Drake Sisters 07 - Hidden Currents

mouth, commanding him to drink, and then she set another glass beside him and tucked a blanket close to keep his body heat up.
    The pack met her in the deeper woods, surrounding her the moment she cal ed to them. The alpha male came first, leaning against her knee as she knelt and offered her wrist, the blood wel ing up. He licked the wound from her left wrist while the female fed from her right. She fed al six wolves and then sat in the snow for a moment, recovering. She’d taken quite a lot from the woodsman, although she’d been careful to ensure that he could stil function, not wanting to risk him freezing to death before he recovered, and she was a little drained after the fight with the vampires and then feeding the pack.
    She rose slowly and held out her arms, waiting for the wolves to shift back into tattoos covering her skin. As they merged with her, she felt a little more revived, the wolves giving her their energy. Again she ran and leapt into the sky, shifting as she did so, giving her body wings as she flew over the forest and headed home.
    The clouds were heavy and ful , and smal gusts of wind blew in the mist, blotting out the rising sun. The mountains rose in front of her—snowcapped and high—hiding warmth and home beneath the layers of rock. She found herself smiling. We’re home, she sent to the pack. Almost. She had to scout before she dropped down, check for strangers in her area.
    She felt the wolves reach out with each of their senses, just as she did, never taking safety for granted. It was how she’d managed to stay alive for so many years. Trusting no one. Speaking to no one unless far from her dwel ing. Leaving no tracks. No trace. The Slayer appeared and then vanished.
    She worked her way in an ever-tightening circle, closer and closer to her lair, al the while scanning for blank spaces that might indicate a vampire, or for the disruption of energy that meant a mage, might be in the area. Smoke and noise might be humans. Carpathians were more difficult, but she had a sixth sense about them and could hide herself if she felt one near.
    As she began her spiral downward, unease rippled through her body and then through the wolves. Below her, through the layers of mist, she caught glimpses of something dark lying motionless in the snow. The snow began to fal , adding to her loss of vision, and she knew by the prickly sensation crawling over her skin that the sun had begun to rise. Every instinct told her to increase her speed and make it to her lair before the sun broke over the mountain, but something far older, far deeper, deterred her.
    She couldn’t turn away from the sprawled body lying in the snow, already being covered with the new powder fal ing. O köd bels—darkness take it. Cursing ancient Carpathian oaths that would have shocked her five brothers in the old days when she’d remained their protected, adored baby sister, she set her feet down in the snow and threw her arms out to al ow her pack to leap down.
    The wolves approached the carcass wearily, circling in silence. The man didn’t move. His clothes were torn, exposing part of his emaciated torso and bel y to the gleaming, hungry eyes. Raja moved in, two steps only, while the pack continued to circle the body. The alpha female, Ayame, stepped in behind the male and Raja turned and snarled at her. Ayame leapt back and whirled around, baring her teeth at her mate.
    Ivory took a wary step closer as Raja resumed sniffing the motionless man. He’d once been a powerful male, no doubt about it. He was tal er than the average human by several inches. His hair was long and thick, a black-gray pelt that was loose and unkempt. Blood and dirt were caught in the thick strands, matting his hair in places. She leaned over Raja to get a closer look and something inside her shifted.

    Gasping, she pul ed back abruptly, her body actual y turning, ready to flee. He had the strong bones of a Carpathian male, a straight aristocratic nose and deep lines of suffering cut into his once-handsome face. But what real y caught her attention and terrified her was the birth-mark showing through his torn, thin shirt. She could see the dragon on his hip. It was no tattoo; he’d been born with that mark.
    Dragonseeker. Her breath rushed from her lungs in a long gasp. Around her the snow continued to fal and the world became white, al sound muted.
    She could hear her heartbeat, too fast,