Page 65 of Forbidden Wolf

“What are we going to do?” I whispered, fear for Levi almost strangling me. He was in a vampire coven and there were lots of weapons here designed to kill lycans.

“You need to learn to trust me, Tasha. Did you think I would come without a plan?”

“I think you’d come just because you knew we were under attack and I was in here.”

His lips twitched. “True, but luckily I also had a plan. I’ve been sanctioned by my leaders to engage in peace talks with the vamps to form a coalition to fight the hellspawn.”

“What does that mean?” I closed my eyes and let his energy surround me in his blazing amber aura.

“It means that I’ll kill everyone in our way until someone in your coven agrees to our offer.”

“How diplomatic of you,” I said.

“Only for you.” He kissed the end of my nose and tugged me into walking back with him to the hallway. Radar was bossing the lycans around and threw Levi a T-shirt, his boots waiting for him on the floor at the doorway.

Dean arrived a few minutes later.

Levi gave him a hard stare. “Who’s in charge of this facility?”

Dean trailed his fingers through his hair and frowned as he looked around him. “I guess that title currently belongs to me.”

“Great, then we need to talk,” Levi said. “Those things out there are killing us, and if either of our species are going to survive, then we need to form an alliance.”

I held my breath as Dean gawked at Levi. “You’d best follow me then.”

Levi’s hand tightened on mine as we fell into step behind Dean. Today would either be a day to celebrate a truce between our people, or it would be our damnation.

***

Tasha

The atmosphere in the castle was charged with disbelief and fuelled by aggression. Growls and hisses sounded every time a lycan and vampire crossed paths. We’d been enemies for centuries and were now locked in this building together. My nerves jangled with the real possibility of bloodshed.

It was daytime outside, the hellspawn retreating a few hours before dawn. I believed the only reason they had pulled back was because they hadn’t expected the wolves to come to our rescue. It was my suspicion that they were regrouping out there the same as we were in here.

Even though the soldier quarters were sparse and devoid of colour or emotion, the areas where Castus entertained visitors were opulent and decorated in deep luxurious colours. The conference room contained a stunningly beautiful round mahogany table with comfortable dark red leather bucket seats around it. A few vampires sat on either side of Dean. Levi pushed his chair out to accommodate his long legs and settled himself with only Radar and myself beside him.

Levi and Dean stared at each other in a contest in which neither blinked. I pushed myself wearily to my feet and went to the bar along the wall adjacent to the window. Castus rationed the blood his soldiers received, but I’d often witnessed him sipping expensive alcohol as he stared out the window in contemplation. Raiding his supply of whiskey, I then collected glasses and returned to the table.

Everyone needed a drink to calm their nerves after the battle with the hellspawn.

Dean leaned back in his chair and studied Levi. “Maybe we should start with what you’re doing here?”

Levi lifted his glass of amber liquid and swirled it, holding it up slightly to the light. “We arrived just in time to save your ass.”

“That doesn’t really answer the question,” Dean said, swallowing his drink in one gulp. He lifted the bottle I had left at that side of the table and poured another.

“Probably not, but it doesn’t change the fact that we helped you out there. If we hadn’t, you’d probably not be alive right now.” Levi’s spirit wolf brushed against my leg as he moved into a protective pose beside me.

Dean’s gaze cut to me. Levi had made it obvious when he arrived exactly why he was here. He didn’t give a damn about the other vampires in this castle. He was here because I was in danger. The fact that he hadn’t left my side was the other clue. Wolves took that ownership vibe to an entirely different level, staking their claim for everyone to know you belonged to them.

“You do realise that any fraternisation with a wolf is an immediate death sentence?” Dean said, turning his attention to me.

Levi’s growl echoed around the room, and all vampire eyes cut to him.

“You lay a finger on Tasha and you’re dead in seconds. You look at her wrong and your head will go through that wall. Whether it’s still attached to your body depends on her expression.” Power radiated from Levi in seductive waves that made my panties feel too tight. “No matter what happens here today, she’s leaving with me.”

The muscle at the side of Dean’s jaw tightened and changed into a tick as his gaze narrowed on me. “It’s not me she has to worry about. Castus will kill her in a heartbeat for violating his laws.”

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