Hunter's Blood Special Edition (Cursed by Blood Saga) (12 page)

Lily sat straight up. “Goodbye? What
do you mean goodbye?”

“I finished what I stayed to do, Lily.
You don’t need me anymore; you’re going to be all right.”

Lily was speechless for a moment. She
didn’t need this bull right now. “You’re full of it, you know. What could
possibly make you spew such garbage? If tonight proves anything it’s that I
certainly
do
still need you. Don’t be an idiot, Terry, you’re not going
anywhere.”

Her friend smiled sadly. “You don’t
understand. You’ve grown so much, and you don’t even see it. You’ve learned to
let go, Lily. You’ve gotten past it all and learned to forgive. Especially
yourself. You’re going to be okay, no matter what.”

Lily just sat there stunned. “You’re
right, I don’t understand. Where are you going, then? Does Sean know?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “I told him this
morning, but I asked him not to say anything to you. I wanted to tell you
myself…say goodbye just the two of us. It’s funny. I thought sticking around
was my choice, but it looks like God was in on it the whole time, and now I
have
to go. So you see, I’m not actually going anywhere, I’m just moving on to where
I should have gone in the first place.”

Lily finally understood. She’d heard
all the clichés about spirits going into the light, but in all her years as a
psychic she’d never been witness to it. A deep ache began to squeeze her chest,
and she suddenly couldn’t breathe. Standing up, she gripped her own arms
against the pain. It was like losing Terry all over again. “When?” Her words
were barely a whisper.

“Anytime now.”

The door to the bedroom opened
quietly. “I figured you might need me right about now,” Sean murmured, walking
toward where Lily stood hugging herself in stunned silence. She looked so
fragile he slid his arms around her shoulders as if trying to hold her
together.

Soft tears trickled down her cheeks.
“It’s not fair,” she mumbled burying her face in Sean’s chest.

“I’m sorry, Lily. I know the timing
sucks,” Terry said, her voice echoing with regret, but she had no more control
over this than anyone else.

The air in the room changed. It
sparked as if suddenly overflowing with static electricity, and a tiny light
winked into existence, swirling swiftly behind Terry.

It grew in its brilliance until she
was entirely immersed. Divine radiance filled her as she took her first step
into the vortex.

“Terry, wait!”

She looked back, her translucent hair
whipping silently around her. “I can’t sweetie, even if I wanted to,” she said,
with a shake of her head. “Only happy tears for me Lil’…this is as it should
be. Remember, I love you…always,” she whispered and then was gone.

Lily just stared at the empty space
where Terry had just been, and an even emptier feeling crept across her heart.

“You okay?” Sean asked, wiping her
cheek.

Blinking back the rest of her tears,
Lily shook her head. “Not really.”

Sean pulled her close. “Terry’s right,
you know. She’s where she should be, and it’s a better place than you or I will
ever know here on earth.”

Lily’s breath hitched in her throat.
“You’re right, and I know what you said is true. It’s just going to take some
time for my heart to catch up to my head.”

Taking a deep breath, she closed her
eyes and rested her head on Sean’s chest. This had been some night, but upset
as she was, she wasn’t giving Sean lip service. Terry was right. Though her heart
was breaking, she knew she was going to be okay. A month ago she would have
either fallen to pieces or beat the crap out of someone—probably both.

Lily sighed and snuggled in further
beneath Sean’s arms. She loved his strength, and how he made her feel when they
were together, like she’d never have to put up a wall again.

With everything happening in his world
tonight, it meant so much that he thought to be with her, even though she knew
he would have to leave again. More than just her fate lay in the balance, and
the weight of the heavy burden was clear in the air around them.

“Aren’t you supposed to be somewhere
else? It’s almost midnight, you know.”

“I know, but I also knew you needed
me.”

“I did,” she admitted wrapping her
arms around him tighter. She inhaled, waiting for the familiar suffocating
feeling, but it didn’t come. Being able to confess that she needed someone, so
easily, and without the usual self-loathing, stunned her. Terry was right,
again. She’d learned to let go. Only problem now was she didn’t want to let go
of Sean, afraid if she did it would be the last time she’d hold him like this.

Neither one spoke, but his tension was
evident nonetheless. “
You should probably get back; they’re all waiting for
you,”
she whispered along their shared mind path unable to speak the words
out loud.

“I know. Lily, whatever happens
tonight…”

Lily opened her eyes to stare up at
him, putting her finger to his lips. She shook her head slowly. “I love you,
Sean. I know you’ll do what’s right. Not just for me, but for everyone. Do what
you have to, and don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

Through the window, they heard the
sound of the drums starting again. Their cadence was slow at first, but as it
increased in urgency, Lily clutched the back of Sean’s shirt. They were out of
time.

Resting his head on top of hers, he
murmured, “It’s time.”

Beneath his chin, all she could manage
was a nod. Squeezing back tears, she opened her mind, flooding his with love
and reassurance.
“Whatever you decide, I’ll never regret this…or you.”

Sean stepped back, and it struck her
then how his eyes searched hers. “You sure?” he wondered aloud.

With a steadying breath, she smiled
bravely. “Surer than anything else in my life.”

Sean didn’t say a word. He kissed her
instead, leaving quickly without saying goodbye. Standing at the window, she
watched him cross the courtyard, keeping her mind linked with his until he
closed the door between them.

Anger boiled up in Lily’s mind,
knowing this whole thing was nothing more than a ploy orchestrated by Edward
Parr.
But for what reason?
In her frustration, she wanted nothing more
than to send the bastard a mental bitchslap. A rueful smile tugged at Lily’s
lips at the thought, but she knew it wouldn’t serve their purpose, regardless
of how much she’d enjoy it.

She watched Sean disappear into the
great hall, his shoulders squared for battle. He was the Alpha Council. All she
could do was love him, and pray he’d find a way to make this work. If anyone
could, it was Sean.

Chapter Nine

***

S
ean opened the
door to the bedroom, boots in hand. Across the room, Lily was asleep, or at
least that’s what she wanted him to think. A small smile crept across his lips
at the narrow lump beneath the covers. She had been through so much in such a
short time, and now this. How was he going to explain?
Well, you see
sweetheart, Weres are a fickle bunch and as a group no better than sheep to the
slaughter, laughing the whole way about how smart they are.

“Jesus, help me,” he sighed silently.
There was no getting around it. Politics were politics. Since the beginning of
time, there was always someone trying to feed Kool-Aid to the masses. In this
case, it was Edward Parr.

The clock ticked on the desk next to
his walk-in closet, with Lily’s rhythmic breathing keeping pace. Her dark hair
fanned out against the white cotton sheets, and what remained of the moonlight
peeked through the curtains accentuating her creamy skin and the swell of her
breasts above the sheet.

As tired as he was, a pang of desire
swept over him, but Sean squelched it. On so many levels, it had been a long,
trying night for both of them. Terry may have moved on, but here on earth
nothing had yet to be accomplished. Nothing significant, anyway.

He yawned, wanting to crawl into bed
and feel Lily’s warmth beside him, close his eyes and not think about the mess
he had to deal with.

The hunters were not happy with him,
especially Mitch, even though Sean managed a hard won moratorium. Tonight they
tried to convince him to force the issue with Parr. To reestablish dominion and
the power of the Alpha and set the ruling, regardless of dissent. Even now,
Sean shook his head at the idea. The whole point to the council of Weres was
for diplomacy to reign, not the will of one man.

Sean’s elected position to Alpha
Council of the Brethren wasn’t done by committee. The process had included
everyone. One man, one vote—though his bloodline made him the obvious choice in
the eyes of the wolves, a point his hunters made abundantly clear this evening.

For the Compound to be considered a
success, a resolution of this kind had to come from a majority rule. Otherwise,
what was the point to the experiment of species? If they couldn’t agree on
something as cut and dried as the situation with Lily, then how could they ever
hope to overcome the serious issues facing them in the future—land rights, food
resources, the freedom to hunt, etc.? It all hinged on how they worked together
now. Parr may have forced a stalemate, but the battle was far from over.

Sean placed his boots on the floor by
the foot of the bed and unbuckled his jeans. He slid his shirt over his head
and tossed it into the wicker hamper before heading into the bathroom. In the
mirror, he took inventory.
Dark circles and frown lines…Christ, this job was
aging him fast.

He turned on the tap to rinse his face
and brush his teeth, and then slipped out of his jeans and hung them up on the
chair next to his desk.

“Hard run?” Lily asked from the bed.

“I wish,” he answered, snapping off
the light and then climbing into bed. “Believe me, I’d much rather have raced
the moon than argued all night with Edward and his cronies. At least then, I
wouldn’t have a headache.”

Lily shifted, turning onto her side to
let him spoon up behind her. Sean slid his arm over her waist and pulled her
close, her warmth sinking into his tired limbs.

“You’re the softest thing I’ve held
tonight,” he murmured, kissing the top of her bare shoulder. “Aren’t you cold
sleeping in the nude like that? You know you’re not a full Were, yet.”

She chuckled, pushing herself further
back into his warmth. “That’s what I have you for.”

“Hmmm.”

His sex grew hard against her wiggle,
but he didn’t push the issue. As if she knew something else was up besides the
obvious, Lily turned in Sean’s arms to face him, her eyes narrowing. “Are you
just too tired to tell me what happened, or are you stalling because its bad
news?”

“Stalling?”

She nodded, her eyebrows raised. “Yes.
Stalling.”

With a sigh, he rolled onto his back.

“Sean…”

He rubbed his face with his palm,
muffling an exhausted sigh. “There’s not much to tell. Parr’s antics tonight
were entirely premeditated. He was too schooled, too prepared in his arguments
afterward for it not to be. He pushed, but I pushed right back. As alpha, the
Hunters wanted me to force the decision as is my right, but I declined. I have
to be clever about how I handle this, Lily. For both our sakes. The handwriting
is on the wall. Parr will make this about me and the ‘object of my affection,’
if I give him the chance.”

“Object of your affection?”

The side of Sean’s mouth quirked up in
a crooked smile. “That’s how Edward refers to you when he’s showboating.”

“And…”

“And nothing. I suggested a
postponement.”

Lily pushed herself up on one arm, her
brows coming together nonplussed. “A postponement? Why? What for?”

Sean turned on his side to face her.
“Because, Christmas is in three days, and for Weres, the holiday season extends
from Christmas Day straight into January and ending at the Wolf’s Moon.
Traditionally, festivities last the length of a single moon cycle.

“Parr timed his coup well, knowing
everyone would opt for a quick decision just to wrap things up in time for
holidays. I threw a monkey wrench into his plan by suggesting we wait. From the
look on his face, he didn’t count on that.”

Lily chewed on her lower lip,
thinking. “Okay,” she murmured with a slow nod. “You know the situation better
than me…so we wait.”

She sank down against Sean’s chest,
resting her head in the crook between his arm and his shoulder. He glanced
across his chest at her still chewing on her lip. “What?”

She shook her head, absently.
“Nothing,” she replied. “I was just trying to remember something I read once
about the Wolf’s Moon. It’s Native American, right?”

Sean nodded. “It’s Sioux, although
some of our academics say the term originated from the Algonquin. Either way
the name refers to a time when winter was at its worst and the wolves came
howling, looking for food. Among the Native Americans, my kind was revered,
celebrated as living examples of nature’s magic. Folklore was passed down from
generation to generation on how we protected the tribes. It wasn’t until the
white man came that Weres became feared and hunted. The Wolf Moon is our way of
remembering, of keeping tradition. Edward just loves to get in there during the
festivities and stir up nostalgia for our glorious past.”