would willingly work with Van

Helsings.” Dragos rested his chin on his hands. “No. Something else is going on with them. Something you don’t have to worry about.”

“But we will, because we’re your friends, you idiot.” Parker stood and held out a hand to Amara. “If there are Van Helsings nearby, we’ll keep an eye out.”

“Discreetly, of course.” Amara grinned as bark flickered into and out of existence on her hands.

Someday Dragos would be used to Amara’s casual displays of power.

Now that she’d found her mate, there was no longer fear in her. The rejections and taunts were in the past, and Amara had come into her own.

“Of course.”

Mina gritted her teeth, knowing that Parker and Amara had stepped through the magical veil that usually guarded the Throne. Battle was about to be joined in the Throne, and there was nothing Mina could do to stop it.

An aura of evil hung over her as she moved through the Throne to

confront Parker and Amara. Thanks to her link to Mina, Terri would also be

aware of their presence. The vines gave her power here now, the bitch tapping into Mina’s connection with the forest. Mina still wasn’t certain how the witch had gotten the drop on her, but one moment Mina was following Ash and Greer through the forest, and the next...

Mina shrieked, pain tearing through her, more intense than anything she’d ever experienced before. When it was over, she was panting,

breathless, ready to collapse.

The hamadryad was here, and Mina was dead.

“Parker.”

Mina tried not to lose consciousness. If she did, Terri would devour her, draining her power and killing her tree.

“Hello, sweet.” Parker’s British accent was thicker, his voice mellow, nonthreatening. Mina bet he could charm the birds from the trees if he wished. “Where’s Mina?”

Terri paused. “Mina?”

“Oak, Terri. Where’s Oak?”

Please don’t remind her I’m here. Please, Parker. If Terri remembered she’d give Mina more pain.

Terri shrugged. “Her? Where she belongs, of course. In her tree.”

Mina managed to look up at Amara, only to find indifference on the hamadryad’s face. Mina bit back a groan as one of Terri’s vines writhed against her skin. It burrowed under Mina’s skin, twisting inside her like a giant parasite.

She wished with all her might that Dragos was here. If the mayor had been present when Terri did this to her, Terri would—

This time the pain was so intense she couldn’t even scream.

Slowly, the weeds ceased their movements, and Mina sobbed in a shallow breath.

Make it stop. I have to make it stop.

“Do you want them to suffer even more? Feed from me, Dragos. Feed from me, and the others may go free.”

Dragos? Oh, thank the gods, Dragos was here. The relief Mina felt when she realized it wasn’t Parker but Dragos who stood before Terri left her

even dizzier than the pain had.

The cavalry had arrived.

When she mustered the strength to look up, Dragos was feeding from the abomination with all the joy of a starving man at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Her consciousness fading fast, her last thought was that the son of a bitch had betrayed her in the worst way possible.

* * *

Mina sat up with a scream that echoed through the woods. “Mina!”

Her gaze darted to the edge of the Throne. She knew that voice.

“Let me in, Mina.” His crooning voice washed over her, tried to break her resolve.

She tried to throw off the remnants of the dream, but they stuck with her.

Dragos was going to betray her. The belief was irrational, she understood that, but with the vision of him feeding from Terri was so fresh in her mind she couldn’t seem to shake it.

It had brought one staggering point sharply home. Dragos was a vampire.

Mina was a dryad. There was no way he would be able to feed from her. Her blood would provide no nourishment, but if he bonded with her he would feed from no other.

She’d thought maybe he’d given up on her when she didn’t see him for

two weeks, but apparently she’d been wrong.

She put all the power at her disposal behind her reply. “No.”

Red glowing eyes appeared before Dragos did. He was at the very edge of the Throne, allowing the branches of the guardian trees to whip at him, drawing blood. “Something frightened you, dragă Mina. Let me in. Let me protect you.”

“Protect me?” Mina stood, drawing the tattered remnants of her dignity about her. He could not enter the Throne. It was one of the few things she was certain of in the uncertain world. “I am the Queen of the Forest. I can protect myself.”

Terri had taken her by surprise, using her twisted power to tap into

Mina’s very essence by spearing her with one of the vines. The Throne had allowed Terri in as she dragged Mina behind her, using Mina to begin taking control of the heart of the forest.

Mina would not allow that to happen again. Never again. She was safe as long as she stayed within the Throne.

It was only outside it that someone could hurt her.

The red of his eyes flared. “And I am your mate, sotiei. Allow me to stand by your side.”

She looked away from him. “Aren’t you supposed to be off feeding or something?”

“I will only feed from you.”

He would starve. He would die. “You know you can’t feed from me. You aren’t special like Parker.” The world’s only vegetarian vampire had fallen in love with the town’s hamadryad—something that worked well for both of them. Amara could feed Parker’s hunger, and Parker adored the ground she walked on.

“You don’t think I’m special?” He placed his hand over his chest and

shot her a wounded look, but his glowing red eyes were anything but hurt. He appeared feral.

Starving.

She scowled, hating the thought of what she had to do. “You should go.

Feed. Find someone to be with.” Someone who wasn’t her, wasn’t damaged.

“No.”

“I cannot accept you, Dragos.”

“Cannot, or will not?” His voice had turned soft, dangerous.

If he pushed now, he’d get through the barriers and attack her, turn on her...

“Cannot.” She stared him in the eye, hoping to convey that she truly meant it. “You need to leave me be.”

He smiled, and she remembered that the man before her was a predator

used to hunting reluctant prey. “I don’t think so.”

She allowed some of her weariness to seep through, her shoulders drooping. Maybe if direct rejection didn’t work, he’d listen to desperation. “I’m sick, Dragos. Something’s wrong with me.”

“Then let me help you, sotiei.” He took a step forward, the energy of the protections of the Throne dancing across his skin, giving him a green glow. “Let me in.”

“No.” She shook her head, moving back. “Dragos—”

“I need you.” He took another step forward, grimacing in pain as the protections kicked in. Branches and vines whipped him mercilessly. The

Queen had declared that he would not enter the Throne, therefore the forest

would prevent it, killing the interloper if need be. “Mina.”

“I cannot.”

He collapsed as he took the third step, branches skewering his flesh. “Mina.”

Despite his pain, her name was spoken with such reverence she had to

blink away tears. “Dragos. Please stop this.”

He smiled, blood coating his teeth. “My sotiei. How can I abandon you?” “You’re not. I’m abandoning you.” Mina turned her back on him,

prepared to walk away.

“Then allow me to die here, in your Throne, where my spirit can watch over you.”

She stopped. Dragos, dead. The very thought sent a pang through her. She closed her eyes, the warring emotions inside her making her sway on her feet. All it would take was one word from her, and Dragos would be gone forever.

She would never know his touch, never feel his kiss. Never know what it

meant to be the sotiei of the most powerful man she’d ever met.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Vampires and dryads did not mate.

Dragos should never have felt the pull, but there he was, on his knees, ready to die for her.

Mina released the protections, allowing him through. “This changes nothing.” She turned to find him on his knees, trembling, pierced and bleeding in multiple places.

One of the branches had gotten dangerously close to his heart, and her own almost stopped.

“Stubborn bastard.” How could he have kept coming, through all that pain? How could he have allowed himself to come so close to death? And for what?

Her?

“Mina.”

She shivered at the way he spoke her name, the seductive way it dripped off his tongue. His gaze was glued to her, watching her every move, his body still as a cat on the hunt. Only those blood red eyes moved, tracking her as she took another, involuntary step back.

She had a bleeding vampire—one who believed she was his sotiei—in the Throne.

She might as well have strapped a cracker to her ass, because Mina was about to become lunch.