A Long Walk Home Ch. 03

Her answer was so unexpected he burst out laughing. He hadn't laughed in such a long time, not since he had last been with Anakatrine millennia ago before everything had gone to hell and his world had turned black. When he stopped laughing he looked down at her and fought down a rising emotion deep within him at the thought of her having a date with another man.

"I suspect he might actually thank me for doing him a favour," he responded dryly before he released her and stood up. "He must be a very brave man to take on a hellcat like you."

He turned away from the strange woman who was engaging him on so many levels he'd never experienced before. She was still an enigma to him but he didn't judge her to be a threat to the Pack and most importantly, the children. "Curb your cat's curiosity, Kitty," he called over his shoulder. "The compound is off limits to you unless you're invited in."

Rayne watched the vampire leave, rising with a feline grace which was inbuilt. Her cat was purring happily inside her, letting her know that it liked the man who was disappearing into the trees. She wasn't quite sure what she thought of him herself. He was very arrogant but then he was a vampire. And he liked to play rough too.

But he did have a very quick wit and was sexy as sin itself. The vampire screamed danger in big neon red lights but instead of that frightening her off it only piqued her interest a little more. So, he thought he could just order her away from the compound? She didn't do orders very well, never had and wasn't about to start now.

Turning away, she shifted to her panther and streaked off through the trees. She was well aware that she had probably just dodged about twenty bullets and had managed to walk away in one piece. Going up against the red haired vampire probably wouldn't be a good move but then she didn't always do the most sensible things in life.

*****

Dayton was sitting in his office at the Gallery when the door opened. He heard it distinctly and knew it could only be one person because he'd locked it half an hour ago. Only Rayne had a key to let herself in. He pursed his lips and ran his hand through his long hair as he remembered they had a dinner date. It had been a long day, one that had tested him greatly and he would have preferred to be alone but knew she wouldn't allow it.

Aaron had sent an email which he'd expected as Loretta would have told them she'd seen him. His little brother hadn't made any accusations though. None of his family ever did. The email was friendly, expressed regret that they hadn't had the opportunity to talk with him when he was so close to the compound but that the family were happy to hear he was looking well.

The understanding his family gave him was worse than any accusations they could throw at him. It had become harder to stay detached as the years passed when they constantly gave him love and support which he didn't want. If they had been angry at him then it would be easier to hold himself aloof. Seeing Loretta today had shook him more than he cared to think about.

Rayne appeared in the doorway to the office and for a moment he could only stare at her in complete shock. Gone was her customary attire of black and in its place was a shimmering dress in teal green with thousands of diamante sparkles through it. It was long and formal, as was the artfully arranged hair piled on top of her head. Her long, slender neck was graced with a diamante collar and she had matching strappy sandals on her feet.

"You didn't say this was a dress up affair," he finally commented when he could finally speak. He had always been aware that she was stunningly beautiful but he'd never looked at her as a woman before. She was just Rayne to him. Now he perused her objectively and he could see the sensuality that cloaked her like a glove.

She laughed softly and gave him a twirl. "You like?" she grinned mischievously. "I don't dress up enough. Today I had the urge. Don't worry, you don't have to. We're not doing anything fancy for dinner."

Rayne was feeling very buoyed from her meeting with the vampire. Her cat was closer to the surface, her playful spirit coming out and dictating her current behaviour. Cats were very mischievous and hers wasn't any different from the other wildcats. She gave Dayton a wide smile and cocked her head to the side. "Come."

Dayton watched her head away from the doorway and sighed softly. He'd only ever seen her in this mood a couple of times before and it had always turned out to be an interesting experience. When in a playful mood, anything could happen with Rayne. He wondered what had set her off this time. Rising he headed out of the office and stopped in surprise.

All the lights were out save for the wall lighting that framed his artwork. The effect was pretty spectacular as colours shimmered around the room. In the middle of the floor was a large picnic basket sitting on an enormous fluffy white rug. Rayne was kneeling on the rug and pulling various containers from the basket.

"I take it we're eating in?" he remarked dryly though his lips did curve slightly as he walked forward to join her. Dinner with Rayne was always an unknown. She had a thing for picnics when she was the one buying. Once, about a decade ago, she had taken him to a hastily constructed tree house in the middle of the forest and served him truffles, champagne and caviar from her picnic basket.

The crudeness of the setting against the luxury of the ingredients had actually stimulated his senses and he'd found he'd enjoyed the experience immensely. But that had been her goal.

He wasn't oblivious to what she was up to most of the time. She had forced her way into his life and decided that she was going to heal him. If she came at him head on he would have been intractable and she knew it. So she worked subtly and in unusual directions to tease him back into life. Sometimes she even managed it for a brief period of time before the melancholy set back in. Nothing deterred her though.

Sighing again, Dayton knelt of the rug and accepted the glass of champagne she handed him. He stretched out on his side and relaxed, taking a sip from his glass as he watched her intently. "So, what's brought the cat out today?"

Silvery green eyes flashed with amusement as she met his gaze. "I met a man," she laughed softly. "A very bad tempered, mean old vampire to be precise. He broke my ribs and then tossed me from a tree."

He automatically tensed, overcome with a wild fury which surprised him in its intensity. He knew Rayne could look after herself but after meeting the children this morning his old Beta instincts to protect were still hovering too close to the surface. He could see that she was perfectly fine but he was still enraged that someone had hurt her.

His emotional reaction to the cat was becoming harder to deal with. She had woven a way through his defences over the decades despite his attempts to keep her out. She was the only one who had managed to do so and he often wondered what it was about her that was so special. What was it about Rayne which dented his carefully constructed armour?

"I told you to keep away from Alexei and Andrei." Was his cool response though his deep blue eyes were flashing dangerously, giving away his fury.

More silvery laughter as she placed a plate of cheese and fruit before him with a mouth watering spicy pastry to accompany it. "It wasn't one of those vamps, Day. I don't know who this one was but he was pretty spectacular. Long red hair, deep lavender eyes and the most incredible body I've ever seen. My cat was very impressed with his strength and ruthlessness. For a moment I thought he was going to kill me but then he appeared to change his mind and let me go."

A loud rumbling growl escaped Dayton as she calmly told him she had come a hairsbreadth away from death in such a matter of fact tone. She actually sounded impressed that the vampire had tried to kill her.

Rayne smiled at the raw fury she saw in his eyes. He was reacting just how she wanted him to, just how she had hoped he would. The chinks in his armour were growing wider, her objective being to keep those cracks open long enough for his emotions to bleed through. Suppressing them for so long had only hurt him. It was time he started living again.

And he was her link into the Pack that she had been summarily banished from. She had no intention of staying away from the children. She had to be close to them, scent them, touch them, learn what it was about them that called to her so. There was so much she didn't know about herself and she had a feeling those little ones would give her the answers she had been seeking her entire life.

Leaning forward she traced her fingers lightly along his clenched jaw, soothing down the rage with her soft touch. Her actions were twofold. She wanted to help him deal with the unexpected emotions he was feeling and she wanted to completely infuriate the vampire standing outside watching them.

"Eat," she smiled gently. "The pastries are delicious." She stroked his jaw lightly again and then sat back and concentrated on her food feeling the cold hatred directed at her back from the woman outside.

*****

Freya had found she couldn't get the wolf out of her mind all day long. She coldly analysed what it was about him that irritated her so much as she sat in Nors' home and watched her two year old nephew play with building blocks on the sitting room carpet.

Unlike the Romanov twins, her brother and his mate spent more time at their own house than they did the compound. She knew they did it for her. She was uncomfortable around the wolves and their compound. Accepting Ashleigh and now baby Liam into her family had been a challenge but one she had been able to overcome with time. They were now just as precious to her as her brother.

But accepting the other wolves was a much harder task. She couldn't shake off two thousand years of enmity towards them so easily. She wouldn't do anything to hurt them unless they hurt her or her family, but that didn't mean she wanted to spend every waking moment in their Compound the way the other mated vampires did. She tolerated them because she had to. It was all she was capable of.

Which was why her interest in the male wolf from the other day was irritating her. She'd been trying to fathom out what it was about him that had set her off, made her want to sink her fangs into his neck and taste his blood, killing him into the bargain. Maybe it was the way he had looked right through her, as if she didn't exist?

Freya was a vain woman and she knew it. She was aware how she turned male heads of all species. Never had a man looked at her as if she was asexual and that grated on her nerves because that was what the wolf had done. And by doing so it was almost as if he had silently challenged her. His distain angered her, brought out her feral side. And her protective side. He had wounded Ashleigh with his rejection and that added to her annoyance with him.

"Look, Aunt Freya," Liam cried with delight, pointing at the rickety tower block of bricks he'd just built. The sound of his sweet voice soothed some of her inner rage and her expression lightened from the dark scowl she was wearing and a small smile crossed her face.

"Very good, Liam," she responded gently, moving from the sofa to sit on the floor beside him. "That's eight bricks high. You're improving daily with your skills." The words weren't particularly designed for a child his age, the praise difficult for her to enunciate, and yet it drew the widest smile from the adorable child beside her.

Liam Eriksson had his father's dark auburn hair but his mother's chocolate brown eyes. His baby features were starting to change into that of a grown up little boy and he had Ashleigh's gentle spirit as opposed to his father's more volatile temper.

He loved his mother and father as only a child could, enthusiastically and unconditionally but he particularly adored his aunt with her multi coloured hair and cold eyes. No matter how much she smiled he never saw any sparkle in the deep green of her eyes and that made him feel sad.

He may be only two years old but Liam saw things with a maturity far beyond his years. He looked at his pretty aunt and he knew that deep down inside she hurt badly. He could sense most people's feelings if he wanted to though he didn't make a habit of doing it in case they realised he was doing so.

He didn't want mummy and daddy worrying that something was wrong with him. He knew they did that, that all the Pack were concerned for him and the other children because they didn't know what they would grow into. Which was just plain silly in his opinion because he knew they were all going to be just fine. But grown ups were funny that way sometimes because they loved their children so much.

Aunt Freya was the only grown up that he had trouble blocking so he didn't try anymore. Despite her cold eyes her mental voice almost screamed out to him. Today she was very angry so he tried to distract her with his block building. Sometimes it worked and other times it didn't. Today it appeared to be working a little.

"Hug, Aunt Freya," he demanded, his arms reaching up towards her.

Enchanted with the little being in front of her, Freya gathered him carefully into her arms and let him bury his face in the side of her neck as he played with her hair. She felt a tenderness for the boy on a level she was not used to dealing with. Usually she would try and fight these emotions but it was impossible with Liam.

"Ash, get a camera! Freya's being all warm and fuzzy. We need to capture this moment," Nors Eriksson yelled over his shoulder as he entered the sitting room to see his sister cradling his son so tenderly. His voice was full of amusement though his eyes were shining with love as he looked down at them.

He was an Ancient vampire and one of the largest of their kind. Standing close to six and a half feet tall, his shoulders appeared just as wide. He was loosening his hair as he talked, still dressed in a dark grey Armani business suit having just returned from work.

His mate entered the room behind him, rolling her eyes as she saw Freya's annoyance at his teasing. "Leave her alone," she reprimanded though she was smiling. Liam always seemed to reach her sister-in-law where no one else could. Their relationship was building into something very special and she was delighted to watch it grow.

"She's ruining her reputation of being a cold hearted bitch," he continued teasing as he picked up his mate and kissed her soundly despite their audience.

"Daddy!" Liam giggled, hugging his aunt a tad tighter as she stiffened at the teasing before he let go and ran towards his parents to be included in their family moment.

Nors reached down with one arm to scoop his son up and kissed the top of his head as they hugged tightly.

Freya watched the family unit with narrowed eyes. They included her in everything but that still didn't mean she didn't feel like an outsider in moments like this. The bond between the Eriksson family was so close knit that sometimes nothing could intrude on it. She felt her irritation rising as she watched them as she stood up.

"I need to go," she said shortly, drawing a frown from Ashleigh as Nors set her down.

"Stay, Freya," she said softly. "I was just going to bath Liam and put him to bed. You know he loves it when you stay for his bedtime story."

"I have plans," Freya answered looking away from the little boy with the big eyes who appeared to be begging her to stay even though he hadn't opened his mouth. "Maybe tomorrow."

She was moving out of the room before they could attempt to convince her otherwise. She appreciated the way they included her in their lives but it was their family, not hers. She was just a sister, an aunt, a sister-in-law. She was part of them and yet she wasn't.

She had no idea where she was going when she left Nors' house. At first she had thought she was heading to her own home but instead she veered off into the night until she found herself inexplicably standing across the road from a small Gallery in the heart of town.

Why had she felt the need to come to the wolf's place? Was it because she knew it would irritate him enormously? Usually when she was feeling this way she found someone to torment to the point of madness. Sometimes she found a particularly aggressive male vampire and led him a merry dance as the idiot tried to bed her. Sometimes she even gave in and let the male win the encounter though she could have bested him.

Tonight she stared into the window of a closed art gallery watching intently for a wolf with eyes that where almost as dead as her own.

Freya watched the female Were arrive and let herself into the Gallery. She tried to scent the other woman but found she couldn't do so which immediately set her hackles up. She could discern the Were was a wildcat but that was about all. There was something odd about this Were but she couldn't put her finger on it.

The woman was glorious. Her beauty rivalled even her own and she found her anger ratcheting up a notch as she watched. Was the wolf bedding the cat? She didn't know if interspecies mating was possible or why it bothered her so much that the man, who was just following the woman out of the office, might be sleeping with the cat.

From her first meeting with him it appeared that a night in his bed would be a frigidly cold affair, that was if a woman could convince him to let her into it. The anger inside her built steadily as they lounged together on the thick white rug, the woman tenderly touching his strong jaw as his eyes sparkled with an emotion she couldn't quite read from the distance she was at despite her enhanced sight.

She didn't know who the woman was but she could see that Dayton Alexander responded to her on an emotional level. His eyes were not dead when he looked at her. Hatred for the woman burned deeply within her. It was an irrational emotion considering she didn't even know her but she couldn't shake it.

The cat had her hands on the man who had failed to acknowledge her as a woman and that was unacceptable to Freya Eriksson. Dayton Alexander was hers to play with and she wouldn't think twice about taking any competition out of the arena. Permanently.

To be continued...