Chapter 14

Chapter

Fourteen

C hantal looked down at the sleeping she-wolf. Earlier in the day, she had been awakened from her rest in New Orleans. Jean-Michel had sent for her to come to join him at Rivière Du Loup and then to fly with him on his private plane to the Luna de Lobo vineyard in California. For Chantal, who had never left her own parish before, it was quite the adventure.

"So why are we flying to this vineyard by the sea?" she asked.

"We are hoping you can tell us if you feel the presence of the Darkness," explained Jean-Michel.

"What if what I have to say is not to your liking?"

"The truth is all I ask. And if it remains, we would ask your help in forcing it to leave her in peace. Do you know how to get it to give up possession of the host? What can we do to contain or destroy it?"

"I have no knowledge of how to do either. I can tell you what might contain it, but not how to force it into containment. The Darkness is old and powerful and predates most of civilization. What makes you think it remains within the dark she-wolf that came with your daughter to see me?"

"You sensed its presence then and said nothing to Skylar?"

"It was not there when she visited with your daughter. I suspected it when she returned on her own and would not enter through my gate."

"And still you said nothing," growled the Alpha of New Orleans.

Jean-Michel could be the most charming rogue on the planet if he was of a mind to be, but he was not a man to cross. Chantal knew she would need to proceed with tact and caution.

"It was not my place to tell. My family has served your pack for centuries but has learned not to meddle in the affairs of wolves until and unless we are asked. She is not even of your pack. My family too was vulnerable, and we do not possess the strength of your kind."

" Bien . Forgive my anger. The she-wolf's life seems to rest in the balance between life and death. Her mate is distraught, and I have known her since she was a child. I would ask for any assistance you can give us both in saving Katarina and in finding a way to defeat this Darkness."

"What makes you think the Darkness has fled?"

"There was an incident in San Francisco and Damian's son saw the thing exit her body, enter another, and then take another as its host."

"Was the first killed and left as a dry husk?"

"Yes. The authorities are keeping it all under wraps."

"No doubt. They would have no way to understand it. If it took a host only to consume it, it must mean the dark wolf was too strong to be consumed by it and would not let it feed. Where is she now?"

"At Luna de Lobo. She is the fated mate to the son of the alpha that rules there."

"I am happy to be of service."

Seven hours later, they touched down on the Luna de Lobo landing strip and were greeted by the alpha and his mate.

"The girl?" Chantal asked without preamble.

"Seems to be sleeping peacefully in my son's bed. He will not leave her."

"Like father, like son," quipped the beautiful she-wolf at his side.

"I am Damian Steele; this is my mate, Kinzie. Thank you for coming."

"Damian, I leave Chantal in your care. I have pressing business and a naughty mate in New Orleans to deal with."

"I will take good care of Chantal and will return her to New Orleans as soon as she likes. I wondered why Darby wasn't with you."

"She and Riley Nichols have decided the bonding of our children is cause for great celebration and all kinds of mischief."

Damian laughed. "I fear Kinzie and Grace will create similar kinds of chaos here in the next few months."

Jean-Michel kissed Chantal's hand. "Thank you again. I know Damian to be a gracious host and an honorable wolf. You might enjoy staying at his beautiful home and vineyard for a few days."

Chantal smiled, watching the charming wolf jog back to his plane. Damian helped her and his mate into the large, comfortable SUV and they made their way down to the enormous mission house.

Chantal smiled as she passed through the door. "Unless it has found a way to hide, I do not feel the presence of the Darkness. It would not have liked it here. This is a place of love and light."

"If you could just take a look at Kat, we will have your bags taken to your room and would appreciate you staying for a few days, or for as long as you like," said Kinzie.

Chantal had entered the room and looked at the dark angel lying in the large bed, surrounded by the same light and love she had felt upon entering. The young alpha wolf at her side watched his mate with concern and Chantal with suspicion.

"Your mate is fine, young one. The Darkness was not able to bend her to its will and so left when it had the chance. Were you there?"

"Yes. I think it was trying to get her to kill, and she wouldn't do it. I got to her before it could kill her and sent all of my love and strength to her…" His voice trailed off as he remembered the awful scene.

"That is what drove it out. Then what happened?"

"This huge, black mass came vomiting, for lack of a better term, from Kat's nose and mouth, spun around and then invaded a Hunter who had followed her to Alcatraz. It consumed the first one, lifting his body off the ground and then exploding out of his ribcage. It left a desiccated corpse behind before attacking the second man."

Chantal nodded. "She is strong, your mate. She resisted its possession and fought to retain her soul. With your help, her body was able to expel it. From all I have learned, she is the first to do so. It has found one better suited to its needs."

Chantal sat down on the side of the bed, passing her hand close over Kat's face and her body. "She is weak, but she will survive. There is no way for me to know for sure, but for it to be so hungry that it completely decimated its next host most likely means she would not feed it. It had probably begun to feed on her."

"How do we kill this thing?" growled Jed.

"That is no easy thing to do. If you simply try to kill the host, the Darkness will flee. The ancestor of Jean-Michel found a way to contain its evil, but eventually it found a way to escape. My guess is your mate is the first wolf it has tried to take as a host but found her too strong. The only way to destroy it is to trap the dark mass and bind it with magick, but the magick wielder cannot destroy it completely. Only a power that comes from an ancient warrior of the Light can do that."

"What does that mean?"

"It means you need a magick wielder to trap it in something that has a life of its own. It cannot be an inert object. Then a light bearer can kill it." Chantal looked at their confused faces and smiled. "I wish I could be of more help, but my visions aren't always clear, and the Darkness goes to great pains to keep the secret of its destruction."

Kinzie placed her hand on Chantal's shoulder. "You must be tired and if this Darkness isn't here and has left Kat, we have some time to figure it out. Why don't I show you to your room and you can rest? We eat our meals as one great family in the dining room on the main floor. We'd love for you to join us, but I can also have your dinner brought to you."

Chantal smiled. "I have always enjoyed large family gatherings. If you would indulge an old woman, I would prefer the company of your pack."

Kinzie smiled and led her to a beautiful room overlooking the ocean.

T he following morning, Kat could feel the warm breeze and hear the sound of the ocean and the sea birds. She kept her eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of peace that enveloped her.

"I didn't like it when your father did it to me, and I am not going to stand for you to do it to her." It was the voice of an angry she-wolf.

"I don't know, I'd say things worked out pretty well for the two of you."

The soft buzzing and feeling of disorientation had returned, but in a far more pleasant way, similar to how she had felt when she was in Italy, walking the vineyard with her father.

"That's not the point, and you know it. Your father..."

"Was right, and so are you, Jed. Kinzie, that's enough," growled an ominous male voice.

Ah, so she must be at Luna de Lobo. She had only met the brooding alpha once and had been intimidated by him. Her own father could be intimidating, but she'd always found him amusing.

"Damian, she's been through so much. He can't just simply announce that she's his mate." And if they were at Luna de Lobo, the she-wolf had to be Jed's mother, Kinzie.

"He can and he has. Luca and Marco may not like it, but Luca saw her respond. There is no denying she is our son's fated mate. She belongs here with him, in his bed. Enough."

In his bed? Oh no, that won't do at all.

"Damian…"

"Why is it when I growl and command others, they jump to do my bidding? And you continue to defy me, even after more than a quarter of a century?"

The female voice laughed. "Same reason I'm the only one you want to knot and tie, my alpha," she purred.

"Could we let Kat get used to being my mate for a little longer before she has to put up with the two of you?" Jed sounded slightly annoyed.

How could he be embarrassed or irritated? His parents had a grand love story, one that rivaled her own parents'. It was a comfort knowing that grand passion wasn't reserved only for those in her origin pack. Damian's tone might betray his agitation, but she suspected it wasn't directly aimed at the other two wolves in the room.

Kat opened her eyes. "You forget, I grew up around Catherine and Marco," she said weakly, trying to sit up and fight down the dizziness.

Jed was at her side instantly, rumbling to her. "Take it easy, sweetheart. You've been through an ordeal."

"Please tell me I didn't kill anyone," she whispered.

"Not that we know of," he said. "If you did, it was because you were under its thrall. MawMaw Chantal said she'd never heard of anything surviving that thing's possession before."

She closed her eyes, trying not to panic. "But I didn't kill anyone."

"We don't think so. Chantal believes it had started to feed on you because you wouldn't do its bidding to feed it. You would have had to kill someone in order to feed it."

"There was a rabbit. I chased it down as a wolf and killed it, lapping up its blood but not eating it."

"Chantal said the Darkness needs life force to live, and you wouldn't give it that. I'm sorry you have to live with the memory of the death of an innocent creature, but it couldn't be helped and even then it could only get your wolf to act, not you."

Kinzie started to speak but was cut off.

"Not another word, my mate," Damian Steele said, hoisting her over his shoulder. It was easy to see where Jed got his muscular stature and strength. "I will leave you to deal with your mate, Jed, while I deal with mine. Grace said she'd have your breakfast sent up."

"Thanks, Dad, and don't be too hard on mom." He smiled at Kat as his parents left the room. "Don't worry, he snarls and growls at her, but he loves my mother with an intensity and passion second to none."

Kat smiled too. "Sounds like my father. He might rule the roost, but my mother rules his heart. We can't just let it get away… The Darkness, I mean."

"You won't be doing anything but recovering from what was done to you. Then you can plan our bonding ceremony."

"Not while that thing is out there. I let it loose on the world."

"No, Kat, you didn't. None of this is your fault. It attacked you and tried to bend you to its will, but you were too strong. So, it went to a Hunter."

"A Hunter who will know all about us. Jed, the fact I resisted it made it angry. It might not be able to control a wolf as its host, but it can damn sure feed on us."

She struggled to get up. Jed gently but firmly pressed her back into the bed.

"You may as well get used to the idea that I am your mate, and you will mind me."

"It's obvious you know little about me. I have not consented to be your mate, nor have you asked."

She felt the seductive rumble that was the call of a male wolf to his fated mate and trembled in response.

"Stop that," she said, annoyed.

"I suppose I should see that as progress. In Italy you chose to ignore my call and pretend it hadn't happened before you ran away to New Orleans."

"How did you know I went to New Orleans?"

"Just because I let you run doesn't mean I didn't know exactly where you were. I wish now I hadn't allowed you that freedom. I shouldn't have let you go or at the very least, I should have been with you."

"Ah, the arrogance of male alpha wolves. How do you think you would have stopped me? I wasn't your mate then, nor am I your mate now."

He laughed. "You and I both know that isn't true. More to the point, your father, and by extension Marco, know it as well. I should have gone after you instead of putting business first. I will never do that again."

"You can't make me accept you as my mate here within your own pack, so what makes you think it would have worked when you were with mine?"

"This is your pack now and Marco DeMedici is a well-known believer in our traditions. Face it, sweetheart, you're screwed. Given what you went through, no one who has ever loved you is going to want you to be that vulnerable again."

She straightened up in the bed. "I would remind you that I fought that thing all on my own."

Jed nodded. "I know better than anyone how hard you fought. My point is you never should have had to. I can't help but think that had we been together in New Orleans, the Darkness would never have possessed you."

"So, I go from being possessed by some ancient evil to being possessed by an alpha wolf who thinks he knows better than me what I want for my future. Explain how that is so different for me."

"Ouch!" said Jed, grinning. "That's neither nice nor fair and you know it. I'd be careful trying to deliberately provoke me. I intend to follow my father's example of how to deal with a strong-willed mate who often chafes at obeying."

"And how pray tell is that, oh exalted one?"

Jed laughed. "Here I was afraid that you had run because you were frightened. Good to know that it's just because you're not inclined to do as you're told."

"Why is that good?"

"Because alpha male wolves are decidedly contrary beasts and find great pleasure in spanking their mates to the point of tears right before pleasuring them until they scream in ecstasy," said Grace Steele as she joined them, carrying a tray of food.

"You should know, Aunt Grace. You've been driving Uncle Linc crazy for more than twenty-seven years. If we alpha males are so difficult, why is it you still respond when he calls to you?"

"I will let you in on a little secret, nephew. It isn't the spankings that keep us coming back for more," she retorted.

"Then why is it they still make you so incredibly wet, my mate?" rumbled Linc as he joined them. Grace shivered and proved his point. "Knock it off, Gracie. We don't need another chorus of the fractious she-wolf fight song."

Grace set the tray down on the dresser and turned to face her mate. "No. What you need, the lot of you, is a good, swift, kick in the nuts."

Linc surprised Kat by laughing. "Never happen. One, I'm too fast for you, and two, you are inordinately fond of that part of my anatomy."

Grace was quick to kick her mate in the shins, which he seemed to accept with good humor.

"See if you can't bring that one," Linc said pointing at Kat, "to heel quickly. There's already been a huge uptick in she-wolf misbehavior this morning." His face became more serious. "I just left your father's study; it would seem Kat's parents are en route."

Jed nodded. "Good. They can be here for the bonding ceremony."

"My father..." started Kat.

Jed shook his head. "Is as traditional as they come. He might ask that I let you challenge me to run, but in the end, Katarina Marino, you will be mine."