Warrior of Fate Read online

  The abrupt shift in their relationship from flirtation to mated lovers, the attack, the truths she’d learned tonight … What did she really know about Adrian, anyway? He’d appeared from nowhere, frequently disappeared on mysterious errands, and reappeared just when they needed him. Strange how events had pushed her family right in the direction he’d wanted. Even now her father was seriously considering moving the stone to the Temple of Mneseus. Had that been Adrian’s plan all along?

  Logically, she realized she was being paranoid. Of course Adrian had not incited the Mendukati to attack, but the results of it certainly played in his favor. And, illogical as it was, that just did not sit well with her.

  It was too late to not be involved with him. They’d made love. They’d bonded. She sensed him even when he wasn’t in the room, proof the mate link was growing stronger. But she could certainly slow the pace of the relationship until she knew him better.

  And until she could convince herself completely that he would not betray them in favor of his allegiance to the temple.

  She sensed him before she heard him, that tingling that swept over her whenever his energy touched hers. When Adrian embraced her from behind, she grasped onto him, hugging his arms even closer, just for a moment. She should push him away, but his touch warmed her again, chasing away the dread that had gripped her.

  “How are you doing?” he murmured against her hair.

  She closed her eyes as his lips brushed her temple. Why did it have to be so complicated? Why couldn’t she have this—just this? “Freaked out. This was a crazy night.”

  “For everyone,” he agreed. “Do you want to talk about him?”

  “Who?” she asked, stalling. But they both knew.

  “Luke.”

  She squeezed her eyes shut. “I want him to go away. To never have happened.”

  “You can’t run away from the past, princess. You can only embrace it.”

  “Even the horrible parts?”

  “Especially the horrible parts. You embrace them and absorb them and make them part of you. Then they can never hurt you.”

  “I’m not like you,” she whispered. “I’m not used to all this war and enemies and spies and people wanting to kill me. I can’t just shrug it off.”

  “Not shrug it off,” he said, nuzzling her throat. “Absorb. Accept.”

  She laughed, a bitter sound despite the thrill that rippled through her at his touch. If only she could. “I’m not big on accepting. Ignoring, denying, that I can do.”

  “You’re not a little girl anymore, Tessa. You can do this.”

  She broke from their embrace, turning to face him. “How do you know? All my life I’ve been helpless little Tessa, kept away from the world because of her delicate sensibilities. I didn’t even see what he was, Adrian. Somehow he got closer to me than anyone ever had, and I didn’t even see that he was … He could have—” Her words broke on a sob.

  “Hey, hey.” He pulled her back into his arms, pressing her face into his shoulder. “He was an asshole, and he hurt you. It’s okay to cry about it. Get the tears out of your system so you can be good and mad about what happened, instead of devastated.”

  “Mad won’t help,” she said against his shoulder. “He could have killed me, and I couldn’t have stopped him. I don’t know how.” She pushed out of his arms again and swept a hand over her damp eyes. “I don’t know how to fight. If they had succeeded in getting in here tonight, I would have been dead before I ever saw them coming.”

  “But you did see them coming.”

  “This time. But what about next time?”

  “Okay.” He swept a lone tear from her cheek with his thumb. “That’s a valid concern.”

  “You bet it is.” She stepped back. “Rafe can fight, Darius can freak people out with their own emotions, Faith can use stone power to defend herself. Heck, Cara is from New Jersey. I bet even she can throw a punch. But me? I have no training whatsoever.” She gave a brittle laugh. “The princess locked in the tower doesn’t need to know self-defense, I guess.”

  “You’re wrong about that.” He came closer, took her chin, and made her look at him. “I think you do need to learn how to defend yourself. And I can teach you.”

  “Might be too late for that now. The Mendukati were on our doorstep—literally.”

  “It’s never too late, princess. Self-defense is a skill you can use your entire life, long after this war is over. I can teach you some things in a short time that will help. Like how to disable your attacker long enough to run away.”

  “Run away, huh?” She gave a hard laugh. “Pretty badass.”

  “Sometimes running away is the best thing you can do,” he said, his handsome face serious. “If the advantage is his, the smartest thing you can do is disable him long enough to get away. Change the circumstances to your advantage.”

  “Well, running away doesn’t seem so lame when you put it that way.”

  “Think of it as a strategic retreat.” He took her hand, stroked her fingers. She should pull away again, but darn him, he kept touching her, narrowing the distance she tried to put between them. “I’d like you to tell me about Luke. If he’s Mendukati, the more I know about him, the better I can protect you.”

  “I doubt he’ll ever show his face around here,” Tessa said. “Rafe and Darius were out of commission when all this went down, but they heard the stories from Dad. Luke would be taking his life in his hands to come after me after what he pulled.”

  “Still.” He pressed a kiss to her fingers, and she melted a little inside. “Indulge me.”

  She sighed and pulled her hand from his. She had to set boundaries. “You are a dangerous man, Adrian Gray.”

  He grinned. “Thank you.”

  “That wasn’t necessarily a compliment. We haven’t had that talk yet.”

  His smile faded. “I know.”

  “And everything has moved very fast.”

  “Yes, it has. This isn’t how I intended things to happen.” He frowned, a line creasing that smooth forehead. “What are you saying, Tessa?”

  “I know we’re destined mates. My mother confirmed it. But Adrian, I need you to slow down.”

  He grew very still. “Be more specific.”

  “A lot has happened tonight. I found out we’re destined mates. We made love, not once but several times. And I’m not complaining,” she hurried to add. “What woman would? But Adrian, we skipped a few steps. A lot of steps, actually.”

  “Such as?”

  “Dating? Getting to know each other? Really, Adrian, other than the fact that you’re a fantastic fighter who can suck the power out of Warriors and brainwash humans, what do I really know about you? Any other woman would be running for the hills with a résumé like that.”

  “Our circumstances haven’t exactly been conducive to a traditional courtship.”

  “I get that. And believe me, with our circumstances, as you put it, I’m glad you can do all that stuff. But my point is, you know a lot about me. You’ve met my family, have fought beside them. I have no idea about yours. Where you were born, who your parents are. If you have brothers and sisters. How you grew up. What is Warrior culture like?” She swept a hand around, indicating their surroundings. “This is me, where I grew up, and you know how it shaped me, what my culture is like.”

  “You haven’t told me everything, either,” he said. “What about Luke?”

  “Exactly. That’s one of the conversations we need to have. And I could ask you about Larina.”

  His concerned look turned to puzzlement. “What about her? I’ve known her most of my life. We trained together, have worked together many times.”

  “And been lovers?”

  “A couple of times.” He snagged her hand with a lightning quick reflex, as if afraid she would flee. “Tessa, you’re not worried about her?”

  “Not really. Having my suspicions confirmed pinches a little, but I’m not threatened by her, even though she seems to be exactly the kind o
f woman you should be with. Our bond trumps any casual relationships that might have come before.”

  He visually relaxed. “Good.”

  “But these are the types of things we need to share with each other, Adrian. And frankly, you know a lot more about me than I know about you. I think we should pull back a little, take things slower. And I don’t think we should jump into bed again right away. Give us a chance to have some of these conversations we need to have.”

  “I was born in Santutegi,” he said. “Moved to the United States when I was ten and my parents split up.”

  She laughed. “Thank you. That’s a start.”

  “Hey, Gray!” Darius appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. “You coming? Dad wants to talk about that temple of yours.”

  Adrian hesitated. Tessa gave him a gentle shove. “Go on. It’s important.”

  “So is this.”

  “We can talk again tomorrow.”

  “Gray! Let’s go!” Darius called.

  “Be there in a minute,” Adrian shouted back.

  Darius waited a moment, glanced back and forth between Tessa and Adrian, then disappeared inside, a scowl on his face.

  “I think Darius knows what happened tonight,” Tessa said. “With us.”

  “I know he does. Don’t worry, I can handle him.”

  “Rafe probably knows, too.”

  “I’m sure Darius has told him.”

  “Is everyone talking about what happened between us?”

  “It’s to be expected, especially with an empath in the family.” He squeezed the hand he still held. “I don’t suppose you’ll come back to my room with me? After?”

  “Not tonight.” She stepped away from him, pulling her hand from his, a sigh of regret escaping her lips. “I really do need some sleep, and I don’t think that’s what we would be doing. Plus—”

  “Plus you want to talk about all this first. Okay, I can understand that.” He glanced at the house. “Guess I’d better get in there.”

  “Guess you’d better.”

  “I’m going.” But he didn’t move.

  She gave him a little shove, which, of course, did not move him a bit. “Go, Adrian, before my brothers come out here and carry you in there.”

  “I’d like to see them try. You sure you don’t want to come, too?”

  “Normally I would insist on it, but I think I’m just going to head to bed. It’s been a really complicated night. Let the family know where I went, will you?”

  “At least walk me to the dining room.” He held out his hand.

  She couldn’t resist. Taking it, she let him lead her into the house.

  * * *

  Adrian paused outside the dining room, listening as Tessa ascended the stairs. It had been a hell of a night, but the Mendukati had done him an inadvertent favor with their failed infiltration: John Montana was willing to listen to reason about moving the stone to the temple. But things with Tessa had taken an unexpected turn.

  The prisoner is contained, Larina said into his mind. I’m going to patrol some more, make sure we didn’t miss any.

  Good hunting, he replied.

  Always.

  As Larina took off on her patrol, Adrian turned his keen hearing to Tessa. He heard her bedroom door open and close, the rustle of her clothing being discarded. His body tightened as he imagined her sliding naked between the sheets—

  An obnoxious throat-clearing jerked him out of his fantasy, and he turned to face Darius and Rafe, standing shoulder to shoulder just outside the dining room.

  “Now, guys?” he said. “Really?”

  “We had a moment,” Rafe said.

  “Dad and Mom are having a little talk,” Darius said. “So I thought it was time for us to have a little talk.”

  “We,” Rafe corrected.

  “We,” Darius agreed with a nod. “We thought it was time for us to have a little talk.”

  “You do realize we’re in the middle of a situation,” Adrian said.

  “We certainly are,” Rafe agreed.

  “I meant the Mendukati,” Adrian said.

  “We mean Tessa,” Darius replied.

  “This is the part where we ask you about your intentions,” Rafe explained.

  “Though we already know some of it. I already know some of it.” Darius glowered at him.

  “Sorry about that,” Adrian said. “Nothing was supposed to happen yet.”

  “Yet?” Rafe took a step forward, but his brother grabbed his arm. “What do you mean yet? You got some master plan here, Gray?”

  “Tessa isn’t worldly, Gray,” Darius said. “She’s been sheltered. She’s no match for a guy like you. Don’t toy with her.”

  “I’m not toying with anyone. And I think both of you are doing your sister a disservice. She’s stronger than you know.”

  “Are you really trying to teach us about our own sister?” Now it was Darius who lunged, Rafe who held him back. “You’ve known her what, a couple of months?” Darius demanded. “I’ve known her since she was born.”

  “A brother’s perspective is different from someone who’s not a family member,” Adrian said. “She’s been complaining that the two of you are overprotective.”

  “Bullshit,” Rafe snapped. “She’s just a kid.”

  “She’s twenty-six years old,” Adrian said. “And how old is Faith, Darius?”

  “What’s that got to do with—”

  “How old?” Adrian pressed.

  “Twenty-six,” Darius muttered. “But Faith is a whole different subject. She grew up a lot harder than Tess.”

  “Yes, she did. Without two older brothers preventing her from learning about life.”

  “What kind of half-assed psychobabble is that?” Rafe demanded. “We protect Tessa. When she was little, the voices in her head used to make her cry.”

  “She seems to have a handle on it now,” Adrian said.

  “She’s sensitive to other peoples’ thoughts,” Darius said.

  “And people shoving their emotions in your face all the time? You deal just fine, Darius.”

  “Not always.” Darius clenched his jaw. “Look, Adrian, we both like you fine, but we just don’t think you’re a good match for our sister. So end it now before she gets too attached to you.”

  “Sorry, can’t do that.”

  Rafe glared at him. “We’re trying to handle this in a civilized way, pal, but it can get uncivilized real fast, if you want.”

  “Can’t do it, even if I wanted to.” Adrian looked from one to the other. “Your mom says I’m her destined mate.”

  “The hell you are,” Darius said.

  “It’s true,” Adrian said. “Ask her.”

  “You better believe we will,” Rafe warned.

  “In the meantime,” Adrian said, “you can trust me to protect Tessa from danger.”

  “Well, yeah,” Rafe said. “We know you’ll protect her from the bad guys. But you have to understand, Gray—we weren’t there last time. We nearly lost her.”

  “Not going to happen again,” Darius vowed.

  “I’ll take care of her,” Adrian assured them.

  “But what if you’re the one who hurts her?” Rafe asked.

  “If I’m stupid enough to hurt her,” Adrian said, “I give you permission to kick my ass.”

  “Well, that just takes all the fun out of it,” Rafe muttered.

  “Look, guys.” Adrian made eye contact with each of them. “Your mom clued me in about being Tessa’s mate the day I met her. I had intended to wait until this mess with the Mendukati was over before making a move. But I think both of you can understand that sometimes these things take on a life of their own.”

  “True enough,” Darius said. Rafe nodded.

  “But now that things are the way they are, you have my solemn word that I will take care of your sister. Anyone who tries to hurt her will have to get through me to do it.” He held out his hand. After a moment, Darius shook it.

  “We’ll hold you to th
at,” Darius said.

  Rafe shook his hand as well. “Count on it. Especially the part about kicking your ass if you mess this up.”

  “In that,” Adrian said, “we agree.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  “Impressive,” John said the next day, as the military-grade helicopter touched down on the helipad outside the Temple of Mneseus. “So this is a temple and a training camp and a barracks?”

  “Yes,” Adrian said. He took off his headset and unbuckled the restraints. Outside the chopper, he could see an honor guard approaching the helipad.

  “We’ve got company,” John noted.

  “Trouble?” Rafe asked.

  “No,” Adrian said. “You’re dignitaries. The Council is greeting you with full honors.”

  “How nice,” Maria said, but her tone sounded unsure.

  “Don’t worry,” Adrian said. “This temple is not Mendukati. They’re Warriors who left Santutegi years ago when it became clear that the Mendukati had taken over the government. These Warriors want to see the stones returned to the Seers.”

  “This is your temple¸ right, Adrian?” John asked. “Your home base?”

  “Correct,” Adrian said.

  “In that case, we should be fine,” Maria said. “We trust you, Adrian.”

  At least in this, came Darius’s sardonic voice into his head.

  “Allow me to introduce you to the Council,” Adrian said, and climbed out of the helicopter.

  Dressed in their formal robes, red with black trimmings, the Council paused beyond the helipad while the Montanas disembarked. The symbol of Atlantis, three triangles connected by a circle with the Atlantean sign for infinity in the middle, graced the front of their tunics. Each of the elders wore his medals of valor on a sash across his chest, along with the brooch of his house, and the symbol of his office, a simple circlet made of rare, reddish-orange orichalcum, on his head. Their honor guard, the Twelve, formed a semicircle around the elders.

  Adrian held the door as John hopped out of the helicopter and helped Maria down. Rafe got out, followed by Darius, who ignored Adrian’s proffered hand and got himself out of the aircraft on his own. Last came Faith and, finally, Tessa. While he wanted to take Tessa’s hand and lead her safely out from under the slowing blades, Adrian made himself resist. The less emotion he showed the Montanas in front of the Council, the better. His father had been very clear in his expectations when Adrian had called to set up the meeting—and very clear that Adrian was to remember where his loyalties lay.