Dark Wolf(2)

Dimitri was stoic about life or death. He was a Carpathian hunter and  he'd been around for centuries, protecting innocents from vampires. Her  lineage was complicated, but for all intents and purposes, she was  human. The Lycans would never expect a teenage, human girl to mount a  rescue operation for a Carpathian. She had the element of surprise on  her side. That, as well as good, trustworthy friends and her very  powerful but untested abilities.

Skyler had faith in herself. She knew her every strength and every  weakness. Like Josef, she was extremely intelligent and most of the time  underestimated. She believed the Lycans would underestimate her-she was  counting on it.

No one would start a war over a Carpathian hunter it seemed, but she  knew her father would come after her, and if anyone harmed one hair on  her head, the Lycan world would be in for a nightmare it couldn't  possibly conceive. Not only would Gabriel come after her, but so would  her uncle Lucian. She was fairly certain her biological father, Razvan,  and his lifemate, Ivory, would join the hunt for her. They were  extremely lethal as well. There was satisfaction in knowing if she was  injured or killed, she would be avenged. No one, not even Mikhail  Dubrinsky, the prince of the Carpathian people, would be able to stop a  war if the Lycans harmed her.

She lifted her chin. Dimitri would never leave her in danger. He would  rush to her side the moment he knew there was trouble; he had-more than  once-just to soothe bad dreams when she had too many in a row. She  couldn't do less for him.

Holding her breath, she turned back to watch the official gingerly open  the coffin. It creaked ominously. Hideously. Just like in the movies.  The sound sent a chill down her spine. The lid rose slowly and darn  Josef anyway, it looked as if it was lifting all by itself. Varga  stepped back, one hand going up defensively.

There was silence as the lid came to a stop. Nothing moved. She could  hear the sound of a clock ticking loudly. Varga coughed nervously. He  glanced at her. Skyler put her hand over her mouth and lowered her eyes.

Josef! Behave yourself. Skyler was somewhere between laughing and crying with nervous tension.

Varga stepped back to the coffin and peered in, beads of sweat visible  on his forehead. He cleared his throat. "He certainly looks robust for a  man who starved himself to death."

The least you could have done was make yourself look emaciated if you  wanted him to believe your preposterous story, she scolded.

Skyler pressed a handkerchief to her mouth. "They did such a good job at  the funeral home. I particularly asked them to make certain he looked  good for our mother."

Varga pressed his lips together and studied the body. He was suspicious,  but she wasn't certain of what. Clearly there was a dead body in the  coffin. Did he suspect her of running drugs? Guns? If so, that didn't  bode well for what she had planned. She needed to look like a naïve,  young teenager who might be slightly ditzy.

She held her breath as he reached for the lid of the coffin and slowly closed it.

"Is someone coming for you?" Varga asked as he locked the coffin lid and  glanced at his watch. "I can't stay. You were the last plane coming  in."

"My brother's friend arranged for a truck to pick us up. He'll be here  any minute," Skyler assured him solemnly. "Thank you so much for all  your help."

"You can wait in here," Varga said in a kind voice. "I'll come back in a  couple of hours and lock up." He looked around the dilapidated  building. It was nothing more than four metal walls, mostly rusted, some  so badly there were holes. "Not that there's much to lock up." He  glanced again at his watch. "I would wait with you, but I have another  job to go to."

She sent him a wan smile. "It's all right. Really. He'll be here any minute."

Varga gave her one last look and exited the rickety building, leaving  her there alone with the locked coffin. Skyler waited until she saw his  car drive off and the lights disappear completely down the road. She  took a careful look around. She appeared to be alone.

"Josef, you can quit playing dead," Skyler said, her voice dripping with  sarcasm. She banged on the coffin lid with her fist. "Died of a broken  heart? Really? You couldn't think of anything else, anything, say, more  realistic?"

The lid of the coffin opened with the same series of ominous, horror  film creaks he'd used when Varga had opened the lid. There was silence.  Skyler's heart beat steadily. She leaned over the coffin and glared at  the young man who lay as if dead, his arms crossed over his chest and  his eyes closed. His skin was pale porcelain and his black spiky hair  with the dyed blue tips stood out starkly against the white backdrop.

"You look amazingly robust for a man who starved himself to death," she  said sarcastically, mimicking the official. "You could have blown  everything with your absurd story."

Josef's eyes snapped open dramatically. He faked an accent as he slowly sat up. "I could use a drop of blood or two, my dear."

She smacked him over the head with her papers. "The customs official didn't believe I was twenty-five."

Josef flashed a cocky grin. "You're not. You're barely nineteen, and  when Gabriel and Lucian find out what we've done, we're both going to be  in more trouble than either of us has ever known." He paused, the smile  fading from his mouth. "And I've been in a lot of trouble."

"We have no choice," Skyler said.

"Don't kid yourself, Sky, there's always a choice. And you aren't the  one they're going to kill. I'm going to be their prime target. When  Gabriel and Lucian come looking for you-and they will," Josef said,  "they'll find you. They have a reputation for a reason. If we really do  this, every Carpathian hunter will be out looking."

Her father, Gabriel, was extremely powerful, a legendary Carpathian  hunter. Her uncle Lucian, Gabriel's twin, had helped to create that  legend among the Carpathian people, and when they discovered her gone,  of course they would come after her.

"Isn't that the point?" Skyler replied with a small shrug. "By the time  they wake and realize we're gone, we'll have a good head start. We  should be able to find Dimitri."

"You do realize," Josef said, floating out of the coffin, "this could  very well cause an international incident. Or worse, war. All-out war."

"You agreed to help me," Skyler said. "Have you changed your mind?"

"No. You're my best friend, Sky. Dimitri probably despises me and wishes  I was dead, but he's your lifemate and he's been literally thrown to  the wolves." Josef sent her a little grin, pleased with his pun. "Of  course I'm going to help you. I helped you come up with this plan,  didn't I? And it will work."

"Dimitri doesn't despise you; in fact, he's glad you're my friend. We've  talked about it. He isn't like that." Skyler made a face at him. "You  know very well he knows I think of you like a brother. He'd defend you  with his life."

Josef grinned at her. "Forgive me for despising him just a little bit.  He's good-looking, intelligent, an ancient hunter, and your lifemate. He  destroyed all my dreams and fantasies about you. I don't dare even  think along those lines or he'd know."

Skyler rolled her eyes. "As if. Even I know you don't think of me that  way, Josef. You can hide a lot of things, but not that. There's no  fantasy and no destroyed dreams. Your lifemate is either not born  or"-she smirked at him mischievously-"she's probably one of Gregori's  daughters."                       
       
           



       

He groaned and slapped his forehead with his palm. "A curse on you  forever for uttering those words, for putting that thought out into the  universe. Don't even think that, let alone say it aloud. Can you imagine  Gregori Daratrazanoff as a father-in-law? Sheesh, Skyler, you really do  want me dead."

She laughed. "It would serve you right, Josef. Especially after putting you died of a broken heart on those papers!"

"It could happen. I'm a romantic, you know. Dimitri thinks I'm a little  kid, just like they all do, which is probably just as well, because  otherwise he'd see me as a rival."

"You take great pains to keep them all thinking you're a kid," Skyler  pointed out with a small smile. "You like them to underestimate you.  You're a genius, Josef, and you don't let any of them see the real you.  You deliberately provoke them."

His grin widened until he looked positively mischievous. He blew on his  fingertips. "That is very true. I don't deny it." His smile faded. "But  this is very different than the pranks I pull on them. This is big,  Skyler. I just want you to understand what's at stake."

"Of course I know what's at stake."