Desire Untamed (Feral Warriors #1)(48)

He parked the car and turned off the ignition, then reached for Kara's hand, beating back the rush of fear from her body. "Once we find the dark charm, you'll be fine."

His own relief was huge. She wasn't weak of mind or spirit but simply a victim of a minor Mage attack. One he could easily counter.

Lyon released her, then went around the car to Kara's side. The moment he opened the door for her, a blast of fear rolled off her, slamming into him like a sound wave. She shrank back into the seat, then grabbed his hand like a lifeline when he reached for her.

"Please tell me you felt that."

He nodded. "I did. Definitely magic-born." His hand tightened on hers as he fought to help her battle the vicious emotion.

Lyon steered her up the front walk and down the front hall to his office, his hand at the back of her neck, siphoning her fear. As he pulled the emotion from her, she calmed, her body relaxing beneath his touch.

Kara looked around as he ushered her into his private sanctum. "Nice. Now this is more like it."

"In what way?"

"It looks like a man's room."

"It is. Beatrice stayed out of here." He really looked at the room for the first time in a long time. It was, and always had been, his favorite room in the house with its floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, the large hearth, his mahogany desk, and the dark-painted walls.

"It feels like you."

"It's my sanctuary." A sanctuary that would never be the same, he realized, as she slipped from his hold to peruse his collection of books. His gaze drank of her beauty, mesmerized by the blond, wind-tossed wisps that curled around her face where they'd escaped the confines of the elastic. Her scent would linger here, in his memory if not in truth. Nowhere would he be safe from thoughts of her once she'd turned to Vhyper.

The fear began to rise in her again. As he felt it, she was already moving back to his side. He ran his palm beneath her ponytail and over the silky skin of her neck.

Her face tilted up to him, her blue eyes concerned. "What does it do to you when you help me like this? Does it hurt you when you take my emotions?"

His gaze caressed her features one by one, the dark gold lashes sweeping up from her eyes, the curve of her brows, the high soft line of her cheekbones.

"It doesn't hurt."

"Do you feel them yourself when you take them from me?"

"No. Not as you feel them. There's an energy in emotions, especially strong, negative ones. I feel it like a low current. Not pleasant, but not painful." His thumb traced her jaw beneath her ear. "Knowing that I ease your discomfort gives me pleasure."

Her gaze softened, her lips lifting in a small, sweet smile that set up an ache deep in his chest. "Thank you."

At the sound of a throat clearing behind him, Lyon turned, dismayed to realize he hadn't even heard Paenther's approach. The black-haired warrior stood in the doorway now, his gaze flickering between him and Kara, his mouth tight with a disapproval he gave no voice to.

"There's a dark charm in the house that's been affecting Kara, B.P. Organize a full search."

If Paenther was surprised, he didn't show it. He nodded and turned to leave. "Vhype."

Paenther's greeting had Lyon's head snapping up just as Vhyper froze in the doorway.

Gold eyes watched him caress Kara's neck. "Get the hell away from my mate."

Lyon released Kara slowly, $ deep growl escaping his throat as his beast rose. Lyon fought back the wildness. "She needs my help, Vhyper."

"I'll just bet she does. The same kind of help you gave her during the Pairing?" The snake's eyes began to turn feral red.

"Stay in your skin, Vhyper."

"Go to hell, Chief." Wicked, curved, snake's fangs sprouted from his mouth. "Give her to me."

As Vhyper closed the distance between them, Lyon shoved Kara behind him, his beast leaping in protective fury, snarling beneath his skin.

His fingers burned, but he fought the feral anger, balled up his human fist, and smashed it beneath Vhyper's jaw in a hard uppercut.

The snake's head snapped back, two trails of blood trickling down his mouth from where his fangs pierced his lower lip.

"Back down now, Snake," Lyon snarled. "Get back in your skin, or you're joining Wulfe in the prison."

Vhyper hissed at him, his red eyes spitting with anger.

"You wouldn't."

Lyon leaned forward until he was fully in Vhyper's face. "Watch me. If you're not in control, you threaten the safety of the Radiant, which endangers us all."

"So this is how you stay away from her, Chief?" His voice was low and hard. "With your hands all over her? And you condemn me for losing control? Not a man in this house would blame me for taking you down for this insult." A low sound rumbled from his throat. "You have no right to touch her, no right to keep me from touching her."

His beast roared in protest.. She was his to protect. His.

But, dammit. What Vhyper said was true.

It didn't matter. He wasn't letting her go. His teeth clenched and unclenched in a low, rhythmic violence as his innate fairness battled with his beast's hyperprotectiveness and the primitive instinct that told him not to let her out of his sight.

His instincts won.

"Tomorrow night we ascend her. Then she's yours. Until then, as the finder and chief, she's my responsibility." His voice brooked no argument.