Chapter 18
Wulf was in the nursery with Erik. He sat in the antique rocking chair with his son asleep on his shoulder while he stared idly at the wall in front of him. It was covered with pictures of babies who had been born to his family over the last two hundred years.
Memories poured through him.
He glanced down at the baby he held. The thatch of black hair and the serene, tiny face. Erik's mouth worked in his sleep and the baby smiled as if in the midst of a happy dream.
"Are you talking to him, D'Aria?" Wulf asked, wondering if the Dream-Huntress would watch over his son as well as him.
He touched the tip of Erik's nose. Even while asleep, the baby turned to suckle his finger.
Wulf smiled, until he caught the faint scent of roses and powder on the baby's skin.
Cassandra's scent.
He tried to imagine a world without her. A day when she wasn't there to brighten everything. To place her silken hand on his skin, to run her long graceful fingers through his hair.
Pain lacerated his chest. His sight dimmed.
You're a wandering soul, looking for a peace that doesn't exist. Lost you will be until you find the one inner truth. We can never hide from what we are. The only hope is to embrace it.
At last, he understood the seer's words.
"This is bullshit," he said in a low tone.
There was no way he would let go of the best thing that had ever happened to him.
Wulf Tryggvason was only one thing in life.
He was a barbarian.
Cassandra was in Wulf's bedroom, looking for her box, when she heard the door open behind her.
She was mostly lost in thought when she felt two strong, powerful arms wrap around her and turn her to face a man she had only glimpsed one time before.
The first night they had met.
This was the dangerous warrior capable of shredding Daimons apart with his bare hands.
Wulf cupped her face in his hands and kissed her desperately. That kiss reached deep inside her and set fire to her blood.
"You are mine, villkat," he breathed. His tone possessive. "Forever."
He pulled her close to him, tight. She expected him to take her. He didn't. Instead, he sank his fangs into her neck.
Cassandra couldn't breathe as she felt the momentary pain that was quickly followed by the most erotic sensation she had ever known.
Her mouth fell open as she breathed raggedly, her head spinning. She saw colors swirling before her eyes, felt her heartbeat synchronize to his as everything around her became hazy, dizzy. Pleasure erupted through her body with an orgasm so strong she cried out from it.
As she cried out, she felt her incisors growing. Felt her fangs returning...
Wulf growled deep in his throat as he tasted her. He'd never felt so close to anyone in his life. It was as if they were one person sharing one single heartbeat.
He felt everything she did. Every hope, every fear. Her entire mind was laid open before him and it overwhelmed him.
And then he felt her bite into his shoulder. Wulf gasped at the unexpected sensation. His cock swelled, making him wish he were inside her.
She reached down between their bodies as she drank from him, and unzipped his pants. Wulf moaned deep in his throat as she guided him straight into her.
With no control over himself, he took her wildly, fiercely, as they bonded their life forces together.
They came together in a furious orgasm that slammed through them both at the same exact moment.
Weak and spent, Wulf pulled away from her neck. She looked up at him, her eyes glazed as she licked her lips and her teeth receded.
Wulf kissed her deeply, holding her tight.
"Wow," she breathed. "I'm still seeing stars."
He laughed at that. He was too.
"Do you think it really worked?" she asked.
"If it doesn't, I vote we follow Zarek's advice of taking Acheron out and beating him."
Cassandra laughed nervously. "I guess in a few weeks, we'll know."
Only it didn't take that long. Cassandra's eyes widened as she started gasping for air.
"Cassandra?" Wulf asked. She couldn't respond.
"Baby?" he asked again.
Her gaze was filled with pain as she reached up, laid her hand against his whiskered cheek, and shuddered. In less than three seconds, she was dead.
"Acheron!"
Ash jerked awake at the shrill pitch that rattled through his head. He was lying naked in his bed with his black silk sheets wrapped around his lean body.
I'm tired, Artie, and I'm sleeping. He sent the mental note through the cosmos to her temple on Olympus in a much calmer tone.
"Then get up and come here. Now!"
Ash let out a long sigh. No.
"Don't you dare roll over and go back to sleep after what you've done."
And that is?
"You released another Dark-Hunter without consulting me!"
The corners of Ash's lips twitched as he understood her latest rant. Wulf had bitten Cassandra.
He smiled, relieved at the truth. Thank the gods, Wulf had chosen wisely.
"That was not the way this was supposed to turn out and you know it. How dare you interfere!"
Leave me alone, Artie. You've got more than your share of Dark-Hunters.
"Fine," she said, her voice brittle. "You bent the rules of our agreement, then so shall I."
Ash bolted upright. "Artie!"
She was gone.
Cursing, Ash willed his clothes back on his body and flashed himself from his home in Katoteros to Wulf's house.
It was too late.
Wulf was in his living room with Cassandra in his arms. Her face was pale with a bluish tint to it.
As soon as the Viking saw him, his teary eyes blazed with hatred. "You lied to me, Ash. My blood poisoned her."
Ash took Cassandra from Wulf's arms and laid her gently on the couch.