Vulfen Shadow's Grace [Vulfen Cadre 4] (Siren Publishing Classic) Read online

  “Sir. It will be done.” Mirko bowed low and disappeared.

  Grace lifted her head from his shoulder. They were at the front door again. Good. She could hardly wait to get out of the awful place and take the big bad wolf that was her mate home to Grandma’s house.

  Chapter 8

  Matsij stood in astonishment. With all the stories Grace had told him about her grandmother on the way over, he had been expecting to see a six-foot Amazon who ruled the neighborhood with an iron hand. But the old woman on the doorstep was smaller than Grace, and fragile. Her tiny frame was bent with age, and her hair was thin and grey.

  The wind was strong and held the cool dampness of ocean air, and Matsij ushered both women into the tiny hallway so he could shut the door. He didn’t want Grandma to take a chill.

  The two women embraced, and one wrinkled hand smoothed the soft hair at the back of Grace’s head. Grandma Commander raised her eyes to Matsij’s and his opinion changed again. The old woman met his eyes with the clear-eyed gaze of a warrior. She had sensed he wanted Grace and she warned him in her way without a word being said.

  Perversely, her marked challenge made him relax. He understood and agreed. Grace was the most precious being in the world to him, and he would slay any who tried to harm her. He bowed slightly, holding the old woman’s gaze, acknowledging her demand and his acceptance. She smiled up at him and in the brilliance of that unguarded smile he saw the resemblance to Grace.

  Grace pulled back and looked down at her grandmother.

  “Grandma, I would like to introduce Matsij Gabrov, a vulfen warrior.” She stopped speaking and a flush climbed her cheeks.

  Matsij stirred. The thought that she would not acknowledge their relationship bothered him, and he wondered if he needed to step forward with an explanation. Grandma seemed like the kind of woman who would see through any artifice, but he wanted it clear to all that Grace was his mate. If she wasn’t comfortable enough to claim him yet, then he would claim her and damn the consequences.

  Before he could speak, Grandma took his hand.

  “I am so happy to meet Grace’s mate,” she said in a high breathy voice. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

  Her words stunned him so that his only response was to nod and grip her thin strong fingers.

  Grandma led them both into her tiny kitchen and before he knew it, he and Grace were eating warm chicken soup and hot buttered toast. Grandma and Grace spoke little, but the love between them was in every gesture.

  It couldn’t be more different from the way he was raised, with his cool and elegant mother presiding over silent kitchen staff. His mother would never think to serve a meal with mismatched bowls, but Grandma and Grace didn’t seem to notice and Matsij had never cared about the presentation of food.

  He watched and learned. Grandma was a pureblood fox. There was no doubt in his mind that this woman could do more than simply shift her form. Her gifts were strong. He could almost scent the zest of magic flowing in her blood.

  But greater even than that was the love in her eyes when she looked at her granddaughter. That love transferred when her gaze rested on him, and it both humbled him and caused a fierce protectiveness to rise up inside him. He would defend these women to his last drop of blood.

  Grace tried to stifle a yawn, but Grandma’s sharp eyes turned to her.

  “Come,” Grandma said. “Bedtime.”

  “Grandma,” Grace protested, but it was broken by another yawn.

  “Come, both of you.”

  He didn’t object when Grandma took Grace’s hand and his and led them to the same small bedroom. Grace’s lashes were drooping with weariness and her steps were slow. The tension had left her as soon as she stepped into what was obviously her childhood home, and he now perceived it had been only tension and will that had kept her going so far beyond the endurance of most people.

  When Grandma left them, he helped a blushing Grace to undress and washed her face and hands with baby wipes before he tucked her beneath layers of soft quilts. Her sigh puffed air against his cheek and that quickly she was asleep.

  He set her clothes aside in a bag, unsure if they could be salvaged, torn as they were and smelling of smoke.

  He watched her for a few moments, unable to help himself. She looked so peaceful, so innocent in sleep. Her lashes rested against smooth cheeks, and a slight pink flush rose on her face as the blankets warmed her.

  Matsij wanted to put her in a bubble, preserve the moment of comfort and serenity for her. He had a feeling their lives wouldn’t be calm like this for long. His mate had been through hell tonight and he felt an overwhelming urge to protect her from the bad side of life. It wasn’t a simple desire, it was a need, deep and complex. She was the center of his life and he needed her to be safe.

  He leaned close and brushed a gentle kiss on her temple. His lips lingered but Grace didn’t stir.

  “I love you,” he said against her soft skin. The whispered words couldn’t begin to express the fullness of the feeling. “It is beyond anything I ever imagined.”

  He went out on patrol. His mind in turmoil, he glided down the hall and out the front door to assess any possible danger in the silent neighborhood.

  A few minutes in the darkness told him what he needed to know. The houses were tiny and well-kept. In the next yard a mouse scurried about his nightly business. There was no danger lurking in the clean yards and neat flower beds.

  Grace would be safe tonight, safe, but not whole. Her spirit had been wounded as much as her body, and his mother was to blame.

  He ground his teeth together in repressed fury. His mother had rejected his mate and the pain in Grace’s gentle eyes had fired a terrible rage in his heart. He had been forced to leave his family home to save Grace from witnessing the inevitable breakage of his tattered relationship with his mother, but more, to keep himself from tearing the old house down brick by brick. He didn’t want a single reminder of the humiliation to survive and would have gladly destroyed his home if he could have erased the memory along with it.

  He had long ago closed off his heart to do his job, but the job was not all he was capable of giving, of being. He had only to look at Grace to see the beauty of her spirit shining in her eyes and his heart came blazing back to life on a wave of heat that could not be ignored.

  He had never asked for a mate. He had not believed. Only with Grace waiting for him could he acknowledge that in giving up hope, he had condemned himself to the bleak future of becoming one of the dark and twisted souls he hunted. Without hope, he had been lost, his heart growing colder every day.

  He could see into the souls of people, and he always knew when they were evil beyond salvation. In a way, it made his job easier, but it was an uncomfortable gift. When he had first seen Grace, he had been forced to blink away a prickle of moisture because her goodness blinded him. He didn’t want that warm innocence of spirit injured by the ice cold heart of his mother.

  After all the years he had endured, he thought he was well beyond feeling any hurt at the thoughtless words of his mother, but seeing Grace hurt by the same icy arrogance was more than he could stand. It ate at his soul like acid.

  He was already formulating a plan to have his mother removed from Cliffside and relocated back to the Russian Steppes. Visiting their summer estate there was one of the few things that made his mother smile, and it would keep her condescending superior attitude far from Grace.

  Mirko had understood immediately, and would help him to make his home ready for his new mate. Most of the servants would go with his mother, but he knew that Mirko and his mate would stay. Mirko had always made time for Matsij as a young boy growing up, and felt more like family to him than anyone he could name.

  When he returned to the house, he wasn’t really surprised to find Grandma waiting. A part of him had known that she was aware when he left the house.

  “Tea?” she asked in her breathy voice and he nodded. He didn’t require sleep yet. He didn’t think he co
uld sleep knowing there was no one else on guard. The house didn’t have even a rudimentary security alarm.

  “Please.”

  He sat at her small table while she bustled around the kitchen.

  He had no illusions that she saw him. He had a feeling that she knew exactly who and what he was, knew that his talents had marked him from birth as a hunter and executioner. Without words she knew that his own people, people he fought and bled for night after barren night feared to invite him into their homes. No vulfen wanted to have the shadow of death eating at his table.

  But a canny old fox served him tea with homemade oatmeal raisin cookies out of a huge cookie jar, smiling all the while as if she might enjoy his company. She sat down and chose a cookie for herself.

  “Thank you for bringing Gracie home tonight,” she said.

  “There was a fire,” he began, but she waved him off.

  “I know about the fire, and the crazy doctor and the hunters. I have a deep connection with both of my grandchildren. They are the best part of my world.”

  Her eyes rested on his face, almost daring him to say something, but he was content. He understood.

  While Grace slept in the bedroom of her youth, Matsij sat in the kitchen with Day Lily Commander and drank tea.

  “My place in the vulfen world is difficult to define. I am the Shadow, but also a full member of the Sidarov Cadre. Do you understand the meaning?”

  “I understand more than you think.”

  He found himself talking as he never had, telling the old woman about his brother’s treachery and the painful doubts that had arisen inside him with the fall of his family’s honor. The remainder of the night passed as he spoke of the terrible feelings of betrayal that choked him and how he wondered every day if his fellow Cadre members would question his loyalty. Finally, he ran out of words.

  “I know of your Alpha,” she said unexpectedly. “I hear many things. His reputation alone protects his people from any who would seek to harm what is his to defend. He is strong, but fair. He would not judge you for any actions but your own.”

  Matsij nodded. He didn’t think he could speak around the solid lump in his throat.

  “You must forgive yourself for what your brother has done, for the pain that he has caused,” Day Lily said. She sighed, and he heard a century of suffering in that sound.

  “My daughter, my only child, drowns her extraordinary gifts in alcohol and human drugs. She has the capacity to help mankind but she cannot face such a responsibility. She has destroyed all that she touches, and though she cannot appreciate or understand it, she gave this world two wonderful children. They are the best of her, and through them, I can still love my child though I hate what she has chosen to become.”

  Matsij reached out and sheltered her tiny fist under his hand. Her strength had raised two fine grandchildren, but she was the one who needed comfort now.

  “My daughter is half fox from me and half witchborn human from her dear father. John’s father is a pureblood fox and Grace’s father a complete unknown, mostly human, or so I believe. In Grace’s infancy, I went many years without hunting because she does not shift and I could not bear to leave her alone and unprotected. I wore her in a sling over my heart, and sometimes John did also. But she is no less precious to me for that.” The old woman’s eyes welled up with tears, and Matsij felt his eyes prickle in sympathy. Grace was precious.

  “Grace has been the brightest joy of my life,” Day Lily said and wiped at her wet cheek where a single tear had escaped.

  Matsij smiled and felt a curious melting sensation in the region of his heart.

  The brightest joy. It was the perfect description of what Grace brought to his life. She had changed him with the mere knowledge of her existence. She had freed him from his self-imposed punishment. He would continue to fulfill his duty to his people, but he would never again live in the shadows.

  Chapter 9

  Matsij returned to Grace as dawn was just a hint of lighter blue on the dark horizon. He shed his clothes and crawled in beneath the covers thinking to hold her as she slept, but she turned to him sleepily and pulled his head down for a sweet brushing of lips. She didn’t even open her eyes.

  He nuzzled in against her vulnerable throat and breathed in the sweet scent that called to him. Nothing smelled better to him than Grace in the morning. His hungry cock throbbed. He wanted to give her something beautiful to take the place of the trauma of the past few hours, but she needed her rest.

  He moved down a little to smooth his lips over her nipple, just for the pleasure of feeling it harden into a little nub. When she rolled onto her back the neckline of her thin nightgown gaped and he treated the other nipple to the same slow caress. Her hand stroked the back of his neck, keeping him where she wanted him, where he wanted to be.

  He eased a few more buttons open and brushed the sides of her nightgown open. He went back and forth between her breasts, sucking and flicking her nipples with his tongue, nibbling the soft undersides with careful teeth. His loving enthusiasm left her nipples the color of ripe strawberries.

  She rubbed her thighs together and her scent spoke to him of her readiness, lured him further down to find the source of her sweetness. He wanted to spend hours, days searching out every little spot that made her sigh or cry out under his hands and mouth. He wanted to give her his total attention.

  His gentle hand pushed the skirt of her nightgown out of the way so that he could nuzzle into the crisp hair at the apex of her thighs, lick and taste her most female flesh.

  The moist salt sweetness made him ravenous and he wedged her thighs apart with his shoulders. Her soft murmur slowed his movements again. In her impatience, Grace had rushed him before and he hadn’t had the chance to explore as he wished. He made himself comfortable and settled in for some serious licking.

  He followed the taste of desire and tugged at her pussy lips, slurping her wet flesh into his mouth again and again, enjoying the taste and texture while his mate awakened fully under his mouth. Her languid movements and dreamy smile encouraged him and he doubled his efforts.

  Her breathing sped up and she twisted slowly on the cotton sheets. Her slender body writhed and it disturbed his exploration. He clamped down on her hips with hard hands to hold her in place and continued with his leisurely journey.

  She was moving slowly, enticing him. The combined pleasures of her responsiveness and her delicate scent caused his fangs to drop.

  He pushed his tongue inside, stabbing deep for one final taste. Grace gasped and shook and he rolled her to her stomach. He grabbed a pillow and shoved it under her hips. The scent of her need wafted up to his nose and made his cock twitch. Her body was begging him.

  His muscles were rigid as he battled for the control not to just slam into her and thrust over and over until she screamed in ecstasy.

  Later, he told himself. She was too new to sex, too new to him to enjoy that kind of rough loving yet.

  “Please,” she whispered softly and arched up to him. “You always make me wait.”

  The rounded globes of her sweet ass gleamed in the half light. He stroked down her curves with a hand that shook and his hard cock jerked. One drop of pearly fluid escaped his control and he groaned.

  “I do not want to steal your choices from you. I need to be sure that when I give you the mating bite, it is what you want. I will not be an easy male to live with. If you choose me, I will never let you escape. We may have our fights, but we will work through it together. My bite is forever, Grace. You must know that before you decide. I will never give you up.”

  He kneed her legs apart to position his rampant cock and began to push inside her hot wet body with the succulent taste of her still on his tongue.

  * * * *

  Grace pushed back against the pressure, her hips moving to try to ease the burning flash of pain at his entry. She was wet but he was so thick, she didn’t know if she could take him. He gripped her hips and thrust hard twice to get inside. Her m
oisture eased his way but she felt pinned, stretched, taken over.

  “Please,” she said again, but she didn’t know if she wanted him to stop or to never stop. Her body was twisting on his impalement, blazing out of her control to that place where they could only go together.

  Fully joined, he leaned over her and set his teeth where her neck met her shoulder.

  Grace felt the scrape of his fangs and a shiver moved over her skin.

  “Make your choice, Grace.” His voice was muffled but she understood him. He was asking her to choose him, to push aside the thought of fate and make him her choice. She hid her smile in the pillow.

  “Yes,” she said and he withdrew slowly. “Yes, yes.”

  He pushed inside just a little and her body accepted him. He stopped moving, as if savoring his position, just the tip of him captured inside her body.

  “When you say you will be a hard man to live with, do you mean because you’re going to torture me sexually?”

  He grunted out a laugh and pushed further into her creamy heat. Her starved pussy gripped him in desperation when he pulled back a little.

  “No, Grace. You will enjoy that part of our lives together. I will make sure you feel as much pleasure as you can handle.”

  She shrieked when he thrust inside and bit down into her muscle with sharp fangs. Pain and pleasure intermingled before the pleasure took over, popping and fizzing in her blood like champagne.

  His body settled into a devastating rhythm, slow withdrawal and a fast hard slide inside, slow then fast again. She couldn’t control her fervent response, bouncing and arching to try to tempt him each time he left her body, but he just continued the maddening rhythm. Finally, his body drew hers to meet his tempo and her muscles tensed for the final jump.

  “You’re mine,” he growled into her hair. “Say the words.”