Page 10 of Taken By Raider Kings
That last bit meant comfort to any Tribe, and especially Carcajou.It was the shamans who could hold the beast in check, their ice and moonlight taking the edge off sharp claws and blood-hunger.Already it was easier to think clearly even with the numbness in his chest, the part of him that didn’t believe his little brother was gone.
And as soon as she was fully triggered, she’d belong to them.It wouldn’t take long, not with how strongly she exuded potential.A stray gust of air brought him another load of the silver-smell, and he inhaled gratefully.
Kyle.Wish you were here to see this.
But he wasn’t.And so they broke the Silence temporarily to break their fast.Maybe he could talk to the girl, coax her somehow.
It didn’t seem likely.
* * *
“Dead cow ahoy,” Brenn said, thrusting three huge bags’ worth of overcooked, oversalted meat and processed bread into Zach’s hands.The van rolled for the freeway once more, Eric wolfing double hamburgers almost whole.The tank was full—courtesy of the stop-and-rob across the street, Zach had kept her successfully quiet and contained during that swift halt as well—and they were ready to strike further south.When they finished eating they could keep the Silence again.
“You want some?”Brenn now took Zach’s place before the woman, his head well below hers, conciliation evident in every line.His scent-wash was submissive too, tinted with softness.
He was the one she was least likely to be terrified of.And the closer he could get, the more they couldallget their pheromones on her, the sooner she’d trigger and be theirs in truth.
She just blinked, holding the rag to her head.“I won’t tell anyone,” she whispered.“Please just let me go.”
“Don’t worry.”Brenn was trying to sound hopeful and soothing; Zach watched carefully, hoping she’d respond.Her scent was alternately far too pale and choking-strong.Which could be shock; it could be simply that she wasn’t triggered yet.Or both.“We’re not going to hurt you.We need you.”
Her long dark eyelashes fluttered, as if she was having trouble focusing.It would just cap everything if she had a concussion.“Did… did Marc pay you?Whatever he promised you, please, don’t believe him.He lies.”
What?Zach didn’t like the sound of that.But they had to take it one step at a time right now.“Just give her some food.You’d better eat, sweets.You look like you need it.”He almost glanced to the front passenger seat to gauge Kyle’s reaction, stopped himself by snagging a milkshake.
Eric slurped at a root beer, flipping the turn signal and setting the drink in a holder with a practiced motion.He was their best driver, but would have to be spelled about dawn.Another problem.
Zach didn’t want to stop at a hotel and give everyone time to think—not yet, not until he had some sort of plan in his own head.
Besides, he felt better while moving.When they were on the road and he didn’t have to consider anything other than the next food stop, the next rest stop, the steady revolution of tires.Driving felt more natural than anything else, and when they halted he would have to face the mess he’d made of everything.
They had a shaman now, yes.But Kyle was gone.The spirits take with one hand and give with the other,Tribe always said.
But still.Why did they have to take somuch?
Brenn pressed a cheeseburger and a huge clutch of fries into the shaman’s lap, ignoring her flinch, then moved to the very back, sidling close to whisper in his twin’s ear.
Julia’s sobs were beginning to grate.She had reason to weep, they all did.But the noises were beginning to take on a whipsawing note that meant their most volatile sibling was working herself up into a fit or literally crying herself sick, and neither of those things would help the situation.
The van’s floor was littered with clothes, leatherworking supplies stacked in cases behind the passenger’s seat.Here was his chance.
Zach made it to the girl’s feet once more, duck-walking carefully, and offered her the milkshake.“Here.You really need to eat something.”He tried to sound calm, reasonable.Even, perhaps, reassuring.
That pale gaze finally met his, and he found out her eyes were grey as a snowy sky.He got another good lungful of her, spice and beauty overlaid with hot grease from the bag in her lap.The pulse of ice and moonlight was stronger now, twining through the warp and weft of her aroma like jasmine vines coming into bloom, but the rest of it… she smelled damn near edible.And oddly familiar.
She smelled likehis.It was that simple.It was a mate-smell, and that was going to make things even stickier.
Why couldn’t you have come along earlier, huh?
But that was unfair.She had no goddamn idea what she’d just landed in.Which meant it was his job to keep this whole train on the tracks for a while, at least until he could make a stab at helping her understand.
Not to mention keeping her under wraps until she was wholly theirs.
She shifted on the seat, pulling her knees back, and the fries were headed for the floor until he caught them, his hand blurring.Quick fingers and quicker reflexes, a Tribe birthright, sometimes the most useful part of the animal inside them.
Her eyes were huge, glazed, depthless.Her lashes were matted, and behind her smudged glasses he saw naked fear.
“What’s your name?”He kept his tone nice and even.He had until they finished eating to calm her down a little.Eric took another hit of root beer, and Julia made a little hitching sound.Trying to steal the limelight, again.
