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But he intended to change all that. It would take a little time, a little patience, and a good deal of planning, but he would do it, or die trying. Once Kiya was his wife and her pack had accepted him as one of their own, he would arrange for her and her father to meet with an unfortunate, fatal accident, at which time he would step in and assume the role of Alpha. And then, after a suitable amount of time, he would dispatch his own father and in so doing, become Alpha of both packs. United under one leader, they would be invincible. Other packs would follow his lead and his kind would take their rightful place in the world.
He smiled as he envisioned the kind of life he yearned for. When he was Alpha, he would claim the woman he truly desired. Selene was a full-blooded werewolf, far more suited to be his mate than Alissano’s half-breed daughter. With Selene at his side, he and his kind would be able to live the life they were meant to live. Humans would quickly learn they were no longer at the top of the food chain.
But first, he had to find a way to make that damn witch tell him what she knew.
Verah stood against the wall, her hands bound behind her back, her expression impassive as the Alpha’s son strutted back and forth in front of her.
She had been stunned by their ability to render her powerless. How had they known that binding her hands with rope braided with sprigs of rowan would negate her powers? She had spent hours turning it over in her mind, finally concluding that being supernatural creatures with weaknesses of their own, they had most likely studied the strengths and weaknesses of vampires and witches, searching for ways to subdue their enemies for just such an occasion as this.
Few people these days were aware that rowan wood had often been used by druids for staves. Its branches had been used by people of old for dowsing rods and magic wands. Some believed rowan protected homes from lightning; others held to the belief that it could keep the dead from rising. An ancient legend claimed the Devil had hanged his mother from a rowan tree.
Verah yawned in the boy’s face when he threatened her life again. Insolent pup, she thought scornfully, so full of himself, so certain he had the upper hand.
Which, at the moment, he did. But she was counting on the fact that he needed her alive to obtain what he desired.
Face mottled with rage, he slapped her, once, twice, three times. The sound of his hand striking her echoed like gunshots off the stone walls.
“There will be no food for you, no water, no rest, until you answer my questions!”
Cheeks burning from the force of his blows, she shook her head and repeated the answer that had made him so angry. “I cannot help you.”
He could threaten her until he was blue in the face, beat her until she was too weak to stand, but she would never tell him what he wanted to know. She needed the werewolf girl for her own ends. As for the son of the Green Mountain Pack’s Alpha, he could go straight to hell. And when she escaped from this place, as she surely would, she intended to send him there.
He stared at her for several minutes, his frustration a palpable presence in the room, and then he spun on his heel and stormed out the door.
Verah exhaled a sigh of relief. Yesterday, he had quizzed and questioned her for hours.
Grateful for a reprieve, she was about to sink down on the floor when the door flew open and her tormentor stepped inside carrying a covered box.
Verah gasped when Victor removed the cover, revealing a cat carrier.
Rama meowed loudly when he saw his mistress.
“You will tell me what I want to know, now,” Victor said, “or I will slit the cat’s throat and drink its blood.”
* * *
Chapter 26
It was midafternoon when Kay woke. Happiness welled inside her when she saw Gideon sleeping beside her. So, it hadn’t been a dream, after all. She was really Gideon’s wife and nothing would ever be the same again.
Last night had been beyond wonderful, beyond anything she had ever imagined. She glanced at her watch, willing the hours and minutes until nightfall to pass quickly so she could be in her husband’s arms again, taste his kisses, feel the hard masculine length of his amazing body pressed intimately against her own. Who would have thought that a chance meeting in the most unlikely of places would turn out so well? Or that a half-breed werewolf would fall hopelessly, helplessly, in love with a centuries-old vampire? Or that she could be this happy?
Or this hungry.
She kissed Gideon on the cheek, then slid out of bed. Closing the door behind her, she padded naked and barefooted into the living room and called room service. Certain that she would need all her strength for another bout of lovemaking with Gideon when he awoke, she ordered the biggest breakfast the hotel had to offer, then sat back, wriggling her feet in the thick carpet and smiling as she anticipated the night to come.
After breakfast, she dressed and went downstairs to try her hand at the slot machines. Vegas in the daytime wasn’t nearly as bright, loud, crowded, or exciting as it was after dark.
She exchanged a fifty-dollar bill for fifty-dollar tokens, then found a vacant seat in front of one of the slot machines.
It was fun at first, but after half an hour or so, she found herself constantly checking the time. Even winning a small jackpot didn’t really take her mind off Gideon. She wished he was there beside her. It would be much more fun to win if Gideon was there to share the moment with her.
After scooping her change into a handy cup, she tried her hand at blackjack but quickly grew bored with that, as well.
Leaving the casino floor, she strolled through the gift shops. Lots of salt-and-pepper shakers, shot glasses, and T-shirts with Vegas logos.
She ate a quick dinner, then returned to the room, thinking that spending the day with a sleeping husband was better than anything Vegas had to offer.
Gideon woke to the feel of a warm, deliciously naked, feminine form pressed close to his side. Eyes still closed, he slid his arm around her waist, felt his body come alive as Kay leaned up on one elbow and kissed him, lightly at first, and then with growing intensity.
With a low growl, he flipped her onto her back and straddled her hips, his body holding hers in place, one of his hands trapping both of hers above her head.
She fluttered her eyelashes at him, a seductive smile curving her lips.
“Didn’t your father ever tell you that it isn’t safe to wake a sleeping vampire?”
“Actually, the subject never came up,” she replied with a saucy grin. “Although I see something else has sprung to life.”
Gideon grinned back at her. “Nice of you to notice.” He lifted a lock of her hair and let it slide through his fingers. And then he frowned. “What did you do today?”
