More Wicked Alphas, Wilder Nights: Sizzling Collection of Paranormal Romance (Wicked Alphas, Wild Nights Book 5) (4 page)

“Izobelle.”

She frowned, the name jarring her into wakefulness. Opening her eyes, brilliant green orbs fixed on her face. The male crouched several feet away, the slant of his shoulders both wary and…something she couldn’t quite name.

Her body seized. A sensual cramp in her lower belly, incongruous and inexplicable. Breasts swelling with animal heat, unwanted and unfamiliar. She froze, battling instinct she didn’t understand. Desire she hadn’t felt in over… Her head throbbed, shutting down the stray thought.

The male was a stranger.

But her body reacted as if he were a… mate. Unacceptable.

“You’re too close,” she said, voice a low, rough growl. She didn’t recognize the timber of her own vocal cords.
Didn’t recognize
. It was as if she were listening to a stranger speak across a crowded room. “Back up!”

He moved back, holding up both hands. Slow, predator slow. Moving away but not giving ground.

Pressing a hand to her temple, she tried to stifle the throbbing with pressure and sat up slowly. The bed underneath her was bare, and not entirely clean. Looking around, the mattress matched her surroundings. Bare walls made of weathered wood planks. A simple floor and window with shutters rather than glass.

Glancing at the male again, she considered her options. “Where are we?”

“I’m not certain,” he said after a moment, watching her. “How does your head feel, Izo?”

How did her head feel? Empty, except for the pain. Bear was silent. Normally She rattled in the human cage, wanting to get out, to be let loose. For some reason, she understood that people around her thought she simply had a quick temper. It wasn’t true. Bear was simply so strong, she was obliged to grasp any reason possible to let her out, keep her pacified. She knew this, even though she didn’t
remember.
 The knowledge was instinctual, elusive. If she tried to grasp the tendril of memory it slipped through her fingers like rivulets of clear water.

Rising to her feet, she placed a hand on the wall next to her for balance, keeping one eye on the male, who didn’t move, looking up at her through tangled black hair. Long black hair, wild, and a face that would be called savage but for the grace of bones underneath summer brown skin.

“Do you know why we’re here?” she asked. It didn’t seem… reasonable… that she should be in a simple cabin out in the middle of… where? Moving to the shutters, keeping one hand braced on the wall to combat sick dizziness, she opened them. Forest. Thick forest that stretched for miles since she could see the rise of mountains shrouded in green.

What was she
doing
 here?

“Izobelle.”

She turned away from the view to regard the male, regretting the motion when her vision darkened. “I don’t recognize that name.”

Resignation flitted across his face before it shuttered. He rose, taller than her, and much broader. Approaching with slow steps as if she were dangerous.

Was she dangerous? She didn’t
feel
 dangerous.

“I won’t hurt you.”

She snorted. “As if you
could
, cub.”

He reached out, testing. A finger brushed the line of her jaw, then withdrew before she could react. The thing was, she didn’t react. He didn’t ring any alarm bells. He felt… familiar.

“We know each other,” she said, finally.

“Yes.”

“My head…” No. She wouldn’t admit to any weakness, though she wanted to curl back up on the mattress and whimper like a pathetic little ball.

“I was afraid of that.”

“I didn’t think you were afraid of anything.” The thought came from nowhere. She examined it, but there were no layers beneath. No memory to support the knowledge.

She…Izobelle…walked around him, her bare arm brushing his as she passed. For a flash of a second, her body tightened. Izo’s mouth thinned. So.

“You were given a drug,” he said behind her as she approached the door. “It will impair your memory for a while.”

Hand on the simple latch, she paused. “That isn’t a friendly act. Who would give me a drug?”

A heaviness to the silence. “Enemies.”

“Yours or mine?”

“Ours, now. They know you belong to me.”

Did he expect her to respond to that outrageous statement? She pushed out the door, walking into the open air. Well, more open air, since the hut offered very little shelter.

“If an enemy went to the trouble to knock me unconscious, drug me, and abandon me in the middle of nowhere with an ally- why not kill me?”

“They don’t have the stomach for murder,” he said. The heat of his body at her back, causing the fine hairs of her neck to rise. “They think they have honor.”

“And do they have honor? One male’s villain is another male’s hero.”

“I thought you would be in a bit of a temper when you woke.”

“Am I usually? In a bit of a temper.”

He didn’t answer that, instead walking past her. Wise. “Are you hungry?” he asked over his shoulder. “There’s a lake nearby.”

“Easier for Bear to hunt. I… can’t seem to shift right now.”

He stopped, turned. Stared at her. She forced her shoulders to remain still, not hunch and reveal her own sudden sense of vulnerability.

“Why is Bear still asleep?” she asked.

“She will wake, Izo. It just takes longer when this particular drug has been used.” Rage in his eyes, emerald sparking into scorching flame for just a split second. “I’ll take care of you.”

Izobelle laughed. Stopped, then grimaced. “I don’t need taking care of.”

“Every female needs taking care of. Even a-”

He cut himself off. Her brow rose and she walked towards him. “Even a what?”

He grinned, suddenly relaxed. “You know? I think I won’t tell you. You can be unbearably arrogant- this might be a nice break.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Take me to the lake, male, and feed me then. Since you think I need caring for.”

He led them through the forest. She smelled the water before she saw it, about a half mile away from their makeshift shelter.

“You didn’t tell me your name,” Izobelle said.

“Malvin.”

Malvin. She turned the word over in her head. She felt nothing. And sighed. “After we hunt, we should leave.”

“No.” He glanced at her, sharp and feral. “You’re vulnerable until you remember who you are. We stay here until your mind is whole.”

“And who am I? You said you wouldn’t tell me, like a game a spoiled male plays.”

“I won’t tell you because it won’t mean anything to you, and because rushing recovery can cause damage. I’ve seen the effects of this drug before. They probably meant to delay us.”

The situation sounded urgent. She responded to the tension in his voice, shoulders swelling, just slightly. It brightened her mood, the physiological response. It meant Bear was beginning to stir.

Izobelle knelt at the edge of the lake, looking into the water. Touched the smooth skin of her cheek. A female stared at her, deep eyes and mussed dark hair. Wide mouth and curving cheekbones.

“How old am I?” she wondered aloud. She didn’t look… young. But she didn’t look old. Glancing up at the male, who watched her, she realized something. “I’m your elder.”

He smiled, slow and sensual. The expression tugged on something low in her belly and she forced herself not to rise and back away in self-defense. “I like my females experienced.”

She scowled, uncertain she liked that term. “I am no slattern.”

“Of course not.” He hesitated. “You’ve had lovers. And you’ve been married.”

Izobelle rose. “Not mated?”

“No. Your husband… died.”

She stared at him, watching the expressions in his eyes. “You hesitate when you say he died.”

“Some say you had him killed.”

Izobelle blinked. Well. That was… interesting. “You called me Izo. Are we friends?”

Lovers?

A forest fire in his eyes as he held her gaze for a long moment. Heavy, a masculine knowledge hinting at possessiveness. She stiffened to avoid backing away. He looked at her as if she
did
 belong to him.

He turned away, his body beginning to swell and twist with the shift. “When your Bear wakes, you will know what we are.”

***

Izobelle considered his words, but didn’t press. He would tell her what he knew or he wouldn’t- but she wouldn’t lose her dignity and nag him. The male hunted with impressive efficiency, not a single movement wasted. She would have shifted and ate the fat fish raw, but Bear still slept. Malvin returned to human form, ignoring his own nudity, and went about making a small fire. Izobelle stretched out on the ground and watched him, unabashed. He glanced over after a while, dark brow quirked.

“If you choose to provide a show, youngling, you can’t be upset if I enjoy the view,” she said, a small smile on her lips.

He had the fish on a makeshift spit, roasting over a low flame. After a moment, apparently satisfied, he rose to his full height. Izobelle blinked, smile evaporating. Lean muscle rippled, the bulk in his shoulders and arms flexing as he stalked towards her. Another female might have kept her eyes firmly on his face- Izobelle felt too old for that nonsense. She allowed herself a slow, thorough look. Appreciating the
full
package.

“Who says I can’t have a younger male?” she muttered. Not that now was the time to think of
having
- but then, if she had nothing better to do with her time then wait for her brain to heal… why not?

“You like what you see.” His statement was flat, a cool smile curving his mouth, challenge in his eyes.

“Has there ever been a female for you who
didn’t
?” she asked. Spare her the cockiness of cubs. He knew he was fine.

“Why don’t you return the favor?”

She snorted, ignoring the subtle taunt in his tone, and rolled onto her back. “When I can shift again, perhaps. Don’t burn my dinner, male.”

This time she did close her eyes, ostensibly ignoring him. After a moment his shadow left her and she heard the rustle of his tending the roasting fish.

She must have dozed, for he woke her a time later with a nudge on her shoulder. Turning her head, she saw he’d pulled on pants and was sitting cross legged, if bare chested, balancing a portion of fish in his hand nestled on top of a wide leaf.

Izobelle inhaled. “That smells heavenly. I do hope you didn’t under season it.”

“You’re used to better cuisine, I’m sure.”

Sitting up, her fingers brushed his as she took her fish. It was hot; she blew for a moment, juggling the flesh to avoid burning her skin. The burn caused by the heat of cooked food. There was only one remedy for the other kind of heat.

“Take a bite,” he said, watching intently.

She blew again, then sank teeth into white, flaky flesh. She’d been mostly kidding about the seasoning. She was hungry enough that her taste buds absorbed the delicate flavor as if it were a complex dish served on the finest china at a banquet. Izobelle chewed, thoughtful. Now what did she know about fine china and banquets?

“It’s good, thank you,” she said.

He nodded, satisfied, and rose. “You can have a whole fish, two if you’ve the appetite.”

“Careful,” she murmured as her walked back to the fire. “I might read something into you trying to feed me.”

Crouching down at the fire, Malvin poked his own fish. “Read as much as you like.”

Izobelle wondered for a while what exactly he meant by that.

***

She woke out of sleep with a roar, Bear ripping her into wakefulness.

“Izobelle!”

The lash of Malvin’s voice spurred her. She surged off the mattress, a half crouch, hands shifted to meaty claws. She growled, deep in her chest. He walked into the hut, keeping the door wide open behind him. And stopped, waiting.

Inhaling, she struggled with Bear for several second, teeth gritted against the impulse to shift. Couldn’t let the Other out, not now when it would be difficult to rein Her in, keep her from a wild rampage. Izobelle snarled, frustrated, rising to her feet. Bear might be awake, but she still remembered nothing.

“Bad dream,” she said, voice rough.

His shoulders relaxed. “Are you… yourself?”

“No.”

Malvin sighed. “It’s only time, Izo.”

She looked at him. “And what is happening while we stay here? I’m not stupid- I wasn’t drugged because I was strolling through the park. Do I have a family?”

He hesitated, face impassive. “You have two adult children. They’re both mated and your son’s mate is whelping a cub soon.”

Izo’s eyes widened. She was that old? She didn’t feel old. Though Bears didn’t age nearly as fast as humans- still.

“Well,” she said after a moment. “They’ll be looking for me.” She shook her head. “I have a feeling that I have to get home.”

The thing was, she trusted him. Bear trusted him, too, though she sensed her other half’s frustration. The groggy awareness, pushing at Izobelle’s mind. She gritted her teeth, human hands rising to cover her face.
Damnit
.

Fingers wrapped around her wrists. “You’re in pain.”

She lowered her hands, slowly, meeting his eyes. “I think the Bear wants me to remember faster than my human brain will allow.”

“Tell Her to settle down.” He smiled, a small quirk. “She is a fearsome beast.”

Izo’s eyes narrowed. She wasn’t certain if she were pleased or insulted by the comment. And decided to err on the side of pleased.

“Do you want to try to sleep again?” he asked, voice gentle. He lowered his head, brushing lips against hers. Soft, gentle. “You should rest as much as possible.”

After a moment she managed to breathe again. “How am I supposed to rest knowing I have children missing me? Not knowing what in the hell is going on? Who the hell
are
you anyway?”

His thumbs caressed her wrists, expression thoughtful. “I could tell you, I don’t know if it would mean anything to you right now. When I was young, they gave us the drug that ails you as part of our training.”

“I’m certain I received no such training.”

Laugher in his eyes as he shook his head. “No, not that. Though the training you do receive- and give- is second to none.”