Hearts of Warriors Ch. 04

There appeared to be some kind of art to cooking, at least Lily made it seem so. He was fascinated by the way she moved and timed things. The smell of burning meat didn't appeal to him much, but she didn't leave it in the pan for too long so he could cope with it. He made coffee as she prepared her meal. He headed over to dining area to sink into a plush mahogany chair.

Lily joined him a moment later, her stomach making a loud rumbling noise. "God, this is going to taste so good," she sighed as she cut into the meat. Bloody juices spilled out and Karn's eyebrow rose in surprise.

She shrugged. "I'm a mix between a wolf and a vampire, Karn. I may not like drinking blood but I do like my meat extremely rare." She began to eat, chewing slowly as if savouring every morsel.

He shook his head and gave up trying to work out what made her tick. She was so contradictory in her words and actions it was hard to keep up with her. He decided to just go with the flow; it would save on the confusion.

"Will three days be too long?" he asked as she ate. "I can probably get away with scheduling some one-on-one training with you every three days so we can come here and you can eat. Any sooner than that and it might cause some suspicion."

She nodded as she swallowed a mouthful of food. "Three days won't cause me any inconvenience. But why you, Karn? Why can't Mac bring me here?"

The sudden tension in his body had her setting down her knife and fork carefully on the delicate china plate. She gave him her undivided attention. "Why does the thought of Mac and I being here make you tense, Karn?"

"I'll bring you," he answered quietly. "Just leave it at that, Lily."

She opened her mouth to argue with him and then slowly closed it, glancing around the luxurious room. Karn had deftly answered her question about how Mac used the penthouse. His answer had been quick and very smooth, his expression completely neutral at the time.

Realisation dawned and she wanted to kick herself for being so dumb. She'd asked Mac about his feeding habits the night before and he'd answered her honestly. She wasn't naïve enough to believe he wasn't sexually promiscuous. He was a vampire and a virile male to boot. He would have indulged his needs when the notion took him.

But to be sitting in the place where he'd indulged his passions was completely different from just hearing the words. This was where Mac brought his women. He couldn't take them back to the Praetorian compound so he'd need somewhere else to go.

"Lily..."

She stood up, her eyes moving to the door which obviously led to the other rooms in the apartment. She was walking towards it before she could stop herself.

"Lily, don't." Karn's words were quiet though he didn't move to stop her.

Lily kept walking through the first door and then through another. The bedroom was almost as big as the great room. The bed was enormous, covered in black satin sheets with deep wine satin pillows. The walls were deep red, the drapes on the windows a shiny black material. She figured they were satin too.

The room screamed of sex. She could imagine Mac's black hair spilling across the pillows, his tanned body sliding over the black sheets as he took some nameless, faceless woman with his body. The image was burned in her brain, and her chest hurt as she gripped the doorframe so hard the wood splintered under her fingers.

She felt Karn come to stand behind her. "This is where he brings them." Her voice was low, a harsh whisper in the silence of the apartment. The food she'd just eaten was sitting heavy in her stomach. She knew her reaction was stupid, irrational and yet she couldn't seem to breathe through the thick wall of pain erupting inside her.

"I shouldn't have brought you here," Karn said quietly. "We should have worked something else out. I'm sorry, Lily. It didn't cross our minds that this may be distressing for you."

Distressing? It was more like cutting her off at the knees. It shouldn't matter to her. Mac hadn't known about her until a day ago. It wasn't his fault that she'd known about him for twelve years, had claimed him so very long ago.

Oh God, it shouldn't matter but it was breaking her heart. She couldn't get the image out of her head, couldn't breathe thinking about him lying with someone else in this very bed, his hands and lips touching someone else's skin. A tortured sound escaped her and her wolf howled in torment.

"Lily!"

Karn's concerned shout seemed to come from a distance.

"Lily!" Kallum's mental cry rebounded in her head.

She shut them both out, and did the only thing she could think of to protect herself. She surrendered to her wolf, burying herself so deeply within its body that barely any of her conscious thought remained.

The air rippled slightly and Lily shifted to wolf form. The animal howled up at the ceiling and then bounded away from the room. It tore through the apartment trying to find a way out but all the doors were closed. It had to be free! It had to escape!

The large black wolf turned at a sound behind it. The male that stood there was staring at the wolf with a surprised expression on his face. The vampire could free the wolf. It bared its teeth at him, wordlessly commanding him to open the door. The male held his hands up in a non-threatening gesture.

"Lily, I know you're hurting, little one," he said soothingly. "You're confused and a little scared, and you're feeling trapped. I understand that. It's overwhelming, but you need to take a few deep breaths and try to calm down. Shift back, Lily. You need to shift back to your human form."

The wolf snarled loudly, fury in its eyes. The animal sprang at the vampire with a loud growl reverberating through the air.

Karn caught the wolf squarely in his arms. The impact of the animal's leap forced them both to the floor and knocked the breath from his body. He held the wolf on top of him and threw his head back, baring his neck in submission. He'd seen the wildness in the animal's eyes, had known Lily wasn't in control at that moment. He did the only thing he could think of to save his life, he submitted to the animal.

There was a good chance he could kill the wolf if he defended himself, but there was no way in hell he could ever kill Lily. He had to hope she had enough control to realise that she didn't want to kill him either. One thing he did know for sure, if he got out of this alive he was going to kick the shit out of Mac for placing him in this position.

Strong jaws snapped around Karn's neck and he froze while keeping the wolf cradled against his chest. Any sudden movements could mean his life. He did his best to moderate his breathing and hide any scent of fear so as not to inflame the animal any further.

"Lila, what's wrong? Talk to me, sister mine. You're worrying me."

Kallum's voice pierced Lily's misery. She shook her head to try and get him to leave her alone and heard a sharp cry of pain. Her startled eyes focused on Karn and she screamed and jumped up. Her body didn't obey her immediately, the wolf confused as she tried to stand up on two feet. The wolf collapsed beside Karn and Lily shifted back to human form.

She scrambled forward, her hands going to his neck to help stem to flow of blood. "I'm sorry! Oh God, I'm so sorry, Karn." She was sobbing as he placed his hands over hers and increased the pressure against the wound. It was already beginning to heal and they were managing to stem the flow of blood.

"Lily!"

"Fuck off, Kallum!" she screamed both mentally and vocally. "I've got an emergency on my hands and I don't need you in my head right now. Go away!"

She didn't know why she was yelling at her brother. There was no telling what her wolf would have done in its panic if he hadn't reached out to her. She'd hurt Karn accidentally by shaking her head. It wasn't Kal's fault. It was nobody's fault but hers. She'd lost control and her friend was bleeding because of it.

Tears flowed and she couldn't stop them. She'd hurt Karn and he'd probably never forgive her. He'd tell Mac what a monster she was. He'd have to, so the others could be protected. This had to be why her father had insisted she stay at the compound. She was flawed in some way, a killer if not controlled by a stronger, dominant personality. Andrei hadn't been protecting her, he'd been protecting everyone else.

"I'm a monster, Daddy," she wept. "Why didn't you tell me? If you'd told me the truth I would have listened to you. The Praetorians aren't there to protect us, are they? They're there to protect everyone else from us!"

She felt her father's presence in her mind. He had the most powerful aura she'd ever encountered.

"You are not a monster, Liliana. You're a wilful, disobedient child who clearly needs to have her backside paddled to bring her in line, but a monster is the last thing you are," Andrei answered, his mental tone laced with disapproval. "I don't know what put the foolish notion into your head but you can get rid of it immediately. Tell me where you are and I'll come pick you up."

Oddly, his voice and words soothed her and she felt his strength seeping into her. His threat of paddling her backside even brought a slight smile to her lips. Her father had never laid a hand on her in anger her entire life. As if he'd ever do so now.

"I'm waiting, Liliana."

She met Karn's gaze and saw him watching her expectantly. She frowned, expecting him to be angry or even maybe a little afraid of her.

"You can let go now, Lily. The wound has healed." His calm words surprised her and she looked down at their joined hands. He was right the wound was fully healed now. She sat back on her heels and bit her bottom lip.

"Well, this has been an interesting morning," he continued sitting up slowly. "We're going to have to work on containing your emotions. I was thinking about this earlier, but now I see we've got a panicked wolf to deal with too. I'll have to factor that in."

Lily's mouth dropped open and she struggled to speak.

"I'm starting to get very annoyed now, Liliana. Where are you?"

"Fuck!" she hissed, frowning at Karn.

He wasn't angry with her; in fact he wanted to keep training her. He didn't think she was a monster and neither did her father. She could go home, back to the safety of the pack or she could stay with the Praetorians and be with Mac. She had to decide on the safer course of action and her father was becoming very impatient.

"My father wants me to go home, Karn. Maybe he was right all along. I lost control and hurt you. I didn't mean to do it. I'm scared that I -- I'll do it again. Maybe it would be better if I went home."

Karn stared into her confused face as he considered their options. The wolf attack was a cause for concern, he couldn't deny that. But hiding within the pack wasn't going to solve that problem for Lily. She needed to be taught to control her wolf.

It hadn't been pleasant being shaken like a rag doll but it had been unintentional, he was certain of that. Lily would never deliberately hurt an innocent if she could avoid it. He knew her well enough by now to be certain. Neither Andrea nor Lily was the monster she thought she was.

"Mac will come looking for you," he finally said. "He'll do his damnedest not to but he'll fail. If things come to a head before you've learned control then something terrible could happen if he and your father go up against each other."

He didn't think Lily could cope with being forced to choose between the two most important men in her life. His job was to protect her and not just from the physical things that could hurt her.

"Liliana, enough of this! Tell me where you are now!"

Her father's loud roar startled her so much she flinched. It also helped her choose. "I'm sorry, Dad, I can't come home right now. There are some things I need to do first. Tell Mom and Kal I'm fine and I'll be in touch again soon."

She shielded her thoughts instantly to avoid the backlash from his fury. She'd probably have to leave it a few days before contacting him again. She hoped her mother could soothe him.

"I owe you a debt I can never repay, Karn," she said solemnly. "I wounded you. It doesn't matter that it was unintentional, I still did it. I don't deserve your help but I need it badly. Teach me. Please."

Karn's eyes never left her face. He saw fear in her eyes and it made his gut clench hard. He'd had the opportunity to hand her off to her father and he'd talked her out of it. He was now officially as crazy as Mac.

"Shut up!" he growled, reaching out and pulling Lily into a tight embrace. "You just told Andrei Romanov to go fuck himself. Anyone with balls like that just can't do humble and get away with it."

Her startled gasp turned into a hesitant laugh, and then her body began to shake as she tried to contain her laughter. Her arms tightened around him. "I'm so dead when he gets his hands on me," she choked out.

"I'm booking a ringside seat for that one," he grinned back. "Payback is such a bitch! Now let's get back to the house before anything else can go wrong today."

To be continued...