Author: Trina M. Lee
Date: 2000-01-01 05:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Paranormal; Fantasy; Magic; Erotica; Vampires; Demons; Shapeshifters; Werewolves; Urban Fantasy; Fiction
Description: Previous cover of ASIN B0137K68L4 What better way to celebrate Halloween than with Shya's house of horrors? When Alexa receives an invitation to what's got to be the worst party of the year, she can't help but be intrigued. As Halloween approaches, so does Shaz's initiation into the Doghead pack, right in time for another wolf to turn up dead. Alexa struggles to run damage control and avoid a war with the Doghead Alpha.Demon games, pissed off wolves and the hunt for other twin flames would drive any mentally unhinged hybrid over the edge. But what the hell? Sanity is overrated.
Publisher: Dark Mountain Books

Synopsis

What better way to celebrate Halloween than with Shya’s house of horrors? When Alexa receives an invitation to what’s got to be the worst party of the year, she can’t help but be intrigued.

As Halloween approaches, so does Shaz’s initiation into the Doghead pack, right in time for another wolf to turn up dead. Alexa struggles to run damage control and avoid a war with the Doghead Alpha.

Demon games, pissed off wolves and the hunt for other twin flames would drive any mentally unhinged hybrid over the edge. But what the hell? Sanity is overrated.

CRAZY BITCH

Alexa O’Brien Huntress Book 10

Copyright 2015 by Trina M. Lee

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

Manufactured in Canada

Editor

B. Leigh Hogan

Cover Artist

Michael Hart

Published by

Dark Mountain Books

This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Contents

Synopsis

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Epilogue

Next Book: Hurt: A Shaz Richardson Novella

About the Author

Chapter One

If I had to hear the damn “Monster Mash” one more time, I was going to cut somebody. The person first on my cut list was the DJ currently playing said song. In his defense, it was almost Halloween, and he was trying to keep the sound going while the band set up on stage. Still, there had to be other songs he could play. No sooner had I thought as much than “Thriller” boomed through the speakers. Oh boy.

“When I was a kid, the music video to this song scared me. Ridiculous, right?” Jez wore a self-deprecating smirk. She stirred her bright-blue cocktail with a straw, clinking the ice against the glass.

I chuckled. “Actually, it scared me too.”

What badass monsters we were, afraid of a Michael Jackson video. Ah, but that had been before we’d seen real monsters. From human to demon and everything in between.

“I’ve never seen it,” Gabriel said, looking at the growing crowd with undisguised hunger. The young, newbie vampire had started spending more time at The Wicked Kiss at my insistence, though not nearly as much as I’d prefer. He had a tendency to disappear for a few nights at a time.

I too had been spending more time there although I despised every drop of blood I spilled inside the place. It was too controlled, lacking the unpredictability of the hunt. After just a few nights of regular attendance, I was bored with it and in great need of a kill. Soon, I promised the monster within. Willing victims would sustain me from night to night, but they weren’t enough to feed my true hunger, the one that sought more than blood alone.

“Are you kidding me?” Jez gaped at Gabriel, aghast. “You don’t know the “Thriller” dance? For shame, kid. For shame. Google it. Right now.”

He rolled his dark eyes and laughed, but when his gaze transfixed on Jez’s lovely throat, I nudged him under the table. For one, she was off limits for a variety of reasons, the main one being that she was not a willing victim and would likely claw his eyeballs out should he try anything. For two, Gabriel was writhing with darkness already. He did not need to be drinking from anyone with even a hint of demon blood.

Jez turned to me, nerves showing as she chewed anxiously on her straw. “So, when’s the big Halloween party? You’re having one, right?”

“Here?” I glanced around the nightclub with its dim lighting and sofa-style booth seats. Humans littered the place, hoping to be chosen as some vampire’s toy for the night. “It’s Halloween every fucking day here, Jez.”

“So what?”

We stared at each other, her with a challenge in her eyes and me with defeat. “If you want to organize a Halloween party, go right ahead. But don’t drag me into it. I couldn’t be bothered.”

“Course not,” she muttered. “You’re too busy playing with the patrons.”

“Hey, I’m trying to keep my shit together. Give me a break.”

We’d struck a deal. Jez and I had agreed to keep an eye on each other, to step in when needed. We’d recently moved in together, temporarily, but it already seemed to be for the better. In that time we’d managed to keep one another relatively sane and sober. Keyword being ‘relatively.’

It came at a price though. Going sober was starting to chip away at the little rationale we still possessed. It led to bitchy remarks hurled at a friend and the threat of receiving a clawed smack in return. I couldn’t help the hunger within me any more than Jez could help the desire to sniff a bag of dope up her nose to numb out the pain she didn’t know how to cope with. We’d both done this to ourselves, and it had led us to bad places. This wasn’t who we wanted to be, but right now it was who we were. So we might as well be horrible together because losing the fight alone was far more deadly.

Gabriel slid out of the booth, shoving a hand through his mess of long, black hair. “I’m going to meet Arys. Are you sure you don’t want to come with?”

This was the second time he’d asked me, and I had a feeling it was because Arys had told him to. I shook my head. “Not this time.”

I didn’t doubt that I needed to spend time with Arys every bit as much as Gabriel did, probably even more so. However, recent events had made it difficult. I wanted to be with Arys with an outrageous desperation. Yet so much had happened. We’d both done things we never should’ve done, and I knew it was because we were apart. But I didn’t know how to be with him right now. Things were so damn…complicated.

“You should go, Lex,” Jez joined in. When I kicked her under the table, she promptly kicked me back.

“Ow, dammit. Don’t you have some private investigating to do?” I asked, referring to the P.I. work she’d recently taken on. “I’m going to stay here and wait for Willow. Besides, who would babysit you if I left?”

I grinned, and she flicked an ice cube out of her drink. It bounced off my cheek and slid onto the floor. I muttered a halfhearted, “Bitch,” and we both laughed.

With a shrug, Gabriel gave us a parting nod and headed for the door. We watched him go. He was a powerful vampire, because of both the power of Arys’s bloodline and his ability to spellcraft. He was going to work the spell that would put Shya away. If all went as planned.

Arys had been teaching him to control both the bloodlust and the power. Vampires in our bloodline didn’t have a choice but to adapt early on. It was more a matter of learning when and how to lose control. There was a time and place. Something I still hadn’t mastered.

“I miss Kale.” Jez pulled her phone out and scowled at the screen. “He hasn’t called in two nights, since I told him to get over himself and call you.”

“You shouldn’t have said that. He needs you to keep being his friend, not his advisor.” I wasn’t sure I’d ever stop missing Kale. His choice to go to Las Vegas at Arys’s suggestion still bothered me, but there was no denying that distance was what we needed.

“He doesn’t have a right to be pissed at you, Lex. He spends all his free time fucking anything with a vagina and a heartbeat, and he thinks he has a right to be mad because you sought out a little solace in someone else. That’s bullshit.” Green eyes flashing in anger, Jez tossed her phone down on the table.

“It wasn’t solace.” I was quick to make that correction. There had been nothing comforting about what I’d done with Falon. “It was escape.”

Jez studied me, a hint of a smile playing about her red lips. “So what was it for Falon? Just another victim of the succubus thrall?”

I thought about our time together in the FPA building. The evil entity there had been whispering in our ears, taunting us with personal jibes meant to manipulate. Falon had said something that struck me as poignant. I’d asked him to make me forget what it felt like to feel, and he asked me to make him remember. In that moment I saw a side of Falon I don’t think he ever wanted anyone to see.

“Something like that.” I dropped my gaze so the scrutinizing cat wouldn’t read more in my eyes. If only it was that easy to fool her.

She sat back and crossed her arms. “Interesting. You just totally shut down. So there was more to it then.”

“We used each other, Jez. That’s all there was to it.”

“I’ve never screwed someone I hate. What’s it like? Was it a total hate fuck? Real aggressive and violent?” She snickered.

I sighed and gave her a pointed grimace. “It was just sex, Jez. Powerful, frantic, desperate sex. Watch the video if you really want to know.”

Agent Thomas Briggs had kept his promise to send that security footage to everyone in my inner circle. It had forced Shaz to see that I wasn’t who he wanted me to be and caused Arys to blame himself for my actions. Kale had hung up on me and hadn’t spoken to me since. Point for Briggs.

“I deleted it as soon as I got it,” she said without regret. “I just want to hear you tell the dirty details. I don’t actually want to see you getting it on.”

“Yeah, too bad I’ve had the joy of seeing you in action.” I had been an unfortunate witness of Jez’s carnal affairs. More than once. Unintentionally, of course.

“You loved it.” Her laughter died as she drained her glass. “Fuck, I really need a hit.”

She shouldn’t have been drinking at all. It only broke down what little willpower she possessed. But one scathing glare from her when I’d suggested as much, and I had backed off. I knew better than to force someone. It would only create more problems than it solved.

She wasn’t alone in that need to run amok. My mind went back and forth between two creatures, one light and one dark. One moment I was content to sit there with Jez, going through the motions of what was normal for us. The next I was overcome with the dark urge to make someone beg, to make them enjoy every touch and whisper until I killed them.

“No, you don’t.” I didn’t sound convincing. My mind had started to drift down that path to the place where my need for power, violence, and death lived.

A waitress came by to grab Jez’s empty glass. The interruption dragged me back to reality. I shook my head a few times and sighed. Would this ever stop? How the hell would I survive centuries like this?

“I’ll have another one,” Jez said, turning a bright smile on the waitress as she openly ogled her. “Thanks, sweetie.”

I shot her a look, which she ignored. Well, we were off to a great start.

The waitress walked away, and Jez turned to me with a grin. “She’s hot. Do you know if she’s single?”

“No, Jez, I don’t. One more drink and you’re cut off.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Another scathing cat glare shot my way.

Before I could argue we were interrupted by Justin. My head security guy approached our table with a frown that did not convey good things. I braced for bad news.

“Alexa, there’s a woman here. Claims to be from the FPA. I refused her entry, but she’s waiting outside for you. She refuses to leave until she speaks with you.” The big man waited for my reaction. The muscles in his arms were tight and massive. It wouldn’t have surprised me to discover that Justin could bench press a car.

Immediately I rose. The Federal Para-Intelligence Agency was beginning to get on my last nerve. Getting rid of their head agent hadn’t kept them off my doorstep for nearly as long as I’d hoped.

“Want me to back you up?” Jez offered though she gazed after the waitress.

“No, it’s cool. I’ve got J here.” I nodded to the big vampire. “Is that cool?”

He gave a short nod. His dark eyes held a spark of menace. “Always. I’ve got your back, boss.”

Justin pushed ahead of me, going first out into the parking lot to ensure the woman was alone. I followed him out, unsure of what to expect. The woman who waited to speak with me looked inconspicuous enough. She was almost old enough to be my grandmother, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t dangerous.

Her dark hair was tightly bound in a bun. A few tendrils, painted lightly with silver strands, had escaped. She wore a dark suit and a gun on her hip. When she didn’t reach for it but stood calmly with arms crossed, I found myself pleasantly surprised.

“Alexa O’Brien.” She said my name like it was a statement, not a question. “I’m Agent Maggie Winston. Sorry to bother you. I just have a few questions regarding Agent Thomas Briggs.”

“Oh yeah?” I looked her over before sensing for any supernatural abilities she might have had. Nothing. “What about him?”

“He’s missing.” She paused, assessing my lack of reaction. “According to our security tapes, you were one of the last people to see him. Any idea where he might be?”

Naturally, I was suspicious. This woman had an air of authority and not a trace of fear on her. However, I doubted she’d come alone. Somewhere, someone likely had a weapon trained on me.

“Those same security tapes showed him throwing me out in the sun to burn, right? I don’t give a shit where Briggs is or what’s happened to him. He lied to get me to turn myself in, so if you’re here to arrest me—”

“I’m not,” Agent Winston broke in, waving a dismissive hand. “I’m aware that Agent Briggs bent some rules when he orchestrated your arrest. As committed as I am to my job, I do not condone the liberties he took with the rules. We have a system that works when it’s respected. I am merely here to verify his whereabouts.”

Her no-nonsense, straight-up approach was refreshing. Though FPA agents could be trained to lie like it was the truth, I didn’t get the feeling that she was the kind of person who would dishonor herself with lies.

“I’m sorry. I wish I could help you, but I haven’t seen Briggs since he threw me out into the sun. Wherever he is, I hope he’s suffering.” Because I couldn’t hide my curiosity, I had to ask. “Are you his replacement?”

“Temporarily. I came from the Calgary sector. Hoping to keep my stay short.” She almost smiled. “I’ve heard a great deal about you. Between you and me, I think Briggs was an idiot to make an enemy of you. I don’t intend to make the same mistake. I happen to understand there are better ways to negotiate.”

This woman was blowing my mind. She was too good to be true, which meant she couldn’t be trusted. Still, I was intrigued, and already she was a breath of fresh air compared to Briggs.

“Is that what we’re doing?” I asked. “Negotiating?”

Now Agent Winston did smile. It lit up her face, bringing a warmth to her hazel eyes. “Not yet. Soon though, I hope. Of course, if you can help me determine the whereabouts of Agent Briggs, I’d be more than happy to try and make it worth your while.”

She was good. Part of me wanted to see what she had to offer. Giving Briggs to Shya had been a mistake. Too bad because it had seemed like such a great idea at the time. I didn’t regret it enough to tell her where he was. There was no point anyway. The FPA could never get him back from Shya.

I returned her smile with my own, one filled with secrets. “I’m sure you would. However, I have much more important concerns currently than where Briggs may or may not be.”

Right on cue, as if I’d planned it, the air rippled, and a demon appeared right behind me. It was Brook, one of Shya’s flunkies. Because he startled me and because I dislike him, I reacted instinctively and slapped him with a ball of power. It hit him in the chest and thrust him into a nearby pickup truck. The streetlights illuminating the parking lot flickered, and one of them went out.

“What the fuck?” Brook gathered himself, shoving away from the truck. His wings were absent from sight. “Shouldn’t you find out why I’m here before you go all Vampire Hound on me?”

I smirked. “I’d have to care first, and I don’t. I’m busy. Beat it.”

Agent Winston watched this exchange with an observant eye. Brook’s black gaze fell on her, and he stopped in his tracks.

I knew Shya had sent him, and that pissed me off. I’d given him a dreamwalker. I owed him nothing, yet he would never leave me alone. That was why I had to team up with someone I loathed to stop him.

“I’m not leaving until I’ve done what I came to do,” Brook said, standing his ground.

Having a showdown with the demon in front of Agent Winston was not ideal. So I turned to her with a forced, apologetic smile. She was already nodding.

“Here.” She passed me her card and shot another glance at Brook. Her gaze lingered on his solid black eyes. “Call me if you can think of anything that may be helpful. Have a good night.”

I watched her cross the lot to a grey BMW. There was no sign of anyone else. It appeared she really had come alone. Agent Winston was ballsy. My first impression of her had been cut short, but so far I kind of liked her. I wasn’t going to be stupid enough to trust her though; that had been my big mistake with Briggs.

After she drove away, I turned a vicious glare on Brook. My fingertips crackled with blue and gold. I was ready to let him have it. “You’re not welcome here. Step foot on this property again, and I’ll beat your ass back to the other side.”

Brook pursed his lips, like he couldn’t decide if he should antagonize me or back off. A red envelope appeared in his hand, and he extended it to me. “I was sent to give you this. I have no interest in engaging with you any further than I must.”

“You were sent? I thought you were on Shya’s shit list after your little stunt of teaming up with the vampires.”

Because I was too curious for my own good, I swiped the envelope from him. Careful not to take my eye off him, I ripped the envelope open and pulled out an invitation. The paper was gold and crisp with a handwritten gothic font:

You are cordially invited to attend a Halloween party like no other.

Accept and receive a rare opportunity. Find your way out of my house of horrors by dawn, and I will owe you a favor. Any favor. As a bonus, I’ll cancel all debts owed to me whether past, present, or future. Fail and you will owe me one favor that I shall call in at any time.

Tricks will be played. And treats will be had. The fun starts at midnight.

“Oh, I am,” Brook said, watching for my reaction. “Which is why I received one too. It seems that the only people Shya is inviting to this thing are those who’ve somehow pissed him off.” He thrust another envelope toward me. “This one’s for the leopard.”

“Is this a friggin’ joke?” My sharp bark of laughter cut through the night. Shya’s conceit knew no bounds. “Are you going to this freak show?”

Brook ducked his head and nodded. “I am. Like you said, I’m on his shit list. If this means a chance to get him off my back, I’d be a fool not to.”

Since he’d done what he came to do, and we had nothing further to say to one another, Brook disappeared without a sound. I stared at the invitation, expecting it to smolder and burn or maybe explode in a shower of sparks. It didn’t. The power in the invitation was only in the words, the subtle threat in between the lines.

Shya was not expecting recipients to refuse. He was too arrogant to accept that was possible. The demon’s party of pain and horror was less than a week away. Not much notice, but I was sure he’d done that on purpose.

“Everything ok?” Justin’s low timbre startled me. He was so inconspicuous, standing off to the side near the building, watching my back in strong silence.

Shya was up to something. When wasn’t he? There’d been a time when my initial reaction to such a request would have been a middle-finger refusal. Things had changed. I’d changed. Now I considered if perhaps this scenario could provide Falon and I with the opportunity we needed.

A demon could be bound to an object, trapped within it, if one had the right material and know how. We had all we needed except just one thing: one of Shya’s feathers. It might be a long shot, but it might also be a chance to pull this off. Was I really considering this?

“Yeah,” I said with a nod. “It will be.”

Chapter Two

“That crazy-ass demon has lost his motherfucking mind.” Jez gaped at the invitation in disbelief. Despite her declaration, intrigue shone in her eyes. “We’re totally going, aren’t we?” The alcohol wasn’t driving Jez’s decision. It was just in her fun-loving nature to be drawn to something so obviously demented.

“I’m torn. No doubt it’ll be dangerous, but I can’t help but feel it may be worth the risk.” I glanced at Willow who looked uncomfortable in the booth seat. He preferred to sit at the bar. “What do you think?”

Willow leaned back against the booth and stared at the invitation on the table in front of him. That one was his. He was also on Shya’s shit list, apparently. In a black t-shirt and jeans, he blended in, appearing human, except for the red eyes that betrayed him as demon to anyone who knew better.

“I think Shya’s up to something,” Willow said, sipping from a glass of tequila on the rocks. “He’s always up to something, and he doesn’t handle defeat well. That being said, I want to go.”

“Really?” I raised a brow and gave him an appraising once-over. “For some reason I didn’t expect you to.”

Willow vibed with a thick, murky energy. Pure demon. I hated the way it felt, like an oil spill that covered me. A slippery essence that was hard to slough off and impossible to fully shield against. But I loved Willow, so I gritted my teeth and bore it.

“Shya and I are overdue for a confrontation. He’s given me an open invitation.” A strange smile twisted Willow’s lips into something almost macabre. “I might even be looking forward to it.”

We all knew Willow had enough power to make Shya his bitch. However, he’d recently indicated his reluctance to do just that, citing that vengeance would only change him rather than Shya. I wondered if perhaps he was reconsidering that.

“So it’s settled. We’re going.” Jez held up her glass in a cheers and smacked it against Willow’s without waiting for his participation.

I regarded them both with envy. My tastes no longer included booze. Physically, I had no interest in it. My interest was all mental. That’s where the monsters inside me lived. In my head. I couldn’t escape them with liquor anymore. My methods of escape had evolved. Trapped in a time of darkness, lost in shadows, I was fighting to find my way out the other side. In the meantime, I was existing night to night, hoping I didn’t self-destruct along the way.

I felt restless. Having dealt with Agent Winston and considered Shya’s invite, I was ready to retreat from reality again. A short reprieve from the forced lucidity. It took so much strength to maintain my precarious hold on sanity.

“Alexa?” Willow nudged my elbow with his glass.

I realized he’d said something I hadn’t heard while lost inside myself. Running a hand through my hair, I shook my head. “Sorry, what?”

“Did Arys get one of these?”

“Oh, I don’t know. We haven’t spoken yet tonight.” Saying it made me feel guilty. Arys and I were so damn good together, so right. And yet, we were also in such total conflict, a collision of wills and intents that made our good thing damn near impossible. Being apart made us both crazy but being together made us torrential. I wasn’t sure which was worse.

Willow frowned. Like Jez, he thought I needed to throw myself back into my union with Arys. I wished it were as easy as they thought it was.

“Don’t give in to it,” he said, pausing to sip from his drink. “I can see it in your eyes. The flightiness. You cannot exist without him. Not anymore. Stop trying to.”

I made a face and tapped my fingers against the tabletop. The restlessness grew. “It’s not like that. Really. Things are just…hard. Really fucking hard.”

Willow patted my hand and nodded. “I know.”

He didn’t though. None of them did. Everyone claimed to understand, and yet they continued to pressure me to get back to some kind of normal while conveniently forgetting that I’d never known any such thing. It was a word that had never fit me or Arys, and it never would.

Because I knew Willow meant well, I didn’t bite his head off. He knew what it was like to have the darkness always there to taunt, tempt, and torture. He didn’t want me to suffer, so he encouraged me to find my place with Arys, overlooking the fact that it was our twin-flame bond that had led us both to this place of hardship and madness in the first place.

“Maybe you guys just need to bang and get it out of your system,” Jez offered. “You used to be attached at the groin. When was the last time Arys got a taste of you?”

My face grew hot. The glower I turned on her went unobserved. “Not cool, Jezzy. Not friggin’ cool at all. Is that your solution to everything? Sex?”

She stared past me to the hot waitress who hurried by with a tray of drinks. “Well, yeah. It’s amazing what a good fuck can do to clear the head.” Jez bumped her elbow against Willow’s. “Come on, back me up here, buddy.”

With a grimace, Willow drank back the rest of the tequila in his glass. “I can’t say I relate. I’ve only had one lover, and I’m not all that interested in changing that.”

This wasn’t news to me, but Jez stared at him, aghast, like she couldn’t wrap her mind around such a concept as one lover. She laughed, a high sound that turned into a low, throaty chuckle.

“Holy shit, you’re one of those fucking for love types, huh?” she asked, wide-eyed and much louder than necessary thanks to the alcohol. “And here I thought that was a myth. Like a damn unicorn.”

“Hey,” I said, offended. “I’m one of those fucking for love types too. Some people still prefer to share their intimacy with someone they love.”

“Right,” Jez said with a nod, her eyes glinting with mischief. “Until you have a good hate fuck that makes you forget who you are for ten minutes.”

She didn’t mean any harm. It was just Jez, blunt and a bit on the crude side. Her words stung though, because she wasn’t wrong. I was no longer the person I was before. I’d done things I never thought I’d do. Deals with demons. Mass murder. Falon.

Jez must have seen something on my face because she rushed on, wringing her hands. “We all do things in times of distress that in no way reflect who we really are inside. Except for Willow because he’s all virtuous and shit.”

“It’s cool, Jez.” I held up a hand to stop her. “Just quit before you fall into that hole you’ve dug yourself.”

“Yes,” Willow agreed. “Please stop. I don’t want to even think about that. It makes me feel things I don’t want to feel.” To accompany this statement his fist clenched around his empty glass.

I pried it out of his grasp before it broke.

Watching Falon get his ass kicked should have been enjoyable, but it had scared me. Witnessing such vehemence and hatred in Willow had driven home the fact that he too had changed. Evil reigned in him now.

“Now that I’ve made this weird, I’m going to use the ladies’ room and get that waitress’s phone number.” Jez slipped out of the booth, looking chagrined. Then she weaved an erratic path through the crowd toward the washrooms.

“Subject change,” I announced, ready to move on. “Can I ask you something? It’s about Jez.”

“Of course.” Relief crossed Willow’s face at the change in topic. “Is this about her father?”

“It is. I need to know if she’s in any danger of ending up like us. Jez doesn’t deserve to be dark, but there’s something inside her that is. Tell me she’s going to be ok.” It wasn’t the kind of thing one could demand, but I was willing to try.

I recounted my tale of the night I’d healed Jez and discovered the piece of her father lying hidden inside her along with her recent admission that she’d begun to dream of seeing herself with black eyes. The whole thing left me feeling cold.

Willow appeared to consider this. He stared in the direction of the bar with this strange intensity. Moments later one of the waitresses passed by, depositing a tequila bottle on the table as she went, not so much as looking at Willow.

Then he spoke like nothing had happened. “Most nephilim start to show signs of their angelic side in adulthood. Then they choose, light or dark. Serve one, fight the other. Jez has never been human. I’ve honestly never heard of such a thing. It’s possible that it may be different for her.”

I gawked at him, shocked. “Willow, what the fuck was that? Did you just trance my waitress into bringing you more booze? Does she even know she did that?”

“Being a shifter may have something to do with it. It could be repressing the gifts she inherited from her father or even causing the darkness itself. The shifter curse does come from demons, though there are cases in which it is a gift, like yours.” Willow sucked his bottom lip into his mouth and stared thoughtfully at the tequila bottle.

“Willow! What the fuck? Would you answer me?”

He seemed to shrink in upon himself, like he’d just been caught doing something naughty. “It just happens sometimes. I don’t always know I’m doing it. I want something; I make it happen. The joys of being a fucking demon.”

Son of a bitch. There wasn’t a damn thing I could say to that. I was reminded that, as much shit as I was going through, Willow had it worse.

“So then, according to the rules, Jez should be able to choose,” I said, moving on because I had nothing to offer in regards to Willow’s new abilities.

“She still has free will.” He nodded and tipped the liquor bottle up to his lips. Then he slammed it down on the table. “We all do. As we all have a dark side that fights to enslave that free will. Have you considered asking Gabriel to touch her? Maybe he’ll see something.”

It wasn’t a bad idea. Gabriel wasn’t a fan of his ability to see precognitive visions of those he touched. I wasn’t a fan of it either. Not only had he seen me as a vampire before I’d turned, he’d also seen a vision of Arys biting my sister, Juliet. That one had not yet come to pass, though according to Gabriel, the things he saw almost always happened.

“I suppose that’s an option.”

“She’ll be ok. She’s got you.” Willow patted my hand and offered me a comforting smile. As soon as it had come, it faded, and a glare took its place. The thick, toxic energy surrounding him began to pulse and grow. “I can’t believe this.”

Confused, I glanced around, trying to find the source of his sudden anger. Nothing struck me as amiss… until Falon walked in the front entry. It wasn’t like him to walk through the door instead of appearing unannounced. He must have known Willow was here.

Willow and I rose at the same time. I grabbed his arm, forcing him to look at me. “Don’t,” I said, firm but still asking, not demanding. “Please, Willow.”

A scowl turned his sweet face into something sinister. “He shouldn’t be here.”

I got it, I did. Willow cared so deeply that, in his new state, it took him to a bad place of violence and vengeance. But that wasn’t his call to make. “Well, that’s up to me. Falon and I are working on something, a way to get rid of Shya for a while. I don’t need you taking out your frustrations on him every time he comes around. But don’t think I didn’t appreciate that first time.” I shook his arm so he would face me again since his gaze had gone to Falon, who approached at a leisurely pace.

Willow’s gold-flecked red eyes flashed with revulsion, and something else, something I’d never seen in him before. Judgment.

“You’re an idiot if you trust him, Alexa. And if you let him touch you again, you’re asking for whatever shit he pulls on you.” Jerking away from me, Willow squeezed both hands into tight fists. I stared at him, horrorstruck and hurt, trying to remain understanding. His expression softened, and he said, “I’m sorry. You know I don’t mean that.”

Then he hugged me, so fast I didn’t have time to hug him back, and he was gone. My emotions were much stronger since the turn, and Willow’s sudden cruelty had wounded me. I did know he didn’t mean it, but the demon in him had wanted to hurt me, and it had succeeded.

Forcing the emotion off my face, I turned to find Falon sauntering up with an invitation in hand. So that was why he was here.

“I guess Willow decided he didn’t want to stay and catch up. That’s ok. My face doesn’t really need a pounding today.” Falon held up the invitation and waved it in front of me. “Did you get one of these?”

To answer his question I pulled my invite out of my bag, which was sitting on the booth seat. I slapped it down on the table. “Any idea what it’s all about?”

“Why so suspicious? Do you think I’m part of this? Don’t be stupid. Shya cast me out of his inner circle. Why else would I get one?” Without waiting for an invite to sit, Falon plopped down and crossed his arms.

I sat back down, across from Falon, and pinned him with a studious stare. “Maybe you’re still kissing Shya’s ass and leading me right into a trap. It’s not as if you’ve proven yourself to be trustworthy. In fact, I think you’ve fucked over everyone you’ve ever partnered with.”

Falon considered this and nodded. “True, but I’m thinking your hostility has more to do with whatever Willow said on his way out than my disloyalty. What’s the matter, Alexa? Guilt-tripped by your guardian?”

With a frustrated sigh, I shoved Willow’s abandoned tequila bottle aside. “Screw you, Falon.”

The jerk-off hand motion he made in response was followed by a wicked chuckle. “Hurting for a fix already? That insatiable hunger for power you have is going to get you in trouble. You might do something you regret. Or someone.”

I groaned and asked myself why I had agreed to work with the arrogant fallen angel on anything. Then I thought of the hell of having Shya always after me, wanting one thing or another, and the mistake I made in giving him the dreamwalker I’d owed him. Oh yeah, that’s why.

“Been there, done that,” I quipped, glancing around for Jez. After searching the crowd for her golden ponytail, I spied her on the other side of the room, chatting with the hot waitress.

“Would you like to do it again?” Falon knew how to get my attention. He sat there smirking, delight shining in his silver eyes.

Refusing to give him the reaction he sought, I regarded him with thinly veiled disdain. “You give yourself way too much credit. Now, tell me what I should expect from Shya’s little get together. What’s he up to?”

“What isn’t he up to?” Falon scoffed, giving the interior of the nightclub a scrutinizing once over. “It could be anything, but there’s no doubt it’ll be nasty.”

“I’m going. It could be a chance to get the feather we need.” An invitation like this would have instilled great fear in me not so long ago. Now, though I was wary, I was also excited.

“You’re crazy, you know that?” Falon wiped a piece of imaginary lint off his pants. “Not the good kind of crazy either.”

Out of sheer curiosity, I dragged the tequila bottle over and sniffed the contents. The noxious fumes burned my sinuses and had me recoiling in regret. Wishful thinking. “As if you can tell the difference. You like crazy.”

A hint of a smile adorned Falon’s face. Because it was so rare, it drew my gaze. He did a lot of smirking, not so much smiling. “I don’t like crazy. Crazy likes me.”

“Sure it does. Keep telling yourself that.”

There was no such thing as having a normal conversation with Falon. Not for me. We could sling barbs at each other all night and never run out of insults and backhanded compliments. It would be nothing short of a miracle if we pulled off this little scheme.

“So that’s your big plan then?” Falon asked. “Walk into what is clearly a trap for all of us and hope you can swipe a feather and use it before Shya figures us out. He’s clever. Don’t assume you can outsmart him.”

“Yeah, that’s my plan. Do you have a better one?” I countered, a challenge on my face. “And I don’t need to outsmart him. Just have to take him by surprise.”

Falon didn’t look so certain, but it wasn’t like we had any other choice but to go. Finally he nodded and leaned forward, propping his elbows on the table. “Have you ever considered using that succubus seduction on him? He’s one tough fucker, but it might work. If you can make him your love slave, you’ll have the best shot at getting a feather. He might not even notice.”

There was no keeping the disgust off my face. What Falon had just suggested had never crossed my mind. There wasn’t a single part of me that wanted to be intimate with Shya on any level, even if it was to achieve a necessary feat.

“Not in a million years,” I said, shaking my head so that a strand of blonde hair caught on my lip-gloss. Brushing it away, I pursed my lips and shuddered. “I can’t do it. Just the thought makes me want to crawl in a hole.”

“No dry heaving though? I think I’m insulted.” Falon swiped the bottle of tequila and took a swig. A sour expression twisted his perfectly sculpted features into something comedic. “This is nasty shit. I didn’t tell you to fuck Shya, just seduce him. Or can you not take things only halfway?”

Once again, thanks to the whole deathly pallor aspect, I was grateful that blushing wasn’t a vampire trait. “Of course I can take things halfway. I do it all the time.”

When Falon merely raised a brow in doubt, it was my turn to be insulted. I often seduced my human victims, encouraging their desire so I could feed on the heady energy. I never had sex with any of them nor did I want to. Because he was looking at me like I was full of shit, I couldn’t help but respond to his unspoken challenge.

Holding his gaze, I propped my foot on the booth between his legs. My four-inch boot heel rested against his nether region with just enough pressure to cause him to suck in a breath. I released my hold on the power that was always roiling about inside me, letting a little slip from me to splash over him like a sudden wave.

He tensed but never moved. His eyes betrayed him though. That was where I saw the reaction as his pupils dilated in response and desire crawled through him.

“You’re a despicable creature,” Falon muttered, though his tone lacked venom.

A playful grin lit up my face. “So I’ve been told.”

Because I wasn’t content to stop with just a small display and because I now hungered for things no human victim could give me, I took it further. Keeping my gaze locked on Falon’s, I ran my tongue slowly over my lips and pushed out of my seat. I climbed up onto the tabletop and crawled across to his side. Not once did I break eye contact or staunch the flow of power running between us.

He made no effort to stop me as I settled myself in his lap. He was already hard though we’d barely touched. Face to face, the tension between us grew thick enough to walk on. I loved it.

I ran a hand along the side of his neck, tracing a finger over the throbbing pulse there before reaching to grab a fistful of near-silver fair hair. Falon’s head fell back against the booth as he gave in to my manipulative touch.

“Is there a point to this little display?” he asked, gripping my hips to adjust my position atop his erection.

The mystical force that surrounded him was heavy with desire. It taunted my hunger for power. I drew it close, basking in the way it wrapped around me like a blanket of bliss. “Seems to be.” My wicked laugh poured fuel on the flames burning between us. I rose up a few inches, just enough to torment him a little.

Leaning in close, I ran my tongue over his jugular and found it disturbingly hard to keep from sinking fangs into the pulsing vein. This torment was not one sided.

Falon released a strangled breath and pulled me back down against him. “You’re playing with fire, wolf.” The warning in his tone only fed my predatory urges.

“Promise?”

Falon’s hands tightened on my hips. “Better watch it, Alexa. You run the risk of becoming predictable.”

I sat up straight so I could watch his face. His smirk was back in place. So I punched him. It just kind of happened. My right hook caught us both by surprise.

“Predictable, huh?” I questioned. “Did you see that coming?”

Wonder lit up his face, as if he didn’t know if he should be mad or impressed. “What the fuck was that? You’re deranged.”

My gaze was drawn to the blood that welled up at the corner of his mouth. The cut had already healed. Unable to resist, I leaned in and captured the scarlet drop with my tongue. That small taste was loaded with an otherworldly essence that packed a punch of its own.

Fireworks went off inside me as Falon’s blood stained my tongue. It was such a tease. I wanted more.

He brought a hand to my face and kissed me, a deep, delving exploration of my mouth. Then against my lips, he murmured, “You know what your problem is? You’re a victim of your own power.”

There was no arguing that. At times, I was, but only with those I got a rush from. I’d never done this with a demon and didn’t think I wanted to risk it. What if it really messed with me? Or worse, what if I liked it?

“You think I can’t stop?” I pulled away and started to climb off him. “I told you I can take things halfway. You’re a tasty treat, Falon, but you’re not the best I’ve had. Not by a—”

“What the fuck are you guys doing?” Jez’s sudden appearance startled us both. She grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the booth, none too gentle. “Oh, no way. Not on my watch.”

Falon snickered, amused at having been caught by the feisty leopard. “Don’t blame me. I came to talk about this.” He pointed at the invitation on the table. “She’s the one who got carried away. Good thing you came along when you did. She probably would have screwed me right here in front of all these people.”

Jez didn’t find Falon as funny as he found himself. With a shake of her head, she shot us each a glare. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Hey,” I protested, ignoring Falon’s keen interest in that statement. “That only happened once.”

Being reminded of the intimate encounter Arys and I had shared in this nightclub drew my gaze to the table where it had taken place. Ah, memories. So good and so fucking bad.

“We’re going to this fucked up party.” Jez slapped a hand on the invitation and thrust it at Falon. “All of us. There. You’re done talking about it. Now beat it before I have to get nasty.”

The spell had been broken, but the effects remained. I felt mildly buzzed, like the pleasant tingle after a shot of alcohol, though stronger, more potent. It left me wanting more. Denial wasn’t my strong suit.

Falon appraised Jez and ultimately decided he didn’t want to tangle with her. His silver gaze landed on me. “This isn’t over. Now I owe you one.”

Without giving me a chance to fling a retort back at him, Falon grabbed Willow’s abandoned tequila and disappeared, leaving me to face Jez’s wrath.

Hands on hips, she pinned me with an accusatory stare. “What the hell, Alexa? I leave for ten minutes, and you’ve managed to chase Willow away and rub all over the cock of the one person you need to stay away from right now.”

I shrugged. No point arguing. “That’s how I feel prying the phone out of your hands when you call Arrow or the keys when you try to go meet him. This is what we agreed to, right? Thanks for having my back.”

“You don’t mean that. If I hadn’t come back, you’d have fucked him senseless.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. But you did come back, so now we never have to find out.” After the rush of playing with Falon wore off, I would be glad she’d been there. I turned into a cat with a mouse with him. He’d become my favorite victim, and I knew it was because I didn’t feel bad about using him for my own personal pleasure. He was the one person I could feast on and feel no guilt.

“Let’s go home.” Jez tugged on my arm, and I let her pull me toward the exit. “There’s too much temptation here, for both of us. Maybe we can get in a run before sunrise.”

Going for a run was not what I wanted to do. However, once I was wolf and moving through the forest, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. “Ok, let’s go.”

The Wicked Kiss was in good hands with Josh running the bar and Justin manning the door. It was safe to step away. Besides, being there just made me miss Kale in a painful way.

We left the city and headed down the highway toward Stony Plain, the small town I’d called home for so many years. The further we got from Edmonton, the more I began to feel like myself. As we turned into the tree-lined driveway, I felt the first sense of calm I’d experienced all night. My wolf was deeply attached to this land.

I felt something else as well. A cool spark of power and awareness. Arys.

Shaz’s car was in the driveway. What were the two of them doing here? I shot a questioning look at Jez who shrugged and shook her head. Her lack of verbal denial made it feel like a set up.

Jez did a good job avoiding my gaze as we made our way inside. Suspicious. With every step my unease grew. When I found Arys and Shaz sitting in the living room, alarm bells went off in my head.

“Hey, Lex,” Shaz greeted me. He’d barely spoken to me since seeing the video of Falon and me together.

Arys’s silence spoke louder than words. He regarded me with calm blue eyes that revealed inner turmoil. On the small table next to the couch sat two of Shya’s invitations. Shit, not Shaz too.

“What’s going on guys?” I asked, feeling awkward.

Shaz patted the couch beside him. “Come sit down. We all need to talk.”

I turned to cast a scathing glare at Jez who avoided me by digging through the fridge for something to eat. It became impossible to deny. Three of the people I loved the most had set me up…for a fucking intervention.

Chapter Three

“Is this for real?” I gaped at each of them in turn. “What the fuck, guys?”

My temper went from chill to explosive in a matter of seconds. Jez did all she could to pretend like she hadn’t been involved. She disappeared into the walk-in pantry and rummaged around. Shaz met my eyes but glanced away quickly, looking to Arys to diffuse the bomb. Arys regarded me from his place in the corner easy chair with a calm demeanor, but the intensity in his eyes revealed that he’d expected my reaction.

“Alexa, sit down.” He gestured to the spot on the couch beside Shaz. “This doesn’t have to turn into an argument. Let’s talk rationally. We’re all family here.”

There were many ways I could react now, and I was torn between all of them. The tension had been mounting among the three of us for some time now. My death and transition had fed it.

“Aren’t you supposed to be with Gabriel?” I asked, my tone sharp.

“We rescheduled.”

The silent challenge in Arys’s eyes cut the tether on my already short temper. However, the calm determination Shaz exuded gave me the strength to keep my mouth shut. As they’d requested, I took a seat on the couch with Shaz, putting enough space between us to allow us both to feel secure in our personal space without making it weird.

“Ok, I’m sitting.” I leaned back and crossed my arms. It was impossible not to feel defensive. “Talk.”

Again Arys and Shaz shared a look, a silent communication that revealed the new depths of their strange relationship. They were able to read each other, speaking without words. I watched them, ice in my stare, wondering again when I’d become the odd-one-out in this little threesome.

Arys met my gaze, and he softened. “There’s nothing I’d like more than to let you adjust in your own way at your own pace. However, time is not a luxury you have. There’s a lot of attention on you right now. You’ve got to be ready for anything. You should feed your hungers in a manner that meets your needs without compromising your mental faculties. The best way to do that is with us.”

Of course. It came as no great surprise that this was the angle Arys would take. I chuckled. “Is it really though? You’re asking me to victimize you both repeatedly. I’m not sure you’ve thought this through, Arys.”

“Trust me,” he replied. “I have. The three of us work well together. You can’t deny that. And it’s not as if we won’t all be getting something out of it.”

“But it changes the dynamic between us. You guys aren’t supposed to be prey. I don’t want to see you that way.” My protests sounded hollow, and I wondered somewhere in the back of my mind if perhaps I was victimizing them already. As the thought occurred to me, I became keenly aware of the strong scent of wolf.

“You already do,” Shaz broke in. Despite the casual slump to his posture, he thrummed with tension. “The only thing that got us sleeping together again in Vegas was you making me prey. I’m secure enough as a wolf and a man to accept that. I told you then that I was in this for the long haul, and I’m telling you again now.”

We’d been over this too many times already. I wasn’t going to argue. Shaz knew I thought he deserved a better life, without me. I fell into his green eyes. Emotion swallowed me, and I fought to keep it from showing on my face.

I shook my head, trying not to focus on the steady beat of Shaz’s heart. “I love you both, but I’m not cool with making you guys my victims. It feels like it’s too soon.”

“Nobody’s victimized. Not only can we build the power to mind-shattering heights, but we all get off doing it. How can that possibly be wrong?” Arys allowed himself a small, mischievous grin.

“Just like that? We get naked and pretend like everything is normal?” Suspicion had me narrowing my gaze in scrutiny. “What’s this really about? Is it because I ran to Kale instead of you guys? Is it my rising body count? I can’t help but feel there’s more to this than you guys wanting to meet my needs.”

Arys had the nerve to look offended. “Of course we want to meet your needs. We all have needs that can be met with what we’re suggesting. It’s not like we haven’t done it before.”

Jez, watching the exchange from the kitchen, fake coughed, “Falon.”

I shot her a glare and dragged a finger across my throat in warning. She snickered and popped a Cheeto in her mouth. I whipped a couch pillow at her, pleased when it hurled through the air as a blur, slapping the next Cheeto out of her hand.

Shaz frowned, then nodded. “There is more to it. I’ve been thinking. You said I was treating you like damaged goods, that I wanted to turn you into my ideal version of you, and you were right. I had the chance to walk away from this, and I refused, aware that staying also means accepting you as you are now. And I do. I want you to know that.”

Listening to Shaz talk, it was so apparent that he was deluding himself. This arrangement among the three of us had never been what he wanted. How long would he keep fooling himself? I hoped that joining the Doghead pack would make him see what I’d been trying to tell him. He didn’t belong with Arys and me. There was something better out there for him.

Letting him go was not what I wanted. It was what he needed. I wanted him to be happy, but I wouldn’t force the issue. He would have to see it on his own. When that day came, it would break my heart.

I found myself growing angry at Arys for going along with this charade. Gritting my teeth, I managed to say, “I think it’s best to let things happen naturally. Forcing it doesn’t feel right to me. I understand that you guys care, but I’ll let you know when I’m ready.”

There was nothing more to say on the matter. It was a ridiculous subject. I spoke to Arys, trying to keep my tone neutral and pleasant. “Can I talk to you alone for a minute?”

“Really, Lex?” Shaz asked. “Is that necessary? Just say whatever it is that you have to say.”

“Yeah, Lex. Just say it. We’re all friends here.” Jez spoke between mouthfuls of junk food. She tipped the bag up to her lips and accidentally poured crumbs on her face. Living with Jez was going to get old fast.

“Fine.” I stood up because I couldn’t sit still and I wanted to stare down at Arys while I lectured him. “You’ve got a lot of balls to come here unannounced and pull this shit on me. I told you how I felt about dragging Shaz further into our mess.”

“He’s here of his own free will.” Arys gestured to Shaz who nodded in agreement. “We’re both here because of what we think is best for all of us. Don’t be so suspicious.”

I faced off with the vampire who was, in every way, my other half. We were keeping a secret from Shaz to protect him when he joined Doghead. If we all ended up back in bed together, that secret would come out somehow. I wasn’t willing to risk it, and it pissed me off that Arys was.

He peered up at me, relaxed in his seat, daring me to be the one to blow it. I could’ve slapped him. Unable to look at him any longer without doing it, I turned to Shaz.

“We’re keeping something from you. Something that could get you killed if you knew. Are you ok with that? Secrets? Possibly even lies. Is that really something you can live with?” I probably shouldn’t have said a damn thing, but they were making this difficult.

Shaz leaned forward, reaching to grab my hand. He brushed a warm kiss over my fingertips. “Our relationship has never been conventional. As people, maybe we’re not the best match. People are selfish. They make mistakes, and they rarely mate for life these days. But we are not mere people. Our wolves are as tightly bound as you and Arys are. I know you would never intentionally hurt me. I trust you, Lex.”

My shoulders sagged. Shaz had deflated my anger with his calm response. I was still convinced that he needed to move on, but I was touched by his devotion. One day he would see that I was right. If I were smart, I’d enjoy every second until that moment arrived.

“He’s a keeper,” Jez proclaimed as she dipped a pickle into the sour cream container. She’d done a good job of emptying the fridge onto the kitchen counter. “Feel free to get it on in the middle of the living room. I’ll just be here stuffing my face. You won’t even notice me.”

She got me to crack a smile even though I was trying to ignore her smartass wisecracks. Arys graced her with a grin and a, “Good Lord, that looks disgusting.”

Our discussion was disrupted by a bang on the front door. Good timing. I was ready to escape this conversation. I headed for the door with Arys shadowing me. As I drew closer I could sense the wolf on the other side. As far as I knew, he wasn’t supposed to be home from his honeymoon yet.

“Coby?” I opened the door on a question. My confusion gave way to panic when I caught sight of the tragic expression on his face. “Coby? What’s wrong? Where’s Kylarai?”

Hazel wolf eyes scanned me, taking note of my new state of being. It seemed to momentarily fluster him. He tripped over his tongue a few times. “She’s at the house. We had to come home early. Something happened.”

My heart dropped. Dear God, no. I held my breath out of mortal habit. “The baby?”

He opened his mouth, closed it, and just nodded. Coby didn’t have to say anything. I knew. My wolf propelled me through the doorway. His pain called me. I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him close, breathing in his wolfy scent. He stiffened for just a moment before throwing his arms around me.

“I’m sorry, Coby. I’m so sorry.” My voice was muffled against his shoulder. There was only a split second where the bloodlust threatened, but it was beat back by the wolf reigning strong in me as she sought to comfort one of her own.

“We knew it was a long shot, but seeing her heart break like that… Nothing could have prepared me for it. I feel so goddamn powerless.” His voice cracked, and he buried his face in my hair.

Coby was one of only two wolves I’d ever turned. He’d only been in our lives for a few months, but in that time he’d come to feel like family. We’d formed a friendship, and he’d stolen my dear friend’s heart. The two of them had met and married in a matter of months. It was crazy but it was perfect. He and Kylarai were made for one another.

Jez and Shaz came to stand silently in the doorway. After a moment Shaz joined us, placing a hand on Coby’s shoulder as he offered his quiet comfort. Being surrounded by the lively wolf energy brought out my own beast in full. In that moment, it was all I was.

“Ky doesn’t know I’m here,” Coby said when I relinquished my hold on him. “She didn’t want to tell you guys yet. She didn’t want to upset you. I told her I was running to the store, but I needed to come. It feels like something we need to share.”

“It is.” Shaz caught my eye, and we shared a look of deep concern. “We’re family. We’re here for you.”

Arys hung back inside the house, watching the three of us gathered on the front step. “You should go. Be with her. You have a couple hours before sunrise.”

I nodded. He was right. Kylarai needed us. We’d been pack, until we weren’t. But we would always be family. Shaz and I had forged a bond with Ky that would never be broken.

“Yeah, we need to go.” I ran a shaky hand through my hair. Emotion threatened to overwhelm me. My bottom lip trembled, and I clamped my teeth on it to make it stop.

“What about you?” Coby asked, giving me another appraising look. “Are you ok? I mean, when did this happen?”

“Right after you left. It’s been a tough transition, but nothing I can’t handle.” That felt like a lie, but this was not about me. “Don’t worry about me at all. We need to take care of Kylarai.”

After a few words with Jez, who assured me that she was fine for an hour or two, I followed Shaz to his car. Arys let me go without another word. As I opened the passenger door, I glanced back to find him watching me from the house. Somehow this put everything into perspective. As big as our problems were, they paled in comparison to what Kylarai was facing. I couldn’t begin to understand, but I knew that I’d be a fool to think I had a right to keep feeling sorry for myself.

As we followed Coby through town to Ky’s house, I fought tears. I felt like I had to keep it together, to stay strong for Kylarai.

“It’s ok to feel something, Lex,” Shaz said, never taking his eyes off the road. “I get that it might be easier for you right now to numb out, but I don’t think you should. Not for this.”

I studied him. From his tight grip on the wheel to the tension that seeped from him in waves, Shaz was fighting hard to keep it together. He was hurting for our friend, and it just made me love him more than I already did. I hadn’t thought it possible.

“Trust me, I’m not numbing out. I’m just trying not to give in to the urge to cry. I don’t want to show up with blood all over my face.” I paused, staring at the taillights of Coby’s car up ahead. “Is it a bad idea for me to be here? Discovering that I died while she was gone might not help Kylarai.”

“Actually, I think it will. She’ll fuss over you. Which might be what she needs right now. It’ll give her something else to focus on.” Shaz glanced at me then, and feeling it, I turned to meet his gaze in the dark. “Ky is the last person this should happen to.”

I nodded and swallowed around the lump in my throat. We all knew that werewolves were generally unable to have babies. Conception happened only in rare cases. The odds had remained against Ky carrying to term, but I’d refused to believe this could happen to her. She deserved more.

Even though I knew I shouldn’t ask, Shaz had given me reason to. Tentatively, I said, “Do you think I numb everything out? Because I couldn’t even if I wanted to. There are times when it’s easier, it lets me escape for a while. But if you think I could just turn off what I feel for you, then you are very wrong.”

Shaz maneuvered the car into Kylarai’s neighborhood. He didn’t look at me when he said, “Good.”

Pulling up to Kylarai’s house brought with it a strong sense of nostalgia. I hadn’t lived there in almost a year, and so much had changed for us both since then, but it still felt a little like coming home.

As I opened the car door, Shaz touched my shoulder. “You’ll be ok here, right? Should I be ready for you to vamp out?” His expression was apologetic even as he said it.

Though I wanted to be offended, I wasn’t. The truth was, anything could happen. So I flashed him a small smile meant to reassure. “I have you. My anchor. I’ll be fine.” What I didn’t say was that it would be later, when I was able to work out my feelings on an unsuspecting victim, that was when I would not be ok.

My trepidation grew as we reached the front door.

Coby was there waiting for us. “She’s in the living room,” he said, gesturing for me to go ahead.

The house smelled so much like wolf, I was momentarily overwhelmed. Then I was sad. I missed this place. Pushing on into the house, I followed the narrow hallway to the living room, then paused in the doorway.

Kylarai was on the couch in her pajamas, knees pulled up in front of her and a crumpled tissue in one hand. She stared absently at the TV, clearly not seeing what was playing out in front of her. Her grey eyes were red rimmed, her cheeks tear streaked. The strongest woman I knew was broken, and I was powerless to help her.

Sensing my presence, she looked up, blinking a few times. “Alexa? What are you doing here?”

“Are you kidding me?” I sprang into motion, all but rushing over to the couch. Plopping down beside Ky, I flung my arms around her, unable to hold back. “Nothing could have kept me from coming.”

I hugged her tight, and she crumpled against me. Our wolves took note of each other, a bittersweet reunion tainted by heartbreak.

“I told Coby not to tell you guys yet.” Ky’s voice was muffled against my shoulder. “Damn, I love that man. I’m glad he didn’t listen.”

“Ky, I’m so sorry.” I faltered, unable to offer anything else and feeling like shit about it.

We huddled together on the couch for a long time in the comfortable silence of wolves. After she’d calmed, she glared up at me with accusation. “You knew, didn’t you? Before I left, you knew you were going to die while I was away. God, Lex, I can’t even believe it. You’re still you but you’re so different.”

“Yeah,” I admitted, knowing better than to lie to the passive-aggressive werewolf. “I knew. I found out the night of the wedding. There’s no way in hell I was going to ruin that for you.”

With a gentle hand she touched my face, gazing into my eyes and studying the vampire fangs I was still learning to hide with my top lip. “Aww, Alexa. You should’ve told me.”

I laughed her off, unable to hide the swell of emotion. “There was nothing you could have done, Ky. Your big day was more important. I’m fine, ok? You don’t have to take care of me. Let us all take care of you for once.”

Her grey eyes filled with tears that never fell, and a smile so sad it broke my heart curved her lips. “I don’t know how. For so long I’ve been in control of everything, taking care of the rest of you. It makes me feel strong, needed. I killed my way out of an abusive marriage and blew the head off the wolf who attacked me. But I can’t fight this. I can’t fix this. I don’t know what to do with myself.”

Even though her voice broke and she exuded pain in waves, still she didn’t let those tears fall. Kylarai had suffered so much that she’d learned to be soft when it was safe and hard the rest of the time.

“You need to take some time to process everything. Be here with your husband and let him be your rock. Don’t feel like this is something you have to fix. Right now you need to just…be.” I held her close, feeling elated that there were no horrible thoughts of tasting her blood flitting through my head. Just once did I pause to wonder if she would taste as good as Shaz.

Coby and Shaz entered the living room from the kitchen, having made some tea for Kylarai.

Coby sat down on Ky’s other side and pressed the mug handle into her grip. “Here, this will help you sleep,” he said, kissing her temple. “I think you need some rest. You haven’t slept since we got home.”

Shaz perched on the arm of the couch next to me and reached to lay a comforting hand on her shoulder. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t need to. We were our own little pack, and words were not necessary. Kylarai reached to lay a hand on top of Shaz’s, though her gaze was transfixed on her tea.

Sitting there with three werewolves and their lovely, intoxicating aroma began to get uncomfortable. Watching Kylarai sip her tea led to watching the pulse beat in her throat. I edged closer to Shaz, reaching for his free hand.

“So, tell us what happened,” Kylarai said, gesturing to me. “Don’t leave anything out.”

Talking about the events that took place while she was away might have helped Ky escape the things that haunted her for a few minutes, but for me it made those ghosts lurk much closer. Telling her and Coby about the night I died and the strain of adjusting since made me that much more aware of the rich wolf blood surrounding me. I paused a few times when speaking, trying to gather myself.

“How bad do you want to tear us apart right now?” Curiosity glimmered in Kylarai’s gaze. “I’ve seen that same look in Kale’s eyes.” I flinched when she said his name. I didn’t mean to. She didn’t miss it. “What? Did something happen with Kale?”

Shaz shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat but said nothing. Ky looked back and forth between us, drawing her own conclusions.

“About Kale,” I began. “He left town. He went to Vegas with Jenner. Things got crazy right after I turned. We couldn’t handle it. So, uh, he’s gone.”

Because Kylarai wasn’t stupid, she nodded in understanding and didn’t press it further. I would open up to her later, when we were alone and the time was right.

Patting my leg, she said, “I’m glad Lena was able to save your wolf.”

“Me too.” Because sunrise was drawing closer and I couldn’t contain myself much longer, I gave her another lingering hug, trying not to breathe too deeply of her scent. “We should go. Sunrise and all. Get some rest, ok?”

Leaving Kylarai was so hard. My wolf was insistent that I stay. During a time like this, we needed one another. Unfortunately, I needed to be safe at home when the sun rose, not locked in a house with people I never wanted to victimize.

I paused beside Shaz’s car, needing a moment before I got into the close confines with him. “Bet you thought I was going to lose it in there.”

He peered at me over the roof of the small car. “When you grabbed my hand, I thought for sure I’d have to drag you out of there. You proved me wrong.”

“My control isn’t that good yet. It was you. You keep me grounded.” Except for my first night as a vampire, I’d never lost total control with Shaz. It was a bittersweet realization. He’d never move on with his life if I remained so needy.

Something like relief passed over his face. He crushed it fast, replacing it with a forced smile. “I better get you home. It’s getting late.”

Again I was reminded that it wasn’t only me who’d been so deeply affected by my transition. As we made the short trip back to my house, I was burdened by the weight of the space that had grown between us. I couldn’t help but long to feel close to Shaz again. The wolf within paced with impatience.

It became awkward when we parked in my driveway and he stared expectantly at me, waiting for me to get out. I wanted him to stay, because my wolf didn’t give a crap about the things that formed a wedge between us. After being among my small wolf family, I wasn’t ready to let that sensation go.

“Try to get some rest, Lex. Don’t spend the day worrying about Ky. I don’t think you sleep enough.” The kiss Shaz leaned in for was chaste, a brush of his lips against the edge of my mouth. Barely a kiss at all.

It convinced me to swallow the urge to invite him in. We weren’t there yet. Ruffling his soft platinum hair, I said, “Goodnight, Shaz,” and got out of the car before I could rethink what was best for us.

Chapter Four

A day of tossing and turning while obsessing on Kylarai had gotten me all fired up. It killed me that she was going through something so excruciating and that I could do nothing to ease her pain.

I’d left Jez with the promise that I wouldn’t be long. Giving in to my unholy urges left Jez free to do the same. We couldn’t babysit each other constantly, so I’d reminded her of our promise to call one another if the temptation became too great. Jez had told me that I couldn’t slaughter my way through every problem. I begged to differ.

Maybe the john I had on his knees begging couldn’t take away the hell Kylarai was going through, but it was helping me to unleash the pent up emotions that pushed me from Jekyll to Hyde. If I didn’t take it out on someone deserving, I ran the risk of losing it in a way I might regret.

As much as I hated my dark side when I had my wits about me, in moments of blood-hungry violence, I enjoyed every second. This was one of those times.

“Please don’t hurt me. I have a family.” The balding, middle-aged creep clasped his hands together as if praying to the angel of death. His eyes were huge, the whites bloodshot from too much booze. He stank of it.

I glanced around the small, dank motel room. The rumpled sheets on the bed, the leftover Chinese food on the table, and several days worth of beard growth supported what local youth worker, Brinley Kane, had told me about the guy.

“The family who kicked you out after your wife discovered your fetish for underage girls?” I questioned, walking a slow circle around him. “I don’t think they’re going to miss you. In fact, I’m probably doing them a favor.”

According to Brinley this guy here not only partook in the underage prostitution running rampant in the city but he also enjoyed abusing the girls. This was going to feel so good.

“I didn’t know she was underage.” He tried another desperate tactic. “I never would’ve touched her if I knew.”

Laughing venom, I grabbed one of the guy’s hands and snapped his pinky finger back. His scream fed my satisfaction.

“You didn’t know? Well then, how come you specifically requested underage girls from the pimp?” Without waiting for a reply, I snapped the next finger backward, pleased when I felt a pop. “Don’t fucking lie to me.”

There’d been a time when I might have questioned how such slime could exist. The twisted, depraved shit people did no longer surprised me. This world had jaded me already.

I couldn’t change the past. The horrors this man visited upon the lost children of the city would never be undone. However, I was both a Hound of God and a vampire. Both a protector and a killer of mankind. The death of this wretched human being could in turn save others from suffering at his hand and my own. Moments like this made me feel that perhaps there was some method to this madness after all.

“Please,” he repeated, sniveling and crying. His tears didn’t move me in the least. “I’ll never do it again.” They always said the same things: whining, pleading, promising.

I was so over it. “Blah, blah, blah. Save your energy for screaming.” I considered snapping another finger but instead brought his wrist close, breathing in the scent of blood pumping beneath the surface. Baring fangs, I made sure he got a good view before I plunged them into his vein.

Scream he did, more so in horror than pain. The disgusting creeper was shocked that a creature such as me existed. So I crouched beside him and smiled, revealing bloodstained teeth.

“I bet you’re freaked the fuck out right now,” I said. “The horror you’re feeling, the disbelief, that’s what those girls felt every time you touched them.”

I ran my tongue over my lips, licking the spilled blood. High pitched, wheezing gasps came from him as his fear climbed to a new high. With a gentle push of power, he fell quiet, captivated by my thrall. A caress of his face and a naughty whisper in his ear and he was a puddle of desire.

He watched me drag my tongue over the wound in his wrist, both confused and aroused. “What the hell are you, lady?” His lusty energy felt tainted, rotten. I didn’t want it. This man’s sexual nature didn’t hold the lively rush I sought. It was plagued with the bitterness of his sick urges.

I shoved away from him, dropping my thrall. The sensual charge I craved wouldn’t be fulfilled with him. Bummer.

“Right now, I’m judge, jury, and executioner.” Wrenching his head back, I bared his throat nicely. My gaze strayed from the jugular to the carotid. He deserved nothing less than a slow bleed, but I didn’t have all night.

Again he whimpered, pleading for absolution. He wouldn’t find it here. I’d managed to drag this out for an hour now. I could go all night. However, Arys wanted to meet at The Wicked Kiss, claiming to have news for me regarding our search for other twin flames. I didn’t want to be late and have him seek me out.

Frustration stacked up like bricks, layer upon layer, until I was seething. This pitiful human was not meeting all of my needs. What started off as fun was growing tiresome. Deciding that I was done with him in all ways, I extended a clawed finger and dragged it across his throat, from one ear to the other.

For just a second the wound hesitated. Then the blood gushed forth in a flowing fount. I stepped back and watched him grab for his throat as if that would contain the precious fluid. Red soaked his shirt before puddling on the floor. His eyes bulged, and his mouth moved like he was still trying to beg. Then he pitched forward onto his face and was still.

The air moved. Falon stood near the door, appraising the scene. “Holy shit, you’re a mess, aren’t you?”

Annoyance flashed through me, and I turned to him, glaring daggers. “Why are you here?”

Shadows stole his arrogant smile away. “You called me. Or do you not realize that?” When I stared in silence at him, he continued. “Some part of you put out a call to me. That’s how it works with us angel and demon types. We can’t be everywhere at once. Instead we feel the call.”

“Yeah?” Crossing my arms, I eyed him with a renewed interest. “Which one are you again?”

“You tell me.”

Our gazes locked, silver on blue. We stared into one another with the heavy weight of unspoken and illicit desire. My anger melted as the hunger found its target. What I couldn’t get from the dead piece of crap on the floor I could certainly get from Falon.

There was no decision made, no words exchanged. I’m not sure who moved first. His lips were on my neck as his hands slipped beneath my top. What I wanted was the hard flesh beneath his clothes, and I wasted no time seeking it out.

Clothing was shed as we chased the freedom we’d come to find in each other’s arms. For me it was the escape from what and who I was, combined with the craving for eroticism and power that led me to leave everything else behind when I was with him. For Falon it was not so different. Where I sought to forget, he sought to remember. Another time, another life, another woman. I didn’t know and I didn’t care.

Falon spun me around and bent me over the bed. If taking me from behind made him feel like the dominant for a few minutes, I could accept that. But then it would be my turn to take control, just the way I preferred it with him. This was no exchange of emotion or even mutual respect. It was nothing but ridiculously hot sex between two people who felt nothing for each other. That was what I loved about it. No feelings. No ties. Nothing.

He jerked my leggings and underwear down, giving me just a moment to kick them aside before he grabbed my hips and thrust inside me. My gaze traveled over the dead man on the floor and the dingy motel room before landing on the mirror across from the bed. It gave me a perfect view of our carnal activity.

My blonde hair was in disarray, my eyes such a deep vampire blue, they almost glowed. Falon held tight to my hips as I took everything he threw at me. I hated that I couldn’t touch him. It was vital for me to take all that I wanted from this encounter.

He knew it too.

At one point he glanced over, and our eyes met through the mirror. It became surreal then, like this couldn’t be happening except in another time and place. That place beyond the reflective glass.

That was when I plunged into that headspace where the darkest parts of me lived. I spun around to face him, ignoring the irritation that flashed across his face. With both hands on his firm chest, I shoved Falon down on the bed and climbed atop him.

“You have a ridiculous need to be in control,” he said, entangling a hand in my hair.

“You talk too much.” I took him inside me, sighing at the rush of arousal and fallen angel energy clouding my mind like fog. That was just what I needed.

Falon chuckled and tightened his grip on my hair, showing with that simple action that he still retained a great deal of control here. “Too fucking bad. I don’t belong to you, Vampire Queen. Don’t forget that.”

I kissed him, if only to shut him up. Nipping his lip gave me a taste of that immortal blood without dosing me with enough to fuck me up. Drawing on Falon’s eternal power took me to that wonderful place where nothing else mattered. It was a feast for all the senses, and I was ravenous.

Falon felt the need to remind me that he wasn’t one of mine. Curious. The three men who belonged to me, enthralled by my blood, were all vampires, and two of them were in Las Vegas. Something about Falon’s remark struck me as dangerous, but in my current state, I didn’t give a damn about anything but taking what he was giving.

Feeling devious, I grinned, a smile that felt like pure evil on my face. I moved slow, painfully slow. “No? Feels like you do. Every part of you is mine right now. And you fucking love it.”

I was toying with him, our constant banter that neither of us seemed to tire of. If anything, we were constantly challenged to outdo the other with every encounter. Falon tried to frown, but his expression was lost as I paused with him buried deep inside me.

“I hate you,” he muttered, fisting my hair hard enough to hurt.

My grin became a laugh as I recalled a recent conversation we’d had where I’d said that very thing to him. “I hate you? You’re usually much better at this.”

Mocking Falon with his own words brought me vicious delight. He groaned and shook his head, unable to speak as I slid up the length of him, teasing and unhurried. With each slow stroke I ran my hands over him. Down his chest, through his hair, drawing on his energy like a wilted flower suddenly drenched in water.

Eyeing his throat, I had to talk myself out of going for it. Unless I had a use for his blood, it was dangerous to take it. But he tasted so fucking good.

Everything about this was dangerous, if I were to be honest with myself, something I wasn’t so great at these days. The hunger for power was a greater burden than the craving for blood alone. There was no shortage of blood to be had. However, power of this caliber was not as common.

My thoughts strayed to Arys and his insatiable hunger for my power. It was what we were. And it was deadly.

Falon, seeming to sense my sudden shift in thought, grabbed hold of my hips with both hands and tore control of the situation from me. I was on my back staring up at the ceiling before I realized he was going to flip me.

“That’s enough of that,” he said, hooking one of my legs over his arm. The fervor with which he took me would’ve knocked me breathless had my lungs still functioned in that manner.

Having him on top of me took me to a weird place where I was conflicted by the intimacy of it and the need to ensure nothing about an encounter with Falon crossed into intimate territory. That wasn’t what he was to me. He was my prey, and he needed to remember that.

Though Falon had assumed an intimate position, there was nothing intimate about the way he fucked me. There was no other word for it, nor should there be. Making love was a far cry from what we were doing.

My claws tore through his flesh as I clung tight to him with my back arched and my head thrown back. His mouth was hot on my neck, his hips pumping vigorously between my legs. And a few minutes later, it was over.

Like every time we did this, I was forced from euphoric bliss back into reality much faster than I’d have preferred. I pushed him away and sprang off the icky motel bed, putting my clothes on in record time.

Falon lounged on the bed. Rolling onto his side he propped one hand beneath his head. He regarded me in all his naked glory, his mask of arrogance back in place.

“Get out.” I didn’t give him a chance to speak. After tugging my top back into place, I ran my fingers through my hair as if that would get rid of the obvious sex hair.

“No.” Falon was calm, watching me too intently, picking me apart. “You can’t just beckon me to scratch your itch and then banish me when you’re done.”

“Can’t I? Seems to have been working just fine so far.” It was tough to meet his gaze with him lying there nude.

“I’m not your toy, Alexa. Don’t treat me like I am, or you’ll be doing a lot of itching in the near future.” A smirk played about his features, but those silver eyes shone with the seriousness of his statement.

I had to laugh at that. “I don’t think you’re my toy, Falon. I think you’re my prey. Don’t get too cocky. You’re not the only one able to scratch my itch.”

“Is that so?” he countered, stretching out languidly on the bed, trying to draw my focus to him. “Then why do it with me at all? Oh, that’s right. You’re afraid to be with anyone else. Yeah, that’s right. Afraid. I know your secret. I feel it when I’m inside you.”

I whirled on him then, fingertips crackling with power. “You shut the fuck up.” There wasn’t much else I could say. He wasn’t wrong. For different reasons, I was beyond scared to be intimate with Shaz or Arys; I was downright terrified. “Get dressed and get out.”

Falon sat up, a glare on his too perfect face. “Until the next time you need a fix? I don’t think so. It doesn’t work that way. You need to remember who you’re fucking with. I didn’t get where I am by letting people like you walk all over me.”

The heat of his anger washed over me, and I smiled. “What’s wrong, Falon? Are you feeling disrespected? I can’t imagine that’s new for you.”

He came off the bed fast, backing me up against the wall. Pressing close so that it was impossible to keep from touching his nakedness, Falon stared down at me from his greater height. “I’m a fucking force to be reckoned with, and you’d be wise to remember that. I’m not someone you want to piss off.” His tone dripped venom, flashing me back to a time not so long ago when he’d stripped me of both my power and clothing in front of a crowd of vampires, as well as Arys and my sister.

Falon was right. Forgetting that he was pure evil would be a grave mistake.

Because I was too damn stubborn to show him the respect he was demanding, I said, “Back off, Falon.”

He didn’t. Instead he leaned down so close that our lips almost touched and murmured, “As good as it feels to have you wrapped around my cock, you’re still an abomination. An unnatural. Don’t think I’ve forgotten that. If I didn’t need your help to trap Shya, I wouldn’t even bother with you. You’re the queen of vampires, not angels. Never forget what I am. I sure won’t forget what you are.”

Malice tainted him with a heaviness that clung to me like an unwanted second skin I couldn’t slough off. His words came from a place of ugliness and truth, and yet, there was a lie among them. I could smell it all over him.

His claim that he wouldn’t bother with me if Shya weren’t an issue, that was false, though I couldn’t imagine why he would lie. The possibilities were unwelcome. I didn’t want to entertain the thought any further.

“Good.” I was too aware of the erection pressed against my thigh. Too aware of the heat coming off his skin. Power rolled over, around, and through us, driving me to fist a handful of his silver hair. “Glad we’ve established that our mutual hatred of one another is an undying force of its own. Now either get out of my face or give me a reason to believe you’re worth my respect.”

The silence was loud in the moment that followed. Then Falon crushed his lips against mine in a bruising, heated kiss before dragging me back to the bed.

Chapter Five

Arriving at The Wicked Kiss meant checking and rechecking my appearance. I fixed a smudge of eyeliner and tried again to finger-comb my sex-tousled hair. My skin glowed with a warmth that only came by stealing it from someone else. A few spritzes of perfume wasn’t going to cover Falon’s scent from anyone with enhanced senses.

Hiding what happened wasn’t my intention. That would make me a liar. However, going in there flaunting it was not my goal either.

Unable to resist, I cast a glance over at the ’73 Camaro at the end of the lot. My heart squeezed, and a flood of unwelcome emotion slapped me. Eventually I had to move that car, but I couldn’t bring myself to unlock the door, let alone drive it. I fucking miss you, Kale.

I buzzed with the remnants of so much illicit power. The brightly lit sign over the door that boasted the nightclub’s name flickered and briefly went out as I passed beneath. That explained the erratic behavior of the dashboard lights in my car on the way over.

Like usual, I felt Arys before I saw him. I could’ve found my way to him blindfolded. He stood at the bar, next to Willow and Jez who sat on barstools, each with a drink in front of them.

He didn’t glance over at my approach. That lack of acknowledgment spoke volumes. Arys knew who I’d been with. It was in the hard set to his jaw and the rigidness of his shoulders.

Jez’s green gaze drifted over me, a brow lifting in silent appraisal. “Hey, Lex. You look like you’ve been kicking some ass. Someone Brinley sent you after?”

“Yeah. A john. Total pig. He had it coming.” I stood near Jez, leaving space between Arys and me. It was hard to meet his gaze.

Willow started to slide a tequila shot toward me, then abruptly dragged it back. “It’s going to take some time to get used to you being unable to drink with me.” His gaze lingered as if he could sense Falon all over me. Maybe he could. He had the grace to smile as if he didn’t notice. I was relieved not to be the subject of his scorn and judgment.

“I’ll drink with you,” Jez volunteered, raising her pink cocktail.

I frowned but didn’t say anything. Lecturing her would only make her defensive and understandably so. I could only be a support and a reminder. It wasn’t my place to wrestle the drinks out of her hand. Yet.

Arys shuffled his feet, drawing my gaze to his. A deadly storm was brewing in him. “I found a set of twin flames. Here, in the city. They’ve agreed to meet with us. We have to get going.”

“For real?” This was good news, or so I hoped. “That’s great. Let’s go.”

I looked to Jez who sipped her drink, making yummy noises that made me envious. “I’m going to stay here with Willow,” she said. “He’s agreed to answer a few questions for me about my…heritage.”

There was nobody I trusted as much as Willow, once. Seeing the recent changes in him slowly manifesting was no comfort, but I still trusted him to take care of Jez. He could guide her better than I ever could.

I laid a hand on her shoulder. “Try not to go overboard, ok?”

Jez leaned in close so the loud club noise kept her from being heard by anyone but me. “Says the woman who smells like sex and fallen angels.”

“Jez.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be on my best behavior.”

“Don’t let her call Arrow or go to The Spirit Room,” I instructed Willow, ignoring Jez when she shot me the middle finger.

I’d turned to go when Willow caught hold of my wrist and turned me back to him. “Alexa, I’m sorry for last night. That was unfair of me.”

Aware of Arys waiting with obvious impatience and growing ire, I gave Willow a smile I hoped was genuine. “It’s cool. No worries.”

Arys was already on his way out the door, not waiting for me to catch up. He was pissed. I found him outside, waiting for me beside my car even though his Firebird was parked near the door.

“Do you still want to do this?” he asked, a muscle twitching in his jaw. “Or are we just wasting our time?”

The contempt in him triggered my defenses. It was impossible not to get angry in response to his bitter emotions. We were too tightly bound not to be influenced by one another.

“If you’re looking for a fight, Arys, I’ll give you one. You might as well say what you really mean by that.” Driven by the force roiling about inside me, I advanced on him, getting dangerously close.

He regarded me with a mix of intrigue and irritation. I got the feeling he wanted to kiss me as much as he wanted to slap me. “Do you expect me to believe this is important to you? Even if your eyes weren’t flashing silver, I’d still know you just fucked him. I can feel him all over you.”

My eyes… Shit. Arys had a right to be pissed off, but he had to remember we were both victims here. “Yeah, I was with him. And I hate myself for it. Sometimes, I hate you for it, for doing this to me. But then I remember that we’re both suffering. This is fucking hard for me, Arys. Being with Falon is the only time I don’t have to feel anything, and I need that right now.”

“You need to be with me right now, Alexa. The longer you run from that truth, the worse you make this for both of us.” He reached for me but dropped his hand before touching me. “I’ve been there. I know how easy it is to fuck the pain away. All it does is prolong the inevitable. You can’t run forever.”

The anguish surrounding him was tempting. If I hadn’t just feasted on Falon’s power, I would be climbing all over Arys to take it from him instead. That was how it should be. I knew that. But Falon was right. I was afraid.

“That’s the thing,” I said, holding his gaze, hoping he would see what I couldn’t put into words. “I don’t think about that. Right now I don’t care.”

Arys made a frustrated noise and slammed a fist against the side of my car, ignoring my protests. “Dammit, Alexa. I did this to you, and it kills me, but you’re making your own choices. Everything you do now is all on you. I can make this transition easier if you would just let me.”

Brow furrowed, I stared at the spot he’d hit, inspecting for dents. “It doesn’t mean anything. I’ll get it out of my system. Eventually.”

“You think it doesn’t mean anything, but it changes you. One day the regret will catch up with you.” Arys sighed and his shoulders slumped. “Look, I know this is about power and escape. I get it. You know I do. I’m as power hungry as vampires come. But this is angel power you’re chasing. Have you considered how dangerous that is?”

Ignoring his question, because I knew he had me on that one, I focused instead on his rare mention of regret. “Do you have a lot of regrets, Arys?”

The storm in his eyes had grown into a full-blown hurricane. Savage waves crashed and rolled in his midnight stare. “The only thing I regret is letting you run to Sinclair. I should’ve gone after you that night.”

Considering everything that had happened since then, he was probably right. “Yeah, maybe you should have, but you didn’t. You let me go to him, and then you got rid of him. And here we are.”

My tone was flat. I couldn’t muster the emotion that fit my words. There was no point in being angry anymore. Kale was gone. Hell, he’d wanted to go. And as much as I hated it, I knew it was better this way.

“Yes, here we are.” Arys turned away, heading around the Charger to the passenger side. “Get in the car. We’re going to be late.”

* * * *

The drive was tense, so much so that I chewed my lip as I drove in an attempt to keep from screaming. Arys spoke only to give me the address of our destination. Then he stared in silence out the window.

This rollercoaster ride that was our fucked up relationship was careening around another twist in the track. I couldn’t help but wonder what it would take to send us over the edge. Again I thought of Lilah and Salem, a demon and an angel, twin flames. They’d been bound together for several lifetimes over, and now one of them had imprisoned the other in a desperate attempt to control the madness they each suffered.

I’d foolishly believed that things would get better as time passed. Instead, it was getting harder. The passion and longing between Arys and me grew with each moment, but along with it the conflict, fire, and pain also grew. How would we overcome each obstacle when the next proved even greater?

A chill stole over me when I stopped at the address Arys gave me, the mental institution on the east side of the city. “For real? This is the place?” I stared at the hospital, unable to shake the bad vibes.

“This is it.” Arys grabbed my hand then, holding so tight it almost hurt. “I don’t want us to end up like so many others. From what I’m discovering, not many twins make it through unscathed. The odds will always be against us. We have to fight, Alexa. We have to persevere.”

The tension dissolved, replaced by a shared desperation. Arys was not alone in his concern. Seeing what had happened to Lilah and Salem scared me. The more I learned about twin flames, the more unsettled I became.

“I know. I’m not giving up.” His touch reminded me of how badly I craved him. I could never escape him, nor did I want to. I desired only to learn how to live with him, with what we were now. “How exactly did you find these twins?”

“Gabriel found them. With my blood he was able to locate the dark twin.”

We strode up the front walk to the intimidating building. Though we walked side by side, we were worlds apart, lost in our own mess. As soon as we walked through the door, we were met by a woman in a serious power suit, her hair perfectly pulled up into a large bun.

“You’re Arys Knight?” she inquired, her sharp gaze sliding over us each in turn. She didn’t offer either of us her hand. “I’m Rachel. Lovely to meet you.” The way she said it indicated that she deemed nothing about this to be lovely.

Her actions were robotic, forced, as if she were used to going through the motions when interacting with others. Right away I could tell she had about as much humanity as I did on a bad day. Strange.

She barely let me introduce myself before spinning on a heel and heading down the hall. “This way. We must hurry. Ozzie doesn’t always do so well after dark. He gets a little…hard to handle.”

“Ozzie?” I echoed, feeling overwhelmed by the sterile cold of the building. It was quiet, the kind of quiet filled with suspicion and unseen movement. The kind of quiet that couldn’t be trusted.

“Oswald is my twin flame. I assume you know why you’re here.” Rachel’s expression was blank, as if she suspected I might be too stupid to bother with. She glanced at Arys and shrugged.

I realized fast that Rachel was the dark half of her twin flame union. She was human and felt very much like it, but something in her eyes gave her away. It was the total lack of emotion. She’d shut down long ago. I suspected she might be a sociopath of sorts.

We followed her through several twists and turns, passing closed doors, each housing someone unbalanced, unwell, or just plain crazy. The energy was fractured, broken shards of many people that got inside my head, stabbing my brain like an ice pick.

Rachel stopped in front of a door, pausing to say, “I’m not sure what kind of mood he’s in today. Hopefully he’ll speak with us.”

I was tense, sure that I was unprepared for this but just as sure that I needed to meet both twins. They were human, so how bad could it be? Stupid question.

The room we stepped into was stifling, a prison of anxiety-riddled energy that echoed despair. It stopped me short in the doorway, battering my senses. Arys gripped my elbow, pulling me along. Despite the many years of experience he had shielding against such potent energy, he moved with a stiff gait, as if bracing himself.

Rachel closed the door behind us and moved to a figure slumped in a chair facing a small TV in the corner. A bed and large window lined the opposite wall, an attempt at giving the room a less prison-like feel. The only other door in the room led to a tiny bathroom. Home sweet hell.

“Ozzie, baby. How’ve you been?” Rachel crouched down next to the chair and spoke in a tone that was supposed to be soothing but struck me as obviously full of shit. “I’m sorry I haven’t come by in a while. Work has been crazy.”

Arys and I exchanged a quick, apprehensive look. My curiosity was on overdrive, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I would leave here somehow changed.

For a few tense moments, it seemed that Ozzie was lost in his own world. He stared unblinking at the television. Thin and pale, he clenched the arm of the chair with both hands, knuckles white.

All of a sudden he snapped out of the strange spell and turned to us with pleasant surprise. “Visitors! How nice. I was wondering when you would arrive.” The maniacal smile he turned on us melted away as fast as it had come. “Where’ve you been, Rachel? I was starting to think you weren’t coming back.”

What in the fuck? It appeared that Rachel and Ozzie weren’t your typical humans after all. How did he know we were coming?

“I just needed some space, my love. I told you I would come back. I always do, don’t I?” In an absent motion Rachel brushed a chunk of dark hair off his forehead. “Meet Arys and Alexa, Oz. They’re like us. They’ve been looking for others.”

Ozzie stared at us like a little kid meeting strange adults for the first time. He was all at once shy and withdrawn. Looking to Rachel for reassurance, he whispered, “Not human.”

She stiffened, but her brittle smile stayed in place. “Don’t say such things, baby.”

“No, it’s fine,” Arys said, taking the lead, which I was happy to let him do. “He’s right. We’re not human.”

Rachel’s heart began to beat faster. It thundered in my head, taunting me. Lucky for her, the power I’d happily taken from Falon increased my own inner strength, and I was able to shut down any thought of harming either of them.

“Is that right?” Her smile widened before dissolving altogether. She thought we were as crazy as poor Ozzie.

Arys smiled, revealing fangs. “We’re not here to harm you in any way. We just want to ask you a few questions.”

A high-pitched laugh of disbelief came from Rachel, and she pressed closer to Ozzie. Pointing at the bed, she said, “Sit there. You can stay as long as you don’t upset him.”

I perched on the edge of the bed, awkward in the room that lacked any sensation of home or comfort. Arys sat beside me. He was calm and relaxed, everything I wasn’t.

“What brought you two together?” he asked, his attention focused more on Ozzie than Rachel.

She’s the one who answered though, before Ozzie could open his mouth. “A drunken night at the bar. I thought it was a one-night stand. At least, it was supposed to be. I went in to work on Monday morning at the law office I used to work for, and there was Ozzie, my first client of the day. He had no idea I worked there. It was a coincidence, though we learned fast that, as far as twin flames are concerned, there is no such thing as coincidence.”

Ozzie smiled up at her, love shining in his crazed eyes. The adoration that poured from him was so tangible I could’ve reached out and touched it. I knew that feeling. It lived in me too.

“I loved her before I saw her. I didn’t know it until I did.” He shook his head and blinked a few times, like he was trying to focus his thoughts. “I’m not sure if that makes sense.”

“It does.” I smiled, finding him endearing. “It makes perfect sense.”

“And when did you know there was more to it?” Arys jumped in, keeping the conversation rolling.

Rachel’s gaze dropped. She sat on the arm of Ozzie’s chair, content to let him field this one. The shift in her demeanor captured my attention. She rubbed her hands together before trying to inconspicuously rub them on her pants. She’d started calm and cool but was now nervous and perspiring.

“The night we talked a jumper off the High Level Bridge. We weren’t even supposed to be there, but our ride ditched us, and we thought, ‘What the hell, let’s walk the bridge.’ I felt something that night. I knew what we had was a gift.” Ozzie smiled at the memory.

His crooked grin and faraway expression brought a joy to his face that echoed within me: light connecting with light. We were the same in so many ways, he and I.

Rachel continued to stare down at the floor. Ozzie took her silence to mean he should continue. After looking at her with uncertainty, he went on. “It started to happen a lot. We would be there when someone choked at a restaurant or be first on the scene after a car accident. It was always by chance. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time. We saved twenty-three lives before…before I ended up in here.”

Arys and I waited for one of them to elaborate. It felt rude to push such a sensitive subject, but we needed to know. One of them was in a mental hospital, and I was identifying with him on a level that was starting to scare me. Where would one lock up a crazy vampire?

My thoughts went to the FPA lockup, and I repressed a shudder. Arys wouldn’t stick me in a place like that if my mental stability continued to decline, would he? The separation would hurt both of us just as it was clearly hurting Rachel.

She had made this choice. Perhaps she was more composed than Ozzie, but that didn’t make her sane.

Feeling my gaze upon her, she met my eyes and shrugged. “Things started to change. Saving lives became taking lives. Like before, we were always together when it happened. The first one was an accident. At least, it seemed that way at the time. A mugger with a gun on the street one night. It was self defense. I kept a switchblade in my purse.”

Her voice changed, growing distant, but her gaze locked with mine, refusing to let me break eye contact. “It was a rush to fight for our lives. We enjoyed it. So we started to seek out such encounters. Things went bad pretty fast. It started to break Ozzie. He started to have panic attacks. Hallucinations. He cracked. Tried to kill himself. I had to put him somewhere he’d be safe. Watched over. I had no choice.”

I nodded, not because I empathized with her but because I was starting to understand. A veil had been lifted, and it all started to make more sense. We were here to save lives. The curse of our gift was that we also longed to take them. Human. Vampire. Irrelevant. It was a double-edged sword.

“You do realize you’re a sociopath, right?” With a raised brow Arys gestured to Ozzie. “His psychotic break may be more obvious, but you are far from sane, Rachel. Did you both just give up?”

My tongue felt heavy in my mouth. I was overcome with the sudden urge to flee. I’d had about as much as I could handle already. Arys and I were so obviously reflected in Ozzie and Rachel. It terrified me.

“Never!” Ozzie’s hands trembled as he reached for Rachel. Their energy grew substantially with that touch. It felt warm, like a blazing fire on a cold day. “I’m nothing without Rachel, and I know there’s good left in us. I’m here so I don’t hurt anyone. It won’t always be this way. It’s got to get better.”

The hope in his eyes hurt to look at. My experience with twin flames was limited, yet I’d learned that it doesn’t get better. It gets worse.

“I’m sure it will, baby.” Rachel bent to kiss his forehead before running a hand over his hair. She reeked with the lie.

Ozzie began to shut down immediately. He withdrew into himself as fast as he’d come out. Sinking into the easy chair, he pulled his hand from hers and crossed his arms. “Lies. Always lies.”

He turned his face away, pressing it against the back of the chair as if he could wish us all away by refusing to acknowledge us. Once he curled his knees up tight against his chest and began anxiously chewing his nails, I knew he wasn’t coming back to us.

Rachel stood, absently patting his head. He swatted her hand away, growling something that was more mumble than words.

“You’ll have to go now,” she said, motioning to the door. “I’m sorry you didn’t get much out of him, but that tends to be the norm these days. He’s coherent in short bursts and then…” Her gaze passed over Ozzie, lingering until her aura filled with pain.

Arys nodded and sighed. His expression mirrored hers as he stared at Ozzie, seeing me in that chair. In this room. Imprisoned because I was a danger to myself and everyone else. I didn’t need a peek into his mind to know he was envisioning me in Ozzie’s place. I was too. And it was horrifying.

“Walk us out?” Arys headed for the door without waiting to see if she’d follow.

After promising an unresponsive Ozzie that she would be right back, Rachel accompanied us back to the front entry. When there was nobody within earshot, Arys abandoned any semblance of forced pleasantries.

“So how are you keeping your shit together?” It was a demand rather than a mere question. “You’ve got to be doing something to appease the need to kill, and somehow you’ve managed to keep yourself out of this place. So, tell us.”

Rachel’s lips pressed tight together. “How do I know I can trust you? I believe you’re both twins; I can feel it, otherwise I never would have let you in here. But that doesn’t make you trustworthy.”

“I can force you to tell us, but I’d rather not have to. We’re the same in many ways. We should be trying to help each other.” Arys didn’t touch her. He merely held her gaze, and the power danced around him, reaching for her.

Like an unseen hand it caressed her. She shook her head and took an unsteady step backward, as if she might run. As fast as Arys had called the power, he let it fall away. It had been just enough to make her see what we were capable of.

Rachel’s cheeks were flushed with unbidden desire, and she sucked in a few deep breaths before speaking. “I’m an assassin, ok? I kill people in order to save others. That’s how I manage. That’s how I save lives while taking them. I’d hoped that Ozzie could join me, but his condition hasn’t improved enough. I’m starting to doubt it ever will.”

The careful composure, which she’d managed since we’d arrived, cracked, revealing the fear she hid beneath. Her stand-offish detachment around her twin was the lie that covered the truth. Rachel was terrified.

“Who do you work for?” Arys pressed, eager for more information.

With a shake of her head, Rachel murmured, “I can’t tell you that. It’s not relevant anyway.”

“I think it might be.” Arys raised a hand to call forth another manipulative surge.

Rachel stiffened, eyes wide and jaw set in determination.

I caught Arys’s hand and brought it back down to his side, shutting down the force he’d summoned as I did. When he met my eyes, without a word, I implored him to let it go.

“She’s right,” I said. “It’s not relevant, and that’s not why we came here.” To Rachel, I added, “Thank you for meeting us. I know it couldn’t have been easy. I see the two of us in the two of you, and that both reassures and scares me. If you ever need anything from us, don’t hesitate to reach out.”

Only when we were back inside the Charger did I release the many F-bombs I’d been withholding. Arys listened as I cussed up a storm, throwing out rhetorical questions that he could only nod his agreement to.

“What the fuck does this mean for us? That we’re killers, and no matter how much good we do or how many lives we save, we’re still fucked? We’ll always be as dark as we are light. There is no winning that war. It’s fucking futile.” I pounded my fist on the dash, wincing when I heard something crack inside.

They were human. Completely human. Yet they were not free of the twisted mess of light and dark. I’d blamed it all on Arys’s vampire side, but I could no longer do that. It went much deeper than I’d thought.

“I knew they’d be a mess, but I didn’t expect them to be as bad as we are.” Arys leaned his seat back and stretched like a cat in a sunbeam. “Is it wrong that it made me feel better about us?”

I slumped against the door, resting my head on the cool glass. “I can’t decide if I feel better or worse after meeting them. I’m pretty sure I’m not too far from where Ozzie’s at now.”

Arys’s hand was warm on mine. The power surged between us, creating a spark and a heat that filled me. I groaned, overwhelmed by a series of emotions that battered the fragile walls of my mind and heart. The urge to crawl into his lap and lose myself in him threatened to destroy the self-imposed resistance I’d been practicing.

“So what do we do now?” The fire burning its way through me shone in Arys’s midnight eyes.

I stared at our joined hands. I knew what we needed to do, yet I feared it would take us to a place on this journey together that we might not be ready for. Rachel and Ozzie had enlightened us, but there was someone else who could shed some light on the battle we fought every night. Someone who had been fighting it for longer than either Arys or I had existed. It wouldn’t be easy to find him. I wasn’t sure if even Willow could help.

“We need to talk to Salem.”

Chapter Six

“Will you stay with me? Today? After sunrise.” There was nothing needy about the way Arys said it. Calm and cool, he sat in the passenger seat, sliding a sidelong glance my way. The need was there, however, in every vibration that emanated from him.

It echoed inside me. I stared straight ahead, eyes on the road though I could see him watching me out of my peripheral vision.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea, Arys. I’ve got Jez, and I don’t think—”

“That you’re ready?” he interrupted. “You will never be ready if you keep pushing me away. Are you really willing to end up like Ozzie and Lilah just to spite me? Too crazy to be allowed to roam around free.”

Using Jez as an excuse was lame. I knew better. Hearing Arys voice what I’d just been thinking mere minutes ago left me unsettled.

“What makes you so sure I’d be the one who needs to be locked away?” I countered. Right now one might assume it would be me, but Arys’s own track record was a crash course in going off the rails. His talent was being one of the worst monsters walking the streets of this city, who also managed to be the least obvious. But he was far from innocent. There was a river of blood on Arys’s hands.

“Not a damn thing.” His low chuckle was sexy and smooth. It reached inside me, stroking me in places unseen. “There’s just as good a chance of it being me. Although right now, you’re pulling out ahead.”

A frown knit my brow. “I think that’s debatable.”

“So let’s go back to my house and debate it.” His expression smoldered, and the atmosphere grew hot. As I gazed into him, I was sure I saw blue and gold flames dance in his eyes.

I blinked a few times, and the illusion faded. With great difficulty I dragged my gaze from him, staring out the window at the small crowd of smokers lingering outside The Wicked Kiss. I wanted to go inside and look for Jez, but Arys had stopped me with a hand and a look that was as bad as it was good.

Denying his invitation wasn’t easy. It hurt. We needed each other. The meeting we’d just come from had reinforced everything we’d already known.

“As tempting as that is, I think I have to pass. It’s been a long night, and I just want to go home to my bed.” It wasn’t a lie. Crawling into bed did seem like the best way to end the night.

“Fine.” Arys nodded. “Then let’s go back to your house and debate it.”

Having Arys in my bed was exactly what I wanted, probably what I needed too, and yet the inner fear I couldn’t shake wouldn’t allow me to give myself to him. It had been birthed by the joy he’d taken in killing me, but it was kept alive by the force that sought to drive us mad by dividing us.

“I know we can’t go on like this, Arys, but I just can’t. Not yet.” I squeezed my eyes shut so I wouldn’t have to see the dejection and dismay cross his face. It didn’t make a difference. I felt it. His pain was my own.

He grabbed my hand and tugged, trying to get me to meet his eyes. I couldn’t, even when he touched my face. “I just want to be with you. No, I need to be with you. If you’re not ready to be intimate, if you don’t want to, I get it. I don’t like it, but I get it.”

“It’s not just that. I want you in ways I can’t even wrap my mind around. Don’t for a moment think I don’t.” I opened my eyes to find my anguish etched on his face. We were mirrors of one another, more so now than ever before.

“Then what is it, beautiful wolf? Is it Sinclair? Because I’m not sorry for asking him to leave, but I am sorry that it hurt you.” His thumb was a gentle caress, brushing across my lips. The stolen warmth in his touch was a comfort, inviting me to lean into it.

Unable to resist, I turned toward him, eager for the physical contact I’d denied us both since my death and transition. Arys cupped my cheek, leaning across the center console to capture my lips with his.

The frequency of the energy vibrating all around us soared as white noise filled my ears. The floodgates holding back the myriad emotions I’d hidden away broke open, and I choked on a whimper. His mouth moved on mine, tender but demanding, tearing open a wound I feared would never heal.

I groaned, knowing that I couldn’t disrespect him with a lie. “I’ve been having nightmares, Arys. About you. It’s been getting better, but I’m still afraid to sleep. So as much as I wish we could be what we were before, I don’t know how when, every time I close my eyes, you kill me all over again.”

He sank back into the passenger seat, turning away so he could stare out the window. The sudden disconnect was startling. Suspicious even. So I wasn’t surprised by what came next.

“I know.” Those two words were strained. He wrapped his knuckles on the window and swore. “I’m reliving it too. Every day. If I sleep, I dream it. If I stay awake, I end up drawing it. I don’t think I have to tell you where it goes from there.”

“No, you don’t.” Irrational temptation. Loss of control. Regret. That’s where it went.

Arys’s torment reflected mine. We were walking the same dark path, battling the same inner demons. So why were we so divided?

“How are we supposed to find each other again?” Barely a whisper, the words hurt as I uttered them.

Silence. The seconds passed, and I counted them with growing despair. Arys thrust the door open, startling me. He paused halfway out to turn back to me. His eyes were red with the sudden swell of blood tears.

“We haven’t lost each other, Alexa. I’m right here. The only thing that’s changed is these walls you’ve built between us. Maybe when you’re ready to tear them down, it won’t feel so much like hell anymore.” He got out and shut the door, moving fast toward his car. Arys would end the night driven by the same need to escape that I’d started it with.

With each step he took, I could feel the distance between us grow. Though he was part of me, always inside, we were strongest when together. I considered going after him, but I knew that, what he needed right then, I couldn’t give him. So I let him go.

Biting my bottom lip, I winced when a sharp sting preceded the taste of blood. I was getting used to having fangs in my mouth all the time, but there was a bit of a learning curve.

Arys’s Firebird started with a roar, and my hand was on the door. I should stop him. The ringing of my phone startled me as “Monster Mash” screamed out of my shoulder bag. What the hell?

Arys, notorious for changing my ringtone to ridiculous songs meant to irritate me, had managed to do it without me even noticing. That was a stupid reason to cry, but it brought the sting of tears to my eyes anyway.

I fished the phone out of my bag, wary when I saw that it was an unknown number. Suspicion colored my voice. “Hello?”

“Alexa?” My sister’s panicked voice was shrill in my ear.

Pulling the phone from my head, I put it on speaker and placed it on the console between the seats. “The one and only. Are you ok?”

Juliet’s voice filled the car. “Where’s Thomas? He hasn’t answered his phone for days, and nobody at HQ will tell me a damn thing. Did you kill him?”

Her panic was over Briggs? Oh, for fuck’s sake. Insulted, I scowled at the phone. “Of course not. I gave him to Shya. Did you know that Briggs is a dreamwalker?”

There was a pause. A growl. “You gave him to Shya? You gave him to that fucking demon? Why the hell would you do that?”

The sound of slot machines in the background was like a punch in the heart. Las Vegas. It was a city I both loved and loathed. Hearing it, knowing she was there, so close to Kale, it made me bitter.

“He lied to me, Juliet. He told me you’d been arrested for covering my kills. Briggs convinced me to turn myself in to the FPA in exchange for your freedom. Then he stole a sample of my blood and threw me out in the sun to fry. Is that the heroic do-gooder you’re in love with? A man who would send you away so he could murder your sister? Fuck Briggs.” I spat the curse with more force than intended, but I was tired of being labeled the bad guy.

For a minute all I could hear was the sound of slot machines. Then a long, ragged breath. “He promised me he wouldn’t hurt you. He promised.”

So she had known something was up before being shipped out of town. Betrayal sat heavy in my chest. “Well, he lied. I can’t believe you let him do that to me, Juliet. How could you?”

“But I didn’t,” she said in a rush. “I swear. I was covering your kills, Lexi. Thomas didn’t want the higher ups to find out, so he arranged for me to leave town until everything settled down there. He said he’d bring you in and keep you safe until you calmed down. You were so out of control, and Arys wasn’t doing shit to stop you. He was almost as bad. I thought it was a good idea.”

I stared out the windshield at the nightclub. Justin was standing near the door, flirting with a leggy blonde. She put a hand on his massive chest and batted lashes at him. Someone might as well have some fun tonight.

“Well, it wasn’t. Briggs tried to kill me. He left me no choice. I took him to Shya, and I spent the day making him sorry he fucked me over.” Even as I told her about Briggs’s betrayal, I was itching to ask her if she’d seen Kale.

“Did you say Thomas is a dreamwalker?” Her breath came fast, and the sound of slot machines grew farther away.

“You just heard that now?” Something moved in the shadows at the end of the parking lot. I tensed, hoping it wasn’t trouble. I hadn’t gotten any info out of my sister yet. “Are you running?”

Sirens blared through the phone. During my time in Las Vegas, the sirens were almost non-stop. There was always an emergency in that city.

“Just walking fast. I’m tailing someone down The Strip.” She paused to speak to someone on the street, most likely one of the people soliciting tourists, trying to shove various cards and pamphlets into their hands. “I knew Thomas was hiding something, but I didn’t know what. Tell me the truth; what’s Shya going to do to him?”

A wicked chuckle spilled out before I could rein it in. “Your guess is as good as mine. Whatever he does, it’ll involve using Briggs to trespass inside other people’s heads.”

My attention was fixed on the moving shadows. Just when I was convinced I needed to go investigate, two figures wrapped together in a steamy embrace all but fell into the light. It was Jez and the waitress she’d been eyeing.

Relaxing back into the seat, I watched the two of them make out against the side of the building. Unwelcome memories surfaced of Kale and I up against that same building in the rain. It was perhaps the most passionate encounter we’d ever had. I would never forget it.

“Maybe I should come home.” Juliet’s musing jerked my attention from my memories back to her. “I’ll be reprimanded and possibly demoted or otherwise disciplined, but it sounds like Thomas needs me.”

“No,” I all but shouted at the phone. “No, you shouldn’t come back. Not right now. Wait until things settle down.”

When I’d first learned that Juliet was sent to Vegas, I had wanted her brought home. That was after Jenner confessed his desire to bed her. Then I spoke to Gabriel who told me about a vision he had of Arys biting my sister, and after some careful contemplation, I had decided that Jenner was the lesser of those two evils. Keeping Juliet away from Arys was vital. He couldn’t be trusted right now.

“How will things settle down? You said a demon has him. He needs me.” She was stressed. It came through loud and clear.

Well, so was I.

I sighed, putting dramatic emphasis on it so she’d hear it over the Vegas street noise. “Trust me, there’s not a damn thing you can do for him right now. If you want to help him, stay away. Stay safe. I don’t want to say too much, but I’m hoping Shya won’t be a problem for much longer. Give me a week, ok?”

She groaned. “Fine. I guess I owe you the benefit of the doubt after…everything.”

That was my cue to dig for the info I really wanted. “As long as you’re owing me, can you tell me what you’re doing there? Have you seen Kale?”

“All I can tell you is that I’m here to look into some FPA business. Internal stuff.” Juliet’s breath came faster, indicating her pace had quickened. “Um, yeah. I’ve seen Kale. Briefly. He wasn’t what I’d call welcoming. Told me to stay away from The Wicked Kiss.”

“That’s probably a good idea. That place is a freak show.” I chewed my lower lip until I tasted blood. Running my tongue over the slice, I stared absently out the window. “Was he ok? I mean, did he seem like he was fine?”

“Something big went down between you two, huh? He was mean, Lexi. Aggressive. But he seemed to have his shit together. I mean, he didn’t try to hurt me or anything.” The sound of the phone being shuffled about from hand to hand was followed by, “Shit, Lexi, I have to go. My target just went into The Quad, and I have to keep up without being seen. I’ll talk to you later.”

She hung up before I could reply. “Crap,” I muttered.

It was just as well. I’d have kept grilling her for details that I didn’t need. Knowing that Kale was there, surviving, that would have to be enough. He was safer there, safe from me. From us. But is he free?

I gave Jez a few more minutes of make-out fun while drumming my fingers on the steering wheel, trying to focus on anything but what Juliet had just said about Kale. Mean. Aggressive. But in control to some degree. Ugh.

When I couldn’t stand it anymore and I just needed the night to end, I got out of the car and approached Jez. It took more than a few taps on the shoulder to get her attention. I stood there with arms crossed and brows raised.

Surprised, Jez giggled drunkenly.

“Ready to head home?” I asked, sparing a smile for the waitress, Wendi, who cringed. I imagine it had to be embarrassing to be caught by the boss making out with her best friend on the job.

“We were just getting started.” Jez pouted, an expression she’d clearly practiced. It probably worked on most women too.

Not me though.

Wendi swiped a hand across her face, checking for smeared lipstick. “I should get back. My break is over. Call me.” She gave Jez a saucy wink and a flirtatious smile before heading back inside.

“Damn, Lex. You’re a real buzzkill these days. You banged your brains out already tonight. What’s with the clitorference? Totally not cool.” Jez stumbled on a crack in the asphalt and clutched my arm to keep from falling. In the time I’d been gone with Arys, she’d managed to drink herself stupid. Her cat-like grace was nonexistent.

“How much have you had to drink? No, never mind. It doesn’t matter. Where’s Willow?” With a wave in Justin’s direction, I led Jez to the car. The night had a few hours in it yet, but between the twin flame visit and the liquored up leopard, I was done with it.

“My babysitter? He had to go. Said something about needing to get the hell out of this place before all the vampire juju made him do something he’d regret.” Jez all but fell into the passenger seat of the Charger. It took her several attempts to get the seatbelt clicked into place. “But he made me promise to stay here and wait for you, and that’s what I did.” She hiccupped, giggled, and sighed.

Now I was worried about Willow. The Wicked Kiss was a cesspool of dark energy. Sex, blood, booze? That was just scraping the surface. I hadn’t considered how being submerged in that might affect Willow now.

As we made our way out of the city, I gazed at the moon overhead. It was the first of the three full-moon nights. Tomorrow it would be at its fullest. My wolf prowled about within me, impatient.

“So much has changed. Does it ever freak you out?” I asked, trying to keep her from falling asleep on me.

Jez rolled her head along the back of the seat, her green gaze unfocused. “See what I mean? Buzzkill. Don’t get all serious and broody on me now. You’re gonna bring me down.”

The scent of alcohol filled the car. How much did she have to drink? The two of us were doing a pretty shitty job of keeping each other on the straight and narrow.

Jez kept the drive home from being boring by chattering on incessantly about Wendi. From what a knockout she was to her mind blowing kissing technique, it was all Wendi, all the way home. I doubted that it would be more than a fling. Jez was still getting over the loss of Zoey, and I knew she wasn’t ready to risk the life of someone she cared for again.

That was the nature of love for us creatures of the night. Anyone who dared to love us put themselves in danger. It was a tough pill to swallow. The truth always was though, wasn’t it?

* * * *

I didn’t mean to fall asleep. Sleep had become an uncomfortable place rather than a safe escape. I didn’t do it more than I had to these days. Jez had talked my ear off and stuffed herself with junk food until well after sunrise when at last she began to crash and burn.

We dragged ourselves upstairs where she retreated into the guest room and I into my bedroom. A hot bubble bath seemed like a great way to relax after facing the human version of Arys and me. The pre-vampire me would have gotten as liquored up as Jez. The current me could have really gone for another nip of Falon, or pretty much any hot-blooded, powerful man.

Arys. God, how I wanted a taste of him. It had been too long. Sinking down into the bubbles, I closed my eyes and dared to run through some of my favorite Arys memories. Our first night together. The way he said my name, like it was both a blessing and a curse. The fire in his eyes every time he looked at me.

Slumber stole in. My eyelids grew heavy. The heat of the water made it hard to fight the pull. I tumbled into sleep and right into the dream I’d just confessed to Arys I’d been having.

I struggled with Arys, fighting to get away as he dragged me close and fought for my neck. It hadn’t happened this way, but my mind refused to acknowledge that. It changed things, making Arys out to be the monster he’d tried so hard not to be. I knew it was my subconscious trying to paint him as the bad guy because, though he hadn’t wanted to kill me, once he went for it, it was the greatest thrill of his entire existence. For some reason, I couldn’t stop punishing him for that.

During my struggle with Arys, I became aware of a new presence. Odd. The dream didn’t usually rewrite itself. It was pretty much the same every time. As I thought this, my awareness of being inside the dream grew. I wasn’t usually aware that I was dreaming.

“Really, O’Brien? This is the shit a vampire dreams about? You really are fucked up. Have you considered therapy?”

I spun around to find Agent Thomas Briggs standing behind me. Arms crossed and brow furrowed in judgment, he looked exhausted, haggard, like he hadn’t shaved in days. Funny how that came across in my dream when he wasn’t physically there. I panicked briefly, checking to ensure that I didn’t appear naked and wet. That would be awkward. Nope. Fully dressed.

At Briggs’s appearance the rest of the dream froze. Of all those present, only he and I were really there. I wasn’t all that surprised to see him. He was a dreamwalker after all. For all I knew he could’ve walked in my dreams long before this, and I was none the wiser.

“Briggs,” I greeted him with a good, hard scrutinizing stare. “You look like shit. Are things not well at Hotel Shya?”

“I’m weary, O’Brien. Mental fatigue. I’ve been trying to get into your head for days. It’s like you never sleep.” Briggs kept his distance, pausing to glance around at the frozen setting. We were standing outside the FPA building, where Arys had killed me and where Briggs had tried to kill me.

“I try not to.” I gestured to the scene of my dreamscape. “You can see why. So what makes me the lucky recipient of your dream walking skills? You know this makes you less than human, right? Or is it more than human? Some might even go so far as to call you a monster.”

His presence should have angered me, but it was too funny to be infuriating. I crossed my arms and waited for him to fess up. I was betting that Shya had sent him to do some recon in my head.

“We don’t have time to fling insults,” he said, waving a hand to dismiss my comment. “Either of us could wake up any time. I came to tell you to stay away from Shya’s party. If you value what life you have left, you won’t attend.”

Narrowing my eyes, I studied him, trying to determine why he would want to warn me away. “Suspicious, Briggs. What’s this all about? Why do you care if I go to Shya’s party or not? Were you invited?”

“Yes, but that has nothing to do with anything. He showed me where the party will take place. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. It’s a safe bet that not everyone who attends will make it out unscathed.” He held my gaze, letting me search him for truth. There was no smelling a lie in a dream. Bummer.

“Why are you telling me this? Shouldn’t you of all people want me to suffer?” The scenery of my dream was starting to creep me out. I glanced around with lips pursed. “Is there any way to change this? Can I just dream of Hawaii or something? It’s not like I’ll ever get to go there now.”

Briggs’s cheeks puffed out in frustration, and he flung his hands up. “Dream about whatever you want. But don’t miss the point. If you go to that party, you will wish you hadn’t.”

I concentrated on changing the backdrop of the dream. Hawaii never happened, although I managed to erase everyone else from the scene but Briggs and me. It was like we were standing outside FPA HQ alone at night, just having a chat. This was surreal.

“Explain.”

Briggs glanced over his shoulder, like he was seeing something I was not. “It’s all magic. Shya’s using magic to turn his house into a never-ending maze of challenges and traps. He isn’t going to make this easy on any of us.”

I had no reason to think Briggs was lying. In fact, I was sure he wasn’t. It sounded exactly like something Shya would do. The demon must be positively giddy with glee over this plan.

“There has to be a way out though, right? Otherwise that’s got to be breaking some kind of rule.” My mind raced as I considered those who’d been invited. Would I lose one of them because of this? Maybe we shouldn’t all go.

“The house can be beaten. At least, Shya says so. He didn’t say how.” Briggs squeezed his hands into fists and closed his eyes. Sweat broke out on his brow.

With unveiled interest, I looked him over, wondering how his ability worked. If Shya’s party didn’t kill us, I’d have to ask him to tell me about it.

When he opened his eyes again, I said, “You never told me why you’d warn me away from something that could potentially be my doom.” I would never trust this man. Time and time again he’d shown me that I never could.

He nodded, knowing this as well as I did. “I really do care for your sister. She needs you to be in her life after so many years without you. She needs you to look out for her.” Being the strong, fierce man that he was, Briggs held my gaze when he said, “I was wrong to leave you in the sun. It was a rash decision made by emotion rather than clear sense. I apologize.”

Huh? Well, that was unexpected. An apology from Briggs? Yeah, I had to be dreaming because there was no way in hell the Briggs I knew would apologize to me, the monster. It blew my mind, so much so that I felt myself starting to slip away, like the shock alone had awakened me.

I sputtered water. The bath had gone cold, and I’d slipped down, my head plunging beneath the surface. Rude awakening for sure.

As I vacated the chilly water and wrapped a towel around myself, I pondered the dream conversation I’d just had. Briggs had been there. That part was no dream. Still, could I take his warning and his apology seriously?

I dried and dressed, slipping into one of Shaz’s t-shirts and a pair of sweat pants. Jez was in my bed. She must have let herself in while I was in dreamland. It wasn’t a surprise. She often sought comfort in my wolf when she was feeling lost and alone. I found comfort in her too.

Jez snored softly as I climbed in beside her. She never moved, not even when I accidentally slapped her in the face with my wet hair. Stifling a laugh, I got comfy and stared at the ceiling. For hours.

Could Jez and Shaz handle whatever Shya had planned? Could I? The pay off was good: a future without Shya. Too good to be true really. But that was what he was counting on. By his thinking, most of us would fail, thus it was a small risk for him.

There would be no convincing them to refuse to attend. I considered it myself before dismissing the idea. This was my chance to pull one over on Shya. I could feel it. Which meant that Falon, Gabriel, and I all needed to be at that party. Together.

We would find a way to do this, or we would pay the price of failure. But we had to try.

Chapter Seven

“I don’t want to go. What’s a good, legit sounding excuse to get me out of this?” I stared into the mirror, assessing my outfit. Most of the time I didn’t give a second thought to my attire, but tonight was Shaz’s initiation into the Doghead pack. Hence the indecision.

Jez lay on my bed staring at her phone. She spared me a brief glance before the screen dominated her focus. “Death. That’s the only way you’ll get out of this without looking like an asshole. So suck it up, princess.”

My reflection pouted, but upon seeing how awful that looked, I forced a neutral face. “Fuck. That’s what I thought. Once was enough death for me for a while. I guess I’m going.”

As I pawed through my closet for something to wear, Jez read pointless gossip news stories off her phone. It didn’t surprise me that she knew the names of all the Kardashians. I gave her a smile and nod when she paused for a reaction, but I didn’t know who these people were.

“How about this?” I held up a little black dress. With a plunging halter-neck and a mid-thigh hem, it was nightclub casual rather than ballroom dressy. This was a big deal for Shaz. I wanted to look nice. “Is it too trampy?”

Jez arched a brow and appraised the dress. “It’s hot. Wear it.” Her phone reclaimed her attention, and I considered beating her with a pillow.

“I’m not sure hot should be the goal here. I want to look good but…” I stared at the dress with a severe case of indecision.

“But you don’t want Shaz’s dick to notice. I hear ya. Well, then wear yoga pants, but I think you should rock the dress. You’re the queen of the fucking city. Own it. Let them drool.” Spoken like the feisty wildcat she was.

She’d nailed it though. I was leery of sending the wrong message to Shaz. Our relationship was in another screwed up state of limbo. There was only so many times I could say no before the hunger for blood and power made me say yes. And that would be dangerous.

“Queen of the city is a gross overstatement. I’m not on board with the royalty stuff. It’s bullshit.” Briefly I considered saying fuck it and dressing casual. As soon as I hung the dress back up, Jez made a tsking sound.

No sooner had I slipped off my pants and tank top to shimmy into the dress than Jez interrupted with a, “That bra and panties? Um, no. They don’t even match.”

“So what? I don’t plan on showing them to anybody anyway.”

“You’re a wolf. It’s a full moon. You’ll definitely be getting naked. Change them.”

Having Jez stay with me was a constant reminder of everything I loved about her and everything that drove me crazy. After losing a pretty fierce staring contest, I marched over to the dresser for a change of underwear.

“Crap. I forgot to do laundry. Do you have a pair of leggings I can bring? I don’t have a change of clothes in the car for after shifting.” I stared at the pile of t-shirts and jeans overflowing the laundry basket. I would have to do something about that sooner than later.

“Alexa, you’ve got to stop wearing my pants, dammit. Your ass is bigger than mine. You’re stretching them out.” As if to emphasize the point, Jez stretched out on the bed, looking enviably comfortable.

Since I had her attention, I took the opportunity to flip her my middle finger. “And you wonder why you don’t have a girlfriend.”

A pillow flew off the bed, nailing me in the side of the head as I tried to adjust myself in the dress. “Dammit, Jez. You should come with me. It’ll be fun.”

“Like hell it will. I’m not hanging with Dayne’s pack. I’m going to shift with Ky and Coby. Have fun though. I’m sure it will be eventful.”

That was one way of putting it. Somehow I doubted that running during the full moon with Dayne’s large pack would be boring, although I’d give almost anything for a boring night. They were non-existent these days.

Once I’d done smoky eye makeup and let Jez curl my hair, at her insistence, I was ready to go. The sun had been down for over an hour. The night was in my veins and, along with it, the call of the moon. My wolf paced inside me, eager to be free of its vampire cage.

“Don’t tell Kylarai about Shya’s party,” I said, gathering my bag and dagger. “She’ll just worry.”

Jez nodded and popped a few raspberries into her mouth. While I moved about the kitchen gathering my things, she raided the fridge. At least she’d gotten off my bed and off her phone.

“After what Briggs told you, even I’m worried. I still want to go though.” Her impish grin brought a mischievous glint to her green eyes. “Being able to call in a favor from a demon could be handy.”

It certainly could. However, I didn’t think Shya would fulfill a favor without creating some kind of loophole. There was no trusting him.

I dragged my heels until I just couldn’t put it off anymore. Jez all but shoved me out the door. Because I was afraid of losing control while surrounded by wolves, I fed before going to Doghead. A little nip of a willing victim at The Wicked Kiss wasn’t what I really wanted, but it helped to take the edge off.

Mortal blood was a necessity, but it lacked the powerful energy I hungered for. Werewolves on the other hand, their blood was rich with supernatural energy. Being around so many of them was going to be tough. I was counting on Shaz and my own wolf to subdue my vampire side.

By the time I got to Doghead, the rough and tumble bar was overflowing with drunken werewolves gearing up for a rowdy night. The party spilled out into the parking lot. Unable to wait, some wolves were already furry. It was ballsy; that was for sure. We were in the city, albeit in a relatively private warehouse district. Still, it was risky behavior.

Shaz’s platinum blond hair stood out like a beacon in the crowd. Leaving my dagger locked in the car, I made my way to him, wishing I hadn’t worn a dress as several guys ogled me. Many heads turned at my arrival as they all grew aware of the hybrid in their midst.

Ignoring their stares wasn’t easy, knowing how easy I could bleed any one of them. The night air was alive with the richness of their scent. So heavy was the atmosphere with heady shifter energy, I could almost taste it.

“Lex, I’m so glad you came.” Shaz swept me into his arms without hesitation. The wolf and pine scent of him had my wolf in fits. He stepped back to look me over, and I became uncomfortably aware of those he stood with. “You look smokin’ hot.”

“Thank you.” Once again the lack of blushing proved to be a good thing. I acknowledged Owen and Izzy with a smile. “Hey, guys. How’s it going? Nice to see you both again.”

Izzy grabbed me up in a hug, squeezing a small yelp out of me. It was unexpected but welcome. Our first meeting had been brief. She’d looked terrible, tired and weak, as she’d fled the FPA lockup. The several days since then had done wonders for her. Her dark skin glowed with health, and her eyes were bright and lively. Tight black curls moved around her head like a cloud, wild and untamed. Izzy was beautiful.

“You look amazing.” I enjoyed the lovely wolf smell of her with a stifled sigh. Her skin was warm, causing me to wonder what she tasted like. My gaze went to her throat, and I had to force myself to meet her eyes.

“Only thanks to you,” she said. “I’d still be rotting in that basement if it wasn’t for you.”

Her praise felt undeserved. That was one act of kindness amid many acts of violence and destruction. I was nobody’s hero.

Owen and I exchanged small talk, albeit forced and awkward. Though we’d fought side by side not so long ago, the recent incident involving the death of a Doghead wolf at the hands of a vampire had made things weird. He was the Doghead enforcer, the one Dayne sent to clean up messes. I didn’t doubt that one day he might be sent after me.

“I wasn’t sure you’d come.” Shaz leaned in close, his lips brushing my ear as he spoke softly. “Think you can handle this?”

I wanted to melt into him, to throw my arms around him and taste his kiss. I didn’t. Squeezing his hand, I nodded. “I think so. If that changes, do whatever it takes to keep me from hurting anyone. Especially you.”

Shouts and whistles filled the parking lot as more wolves spilled out of the bar. Clothes were shed, and two legs became four. Those who remained standing were laughing and joking, the thrill of the moon generating excitement. It was infectious. My wolf strained to break free. Being among wolves was just the therapeutic release I needed.

We were waiting for the Alpha pair, Dayne and Hanna, to arrive. As we chatted it became evident that Izzy and Shaz had gotten to know one another. Maybe it was my imagination, but did her eyes light up when she looked at him? Yes, I think they did. Was it envy or wishful thinking on my part? I couldn’t decide. Did I want to lose Shaz’s affection to another? Not a chance. Did I want him to waste his life on a vampire? No. He deserved more than that.

I learned that Izzy was short for Isabelle and that she’d been turned by a former lover. The woman dripped with sincerity, and her smile alone was enough to make me like her.

A cheer went up from those near the bar door when Dayne and Hanna strolled out. They moved through the crowd, which parted for them like the Red Sea. They were greatly respected here.

Dayne stopped when he was in the center of the pack. “Who’s ready for a hunt?”

Shouts and howls echoed through the night in response. A hunt? Dayne had mentioned having pack hunts before, but I hadn’t anticipated being invited to one.

“Tonight we accept Shaz Richardson into the pack, and we welcome back Izzy, who is living proof that we need to deal with those fucking government bastards.” Dayne paused for another cheer, grinning around the cigar perched between his lips. His pale blue eyes were all wolf, making his appearance more intimidating than it already was. “Owen, bring out our prey.”

Owen weaved his way through the crowd to a beat-up white van in the parking lot. He flung open the back doors and dragged out a bound man. The crowd bristled with anticipation. I felt it like insects beneath my skin.

Shock seized me when I got a look at the guy Owen roughly dragged forward. I knew him. In fact, I’d chopped off three of his fingers. The child-pimping pig was shoved in front of Dayne, falling to his knees with a grunt.

“Get a good whiff of his scent, ladies and gentlemen.” Dayne’s laugh was like a harsh bark. “This child-abusing fuck chose the wrong city. Now we’re going to show him what we do to sick bastards like him.”

Wolves in both forms surged forward to inhale the man’s scent. I knew it already so I remained fixed in place, watching what I was sure was just the beginning of a very interesting night.

“Alexa.” Dayne ambled over, having taken notice of me. “Nice of you to join us. I hope you’ll be on your best behavior.”

I frowned. Dayne had never trusted me even though I’d gone out of my way to prove that he could. The older, hardened werewolf was unlikely to change his opinion regardless of my efforts.

“I wouldn’t worry,” I said, cool and calm. “There are more of you than there are of me.”

That didn’t mean shit. I had enough power to take them down, every last one of them. But if Dayne felt that he had the upper hand, maybe he would chill the fuck out.

“Yes, there sure is.” Dayne gestured to Izzy with his cigar. “She tells me you sprung her out of the FPA prison. So I owe you my thanks. I want you to know what it means to me. I know you didn’t have to do that. Maybe you’re not really so bad.”

This was why he’d invited me here? I’d expected more. I smiled even though I wanted to tell him to shove it. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”

With an ominous chuckle Dayne nodded and returned to the center of the pack. “Alright my brothers and sisters, let’s move this party to the River Valley.”

Without hesitation those on four feet bolted from the parking lot, headed in the direction of the River Valley. The heavily tree-lined valley followed the river, as the name suggested. It was filled with walking trails and parks, a burst of nature in the middle of the city. It was where Jez often ran during the full moon when at her apartment. Filled with secluded spaces, it offered many places to slink around unseen. However, I wasn’t sure a pack this size would go unnoticed if we happened to come across someone out for a late-night stroll.

Owen hauled the pimp to his feet and dragged him back to the van. I watched him drive away with a cloud of exhaust spewing behind.

“So what now?” I asked Izzy who was already disrobing.

“Now Owen drops the guy somewhere in the Valley, and we find him.” She flung her t-shirt onto a nearby car and reached for her belt. She was tight and lithe with a frame built for running. No doubt she’d be amazing as a wolf.

“Ready?” Shaz turned to me as if seeking to divert his attention from the gorgeous woman getting naked beside us. “I have to admit, I’m kind of nervous. But excited.”

All around us people were becoming wolves. A blur of purple caught my eye as I spied the Crimson Sin singer. She stretched her naked limbs, looking up to the moon before dropping down on all fours as a deep brown wolf. Izzy was right behind her, a magnificent black wolf that sprang from the parking lot with amazing speed.

Shaz grinned and, with a wink, peeled off his t-shirt. I licked my lips, wondering how I’d forgotten how impressive he was. Though the wolf ruled in me then, I still had the urge to sink fangs into his soft flesh. With a groan that became a sigh, I slipped my dress off and focused on the moon thrumming through my veins.

Shaz pulled me close for a lingering kiss that caused my two sides to battle for dominance. I wanted him on his knees, begging. Definitely time to get wolfy. This was not a vampire night.

Embracing the beast within, I clenched my teeth against the brief burst of pain that flooded me, cherishing the exquisite bliss that followed. Only when I was an ash-blonde wolf shaking out the stiffness of having been in a human form for too long did Shaz shift. There was relief in his jade eyes. We were so rarely wolf together anymore.

The thrill drove me to nip him playfully when he was on all fours. The wolves surrounding us headed for the River Valley, and we ran along with them. With the chilly fall night air in my face and the wild aroma of predatory beasts on the air, I was in my happy place.

We darted through the canopied trails, working our muscles and pushing our bodies. Being a hybrid had changed my wolf. I was faster now. Stronger. I could feel it in every fiber of every muscle as I ran, feet barely touching the ground. Shaz kept up with me, but he was pushing himself hard.

After exerting some energy we slowed down, pausing to sniff out the trails. All around us wolves moved in and out of the trees. Some of them were focused on the hunt, lifting their noses to the air before dropping them to the ground, seeking any hint of their prey’s scent. Others had no interest in the hunt at all. They were more interested in stalking one another through the foliage, wading into the river, and even partaking in carnal activity on the riverbank.

Shaz and I exchanged a glance as we trotted by a pair of wolves engaged in a mating dance like none I’d seen before. I was nobody to judge how others enjoyed themselves though I preferred my sexy fun times in a human body.

We stopped to wrestle in the grass, playing as we once had, when nothing else mattered but being wolf and being together. I bit Shaz’s ear before pushing him over and nipping at his flank. He fought back with enough enthusiasm to make my heart bleed. Our wolves had missed each other desperately. How did this mated for life thing work when one of us could no longer die a mortal death?

Howls up ahead caused our ears to perk up. Someone had picked up the pimp’s scent. Excitement flowed through the pack, like a ripple across water. Though somewhere deep inside my mind I was aware that being part of such a hunt could be dangerous, both sides of me were predators and watching the creep get torn apart was something I wanted to see.

The sense of urgency spread like wildfire. Several wolves lingered, preferring to chase one another. The rest moved with speed and agility. Unable to resist the call of the hunt, we ran with them.

My feet barely touched the cold concrete of the walking path. Over a small footbridge and back onto the trail, Shaz and I raced toward what lay ahead.

Along the way we passed a wolf fight that was drawing its own crowd. I slowed to check it out. They were snarling and snapping, circling each other inside a bigger circle formed by other pack members. I didn’t know how Dayne managed to lead such a large pack. There had to be two or three hundred wolves in total. I imagined fights broke out all the time. Shaz had been part of one during our first visit to Doghead. I guess he fit right in.

Our path intersected with another, and the scent of blood drew me. We rounded a bend and came upon a grassy patch littered with wolves. They circled the pimp who was on his knees, shaking and pleading. The blood seemed to be coming from his scraped knees.

I hung back, reluctant to get any closer. The gathered wolves were taking turns lunging at him, snapping their vicious fangs in his face. It was a game. They were going to terrify the man almost to death before finally killing him. Torment at its finest.

A burly brown and grey wolf that I recognized as Dayne stood to one side of the circle, watching the pack play with the toy he’d brought them. Satisfaction and anticipation warred for dominance on his furry face. Hanna was at his side, a rich deep brown wolf that betrayed her deep auburn hair as a definite dye job. She watched the action with an expression so neutral, it could have been straight up boredom.

Owen was right in there with the others. He was the first to draw blood with a nip on the man’s hand, held out to ward off attack. Blood on the air fed the pack’s increasing fervor. They were shoving each other aside in their efforts to get in the guy’s face.

Wolves rushed past us as more of the pack joined the party. Shaz started forward, then stopped, checking me for direction. I couldn’t be part of this. Though every one of my cells screamed for violence and destruction, I knew that the potential for a mass slaughter lived inside me. It had happened before.

I pawed at the ground and shook my head, hoping he could see it, the danger that lurked inside me. His eyes widened, and he drew close enough for me to see myself reflected in his pupils. An ash wolf stared back at me, but her eyes were midnight blue.

No! It couldn’t be. I was wolf. My eyes should be brown. Like before my death, I still couldn’t access my vampire power while in wolf form. But unlike before, I could feel it there, like a cobra, coiled and flared, waiting to strike.

It was a cold, hard realization that I was no longer divided into two separate beings as I’d once been. Now they existed together, as one new and unique creature. No longer was I the vampire and the wolf. I was both. All the time.

A whimper escaped me. Drowned out by the pack’s growls and snarls, it was heard only by Shaz. I didn’t belong here with them. With him.

The pimp, knowing his time was fast running out, began to fight back. He threw fists at the next wolf to lunge in too close. A minor attack for a werewolf really, until the guy produced a small switchblade from inside his shoe and plunged it into Owen’s neck.

All hell broke loose. The pack’s noise grew into a nightmarish discord. Dayne snapped into action. He seized the man’s arm in his strong jaws and bit down. The knife fell to the grass. A scream rang out, but Dayne’s fangs, buried in the pimp’s throat, silenced it.

Wolf blood stained the air, finding its way to me though I stood a great distance away. The night was charged with violence, blood, and now death. My stomach clenched, and I drew my lips back in a fang-baring snarl.

Owen. I wanted Owen.

I sprang forward without a coherent thought, driven by the instinct of two monsters. Because he truly was my anchor and because he knew me so damn well, Shaz placed himself in my path.

Baring fangs, he growled a warning. While one monster inside me wanted to heed that warning, the other laughed in his face with a responding snarl. I advanced on him, issuing a challenge I knew he would accept. Shaz would never stand by and allow me to do something I’d regret. He was willing to put himself in harm’s way to ensure that didn’t happen.

As I fought a battle inside myself, I grew uncomfortably aware of the power in Owen’s blood. The scent of it took hold of me, giving my vampire side encouragement. I didn’t want to hurt Shaz. Somewhere inside me I knew that. Or at least I thought I did.

But even as we faced off, the scent of blood and the toxic energy of death manipulated me. If I couldn’t feast on Owen, then Shaz would do just fine.

Chapter Eight

I lunged at Shaz, void of thought or reason, running on pure instinct. He braced for the hit, twisting his body so I couldn’t sink fangs into a vital organ or artery. He seemed to anticipate my every move as I made it. Somehow he managed to evade my attacks despite my greater strength and speed.

Unafraid, he got right in my face with fangs snapping so that I could feel the air move from the force of his powerful jaws. The war inside me continued, my two sides now one but seeking to divide. I faltered as he drove me back, away from the pack. What was happening to me? Was I so far gone down the rabbit hole of madness that I would hurt the only person who made me remember who I was?

The brief moment of clarity was enough for me to know I had precious few seconds to take advantage of it before my dark side resurfaced. Turning tail, I fled. I headed back the way we’d come, dodging wolves and leaping small bodies of water with the ease of having wings.

Panic engulfed me. My heart raced, something it hadn’t done since before my death. Away. That was all I knew. I had to get away.

Staying would mean a fight with Shaz and maybe even Dayne. Having the pack wipe me out wasn’t quite how I’d like to meet my final end, though it had its appeal.

By the time I reached the Doghead parking lot, I was racked with agony. Dayne was right to believe that I wasn’t wolf enough for his pack. Rejection was a tough pill to swallow, even more so when it was just.

Frustrated with the need to scream and cry out my confusion and pain, I flung myself on the ground beside my car. The shift back was painful, but I didn’t care. It was nothing compared to the hurt eating me up inside.

Naked and quaking, I lay on the ground and pounded my fist into the pavement, over and over, until blood stained my skin.

“I can’t do this,” I whispered to the night. “I can’t do this.”

“Yes, you can.” The words were so softly spoken that I thought I’d imagined them. Shaz’s warm hands on my back brought forth another wave of inner agony.

He knelt beside me and gathered me close, pressing his face to mine. He was wrong. I was sure of it. There was a reason people like me didn’t exist. Because they couldn’t. Nobody could face this night after night, torn between good and evil, light and dark, ruled by both and somehow neither.

“I’m a killer, Shaz. I am the very thing I was called to fight. The fight is inside me now. And I can’t win.” Feeling his warmth, breathing him in, it was the breaking point. I needed to taste him, to have him inside me in all ways.

“That’s not true. You’ve already overcome so much.” Shaz gripped my chin, forcing me to meet his worried gaze. “You’re the strongest person I know. Don’t you dare give up now. I can’t be here without you.”

I smiled and shook my head sadly. “You’re wrong. I’m the ball and chain that’s holding you back, and you’d rather let me weigh you down when you should be gnawing your own leg off to get away.” Unable to resist, I eyed his jugular before claiming his lips in a kiss that had him oozing desire. “You will always be prey to me now. I can’t be who you need me to be.”

Tense, his heart rate sped up, feeding my hunger. He was unafraid when he said, “You already are. If you want me, Lex, then have me. I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

“Goddammit, Shaz.” In a sudden fit of temper, I slammed a fist into the ground, finding satisfaction in the crunch of bones and sharp, searing pain that shot through my hand. “What will it take to make you walk away? How can there be any part of you that still wants any of this? My crazy must be rubbing off on you.”

He caught my hand in his and held it like one might hold a baby bird. I wasn’t fragile. Already the damage I’d done was healing. Still, Shaz didn’t treat me like the inhuman creature I was. He treated me like something he would do anything to protect.

“If you’re done with me, with us, then I’ll walk away.” With a heavy sigh, Shaz tucked my hair behind my ear. Apparently oblivious to the cold, hard asphalt beneath us, he had attention only for me. “Tell me you don’t need me, that you don’t love me. If you can’t do that, then don’t expect me to abandon you when you need me the most.”

“This has Arys written all over it. You guys have talked about this.” I mustered a half-hearted laugh at his nod. The warmth in his touch beckoned. “I will always love you, but I don’t want to be the one who keeps you from living. Really living.”

His heartbeat echoed in my head, a steady rhythm that brought forth the memory of his blood on my tongue. I couldn’t keep fighting this. With my hands on his chest, I tried to shove him away, but he held tight, refusing to release me.

“Trying to pretend that I can have a normal life without you isn’t living,” he snapped, his usually lengthy patience cut short by the emotion of the moon’s pull. “If my years are limited, then I’d rather not waste them living a lie. You shouldn’t either.”

With a groan and a few obscenities, I surrendered. There was no way I could argue that. Shaz had a point. Though I wanted him to be happy, I didn’t want him to be less than the magnificent creature he was.

Fumbling for a retort and struggling to keep my gaze off his tempting jugular, I muttered, “I’ll hurt you. I want to now, and I can barely stop myself.”

We both knew that there was more than one meaning to my confession. The harsh reality was that I’d already left scars on his heart. We’d each made some shitty choices that caused the other pain. In my current state, I didn’t see how that would change.

Shaz chose to overlook that. Gripping my shoulders, he tilted his head, exposing his lovely neck. “Then hurt me. You know I love it. I know you need it. So let me be what you need right now.”

Willing victims didn’t usually do it for me; I preferred a challenge. However, no other willing victim was my wolf’s mate. And no other ached for my bite the way Shaz did. Drawing him into the world of vampire power and its addictive influence hadn’t been my intent, but it had happened anyway. If we both wanted it, was it wrong?

“I don’t want to take advantage of you.” It was a feeble attempt at talking sense into the both of us. Even as I said it, I was giving his naked frame a slow appraisal.

“You’re not taking anything. I’m giving it.” Shaz’s eyes were all wolf when he crushed me against him, his lips on mine in a demanding kiss.

The last of my resolve vanished. He was so very warm, and I was eager to fill myself with that lively wolf heat. The flavor of his energy was comforting in its familiarity and enticing in its wildness.

I threw my arms around him, losing myself in his kiss. His hands on my waist gripped me with clawed fingertips that bit into my skin. The dizzying sensation of emotional-driven desire overwhelmed me. Though I wasn’t sure I could handle it, the blood hunger never gave me a chance to stop and reconsider.

The feather-like softness of his platinum hair between my fingers coaxed forth a sigh. Why couldn’t it be this way always? Instead the precious moments of passion and love were tainted by the things we both had done, the things we had yet to do.

“Stop feeling guilty,” Shaz whispered against my lips. “This is about us. About me. I’m yours. No need to feel bad about that.”

I pulled back to look at him, surprised. “How did you know?”

Shaz had been through so much because of Arys and me, because of what we were. He shouldn’t be so understanding, and yet he was. I didn’t expect anyone else to understand what I was experiencing. Surely not Shaz. And he shouldn’t have to.

“I know you, Lex. You carry guilt for every mistake you’ve ever made. I can’t pretend to get it. I know it’s complicated.” He laughed, a low, mirthless sound. “You were right. I can’t make you into someone you’re not. Honestly, I don’t even want to. I love who you are. Although you’re more like Arys now than I ever thought possible.”

“That’s a bad thing, huh?” I smiled, trying to keep this conversation from taking a darker turn.

“Well, there are a few aspects I’m not a fan of, but there are worse things than Arys. He’s become a lot more like you too, and it blows my mind. He’s changed. A lot. I’m not sure if you’ve seen it, but you should give him a chance to show you.”

Mention of Arys brought to mind the fact that he’d manipulated Kale into leaving, and I knew that he hadn’t changed as much as Shaz thought. Or perhaps we were both seeing different sides of him these days.

“We’re getting off topic,” I said between kisses. The restraint it took to keep from tearing into his jugular was starting to hurt. “I don’t want to think or talk about anyone else. All I want is you. Here. Now.”

It seemed like he wanted to say more, but he just nodded and kissed me. There was such need in his touch. Holding me tight, he pushed to his feet, lifting me onto the trunk of the Charger. The hood would be better, but I could work with this.

His kisses grew frenzied. From my lips he moved to my neck to target the sensitive spot beneath my ear that was like a direct line to my groin. The racing of his heart as it increased in tempo grew louder. My focus honed in on the blood rushing through his veins. I couldn’t wait much longer.

Screwing Shaz in the Doghead parking lot didn’t feel right. He deserved more than a quick bang and bite. He deserved to be taken to places I wasn’t ready to go, with either him or Arys. Shaz deserved to be made love to with intimacy and tender devotion. On the back of my car in the middle of a warehouse parking lot was just not good enough for him.

Though it was a bit of a dirty trick, I let the power bubble up and overflow out of me to crash over Shaz. Putting him under my spell changed everything. It took things from one on one to just me, pulling his strings.

“Lex.” My name was a groan as he fell hard into my thrall. Claws bit into my hip, and he swayed. “It’ll always be you, Lex. Always.” There was a drunkenness to his tone, but it didn’t make his words mean any less.

Manipulating him shouldn’t have felt so good. Now I knew how Arys felt. It was impossible not to enjoy having this kind of power. Knowing that Shaz got off on it made me have even more fun with it.

“Never forget that you are my anchor in this storm.” I murmured the words against his skin. Nuzzling his neck, I savored the scent of him. “No matter what happens, please, never forget that.”

Running one hand through his hair, I dragged my lips over the pulsing vein in his neck. When he tried to nudge my legs apart, I resisted. It wasn’t that I didn’t want him. It was that I wanted him so much that even the vampire-driven hunger couldn’t cut through the fear that accompanied that need.

Falon’s assertion rang through my head. I was afraid to be close with the two men I loved. Fear of who and what I was now kept the walls I’d built in place. Arys had called me on it, and as usual, he was right.

Before my resistance could shake Shaz out of my spell, I ran my tongue over his jugular, focusing on the steady beat. With a skin-scraping nip I had him trembling with anticipation. Unable to hold off any longer, I slid fangs into his flesh, groaning when his blood hit my tongue.

Shaz relaxed in my embrace, his breath coming hard and fast. For a split second I almost spread my legs for him, but fear was a powerful thing. It whispered in my ear, taunting me with anxious thoughts. What if he doesn’t really want me now? What if it’s just the power making him react this way?

Memories flooded me at the taste of him. Rich with heady wolf energy and strong with the sweetness of Shaz, it swept me away to that euphoric place I always sought now. This time my sweet escape led to a place built on love and devotion. It wrapped around me, warm and protective. With Shaz in my arms and his blood on my tongue, I felt something I hadn’t felt in a long time. Safe.

He held tight to me, leaving deep gashes in my skin. Everything was so fucked up. Despite the pain, the horror, and the hell, I would always know that I had loved and been loved.

There was one thing that spoke louder than fear. Temptation. Memories taunted me, reminding me how good he felt and how well we fit together. With a hand on his hip, I pulled him closer, spreading my legs in invitation.

Dayne’s arrival shattered the spell. The Alpha wolf was accompanied by half a dozen others, including Izzy. The small stampede of wolves doused the flame, bringing us back to reality. Their vibe was heavy with rage and panic. It crawled over me like an unwelcome touch, pouring salt on the sweetness of what Shaz and I had created.

Shaz jerked away, casting a glance about for our clothing. I crossed my legs and shook my long hair so it fell over my breasts. Licking the blood from my lips, I used a pinky to capture a stray drop. Having Dayne and his buddies see me naked was of no concern to me. Having him find me with wolf blood on my face was. Not that it was any of his damn business, but he didn’t need more reasons to dislike me.

I accepted my clothing from Shaz, slipping the dress over my head before hopping off the car. He donned jeans and running shoes before pulling his t-shirt over his head.

Something was up.

Dayne skidded to a stop and shifted, his companions doing the same. With fury masking his face, he advanced on me, naked and snarling. “Are we interrupting something? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to find you feeding on one of my wolves. You clearly have a taste for them.” Dayne got so close I could feel the heat rolling off his body. The aroma of cigars and wolf cloaked him.

I stood my ground even though I didn’t want him to touch me. Backing away was an act of fear and submission. So fuck that. “What I do with Shaz is none of your damn business, Dayne. Don’t tell me you came rushing back to interrupt us. Shouldn’t you be taking care of Owen?” I raised a brow, a silent challenge.

“Owen’s fine. But Melissa isn’t. She’s dead. We just found her. Vampire kill. Another one. I don’t suppose you know anything about that, do you?” With fists clenched and veins popping out on his forehead, Dayne was seething.

My poker face had improved, but I wasn’t sure it was good enough for this moment. With the taste of wolf blood strong in my mouth and the energy that went along with it coursing through me, it was pretty clear who was going to take the blame for this.

“Of course I don’t,” I said, choking on my own sudden rage. My answer was not technically a lie. I hadn’t known there was a second wolf kill until now. How could Arys do this again? “I didn’t kill any of your wolves.”

Dayne sneered in Shaz’s direction. “You clearly have a fondness for them.”

“For him,” I corrected. “I have a fondness for him.”

“Well, now we have a fucking problem. A big fucking problem. I’m declaring open season on vampires.” Dayne pressed closer, muscles rippling as he moved. “So much for that alliance. You can consider it terminated.”

I gaped at him, at a loss for words. What could I say to that? If I were in his position, I’d feel the same way.

“Dayne, come on. This isn’t Alexa’s fault.” Shaz drew closer, coming to my side. It wasn’t earning him any points with his new Alpha. “I’m sure she’ll be happy to help get to the bottom of this. We can find the vampire responsible. This doesn’t have to start a war.”

Oh God, my stomach twisted with anxiety. Shaz didn’t know it was Arys. We’d chosen not to tell him, thinking it would be safer for him if he knew nothing. Now I wasn’t so sure.

“Are you questioning my decision?” Dayne pinned Shaz with a glower so menacing it could have curdled milk. “This is a bad time to have divided loyalties, Shaz.”

“I pledged loyalty to this pack and I meant it, but I love Alexa, and being part of this pack doesn’t change that. I’m trying to find a way to keep the peace here. If we start shit with the vampires, it’s going to end in a lot more than two lost wolves.” Shaz was bold, unafraid of Dayne. Calm and collected, he was working hard to be the peacekeeper. I hoped he didn’t pay a price for that.

Other than Izzy who was obviously uncomfortable, the wolves backing Dayne watched with growing excitement. They thought the new recruit was going to get his ass kicked by their Alpha. They were wrong. Nobody was kicking Shaz’s ass on my watch.

“The vampires started shit with us,” Dayne barked, his temper rising with his voice. “I’m not going to wait for them to kill any more of us. They were warned.”

The fact that Dayne was naked made him a whole hell of a lot more intimidating. His anger was starting to prick me in all the right places. Though it wasn’t my favorite form of emotional energy, it could be a fun tease on the way to other things.

I caught myself wondering how much of a challenge he’d put up. Shoving that thought aside, I tried to negotiate. “Let me talk to them, Dayne. Give me a chance to find out who is behind it. Then that vampire will be all yours. You can do whatever you want to them. Just give me a chance to make this right.”

“Talk to them?” Dayne bellowed, flinging both hands up. “Dammit, woman, you already made a public example out of one of them. They clearly do not give a shit. Since you can’t control them, I have no choice but to retaliate.”

“I haven’t tried to control them. That’s not the kind of leader I want to be.” Also, the vampires hated me. Changing that was going to be impossible if a war broke out with the wolves.

Dayne scoffed. “You told them you were going to dictator the fuck out of this city. I was there. So, get to it. You don’t have much time. I’ll give you twenty-four—no, I can be generous—forty-eight hours. If you don’t have a vampire for me, it’s game on.”

“Dayne, there has to be a better way to—” Shaz never got the words out before his new Alpha rounded on him with a growl and bared fangs.

“Should I go back to twenty-four?” he snapped, hands clenched into fists. “Do not make me regret bringing you in, Shaz.”

Tension held me rigid. Rare but occasional, my two sides were in complete agreement, wanting nothing more than to tear Dayne apart. He could threaten me and he could threaten the vampires, but God help him if he turned that attitude on Shaz.

“Forty-eight hours is just fine.” Speaking through clenched teeth, I tried to ignore the heat in my fingertips. Would it be so bad to slap him with a psi ball? Ugh, yes. “I’ll get your damn vampire. Use that time to consider all the ways an alliance between us is to your benefit, because honestly, I’m starting to question if it’s just a waste of my damn time.”

What Dayne seemed to be forgetting was that both Shaz and I were Alpha wolf material. Having no pack to lead didn’t change that. We’d earned our right to lead. As bad as I wanted to spit that into his beastly face, I held my tongue, which was no easy feat.

The weight of that angry wolf stare bore into me, seeking to break me. Dayne didn’t know who he was dealing with. I was smart enough to be wary, certain he was a foe I didn’t want to have, but I wasn’t going to be cowed by him.

“I could have you on your knees with a look and a whisper, begging me to fuck you while I slash your throat.” What came out of my mouth didn’t sound like me. My voice was velvet smooth and ice cold. A cool breeze that touched only me moved my hair. “Because I have a shred of respect left for you, I haven’t done it yet. If I were you, I wouldn’t do anything to lose that respect.”

So much for holding my tongue. Shaz went stiff beside me, thrumming with nerves. He was ready to defend me in a fight. That wasn’t helping him in the loyalty department. I loved him for it, but I’d hoped he would fit in here.

Dayne’s wolf was snarling and snapping inside him. I could feel it. However, he maintained his composure. Whether it was the audience we had or just good sense, he managed to smile through the rage. “I think you better leave now.” The growl was so heavy it was hard to make the words out. With a sneer in Shaz’s direction, he said, “If you go with her, don’t ever come back.”

Dayne turned his back on us and lunged through the air, landing as wolf. He didn’t linger to see if Shaz would join him. With the rest of the small group he’d brought hot on his heels, he darted from the parking lot.

“What the hell did I get myself into?” Shaz rubbed a hand over his face and let out the breath he’d been holding. “Maybe this was all a big mistake.”

“No, it’s not. He has every right to be pissed. I would be too if I were in his position.” Drawing Shaz close, I checked the bite on his neck, finding it to be minor. He was a fast healer. “You need to get naked, get furry, and go after him. Be part of the pack. Run with them. Enjoy yourself.”

Shaz grasped my wrist. “Do you know who’s killing Dayne’s wolves? Should I be watching my back?”

Shit. Such a direct question had me backed into a corner. “I can’t answer that without making more trouble for you with Dayne. Don’t worry about it, ok? I’ll handle it.” I leaned in to kiss him goodbye, but he dodged my attempt.

“So you do know. Tell me, Lex. Don’t leave me in the dark.”

“If I don’t tell you, then you can honestly claim to not know if he asks you.” I wilted beneath the intensity of Shaz’s stare. He wasn’t letting this go. “Dayne can’t know.”

That was all I had to say. Shaz’s eyes widened and understanding lit up his face. Though we were undoubtedly alone, he shot a wary glance around anyway. “Arys. Why doesn’t that surprise me? I knew he was coming apart, but I had no idea it was at this point. He hid it well.”

Guilt slashed through me. I wouldn’t know. I’d been avoiding Arys and doing my own share of running amok. “Like I said, I’ll handle it. Just don’t let it ruin the opportunity you have here.” I pulled him into a hug, sighing when his arms went around me.

“I’ll keep an eye on things around here. You deal with Arys and let me deal with Dayne.” The attitude that accompanied that declaration was aggressive and familiar. It flashed me back to the night in Vegas when Shaz had fought in Jenner’s ring. The night Shaz had killed another wolf in cold blood.

Panicked, I grabbed both sides of his face, searching him and finding the killer behind his eyes. “Promise me you won’t do anything rash. No Vegas flashbacks, ok?”

Shaz had really scared me that night. I’d seen a side of him I hadn’t known existed. He’d left town a young, uncertain, but determined werewolf. He’d come back older than his years, level headed still but a force of nature who knew what he was capable of and knew how to use it.

Maybe I was wrong about this. Maybe Shaz was too much Alpha to follow another wolf’s lead.

Shaz chuckled and kissed me. “Don’t worry about me. I’m the anchor, remember? Steady in the storm. Go find Arys. I’ll stay here and make nice with Dayne.”

He kissed me again, and I released him with great reluctance when he pulled away. After disrobing and shifting, he nuzzled my hand and bounded away. I watched him go, trying not to worry.

“What about you, Shaz?” I spoke aloud, with only the night to hear me. “Who will be your anchor?”

With a frustrated sigh and a stream of my favorite curse words, I got into my car and started the engine. I had a vampire to find. A vampire who had just endangered Shaz with his thoughtless actions. Things were about to get ugly.

Chapter Nine

Finding Arys was as easy as closing my eyes. His energy trail stood out like a blinking beacon among the rest. I was drawn to him, pinpointing his location right away. The Wicked Kiss. Now that was interesting. Since when did Arys spend time there?

By the time I reached the Kiss I was fuming. The entire drive had given me a solid twenty minutes to stew about what he’d done. The more I thought about how stupid his actions were and how much they could cost us, the more enraged I became. The pissed off wolf robbed of her freedom on a full moon night wasn’t helping.

I slammed the car door shut so hard, it drew the attention of those loitering outside. Ignoring them, I stalked inside, each step feeding my ire. Justin’s head snapped up from the I.D. he was checking as I passed through the lobby.

Sensing the rage cloaking me like a second skin, Justin asked, “Everything ok, boss?”

“We’ll see.” I managed a tight smile that felt brittle, like it might shatter on my face.

As I strode inside the ice-cold awareness of Arys grew, but it wasn’t enough to douse the flames of my fury. I was seeing red, boiling over with violent emotion when I spotted him at the bar with Willow.

Arys looked up at my approach as if surprised, but we both knew that was bullshit. He’d felt me coming long before I reached the parking lot. Arys spun on his barstool to face me.

I never let him get a word out.

My hand snaked out, closing on his throat, and I threw him off the stool as I pasted him against the bar. “Why? Why did you fucking do it, Arys? Are you trying to sabotage everything I’ve been working for?”

Later it would dawn on me that this was an exact replica of the night I’d killed Harley. Arys had come in here for me and thrown me into this same bar, snarling similar words.

Willow reacted with surprise, eyes wide and body tense. Those lined up to buy drinks moved to give us room. A visible spark of light flashed as our power collided before becoming one entity.

Arys fixed me with a stony stare. “Well, hello to you too, my love. Shouldn’t you be with Shaz right now, at Doghead?” He had the nerve to smirk as he drew on the rush of my anger, enjoying it.

“I was there, until I was told to leave because you killed another one of their wolves. What the fuck are you trying to pull, Arys? You’re going to ruin everything with them.” Because he wasn’t taking me seriously, I slammed him against the bar again, this time adding a little power push to it, one meant to hurt.

His smirk faded, replaced with a glare that promised wicked things. “Are you sure you want to do this? Now? Here?”

Willow rose and touched my arm. “Whatever this is about, this is not the place to handle it. There are many eyes on you right now.”

“Good,” I snarled. “Then they can all see for themselves that I’m sick of taking shit. From everyone.”

Arys laughed in my face, a harsh noise filled with venom. “Are you now? I don’t suppose you’ve gotten sick of starting it.”

My hands burned, and my hair blew as a gale force wind tore through the place. “I’m not the one who’s about to start a fucking war with the wolves. What the hell are you thinking, Arys?”

The power ripped through me, echoing in Arys. In a blink his blue eyes were wolf. He gripped the edge of the bar but made no effort to shake me off. His composure was still better than mine.

“That’s the thing, I guess. I’m not thinking. Just doing. You know the feeling, don’t you?” His pointed comment was meant to sting, and it did. Still, he didn’t stop there. “Perhaps if you weren’t so dedicated to driving us both mad, we wouldn’t be having these little control issues.”

I had been certain my anger couldn’t grow any greater, but it did. Power lashed out from me like a lightning flash, slapping Arys as I slammed him against the bar one more time. “You think you can blame me for what you’ve done? Well, that’s convenient.”

Willow’s touch became a grab. He jerked me away from Arys and stepped between us. “This is not the place to have this discussion. All you’re doing is showing every vampire here that you can be divided. Now take it elsewhere.”

His tone left no room for argument. Not that I wanted to engage Willow. His red eyes shone with a malevolent spark. I hated it so much that I didn’t wish to encourage it.

With great reluctance I nodded and dropped my hold on the emotionally-charged energy I held ready. This was far from over. My night and my alliance had been ruined because of Arys. No way was I letting this go as if it were no big deal.

Arys gestured to the door. “After you, my wolf. Lead and I will follow.”

I was so overcome with a rage that knew no bounds that I almost forgot what I’d needed to talk to Willow about. “Salem. I need to speak with him. Is there any way you can make that happen?”

Willow’s expression became one of skepticism. He considered my request with a head shake. “I can’t. But I know someone who may be able to help. I’ll see what I can do. Now get out of here. Go work your shit out.”

“Thank you.” Because there was nothing else I could say or do, I stormed out of the building with Arys hot on my heels.

Too angry to consider driving, I headed away from the building, down the street. Arys matched my pace, sliding glances my way, waiting for me to boil over again. He thrummed with readiness for the conflict, as if he’d been waiting for the moment when we would go head to head.

Well, now he would have it. Two blocks away, in the empty parking lot of a law office, I stopped and faced him. “How could you do it again, Arys? You know what this alliance means to me. Dayne is pissed. He’s threatening to wage war on all vampires unless I find the guilty party and hand him over within forty-eight hours.” Trying to stay calm made my voice tremble and my hands shake.

Arys crossed his arms and regarded me with love and hate warring in his eyes. “That’s a war he can’t win, and we all know it. Fuck him.”

Arys’s flippancy was severing my last nerve. The sound of nighttime traffic was lost as we stared at each other. I heard nothing and saw nothing but him and the arrogance on his handsome face. It made me want to screw him as bad as I wanted to punch him. Confusing, to say the least.

“Fuck him?” I repeated, my voice shrill. “Shaz is part of that pack now. If you start a war, then he becomes our enemy. Do you not get that? You’re putting his life at risk.”

“Shaz can take care of himself. Stop doubting him.” Arys’s lack of reaction was infuriating. The smile that played about his lips revealed that he knew it too. He was trying to make me lose it.

My hands clenched into fists. Why was he doing this? “I want this alliance. Why are you trying to take it from me?”

Arys made a disgusted noise and took a step toward me, closing the gap I’d put between us. “You know damn well this has nothing to do with your alliance. This is about you. I can’t get you out of my head. Every night that I’m not with you, every damn day you’re not in my bed, it just gets worse. I can’t take it anymore, Alexa.” By the time he said my name, he was near shouting. Right in my face. With accusation in his eyes.

I threw the punch before I realized it was happening. I hadn’t meant to, but it felt so damn good.

Arys rubbed his jaw and scowled.

“Do you think this is easy for me?” I shouted back, all rational thought vanishing like mist. “I can’t escape you even when I try. Since I died, you’re always there. So deeply embedded in every part of me. There is nothing left in me but you. Always you. And I can’t take it anymore either.”

Needing to unleash the overflow of angry emotion, I kicked a nearby garbage can, sending it flying. It bounced and rolled through the parking lot, offering me no solace.

Arys moved fast. Grabbing me by both arms, he kissed me, a violent, aggressive kiss that screamed with pain. “You taste like Shaz,” he murmured. “Guess I’m not the only one with a taste for wolf blood.”

His attitude dripped antagonism. We would never find peace with each other when we enjoyed the conflict as much as we hated it. There was that double-edged sword of the twin flame bond. We were as fucked as Lilah and Salem, as Ozzie and Rachel.

“You’re the only one who enjoys killing them,” I spat, shaking him off. He made as if to reach for me again, and I warded him off with a raised hand, fingertips dancing with blue and gold sparks.

Arys nodded, doing his best to look tragic. It was all for show. He had that glint in his eyes that he always got when purposely stoking the flames of my temper. “Not them. Just you. I enjoyed killing you. The others, they’re just a way to kill time.”

A chill stole over me. His words echoed in my ears. I couldn’t believe he’d said them. I knew him, and I knew he was trying to goad a reaction out of me.

There remained one thing I didn’t know. “Why are you doing this?” My voice wavered as several emotions fought for dominance. “What are you hoping to achieve by being an asshole?”

Arys took a step toward me, ignoring my raised hand, inviting attack. “You know why.”

“Actually, I don’t. So stop fucking with me and just spit it out.” I gave him a warning shot when he pressed closer, just enough to shove him back a few feet.

He came right back, grabbing my hand this time and inviting the aggressive force I pushed into him. With a pained growl, Arys stood his ground, taking the assault and loving it.

“It’s all I’ve got left.” His declaration was made with a flash of wolf fangs that froze me in place. “I’ve tried being patient. I tried not to crowd you. Hell, I even tried to lure you back into my bed with the pup. There is nothing I can do to break down this barrier you’ve built between us. And it’s breaking us both down. Maybe if I piss you off enough, I can get you to work out some of your issues so we can finally move on.”

The appearance of my wolf in Arys didn’t usually happen so easily, and never so fully, especially not if I’d shifted recently. Perhaps the most unsettling part was that he seemed oblivious.

“You think violence is the answer?” I shook my head, unable to see the logic in that. “Sounds about right.”

“No, I think fucking you senseless is the answer, but you don’t seem to agree.” Arys pulled me against him, hard. “So violence it is.”

Darkness smoldered in his eyes. I tumbled into those midnight orbs, having no more immunity to his pull than I ever did. He draped me in his allure, using our shared power against me. I could break his spell, though it wouldn’t be without effort.

I licked my lips as I gazed up at him in smitten wonder, momentarily flustered. He was using our thrall like a weapon. This wasn’t a trip into the pleasure zone. It was an attack. I’d used it myself, several times on several people.

It was like trying to run under water. That same massive resistance greeted me as I fought my way through. What made it hard was how good it felt to be rolled by him. The temptation to succumb was strong, but I knew I had to resist. Arys was up to no good.

Then Arys dropped his thrall as fast as he’d put me under, leaving me raw and cold. “I am not the only one making dangerous decisions. Have you considered the impact your actions have on you? On us? Some might call it lunacy.”

“Have you?” I shot back. In the sudden absence of that loin-stirring, blood-rushing sway, I was icy, emotionless but for the still seething fury in the pit of my stomach. “Wait. Are you saying that fucking Falon made me crazy?”

“No, it makes you dangerous. Hungry for power greater than your own. Fucking Falon makes you a Harley Kayson vampire, like the rest of our bloodline. Fucking Sinclair made you crazy.” This he said with that sly smirk that I both loved and hated. Arys knew all the right buttons to push with me, and he took great pleasure in that.

Gritting my teeth made my jaw ache. Knowing he wanted me to snap made me fight that much harder to ensure it didn’t happen. “Well, you didn’t fuck him so what’s your excuse for being such a head case?”

The constant storm in Arys’s eyes lit up like a lightning flash. I knew the right buttons to push too. Two could play this game. By trying to set me off, Arys was only running the risk of unleashing his own inner pain and rage.

He reached to twist a long blonde lock around a finger. A growing cyclone of emotion swirled around him. “It’s always been you. You’ve haunted me for over a hundred years. That would make anybody a little mad.”

Something shifted in Arys. I felt it. Releasing my hair, he reached for my neck where he traced the outline of the very spot he’d bitten me the night he killed me. I shuddered as fear joined my fury. Though no mark remained, I felt it like I had died only yesterday.

The way he fixated on me put me on the defensive. No way in hell was I taking a trip down memory lane and reliving that tonight.

“Stop looking at me like that,” I snapped, hoping to break him out of the past. “You get everything you want. My life. My death. You took Kale from me. When will it be enough for you?”

That shook him from the zone he’d slipped into. “I did what I had to do to protect you, to protect us. I will always do what it takes no matter who gets in my way. I’m not sorry. I can never be sorry, and you have no right to expect it.” When I recoiled, shoving away from him, he grabbed tight and held fast, refusing to let me go. “He was a distraction, Alexa. Just another obstacle to overcome.”

“I know that,” I heard myself shout, hating the truth that burst free. “But I love him. I hate myself for it, but I do.”

Arys’s grip never slipped as I struggled to push him away. He rested his forehead on mine until I calmed. “And that is why I didn’t kill him.”

A part of me shattered. I’d been carrying this grudge for Arys, wanting to punish him for sending Kale away, for making that decision for me. But he had just revealed that his love for me was greater than his desire for vengeance.

I was torn. A part of me despised Arys for still managing to come out on top, for proving he was so much more than he seemed. Yet my other side needed to cling to him, to break down the walls between us and be whole again. Confusion reigned.

“Let me go, Arys,” I said, again feeling the need to run from him. To just be…away.

“No. You can’t keep shutting me out. This shit has to stop.” From calm to furious in seconds, Arys was showing signs of bearing the burden too long as well.

“What has to stop is you killing the Doghead wolves. I don’t have much time to find a vampire to hand over to him. So give me some space so I can clean up your mess.” Just that easy and the rollercoaster of emotions climbed the mountain of rage yet again. This ride sucked.

Arys stepped back and flung his arms up in outrage. “Tell Dayne it was me. I don’t give a shit. In fact, I’ll go tell him myself.” He turned and stormed away, leaving me gaping after him.

“Like hell you will,” I shouted, throwing a psi ball that took his feet out from beneath him. I was ready to throw another if he didn’t abandon that stupid idea. His sense was not making his decisions, apparently. “Do you know how much worse the war will be if Dayne finds out it was you? Think about the hell that will break loose. You’d be risking Shaz’s life, and I won’t let you do that.”

His wicked laugh stirred the longing within me. I rubbed my arms as if that would wipe away the sensation.

Arys got up, still chuckling. “There’s the fire I was looking for,” he said, pleased with himself. “So that’s what it takes to make you explode. Good.”

Having found my breaking point, Arys headed down the street, back toward The Wicked Kiss. When I threw the next psi ball, he turned and caught it, absorbing the energy it contained. He left me no choice but to run to catch up.

“Arys, don’t you fucking dare push me on this. It’s not a game.” I shouted the words at his back. Was he going to make me tackle him?

“You’ve got that right. This is no fun at all. I’d much rather be making mad, passionate love to you. Since you’d rather do everything the hard way…” He turned to face me, walking backwards, and held up both hands as if to say ‘whatever.’

I couldn’t even entertain the thought of Dayne finding out it was Arys. Instinct told me that would immediately bring about the worse case scenario. Right now Dayne thought it was some random vampire. If he knew it was my vampire, there was no telling what he might do, but it would certainly involve the destruction of the precarious coexistence between the vampires and werewolves in this city.

Arys’s remark that it was a fight the wolves couldn’t win was something I agreed with. Dayne might be willing to put people like Izzy and Shaz at risk, but I wasn’t. There were kids in that pack, sheltered from the harsh adult aspects of the beast but still at risk just the same. No, if Dayne knew the most powerful vampire in the city was killing his wolves in an attempt to relive my death, he would go to any length to hurt us. He might even hurt Shaz to do it.

This thought burned in me, filling me with desperation. Would Arys really risk such destruction just to force me to go through the twisted form of therapy he thought I needed? Yes. Without a doubt yes, he would.

“So you’re going to go to Doghead and tell Dayne you’re the one hunting his wolves?” I snarled. “And then what?”

Arys shrugged. A muscle twitched in his cheek as he tried to refrain from laughing again. “I guess that’s up to him. He’ll probably try to kill me. Then I’ll kill him. And we’ll take over the pack. How does that sound?”

“It sounds like you’ve lost your mind.”

“I guess you would know.” He winked and turned back around, quickening his pace.

If he’d been anyone else, I’d have called his bluff. But this was Arys, and he didn’t waste words on bluffs. He would do exactly as he’d said.

“You’re really starting to piss me off.” I was seething. Keeping the peace with Doghead was vital right now. Deep in my being I knew we needed to save that alliance.

“Good,” he quipped, flashing me a smile that oozed arrogance. “Do something about it.”

That did it. The cocky attitude drove me over the edge. With a frustrated cry I lashed out with a blast that threw Arys into the side of an empty bus shelter. He stayed pinned there, held in place by my sheer will alone.

His expression was expectant, welcoming, even when I threw another punch at him. It should have stopped there, but the well was overflowing, and it all came pouring out. As I threw punch after punch, I screamed, shouted, cried.

“You won’t be happy until you take everything from me, will you? Until there is nothing left but your voice in my head. I am defenseless against you, against everything you are. I can’t take it anymore.” My fists slammed into Arys’s face so many times I lost count. I couldn’t stop myself. Unleashing weeks worth of pent up emotion felt so damn good.

Blood dripped from his nose. The scent of it climbed inside me and rolled around, taunting me. He took every hit without so much as a grunt. Yet the full moon reigned in both of us, and the wolf couldn’t bear to stand defenseless. When Arys snapped it was with a growl so vicious it brought out my beast. I was all wolf fangs and claws when he shoved me off him.

I hit the ground, barely feeling it as adrenaline drove me. He didn’t wait for me to get up. He lunged forward and grabbed me, dragging me up. I never had a chance to get my feet under me before he slammed me into the bus shelter.

“Is this what you wanted, Alexa?” he growled into my face, baring wolf fangs as deadly as my own. “Is this what you need to finally move on?”

In that moment we were both hybrids, each possessed by two monsters intent on one thing: destruction.

“What I need is for you to get out of my face.” Because it was impossible to make a fist with claws, I slashed at him instead, slicing a gash across his cheek. I followed up with a metaphysical attack meant to burn from the inside out.

Arys’s hold loosened as he fought the vicious hand of his own power. Our power.

“I’m telling him,” he gasped out, straining to keep me pinned in place while the deadly force tore through him. “I’m telling Dayne the truth. It always comes out one way or another.”

I wasn’t trying to kill Arys. There wasn’t a single part of me that wanted to. It would be like killing myself, something I also had no interest in. What I did want, though, was to make him hurt, to make him sorry he pushed me this far with his antagonistic ways and his hotheaded decisions. The dam broke on everything that had been tormenting me since the night I died. The walls came down, as they had to.

“You won’t tell him a goddamn thing. This is one decision you will not be making for me, Arys. Haven’t you done enough already?” I flung those words in his face with such venom that he flinched.

“That’s right.” He nodded, glaring through the pain. “Get it all out. Say everything you’ve been holding in. Let me have it.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? The chance to be the victim for once. Don’t tell me you’re tired of playing the villain, Arys. The role was made for you.” On and on I went, spewing things in his face that never should have passed my lips. All of the bitterness I’d been harboring, feeding, unable to release, unleashed in a torrent.

I wanted to hit him because slamming sharp shards of power into him wasn’t good enough. He was withstanding it, taking it and neutralizing the force, because it was his too. But my fists weren’t. They were all mine.

Clenching my hands into fists resulted in deep cuts where my claws bit into my flesh. I willed them back, trying to coax the wolf down so I could throw another right hook.

“Come on, love, you can do better than that. You haven’t told me how I ruined your life yet. Or how you wish I’d never come here to find you.” Arys grabbed one of my bleeding hands and, without hesitation, dragged his tongue over the punctures. “God, you taste so fucking good. I will never stop craving you.”

Holding my hand, he touched the tip of a claw, and heat engulfed my fingers. The claws retracted. Arys surveyed his handiwork with a nod. “There. Now you can finish what you started on my face.”

I faltered. My anger lost some of its hold, and I stared at him, baffled. Until he slammed me into the bus shelter a few more times. Before I could think to swing, he threw me. I hit the sidewalk hard and rolled. I marveled at the fact that something that would have stunned me once now barely dazed me. On my feet, I found him close, too close. Waiting for more.

“Don’t stop now,” he taunted. “We’re just getting warmed up.”

I did want to hurt him, but knowing that he wanted me to gave me pause. As long as Arys was manipulating this entire situation, it wasn’t authentic. It wasn’t real.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked, hands fisted, body trembling. “It’s just an illusion. You want me to purge my feelings, but I don’t think it’s for me. I think it’s for you.”

Arys was seeking to atone for his sins against me. He wanted me to hurt him, not to cleanse me but to cleanse him. I understood, and the second he saw that understanding pass behind my eyes, he took drastic measures to keep my fire burning.

He caught hold of me and pulled me close so our bodies pressed together. Grabbing a handful of my hair, he jerked my head to the side and bared my neck. “Trust me, this is very real.”

I tried to scream, to beg, but my cry went silent. Panic mingled with rage, creating a cocktail of emotion that stole any semblance of logic or sense. As Arys eyed my artery, I was thrust back into the nightmare, but this time it was real. He was going to make me relive it.

“No, Arys, please,” I finally shouted, struggling in his arms. “Not like this. Please not like this.”

“Make it stop.” Low and husky, his voice touched me in a place that knew only terror. “You have the power. Use it.”

Frantic and flailing, I fought hard to break his hold, but he couldn’t be budged. Power flowed between us, uniting into one massive force. I couldn’t hurt him. We were beyond that point. Now it was just the two of us battling for dominance.

“Don’t make me go there again. It’s over. We can’t go back.” Each word took effort as I used every ounce of strength to keep those fangs from reaching my skin.

Muscles strained beneath Arys’s t-shirt as he attempted to still me. Hunger burned in his eyes, along with so many other things, the greatest of which was pain. Pain that I’d inflicted upon him by shutting him out, making him feel like the monster he’d been that night.

“That’s when everything changed. That’s when you started to hate me. I did what I had to do, what you told me to do, but it planted the seed of destruction, and every night it grows.” Arys was crazed. Madness swallowed him whole, leaving a fragile shell. “You have to go back to that place, and you have to face what it did to you. Purge it all, my wolf, or accept our demise.”

Determination gave him the surge of strength he needed to overpower me. He went for my neck with wolf fangs bared, and I shrieked. Four sharp stings and he’d pierced my flesh, spilling my blood.

I was right back inside that night. In Arys’s arms while my blood flowed, feeling within me his deep satisfaction. The heat of his mouth on my skin as he licked and sucked the bloody punctures contrasted with the cold swell of power that cloaked him.

For so long I’d always been the victim. Arys had always made me the victim. Well, I was done playing that role. It was time for the tables to turn.

Somehow I managed to get a leg up between us. The force of the kick sent him flying. He landed on the curb, nearly rolling into the street. Passing cars paid us no attention. Nobody in their right mind would interfere in a scrap happening in this part of town.

My dark side exploded to the forefront, protecting me. I acted without thought, guided by instinct and self-preservation. I didn’t feel any of the hits I threw. He was on the ground beneath me, and I let him have it.

The sound of someone sobbing broke through the commotion in my head, and I realized that it was me. Arys lay on the ground, taking everything I threw at him. It had all happened so fast.

“Get up,” I demanded. “Now.”

I stood up to allow him to get to his feet, and then I hit him. The sound of shattering glass was music to my ears as he went through the side of the bus shelter. Without hesitation I leaped through the shattered side of the shelter after him.

Arys rolled and got to his feet, facing me with a malicious grin. “That’s my girl. Let it all out. Take what you need from me. Take what you want most.”

Rational thought had left me long ago. Instinct guided me now. I grabbed him with only one goal left in mind. To claim him. To make him mine the way he’d made me his so many times.

I crushed my mouth against his in a bruising kiss that poured gasoline on my fire. Both of us were bloody and battered, but none of that mattered. I ripped his shirt in my haste to feel his skin. My hands on his hard body just wasn’t enough.

When he slid hands down my sides, I shoved them away. It was Arys’s turn to be the victim. This was my game, and I would be the only victor. He wasn’t going down without a fight though, and when he pinned me in the corner of the bus shelter that was still intact, I was enticed by his refusal to play the victim. He was going to make me work for it.

The heat of his mouth on mine caused my awakened hunger for him to rage out of control. I needed more. I needed all of him.

With a growl I reached for his jeans, making short work of the thin barrier that separated me from the part of him I wanted most. His straining erection was hard velvet in my hand. He groaned and delved deeper into my mouth with his tongue.

I shoved him down on the bus shelter bench, uncaring that passing motorists would get an eyeful. Hiking my dress up to my hips, I stripped off my panties and climbed on top of him.

There was no hesitation, no point where I had to ask myself if this was what I wanted. It was more than that. It was what I needed, to finally be free of the prison I’d put myself in.

Our gazes locked, and I watched his pupils dilate as I took him inside me. The bench was hard on my knees, glass and metal dug into my skin, but I didn’t care.

Arys wasn’t just between my legs. He was in all of me, an echo of myself. As I moved atop him, he grabbed my ass and held tight, groaning in my ear every time I slid down the length of him. He leaned in as if he might go for my throat, and with a hand on his chest, I made it clear that I was in control here. There would be none of that.

The urgency with which I needed him grew. It wasn’t hard enough, fast enough. It just wasn’t enough. No words were needed. Because we communicated with just a touch, Arys knew. Responding to my unspoken command, he held me firmly and stood up, turning so he could slam me against one of the remaining walls.

The power behind each thrust forced a cry from me. I wrapped my legs around his waist and held on, enjoying every inch of him sliding deep inside me. Horns honked as cars passed, and Arys chuckled, a seductive sound that felt as good as he did.

As delicious as it was to unite with him, doing what we did best, there was something missing. There was one more thing I needed to fully claim Arys. Licking my lips in anticipation, I eyed the pulse in his neck.

Was this what he usually felt? The need to dominate, to take, and to consume? If so it was no small miracle he hadn’t killed me sooner.

Every thrust was rough, violent and welcome. Threading my fingers into his sexy mess of black hair, I jerked his head to the side and bared fangs. I bit into his jugular, eager for a taste of his powerful blood. It hit my tongue, and I whimpered with the unbridled pleasure of it.

Arys’s fingers dug painfully into my skin as he held me in place. I held tight to him, running my tongue over the punctures. His blood was intoxicating, tasting like vampire, wolf, and power. It fed my hunger for him even as it was sated, like an endless loop.

My name was a moan on his lips.

Pulling his hair, I whispered in his ear, “Harder.”

My command brought on an instant response. A snarl echoed in his throat as his thrusts became frenzied. There was a desperation in him that I felt too. Our greatest power was found in hurting one another. It was bizarre, but somewhere in the recesses of my mind, it made sense, though I couldn’t quite grasp how.

Drawing on Arys, on everything he was and everything he had to give, I was taken to a place where we were no longer two. Just one. One thriving entity with more potential and power than we dared imagine.

As climax claimed me I felt it ripple through me, into Arys. There was an explosion. I felt it inside me seconds before it burst outward. The streetlight overhead flickered and went out. The remaining walls of the bus shelter shattered in a crash of glass.

We fell through the open space behind me and hit the ground hard. Arys turned us as we landed so he shared the jarring impact. It seemed as though I should be gasping for breath, but being a vampire meant I had stamina my mortal self could never have fathomed.

For a minute we lay there, entangled, staring into each other’s eyes. Everything came rushing back to me, tearing me out of the moment. I shoved away from Arys and clambered to my feet.

Arys’s face was a mask of blood and bruises. My fists were almost as bad. When I shoved away from him, I fell backward, scrambling out of reach.

My face was wet with blood tears. My hands ached. I shook my head, unable to make sense of any of this.

Arys groaned and put a hand to his head as he sat up. He pinned me with an agonized stare. “Can we let this go now, Alexa? Can we please somehow move on? I can’t bear this burden anymore.”

I pushed to my feet, shaky and broken on the inside. Looking at his battered face, I felt my soul tear in two. What in the fuck had just happened?

Unable to speak, barely even able to see through the blood clouding my vision, I did what I do best these days: I ran. Down the street like the devil himself was chasing me.

Only once did I glance back. Arys did not follow.

Chapter Ten

I almost collided with Willow when I dashed into The Wicked Kiss parking lot. He put out a hand to steady me so I wouldn’t bounce off his chest.

“What’s going on?” he asked, though his sudden appearance seemed too perfectly timed to have been a coincidence. His hand went to my neck as he took in the wolf bite. “Are you ok?”

Of course I was ok. I was a goddamn vampire. It would take much more than a nasty bite to slow me down now. That should have been a good thing, but it felt like a curse.

“It’s nothing.” There was a bitter taste in my mouth.

Willow’s touch brought with it the heavy weight of his sinister power. It was oppressive and persistent, chipping away at the shield I threw up against it. I pulled away and headed for my car.

He fell into step beside me, matching my furious pace. “I’m sorry about that. I know you’re repulsed by me now. I’d be worried if you weren’t. It’s the light that rejects the darkness. Always. The dark just wants to be close, not caring that it can never touch the light. But the light knows better. It always knows.”

Willow trailed off, staring into space, as if searching for the stars. The city veiled them, fighting to be brighter with its artificial glow. I cast him a sidelong glance, curious about the far away expression that stole over his perfect face.

Though his strange little ramble had nothing to do with Arys and me, it had everything to do with us. Light and dark could never be one, and yet for us, it was. But it wasn’t. No wonder we were such a hot mess.

“Don’t be sorry,” I said. Grabbing his hand I gave it a quick squeeze, gritting my teeth as the murky oil spill of energy tried to crawl up my arm. “Just be Willow. Ok?”

A hand swiped over my face came away bloody with tears. Great. So much for the cool and composed look I’d been going for. Even though I’d feel his approach, I kept glancing back to make sure Arys wasn’t coming. I popped the trunk of the Charger open and grabbed the change of clothes I’d stashed in there.

Willow watched me with grave concern. “Are you going to tell me what happened?”

Standing between my car and the next so I’d go mostly unnoticed by any parking lot dwellers, I slid my dress off in haste. As I shook open the folded tank top from the trunk, Willow turned away, like it was shameful to see me in my underwear. To him it probably was. I loved that about him. Filled with darkness and still a gentleman. Willow was an enigma.

“Twin flame conflict. Light versus dark. Two monsters with serious issues going at it on the street. Yada yada yada. Story of my life.” I pulled the tank top on and kicked my boots off before reaching for the leggings. “I think that covers it.”

“And?” he prompted. “Have you genuinely tried to work out these issues? You can’t run from them forever.”

I glared at his back as I tugged the leggings up and slipped back into my boots. “You can look now. I’m no longer indecent.” Well, that was debatable. “I thought this whole descent into darkness thing meant you were all badass now. Don’t be such a nag.” I tried for a smile so he’d know I was joking, but my rush to vacate the place made it tight and forced. After I threw my discarded dress in the car, I reached for the door handle.

“You’re leaving?” With both brows raised, Willow judged that decision. “We should talk about this. You’ve spent too much time in isolation.”

“Yeah, you’re telling me.” Another glance back toward the entrance of the parking lot. Where was Arys? No, I didn’t want to know. “If Arys and I go another round tonight, one of us isn’t going to walk away from it. It’s better if I leave.”

Willow regarded me thoughtfully. “Let’s go somewhere. We haven’t had a chance to spend time together. I’d like to show you something.”

The tiny hairs on the back of my neck prickled. I was wary of going anywhere alone with any demon, but this was Willow. I trusted him. He’d taken the dark for me so that I could retain my light. Without him I would be pure darkness, my flame snuffed out. Instinct warned me to be on my guard, and I would heed that warning. However, I would trust Willow until he gave me a reason not to.

With my hand on the door, I considered his invitation. The adrenaline was just starting to subside. Sunrise was still hours off. If I left the city, it might give Arys a chance to go to Doghead. I had to make sure that didn’t happen.

Closing my eyes, I reached out for him, needing to know where he’d headed in the last few minutes. He certainly hadn’t come after me. I couldn’t decide if I was bummed about that or relieved.

‘Looking for me already?’ Arys’s voice echoed in my head. ‘I’m pretty sure there’s still a few unmarked inches on my face. Would you like to rectify that?’ Despite the sourness of his words, he seemed calm.

I braced myself against the car, searching for the right response. I didn’t have it. ‘Arys.’ All I had was wrapped up in that one word. He’d broken me. My aching hands still trembled.

‘I’m not going to Doghead, if that’s what you’re worried about. I am, however, going to tear this city up. And then I’m going to your house, and I’m not leaving until you can look me in the eyes without flinching.’ As he usually did, he closed the door on me before I could respond.

“I hate it when he does that,” I muttered. To Willow, I said, “Get me out of here.” Willow went around the car to the passenger side, but I stopped him with a raised hand. My gaze traveled across the parking lot to the sleek black ’73 Camaro. “Wait. Let’s change it up a little.”

I fetched the Dragon Claw and my shoulder bag, locked my car, and spun the key ring on one finger. The key to Kale’s car hung there, glinting in the slant of streetlight that cut through the parking lot. I wasn’t ready for this, but waiting to be ready for anything meant waiting forever.

As I crossed the lot to the black beast, I almost changed my mind. The Camaro sat there like a sleeping dragon, always alert while appearing unaware. Though it was just a machine, it was intimidating. Because it was Kale’s.

Sticking the key in the door lock felt wrong but so damn right. Kale probably wouldn’t want me driving his baby while I was coming down from the rush of that encounter with Arys. But he wasn’t here to stop me.

I swung the door open and froze as his scent wafted out to slap me in the face. Leather and cologne. Never would I have dreamed that a scent could reach right into my chest and squeeze my undead heart.

“Alexa?” Willow waited on the other side of the car for me to let him in. “Are you sure you should be driving? You seem unbalanced.”

“That’s the understatement of the year.” Because I couldn’t outrun memories, I threw myself into the driver’s seat. After leaning over to unlock the passenger door for Willow, I sat there with my hands on the wheel, basking in the faint residual energy left behind by my forbidden love.

“Ok then,” I muttered to myself. “That’s enough of that.”

I busied myself with adjusting the seat and mirrors for my much shorter height. Being in Kale’s car gave me a weird feeling that he would know somehow, even from fourteen-hundred miles away.

“So,” I said, shaking off the memories that haunted me. “Where are we headed?”

“Do you have a tissue or something?” Willow gestured to my bloodstained face. “You’re looking a little like a horror-movie monster.”

Good call. I dug through my bag for some tissue and did my best to cleanse the mess from my face. Between my smeared eye makeup and the faint red marks beneath my eyes, I looked like hell.

“Better?” I asked, receiving a half-assed nod in reply. I turned the key, and the engine roared to life. It growled, purred, and snarled all at once. I was in love. “Hot damn, this is a fabulous car.”

Willow, unable to relate to my enthusiasm, shrugged and waited for me to stop gushing. As soon as the car started moving, I was hit with a pang of longing. I missed Kale. That thought created a domino effect. I was mad that he left, mad at Arys for orchestrating it, mad at Arys for killing Doghead wolves, and then furious at what he’d done tonight, forcing me into an altercation.

As bizarre as it was, I understood why he did it. It had been his last resort, a desperate attempt to reconnect with me. Violence might not seem like the best way to do that, but it played a large role in what we were. Violence had its own intimacy.

It was time to stop running from him. I had to accept responsibility for the role I’d played in our downfall. Maybe if I hadn’t pushed him away, he wouldn’t have started hunting the Doghead wolves. Maybe we would be strong enough to fight the twin flame madness rather than falling victim to it. Maybe…

Maybes were useless. Too late for maybe now.

Hitting the gas hard on my way out of the parking lot, the squeal of tires brought me a small shred of satisfaction. “So, where are you taking me? Wherever it is, it better be good. I need a distraction.”

Willow gripped the door handle as we flew around a corner and screeched to a halt at a red light. “Everything is so different for me now. I’m sure you know that.” He paused for my nod before continuing. “Being tapped into evil allows me to feel it, all around us, in all its forms. So I’ve been seeking it out and confronting it.”

I glanced over at him when he didn’t continue. “And? What does that mean exactly?”

“You’ll see. Take a right at the next set of lights.”

That wasn’t creepy or anything. I followed his random directions, my curiosity growing with every turn. Though I was eager to discover just what Willow had been up to in recent nights, I grew wary.

We headed over to Ellerslie, to the industrial park on the south side of the city. Industrial areas at night were not known for their friendly, inviting atmosphere. Neither were the people who frequented them.

“You understand how unnerving this is, right?” I tried to focus on the power of the car, the rumble from beneath the hood. Tuning out the dark vibe that poured from Willow wasn’t that easy.

We left the regular streets behind as we turned into an area littered with warehouses, shipping yards, and construction vehicles. I hadn’t been a fan of these types of places when I was alive, and I sure as shit still wasn’t now.

“Pull over up ahead. We’ll walk from here.” As Willow gazed out the window, a strange calm settled over him, like he was readying himself for something.

“Should I be expecting a fight or something?” I asked, suspicious. “What are we doing here, Willow?”

“Patience,” he said with a cagey smile that was all demon and not at all Willow.

As soon as the Camaro came to a stop, Willow thrust his door open and got out. I hesitated a moment before following and not before I’d strapped the Dragon Claw’s sheath around my waist. Just in case.

Right away the sound of voices reached me. They came from several buildings away, but there were many. Male. Willow’s secretive manner was starting to grate on me.

Like I had so many times before, I marveled at how human he appeared. Appearances were so deceptive. Jeans and a t-shirt made him look like any other random guy, but he was so far from it.

Willow turned suddenly and caught me staring. “What?”

“Nothing.” I motioned for him to lead the way and fell into step beside him. “Just feeling guilty. You sacrificed yourself for me, and I’ve been a total fuck up ever since.”

He shrugged it off, dismissing my guilt as if it were unfounded. “You’re adjusting. It’s to be expected. Besides, nobody is perfect, nor are they expected to be. Just be you. Let the rest fall into place.” The next smile to cross his face was much more characteristic of the Willow I knew. It was almost reassuring.

“Will it though?” I hadn’t meant to ask it aloud. It just slipped out. All of my doubts and fears had a way of spilling out when Willow was around.

“That’s more within your control than you realize.” For just a moment Willow’s eyes looked green in the dim streetlights. A blink and they were red. Wishful thinking.

Willow led me to two warehouses on the same property. Side by side, there was enough space between them for a car to pass through but just barely. Pressing close to one building, we headed toward a yard in the back.

The sound of voices grew louder. Aggressive and harsh, I was able to determine that these guys were up to something shady.

We got close enough to have a view of the gravel covered warehouse yard while still being concealed between the two buildings. There was a semi truck backed up to a loading door. Half a dozen guys unloaded boxes from the trailer. Standing near the front of the truck was another half dozen guys or so in a heated argument. They were divided into two groups with one man as the appointed speaker for each group. I suspected this was some kind of gang activity.

I glanced at Willow, expecting some kind of explanation. A frown marred his face. He appeared distracted.

“We have company,” he said in a low tone. We were far enough away from the men to go unheard and unseen. “Brook, you might as well show yourself.”

Brook appeared with the soft rustle of wings settling. He was spitting mad, spewing venom at Willow. “What the fuck are you doing here? This is my job. Got it?”

Completely unfazed by Brook’s outburst, Willow shook his head. Just once. “Not anymore.”

His black eyes like two drowning abysses, Brook shoved by me to get right in Willow’s face. “You don’t get to just change sides on a whim and start launching takeovers. Find your own party. This one is mine.”

Willow stood his ground, unflinching beneath the riled up demon’s dark stare. We all knew Brook was inferior to Willow, but I had to give Brook credit for refusing to acknowledge that. He was like a scrappy little Chihuahua barking in the face of a Rottweiler.

“Don’t make me repeat myself,” Willow warned. “Don’t you have some teenagers to haunt or something? Go away. Or stay. I don’t care. But keep your mouth shut.”

Surprise dropped my jaw. I’d seen Willow be fierce but never just an outright dick. He was dealing with a demon, however. Still, something about him just felt…off.

“This is my job, Willow. Don’t fuck this up for me.” Brook’s anger was tainted with desperation. “You can get your rocks off anywhere else.”

I was confused to say the least. Demon tasks and their hierarchy wasn’t something I was well versed in. Watching the exchange made me uneasy.

“Well, I’d like to get them off right here. So shut it.” Raising a hand, Willow hit Brook with a pulse that doubled him over.

Though it hadn’t been meant for me, the aftershock reverberated through my head in waves. Son of a bitch, that hurt. Stumbling back a few steps, I focused on shielding harder. Shya had broken through my shields before without even trying. Willow was even stronger than he was.

With a devilish smirk, Willow turned back to the men we were watching. He eyed them for a moment, listening as the two appointed leaders argued over a missing box. Whatever was inside their shipment, it had to be bad news.

“What are we doing here, Willow?” I asked, sparing a glance for Brook who leaned against the building, clutching his middle. “I want answers.”

“Having a little fun. Doling out some justice.” When he saw the stone-cold stare I leveled at him, he shrugged and said, “These guys are supplying the narcotics that end up in Arrow’s possession. The very same shit that almost cost Jez her life. Don’t you want to see them stopped?”

Of course I did, but something told me that what Willow had in mind wasn’t going to involve cops or jail time. It was going to be so much worse. He waited for my reaction, and I wanted to give him one that didn’t involve wary suspicion, but I was at a loss.

“So let’s tip the cops off to this little gathering then,” I said with growing unease. “Then they’ll all get carted off like they deserve.”

Willow shot my suggestion down with a glare. “No cops. That won’t teach them a damn thing. They’ll just get out anyway. Evil is evil, and humans suck at dealing with it.”

Brook’s low chuckle drew both our gazes his way. “And you, a demon, think you can dole out punishment for evils done? I know you’re new to our side and all, Willow, but that’s fucking stupid. It doesn’t work that way. Evil doesn’t punish evil. It can’t. That’d be like a snake eating its own tail.”

As much as I hated to agree with Brook on anything, he was right. Willow couldn’t possibly bring any good from an evil situation by doing something just as evil, if not worse.

“We’ll see.” Willow turned back to the drug deal taking place.

With a snap of his fingers, the scene changed. One guy pulled a gun and started firing. He didn’t aim only at the other group but at his own men as well. As fast as they started dropping, they started shouting. More weapons were produced.

The two leaders didn’t hesitate. No questions asked, they lunged at each other, one with a knife in hand. The blade found its way into the throat of the other. Blood sprayed. The aroma reached me across the distance. I licked my lips, watching the violence erupt.

Men pummeled one another with fists. Punches turned into kicks once men were on the ground. Gunshots continued to ring out, many bullets missing the mark but just as many finding it. Not once did anyone try to stop it. Nobody attempted to play peacemaker. It was every man for himself.

Willow watched this with twisted glee. The smile that curved his lips struck fear into my heart. Not fear for what was taking place but for him. My dear friend. Lost to darkness. Because of me.

The men dropped so fast I could barely keep track of them all. Until there were just two left. One of them had a gun. The other was on his knees, begging for mercy.

Vibing off the mass of homicidal energy, I stood stiff, hating that I loved the way it felt as it rolled over me. The dark inside me responded to the scene, basking in it. My stomach turned, and I wanted to vomit, something that vampires didn’t seem able to do in my experience so far.

Being surrounded by murderous mayhem, Brook, and Willow should have been overwhelming. I expected the dark to take me, to bring out the vampire side of me in a blaze of glory. It didn’t.

Much to my surprise, there was a flicker of something else in my core, something bright and full of life. Steadily it grew, filling me with wonder. Blue and gold lined my aura, crackling all around me like lightning dancing in place.

Brook did a double take before backing away.

“Willow, stop this. It’s gone far enough.” It wasn’t a request but a demand. I didn’t know what to do. I just knew that I couldn’t stand there and watch someone I cared about delight in evil. This was Willow. He should never have ended up this way.

“Not as long as any of them are still standing, it hasn’t.” Willow turned a vicious red stare on me. “Do you have any idea what kind of damage these fucking assholes do? Jez almost died. She’s just one of many. There are kids hooked on the shit they sell. Kids who sell themselves for more. Brinley’s kids, Alexa.”

“Don’t.” I shook my head, unwilling to let him get to me through one of my weak points. “Don’t try to manipulate my emotions. That’s not who you are. You’re better than this. You’re…” I faltered, searching for something that would get through to him and coming up short. “You’re Willow.”

Brook snickered, enjoying Willow’s descent into darkness. Without thinking I turned to him with a raised hand, dealing him a blow that knocked him on his ass. I had half a mind to go after him with the Dragon Claw. A slice from the blade would force Brook out of here, back to the other side, to the spirit realm where demons dwelled. However, he wasn’t the problem here. Willow was.

“Not anymore,” Willow muttered. His gaze settled back on the two remaining men. They seemed to be in limbo, inactive until Willow made his final move. “These men prey on the weak. They profit from addiction and desperation. You of all people should want them to pay.”

“I do.” I held up both hands in surrender as I drew closer to Willow. The power crackling all around and through me wasn’t going to help me get through to him. “But mass murder isn’t the way. Or at least it’s not your way. Stop this now before it’s too late.”

Willow crossed his arms and stared at the men. His voice was hollow when he said, “It’s already too late. It’s been too late since I fell in love with a whore.” He laughed then, a sharp, bitter sound. “A fucking whore. Even I know how ridiculous that sounds. Pathetic.”

This wasn’t Willow. He would never have spoken of Christina like that. Ignoring what she was, he had loved her for who she was. Willow always searched for the kindness within a person’s soul. Sometimes he even revealed it to them. He’d done it for me, encouraging me to embrace my role here no matter how hard or pointless it seemed at times.

His sour words slashed their way into my heart. Witnessing how far he’d fallen took me to a place of sorrow too deep for tears.

“Willow, please. Stop this now.”

He didn’t hesitate or so much as glance my way. He merely inclined his head in a half nod, and the man on his knees took a bullet in the forehead. The man holding the gun then turned it on himself. He stuck the barrel in his mouth, and it was over.

Willow gestured to the gruesome scene. “Call the cops now if you like. It would be best to get those narcotics dealt with before someone else comes along.”

I stared at him, aghast. Speechless. Brook shared my stunned silence. I couldn’t tell by his expression if he was afraid or impressed. He appeared to be a little of both.

When I didn’t produce a response, Willow scowled. “How can you look so shocked? Your kill count isn’t quite zero either, you know.”

How could he not realize that my horror wasn’t for the dead men but for him? It was the eye-opening realization of how drastically Willow had changed that left me shaken and in despair. Demons were pure evil. This was not news to me. Seeing Willow in action, justifying his evil as he committed it, that was the absolute worst thing that could ever have happened to him. It broke my heart.

There was nothing I could say.

Scorn shone in his scarlet gaze as he glowered at me. Had he expected me to participate in this? Yes, he had. Under different circumstances, I suppose I might have.

“Don’t you dare mourn for me,” he hissed, lunging toward me. “Don’t you dare stand there and feel sorry for me. I won’t be pitied.”

Because I wasn’t sure of his intent and because he couldn’t be trusted, I threw up my hands and hit him with everything I held ready. Like the night I faced Shya, I channeled my dark power, manipulating it with the light. Turning all I had into a force of divine greatness, I hit Willow right in the chest with it.

The force struck him and held him frozen in place. An anguished cry erupted from him as he fought back. It wouldn’t hold him long. However, he wasn’t fighting it.

With a sob lodged in my throat, I pulled the Dragon Claw from its sheath with the sound of metal singing. “I’m sorry,” I whispered before plunging the blade into his chest.

Stabbing my dagger into Willow was one of the most fucked up things I’d ever done. It wouldn’t do any lasting damage, but it should keep him off the physical plane for the rest of the night.

His body disappeared before it hit the ground. That visual was going to haunt me for a while. Overcome with emotion, I collapsed to the ground. I wished I could sob or cry, but my tears had all run dry.

Brook still stood there, watching me, his expression unreadable. He flapped his big, black wings once and then he was gone.

So much had been revealed to me tonight. Too much had been unveiled that I could no longer ignore. Willow was no longer himself. He was, but he wasn’t. Wrapping my mind around that was difficult.

I couldn’t let this be all that he was now. Gripped with a sense of urgency, I knew with every fiber of my undead being that the only way to honor Willow’s sacrifice was to ensure that the Hound of God ruled in me. The Protector of Mankind. I would never be rid of the dark that came with being joined to a Dark Flame. But I was learning how to make both sides work together, and I might have been half-crazed with the lust for blood and power, but I didn’t have to accept it. I could fight and prove that it wasn’t all I was. It wasn’t who I was.

Willow’s blood stained the Dragon Claw black in the night. Even as I was making promises to myself to overcome my own dark side, I reached to slide a finger through that sinful stain.

I stared at the demon blood on my fingertip. Hell yeah, I was tempted. Until I brought it closer and inhaled the scent of it. Noxious and sulfuric, I recoiled as the smell assaulted my olfactory senses. No doubt there was vast power in that one little smear of crimson, but there was also absolute evil. Though the dark side of me was intrigued, the light would have none of it. Never.

I wiped my finger on my leggings and then got to my feet. I crossed the warehouse yard to the men Willow had killed. With a grimace I wiped the dagger clean using one guy’s already bloody jacket.

The scent of death was strong, inviting, disgusting. As I surveyed the scene up close, I was again astonished, unable to believe Willow had done this. After finding a burner phone in the closest guy’s pocket, I called in an anonymous tip to 911 and hightailed it back to the Camaro.

The moment my ass hit the driver’s seat, a memory racked me. It didn’t float gracefully up from the recesses of my mind. It sucker punched me in the frontal lobe hard enough to bring tears to my eyes. Guess they hadn’t dried up after all.

Beware the angel with black wings. Hurst’s words pounded through my brain. Back in Vegas, when we’d had a private meeting, he had shared many words of wisdom, most of which I still didn’t fully understand. When he said that, I’d assumed he meant Shya. What if I was wrong?

There is danger in assumption. Hurst had said that too. I felt like an idiot.

After banging my forehead on the steering wheel in frustration, I started the car and tore away from the area before the cops arrived.

A cold knot formed in my gut. What if Hurst’s warning had been about Willow? What could I do? How would I know?

These questions ate at me as I drove. This night had not been kind to me. From Shaz to Arys to Willow, it had been one disaster after another. The common link between all of these situations was me.

I really had to get my shit together.

Chapter Eleven

Because I knew Arys would be staking out my house, waiting for me, I returned the Camaro to The Wicked Kiss and grabbed my Charger before heading home. I didn’t need to have another emotional throw down over a damn car.

I expected to feel anxious or resistant when I turned into my driveway. Instead, when the cold rush of Arys’s presence hit me, I just felt relieved. It had been too long. What happened tonight, we had needed that in a big way. We still had work to do, Arys and I. Willow’s actions were evidence of that. It was far from over for us.

As I approached the front door, a ripple of high-pitched giggles reached me. It grew louder when I swung the door open, and a glance down the long front hall revealed a drunken Jez and an annoyed Arys.

“Cut off means cut off. Here, drink this coffee. Now.” Arys glanced up when I entered the kitchen. He flung a hand out at the snickering leopard, surrendering her to me. “Oh good, you decided to come home. Maybe you can convince her to go to bed.”

That was fair. I deserved it. There had been a brief moment when I considered spending the day at The Wicked Kiss. However, that would mean staying in Kale’s old room, a bad idea at best, and avoiding Arys after our confrontation would just be weak and disrespectful.

My gaze lingered on his face. It was a mottled mess of cuts and bruises. Though it had healed substantially in the short time since I saw him last, there was plenty of damage left. I’d hurt him. Bad. Of course I hadn’t escaped unscathed either. We would hurt each other. Always.

“Go to bed?” Jez repeated. “It’s still early. The sun isn’t even up yet.”

She was draped over the island in the center of the kitchen, an unlit cigarette in one hand and a near empty bottle of wine in the other. Was I going to have to start taking this girl everywhere with me?

“I thought you were going out with Coby and Ky,” I said, using Jez as a way to avoid eye contact with Arys.

“I did. It was nice. Ky seems…strong. She’s handling it all pretty well. Restless though. She brought a deer down by herself in two minutes flat.” Jez tipped the bottle to her lips, draining the last few drops. With a frown, she deposited the empty on the counter, almost knocking it to the floor in the process. “I came home a couple hours ago and discovered the booze in your pantry. Since you can’t drink it, I thought, might as well.”

The scent of coffee both teased me and turned my stomach. Funny how that worked. I grabbed the mug Arys had set before Jez and thrust it in her face. “Here. Drink this. Sober up. I have some not so great news.”

She backed away so fast she lost her balance. Arys caught her before she could hit the floor, and she erupted into more giggles. What the hell was going on here? Since when had everyone around me lost their mind? Was crazy contagious? Because if it was, that would explain a lot. Not just the city, but the world in general.

“Doghead?” Arys asked, drawing my gaze to his.

I shook my head and guided Jez over to the table where she was less likely to take a spill. “Willow. He took me somewhere. He killed people and he enjoyed it.”

Now that I had Jez’s full, albeit impaired, attention, I told them what had happened in that industrial yard. They each listened attentively. The cigarette hung between Jez’s fingers like a deadly security blanket.

“It reminded me of something Hurst said,” I continued, perching on the arm of the couch. The open concept design allowed me to see them both from that position. “He warned me to beware the angel with black wings. I thought he’d meant Shya, but now I’m not so sure.”

“Oh, shit,” Jez blurted. Her humor had faded. “If Willow has gone full dark side, we are fucked.”

“He seemed pretty far gone to me. He’s still Willow, somewhere in there. But he’s a demon. That’s never changing.” My heart was heavy. I would never understand how something so horrible could happen to someone so genuine and compassionate.

Arys placed the mug of coffee on the table for Jez before coming to lay a hand on my shoulder. “You can’t blame yourself, Alexa. He made his choice. You didn’t do this to him.”

Staring at the floor was easier than looking up at Arys. The swirls in the laminate tiles were suddenly so interesting. “I know. But he did it for me. If I end up at the bottom of this rabbit hole of madness, I may never climb out. Then everything he did will have been for nothing. I can’t let that happen. He deserves better.”

Arys’s hand was warm on my shoulder. I wondered how he’d spent the rest of his evening. On second thought, no, I didn’t. I didn’t need to know.

“The city is being devoured.” With a pout, Jez sipped the coffee. “If darkness was a disease, it would be a full blown epidemic by now.”

“It is a disease,” I said, pondering Willow’s strange talk about the darkness drawing near to the light but never being able to touch it. “As long as we’re here, it has its limits. We won’t let it take us all. We can’t.”

I met and held Jez’s gaze, needing her to see my growing desperation. Ignoring the hard evidence was easy when it was me running amok. Watching those I loved crumble under the burden had been the wake up call I needed. Staring at Jez, one of the few people I trusted implicitly, I knew I could not let Willow’s fate become hers.

“The city is crawling with demons. Hurst could’ve meant anyone.” Even as Arys said it, his tone lacked conviction. He knew as well as I did that Willow was a force to be reckoned with now.

“So what do we do?” With a scowl at her mug, Jez rose to fetch some cream and sugar. She’d sobered quickly. “Wait for Willow to bring down hell on the city? And then what? It’s not like we can fight him.”

No, we couldn’t. A fight with Willow would end with only one victor, and it sure as hell wouldn’t be any of us.

“We need to be prepared. Just in case.” I risked a quick glance at Arys who stood painfully close. The heat from his hand crawled through me, igniting a spark between us. “Falon and I, there’s something we’ve been planning. If it works, it will get Shya off our backs. That’s why we’re going to his party. If it works on him, it should work on Willow, should it come to that. Though I hope to God it never does.”

“Falon?” Arys’s gentle touch became possessive. “How do you know you can trust him?”

“I don’t trust him. But he has his own reasons for wanting to be rid of Shya.” I recounted to them what Falon had told me when we were in FPA lockup. There was a spell, one that could potentially trap Shya, binding him to an object. It wasn’t much, but it was all we had.

Arys trailed fingers down my arm until he grasped my hand. Kneeling on the floor beside me so we were almost face to face, he was pensive. “That sounds like a long shot. If you try something and it doesn’t work, Shya may forget that he promised you several lifetimes of suffering.”

The sight of his battered face was more than I could bear. However, along with the destruction of Arys’s gorgeous face had come the collapse of the walls I’d put between us. Even though I felt as if I were tripping over the pieces, there was a sense of freedom. Like the cage door had been opened, and all I had to do was step out.

I reached to touch a smear of purple outlining one of his eyes like a macabre half moon. From there I traced a line down his cheek and onto the black and blue bridge of his nose. His midnight blue gaze traveled over my face before searching my eyes.

“I think it’s a risk worth taking,” I said. “We could all do without Shya for a while.”

“Amen to that,” Jez piped up. “I’m not interested in being part of any demon’s collection. Veryl did a good job of keeping Shya’s identity hidden from us. I wish I knew why.”

I too had wondered the same thing. Veryl always had his reasons though, and they were usually valid. Though he’d forgiven me for killing him, I would always wish I could turn back time and undo that one horrible mistake.

“Veryl knew what he was doing, even if we didn’t. Now he’s gone, and there’s no middleman to keep Shya at bay. So we’ve got to do whatever it takes to protect ourselves from him and any other demon who brings trouble our way.” I melted like ice cream on a hot summer day when Arys brought my hand to his mouth. Heat crawled up my arm, coiling tight like a snake. I bit my lip, holding back a sigh.

Arys brushed his swollen bottom lip over my knuckles and murmured, “I go where you go, and I’ll always have your back no matter what you do. Just promise me you’ll think every step through before you make it. There’s no room for reckless decisions with Shya.”

I couldn’t be insulted though part of me prickled at his words. True, I had made my share of reckless decisions, and I doubted that I’d made my last. However, many of the choices I’d made under pressure had been for the best.

Before I could reply Jez broke in with a loud, tipsy drawl. “You guys finally screwed. I can smell the sex from here. I suppose that’s why you both look like you got your asses kicked. Must’ve finally worked out your shit. ’Bout fucking time.”

“Jez,” I admonished with a frown. Drunken leopards talked too damn much. Well, in Jez’s case drunkenness only increased the volume.

Arys laughed, low and smooth. “I’m not sure we’ve worked all of our shit out, but I think we’re getting there.”

“Well, I should hope so.” Jez stuck the cigarette between her lips and sidled over to the sliding patio door off the kitchen. “You both look like shit.” She disappeared outside to feed one of her addictions, leaving us alone.

Feeling awkward and overheated at our close proximity, I got up, and Arys rose with me.

“We are getting there, aren’t we?” Resting a hand on each of my hips, Arys searched me, seeking some assurance he needed to find. His gaze was intense, a silent declaration.

I waited for the war of emotions to battle inside me, but it didn’t happen. Perhaps I really had laid my demons to rest, so to speak. The need to touch him was undeniable. Now that his hands were on me, it was all I wanted. How could I possibly have wasted so much time avoiding this? Once was never enough.

“Arys, when I saw Willow tonight, it did something to me. It forced me to see what he gave up for me, for us, so that we could keep the balance of light and dark. It cost him everything.” Emotion thickened my voice, and I paused to gather myself. I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him close. “I can’t let that all be for nothing. And I can’t let it happen to us too.” Tears welled up, burning my eyes.

Arys’s arms went around me. Slowly but surely, I was starting to feel like everything was almost as it should be. Arys didn’t make empty promises or offer me false comfort of any kind. Yet inside me the twisted monster that was a swirl of vampire and werewolf coiled up like a happy cat, content.

Sliding a hand up into my hair, Arys claimed my lips in a kiss that set off sparks between us. The connection was so raw, so demanding. I’d hungered for this every night since we’d last united our power in full. Since the night I died.

“Like I said before,” he murmured against my lips. “I go where you go. We’re in this together. That will never change.”

No, it wouldn’t. Not until one of us died a true death, and then the other would likely follow. It wasn’t a trail of thought I wanted to go down, so I squashed it before it could take root in my mind.

“I’m afraid,” I heard myself confess. “There’s so much pressure, and the odds are stacked against us.”

“One battle at a time, my wolf.”

We were still standing there holding tight to one another when Jez came in. “Aww,” she gushed, heavy on the melodrama. “Aren’t you two so fucking cute? I could just barf.” She paused, held a hand to her mouth, and swallowed hard. “Actually, I might really barf. Don’t take it personally.”

She fled the room, taking the stairs two at a time. The slamming of the upstairs bathroom door followed.

“Sun’s coming up,” Arys observed with a glance toward the window. “I want to stay.”

I nodded, knowing this was it. No more running. The fear that kept me from Arys had been battled. And I had won.

“I want you to stay.” Because there was nothing I could add to that, I took his hand and led the way upstairs.

* * * *

After checking on Jez and putting her to bed, I joined Arys in my bedroom. Now that the high-strung emotions and adrenaline of our earlier encounter had long since faded, I was nervous about being alone with him. Though I was ready to move forward in our journey together, my calmer state brought me back to that place of trepidation.

I hadn’t realized how dysfunctional my relationship with Arys was until it had led to my death. Tonight had been healing for us both, therapeutic even, but pounding each other certainly didn’t make us healthy. Our relationship was a constant back and forth of predator and prey, victim and victimizer. Normal wasn’t a term that would ever be used to describe us. It shouldn’t have worried me, but since meeting Rachel and Ozzie, it did.

The en suite bathroom door was open, and the shower running. It was an invitation, one that I wanted to accept. Though I didn’t need the deep breaths I took, they made me feel better just the same.

I went to the window, cracking it open to let the early morning air in. The sky was a pale orange. The sun peeked over the horizon, illuminating the graveyard next door, making my eyes sting. I could just make out a few headstones from where I stood. After securing the blinds tight against the coming sun, I stared at the open bathroom door.

Before I could decide whether or not to join Arys, my phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number on the screen at first. Upon closer scrutiny I suspected it might be the number Agent Winston had given me.

“Hello?” My greeting was low and wary. Suspicious. Nobody from the FPA called me without an agenda.

“Ms. O’Brien? It’s Agent Winston. I hope this isn’t a bad time.” Her tone was pleasant and professional. The fact that she addressed me in a respectful manner got my attention. She was far nicer to me than Briggs, who always barked my last name at me like I was one of his underlings.

I closed the bedroom door and sat on the edge of the bed. “No, it’s fine. What can I do for you?”

“Right to the point.” She chuckled. “I like that. Well then, I won’t waste your time. I’d like to hire you. To find Agent Briggs of course. I believe you have abilities and resources that may be beneficial in the search for him. I’m prepared to be very flexible in negotiations. Name your price.”

My jaw dropped, and I made a face of silent disbelief. The FPA had been trying to get me to work for them for months now. This wasn’t a huge surprise. Her willingness to bargain was. Briggs wasn’t big on bargaining or compromise.

There was only one thing I wanted from the FPA. One thing that, if they gave me, might just convince me to free Briggs once Shya was safely bound and out of the game for a while.

“My blood. The blood Briggs took from me without my permission when I was unconscious. I want it.” I gripped the phone tight in my hand, awaiting her response.

There was a pause that made me suspect she hadn’t anticipated such a request. “I wasn’t aware he’d taken any such thing from you. Though I certainly don’t want to make any false promises, I can assure you that I’ll look into it.”

Well, that was better than an outright refusal. I didn’t doubt that Briggs had taken my blood for his own personal use. The man was up to no good. Releasing him back into the FPA fold might not be such a good idea.

“Thank you,” I said, my gaze straying to the bathroom door. Steam rolled out, beckoning me. “I can’t imagine Briggs had good intentions when he swiped it from me.”

“Again I apologize for Briggs. He hasn’t been himself lately, or so I hear. However, we need him back.” Her tone was tight but still pleasant, a tad forced now.

Curious. I smirked to myself. “Why? Because he’s one of your men or because he’s a dreamwalker?”

Maggie Winston didn’t miss a beat. “You really are as audacious as they say, aren’t you? It’s a shame Briggs had to give you such a terrible impression of us. We’d have loved to have you among us.”

“So I’ve heard. But you got my sister, and that’ll have to be good enough. You seem like a nice enough person, Agent Winston, but I have no interest in being part of your organization.” I was starting to lose track of how many times I’d said as much. She wasn’t going to answer my question, though I hadn’t really expected her to.

“I’ll look into the whereabouts of your blood sample, Ms. O’Brien. You’ll hear from me soon.” She hung up abruptly.

With a sigh, I tossed my phone on top of the dresser. Before I could overthink it and psyche myself out, I took off my clothes and slipped into the bathroom.

“It’s about time.” Arys’s smooth voice echoed in the bathroom acoustics. “I was sure the hot water would run out before you got your sweet ass in here.”

“Sorry. Had to take a call. Agent Winston wants to hire me to find Briggs.” My laugh was cut short as I swept back the shower curtain and my gaze fell upon Arys’s fine, naked form.

My mind raced as I calculated how long it had been since I’d seen him like this. Too fucking long. I froze there, staring at him. It was like seeing him for the first time. Hard lines drew my gaze to his abs, the wide expanse of his chest. The arched curve of his hips led to muscular thighs. There wasn’t a single part of Arys that didn’t appeal to the eye. I dragged my attention back to his face to find him watching me with a playful grin.

“My God, woman, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the hunger burn in your eyes like it did tonight. Even now, I can still see it there.” He shoved a wet lock of hair off his forehead and moved to share the shower spray as I stepped into the tub.

“Oh, you like that, huh?” Hot water cascaded over me. The tight space meant Arys was pressed against me, wet and firm in all the right places. He wasn’t kidding about the hunger. I felt it, the burning need to feast on him.

“Hell yeah. It was like looking at a much sexier version of myself.” He laughed when I pinched his arm. His expression changed, the smile fading. “Seriously though, nobody has made me feel like a victim since Harley. Until tonight.”

A pang of guilt struck me. It was followed by confusion. Was I obligated to feel bad for finally turning the tables?

“I’m sorry,” I said because I wanted to be. Victimizing Shaz always felt wrong even as it felt right, but victimizing Arys had felt damn good because it had been long overdue.

“No, you’re not. And you shouldn’t be. I never am.” Arys grabbed the shampoo and squeezed some into his hand before turning me so he could lather up my wet hair. “It’s what we are. And as much as I hate to admit it, I kind of love seeing you this way.”

Firm but gentle, Arys worked the shampoo through my hair. There was so much love and adoration in the act. It made me feel safe and secure, something I hadn’t felt with him in a while.

“That’s twisted, Arys. We shouldn’t enjoy hurting each other…or being hurt by each other. It’s fucked up.”

All that did was reinforce my belief that love was a mind fuck. Sappy stories of soul mates, babies, and picket fences were the kind of love society projected onto all of us. But love wasn’t so clean and tidy. It was messy. Dirty, complicated, and at times immoral, but without a doubt always beautiful in its own, fucked-up way. There was nothing else like it. Nothing else so powerful on this earth that people would kill for it. Die for it. Do anything they could to possess it, never realizing that in the end, love only possessed us.

To love was to risk destruction of the worst kind. It was more than merely your heart on the line; it was the very essence of all that you are. It could make you better than who you were before, or it could make you worse. Or, it could just make you fucking crazy.

“Don’t overthink it,” he admonished, turning me back to the hot spray of water so I could rinse the shampoo from my hair. “Your mind is racing. I can see it in your eyes. Trying to understand it will lead you down a rabbit hole you will never escape. In my time I’ve learned that it’s better to take joy where you find it and stop asking if it’s right or wrong. It just is. It’s what we do with it that matters.”

“And what exactly does that mean?” I tried to focus on his face, but my gaze drifted lower. He was just too damn sexy, standing there naked with his wet hair plastered to his head and a bottle of conditioner in his hands.

“It means that you think too much.” Arys guided me close again so he could massage conditioner into my hair. This gentle side of him made it easy to forget how dangerous he really was. “You’re wondering if this is love or if it’s just some misguided byproduct of the power we share. How can love be so dark and depraved as to make us hurt each other the way we do… and adore it? The question really is, how can we presume ourselves to be capable of defining love when we are but a mere pawn in its game, caught in its force. Just enjoy the ride, my wolf.”

Like usual, Arys’s bizarre explanation made some kind of sense. I could pick it all apart over and over until my last day and never come any closer to understanding than I did now.

“Love is never just love for anyone, but especially for us,” I said, plagued by an unwelcome memory.

Lilah’s words echoed through my mind, haunting me with the reminder that our light would always be tainted. To hate that person as much as you love them. Oh, and how you love them. So much you start to hate yourself. Lilah had believed all twin flames were meant to suffer, that we were cursed. So often her claims tormented me, making me question it all over again.

Arys turned me around to face him. His kiss was tender and delicate. “There is nobody else I’d rather be joined to until the end. The suffering, the pain, the piece of me that is always in torment over you, it’s all worth it. This moment, right now, this is worth it.”

A swell of emotion had me throwing my arms around his neck, kissing him back with a desperation that nearly wrenched a sob from me. Having him back in my arms was like waking up from a nightmare and discovering that it was ok after all. Right then I couldn’t care how messed up we were or how much torment came from being a twin flame. All I knew was how whole I felt with him and how lost and abysmal I’d felt without him.

“Don’t ever let me go,” I begged him, reveling in the way my hands so easily slipped over his hot, wet skin.

“Never.”

Much to my disappointment the hot water began to run cold. When there wasn’t a warm drop left to be squeezed from the faucet, we vacated the shower and sought out the comfort of my bed instead.

In a tangle of naked limbs, we lay entwined beneath the cozy blanket. My wet hair made the pillow damp, but I barely noticed. Curled in Arys’s embrace, I savored the strength of his arms around me and the scent of my coconut bodywash on his skin.

For a long time we didn’t say anything. Staring at the ceiling in my darkened bedroom, I watched dust motes dance in the tiny beam of sunlight that barely made it an inch beyond the heavy blinds on the window. It was probably time for me to move my bedroom to the basement, just to be as safe as possible.

“I’m sorry,” Arys said, breaking the silence. “About fucking things up with Doghead.”

He knew how bad it was, so there was no need to make him feel any shittier. “We’ll figure something out. Dayne doesn’t need to know who it was. This isn’t all on you. If I’d been there when you needed me instead of running amok chasing blood and mayhem, it wouldn’t have happened.”

“That’s not true. It’s better that you weren’t there. We would have just done it together, and that would be much worse.” Arys dragged a hand through my tangled wet locks. His lips moved against my temple when he spoke.

A shudder racked my insides as my heart skipped, and I snuggled in closer to him, needing to feel him pressed against every part of me. “We should’ve been together though. I shouldn’t have run.”

“Stop it, Alexa. We could do this all day. I can say how I shouldn’t have sent you running straight to Sinclair, and we can both go back and forth stressing over what we should or shouldn’t have done until we just lay here feeling shitty.” His lips were warm as he kissed his way down to my neck. “I’m done with feeling shitty. Aren’t you?”

I gave a silent nod because another swell of emotion had choked off my ability to speak. The emotional turmoil that had afflicted me since I turned was enough to last me half a dozen lifetimes.

In an attempt to shut down the negative turn my thoughts had taken, I focused on Arys. The gentle caress of his lips on my neck. How hard and soft he was at the same time beneath my fingertips. The sense of fulfillment, of rightness, from just having him there with me. We were right where we were supposed to be.

Chapter Twelve

Much to my surprise I actually managed to sleep. It was a blissfully dreamless sleep. No Briggs and no recurring nightmares. Daymares? Whatever. For the first time in weeks, I felt almost content.

The Ghostbusters theme song had almost finished when I realized my phone had woken me. I rushed to disentangle myself from Arys, nearly falling off the bed in my haste to get to the phone where it lay on the dresser.

“Willow?” His name on the screen chased away any remnants of sleep. Now I was wide awake.

“Salem will meet you at The Wicked Kiss in one hour. I know it’s short notice, but the fact that he wants to see you speaks for itself. Don’t be late.” His tone was abrupt and dismissive, like he had delivered his message and was about to hang up.

“Wait, Willow,” I all but shouted. “Are you ok? I’m sorry about last night. I didn’t want to do it, but—”

“You had no choice.” He spoke fast, cutting me off. “I only wish you’d done it sooner. I’m sorry I put you in that position. Better get moving. You don’t want to be late.”

He did hang up then, leaving me staring at the phone. Willow didn’t sound right. Worry gripped me, but I didn’t have time to entertain it. I had one hour to get to The Wicked Kiss.

“We have to go,” I said when I turned to find Arys watching me. “Salem is going to be at the Kiss in one hour.”

“An hour?” He considered this with a raised brow and a smile that dripped mischief. “Ok, I can work with that. Get back into bed.”

“Funny.” I rolled my eyes, but the smoldering stare he fixed me with tempted me to crawl back into the mess of blankets. We’d spent the day wrapped in each other. It had been perfect, just what I needed. Now he was looking at me with a desire that resonated in me, and it was all I could do not to climb all over him. “Don’t look at me like that, Arys. This is serious. We have to be there.”

His chuckle was downright devious. With his hands behind his head, he watched me with the intensity of a cat watching a bird, waiting for that perfect moment to pounce. “We do. I know.”

It got under my skin. Those midnight eyes always could make me weak. That hadn’t changed. I might have been the one in predator mode last night, but now it was all Arys.

“Cut that out.” I threw a pair of balled up socks at him, whipping it fast, aiming for his head.

He deflected the socks and sat up. The blanket bunched around his waist, baring his sculpted torso. Power radiated off him in waves, each bigger than the last as they crashed over me.

I paused with a dresser drawer open and one hand inside. My quest for clothing was forgotten. The bloodlust hit hard and fast, bringing with it the insatiable appetite for power. Arys was power. I ran my tongue over a fang, jarring myself from the haze that had settled over me when I nicked the tip.

“You’ve got that look again,” Arys observed, throwing back the covers. He rose with a fluidity that held my attention. “Power hungry. Possessive. Like you don’t just want to bleed me or fuck me, like you want to own me while doing it.”

“Yes. I wonder where I get that from.” It was a battle to keep Salem at the forefront of my mind. Speaking with him was a must. If there was ever a time to master self control, it was now.

Arys crossed the short distance between us with just a few strides. Capturing my face with a gentle hand, he forced me to meet his gaze. “You blow my fucking mind, my love. I can’t wait to discover all that you’re capable of now.”

His kiss was wild and passionate. The shirt I held hung from my hand as I fell into him. Feeling the pull of his thrall, I pushed back against it with my own manipulative spell. A dizzying twist of erotic energy reached out to trap us both, prisoners of our own desire.

Arys responded to my influence by upping the force of his own. It quickly became a playful battle of wills as we each sought to mesmerize the other. My face was flushed with desire when he pulled back.

“Arys, we really have to get going.” My voice was husky with yearning for his power, blood, and body. I couldn’t decide which I wanted most. The beauty of our bloodline was that I could feast on all three. Unfortunately, not right now. I had places to be.

The low timbre of his sensual laughter sent a shock of heat down my spine. It spread throughout my limbs, making my extremities tingle. “Show me what you can do, Alexa.”

His kisses were teasing, accompanied by another power push that left me feeling lightheaded. Damn this man was amazing. I’d suspected that perhaps the way we reacted to one another would change after my death, and I’d been both right and wrong. It had changed, but rather than waning in any way, it had only grown more encompassing. The pull between us was magnetic, binding on a level deeper than the soul, if such thing existed. There were no words for what I felt as we draped each other in our power.

“Arys.” I resisted, trying to calm the growing storm before it spun out of control.

As he pushed a wave over me, he also pulled on my energy, creating a cycle that flowed between us. When he only encouraged the flow of force to grow in strength, I grabbed hold of it and wrenched control away from him. The sudden shift made him stagger and almost fall into me. Focusing my intent, I twisted the energy he’d summoned and spilled it over him like a waterfall of arousal.

“Son of a bitch,” he groaned, gripping the dresser to steady himself. A lazy grin spread across his handsome face. “I always wondered what it would feel like to be enthralled by myself. Now I know. It’s fucking sensational. No wonder Falon is willing to be your pet.”

That did it. The spell was broken, the fun of the moment dashed by a comment that hadn’t been wielded as a weapon but had felt like one just the same. Turning back to the dresser, I rummaged about for a pair of leggings.

“He is not my pet.” My declaration was harsher than intended. “He was just a convenient way to get a fix.”

Arys leaned against the dresser, making it difficult to ignore his nudity. “Hey, I didn’t say it was a bad thing. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t love it. I still think it’s dangerous, but our entire bloodline is power hungry. Hell, we feed on each other. Don’t let it guilt you. It’s not worth it.”

I jerked open the underwear drawer, forcing him to back up. His expression filled with wicked delight as he began to paw through my panties.

“Are you kidding me?” I gaped at him. “How can I not let it guilt me? Kale refuses to talk to me because of that, and Shaz doesn’t know how the hell to feel about it. Making Falon my pet, as you like to call it, came at a price. That wasn’t worth it.”

With a pair of flimsy pink panties in one hand, Arys turned those midnight fire eyes on me and shrugged. “The way Shaz and Sinclair see it, Falon did something to you, and you allowed it. But you and I know what really happened. He didn’t screw you. You screwed him. Mind, body, and soul. You made him yours as only we can. It was fucking phenomenal.”

Stunned didn’t quite cover my reaction. I searched him for any sign that he might be joking. Nope. Arys was stone cold serious. Knowing he’d seen the video footage of Falon and me brought on a flood of embarrassment.

“Shit, Arys. I don’t even know what to say to that.” His reaction to the video Briggs had sent out had been vastly different than anyone else’s. He’d been so understanding because he knew firsthand what my hunger was like. I hadn’t suspected he might have enjoyed it. How was I supposed to react to that?

“Why are you so surprised? Don’t you remember Vegas? Watching you roll Jenner was one of the highlights of my existence. Damn, that was hot.” He held up the pink panties and gave me a flirty, lopsided grin. “Wear these.”

With a shake of my head and a laugh I couldn’t suppress, I accepted the pink underwear. “You’re bad, you know that? Sometimes I think we took it too far with Jenner. I’m not sure he deserved that, considering what you did to him.”

“Oh, he definitely deserved that.” Shadows flitted through Arys’s eyes, gone as fast as they’d come.

I slipped the panties on, keenly aware of his heavy stare upon me. I made sure to pose seductively for just a moment before tugging my leggings on. He pouted when my bra and shirt hid the rest of me from sight.

Knowing better than to push the Jenner issue, I abandoned the conversation in order to do a hurried makeup application and run a brush through my blonde tangles. Those two had history that didn’t involve me. Better to just stay out of it.

So Arys enjoyed watching me victimize other men, even using my body to do it. As I dragged a brush through my hair, I pondered this. It wasn’t exactly news to me. But did it go both ways? I thought of the many times I’d seen him with a victim. It had always stirred my desire, piquing the interest of the dark parts of me. Seeing him with Shaz had blown my friggin’ mind. The two of them together took my imagination to places I’d never been before.

However, the wolf in me was all about loyalty. I didn’t want him using his body any more than he had to, nor did I want him to be fine with me using mine. Complicated didn’t seem to cover it.

When I emerged from the bathroom, Arys was dressed and spinning his car keys on one finger. “I’m going to run to my house to get some clean clothes. I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

“Arys, wait.” I grabbed his arm before he could vacate the bedroom. “When you asked me if Falon was going to be a problem, was that because you thought it would be? I mean, should I be worried? I don’t want to form some fucked up addiction to that asshole.”

What I didn’t say but still managed to hang between us was that I didn’t want my weakness to spin out of control like his had with killing the Doghead wolves.

“Don’t worry, my lovely wolf. Chances of him forming an addiction to you are much higher. It’s better that you work out your aggressions with him than with someone you’ll regret. We can’t have you ending up like me now, can we?” There was no humor in him. He kissed my cheek and left the room, pounding down the stairs as he went.

For the first time since this all began, I wondered which one of the two of us was the bigger threat to our bond. After considering the blood and mayhem we’d both brought to the city in recent weeks, I came to the conclusion that there was no answer to that. We were equally as likely to fuck this all up.

With that assurance to drive me, I darted down the stairs to tell Jez where I was headed. She was curled up on the couch with a bowl of Froot Loops and a coffee watching some cop crime drama.

“Actually, I’m going to head over to Kylarai’s after I shower,” she said when I invited her to come along. “We’re going to shoot some pool at Lucy’s Lounge. I think I should take it easy until Shya’s party. Other than my date with another cheating spouse tomorrow night. It’s ridiculous how many P.I. jobs are just for that.”

I nodded my agreement. That was probably for the best. “Give Ky my love. Tell her I’ll come by soon.”

“Will do. Oh hey, Lex,” she called as I made to leave. “Get the rest of the booze out of the house, ok? I don’t have the willpower.”

“Of course.” I ducked into the pantry to gather the last few bottles of wine and hauled them to the front door. After double-checking that I had everything I usually left the house with, I headed out right as Arys returned.

His old Firebird was in great shape and a hot car. However, he was a terrible driver. So I didn’t consider getting in with him. Shooting him a teasing grin, I got into my car, tossing my dagger into the backseat.

Watching him exit his classic car and sidle over to mine was a perk. In jeans and a black t-shirt, he was sexy as hell. His black hair was perfectly messed, just the way I loved it. Muscles moved beneath his shirt, drawing my appreciative gaze. Biting my bottom lip, I sighed. I would never tire of looking at Arys.

The entire drive to the city, I was itching to pelt him with questions. How could he separate emotion from feeding, and why was it ok for us to do that? How was he able to keep himself from taking it all the way? Why did I feel so shitty afterward if it was just part of what we were?

We talked about what we should do about Dayne and the time limit he’d placed on me. Handing over another vampire in the place of Arys felt wrong. I was torn, unable to decide how best to handle it. We needed to touch base with Shaz. He’d sent me a message saying he’d be with the pack again tonight. It was the last night of the full moon, so I’d expected as much. The moon called to me as well, though the promise of meeting Salem called louder.

“What is it, Alexa? I know something is bugging you, so you might as well just say it.” Arys surfed through radio stations, pausing here and there to consider whichever song was playing before moving on to another.

Fine. No hiding anything from this vampire. “It’s just so hard to keep from crossing that line I try to draw for myself. Once I reach it, I don’t even care anymore. How do you keep from taking it all the way? The sex, the kill. How do I keep from going there?”

Arys sat back in his seat with a nod. “It’s hard, I know. What makes it most difficult is that you don’t want to stop. The control comes with time and experience, like with anything else. I’m sure you control this car better than you would have as a new driver. Bad example maybe but it’s the same idea. Experience breeds control.”

“That’s what I was afraid of,” I muttered, shoulder checking before changing lanes. Driving might be an accurate example. The drivers around these parts were nut jobs. One had to be ready for anything all the time.

“The guilt will eat you alive, Alexa. You must let it go. If it makes you feel any better, you still taste like wolf and innocence.” In the dark interior of the car, I could feel his stare. “You should find comfort in still having a conscience at all. Not all of us do.”

There wasn’t a damn innocent thing about me. I wasn’t sure there ever had been. “No wonder twin flames go crazy. Nobody can handle being both light and dark. It’s not natural.” As we entered the city, a jolt of nervous energy had me squirming in my seat. Not only were we meeting a twin flame, we were meeting Lilah’s twin flame. A freaking angel.

“No, it’s not,” Arys agreed. “But we’re not giving in without a fight. I didn’t wait this long to go down like that.”

There was steel to his tone. Despite the craziness of the last few weeks, Arys knew as well as I did what awaited us if we gave up now. Rachel and Ozzie were just one example. How many of us were out there? Lilah had been driven to a bad place by her bond with Salem. She’d done all she could to escape it, to escape him. I saw what it had done to her, but what had it done to Salem?

The closer we got to the downtown core, the more anxious I became. “Do you think Salem is harmless? I mean, it’s got to have taken its toll on him too.”

“Are any of us harmless?” Arys asked.

Well, that answered that question. I was buzzing so hard with nerves when we arrived at The Wicked Kiss that the nightly bloodlust didn’t even faze me. Yet.

It was still early. There was no line to get in yet, and the parking lot was sparsely littered with vehicles. I allowed myself only a brief glance at Kale’s Camaro as we headed inside.

Though I could sense vampires locked away in the back rooms, likely having spent the day back there with some lucky, or unlucky, person, the club was near empty. Justin wasn’t even manning the door yet. Josh was behind the bar preparing for the night. I deposited the bottles I’d cleaned out of the house on the bar. He spared me a nod before turning back to his task of organizing bottles and glasses.

“Well, at least we’re not late,” Arys mused, surveying the few people sprinkled throughout the nightclub. “I knew we had time for a quickie.”

I elbowed him in the side, ignoring his snicker.

A melodious voice behind me said, “Actually, you are late. By about ten minutes.”

I spun around and froze because I was staring into the most beautiful gold eyes I’d ever seen. Salem was tall, towering over me so I had to gaze up at him. His hair was deep brown with shocks of gold streaked through. It was parted on one side and long, falling past his shoulders. The side with less hair was braided tight against his head before falling behind his ear with the rest. Woven into the braid was a ginger lock of hair. Lilah’s hair.

“I, um, I’m sorry about that.” Breathy and weak, my voice barely formed words.

In a long, black jacket that reached his ankles and leather pants paired with boots made for kicking some ass, Salem looked like he was ready for battle. A warrior.

I knew I was openly gawking at him, but I couldn’t stop. My tongue lay thick and heavy in my mouth. He was just so regal, so primal. Absolutely awe-inspiring.

“I’ve been anticipating an opportunity to meet with you,” Salem said, his voice as serene as the tinkle of wind chimes on a stormy night. “I am Salem. I believe you’ve already met my twin flame.”

He extended a hand, which I accepted with butterfly wings tickling my ribs. The moment our hands touched a flash of bright light lit up my vision. The world spun, and a roar of white noise screamed through my ears. A connection was made, light meeting light.

A series of images flashed through my mind, so fast I could barely make sense of what I saw: A garden at night. The scent of roses, strong and sweet. A woman’s sensual laugh followed by a softly whispered: I will love you forever. Ginger hair splayed upon a ridiculously white pillow. The glint of a sword’s blade in the moonlight. Screams and the spray of blood. The haunting sound of shattering glass accompanied by a spitefully hissed: I hate you.

Pain. So much pain. The depths of it was suffocating. It thundered through me, gone as fast as it had come. I blinked a few times before realizing he’d released my hand.

“I’m Alexa,” I said, somehow gesturing to Arys as I refocused myself.

Arys cast me a questioning glance before introducing himself. “Arys. It’s good to meet you.”

Salem smiled apologetically as he refused Arys’s offered hand. “I’m sorry. I can’t.”

I recalled Lilah’s claim that her darkness had driven Salem to a bad place. So bad he’d felt it necessary to imprison her in order to keep her close but somehow controlled. His unwillingness to touch another Dark Flame was understandable and deeply unsettling.

“Um, should we sit down or something?” Feeling flustered, I glanced about, trying to decide on a table that was worthy of an angelic visitor. Who was I kidding? This entire place was dedicated to debauchery at its finest.

Salem smiled, and though I think it was an attempt to put me at ease, it did quite the opposite. What should I do? What should I say?

Thankfully Arys stepped in, taking over with a calm, relaxed approach. “Why don’t we sit back here?” He led the way to a corner booth as far from the door as possible.

I fell into step behind him, resisting the urge to cling to his arm like a frightened child. I had never touched another White Flame, and I sure as crap had never so much as laid eyes on a true angel, let alone touched one. My mind was reeling. I felt flighty, like I wasn’t entirely on reality’s plane.

Arys ushered me into the booth first and slid in beside me. Salem sat across from us, continuing to blow my mind with his presence. There was this ethereal air about him. Nobody else in the building had looked twice at him; to them he must have appeared as human as his outward appearance portrayed. I could feel it though, the lie that shrouded his true identity.

Thankful that I no longer had to worry about breathing properly, because I wouldn’t have been able to, I tapped my fingers nervously on the tabletop. Arys slid his hand over mine, pressing it flat against the table. Power buzzed between us, a low but steady current. The proximity of Salem seemed to encourage it.

Salem’s shoulders were squared, his posture stiff. His golden gaze drifted between us. He seemed oblivious to our surroundings and the slow but constant stream of people coming in to get their freak on.

“I’d like to apologize for Lilah,” he began, tentative, as if choosing his words carefully. “I’m aware of what she put you through, and I am sorry. When Willow sent word that you asked to see me, I felt it necessary to come and extend my condolences for the wrongs Lilah committed against you.”

“Well, thank you, but it’s not your place to apologize for her.” Discussing Lilah was not high on my to-do list. I’d closed the door on that after Juliet sent her back to Salem’s prison.

“It is though,” he insisted. “Her actions are a direct result of our bond. She made some terrible decisions while we were apart, as did I. None of it should have happened, but it did. I am just as responsible as she is. As you both are for one another.”

Arys and I exchanged a look. Salem observed this. There was so much I wanted to ask him. Where did I even begin?

“This is still new for you both,” Salem went on, nodding in understanding. “It’s been almost a thousand years for Lilah and me. You might think it would get easier, and I wish I could tell you that it does. It does not. Every day, every year, it gets harder.”

Instantly my already sagging balloon was deflated. This was not what I wanted to hear.

“Why?” Arys asked. It was perhaps the simplest of questions but also the most loaded. There could be no simple answer. “Why us? Why any of it?”

Salem studied Arys. There was a vast wealth of knowledge behind that golden gaze. Surely he had some insight for us. “That’s like asking why the sun rises and sets, or why the tide ebbs and flows. Why does the earth turn and the seasons change? It’s all part of the grand design, as are we.” He leaned forward on his elbows, hands together in contemplation. “I don’t doubt for a moment that there is meaning to what we are. As we grow stronger in our calling, the forces that oppose us also grow stronger. We must overcome.”

“I thought we’d fulfilled our purpose when I died to stop Shya from claiming Lilah’s kingdom. Now I’m starting to think that was just the beginning.”

I found it hard to meet Salem’s eyes for longer than a few seconds at a time. His presence was just so massive, so intimidating. Salem’s beauty was a strange thing. He seemed to glow with an inner light that was both frightening and inviting. I tried to picture him and Lilah together and failed.

“Your journey is far from over,” he said. “There is much work left to be done. As you’ve discovered, there will be many obstacles in your path, but you can and will overcome them.”

Angels were damn good at giving pep talks. Though fallen, Willow had imparted such wise advice that I’d carried his words with me ever since. Listening to Salem was a comfort.

Yet his words also presented a challenge. “How? By locking each other up? How is that working for you?” I blurted the accusatory questions, feeling like an ass as they left my mouth. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I just don’t understand. This is all so…daunting.” I tensed, waiting to be obliterated. Salem might be an angel, but he was tapped into Lilah’s darkness.

He was unfazed by my rudeness. “How would you imagine it might be working for me?” Sadness passed over his face. He lost some of his tough warrior exterior as the damaged heart inside showed through the illusion he cast. “It tears me apart to see her locked up. She should be free, but she’s too dangerous. To herself, to me, to the world at large. It’s the only way to keep her from causing more harm than she already has. And it wounds me deeply to have to do it. You saw what she was like when free. Not only was she a threat to our bond, she was a threat to yours.”

Despite the fact that his energy was closed off to me, his pain was not. I felt it there in the place where my fears lived. I couldn’t know what it was like to imprison the person you loved, hated, and could never escape, but in that moment I knew a fraction of the misery that Lilah had caused in Salem.

“She said it was a curse,” I said with a short, sharp laugh. “I thought she was crazy, but lately I feel like she’s not wrong.”

Arys grew tense beside me. His hand over mine tightened. He might have enjoyed some aspects of me as a vampire but hearing his darkness in my bleak statement was not among them.

“She was wrong.” Salem’s impossibly enchanting voice hardened. He clenched his hands into fists and pressed them into the table. “Lilah’s problem was that she gave up. She left me to fight this battle alone. She chose to run from me, from our mission together. Don’t make her mistake.”

My chest tightened, and I sucked in a breath. That hit close to home, as it should. I ran too. I looked to Arys, finding him watching me with worry etched on his face.

“What are we?” I sounded as defeated as I felt. “I mean, really, what the hell are we?”

“What is it that makes the earth move? The delicate balance in nature, the perfect cycle of life and death. The very thing that keeps the stars in the sky and the sun and the moon in perfect harmony. That is what we are. Twin flames.” Each word Salem spoke rang with authority. “We are all of that given form and thought and feeling. It is the internal struggle of living with all of that inside you, things most people will never touch, never wrap their minds around. Never know. Like the sun and the moon, twin flames share a source but can never truly become the other.”

Salem paused, giving me a much needed moment to absorb what he’d said. I got it, I did. Though each time I obtained an answer, it only bred more questions.

“That doesn’t really tell me a damn thing, does it?” I laughed, a high sound that betrayed my rattled nerves. “How can we be both light and dark?”

The angry cry of an electric guitar rang out. I turned in my seat to see the girls of Crimson Sin setting up their gear. People had trickled into the building, increasing the crowd size considerably in the short time since we’d arrived.

Salem’s gaze strayed past me and locked onto the dark-haired guitarist. Her head was down and her eyes closed as she plucked through the strings, tuning them just so. He watched her intently, his face void of any expression.

Then his gaze snapped back to me, the guitar girl forgotten. “We are the balance in between, the place where light meets dark. The darkness that echoes inside you belongs to him.” This he said with a nod toward Arys. “I feel it too. The dark. Like you are the only one of your kind, I am as well. The balance must be maintained, and that doesn’t come without a fight. So you both must fight, and you must keep on fighting, and when you think you have fought your last, you must get up and fight again. If everything were easy, if success just happened, there would be no value in it. No meaning. Trust that it all means something. And know that you are not alone.”

Something inside me swelled in response to all he’d said. There was much wisdom in what he’d imparted. I recognized it as poignant and true.

Speechless, I sat there staring at Salem like a dumbstruck moron. It was so much to take in. A sense of comfort stole over me, and I gathered it close.

Arys was quiet beside me. A muscle in his jaw twitched, one of his tells that indicated he was mulling it over, analyzing Salem’s manner of presenting the best explanation he could.

“Thank you,” I managed, while feeling like that simple response could never be enough. “It means so much to me that you came and that you care enough to give us some guidance.”

Having delivered his message, Salem slumped back against the booth wall. Yet a tension remained in him that revealed he was still ready to react quickly if he must. “The odds do not favor you. However, you must stay committed to working together to face the challenges that come your way. Walking the path of the twin flames alone will only guarantee your failure.”

Again that sadness crept over him. My own short time apart from Arys had hurt, cutting deep into my soul, it seemed. How much worse must it be for Salem? My heart hurt for him.

“You really love her, don’t you?” Arys asked, beating me to the question I’d wanted to ask.

The two of them shared a look then. Lilah couldn’t be an easy person to love, though in all fairness, neither Arys nor I were winning any awards in that department either. Despite her tirade about twin flames being a curse, Lilah loved Salem too. I’d seen it inside her hateful rage.

“I do.” Salem nodded and reached to touch the ginger strand in his hair. “With every part of me.”

Because trouble always seemed to find the exact perfect moment to occur, the air rippled, and Falon appeared next to the table. He took one look at Salem, clearly stunned to find his other forbidden lover’s flame in my nightclub, and tried to leave. The air moved, but he wasn’t going anywhere.

Salem held a hand up, freezing Falon in place. His power was massive, like a mountain inside my head, rising up out of the ocean. Heights and depths greater than I would ever know, could ever dream. It rolled over both Arys and me, screaming through our skulls. The pain was blinding.

The two of us forgotten, Salem lunged out of his seat. He drew a dagger that seemed to have appeared from nowhere and pressed the blade against Falon’s throat.

With gold eyes flashing Lilah’s pale orange, he snarled, “I’ve been looking for you.”

Chapter Thirteen

“Well, looks like you got lucky.” Falon spoke with the careful calm of one who knew he was trapped, wary of exciting his captor. Despite the angel holding a dagger to his throat, a slow, arrogant smile crept across his face.

Unable to hold it back, I let out a small pained squeak. Remembering we were there, Salem reined in his power, allowing us to recover from the sudden, hard slap of it. I tried to push past Arys to get out of the booth, but he held me in place.

Salem’s eyes were solid orange. Lilah’s eyes. Her darkness had surfaced. This was bad. Really bad. Lilah was a demon, a powerful one. Any part of her that came through him was going to be ugly. Perhaps Arys’s darkness also came from demons, as all vampire power did, but their evil was diluted by the fact that vampires started as humans.

Salem had never been human.

“I’m going to enjoy torturing you for all eternity,” he hissed into Falon’s face. Even though the band was doing sound check, his voice resonated, clearly audible amid the rising noise. “You can go in the room right next to her so she can listen to your screams. It’s the least you both deserve.”

A room, huh? I’d been curious about the angel cage Lilah was imprisoned in. I’d pictured cold bars and a bare cot. Wishful thinking. She meant too much to Salem for him to let her suffer that way. It was more likely that she was locked in a room filled with lavish luxury while she lounged on a satin sheet-covered bed and felt sorry for herself. I definitely did not feel bad for her.

Falon shrugged, neither instigating nor surrendering. “This really isn’t about me. I’m just the guy that gave her what she wanted. What you refused to give her.”

Damn. Falon was stupider than I’d realized. Never would I have ever talked to Salem like that after screwing his twin flame. Apparently Salem knew all about that. Yikes. I’d seen it with my own eyes. Lucky me.

“I have given her everything,” Salem roared, pressing closer. “You preyed on her weakness.”

My eyes strayed to Falon’s throat as Salem’s blade bit deeper. I wanted him to bleed as bad as I prayed he wouldn’t. I had to stop this. Much as I hated it, I needed Falon. I couldn’t trap Shya without him.

“If anyone was preyed upon, it was me. Your lady knows how to get what she wants.” Falon’s smile had vanished. Challenge shone in his silver eyes. Fearless and brazen, he stood there, letting Salem decide where he wanted to take this.

A crimson drop welled up as Salem’s blade cut flesh. I groaned inwardly as the scent of Falon’s blood hit me. I hadn’t fed yet tonight, and as a new vampire, that was a bigger deal than it sounded like.

“So do I.” Salem’s grip on the dagger was precise. He dragged it over Falon’s throat, making small slices. The fingers of his free hand were alight with orange and gold sparks.

Again I tried to shove by Arys, but he refused to be budged. With a hand on my shoulder he said, “Alexa, you don’t have a dog in this fight.”

Though he was usually right, this time Arys was wrong. “I do, actually. I can’t handle Shya on my own. I need him.”

Before he could stop me, I shoved around the other side of the booth and clambered out the side Salem had just vacated. I knew the U-shaped booths would come in handy.

I kept my distance, stepping close enough to play peacemaker but staying out of reach. As blood trickled down Falon’s neck, I found myself drawn closer.

Until Salem’s sharp, fiery stare pushed me back. “Shya? What about Shya?” Salem awaited my response, holding his aggressive position.

I reminded him that keeping Shya from Lilah’s kingdom was merely a temporary setback for the demon. He’d promised me suffering for what I’d done, and along with vengeance, he still had an unhealthy interest in controlling the supernatural creatures of this city.

“He’s throwing this party,” I continued, knowing that if I couldn’t convince Salem that I needed Falon free and in one piece, Shya would get the last laugh. “It’s our best chance to bind him. We need to put him away for a while, and I can’t do that without Falon.”

The atmosphere grew suffocating. Salem leaked energy, overflowing with it. The pressure in my head grew. There was no shutting it out.

He gaped at me as if I’d just blown his mind. “You’re trusting Falon to help you? That’s a mistake, Alexa. He can’t be trusted. He’ll turn on you. Falon is a traitor. He’s always been a traitor. He will betray you.”

My gaze flicked to Falon. Our eyes met and he winked. He wasn’t making this easy for me.

“Yeah, he probably will,” I conceded with a slight nod. “That’s a chance I have to take. Between him and Shya, Falon is the lesser evil.”

Redirecting my focus back to Salem, I pleaded silently with him. His jaw was hard set, and the dagger in his hand continued to cut into Falon’s neck. I was certain that he would take his vengeance and leave me to figure out the Shya mess on my own.

To my utter shock and relief, Salem withdrew the blade and stepped back. “For you, I will wait; time is of no issue for me. Still do not underestimate this miscreant. He has a way of getting closer than you think he is, knowing more than he should. He’s dangerous.”

Falon put a hand to his neck and swiped at the blood that remained from his already healed cut. Wiggling his bloodstained fingers teasingly in my direction, he smirked. I clenched my hands into fists, digging my nails into my palms. So badly I wanted to grab his hand and suck the blood from his fingers.

“Oh, I think it’s too late for that warning,” he said, shooting a glance at Arys, then Salem. “Alexa and I have already become quite…close. I’ve gotta say, she’s much more enthusiastic than Lilah ever was. But then again, Alexa is a succubus, and a fine one at that.”

Arys was on his feet as Salem surged forward. My fist beat them both to it, connecting with Falon’s face so hard my hand hurt. He staggered back with a snicker, holding his jaw.

I hated Falon for being unable to keep his mouth shut. Briggs had only sent our video to my inner circle. That hadn’t included Salem. I cringed, afraid to look at him and see judgment. But he wasn’t looking at me. The accusation on his face was all for Falon.

“Are you purposely targeting twin flame women?” Salem appraised the fallen angel with a raised brow. “What are you hoping to gain from that?”

Now I too peered at Falon with suspicion. There was no way he had targeted both Lilah and I, was there? No. I’d made the decision. I’d wanted him. He was just a power source…but he tasted damn good.

Arys stood quiet at my side. The tightly leashed force he held ready reverberated inside me. Yet he remained surprisingly calm.

“I can see how it might look that way.” Falon shrugged. “I guess I just have something they want. Something they’re not getting from their other half.”

Salem didn’t even move. The power burst from him. It didn’t just hit Falon but wrapped around him before flinging him into the back wall of the building. He hit so hard that, when he fell to the floor, there was a crack in the new blood red tiles covering the concrete wall.

“I apologize,” Salem said, giving a small, respectful bow. He reached into his jacket and withdrew a silver chain. A purple stone the size of a large grape hung from the links, a deep violet amethyst. “Please, take this. If you’re ever in great danger, break it, and I’ll come.”

I accepted the stone, pleasantly surprised when it grew warm at my touch. “Thank you, Salem. It means so much to me that you came. There’s so much I still want to say.”

Salem bowed to Arys as well. “I must leave. Staying here will only test my control. Sadly, he’s just not worth it.”

I understood completely. Falon was testing my control as well, but I was itching for a taste of him.

“One last thing.” Salem’s voice dropped, and he got so close a few stray tendrils of my hair floated. His energy felt like a bomb waiting to go off, but thankfully, his eyes had returned to gold. “Willow is not as he seems. He is a creature of the dark now. Deadlier than you imagine. Shya is but an insect in comparison. Be on your guard. You are Willow’s only tie to the light now. Beware of all who try to extinguish your holy fire. Especially yourself.”

Perhaps that was the most profound advice he’d gifted me with yet. It was a reminder I needed since I was often my own worst enemy. But now so was Willow. I knew; I’d seen it.

“Thank you,” I whispered, drowned out by the band gearing up to start.

Salem heard me anyway. He nodded to both Arys and I, and then he was gone.

His visit had been too short. There was so much I didn’t get a chance to say, thanks to Falon. I slipped the long chain over my head and cast a scathing glare at the fallen angel. He picked himself up off the floor and dusted off his trendy black pants. Even as I wanted to throw a few more punches at him, I also wanted to lick the blood from his fingers and make him scream my name.

Falon held both hands out in open invitation and sidled up to Arys. “Wanna take a shot at me too? Might as well. I figure I’ve got it coming. Twin flames are so touchy, so easily threatened when it comes to their other half.”

I tensed.

Arys remained so calm and controlled despite everything that had just occurred. He didn’t look any happier to see Falon than Salem had. Violence lurked behind his cold, blue eyes, yet it was a relaxed violence, like he knew he could let Falon have it but chose not to.

Then Arys’s sharp laughter cut through the tension. “This woman made you her bitch, and you loved it. Why the hell would I be threatened by that?”

“Are you kidding? Do you have any idea what she lets me do to her?” Falon crossed his arms and inclined his head, studying Arys in a condescending manner that got my blood boiling.

“Lets you?” Arys repeated, crossing his arms as he pointedly mimicked Falon’s arrogant pose. “Or makes you? That’s all part of the illusion, my friend. Would you like me to show you?” Arys opened one hand, power darting out from him like a trapped insect flying free.

Falon made no effort to resist. He took the hit with little more than a frown. It was just a taste of all that Arys could wield, but it was still enough to make Falon visibly swoon.

Although the fallen angel could have resisted, he didn’t. He did laugh though, right in Arys’s face. “Nice touch. Almost as nice as Alexa’s. I’m not into group sex, but feel free to watch next time she rides my cock, if you like.”

Falon’s crudeness made me flinch. Since I knew he only did it to get a reaction, I suppressed the urge to break his nose.

Watching their exchange had grown tiring already. Men. I would never understand them. It didn’t matter what they were. Human. Vampire. Angel. Or other. They always had to try to one up each other.

“You know, I might just do that. But I can’t promise to look and not touch.” Playful but deadly, Arys fixed a wickedly hungry gaze on Falon.

“Ok, guys, I think that’s enough,” I broke in, stepping between them. With a hand on each man’s chest, I gave them both a shove away from each another. “Falon, what the hell do you want? Did you come here just to piss everyone off, or do you have a reason I give a shit about?”

Falon ran a hand through his silver hair and dragged his attention from Arys to me. He grabbed the hand that I’d shoved him with and clasped it tight. Our auras merged and a jolt of desire struck my groin. Unable to resist any longer, I dragged his bloodstained hand to my lips.

Both men watched me suck a blood-covered finger into my mouth. Falon’s skin was salty and clean. His blood was tangy, metallic. It made me want more of him.

“Son of a bitch,” he muttered, flooding me with the lust I sought.

A growl rumbled in my throat as I considered lunging for his neck. Falon leaned into me, a willing victim whether he wanted to admit it or not.

Arys grabbed me around the waist and dragged me back. He shuddered as my deep-rooted craving caught him up in its hold. Our power united.

Seeing it rise within us, Falon held both hands up in a show of surrender that was more of a mockery than an authentic gesture. “Settle down, blood junkies,” he said, though it lacked conviction. “Like I said, I prefer it one on one.”

“Fine with me. Let’s go grab a room.” Arys jerked his head toward the back hall.

“No offense, Arys. As ridiculously attractive as you are, I’m just not into men.” A wariness passed over Falon. He shifted his feet, moving into a defensive stance. He didn’t seem to like the way we were looking at him. Perhaps he knew that if Arys became part of the equation, his perception might change.

“Falon,” I purred, sliding out of Arys’s grasp. “Start talking before I quit listening. I haven’t fed yet tonight, and you’re looking like an all I can eat buffet.”

“All you can eat?” he questioned. “Or all you can f—”

“Get to the point.” I cut him off, wanting to end this before things really got weird.

Despite Arys’s claim to have enjoyed watching me feast on Falon, his change in demeanor suggested that he was conflicted. Now that Falon was standing in front of him, slinging crude barbs, Arys was ready to either kick his ass or victimize him. I preferred that neither happened.

“I came to talk to you about Gabriel. The little bastard keeps giving me the slip. We need to discuss the details for Shya’s party. We don’t have much time.” Falon cast a glance about the building. “Shouldn’t he be here, like a good little vampire?”

That snapped me out of hungry predator mode. I turned to Arys with a quizzical frown. “Actually, yeah. He should be. Where the hell has Gabriel been?” And why did he keep pulling this disappearing act?

“He’s been around.” Arys didn’t sound so sure. “I was with him just a few days ago.”

“We’ve both been preoccupied with other things.” I shot a glance at Falon who grinned. “We need to be keeping better tabs on him. He’s dangerous, Arys.”

Dangerous didn’t even begin to describe Gabriel. He was young, just nineteen, and he was walking around the city with the ability to twist vampiric power into spells, a level of manipulation even we couldn’t do.

Arys shook his head and swore. He knew as well as I did that we’d dropped the ball as far as Gabriel was concerned. “He is. I know. I’ll find him.”

Finding him would be simple enough. Arys and I could sense him with only a little focus. He had a room here at the Kiss, at my insistence. But had he been using it?

“Better find him pretty damn fast,” Falon quipped. “We don’t have much time to form a plan. And a back up plan. Unfortunately, chances of this succeeding without Gabriel are slim to none.” A glare stole over Falon’s face. “Next time you have Salem over for a visit, give me a heads up. I don’t need to deal with that shit.”

I scoffed. “It’s not my problem that you can’t keep your dick to yourself. Choose to make better choices.”

“Make better choices?” A pulse of power accompanied his snide tone. “I’ll be sure to start doing that next time you’ve got an angel fetish itch you need scratched.”

“Sure you will.” I shouldn’t have been so cocky, but Falon brought out an ugly side of me.

Much like the recent altercation between us in my victim’s motel room, Falon came at me fast, backing me up against the nearest table. It dug into the back of my thighs as I struggled to stay upright.

Arys started to move, to come to my defense. Rethinking it, he paused and opted to watch instead.

“You’re playing a dangerous game, Alexa,” Falon seethed. “I have what you want, bitch. Now let’s try to play nice until we finish with Shya.”

“Oh yeah?” I fought to keep from blasting him. It would be so easy, and he was invasively close. “And then what?”

Silver eyes bore into me. They were filled with a vile hatred and a flicker of something else. Ravenous desire. Falon’s gaze slid over me. “I guess we’ll see.”

Underestimating him would be stupid. I wouldn’t make that mistake. As Salem had said, Falon probably would turn on me the first chance he got. Though, for now, he was right where I wanted him.

I smirked. With a push of unseen force, I dragged my tongue slowly over my bottom lip, pleased when his eyes followed the motion. “Yeah, I guess we will.”

As we stood there, locked in a silent struggle, I grew increasingly aware of Arys’s anticipation. He drifted closer. It snapped Falon out of the moment, and he shoved away from me. Arys grabbed his arm and held him in place. Falon’s gaze dropped to Arys’s hand, and he scowled.

“I don’t blame you for wanting her,” Arys said. “Trust me, I understand the appeal. Not only is she beautiful, her every touch is like magic. But if you are preying on twin flame women, I promise you that I will find a way to make you suffer long after I’m gone from this Earth.”

The two of them stared into one another, and I tensed. I almost wanted one of them to take a swing at the other. All of that hyped-up maleness would be a great way to feed my insatiable appetite.

“I can’t help it if I have something they want.” Falon jerked his arm from Arys’s grasp. “Find Gabriel. I’ll be back later.” He was gone with a movement of air and the sound of unseen wings.

The atmosphere deflated as the tension dissipated.

“Well, that went well,” I muttered.

“I want to watch you make him beg.” The sinister expression on Arys’s face matched his dark tone.

I couldn’t help but smile at the visual that came to mind. It definitely had its appeal. The amethyst stone grew warm against my chest. Intending to study it later, I took it off and reached for my bag where I’d left it in the booth. I stuck it into an inside pocket and checked my phone. There was a voice mail from an unfamiliar number.

Horror crept over me when I heard a timid voice, high and rushed with fear, begging for help. “Alexa, it’s Allie. I’m at a trick’s house, and he won’t let me leave. I’m using his phone while he’s in the bathroom, and I don’t know the address but please find me. I think he’s… like you. Not human. I’m really scared. Please come.”

I played the message again, ensuring I’d heard it right. Arys watched me with both brows raised.

Panic engulfed me. “Allie’s in trouble,” I said, scrolling through my contact list for Agent Winston’s number. “I have to find her.”

Allie was a teen girl I’d helped once before at the request of a youth worker, Brinley Kane. She was a sweet kid who’d made some bad decisions that had led to a harder life than anyone her age should ever have to endure. I’d told her to call me if she ever needed anything. I couldn’t let her down.

Winston answered on the second ring. I didn’t give her a chance to talk before I all but shouted into the phone. “I need you to track a phone for me, right now. I’ll find Briggs if I have to, but this is an emergency. There’s a kid in trouble, and I need to find her.”

“What’s the number?” No hesitation or unnecessary banter, Winston was a woman who didn’t waste time. I liked her more each time we spoke. That was dangerous.

I repeated the number Allie had called from. Winston promised to get right back to me. I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed for the door with Arys leading the way.

“Maybe you should hunt down Gabriel while I get Allie.” I weaved through the influx of patrons, dodging antsy humans and hungry vampires.

Arys was stopped by a duo of ladies who came at him with an aggression I didn’t often see at The Wicked Kiss. They draped themselves all over him, one grabbing each arm. I kept moving, leaving him to fend off the wannabe victims as I snickered to myself. They did not know what they were asking for. No victim enjoyed themselves as much as one of Arys’s victims did. However, they were rarely willing and didn’t always make it out alive.

Justin was manning the front entry. I touched his fantastically huge arm, careful to keep my power tightly reined. “I have to run out for a bit. If Gabriel comes in here, call me and try to keep him here.”

“I’ll do my best, but I’m not doing anything to piss him off. I don’t trust that kid.” He chuckled as he reached to take the I.D. of the next person in line, but I knew he wasn’t joking.

“That makes two of us.”

By the time I reached the car, my phone was ringing. It was Winston with the address. She gave it to me immediately, no barbs, snide comments, or demands. She was so unlike Briggs in all ways.

“Thanks, Winston. You probably just helped save a girl’s life. Don’t take this the wrong way, but can we keep you? I’d much rather have you doing Briggs’s job than Briggs.”

Her surprised laugh was exuberant and genuine. “I’m not sure his agents would share your feelings but thank you.”

“Well, fuck ’em. I barely know you, and I can tell you’re better suited to this job than Briggs could ever be. I owe you one.” I slid into the driver’s seat and tossed my bag in the back.

“No, you don’t owe me for this. I could never put a price on a child’s safety. Consider it a freebie. Would you like me to send a car to back you up?”

“I would definitely not like that. But thanks for asking. I’m trusting that you won’t just do it anyway.” I was giving her the benefit of the doubt here.

The passenger door opened, and Arys dropped into the seat. I turned the key as anticipation crawled through me. The guy hurting Allie was going to die.

“Of course not. Best of luck finding the girl, although I’m sure you won’t need it.”

After she hung up I stuck the phone in the cup holder and shifted the Charger into gear. I hit the gas and peeled out of the parking lot with a squeal of tires. I couldn’t wait to spill some blood.

Chapter Fourteen

The neighborhood we entered wasn’t the derelict area I’d expected. It was typical middle-class houses with two-car garages and well-kept yards. I parked down the street so we could scope out the house before approaching.

“You should’ve gone to look for Gabriel,” I said, resting my arm on the steering wheel and my chin on my arm. I watched the grey house in question, trying not to make a mistake by rushing in. “I can handle this.”

Arys’s gaze followed mine. He leaned forward, drumming his fingers on the dash. “And miss this chance to watch you in action? Hell no. Besides, someone needs to be here to make sure you don’t target the girl. Bloodlust is a hell of a thing.”

“I’ve noticed.” Light shone from inside the house. There was no obvious noise or movement. We couldn’t waste any time. “Let’s go. You take the back door, in case he tries to run. I’ll take the front.”

Like the last few times I’d tracked a john or pimp known for harming Brinley’s kids, I got a rush of excitement as soon as I stepped out of the car. This was currently my favorite way to take care of my bloodlust.

Arys pulled me in for a quick kiss before slipping away into the shadows and disappearing between two houses. I opted to leave the Dragon Claw in the car. Everything I planned to do only required the weapons I already possessed within.

A quiet entry seemed better than a loud one. With silent footsteps I moved light on my feet, avoiding the streetlights. Cloaking my presence, I crept alongside the house, ducking beneath the big living room window. The drapes were drawn, but I wasn’t taking any chances. I bounded up onto the front step and, with a little focus, manipulated the lock.

I forced myself to take it slow. Cracking the door open, I listened. Country music drifted toward me along with the scent of sweat and fear. Blood tainted the mix ever so slightly, just enough to raise my hackles. The front entry led into the living room. It was empty. I stepped inside and gently closed the door. A glance into the kitchen revealed it was also empty. Sensing the energy in the house revealed the non-human Allie had mentioned. Werewolf.

I passed through the living room, which was littered with empty liquor bottles and takeout food containers, to the hallway. Standing at the far end of the hall was Arys. Between us were two closed doors and the bathroom. Arys inclined his head toward the door closest to him. They were in there.

The music muffled the sound of voices. Adrenalized fury slammed through me as I thought of Allie trapped in there with a man capable of tearing her throat out with his teeth while he did things to her no young girl should ever have to face.

Arys and I met in front of the bedroom door. He nodded and gestured for me to go first. Again I considered whether a quiet entrance would be best and decided that I’d like to save the element of surprise.

The doorknob turned easily in my hand. The cocktail of aromas grew stronger as I stepped into the room with Arys right behind me. I paused, surveying the room. It was your standard bedroom: dresser, closet, TV mounted on the wall. The bed was in the corner, and a shape moved atop it. The wolf hovered over Allie as she tried to resist his advances.

“Please, can we just stop for a while?” she pleaded, pushing against his chest. “I’m hungry, and I need to use the bathroom.”

The wolf pinned her down on the bed beneath him. From behind I couldn’t see his face, just his head of dark hair and his bulky frame. Lucky for him they were both currently clothed.

“Bullshit. You just went. I’m ready for round three.” With a harsh laugh he nuzzled her neck. She cringed away from him, but pressed into the mattress, she wasn’t going anywhere.

The sudden urge to vomit over this disgusting wretch of a creature was overcome by the urge to smash his face in. Vibrating with rage that grew by the second, I let my carefully reined power burst free.

A cold, aggressive wind whipped around the room. Allie spotted me as I drew closer, and her eyes widened in a strange mix of fear and relief. The lamp on the nightstand toppled over but didn’t go out. From its place on the floor, it bathed the room in a partial glow that cast obscene shadows on the walls and ceiling.

His wolf snapped into action. Instinct had him spinning around to face the threat he hadn’t felt creeping up on him. Fangs bared and eyes solid wolf, he lunged off the bed.

I raised a hand, and he froze, suspended in mid-step. Blonde tendrils whipped about my head, blowing into my face. The wolf growled and I laughed. I got right in his face and bared my own much daintier fangs. The Doghead moon tattoo on his neck was disappointing, but then I saw an opportunity.

“You picked a bad time to get my attention,” I said, sounding like somebody else. Some thing else. “Your Alpha severed our treaty last night. I’m guessing you haven’t heard yet since you’re here, being a fucking pig.”

With a flick of my wrist, I flung him. He smashed against the far wall before bouncing off the dresser. By the time he hit the floor in a heap, I was there, dragging him up by his shirt.

He swung a heavy fist at my face. I caught it, twisting his wrist until it snapped. Then I threw him into the dresser, which banged against the wall.

Allie let out a little shriek.

I jerked my head in Allie’s direction, and Arys extended a hand to the frightened girl. “It’s ok, kiddo. You’re safe with me.”

Allie’s hair blew about in the wind as well. She scrambled back into the farthest corner of the bed and trembled. Frozen in place, she stared at Arys in terror before darting a glance my way.

“It’s ok, sweetie.” I tried for a calm tone, but the raging river of my power made it difficult to sound anything but sadistic. “Arys is one of the good guys. I promise you’re safe with him.”

At the mention of Arys’s name, the wolf panicked in sudden realization. He fought hard, catching me with an unexpected left hook. I went down on my ass, which only fed my fire. He jumped over me and headed for the door. Vampire speed beat werewolf speed, and I caught his ankle, sending him crashing to the floor.

Arys stood near the bed watching this play out with intrigue. He was ready to jump in any moment should I need him, but for now he was content to let me handle things. Judging by the grim amusement on his face, he was enjoying it.

With the right push of force, the wolf stilled as I crawled up over him. My thrall took him, and he stared at me with equal parts fear and arousal. I sat on his chest, pinning his arms with my knees.

“You better get her out of here,” I said to Arys. “She doesn’t need to see this.”

Arys didn’t react. He remained where he was, watching. “I’d like to see it.”

“Arys.”

His gaze lingered on me and the downed wolf who now stared at me with a lecherous smile. Arys’s eyes had gone wolf. He too had fallen under my spell. Dammit.

After repeating his name he dragged his gaze to Allie. “What do you think, kiddo? Do you want to stay and watch this piece of shit get what he deserves or head out to the car?”

Allie looked up at him in shock, as if nobody had ever bothered to ask what she wanted. She scurried off the bed and took the hand Arys held out to her. She gazed up at him with wide, doe eyes. “I want to stay,” she said, voice trembling. With her free hand she clutched her side, drawing my attention to the bloodstain on her shirt. She was injured. By a werewolf. Shit.

I grabbed Dayne’s wolf by the throat and slammed his head into the floor half a dozen times. “You fucking scratched her, you piece of shit. I’m going to make sure you die screaming.”

The guy rolled deep-brown wolf eyes in Allie’s direction and smirked. “She needed a little more stamina.”

My backhand snapped his head to one side. Blood welled at the corner of his mouth. He snarled but remained rigid beneath me. The only thing holding him in place was the force I exerted to keep him there.

Needing to feel the heady desire of his wolf, I flooded him with my manipulative essence. He grunted and squirmed, fighting something he couldn’t see or touch. Against his will he was aroused, and like he’d done to Allie, I took something he didn’t want to give. I breathed it in like air, drawing it in and making it part of me. I couldn’t help the sigh that slipped out. Wolves were such a lively bunch. Intoxicating.

“No wonder Dayne never trusted you,” he mumbled, eyes rolling back in his head. “Fucking hybrid bitch.”

I grabbed his face, squeezing hard as I forced him to meet my eyes. “I’m doing you a favor. If Dayne knew you were a child-abusing predator, the pack would be hunting you. They’d make a bigger mess of you than I will.”

It was only Allie’s presence that kept me from losing total control on him. She shouldn’t have been watching at all, but in her short life she’d already experienced more torment and evil than anyone should ever have to. So if she wanted to watch this sick bastard die, she had every right.

“Fuck. You.” He had to exert great effort to get those two words out. His fight against my thrall was impressive. Most people didn’t put up any fight. However, he was failing.

If I’d been alone with him I would’ve dragged it out, riding the highs of his lust and enjoying the lows in between that usually consisted of screams and begging, which I also enjoyed. Too bad.

I’d take what I could get. I thrust his head to the side and dragged a claw over his tattoo. Blood spilled from the gash. Arys took an involuntary step forward. I eyed him for any sign that he was going to lose it.

“Do you want him?” I asked. Truth be told, I didn’t want to share this one, but I also didn’t want Arys to become a problem with Allie here.

Arys stood there unmoving but tense, like he might spring at any moment. I believed with every part of me that he would never harm Allie, but I worried he might do something she shouldn’t see. Death was one thing. Death by Arys was a whole other story.

“No.” He broke free from my thrall, and again I was grateful our power could only be turned on one another to a limited extent. The bloodlust lurked in his midnight eyes, but he was back in control. Keeping his grip on Allie’s hand, he pulled her closer to the doorway. “I want to watch you do it.”

The wolf whimpered as he lay frozen, unable to break free of my influence. If he would just give in, he’d actually enjoy his death. Fighting right through to the end meant that only I would enjoy it.

I went for his artery. It promised a fast kill with a fount of blood. As soon as it hit my tongue, I was swept away into the bliss moment. It was a high I would never get bored with. Though it had been quicker than I preferred, I’d gotten everything I hungered for. Lust, blood, and soon, death. All of it charged with werewolf potency.

The wolf’s struggle weakened, then ceased altogether. His pounding heart reverberated inside my head, slowing with each beat. At last it came to a final, shuddering stop.

Silence greeted me when I came back to myself. Feeling dopey and happy, like the cat who’d eaten the canary, I looked up to find Arys and Allie watching me. Tense but calm, Arys regarded me with something like pride. He was proud of what I’d just done, proud of the vampire I’d become due to his strong bloodline. Allie was wary but unafraid. Her fear had dissipated like smoke. She stared at the dead wolf on the carpet with obvious satisfaction.

Slowly, so as not to startle her, I got up, licking the blood from my lips. Due to much recent practice, there was little to no mess on me otherwise.

“Are you a vampire?” she asked, looking so much older than her fourteen years.

“In some ways. I’m also a wolf. Like you are now.” I gestured to her bloodstained shirt. “Can I see?”

Her pulse raced as she considered this. Wolf. Then she lifted the hem of her shirt, exposing the wound in her side. Three gashes marred the flesh over her ribs. Superficial scratches really, no vital injury. Still, it was more than enough to turn her.

“A wolf?” she repeated. When her eyes glazed over, I feared she was going into shock.

I pushed her shirt back down and patted her shoulder, afraid to do anything that might frighten or upset her. “You’re going to be fine. We’ll get you cleaned up. Being a wolf isn’t bad at all. It’s only tough in the beginning. You’ll be strong and fast. I promise. Nobody will ever hurt you again.”

“What’s our next step?” Arys cast a glance at the dead wolf. “We should take him to Dayne. And take her to Kylarai.”

There was no better person to take care of Allie than Kylarai, so I nodded my agreement. This might be just what both Ky and Allie needed. One was in desperate need of someone to give her maternal love to, and the other had to be hungry for that very thing.

“I’ll go see Dayne,” I said, trying to think through the haze in my head. The high would fade soon enough. “You should take her to Ky’s. I can give you my car. I’ll just take Kale’s—”

“No.” The sharpness of his tone was wielded like a weapon. “We are not splitting up. Not now, maybe not ever. Stop trying to get rid of me.”

“I’m not trying to—Just forget it. We’ll go see Dayne together. We can’t take Allie there. Dayne’s pack isn’t safe for her. Not now.” What I didn’t say, because I couldn’t bear to, was that it probably wasn’t safe for Shaz now either.

“Can we call Brinley?” Allie shivered and hugged herself tight. “I really want to see him.”

“Great idea.” With a light hand on her shoulder, I guided her from the room. “We’ll call him right now. He can meet us somewhere safe. Is there anything you need to grab before we leave?”

She shook her head, her face void of emotion. Again I was horror stricken, unable to comprehend how someone could hurt her and feel no remorse. The bastard didn’t know how lucky he was to be dead. Kylarai would have made him suffer far worse than I had.

Once we were all in the Charger, I passed my phone to Allie in the backseat so she could call Brinley. “Tell him to meet us at The Wicked Kiss.”

We were moving through the city, so fast it felt like the last twenty minutes hadn’t happened. Yet the taste of blood in my mouth made it real.

Arys pulled his phone out of a pocket and tapped the screen a few times. “Shaz needs a heads up that we’re coming. If shit goes south, he’s got to be ready.”

Fingers tight on the wheel, I listened to Allie’s hushed whispers as she poured out the details of her evening to Brinley. Beside me Arys swore in frustration when Shaz didn’t answer his phone. I was trying to wrap my head around the facts that we had a new wolf among us and her safety was now legitimately my responsibility.

Allie passed the phone back between the seats. She sat back with a relieved sigh. “So what’s going to happen to me?”

“You’re going to start feeling different. Stronger. Sharper senses. Animal instinct. On the next full moon you’ll shift, and you’ll be able to shift any time you like after that, but full moons are usually a must.” I caught her eye in the rearview mirror and tried for what I hoped was an encouraging smile. “My friend Kylarai is like a sister to me. She’s a wolf too. She’s very protective, and I think you two will really like each other.”

“What makes you think that?” she asked, genuinely curious. “You barely know me.”

“Ky’s going through a hard time too. I just think you two could really help each other. If that’s ok with you, I’ll take you to meet her. You can stay with her or with me. Whatever you want.”

There was silence for several blocks before Allie spoke up again. “Am I a monster now?”

Arys and I exchanged a look. My stomach dropped. “No. Monsters are horrible people who do terrible things. Evil. They come in many forms. A monster is who someone is, not what someone is. Don’t ever let anyone tell you different.”

She accepted this with a nod I caught through the mirror. We were just down the street from the Kiss. I was running scenarios through my head, wondering how bad it would get when Arys and I went to Doghead. If Dayne wanted a fight, I’d give him a reason to start one. And I’d make sure that we finished it.

* * * *

An hour later and we were almost ready to go to Doghead to confront Dayne. Brinley had come, and we’d discussed Allie’s options. Basically it boiled down to the fact that she had none on his end of things. With me there was still hope for her future. Now that she was going to turn, he had no choice but to entrust her to me.

“She’ll be safe with my friend,” I promised him, touched by the depth of his concern for this girl. “I won’t let anything happen to her.”

Brinley nodded his dark head. The frown lines in his forehead were deeper than usual. Stress showed in the lines of his face and the bags beneath his eyes. His entire life was dedicated to the high-risk youth he worked with. They were more than a job to him; they were his very reason for being. I’d never admired a person more than I admired Brinley Kane.

“I still want to see her.” He shot a glance over at Allie. She sat in a booth with Arys who snarled at anyone who even dared look in her direction.

“Of course. Whenever you want. You’ll also have the address where she’s staying.”

I noted the warmth that filled him as he watched her. Willow had once worn a similar expression, the night he’d saved me from a group beating and a few nights since. It hurt to think about him.

Brinley rubbed a hand over his face and heaved a deep, tired sigh. “I can’t thank you enough for this. And for going to get her. You have no idea how much comfort it gives me to know I can count on your help.”

His gratitude had never been the motivation for me to help him. Yet it meant the absolute world to me. I had the blood of people who didn’t deserve to die on my hands. Nothing I did would ever make that ok. Helping Brinley fed my soul in a way blood and death never could. It was the only time I knew without a doubt that I was fulfilling some greater calling.

“It’s one of the few things that gives my life meaning right now,” I said, feeling comfortable enough to admit such truths to him.

We shared a quiet, thoughtful moment, or as quiet as one could get in a place like The Wicked Kiss. We stood near the front entry, waiting for Jez who was on her way to pick up Allie.

“Eventually, something legal will have to be put into place. Allie’s been in and out of foster care over the years. She always ends up on the street, but I’ll still have to let them know where she’s staying.” A scowl crossed his face when he said ‘them,’ meaning the system which he felt had failed his kids.

“We’ll work it all out.” I lay a hand on his arm, just a quick, friendly touch. “What’s her story? I mean, where are her parents?”

“Dad split. Mom caved under the pressure. Turned to drugs and alcohol. Allie started running the streets. Everything spiraled from there.” Brinley’s brows rose in surprise as he watched a vampiress grind all over two happy and willing human males on the dance floor.

“Shit. That’s harsh.”

Brinley nodded, captivated by the raunchy display in front of us. “This place is just…wow.”

“It sure is.” I was mildly envious of the vampiress. Having two men work as a team to please you was an unforgettable experience. The nights and days I’d spent between Arys and Shaz were among my favorites, but I shook myself out of the memories before they could suck me in. “I’m going to take off now. Jez will be here any minute. She’ll take Allie to Kylarai’s. Allie will be safe there. I promise.”

Brinley stuck out a hand. Overcome with a surge of emotion, I ignored his hand and grabbed him in an impulsive hug. I squeezed him so hard he grunted. I pulled back and smiled in apology.

“We’ll be in touch soon,” he said with an awkward smile.

He joined Allie in the booth. Arys, after ruffling her hair and leaving her with parting words, joined me at the door.

“What did you say?” I was curious what kind of thing my dark vampire would say to such a young girl.

“I told her I was going to teach her how to rip a man’s heart out with her bare hands.” He smirked. Yep, that sounded about like what I’d have expected him to say.

Arys caught sight of the vampiress and her two playmates gyrating on the dance floor. With a hand on the curve of my hip, he pulled me close. “Don’t you miss it?”

His touch ignited a spark in my belly. I reached to caress the side of his face. “Hell yeah, I do.”

He kissed my neck and murmured, “Then let’s go to Doghead and get our wolf.”

Chapter Fifteen

The Doghead parking lot was littered with vehicles. Shaz’s little blue Cobalt was among them. Briefly I wondered if he was still planning to trade it in on something newer. Banishing the thought, I prepared to face Dayne and his many wolves.

There was a chance they would try to jump us, but Arys and I together could hold our own against a pack of wolves. Although a few hundred was pushing it. Dayne seemed to operate the pack like a motorcycle gang. His pack had absorbed the other two main city packs, which gave him run of the city.

Wolves hung out in the parking lot smoking, drinking, and swearing. Several of them flicked curious stares our way as the Charger crawled through the lot. I didn’t see Dayne or Shaz. There was a chance they could be running in the River Valley. I’d be pissed if I came ready for a confrontation only to have Dayne be elsewhere.

Before I could get out of the car, Arys grabbed my hand. There was a pulse followed by a tingle as power crawled up my arm. He tapped the force we shared, calling it forth so that we both hummed with it. Werewolves weren’t adept power readers, but they would be able to sense it like static.

“We can’t do anything to endanger Shaz,” I said, shooting him a warning glance. “This is between us and Dayne.”

“Except it’s not,” Arys countered. “It’s between us and every wolf in this pack. It’s too late now. You’ll just have to trust that Shaz can take care of himself. Hasn’t he done enough to prove that by now?”

I nodded, knowing he was right. Still, I was allowed to be unhappy about it. “Of course he has, but nothing will stop me from worrying about him, Arys. We have a history. I can’t help but feel like I have to look out for him.”

“He feels that way about you too. Why else would he join this pack? You need a man on the inside.”

I turned sharply toward him. “That’s not why I wanted him to join the pack. He needs a place where he can belong, with other wolves. He’s been surrounded by vampires, and it’s changed him.”

“In a good way. You’re just not willing to entertain the thought that his tie to us could be beneficial to him, both now and in the future.” With a shrug Arys opened the door and got out, leaving me to chew on that.

Grumbling, I got out too, this time bringing the Dragon Claw with me. It hung from a belt slung about my waist, the dagger’s sheath against my hip. Though I hoped I wouldn’t have to use it, I wanted to send a message: I’d come in peace before, but this was different.

As we approached the warehouse-turned-werewolf bar, each wolf present took note of us. Some of them exchanged words with each other, questioning what was up. They were about to find out.

Owen met us at the door. He appeared there, a large, hulking shape that made it seem like someone had run to fetch him. With a bandana tied around his head and an open leather vest, his powerful build was on display. Muscles rippled in his tattooed arms, and though I tried to avert my gaze, I couldn’t help but check out his abs. No wonder he was Dayne’s enforcer. The man was built solid. He was just as magnificent in his wolf form.

“You shouldn’t be here, Alexa.” Owen’s gaze strayed from me to Arys and back again. “It’s a wolf night.” He pointed to the full moon overhead.

I shrugged, not giving a shit. “I want to see Dayne. Now. You can tell him that I had to rescue a fourteen-year-old girl from one of his wolves tonight. Leo to be precise.”

Allie had shared the creep’s name with me. She couldn’t even say it without a snarl in her voice. Remembering brought the rage back full force. If Owen didn’t get out of my way, I’d throw him on his ass.

Owen was wary, but he knew it wasn’t bullshit. “Fuck. Wait here.”

He turned away to find Dayne, and I strode in right behind him. I wasn’t waiting outside like an interloper. Plus, I wanted to see if Shaz was inside.

Loud music screamed through my ears. The place smelled like wolf, booze, and more wolf. It was almost overwhelming. It wasn’t as crowded as I’d expected. Maybe one hundred wolves or less. The others had to be running in the River Valley.

That platinum hair caught my eye, as it always did. Shaz was at one of several pool tables with a few others, Izzy among them. She leaned in close to hear something he said before throwing her head back and laughing. Jealousy that I had no right to feel burned through me, and I hated myself for it. The bold, black moon tattoo on the side of his neck almost stopped me in my tracks. I’d known it was coming but seeing it did something to me. Something that felt a lot like loss.

“That wolf is ours and always will be. Don’t doubt that for a second.” Arys’s murmur against my ear did nothing to abolish the sick sensation crawling through me.

As we drew closer Shaz’s head snapped up, and a smile lit up his face. It faded as soon as he saw my expression. Dropping his pool cue on the table, he beelined for us. He shouldn’t have since Owen reappeared with Dayne at just that moment.

They met us there in the middle of the building, surrounded by tables littered with empty bottles and glasses. The wolves shooting pool and occupying the dance floor began to take note of us, realizing this wasn’t a friendly visit.

“What the hell is this about one of my wolves and a young girl?” Dayne barked, cigar clamped between his teeth. “This better be damn good. Bringing him here is a sure-fire way to start shit.” Dayne pointed at Arys. “This is wolf territory. We’d made a temporary exception for you, Alexa.”

I held up both hands in invitation. “You start shit; we’ll finish it. I’m done trying to keep the peace with you, Dayne. I’ve bent over backwards trying to play nice. Tonight I found one of your wolves with a fourteen-year-old girl that he purchased. For sex. So I fucking killed him. Oh, and I should mention he clawed her, on purpose. Against her will. Said she needed more stamina.” I paused so he could absorb this. “I can’t imagine you’d condone such a thing.”

Dayne’s typically grumpy expression remained rooted in place, but something moved behind his ice-blue eyes. “Of course not. Do you have proof of these accusations? Vampires are good liars. Don’t expect me to believe something like this without evidence.”

Arys spoke up, not content with staying quiet. “You’ll find his body in his house. The girl’s scent is all over him, all over his bed. Is that good enough for you?”

Dayne’s steady gaze on mine wavered ever so slightly. He raised a hand, and the music came to a startling halt as voices stopped and a silence came over the place.

He pointed to two guys sitting at the closest table. “Go check out Leo’s place. Call me when you get there.” No questions asked, they were up and out the door.

Shaz stood back watching the scene unfold. He stood with neither Dayne or me, but his mere presence made me painfully aware that his loyalty was about to be tested.

“What do you want from me, Alexa? If you think this changes the fact that vampires are killing my wolves, you can think again.” Dayne puffed a plume of smoke in my face and cracked his neck with a stretch.

Owen stood next to him, a silent giant ready to act at the command of his Alpha. They mirrored Arys and I. The difference was that they had a large pack of wolves to back them.

I was still confident about the odds. “Have you stopped to think that maybe your dead wolves had it coming?” My tone dripped acid. There was a shift in the atmosphere as tension rippled through the pack.

Dayne was stony faced. The touch of his simmering anger was hot, like fire on my skin. He chuckled. The sound alone was a threat. “So I guess it’s safe to say that you won’t be bringing me the vampire responsible for those deaths.”

Shit. I fought hard not to look at either Shaz or Arys. “You have a choice now, Dayne. Bring a war to my doorstep and put all of your wolves at risk, or work with me for the good of both the werewolves and vampires in this city. If you let your ego make this decision, you’ll be putting a lot of lives on the line.”

“Or, we could just kill you both. Right now.” In a blink Dayne’s eyes were solid wolf. “From what I hear, I’d be doing the vampires a favor. Maybe the best way to keep the peace with them is to get rid of you.”

Well, that was one way of looking at it. Much to my chagrin, he was probably right. The vampires remained divided in their opinion of me. Most of them were happy to mind their own business and do their own thing, though there had been a small rebellion intent on getting rid of Arys and me. It hadn’t worked out for them. So far.

“You can try.” To add emphasis I raised a hand, and a cool breeze whipped through the building. “Give us a reason to level this place. Go ahead. Be an idiot.”

Dayne’s gaze flicked to Shaz who stood nearby, hands clenched. “You’re gonna bring this place down with him inside?”

I shrugged, barely flicking a glance Shaz’s way. “He can take care of himself.” If I let my gaze linger on him, some kind of emotion would show in my eyes. I couldn’t let Dayne see just how much Shaz meant to me.

The overload of tension tightened the atmosphere to choking. Hurting these people was not what I wanted. This was all on Dayne.

“So we’re supposed to just call it even despite the two wolves killed by your vampires?” The Alpha wolf shook his head and surveyed the rest of the room. “What do you guys think of that?”

Shouts rang out as about half of the wolves present made their feelings known. Shaz and Izzy were not among them. Dayne ate up the aggressive demand for violence, grinning broadly around the cigar clenched in his teeth.

Arys, casual and disaffected, crossed his arms and grinned right back. “Does it really mean that much to you to have the vampire responsible?”

What the fuck was he up to? I gave him a glare, which he ignored. So I shot him a telepathic warning to shut up, but that went ignored too. The first pang of panic took root.

“It does.” Dayne gave a short, sharp nod. “It’s the principle of the thing. What kind of Alpha would I be if I didn’t demand restitution for the murder of my wolves?”

“Principle, huh?” With an arrogant swagger Arys closed the distance between the two of them. “Well, I’m right here.” He chuckled as confusion spread across Dayne’s face. “That’s right. It was me. What are you going to do about it?”

I wanted to scream. Damn fool vampire! So much for keeping the peace.

Three. Two.

I never made it to one before the place erupted in violence. Moving in synch, Owen and Dayne lunged at Arys. He raised a hand, and they flew backward in opposite directions. Owen hit the bar to my left and slid to the floor, stunned. Dayne crashed into a few wolves gathered near a pool table, taking them all down like bowling pins. It would have been comedic if all hell wasn’t breaking loose.

Everyone sprang into motion. So many bodies moved at once, it was impossible to watch them all. Several wolves rushed to Dayne in an effort to protect their Alpha from further abuse. Even more of them swarmed Arys and me.

“Try not to kill anyone,” I snapped at him in the mere second before I was overwhelmed with fangs and fists.

A slap of power flung most of them off me. I took a punch in the face and a claw in the back from the two that remained. Rounding on the puncher, I gave him a kick in the gut that thrust him into a table. It flipped over with a crash of glass, and he went with it. The one who’d clawed me got a face full of psi ball…

Which had him screaming as it burned his flesh. That was unexpected. I didn’t think I’d tasted enough of Falon’s blood for that kind of effect.

Arys happily exchanged blows with half a dozen wolves. When they started to gain strength in numbers, he’d throw out a psi ball or a telekinetic hit, tossing wolves around like toys.

Not every wolf had leaped into the action. It was encouraging to see Izzy among those who stood as far from the violence as they could get. Either they knew more about fighting power-quenched vampires like us than their Alpha did, or they didn’t trust his rash decision to start a war with every vampire in the city.

My attention locked on Owen once he was back on his feet. It would take a lot to put a wolf like him down for long. It had taken an entire group of vampires to do it a month or so ago. Even then he’d kept fighting.

He headed right for me. I turned to face him, hands dancing with blue and gold. Before I could let a shot slip, he held up a hand, a plea for peace. That struck me as suspicious.

Shaz stepped between us. Though I could handle Owen, the gesture warmed me. He could be loyal to his new pack without turning his back on me. He never would have joined Dayne if it meant having to be a blind follower.

“It’s ok.” I touched Shaz’s arm.

He turned jade wolf eyes on me before backing off.

Owen cast a brief glare at Shaz before refocusing on me. “We both know how damaging a war will be. I’ll handle Dayne. Don’t kill anyone.”

He was gone, bounding through the wolves flinging themselves at Arys with growls and snarls. As if it were an afterthought, Owen whirled and lunged at Arys with both fists ready. He was playing a part. Clearly he didn’t want Dayne to know that his enforcer didn’t share his need for violent vengeance.

“Dayne’s been all riled up since last night,” Shaz said, shouting to be heard over the melee. “Hanna told him there would be no war with the vampires. She wants to work with you guys. He won’t listen to anyone. I think he’s afraid you’re going to try to take over the pack.”

Was it a coincidence that Arys had made a remark about that very thing? It had to be. If he planned something like that without my knowledge, there would be hell to pay.

“Well, he’s an idiot. He’d know that’s not my intent if he bothered to give me a chance to prove myself as an ally. Whatever happens now, it’s his damn problem.”

Shaz and I stood back to back, fending off any wolves who dared to take a shot at me. Tossing them around like dolls was simple enough. They didn’t get too badly hurt, and it didn’t take a lot out of me. I could’ve done it all night, though I shouldn’t have had to do it at all.

Dayne emerged from the wolves who’d gathered around him. Sans cigar, he stripped off his leather jacket and threw it without care for where it landed. His shirt followed. He was a burly guy, not as tight as Owen but thick. Wide shoulders and a scar down his side, I was reminded that Dayne had fought and won many battles in his time. He wouldn’t be Alpha if he hadn’t.

The jackass was going to shift. His greatest strengths were not in human form. This was his attempt at leveling the playing field. What he didn’t realize was that every choice he made altered the odds of this ending peacefully.

He was intercepted by Owen, who clapped a hand on his shoulder and leaned in conspiratorially. “Dayne, come on. Don’t let emotion get the best of you. This isn’t how we want to do this.”

Flexing fingers tipped with claws, Dayne sneered, “It’s exactly how I want to do it. A threat is a threat. It has to be eliminated.”

“Hanna will be pissed. You know what she wants.” Owen spoke in a gentle tone like one trying to calm an irrational child.

The rest of the present pack started quieting down, watching this exchange, though tense and ready to fly back into action. I remained ready too.

“She’ll get over it,” Dayne said, though doubt flickered across his face. After a split second of contemplating how his wife might react to such drastic action, he shrugged it off and reached for his pants.

A wolf could strip and shift pretty damn fast if need be. As several other wolves also started to disrobe, I considered just taking off, not out of fear but out of awareness. If they all shifted and came at us, they would all die.

Shaz too reached to pull his shirt over his head. I grabbed his arm and shook my head. “Don’t start fighting your Alpha already. This would be the worst time to make that move.”

“I’m not going to stand here and do nothing.” Voice raised, energy running hot, Shaz’s vibe was primal and vicious. It awakened my hunger in a way that only he could. His skin was hot beneath my hand, and the mouthwatering scent of him was almost enough to make me forget what was about to take place.

With a loud crash, both the front and back doors flew open. A swat team of federal agents swarmed in like a rolling sea of black, guns in hand. They shouted at everyone to get down, threatening to use pepper spray and tear gas. What in the fuck?

Most of the pack did as they were told. Those that didn’t were aggressively dealt with. Even Dayne and Owen hit the floor, making me think that this wasn’t their first raid.

An agent made the mistake of sticking a gun in Arys’s face and barking at him to get on the floor. With a scowl and a flick of his wrist, Arys had the guy on his knees shrieking and grasping his head.

Several shouts and screams rang out as wolves resisted the federal force. One particular cry was so frantic it tugged on my own beast. It was Izzy. She was swarmed by agents who held nothing back as they slammed her with the butts of their guns. After her stint in FPA captivity, I didn’t doubt just the sight of them triggered some sort of P.T.S.D.

With a little focus on each agent, I was able to fling them off her. Shaz rushed to her side, helping to steady her. I moved closer to Arys. The agents had backed off him, some of them looking around for some kind of direction. Only after the initial shock had worn off and a semblance of control had been claimed by the FPA did Agent Winston walk in.

In fact, she strode in looking satisfied, her once friendly face now a hard mask. Her iron gaze swept over the room, finally landing on me. Surprise lit up her hazel eyes.

“Ms. O’Brien.” Her gaze shifted from me to Arys, taking in the sight of him like the eye candy he was. “I had no reason to believe you would be here.”

“What’s going on, Winston?” I didn’t like what I was seeing. My own club had been raided once. It hadn’t been a pleasant experience.

Agent Winston waved a hand in Dayne’s direction. “This pack is known for their affiliation in organized crime. I’m not sure if you’re aware of how far their reach is in this city. Drugs. Weapons. Illegal business practices. They own half the strip clubs in town and all of the casinos. Some of it’s finally catching up with them.”

This was all news to me, though I wasn’t all that surprised. “And why exactly are you wrestling some of them into handcuffs?”

“Assault. Drug trafficking. Tax evasion. These are just a few of the charges against Dayne Rivers and Owen Cavanaugh, as well as several others. We’re taking everyone here in.” Hands on her hips, gun visible beneath her jacket, Winston was pretty badass. “I assume you have no illegal association with them.”

“The FPA already knows my business,” I said. “I’m just here for a friendly visit.” I shot a pointed look at Dayne.

He was pressed into the floor with half a dozen agents holding him down. His body vibrated with the strength it took to hold his beast back.

“Then I guess we’ll all just be about our business and be on our way.” To her agents Winston barked, “Take ’em out to the vans. Leave the vampires alone.”

“Wait.” My tone was cutting, demanding attention. I pointed at Shaz and Izzy, who huddled in his arms. “Those two are under my protection. Nobody takes them anywhere.”

Agent Winston smiled a tight, brittle smile. “Fine. Anything else?”

To me it was obvious she was displeased at finding me at Doghead. She wanted to keep the peace with me because she needed to get Briggs back, but she also didn’t want her agents to see her be too lenient with me, the hybrid.

I’d liked her up until this point. Her answer to my next question might change that though. “Yes, what are you going to do with them?”

Agents started jerking werewolves to their feet and dragging them out the nearest exit. Winston watched them, weighing her response.

“They’ll be fairly dealt with. We make our best efforts to come to some kind of agreement. It usually works out quite well.” Her smile seemed to be under a lot of pressure. I kept expecting it to crack.

“Fuck that,” Dayne bellowed, snarling at the agents who held him. They wrestled him to his feet with his hands cuffed behind his back. “We do what you say, or we’re never seen again. Sounds pretty fucking fair to me.”

Even though I knew I was missing something here, I now understood why Dayne had insisted the wolf who fed info to the FPA be killed. That rat was directly responsible for this raid.

Because I could see that nailing Winston with more questions would only force her to be a hardass in front of her agents, I had no choice but to let it go. For now.

Instead I took the opportunity to remind Dayne that this could all have gone a lot differently. “See, Dayne, this is a great example of a time when having a powerful ally could really come in handy.” If he hadn’t been such a dick, I might have done something to help his situation.

If looks could kill. Dayne snarled at me, flashing fangs. All it earned him was a Taser blast from an agent. Ouch. That hurt. I knew firsthand.

At Agent Winston’s command all of the wolves were led out in handcuffs. Other than a lot of snarls and growls along with a little resistance, they went quietly. Dayne’s wolves followed his lead. Their respect for him was impressive.

“Have a nice night, Ms. O’Brien.” Agent Winston disappeared through the door. I wasn’t sure what to make of the woman. She still had me intrigued.

“Why didn’t he put up a bigger fight?” Arys wondered aloud. “They could’ve taken on those agents.”

“He’s protecting the rest of the pack,” I said. “His wife. The kids.” Regardless of Dayne currently being my least favorite person, everything I’d seen so far proved his commitment to his pack.

Izzy had let go of Shaz and stood awkwardly by herself, holding one arm, staring at the floor. Shaz headed straight to the bar and helped himself to a beer.

Looking smug yet somehow thoughtful, Arys cocked his head to one side. “So? Is this something we want to get involved in? Or do we let Dayne rot in FPA lockup?”

Good question. It would have to be answered another time.

“We have a party to attend.” A party that was just a few nights away. Until then, my priority had to be Shya. “If we survive that, then we’ll come back to that question.”

Chapter Sixteen

“Would you two hurry the hell up? We don’t have all night.” Falon’s voice was muffled by the closed bathroom door.

I caught Jez’s eye in the mirror and made a face. We were getting ready for Shya’s party. Because it was Halloween and because of something Falon had said to me not so long ago, I was working on some thick, dark eye makeup with a zombie-like flare. Combined with my pale pallor, it gave me a haunted appearance that made my eyes seem to glow with a deathly light.

“Shut it,” I called through the door. “We have plenty of time.”

After the raid on Doghead, I’d retreated to my safe place to lay low. Home. There had been nothing I could do for Dayne at that point. I still didn’t know if I wanted to do anything at all. Either way, a few days in lockup might be good for his attitude.

I’d checked in with Kylarai and Allie. She was understandably shaken up and frightened, but she was settling in. As soon as this whole Shya shit-show was dealt with, I planned to spend some quality time with Allie.

Now we were at The Wicked Kiss, in Kale’s old room of all places, waiting for Gabriel to show. Falon hadn’t had much luck in his search for the teen vamp, and by the time I left Doghead that night, I just hadn’t cared anymore.

It was hard to believe that one year ago I’d been getting ready with Kylarai, watching her rush to the door in excitement each time the bell rang and little voices called out, ‘Trick or Treat.’ The same night I’d almost been forced into a blood bond with Harley. So much had changed since then.

My senses began to tingle as someone powerful drew near. The sound of the room’s main door opening and closing was followed by Falon’s angry, “Where the hell have you been, you little shit?”

Gabriel’s reply sounded sullen. “I don’t answer to you.”

Arys could be heard telling them both to shut up. He’d been relatively quiet since we’d awkwardly shared a willing victim an hour or so ago. It had been brief, a little nip really. I knew he had wanted more. So had I.

Yet it wasn’t just the lack of a satisfying feeding frenzy that was bugging Arys. I suspected he was resentful of the lack of intimacy shared between us during that tense encounter. He wanted nothing more than to share Shaz, and though Shaz had volunteered, I had refused. We needed him clear headed and at full strength.

Stopping after just a little nip and tease was in some ways worse than holding out. Having both Shaz and Falon in the room now did not help me in any way. Locking myself in the bathroom with Jez was my way of shaking off the emotional crap and getting into the mind frame I needed to face whatever Shya threw at me.

I studied my reflection, satisfied with the ghoulish makeup. Thick black lines rimmed my eyes. Around that was a deep-red shadow. Tiny black vein-like lines emerged from the red to give me an extra creepy vibe. My lips were a pale pink, and the rest of my face was ghastly white, though sadly I didn’t have to do a whole lot to fake that.

My hair hung in loose, soft waves. I wore yoga pants and a tank top, needing clothes with no mobility restrictions. The Dragon Claw would soon be hanging against my hip. I wasn’t sure that Shya would allow us weapons, but he was a demon so what did he care?

“Damn, Lex,” Jez commented, head cocked appraisingly. “You even make zombie chic look good.”

I chuckled and tossed my makeup back into my bag. “Yeah, I guess I don’t look too bad for a brain-eating corpse.” I paused to imagine how much worse that would be and found myself feeling grateful. “Your Lara Croft puts Angelina’s to shame. I’ll always be jealous of your legs. They’re so long and graceful.”

Jez was long and lithe in ways that made me feel inferior with my short stature and petite build. Short was often viewed as cute, and cute sucked. There was nothing cute about Jez’s Lara Croft costume. It was definitely fight friendly being mainly shorts and a tank top. Instead of guns strapped to her thighs, Jez had daggers. Her golden braid fell down her back, and she pursed her trademark red lips in a sexy pout.

“Yes,” she agreed with a smile. “Yes, they are.”

“Your legs are rocking, but your modesty could use some work.”

Jez was feisty tonight. It could’ve been because she’d spent the last two nights in animal form, but it was most likely because I wouldn’t let her drink. She had played the Halloween card, citing that a drink was required on such a night. Usually I would agree, but tonight was different. I needed everyone at their best.

We emerged from the tiny bathroom to find Arys and Gabriel seated at the small bistro table in the corner. Shaz sat on the end of the bed watching cat fail videos on his phone, while Falon leaned against the door with his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans.

He took one look at my macabre makeup job, and his jaw dropped. “Goddamn, you are hideous. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse.” His reaction brought me a twisted sense of joy. Having him call me a zombie when we were locked up together had definitely inspired my look.

With a snicker, I said, “Thank you. I know how much you love zombie-chic.”

Shaz shot a glare at Falon before gracing me with an approving smile. “I kind of like it. Creepy but sexy.”

Having them all crammed into this room together was not appealing to me in any way. However, we had far bigger problems right now. Tonight would be our only opportunity to take a shot at Shya. Our only chance to trap him, to lock him away like the menace that he was. If I didn’t stay lighthearted and laughing while I could, the pressure was going to crush me.

“I want to go over this again,” Arys spoke up, drawing everyone’s attention to him. He turned in his chair in order to see us all.

“We’ve already been over it.” Falon gave a dramatic sigh. “Repeating it won’t change anything.”

Arys sat rigid in his chair, staring down the fallen angel from a sitting position and doing a good job of it too. “Just tell me again how you plan to trap Shya.”

“With a spell spun by your prodigy here.” Falon gestured to Gabriel who scowled. “The spell requires the power of either angel or demonkind. Gabriel will use my power to build the spell. Light is needed to bind the dark so Alexa’s Hound blood will form the binding. It’s Shya’s feather that we need in order to tie the spell to him.” Falon finally spit out the part Arys wanted to hear, “The hard part is getting the feather. Shya isn’t going to voluntarily hand one over.”

“So how do we get it?” Arys regarded Falon with the hungry expression of a well-fed animal who no longer hunted for sustenance but for sport.

Through clenched teeth Falon repeated what he’d told me earlier. It was just as hard to hear it this time. “We either take it by force, which probably leaves Willow as the only one standing, or one of you lusty vamps works your little seduction magic and gives him a happy. Then you grab the feather while he’s all drugged up on lust. As far as I know Shya’s a lady lover, so Alexa probably stands a better chance.”

My disgust formed a grimace on my face. Nothing about that plan appealed to me in the least. Everything about it was the opposite of a turn on. I wasn’t sure I could fake my way through.

“How do you know I’m powerful enough to enthrall him?” I asked.

Falon nodded to himself, like he’d already considered that. “You’re not. Well, maybe. But most likely not. The best way to gain the advantage over him is to pack a bigger punch than he does. There’s only one person I know of in your inner circle with more power than Shya.”

“Willow.” His name was a murmur on my lips.

Taking blood and power from Willow was less appealing than seducing Shya. Demons were out of my league. Being a badass vampire meant nothing when it came to demons. “There has to be some other way.”

Falon shrugged. “Maybe. You don’t have much time to figure it out.”

Jez flopped on the bed beside Shaz and propped herself up on one elbow. Her feline gaze was fixated on Falon, studying him intently. “Couldn’t that be dangerous? You’d think Alexa would experience some kind of kickback from that. She was starting fires with her freakin’ mind when she first took your blood.”

“I imagine there will be. That, however, isn’t my problem.” Falon was smug, looking pleased with himself.

“So what exactly are you laying on the line in all of this?” Shaz flung the question at him like a spear. He sat tensed and ready, his phone forgotten. “You’ll benefit if it works, but what are you risking?”

Every one of us gave Falon our full attention. It was a good question.

Leaning against the door with arms crossed and arrogance splashed across his face, Falon’s judgmental gaze swept over each of us in turn. “What I’m risking is being labeled a traitor by every demon who finds out about this. Now, can we stop beating this to death and just do what we have to do?”

When he put it like that, I could see that Falon was risking something too. Although was it really a risk when everyone already considered him a traitor? Perhaps Falon wasn’t as cool with that reputation as he wanted us to think.

“Ok, fair enough,” I said, choosing to avoid an unnecessary dispute.

Arys scoffed.

That set Falon off. He shoved away from the door with wings flared in a threatening manner. “I’m risking more than anyone else here. Every demon who worshipped Lilah already hates me. She entrusted me with the key to her kingdom, and I was supposed to keep it safe. I gave it to Alexa because I believed that was the best way to do that. Not one of you damn assholes has any idea what kind of constant danger I’m in. Fuck every last one of you.”

Though he could have simply disappeared, Falon’s wings vanished, and he stormed out of the room just so he could slam the door on his way out.

“Well,” Jez broke the silence, a fine brow arched in surprise. “That was dramatic.”

Conflicted, I almost felt bad. Falon was right. We didn’t know what it was like to be him, probably never would. Yet each of us made assumptions that downplayed his circumstances. Dear Lord, was I emphasizing with that bastard angel?

“He has every right to be pissed,” I said, ignoring the dark look shared by both Shaz and Arys. “He betrayed Lilah and Shya. There’s got to be some serious repercussions for something like that. We could at least respect that.”

Jez nodded, pursing her red lips in contemplation. Arys shook his head but chose not to turn the issue into a battle with me.

Gabriel appeared to feel nothing about any of it. When this was all over, he was going on my radar. Hurst’s warning lingered; Gabriel couldn’t be trusted.

“Watch your back, Alexa,” Shaz spoke up. There was no compassion in him for Falon’s plight. His ruthless side was showing. “You might be the next one he betrays.”

Hearing Shaz echo Salem was not comforting. His wolf stared out at me. I could see it in him, the utter disgust at anything to do with Falon. Arys’s remark that Shaz didn’t see it the way we did rang true. I had been the violator, not the violated, yet Shaz would never see it that way.

I nodded. “I expect as much.”

“Are you sure you can do whatever is needed of you?” Arys asked, but he was talking to Gabriel, not me.

The young vampire peered out at him from behind a curtain of dyed-black hair. “Yeah. I got this.”

Gabriel had always been quite the introvert. He hadn’t shown much interest in interacting with anyone unless he had to, until recently when he’d pretty much begged Arys and I to give him a chance to prove he shouldn’t be immediately eliminated. I couldn’t help but wonder, could Gabriel see his own future?

I pointed at him to get his attention. “When this is all over you and me are going to spend some time together. I need to be able to trust you, and I can’t do that when I never know where you are or what you’re doing. Like it or not, we need to get to know each other.”

He didn’t look too thrilled about it, but he nodded.

Silence descended on the room as we contemplated what we were about to walk into. At least I was contemplating it. Jez looked like she was considering making a mad dash for the bar.

Arys smacked a hand on the table and rose. His tortured gaze found mine, and I could see how much he didn’t want to do this. “Everybody ready to party?”

* * * *

Shya’s house didn’t look so scary. Yet. Perhaps that was the real trick.

The five of us clambered out of my car and approached the modernist structure. There was no denying how nervous I was. I wasn’t sure what freaked me out more, knowing Shya was going to plunge us into a black-magic house of hell or knowing this was our only chance to put him away for a while. If we failed, we were all as good as dead.

The door swung open as we ascended the front step. Nobody stood at the threshold.

“So it’s starting already,” I muttered, leading the way inside.

We crossed through the darkened foyer to the joined living room and kitchen. It was dimly lit, a fire raging in the hearth like always. There was no sign of Shya.

“Out there.” Arys pointed to the large picture window that looked out onto the backyard.

Several people stood around a fire. I recognized it as the burning pentagram Shya had used to summon another demon not so long ago. As Arys led the way out the back, my sense of dread grew with each step.

“We must be late,” Jez observed as we joined the gathering.

Upon closer inspection I noted that the pentagram had been doubled. Another pentagram lay over top of it, upside down, creating a ten-pointed star. Those present included Brook, Falon, Briggs, and Brogan. That brought the guest count to nine, since Willow had yet to arrive. No Shya to be seen. He was probably planning a dramatic entrance.

“What are you doing here?” I grabbed Brogan in a hug, crushed to see her among those invited.

“I guess I’m on the demon shit list,” she said with a tight, mirthless laugh. “Because I tried to keep Gabriel from him. I also turned down an offer to work for him myself.”

“You never told me that.” I was aghast. Was there anybody Shya hadn’t gone after?

Brogan shook her head, her blonde ponytail bouncing. “There was nothing you could do, Alexa.”

“You shouldn’t have come here, O’Brien.” Briggs had undergone some changes in the short time since I’d left him with Shya. In jeans and a hoodie, he lacked much of the effect he’d had when all decked out in his secret agent suit. Puffy circles beneath his eyes gave away how poorly he’d been sleeping.

“I shouldn’t have left you alive either, but I did.”

“Am I supposed to be grateful?” he barked. “You left me with a demon who has me running around in the heads of some very fucked up creatures, seeing things I can never unsee. You left me to suffer.”

“And you left me to burn,” I shot back, bristling with contempt.

Shaz held up a hand and stepped between us to break our hate-filled eye contact. “This is not what we’re here for. If there was ever a time to cooperate, this would be it.”

Though I did lean around him in order to keep giving Briggs the stink eye, I managed to keep my mouth shut. He was right. This was no time for personal vendettas except the one we all shared with Shya.

“Cooperate?” There was such scathing in that one word. We all turned to Falon who had distanced himself from the group. “There won’t be any cooperating. Shya’s going to find a way to pit us all against each other.”

Yeah, that sounded like Shya. “He can try,” I said. “But he can’t force us to do a damn thing.”

Falon gave me a look that conveyed, louder than words ever could, how unbearably stupid he found me to be. “You haven’t learned jack shit, have you?”

Before I could spin an adequately offensive retort, the air moved. Startled, I tensed, expecting Shya. When Willow appeared beside me, he read the trepidation in my eyes, and his face fell. My heart fell with it, and I grabbed his hand, squeezing tight.

Seeing how far he’d fallen had really scared me, but it had done nothing to destroy my love for him. If anything, it had made me love him more. I’d mistakenly believed the constant struggle of having both light and dark was worse than being lost to darkness. I knew now how very wrong I was about that.

The fire went out. Each line of the burning star extinguished until only the center remained aflame. In dramatic fashion, Shya appeared within it. He stepped out of the flames with black wings flared and snake-like eyes glittering with anticipation.

“You all came.” He almost sounded disappointed. “I’d expected resistance from some of you. Unfortunately, Kale won’t be joining us. He’s decided it’s too much trouble to leave Las Vegas. Pity.” That red gaze landed on me. With a frown he took in my appearance but didn’t comment on it. “Is everyone ready?”

Shya wasn’t as unpredictable as he liked to think. He’d wanted Kale to come so he could use him to exploit the weaknesses we shared. Since Kale had refused to play the game, there would be punishment for him. Shya never let anything go, especially someone who dared to refuse him. My eye landed on Brogan, and I bristled at the thought that Shya probably selected her as Kale’s replacement more to punish me for Kale being a no-show than for her refusal to work for him. The pressure to put Shya away kept rising.

“Is this really necessary?” Falon was the first to throw out a challenge. Wings tucked against his back and arms crossed, he was as cold as ice.

Shya’s grin was pure evil. “What do you think?”

“I think you’re a narcissistic power monger that doesn’t know when to quit.”

The two of them shared a moment that was so rife with loathing it made my skin crawl. Maybe Falon would fuck me over at some point, but right then I believed with every part of me that he truly did want to take Shya out.

“Let’s go over the rules, shall we?” Shya turned his attention back to the group. I kept expecting him to rub his hands together and cackle like a movie villain. “You’re all about to enter a house of my construction. As the invitation stated, finding your way out means that I will owe you a favor. It also means that I will no longer aspire to have you as part of my…team.”

Team? It took great effort to hold my tongue. I wanted to laugh in his face. Being threatened and tricked into performing tasks for Shya had nothing to do with teamwork. How delusional of him.

“There is one catch, however,” Shya continued, surprising no one. “Only the first team of two to find their way out will win the favor and freedom from me. So though you may be tempted to work together as a group, it is not in your best interest. Any questions?”

“Where will you be?” Brook asked.

“Does anyone have an advantage?” Arys was thinking ahead already.

Shya smiled, pleased that we were playing along. “I will be watching, of course. You will all be challenged. Some of your abilities will be limited though you can figure that out as you go. Anything else?”

We all glanced around the group. We could ask questions all night and still be unprepared.

“Alright then.” With a self-satisfied smile, Shya held out a hand and a small black bag appeared in his palm. “Let’s select teams.”

He passed the bag to Briggs and had him draw names two at a time.

“I’m with Jez,” Briggs announced, glancing at the leopard before digging back into the bag. “O’Brien, you’re with Falon.”

Random selection, my ass. “This is rigged,” I blurted. Now I was sure of it. It wasn’t enough to separate Arys and me, but I couldn’t imagine why Shya would pair me with Falon. I suspected it meant that he knew about our recent indiscretions. Pointing at Briggs, I hissed, “Did you show him the video?”

Ignoring me, Briggs continued to pull out names. “Brook and Gabriel. Arys and Willow. Shaz and Brogan.”

We all exchanged uneasy looks with one another. Refusing to make eye contact with Falon, I held tight to Willow’s hand for as long as I could.

“Now if you will all enter the circle and stand at one of the star’s points with your partner directly across from you.” Shya returned to the center of the star and waited for us to take our places. The flames danced all around him, touching but never burning.

‘Are we really doing this?’ I pushed the thought to Arys. Was it too late to back out now?

‘We’ve turned a game around on someone before. We can do it again. I’ll find you inside. Don’t doubt what we’re capable of, my love.’ He didn’t look at me or in any way let on that we were communicating telepathically. He simply took his place in the circle across from Willow.

Going into this fearful and expecting the worst wasn’t going to garner the outcome I wanted. I stepped up to the point of the star directly across from Falon. A nervous energy swept the group as we all braced ourselves for whatever was coming.

Once we were all in place, Shya waited just long enough to drive us a little nuts, like a reality-show host trying to amp up the excitement. “One last thing: If at any time you feel you must leave the house, you can choose not to continue, and I will pull you out. However, should you make that choice, you will be agreeing to work for me. Indefinitely.”

“Oh, fuck that, Shya,” I shouted, unable to rein in my temper. “You can’t just make shit like that up on the spot.”

“Feel free to leave if you don’t like it.” He shrugged. “Let me remind you that you’ve all come here willingly. You obviously feel that you have something to gain by being here.”

Leaving would mean abandoning this opportunity to trap the bastard. It also meant having him be a constant pain in my ass. His promise to make me suffer rang in my memory, forcing me to grit my teeth and bear whatever came next.

Shya waited until it was obvious that I was finished. I stood there seething, growing more determined by the moment. A quick scan of the large circle revealed equally determined expressions on the faces of most of my companions. Gabriel still looked as sullen as ever, though something calculating moved behind his dark eyes. Brogan was pale but otherwise expressionless. This whole thing was an entirely new level of fucked up for me.

I expected some grand gesture, some smoke or explosion or big effect of some kind. Instead, with a serpentine grin and a snap of his fingers, Shya plunged us all into darkness. It was dizzying, like suddenly being dropped into a black hole. Disoriented and confused, I groped about blindly. My senses were dulled. I felt like I was falling.

Just as I was about to panic, it was over.

Like waking up from a dream, I abruptly found myself in the middle of a large ballroom. As my brain tried to make sense of what just happened, I was struck by a serious case of vertigo. I fell to my knees, head spinning.

Falon appeared in the edge of my peripheral vision. He stood over me, nudging me with his shoe. “Looks like you’re off to a great start.”

Worst Halloween party ever.

Chapter Seventeen

“Fuck you.” I swiped at Falon, and he stepped back out of reach.

Of course he didn’t offer me a hand up, not that I would have accepted. I blinked a few times and was able to stand as the nauseating sensation passed. The ballroom was big and empty. The walls were covered in old paintings and a small stage at one end held an orchestra of instruments. I turned in a slow circle, scanning every inch of the room.

“Are you expecting something to jump out at you?” Falon too surveyed the room though he was much more relaxed than I was.

“Damn rights. It’s too quiet. I don’t like it.” Eyeing the closed double doors at one end of the room, I looked to the open set on the opposite side. Was this some kind of trick?

The air moved, and I spun to pin Falon with a death glare. He stood there looking perplexed and irritated. “Did you just try to poof out of here?”

“I sure did.” He rolled his eyes when my jaw dropped. “Oh, don’t look so surprised. You would’ve tried it too. I can’t get out anyway. Shya isn’t that stupid.”

We’d been together for thirty seconds, and the jackass had already tried to ditch me. “You fucking suck, Falon. I can’t believe how much I hate you right now.”

“Cry me a river.” He pointed at each exit. “Which one do you want to try? Feeling brave?”

I reached out to Arys, seeking him in my mind and finding nothing. Panic gripped me. Again I tried to get through to him. It was as if the mental door between us had been locked and barred. Being cut off from my other half left me raw and anxious. I’d gotten so used to having him always there, just a thought away.

“Son of a bitch. I can’t reach Arys.” When Falon continued to point to the doors without acknowledging my comment, I sighed. “I don’t care. You choose.”

There was no telling what kind of place Shya had dropped us into. Ghosts. Demons. Bleeding walls. I had no idea what to expect, but I was braced and ready for anything. Or so I thought.

Falon strode across the ballroom to the set of closed doors. I followed along, keeping my distance in case something leaped out at him. Tentative, he reached out to grasp the gold handles. Both doors swung open, revealing a narrow hallway so dark we couldn’t see more than the first few feet.

“Um, screw that,” I said, peering into the hall, wary of getting too close. It felt an awful lot like what I’d imagine staring into a cave inhabited by a bear might feel like.

Falon grinned, enjoying my discomfort. “Scared?”

“Cautious,” I corrected.

“We could just stay here and fuck on top of the piano.”

Right on cue the piano began to play. A chill crept over me as I turned to glower at it. Nobody sat on the bench, but the keys moved just the same, playing a dark, disturbing melody.

“Yeah, let’s not do that.” Normally I would have flung an insult in his face, but I just didn’t have it in me as my skin crawled.

Taking advantage of my unease, Falon grabbed my hand and dragged me close. “Don’t let a lame parlor trick stop you. It’ll be like a big ‘fuck you’ to Shya. Come on.”

He pulled me close so that our lips almost touched. Desire flashed in his silver eyes. It echoed inside me. I couldn’t help it. It was in my nature to want him. However, it was also in my nature to survive, and right then finding my way out of this house was my main concern.

“Get off.” I shoved him away and cut it across the room at a brisk walk. No way was I going into that dark hall without checking out the other exit first.

“Trying to.” Falon strolled along behind me, hands stuffed in his pockets. His super chill demeanor was annoying as hell.

I shot a wary glance at the piano, which continued to play. “How can you be so calm? It’s suspicious.”

The alternative exit was another set of double doors. They were already open, revealing a red carpeted, dimly lit hallway. I poked my head out of the ballroom. All I could see in either direction was the hall. It seemed to stretch on forever.

“Shya’s not going to spring his best work on us first. No point in getting all worked up. Save it for the good shit.” Falon surveyed the red hallway. “I’m assuming you want to go this way. Probably a bad idea. I’m willing to bet the other way out would be the better choice.”

“Because it’s less obvious? Maybe that’s what we’re supposed to think,” I suggested. “This way is lit. I’d like to be able to see what’s ahead.”

“So? We both have enough power to light the way. I thought you were a big, bad wolf.”

We were wasting time. I needed to find the others. “We don’t have time to argue. Why are you trying to get me into that creepy hallway, Falon? Do you have an agenda in here that I don’t know about?”

He pointed a finger in my face, and I bit at it, forcing him to jerk out of reach. “You’re getting on my nerves, Alexa. Fine. We’ll do it your way. Left or right?”

Falon shoved me into the hall, holding tight to my elbow so I couldn’t shake him off. No sooner had we stepped out of the ballroom than the doors slammed shut. I bit back a squeak of fright, ashamed of how fast my composure was being stripped away.

I felt compelled to go left so I headed that way. The hallway was narrow, lined with gas lamps in wall sconces and portraits that watched as we passed. More than once I caught the eyes of the man or woman in each painting moving. It was a lame, Scooby Doo trick but it had me watching over my shoulder.

The corridor was quiet. It stretched on so long I started to doubt my choice to come this way. No way in hell was I admitting that Falon might have been right.

“It’s got to lead somewhere, right?” My voice was shrill. “Shya can’t just trap us in an endless hallway.”

Falon shook his head. “He said there’s a way out, so there has to be. It just won’t be what we expect.”

“I wonder where the others are.”

We rounded a bend and came to a staircase. The stairs were oddly shaped and mismatched. A curve in the staircase made it impossible to see what was at the top. We had no choice but to go up.

“Ladies first.” Extending a hand, Falon tried to usher me up the stairs.

“Screw that,” I hissed, jerking out of reach. “Don’t pretend to be all chivalrous now. We both know that’s bullshit.”

Being led to a higher floor didn’t feel right. I glanced back the way we’d come, wondering if perhaps we should’ve gone right instead of left. Falon noted my uncertainty and started up the stairs before I could drag him back down the hallway.

“Maybe we shouldn’t go this way,” I said, rushing to keep up with him. Yeah, I was afraid of being left behind. Who would’ve thought I’d ever find Falon’s company preferable to being alone?

“We can’t backtrack our every move. You made a choice, and now we stick with it. Unless you want to split up.” He snickered, climbing the stairs without a glance back.

I followed him up the creaking staircase, muttering obscenities the whole way. We were walled in on both sides. Trapped, really.

“This is interesting.” Falon came to a stop.

He pressed himself against the wall so I could see past him. There was a fork in the stairs. What the hell? On one side they continued to spiral up out of sight. The new set of stairs branched off the first, curving a different way.

“You choose,” I said.

“Let’s keep going on this set.”

Every second I was in this house, I became more convinced that accepting the invitation was one of the stupidest things I’d ever done. There was no way I was leaving without some kind of victory.

As we continued to ascend, I began to feel too closed in. The stairway didn’t appear to be getting any tighter, but it felt that way. Maybe it was this damn house fucking with my head.

The stairs ended abruptly at a door. “Ok then.” Falon let out a perplexed huff. No hallway or anything. Just a door.

“Can’t imagine this goes anywhere good.” I braced myself as he reached for the doorknob.

There was a spark and the smell of burning flesh. Falon jerked his hand back, cradling it against his chest. He jerked his head toward the door. “Fucking silver handle. You try.”

“Seriously? Maybe there’s a reason you’re not supposed to go this way.”

Instead of arguing, he grabbed my hand. Though I fought him, he was stronger than me. He slapped my hand onto the doorknob.

“You’re an asshole.” I turned the knob, but the door didn’t open. I tried pulling it toward me, then pushing. “It won’t open.”

“Keep trying. It has to go somewhere.” Though we hadn’t been in the house that long, Falon sounded as frustrated as I felt.

I jerked on the door, back and forth. Either it was stuck, or we weren’t supposed to find out what was on the other side. Just when I was about to give up, the door flew inward. It dragged me off my feet into whatever awaited.

There was nothing. It was just a black hole, and I was dangling over it. I shrieked, flailing about and struggling to hold onto the door. My hand slipped and I was falling.

With a rustle of wings above me, Falon grabbed my hand, stopping my descent. My heart pounded in my ears, something I so rarely heard these days. As Falon started to pull me back up, something grabbed my ankle from below. It felt cold and clammy. I couldn’t be sure it was a hand. The way it felt brought something serpentine or tentacle-like to mind.

“Something has my ankle,” I cried. Terror filled me with the sickest sense of dread.

Whatever had me was yanking hard, trying to tear me out of Falon’s grasp. It succeeded in pulling me down far enough that he had to hover above me, held up by wings alone.

“Give me your other hand.” His wings beat hard as he fought to pull harder than whatever was trying to drag me down into oblivion.

With my free leg I kicked at the thing coiled around my ankle. Though I had nothing to aim at and no idea of what lay below, I used my free hand to fling a psi ball down there before reaching for Falon. When it reached for my other leg as well, I kicked with all I had, fighting to dislodge it from my ankle while keeping it from grabbing the other.

“Please don’t let me go,” I begged as panic choked off my voice. My imagination was concocting the worst images of the thing eagerly dragging me closer.

Falon gritted his teeth as he held tight to my hands. “I’m not letting go.”

The thing below gave a mighty tug, and my hands began to slip from Falon’s. His wings created a forceful wind that battered me. With each beat a high-pitched noise grew, screaming through my ears, reverberating inside my head. But I had bigger worries than a headache. Whatever that sound was doing to me, it was also doing to the thing below. As the frequency grew in pitch and strength, the grip on my ankle loosened.

I kicked at it until it let go completely. Falon pulled me up and all but flung us both back onto the stairs. With a flick of his wrist, the door slammed closed, and we tumbled down several stairs before coming to a stop in a tangle of limbs and wings.

“What the fuck was that? It felt cold and slimy.” I gasped.

Falon disentangled himself from me, tucking his wings against his back before they disappeared altogether. He grabbed my ankle and slid my pant leg up to examine it. His fingers were gentle against my skin. “No idea. Could’ve been almost anything. There’s shit like you wouldn’t believe living in the underworld. It doesn’t seem to have hurt you though.”

Other than some blotchy red marks, I appeared to be damage free. Yay for that. I put a hand over Falon’s to stop the soft motion of his fingers on my ankle. “Thank you. I know we love to hate each other, but you could’ve let me go, and you didn’t.”

Falon pushed to his feet and motioned impatiently for me to do the same. “Don’t get all female and emotional on me. I’m saving you in case we come across something I can’t fight. Then I’ll use you as a distraction and run.”

He stepped over me and headed back down the stairs, leaving me to scramble after him. I cast one last look back at the door from hell and beat a hasty retreat. Despite the terrifying experience, I was able to smile to myself. Falon shot down my gratitude like someone who’d never had it shown to him before. He liked to think he was a mystery, but little by little I was figuring him out.

We returned to the fork in the stairs and, after exchanging an irritated look, headed up the stairs we had yet to take. It wound left and right, a confusing meander. It was wider than the last staircase though and lined with more of the ridiculous, watchful portraits. I flipped a man in one of them my middle finger, chuckling when, with a scowl, he returned the gesture.

Reaching the top felt like a small victory. It also felt like a trick. The stairs ended at another hallway. This one was lined with windows on one side, and my pace quickened as I hurried to peer out.

“What the…?” I gaped out the window, blinking fast as I questioned what my eyes were telling my brain.

“Figures,” Falon muttered as he sidled up beside me.

Beyond the window, bathed in the faded light of a false dusk, was a maze. Tall green hedges spanned as far as I could see. Disappointment crushed me. It was rivaled by my slow-burning rage.

“God, I want to bitch slap Shya. So if we ever get out of this damn house we have to go through that next? Shit.” In a fit of temper, I raised a hand crackling with blue and gold power.

“No, Alexa, don’t.” Falon reached for me, but he was too late.

I threw the blast into the window, expecting it to shatter. Of course it didn’t. This was Shya’s make-believe house of illusion. The window was indestructible. It deflected the shot back at us with double the force.

On instinct I ducked. It smacked Falon, pasting him against the wall.

With a grunt he took the hit and turned angry silver eyes my way. “Goddammit, you stupid wolf. This entire house is made out of power. You can’t go firing off shots like that without considering that it might just blow up in your face.” He strung together enough obscenities to make me envious of his creative work. “I should’ve dropped your ass in the black hole.”

I snickered. “If only, huh?”

“Shya just had to stick me with you, didn’t he? You’re right. It had to be rigged.” Shooting me a glower, he turned away.

“Hey, Falon.” I trailed after him, pausing to scrutinize a creepy, grinning mask hanging on the wall. No way I was touching that thing. “How come you still see me as wolf? Everyone else always feels the need to point out that I’m a hybrid or a vampire. They talk like I’m not a wolf anymore.”

He didn’t turn around or stop to wait. “You are a hybrid, I suppose, but you were the wolf first. Becoming a vampire is something that happened to you. But you will always be a Hound. It is your origin.”

Falon didn’t know how much that meant to me. He never would. I took his words and stored them away for safekeeping. I would remember them when I needed that sentiment the most.

The pattern on the carpet changed beneath my feet as I followed Falon. What started as a mundane flower design morphed into a moving dragon, the same dragon I’d bore on my forearm until recently. Shya’s sigil flowed over the carpet, stretching out its long neck, tail swishing back and forth. I expected it to come at me, but it remained part of the décor, merely watching me from its place on the floor.

I recognized it for what it was: a reminder from Shya that he was everywhere, watching, playing the game. Doubt snuck up on me, and I wondered if somehow he knew what we were planning.

As Falon walked with purposeful strides ahead of me, the dragon snapped its massive mouth full of teeth in his direction. Falon was oblivious to the dragon writhing about behind him, lunging at his ankles like a shadow that passed right through him.

“That can’t be good,” I mumbled beneath my breath.

“What are you going on about?” Falon turned to sneer at me, and the dragon disappeared. The carpet was a rose design once again.

“Not a damn thing.”

He held my gaze, and I worked up my best innocent expression. It wasn’t fooling him. So I tried a smile and received a puzzled frown.

“Better keep moving,” I said, marching past him like I had a clue where the hell I was going. I rounded a bend and was elated to discover three doors. “Looks like we have something here.”

Only one of the doors was closed. It was at the very end of the hall. One on either side stood open, and I crept up to the closest, wary as I tried to peek inside.

It was a bedroom. A four-poster bed and a vanity table from another era made it seem like it existed in another time and place. I scanned the room for any sign of another way in or out. I wasn’t venturing in there without a damn good reason.

“This is just a distraction,” Falon said. “You know the door at the end of the hall is the one.”

“What’s the hurry? I thought you wanted to do the dirty as a ‘fuck you’ to Shya. There’s a bed right there.” I nudged him with my elbow. “Unless you don’t think you can get it up anymore. I mean, it is kind of spooky in here.”

Yeah my insult material was lacking tonight, but it still wrenched a snarl out of Falon, which was what I wanted. With a disgusted snort he crossed the hall to peer into the room on the opposite side.

“Don’t be absurd. If anything makes my dick shrivel it’s the sound of your voice after twenty minutes.” Gazing into what turned out to be an office, Falon inclined his head thoughtfully. “I’ll still bend you over that desk though, if only just to shut you up for a while.”

The office was tidy and small. A desk sat in front of a window that looked out onto the maze. A stack of papers sat atop the desk. Naturally I was curious about them. Knowing that was likely the reason they were there, I kept my feet planted in the hallway.

“Think we should go in?” I asked. “I want to see those papers.”

Falon made a beckoning motion, and the papers drifted from the desk, floating through the air to settle in his hand. I pressed close to get a look while trying not to touch him. He slid me a sidelong glance and shook his head.

“Looks like a contract,” I mused aloud.

Certain words jumped out at me as I tried to make sense of it. I skimmed it fast, trying to absorb the content and make sense of what I was seeing. The contract was between Falon and Shya. It stated very clearly that the agreement written by Shya was to ‘use any means necessary to obtain and maintain the trust of Alexa O’Brien, including forming an intimate relationship with her’.

The contract went on to state that should Falon fulfill that commitment he would be forgiven any and all previous offenses against Shya. That meant he would be forgiven for his many betrayals. No way. Shya didn’t forgive. And yet, I questioned it. He would go to any lengths to get something if he wanted it bad enough.

“This is a lie,” Falon declared, voice rising as he lost his temper. “It’s bullshit, Alexa. I’m not working with Shya anymore. He’s trying to fuck with you.”

“Is he?” I studied him, searching his silver eyes, seeking the truth. “How do I know you wouldn’t do anything he asked to start over and have a clean slate with him again?”

“Because I have my own agenda and it doesn’t include him. Don’t forget that you’re the one who seduced me. You’re the succubus.” Falon waved the contract through the air, and it caught fire. The smoldering ashes fluttered to the floor only to be crushed under his boot heel.

I wanted to trust Falon. Hell, I needed to trust him, for tonight anyway. Shya was a liar and a manipulative asshole. Still Falon was pretty damn evil in his own right. I’d seen it myself. The bottom line was that neither of them could be trusted, but only one of them was lying about this.

For a moment I considered abandoning Falon, saying fuck the whole plan and trying to find my way out alone. Maybe if I won the favor from Shya, I could use it to protect those I cared about. I didn’t need Falon for that.

“How do I know you didn’t let me seduce you? It’s not like you fought it very hard.” I slid a hand around to grasp the back of his neck and pulled him close, brushing my lips across his. “Resist me, Falon. Right now.”

He stiffened and stood perfectly still, like a prey animal who’s been spotted by the predator. “You do realize that Shya planted that contract for you to find. He’s trying to turn us on each other. I just saved your ass back there, and he wants to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Don’t be an idiot. You’re smarter than this.”

Compliments from Falon were always a cause for suspicion. Ultimately, I couldn’t trust him. Not really. Yet he was the lesser of two evils. Right? Doubt caused me to second-guess everything, which was just what Shya would want. Fuck.

“I want to know if you can resist me,” I insisted, gliding the tip of my tongue over his bottom lip. “Do it. Fight this.”

I didn’t just wrap him in my thrall, I threw the power at him. It was an aggressive attack intended to put him on the defensive. I wanted Falon to fight back. I needed to know if he could. Had I seduced him, or had he just played me?

“You’re playing right into Shya’s hands,” he said, fisting a handful of my hair. “We don’t have to do this. What we have to do is get the hell out of here.”

His actions weren’t matching his words. He claimed my mouth in a crushing kiss. As much as I enjoyed the rush of his arousal, I was doing this for no other reason than to determine if I was as in control as I thought I was.

“Resist, dammit.” With great difficulty I broke off the kiss and thumped a fist on his chest. “If I’m as seductive as you claim, then fight it. Let me see how hard it is for you to resist me. Otherwise, I can’t help but think maybe you’ve been the one manipulating the situation all along.”

Falon leaned heavily against the wall beside the office door. Pulling me against him, he made sure I felt the remarkable hard on between his legs. “You are fucking delusional, you know that? Do you think I can fake this?”

“I think you get as much out of these encounters as I do. Getting hard doesn’t mean shit.” I went for his neck, pressing my lips to the pulse beating there and breathing in the musky, masculine scent of him.

I just wanted him to fight me. Was that too much to ask? To my recollection, he never really had. Sure there’d been some general resistance but no great effort on his part.

“You can’t handle the thought that maybe we fucked because we wanted to, can you? You need it to be all about power or deception.” Falon’s low chuckle sent a shiver down my spine. He clutched my ass, his hands hot through the thin material of my pants.

I jerked back like I’d been slapped. A mischievous light danced in his eyes. He was incredibly pleased with himself.

“It’s always about power or deception,” I hissed, shoving away from him. He held tight to me. I wasn’t going anywhere. “Fuck you for suggesting otherwise. And you don’t really expect me to believe you just happened to feel like screwing someone you hate.”

“What about escape? Isn’t that what it really is for us?”

He moved to kiss me, and I jerked back as far as I could get. “Every word that comes out of your mouth just makes me more suspicious.”

“Then give me something else to do with it.” His mouth on my neck and cleavage was almost enough to sway me, another reminder that I was a victim of my own power.

“No, Falon, you infuriating pain in the ass. Stop screwing around and be real with me. Could you resist me if you wanted to or not?” There was ice in my tone. I was done playing; I wanted an answer.

Falon shoved me hard enough to dump me on my ass. The Dragon Claw’s sheath dug into my leg as I landed. I scowled up at him but froze when he came away from the wall with wings spread and torment on his face.

“No, you crazy bitch,” he shouted. “I can’t. Do you think I want to admit that to you? It’s always been hard, but since you became a vampire, it’s pretty much impossible. Is that what you want to hear? Are you satisfied?”

I stayed down, hoping it would keep him from lashing out at me, but I could see he wanted to. There was so much hate in him that it flavored the air with bitterness.

“Sex is just a weapon for you,” he continued, coming to stand over me. “A tool to maim and manipulate so you can get what you want. And trust me, you wield it well. Can you even make love without it being a scenario of predator and prey?”

I flinched. That stung. I dropped my gaze, refusing to let him see the wound his words had caused. The truth was crushing. I could call a few memories to mind where it had been a true expression of love without it being about who was predator and who was prey, but I could count them all on one hand. Falon’s accusation was accurate. Sex had become a weapon.

“No,” I said, plunging my fingers into the stiff carpet. “Not anymore.”

He was quiet so long, just staring at me sprawled on my butt on the flowery carpet, that I dared to peek out at him from behind a blonde curtain. Instantly I wished I hadn’t. He turned away to hide the regret that darted across his face, but I’d already seen.

“Don’t you dare feel bad,” I snarled. “I don’t want your goddamn pity.”

“Get up, Alexa. We have to get the hell out of here.”

Falon headed for the door at the end of the hall. Once there he paused and glanced back at me, waiting patiently for me to join him. I did, albeit begrudgingly. It wasn’t like I had a choice. I’d gotten the answer I’d demanded from him. Now I had to live with it.

Being powerful enough to truly mind fuck someone like Falon should have been an ego boost. Unfortunately, it had come with a painful reminder. I might never again know mutually inclusive emotional intimacy with a lover without the hunger hanging over my head.

At my impatient gesture Falon flung open the door. I blinked several times, questioning what I saw inside. The room was an exact copy of the den in Raoul’s house. The very same house that had burnt down with Coby and me inside.

Drawn by demon magic and nostalgia, I crossed the threshold without a second thought. The scent of expensive whiskey and werewolf hung on the air. It took me back to another time.

Forgetting Falon completely, I drifted further into the room. Though logic reminded me that this was an illusion, the realness of it sucked me in. I ran my hand over the bookshelf that housed the Shakespearian plays that Raoul had never read. The dust layer was just as I remembered it.

A noise startled me, and I turned suddenly toward the old leather couch. The couch I’d lost my virginity on. Real romantic.

Sitting there with a drink in hand and a haughty grin on his handsome face was Raoul.

Chapter Eighteen

“This can’t be real,” I blurted, gawking at him in shock and disbelief.

Raoul raised a hand to indicate the replica of his office surrounding us. “This isn’t. It’s an illusion, but you know that. I, however, am quite real.”

He certainly appeared real. But that was how illusions worked. Apprehension fluttered in my chest. I glanced back at the door to find there was no door to the hallway and no Falon. It was like being back inside Raoul’s house. There was no sign of Shya’s crazy house.

“How?” It was all I could muster. The sight of him was mind blowing.

He sipped the whiskey, dark eyes locked on mine. He looked just like I remembered: hard bodied with rugged good looks and black hair that fell to his shoulders. I’d fallen so hard for him as a naïve teen. Now I was a jaded adult who’d walked through death, and all I felt for him was loathing.

“We’re in a house constructed by a demon,” he said, as if that explained everything. “It’s not fully anchored in reality. Obviously. Shya’s pulled some strings so that we could speak. I’m as dead as you think I am, yet I’m here.”

I couldn’t claim to know the laws of life and death. The rules weren’t always what they seemed to be, as my continued existence proved. Yet Veryl had come to me when I was in-between worlds. There was no part of me that doubted it had really been him.

“Tell me something that proves it’s you,” I said. “Something Shya could never know.”

Raoul shifted slightly on the couch, causing the leather to creak. It was uncanny how real it all was. He regarded me with keen amusement and a raised brow. “You have a birthmark on the inside of your left thigh. It’s tiny and shaped like a messy heart.” He drummed his fingers on the arm of the couch, awaiting my reaction.

I shook my head, not so easily convinced. “I’ve shifted in front of Shya. He could’ve seen that birthmark.”

“Your middle name is Katherine. You secretly love The Hangover movie even though you pretend to hate it. I once caught you crying over a book about elephants. And you make this sexy little noise when you come. Kind of a growl mixed with a moan. Oh, and I had a scar on my back from your claws the night we did it in the backyard. Could never figure out why it healed that way.” He paused to enjoy the horror that stole over me. “Shall I go on?”

“Please don’t.” Some of those things Shya could possibly know although I hoped like hell he didn’t know what sound I made at orgasm. As for crying over Water for Elephants, I would never be ashamed of that. It was a freakin’ tearjerker. “So what are you doing here, Raoul?”

He shrugged his broad shoulders and took another slug of whiskey. “Damn I missed this. I bet you miss it too.” He nodded to the glass. “I guess I’m here to torment you. Isn’t that kind of Shya’s thing?”

“It is very much his thing, but that doesn’t explain why he chose you.” As I studied the room again, I was careful not to let Raoul out of my sight. There wasn’t a damn thing about this situation that felt right.

“Maybe he wanted to remind you where you came from. You know, Lex, if Shya and Veryl hadn’t intervened, you’d be FPA right now. Or dead.” Raoul sat there with a pleasant smile, running a finger along the rim of his glass.

I used to wonder why Veryl had teamed up with Shya. Veryl wanted to protect the city while Shya had wanted only to protect himself by using those of us who worked for Veryl, thinking we were doing something good but inadvertently serving his agenda to rule the city from Lilah’s throne. We were his army. His minions. Nothing more.

Veryl had been our protector, doing his best to keep us safe from Shya, though I hadn’t known it until recently. That was why Shya and Lilah manipulated me into killing him. He was what stood between them and us.

“You were a pawn to Shya too, Raoul. He used you to kill my parents and babysit me until I was old enough to serve him. Doesn’t that bother you?”

“He made it worth my while.”

“Of course he did.”

“Did you really think I got that rich selling houses?”

My barely reined-in temper exploded. “You killed the woman you loved! Did that do nothing to you? How can you talk like that? As if she was nothing but a paycheck.”

Raoul remained unfazed by my outburst. He was the epitome of casual and cool. “It definitely did something to me. I know you’ll never believe it, but I wasn’t always such an asshole.”

“You’re right. I’ll never believe that.” This little reunion had already lost its novelty. I was done with it, though I had yet to figure out how to escape. Imagine my surprise to discover that it only took Raoul Roberts to make me miss Falon’s presence.

“I changed, and there was no coming back from that. Why fight it? Some things are meant to be, whether we accept that or not.” He stood up abruptly, smirking when my hand went to my dagger. “You can’t kill what’s already dead, Lex.”

I hated that he kept saying my name like that, like someone close to me. He didn’t have the right. “Don’t come near me.”

“I just want to smell you,” he said, a strange lilt to his voice. “I have to know if you still smell like wolf.”

“Back off.” My hands sparked with blue and gold. I held them out before me. It was the only warning he would get.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Raoul advanced on me, unperturbed by the very same power that used to scare the crap out of him. “You might hurt someone. It won’t be me though. I’m beyond that.”

He was just a ghost. But ghosts couldn’t take a touchable, corporeal form. Right?

I cringed when he stopped right in front of me. If he touched me, I was letting him have it, consequences be damned. When he didn’t, I was both leery and curious.

Without touching, Raoul closed his eyes, took a deep sniff and nodded. “Just like I remember.”

I stepped back, but he kept smelling the place I’d been standing. So weird. “I’m starting to think you’re nothing more than another distraction meant to throw me off so I don’t find my way out of this nuthouse.”

Those dark eyes snapped open, and they were wolf. Against my will I was transfixed, thrown back in time to the first moment I gazed into those eyes, the night I was attacked.

A flurry of memories flashed through my mind. My parents…dead. The sensation of fangs buried in my flesh as I screamed.

“No.” I shook my head. “We’re not doing this, Shya.” He had to be watching this somehow.

Instinctively, I reached for Arys again. Nothing. His absence only added to the suffocating sensation of being trapped, which only strengthened my memory of the attack. The demon had covered his bases. I hadn’t prepared nearly enough for psychological warfare.

“I know you used to have nightmares about what I did to you.” Raoul’s low timbre was gruff with wolf. “I used to dream about it too. I’d wake up with the taste of your blood in my mouth. Then I’d roll over and find you in my bed. I wanted to feel guilty, but I felt lucky, like I’d gotten away with murder.”

I didn’t want to hear this. This man was dead. He shouldn’t be able to fill my head with horrible confessions from beyond the grave.

“You said you were sorry.” Why was he here? Why was he telling me this?

“Everything I said in my letter was true.”

“Then why are you saying this?” My voice rose, and again I searched the illusion for a way out. “You left me that letter, and then I had that vision of you. We were over. You were gone, but I was able to move on. Why ruin that?”

Raoul cocked his head as if listening to something I couldn’t hear. Sadness passed over his face. “He wants me to. He wants you to know that I could never love you the way you wanted me to because you were just a job to me. But that’s not true, Alexa. I did love you. In my own way.”

Shya orchestrated this meeting hoping it would torment me. The malicious demon had ripped open a door to my past, a door I’d closed and moved beyond. Who the fuck did he think he was?

“I get it. Shya’s trying to remind me that you and I never really had any closure. Well I don’t need any. Go back to wherever it is you came from, Raoul. We have nothing to say to each other.”

Raoul was conflicted. A frown created deep furrows in his brow, and he shook his head, rejecting something only he could hear. “I don’t want you to hate me.”

“Then you shouldn’t have slept with my mother and killed her before you slept with me!” Ear piercingly shrill, my shout echoed as if I stood in a much larger room. “You’re as despicable in death as you were in life. I hope the things you’ve done haunt you for all eternity.”

It was cruel, and I felt like shit for saying that, but the emotion that drove such an attack came from the broken teenager that apparently still lived inside me. I’d never be free of her, and Shya knew it. He was exploiting my pain for his own gain. I could only wonder what he was doing to the others.

“Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to look at you everyday knowing what I’d done?” Raoul’s wolf peered out at me, a hungry predator remembering the prey it had conquered.

The cutting way he said that took me right back to every nasty fight we’d ever had. I despised Raoul. With every part of me. There was just one person I had more loathing for, and he was going to end up trapped inside an amulet if I had anything to say about it.

“Raoul, I have hated you since you made it clear I was just another conquest. Now that you’re gone, I miss you, but I still hate you.” Dark emotions bombarded me with toxic feelings that went against everything I believed in. It hurt to discover how much pain and resentment I still carried. “I hope that one day I can forgive you because this isn’t who I want to be, but I’m not counting on it.”

The vehemence driving my tirade caused a shift in the atmosphere. I felt it, like a pop, and the room wavered. So that was how Shya rigged it; only the power of my wrath would break me free of his illusion. Was Falon also trapped, standing face to face with an unwelcome visitor from the past?

“I loved Katie,” Raoul said my mother’s name like he had a right to. “And I never stopped loving her. What we had, it was special. After she was gone, I refused to let myself love anyone again. Every woman I love dies. That’s why I could never love you.”

Of all the dumbass things anyone had ever said to me, that had to be the most infuriating. Why couldn’t I have been the one to kill him?

I went with my instinct. My hands were around his neck before I could make the conscious decision to lunge. If I hadn’t been so intent on hurting him, I’d have been more impressed that we could touch.

“The women you loved died because you fucking killed them. You killed my mother, and you tried to kill me.” I hit him, and once that first punch landed I couldn’t stop. “You deserved everything you got. I just wish I’d been the one to take you out.”

I was so engrossed in the beating that I didn’t stop to wonder why he wasn’t fighting back. He grunted with each hit, allowing me to knock him about the office. I shoved him into the desk, the wall, and finally the bookshelf. As hard cover copies of various classics rained down, I screamed out my pain.

“You are dead, Raoul. And you need to stay that way.”

The emotional outburst grew at an irrational and unnatural speed, likely fed by demon manipulation. Or else I was harboring more internalized anger than I realized. The Dragon Claw sang with a metallic shing as I drew it from the sheath. With a snarl I swung it with deadly precise aim.

The blade came down hard. My arm vibrated with the impact.

Then confusion broke through my blind rage. Raoul was gone. His entire office was gone. My dagger was buried in the back of an easy chair sitting askew from its companions. I wrenched my blade free, shoved it back into its sheath, and turned a slow circle to scan my new surroundings. Every wall was lined with books. It was some fancy-ass library, books up to the high ceiling, complete with those sliding ladders. Several easy chairs were arranged in corners meant to be cozy. A fire blazed in a hearth where a few more chairs were situated. Despite the fire, the library held a deathly chill.

A whimper behind me had me whirling to find Falon crouched in the darkened corner furthest from the fire. He was on his knees with his head in his hands. His beautiful silver wings dragged on the floor.

“Falon?”

Cautiously I approached. If he was caught up in some illusionary reunion, then he wasn’t going to be coherent. Could I break him out of it?

Half of his face was cast in shadow. The rest was bathed in the orange glow from the fire. His hands covered most of his face, preventing me from seeing his eyes.

I knelt down to study him, careful not to get too close. “Falon? Are you with me?”

Nothing. Shit.

There were options. I could shake the shit out of him until he snapped out of it. Or I could grab a book and wait patiently. A quick scan of the nearest shelf revealed only demon histories and spell books. Scratch that idea.

Well, I could, of course, leave him.

The dark thought flitted through my mind like a rabid bat. Dangerous. Contagious. My gaze roamed over him, scrutinizing the fallen angel from head to toe. I lingered on his wings. Not only could I abandon him, I could swipe a feather before I left. If one of Shya’s feathers could be used against him in a spell, a feather from Falon could be used the same way. Tempting. So damn tempting.

No one would blame me for considering a contingency plan. Falon would have done the same if our positions were reversed. Lucky for him, I still had a semblance of a conscience. Sometimes.

I couldn’t do it. He hadn’t let the gross tentacle monster take me, so I wouldn’t let his past take him.

“I really hope you remember that I didn’t fuck you over,” I muttered, not expecting him to hear me.

He didn’t react.

Was it even possible to pull him out of whatever illusion Shya had plunged him into? Uncertain and cautious, I raised a hand, preparing to touch him. I had to convince myself to do it. Only the need to get through the friggin’ house kept me from changing my mind.

Lightly, I rested my hand on Falon’s shoulder. He stiffened and jerked away without raising his head or opening his eyes.

“Don’t touch me, bitch,” he hissed.

Annoyed at his nasty reaction, I raised a hand to slap him.

His next outburst stopped me mid-motion. “I told you I never wanted to see your face again.”

Pretty sure that, of all the nasty things Falon had said to me, that had not been one of them. Yet. He wasn’t talking to me. Or maybe he had been, but he was talking to someone else too.

“It’s an illusion, Falon.” I murmured, afraid of speaking too loud. “You can get out of it.”

“God, don’t you ever shut up?” Again it sounded like he was talking to me, but then he followed it with, “I listened to your grating voice for a thousand years. I cannot stand to hear it for even another second.”

My curiosity was piqued. I was dying to know who he was seeing. As much as I would like to eavesdrop, I had to break him out of there.

Steeling myself for a bad reaction, I grabbed his shoulder again and gave him a shake. “Falon. I need you here now. We have to keep moving.”

He made a sound of irritation.

I waited, but there was no further response. I shook him again, repeating his name, and he was oblivious. Crap.

In a move that could be risky, I pushed a little sensually charged power into him. My hand grew warm against his shoulder. His head snapped up, and he glanced frantically about, but he wasn’t seeing me or the library. Still, it was better than nothing.

“Falon.” A low, breathy whisper in his ear made him shudder. “I need you, Falon. Come back to me.”

I slid my hand down his arm, a light touch that left a trail of sexual energy. If this didn’t get through to him, nothing would. Relief hit me when he grabbed at my hand, clumsily sliding his fingers between mine.

“I’m seeing two worlds here,” he said, squeezing tight. “Everything feels…wrong. Get me the hell out of here, Alexa.”

This was promising. Keeping him talking was vital.

“Who are you seeing right now?” My question received only a refusal in the form of a headshake. Curiosity got the better of me and I asked, “Is she someone you loved?”

“Maybe once. Now I hate her more than I hate you. And that’s really saying something.”

I smiled, intrigued by the woman who could incite such loathing from the fallen angel. “Is she human?”

Falon stared off into the shadows. His eyes were glossy, and I could see him slipping away. “No.”

“What is she? Is she… dead?” I was poking my nose where it didn’t belong, but I wanted to know. Falon’s history was a mystery to me. The brief record I’d found of it had told me nothing. I couldn’t help but wonder.

“She…” Falon dragged that one word out. “Is none of your damn business.”

I had to laugh at how he’d just echoed my thoughts. That laughter stuck in my throat, however, when he gave me a sudden shove. I skidded across the floor, stopping when I grasped the leg of an easy chair.

“It doesn’t matter who she is,” Falon shouted, his voice thundering through the library. He stood up and whirled around, wings flared. “You and I have nothing left to say to each other, Winter. Don’t say another word. I’m done with this. Done with you.”

Whoever Winter was, she didn’t want him to escape the illusion Shya had created. From the sounds of it, she also wanted to know who I was.

Falon grabbed his head again, making an agonized sound that was guttural and not even remotely human, but of course, he never had been. A wind whipped through the room, tossing my hair into my face. The fire grew like it had been splashed with gas, throwing sparks into the air.

Frantically I searched the room for a way out other than the door we’d come through. Going that way would mean backtracking all the way to the ballroom we’d first arrived in. I didn’t want to leave Falon, but if he was going to lose his mind, I had no choice.

“Falon,” I said, fearful that I was losing him to Winter and the illusion of wherever he was seeing her. “Come on, man. Don’t be such a pussy. We have to go. Get out of there. It’s not real.”

He turned to face me, eyes wide and distant. He was staring right past me. It gave me the feeling that someone was standing behind me. I turned ever so slightly to check.

My mistake.

He was on me so fast I barely had time to get my hands up in front of me. Thrust against the back of a chair, I struggled against him as he wrapped both strong hands around my throat.

“I will fucking destroy you, bitch. I promised you I would. You should know better than to call my bluff by now.” To emphasize his threat, he shook me until my teeth rattled.

I flung a hand in his face and drove him back with a blast. His attack wasn’t meant for me, though I didn’t doubt that there was one coming with my name on it. There was no way I was going to take a beating meant for Winter. Falon’s mind was lost inside Shya’s illusion. I could only hope a good fight would knock him out of it. Besides, one on one, I was pretty sure I could take him.

Right away I realized how wrong I was about that. Instead of using any more offensive moves, I focused on blocking the slaps of power and fists he threw at me, but every smack I blocked and each shot I deflected only served to hype him up more. I wanted a way out of the library that didn’t involve returning to the ballroom, but once Falon grabbed a poker from the fireplace and wielded it like a massive stake, I knew I had to kick his ass or run for it.

That fight might be inevitable, but it wouldn’t be tonight.

“Dammit, Falon, can you settle the fuck down?” Making a split-second decision, I ran for the door anyway.

He beat me there, blocking my escape.

I skidded to a stop, turned, and fled across the library. There had to be another way out, preferably one that didn’t involve returning to the ballroom.

“You can’t run from me.” Slowly he pursued me, poker in one hand and a ball of fire hovering in the palm of the other. “You should know that. You already tried.”

Many nights from now, when I’d had a substantial recuperation from this night, I was going to spend some time pondering all the things I was learning about Falon. For now, I needed him to break out of Shya’s illusion. “Falon, stop. It’s not just Winter you’re attacking.”

I circled myself in an energy barrier right in time for him to throw that ball of fire. It coated my shield in blinding bright flames that quickly went out. Lucky.

Moving about the library, I kept a careful eye on him as I searched the perimeter for a way out. There had to be one. Unless this was exactly what Shya wanted. Had the other teams of two also successfully been turned on each other? The thought bred such urgency and desperation. Shya was playing us all.

Falon was suddenly there, right in front of me, backing me up against a wall of books. His hands were alight with fire. “Two birds. One stone.”

Aw, fuck no. There was nowhere left to run. He wasn’t giving me a choice. I was going to have to fight.

The flames leapt from his hands, and I retaliated with as much force as I could muster. Scorching heat, so hot I screamed, crawled up my arm. Falon was flung backward. He hit the floor and rolled. I smacked at the fire until it went out, but he recovered fast and came at me again.

I raised my hands to defend myself but never got the chance.

Suddenly I was moving. The bookshelf swung in a one-eighty turn, sweeping me from the library to whatever lay behind the massive wall of books, leaving Falon behind. The wall sealed shut, and I was both relieved at having escaped the fight with the fallen angel and apprehensive as to where the house had just taken me.

“I knew there had to be a way out of there,” I muttered.

Unfortunately, wherever I was, it was absolute black. So dark my keen night vision couldn’t make out a thing. An unholy, unnatural kind of darkness. With careful focus, I created a psi ball that glowed bright enough for me to see where I was. It took some effort to light it up. Most psi balls could only be seen by the supernatural eye, but this one, I suspected, was strong enough for even the human eye, another sign of my improved abilities. I didn’t have time to be happy about it though.

Not once I saw where I was.

It was a stone tunnel. Though the library had been on an upper floor, I felt very much as if I were underground. The walls were cold and grey. The air was stale and moist. Worst of all, I was alone.

A close inspection of the wall I’d come through revealed it to be well sealed. No obvious openings. There was only one direction I could go.

Nerves gripped me. The sensation of being trapped was suffocating. Not needing oxygen did nothing to change that.

It was instinct to reach for Arys. Finding the barrier still between us was discouraging and downright terrifying. I was alone now, in every way.

Steeling myself for whatever lay ahead, I ventured into the tunnel.

Chapter Nineteen

Right away I saw something scurry out of my path. It disappeared into the shadows before I could identify it, vanishing like it had never been there. Before I could give it much thought, I was dive-bombed from above by something winged. A bat? It was too dark to tell. The light of my psi ball didn’t extend far overhead. I smoothed my hair back out of my face and searched the dark above. Nothing. Although if there were anything up there, I probably didn’t want to know about it anyway.

The tunnel widened gradually as I went. Being able to see just a few feet ahead was discomfiting. My senses were on overdrive as I tried to get a feel for my new surroundings. The steady roar of rushing water grew with every step. Pretty sure I wasn’t on the upper floor anymore. Ah, demon magic, was there anything it couldn’t do? Wretched stuff.

Suddenly the walls fell away, and a small river flowed on either side of the walkway I followed. Though I couldn’t see far above, it felt wide open. Cavernous.

I walked for a few minutes, waiting for something. Anything. When an object whistled through the air toward me, it was expected. My reaction time was damn good. I caught the arrow in one hand, never losing hold on my glowing psi ball. Before I could get cocky and feel good about myself, another arrow hit me in the back, burying into my shoulder with a vicious sting.

I flung the arrow I held into the water and dropped down low cursing. A few more whipped through the space above my head. Booby traps. Great.

To maintain a psi ball, I needed a constant flow of energy to feed it. The easiest way to do that was to hold it in my hand. However, I’d managed to float small, simple psi balls with only my mind. No hands. It wasn’t easy. Too bad for me because I needed to be able to do it now. I wasn’t going on without both hands free, and there was no way in hell I was letting the light go out. With arrows flying and a river waiting to sweep me away, I was not plunging myself into darkness.

Concentrating with the occasional arrow whipping by inches from my head was tough. I stared at the ball of light, willing it to leave my hand and hover along beside me. It shook in my palm, quivering under my influence.

“Come on, little dude,” I murmured.

Inch by inch the psi ball lifted off my palm. I willed it to stay connected to my energy as it drifted away. Envisioning a cord connecting it to me made it easier to control. The light flickered a few times but didn’t go out.

When I was sure my light wouldn’t fail me, I turned my attention to the arrows, starting with the one in my shoulder. I wrenched it out with a yelp. Blood trickled warm down my back.

Upon close inspection it became apparent the flying arrows were following a pattern. Front, back, then both sides at the same time. They whisked by at waist height and up, their position never changing. Too bad I couldn’t see where exactly they were coming from.

Knowing Shya had to be loving this, I clenched my teeth and began to crawl forward. With so many arrows flying, I didn’t have much of a choice. An energy shield could stop a few, but it wasn’t guaranteed while maintaining the psi ball, which would divide my focus. I’d been hoping for a chance to discover how my powers had grown, but this was not how I wanted to do it.

With the little ball of light hovering a foot ahead, it led the way as I pushed on. I assumed the arrows had to end at some point. I just needed to get there.

As I crawled along, feeling pissed off and mildly degraded, the arrows did begin to thin out. The water on the other hand began to increase in strength. The waves lurched, throwing water over the edge onto the walkway. The roar grew like an angry beast, echoing all around me.

Panic burned in my chest. The thought of being swept away in the darkness to God only knew where scared the hell out of me. I began to move faster. Surely there had to be an end to this.

In time with my hurried motions, the waves grew. I pictured the worst, waters raging so hard and high that there was no escape. Though I could swim and drowning was no real concern, the seed of terror had already sprouted.

All it took was a wave large enough to crash over the edge and pound me into the ground. Then I was up and sprinting, thrusting my light ahead. Dodging arrows was easier with instinct driving me. I escaped half a dozen before one pegged me in the ass. Figures.

I didn’t have to look back to know the waves were spilling heavily onto the path. They raced toward me, chasing me as I ran, jerking the arrow from my ass with a curse. This was one of those rare times when I envied my winged companions.

“Come on, come on, come on.” Desperate for escape, I poured on speed, hoping like hell I wouldn’t run smack into something awful or fall into a black hole.

That thought slowed my pace. The last black hole had been pretty damn frightening. A glance back revealed the waves rushing toward me. I had about ten seconds to avoid being swept away.

If Shya thought this was where I would break, he was so wrong.

The roar of the water reverberated through my skull. My feet barely touched the ground. The light shone on a steel door that opened as soon as I crashed into it, having no time to stop so suddenly. The door closed, sealing the wave out as it crashed down.

I hit the ground and rolled with a pained grunt before ending up on my feet. Wet and injured, I groped at my wounds while gawking at the lavish room. An old organ to my left played that same macabre melody from the ballroom.

“Repeating yourself, Shya?” I muttered with a headshake. That lame trick wouldn’t creep me out twice. I was over it already.

The floor was covered in the same rich red carpet as other parts of the house. Leather furniture made up a seating area across from a large, circular bed draped in gauzy curtains.

Perhaps the most shocking feature was the severed heads mounted on the walls. Mouth open and mind blown, I stared at each of them in turn. Wolves. Every last one of them but for one tiger. Tiger? Uncanny. I’d never known any myself. To find one here in Shya’s trophy room was downright sickening. Not surprising though.

My wet clothes clung to me, and the two arrow wounds were sore but otherwise minor. A musky animal smell drew me toward the furniture with a lump of revulsion in my throat. A closer inspection confirmed my suspicion; the leather was shifter skin.

This would be a good time to be able to vomit. I backed away from the couch, ready to vacate this nasty room.

A noise from above stopped my search for a way out. I tensed, power gathered, as ready as I could be for whatever came next.

The ceiling creaked and groaned before opening up and dropping a body down on top of me. A small yelp escaped me as I went down. It was accompanied by the shriek of the person whose fall I cushioned. The familiar scent of leopard and perfume turned my yelp to a relieved sigh.

“Jez? It’s really you, isn’t it?” Despite the tangle of limbs we lay in, I pinched and poked at her, needing to know if she were an illusion of some kind.

“Stop that.” She slapped my hands away. “It tickles.”

I dragged her into a joyous hug, ignoring her attempts to pull away. “How did you get here? Where were you? Where’s Briggs?”

“Slow down, Alexa.” She humored me by giving in to my hug. “I lost Briggs right after we got here. He opened a closet and, bam, gone. Just disappeared.”

We got to our feet, and she gaped around at the room, much like I just had. I nodded, agreeing with what she hadn’t yet said. “Pretty sick, huh? I just lost Falon in a library. He went nuts and tried to kill me after we each saw someone from our past. Where have you been?”

Jez’s braid was in disarray. Makeup smeared beneath her eyes gave her a ghastly look. She still had her daggers though. “We started out in a dining room. After Briggs disappeared I followed a winding staircase to a tower. It was a dead end. Came back down to a sitting room. Saw a few apparitions who chased me down a dark hall. Next thing I knew I was falling. On top of you.” She laughed and tugged her hair tie out, finger combing her golden locks back into a smooth ponytail.

I was so glad to have found somebody that I grabbed her hand as soon as she was done, refusing to let go.

“There’s a maze outside,” I said. “I’m not sure, but I think we may have to go through it if we can get out of this goddamn house.”

Jez groaned. “A maze? This whole damn place is a maze. I can’t tell how long we’ve been in here. My sense of time is all screwed up.”

Mine was too. It felt like just minutes, but it also felt like it could have been days already. I hoped the others were ok.

“How did you get in here?” Jez pointed at the only door on the other side of the room. “Did you come that way?”

“No, I was chased in here by waves and flying arrows. I came in right—” The place where I’d entered was just a wall. No sign of the door I’d come through. “It’s gone. The door I came through is gone.”

Jez nodded, her red lips pursed. “So then we go that way, I guess.”

Together we went for the only door in the room. I cringed as Jez grabbed the doorknob and turned it. Another hallway, but this one was lined with doors on either side and stretched a great distance. There had to be more than a dozen doors. I groaned. My patience for this game was running out fast. All I wanted was to find the people I needed to trap Shya and get it done. Of course, I needed Shya for that too.

“Motherfucker,” I sighed.

“So, which one do you want to start with?” Jez asked, looking as daunted as I felt.

“Take your pick.”

Pausing outside each door, feeling for the energy of whatever might be on the other side, proved fruitless. At random we chose the third door on the left…and were led right back into the room we’d just left. We entered beside the bed through a door that vanished as soon as we were through.

“Son of a bitch,” Jez hissed.

“This is going to get old fast.”

Again we left, entering the hallway of many doors. This time we chose the ninth door on the right…and ended up right back in that damn room.

“Fuck!” In a fit of temper, Jez picked up the organ bench and smashed it down on top of the organ. The dark song it played continued without issue.

“Come on, Jez. We have to try again.”

Eight times we chose the wrong door and found ourselves back in the room of shifter heads. I was beginning to think there was no right door. Then on the ninth attempt, we walked into the very same ballroom that Falon and I had started out in. Evidently the house could rearrange itself at will.

Though I hadn’t anticipated finding myself back in the ballroom, I most definitely hadn’t expected to find Briggs in there fighting for his life. Three nasty demon-slave creatures had him cornered. Jez and I had killed one that had gotten loose in the city. Shya later told me that this was what humans became after selling their soul to demons. They were hideous things. Hairless and horned with cloven feet and razor sharp teeth, they struggled to get to Briggs who huddled atop the piano brandishing a heavy candelabra. His relief at the sight of us was almost palpable.

Somehow my inner snark managed to surface despite the circumstances. “Well, let’s keep moving, Jez. Looks like Briggs has everything under control in here.”

“Come on, O’Brien.” Briggs’s voice was higher and more frightened than I’d ever heard it. I liked that. “Throw me a bone here.”

“Oh, so now we’re friends? I see how you think this works. When you need something from me, then I’m not so bad after all.” I shook a finger and tsked. “It doesn’t work that way, Briggs.”

The demonoid creatures spared us a glance, but their focus stayed on the man that reeked of fear and desperation. We could simply close the door and leave Agent Briggs to fend for himself. Tempting.

“You insist you’re not a monster?” he shouted, kicking a misshapen hand as it grabbed for him. “Here’s your chance to prove it!”

“What do you think?” I asked Jez. “Should we help?”

With a golden brow raised, she cocked her head to one side. “This is your sister’s lover. Right now she’s somewhere in Las Vegas, possibly with yours. If Kale were in trouble and Juliet could help, would you want her to?”

“Ah, fuck. Thanks a lot, Jez.” I shoved away from the door, my face hot in response to the image she’d painted in my head.

I pulled the Dragon Claw from its sheath and advanced on the creatures with Jez at my side. She pulled both daggers free and tossed one to Briggs who caught it expertly. He swung the blade down, burying it in the face of the creature closest to the piano. Lucky for him they hadn’t figured out how to clamber up there to get him.

Together Jez and I surged forward to kick some demon-slave ass. Briggs jerked the dagger free of the one he’d impaled, and I swung the Dragon Claw in a wide arc, taking off its head. Jez plunged a dagger into the back of another before planting a seriously aggressive boot against its side in a kick that threw it to the floor where it flailed. She jumped on top of it to finish it off with several dagger stabs to the throat.

Briggs jumped off the piano, knocking the remaining creature down. It grabbed hold of him with clawed hands and dragged him close, its grotesque mouth stretched wide open. He stabbed at it with Jez’s dagger, but it was too intent on tasting his flesh. It shook Briggs like a ragdoll.

With a few choice words, I came to his aid, plunging the Dragon Claw into its skull. It made a strangled sound and slumped, releasing Briggs who got to his feet and smoothed out his hoodie as if it were his secret agent suit, though the hoodie didn’t hide the dirt and blood as well.

“Thanks,” he grumbled, sticking out a hand as if it hurt him to do so.

Because I wasn’t a total jerk, I accepted, and then pushed a subtle but effective erotic pulse through our joined hands. I grinned when he gasped and jerked away.

“Sorry, Briggs. Couldn’t resist. We better get moving. Based on past experience, I’m thinking we go that way.” I pointed to the door Falon had first opened, the one with the scary black passageway.

“You were here before?” Jez accepted her dagger from Briggs, wiped it on his hoodie and stuffed it into her thigh sheath.

Determined not to be deterred this time, I nodded and strode over to the double doors. I half expected to find something completely different when I flung them open, but no, the narrow, pitch-black hallway was still there.

“Leave it to a demon to concoct darkness that we can’t see in.” Jez peered in with a half shrug. “Who wants to go first?”

Wearing a scowl that would make doves cry, Briggs crossed his arms and affected his token, federal agent, tough-guy stance. “Should be the person who’s hardest to kill. That means you, O’Brien.”

“I guess that’s fair.” The unease I’d exhibited in front of Falon last time I faced this hall was absent. No way was I showing vulnerability in front of Briggs.

The tight squeeze was cumbersome. It was a claustrophobic’s nightmare. Thankfully, I wasn’t claustrophobic, yet. If this hall dragged on too long that might change.

Again I conjured up the glowing psi ball. A self-satisfied smile played along my lips when Briggs muttered something about my being useful after all. If he only knew.

The air was musty and thick in the tight passage. Briggs followed close with Jez right on his heels. Nobody wanted to be left behind in the dark. I floated the light ahead, trying to see around each bend. The entire way I was tense, ready to react if something came at us.

As we went, the passage began to shrink. The ceiling descended until I was hunched beneath it. The walls closed in until it wasn’t merely narrow but was actually brushing my shoulders on either side.

“Motherfucker,” Briggs panted. He stank of fear and sweat. It was both acrid and enticing.

“Better calm down, Briggs. You’re starting to smell like a snack.” My evil cackle echoed, indicating that the passage must widen ahead. God I hoped so. Being trapped in the shrinking space already sucked. If Briggs started to panic, it was going to get a lot worse fast.

When he didn’t respond I paused to glance back at him, having to drop and twist in the effort. He screwed his face up into what was supposed to be irritation but was more like poorly suppressed anxiety. “Keep moving.”

As much as I enjoyed his discomfort, I knew how serious a fear-induced meltdown could be. We needed him to stay in federal agent mode. If he dissolved into an irrational mess, I’d be forced to make a choice I didn’t want to make.

Each breath came fast as Briggs struggled to keep his cool. My skin prickled in response to the influx of nervous energy. He reeked like prey. I didn’t want to say anything and make matters worse, but if he came undone, I was going to come undone.

I wasn’t sure who was going to lose their mind first, but I was betting on me.

Just when the strain became unbearable, the passage widened into a room. Not just any room. A large room filled with mirrors.

Briggs sucked in a huge breath and mumbled, “Thank God.”

Jez surveyed the maze of mirrors before us and said what I was thinking. “What in the ever-loving fuck?”

Rows upon rows of mirrors laid out in an erratic pattern made it impossible to pinpoint a way out. There wasn’t a surface of the room that wasn’t mirrored, including the floor and ceiling.

“Well this should be fun.” A quick perusal of the room offered me no obvious exit, yet there had to be one.

I ventured further into the room, stopping dead when I caught sight of my reflection in the first mirror: eyes wild and deep blue, fangs red, blood dripping from my hands as if I’d been finger painting with someone’s insides. Despite knowing it was an illusion, my gaze dropped to my hands anyway, finding them blood free. Yet the many mirrors surrounding me all reflected my alter-image.

Jez joined me, sucking in a sharp breath, not at my reflection but her own. For the most part she looked as she always did, like a golden-haired knock out. Other than the soul-sucking black eyes in place of her usual green orbs.

“What is this?” she breathed, barely forming words.

“A lie,” I said because I needed her to stay strong. Breaking down under the weight of Shya’s tricks was not an option for any of us. “You can’t trust anything you see.”

“But it’s just like my dream.” She reached out to the mirror, and her reflection reached back. “This is who I am inside.”

“No.” I shook my head, unwilling to believe that. “That is what you are inside. Not who you are. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”

Briggs scoffed but seemed to know better than to say what he was thinking. He didn’t have to though. I knew. He saw me as a murderous fiend, and maybe I was. But he was no saint either.

He pushed by us, having found his balls again now that he was free of tight spaces. “Let’s find our way out. No time to stand around gawking at ourselves.”

Jez and I shared a look as his reflection floated by in every mirror. “I know why we appear the way we do, but what’s your deal? Is that what stealing from people’s dreams does to a guy?”

Try as he might to keep his head down and move through the mirrors, there was no avoiding the countless images each mirror reflected to the next. Briggs paused, assessed himself, and snarled beneath his breath before quickening his pace.

Briggs was still Briggs in each mirror, however, he was trailed by a black, shadowy figure that followed his every move. It seemed to be part of him, until it turned toward us while he kept moving. Something peered out of that blackness at us, something with no visible form or face. It made my skin crawl.

Jez grabbed my hand, and together we weaved our way through the many rows of mirrors. Once we determined there was no door, we decided that the answer to this puzzle must lie within the mirrors.

One by one we touched each hard surface. Nothing. Just glass and a reflection of something buried within us, something we shouldn’t have to face like this.

“This is all your fault, O’Brien,” Briggs suddenly hissed, his voice carrying though I couldn’t tell where he was. His image was everywhere. “You can’t let anything go.”

“Me?” I growled, pleased when it echoed. “You’re fucked in the head, you know that? Winston asked me to help find you, and I actually considered bringing you back, but I think you can stay here, stuck in Shya’s illusion forever. At least then you can’t hurt anyone anymore with your disgusting lockup and tests.”

“Winston? They sent that bitch? Figures.” Expletives followed, painting a clear picture of what Briggs really thought of his colleague.

“I kind of like her,” I said for no other reason than to piss him off.

“You would.” Briggs fell quiet so long I wondered if we’d lost him somehow. Then his ragged breath broke the silence. “I was only in charge of a particular line of testing. Getting rid of me won’t stop anything. I’m just one man in an organization bigger than you realize.”

Jez and I paused at the end of a row, and for a moment I couldn’t figure out which way to go or which way we’d already gone. It was an endless cycle of mirror after mirror.

“What did you do with my blood, Briggs? Where is it? I want it back.” If he was ever going to volunteer that information, it would be now. I wasn’t betting on it though. I should have tortured that information out of him when I’d had the chance, but I’d been more focused on finding out where my sister was.

His bitter laugh was weary. “That’s confidential.”

“Of course it is.” I followed Jez as she tugged me along, tapping every mirror, inspecting every surface for some kind of reaction. “So what did you plan to do with it?”

“I wanted to figure out how to create a hybrid like you,” he said, surprising me with his honesty. “When we turned werewolves into vampires in the lab, the wolf element was lost. But yours wasn’t.”

It was so typical, humans trying to play God, attempting to control creatures that were out of their league, beyond their understanding. We were either monsters or weapons, but we would never be people to them.

“Do you see any of us as people, Briggs? Does it mean nothing to you that we think and feel like anyone else?”

“Do you now? All of the cold-blooded killing must have had me confused.”

There was no point trying to get through to him. This was the same song and dance we’d been doing since we’d first met. One thing was certain: he could never learn that magic had retained my wolf. The last thing this city needed was the FPA breeding undead hybrids. The thought sickened me.

“It’s not worth it, Lex.” Jez squeezed my hand and shrugged. “Until he experiences it from our side, he’ll never understand.”

She was right. It wasn’t worth it, and yet it picked at me. I didn’t want to let it go; I wanted to pummel Briggs until he saw me as more than a killer. That would be counterproductive so I had to choke down my vehemence and refocus on the task at hand.

Why did it bother me so much what Briggs thought of me? Why did I care? Maybe I’d be better off not knowing the answer to those questions.

In the absence of voices, I was able to detect a faint, high sound, like the irritating frequency an old tube television gives off but at a much higher pitch. I tilted my head, trying to pinpoint where it was coming from.

“Do you hear that?” I nudged Jez who stopped tapping mirrors long enough to listen.

She nodded. “What is it?”

The longer I tuned into the sound, the more sure I became that it was magic of some kind, a supernatural energy vibrating at a high frequency.

“I think it’s the way out.”

Tracking the noise wasn’t easy. In a room that echoed, it seemed to be everywhere at once. As Jez and I both sought the source, we were pulling each other in opposite directions. We rounded a bend of mirrors and found Briggs studying one as if he’d found Alice’s looking glass.

“Every minute or so this one ripples.” He reached out with a hesitant hand but didn’t quite touch the surface. Then, with a shrug and a smirk, he pressed his fingertips to the glass.

Nothing happened.

And then it did. The mirror opened up like a black hole, pulling Briggs in. With a shout he disappeared so fast I looked to Jez to ensure I hadn’t imagined it.

“Oh, that’s scary,” she said.

We drew closer, still holding onto one another. Our bloody and black-eyed reflections surrounded us. They were tough to ignore.

“Together?” I asked.

She gave a tight nod, and we reached out for the mirror in unison. The energy it gave off crackled and popped. As soon as it connected with my own personal energy, it crawled quickly up my arm. The mirror opened up once again, and all I could see was black. It sucked me in like a vacuum. There was no fighting the pull. I was simply jerked off my feet, thrust into the black abyss. My hand was pulled from Jez’s. I couldn’t tell if I was right side up or upside down. My stomach flipped a few times…

And then it was over.

I was sprawled face down on a hard, dusty surface. The suffocating sensation of demons greeted me. Not good.

Jez was a few feet away, picking herself up. I shoved to my feet and froze. We were in a church of sorts, one that had been desecrated for a very long time from the looks of it. Statues of saints and angels were broken and vandalized. The cross above the altar had been turned upside down. Pews had been removed, making room for a pentagram.

Demons littered the place, engaged in sex, bloodletting, and torture, all in the name of magic and power.

We had just fallen into a ritual party, but we weren’t the only party guests in attendance. Unsurprisingly, Brook was among the frolicking demons. What did surprise me but probably shouldn’t have was the dark-clad figure standing in the center of the pentagram, his lips moving in a chant.

Gabriel.

Chapter Twenty

“What took you so long?” Gabriel asked.

He sensed me immediately due to our shared bloodline, much like I could feel the mass of inky power swirling around him. A few demons acknowledged our arrival, though for the most part, they went about their business without care.

Briggs clutched the shattered remains of a statue, gaping at both Gabriel and I in turn. I wanted nothing more than to revel in the expression of absolute horror and shock he wore, but my attention was on the black-magic vampire.

“I didn’t realize you were expecting me.” So very suspicious. I eyed Gabriel. What was he up to?

“Arys isn’t with you?” His dark gaze perused my companions. His eyes were black, pupils dilated so the iris was undetectable.

“No. You haven’t seen him?”

“No.” The barest shake of his head. Gabriel’s hands were extended like he was metaphysically tasting the energy of the room. “That’s fine. We don’t need him. Yet.”

I stiffened. Gabriel didn’t scare me, but he did trigger my need for caution. “Need him for what?”

“You’ll see,” Gabriel said. His expression revealed nothing.

“Dear God,” Briggs muttered, eyes wide and jaw clenched.

It was hard to keep my gaze fixed on the newbie vamp. Just ten feet away a demon was having sex with two human women. Their eyes were glazed as if they were under some kind of spell, which they most likely were. Just beyond their little group, a man was tied to a beam while Brook and another demon bled him from a vein in each limb. They captured the stolen blood in a jeweled chalice. It didn’t sicken me as much as I wanted it to, and for that I felt revulsion.

Perhaps the worst thing taking place was the torture of one demon by several others. He was tied down with silver chains to what was left of a broken pew. While one demon doused his face with some noxious liquid that rolled into his eyes and nose, another scorched the victim’s feet. They shouted questions at him, demanding information about some stolen jewel.

It dawned on me that the activity was all very reminiscent of the various techniques employed by our vampiric bloodline. We made sex, blood, and torture an art, and we were all damn good at it.

These very demons could be the source of our powers. Had Shya planted them all here to cause me to stumble on my way? Because if so, he was a far greater genius than I’d given him credit for. And if not, then that spoke volumes as to where my mental state was these days.

I grabbed Briggs’s shoulder, and he jumped. Dragging him close I hissed, “Remember this next time you wax poetic about how fucking awful and monstrous vampires are.”

A naked demon with a goat head and a ridiculously large erection glided over to us. His black goat eyes landed on Jez. “Here, kitty kitty. Come play with Snake.”

Snake? That was definitely a fake name and not a very good one at that. I drew the Dragon Claw and shoved in front of Jez.

“Move it or lose it, asshole.” A glance at his unit revealed a freaky barbed appendage that made me scream on the inside.

“I have no interest in any dick, and that—” Jez pointed at his frightful manhood “—would never convince me otherwise.”

Snake considered the size of the blade I held along with Jez’s remark. I anticipated a fight, but he merely shrugged and turned to Briggs. “How about you, handsome?”

Briggs gaped at the demon. His mouth moved, but no sound came out.

Though it wasn’t the best time to antagonize the uptight Fed, I couldn’t resist. “I’m sure Briggs would love to play with you, Snake.” I snickered. “But I can’t help but wonder why you never asked me.”

Briggs was flustered but managed to get out a, “Fuck you, O’Brien.”

Snake shook his freaky head. “This isn’t my first circus, sweetheart. I don’t mess with you addictive types. Anymore.”

Being called addictive wasn’t new to me. What was new was having a demon say it. It hadn’t occurred to me that a creature that had never been human might be affected by me. The vampires, sure, that made sense on some level.

Then I panicked at the thought that Falon could form the same twisted attachment as the vampires who tasted my blood. Or had he already? My stomach hurt at the thought.

“O’Brien, what the fuck?” Briggs’s alarmed shout broke through my worried thoughts.

Snake had ahold of his arm. Briggs was resisting, holding tight to the remains of the statue. I sighed. He was lucky I wasn’t a total bitch.

“I was just kidding about him,” I said to the persistent demon, fighting to keep my gaze from drifting to his nether regions. “He’s with me. Sorry about any confusion.” I tightened my grip on the dagger. If the naked demon came at me, I was going to start swinging at every body part that got in my way.

He surprised me by backing off, but not before he took the opportunity to wave his scary dick in Briggs’s direction.

Jez burst into laughter and clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle the sound. I wanted to laugh too, but there was too much illicit activity going on for me to relax enough.

“You owe me an apology,” I said to Briggs. “Not a bullshit one either. I’ve shown more mercy to you than you ever have to me.”

Because Briggs wasn’t a stupid man by any means, he kept his mouth shut. He did, however, have the decency to nod.

“Alexa.” Gabriel’s usually sullen and listless tone was hard, commanding. “Join me?”

I was uncomfortable leaving Jez and Briggs to fend off demons. A set of doors indicated a potential way out. There was just the small matter of getting through the demon activity blocking the way. Yet, since it was a request and not a demand, I put the Dragon Claw away and weaved my way through the ritualistic insanity to the pentagram. I hesitated at its edge, reluctant to step inside Gabriel’s black magic circle.

“What are you doing here, Gabriel?”

“I’m gathering the energy.” Holding a hand out toward me, Gabriel’s face revealed nothing of his intentions. “Come check it out.” Without another word he implored me to trust him. Despite having no mental connection to each other, I could almost hear his silent plea.

Vibrating from the mass of supernatural energy bombarding my senses, I gave Gabriel the benefit of the doubt and stepped into the pentagram. A jolt like lightning struck my brain, and I had to wait for the smoke to clear from inside my mind before I could take another step. Whatever the kid was doing, it was intense and undoubtedly dangerous. I really didn’t want to have to kill him, but I wasn’t ruling it out.

“What are you up to?” I kept my distance, knowing better than to touch a vampire from our bloodline while they were conducting so much power. It would jump to me, and I was already struggling to resist the temptation of what was going on around us.

Long, black hair in his face, Gabriel allowed himself a tiny smile. “I told you. Gathering energy. There’s many uses for this much concentrated demon power.”

“I knew we couldn’t trust you.” Unable to resist, I gathered my own power close. Destroying Gabriel was not what I wanted, but there was no escaping Hurst’s warning.

His smile faltered. “Alexa, I’m giving it to you.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“The only way for you to seduce Shya enough to grab a feather is if you have what it takes to enthrall him. You don’t. But you will.” Gabriel gestured to his hands, the focal point of the wild force he gathered.

His meaning sank in and I swallowed hard. With a shake of my head, I took an uneasy step back. “That’s a bad idea. I don’t think I can control that kind of power. I’ve never tried.”

“I think you can. There’s no other way.”

“How do I know this isn’t a trap?” I challenged, refusing to wrap my mind around what he was suggesting. “Shya could be listening to us right now.”

Gabriel frowned. “He would’ve stopped me already if he were. He can’t be everywhere at once. If I were him, I’d be keeping my eye on Willow. Of all of us, he’s the only real threat to Shya. Until you seduce him. Then we work together to get rid of that fucker. So you have to take this.”

This was not what I’d signed on for, but it had to be better than taking Willow’s blood. I knew enthralling Shya would be the hardest thing I’d ever done, and using demon power to do it made sense. Use the power of demons to seduce a demon. But what would that do to me? The closest I’d come was a taste of Falon’s power, and it had run rampant through me. Sure I’d been mortal then, but the demon essence in this unholy sanctuary was leaps and bounds greater than what Falon possessed.

“What are the risks?” My hatred of Shya was stronger than my sense of self-preservation. It had to be, or we would never be free of him.

Gabriel studied his hands. “Well for one, this hurts like a motherfucker. On the flipside, it feels good too. Kind of a pain and pleasure deal. Best case scenario, it goes off without a hitch, and you get a thrill out of it. Worst case scenario, it makes your head explode.” The tiny smile tugged at his lips again, but I couldn’t tell if he was joking. “I think you’ll be fine.”

“Why do I have to do it? How do we even know what Shya’s into?” Grasping at straws wasn’t going to get me out of this. Knowing what I had to do didn’t make it any easier. I’d rather die again than have to seduce Shya.

“His tastes are pretty specific.”

“Lilah,” I said.

Gabriel nodded. With a discreet glance about, he spoke in a low tone. “Just do what you have to do. And I’ll do what I have to do. You can trust me. I’ll prove it.”

Trust the kid who could stand in the middle of such debauchery and remain unfazed? Yeah, nothing wrong with that. “I don’t really have a choice, do I?” My gaze was drawn to the orgy of demons and humans forming on the small stage before the altar. “What could Shya be hoping to gain by having us stumble in here? Does he really think it will tempt us?”

Gabriel followed my gaze. “I found Brogan in here. She was getting acquainted with that guy.” He jerked his head in the direction of a demon using blood to draw various symbols all over his naked body.

“Oh my God. Was Shaz with her? I’ll cut that piece of shit demon’s dick off.” I reached for my dagger, but Gabriel stopped me with a headshake.

“He didn’t get that far. I got her out. She was alone.” His brow creased, and he grunted under the growing strain of the power he held. “We’ll find them. But this place is a trap. Look at your friends.”

I was about to launch into a tirade about Briggs not being anything remotely close to a friend when I spied him being led away from Jez by a glassy-eyed human woman. Jez herself was gravitating toward the demon torture session where the waterboarding had given way to drops of silver in the eyes.

I couldn’t deny that every facet of my vampiric nature was intrigued by the decadent depravity taking place. It was the anchor of light that kept me rooted in disgust rather than slip-sliding my way into participation.

“How are you resisting?” I asked. “Don’t you want to join in? There’s a lot of human flesh and blood here.”

A groan escaped him, and he staggered before catching himself. “What do you think I was doing before you got here? Feels like I’ve been in here for hours already. Maybe days.” Gabriel couldn’t take much more. He was crumbling under the pressure.

I was torn between helping or going after Jez and Briggs. “Ok, I’m trusting you, kid. Don’t fuck me over. What do you need me to do?” My gaze darted between Gabriel and my other two companions. Urgency gripped me.

“Brace yourself,” he said. It wasn’t the most comforting response. “Then you grab those two and get out of here.” He held out his hands for mine.

I nodded. Offering my hands to him was going out on the proverbial limb. This could end badly.

His hands were hot when he slid his fingers between mine and pressed our palms together. Dropping my guard, I accepted the malevolent force with gritted teeth. The demonic ardor flowed in, clouding my mind and overloading my senses. I whimpered, crushed under the assault of such pure evil as it filled me.

Just when I thought it was too much, the pain eased. Warmth spread from head to toe, creating a pleasant tingle throughout my body. Naughty thoughts flitted through my mind, starting with the deliciously strong young vampire holding tight to my hands.

As if sharing my thought, Gabriel said, “Funny how our power works, huh? What you’re feeling right now, save it for Shya. Now get those two out of here. I’ll be right behind you.”

No sooner had we broke apart than the activity in the former church ground to a halt. When they realized we were up to something, the attention of two dozen demons turned upon us.

I was already moving. I grabbed Briggs first, jerking him free of the woman who was clumsily trying to bind his wrists. With the Dragon Claw in one hand and power crackling in the other, I cast a protective circle around us. Briggs stumbled along beside me, shaking his head like he was in a fog. I caught Jez by the elbow and almost jerked her off her feet as I pulled her into my circle.

Demons flung attacks at us, all of them useless against the circle I’d made out of their own power.

As we ducked and dodged our way toward the exit, Gabriel chanted something in Latin. He too avoided attack with a well-formed circle.

I kicked the doors open and dragged my companions across the threshold. A spell licked at my heels. It wasn’t meant for me, however. Gabriel came through behind us, and the doors slammed shut. A rumble like thunder shook the building all around us, and the doors disappeared completely, leaving only a pristine plaster wall.

“How in the—? What in the—?” Briggs gasped. Rubbing a hand over his face and hair, he eyed Gabriel who ignored his blatant stare.

“Come on.” Gabriel marched onward without giving us a chance to peruse the red-carpeted hallway. It wasn’t unlike every other hall so far. “I can feel the spell Shya used to conjure this house. Pretty sure I can find the way out.”

“So you had an unfair advantage this whole time?” Jez was snarky, the effects of the demon party having already worn off.

“We all have some kind of advantage in here,” Gabriel replied.

Briggs stuck both hands in his hoodie pocket and sneered. “Speak for yourself.”

I glanced back at the wall where the door had been. “I guess Brook won’t be winning that favor.”

“Fuck Brook.” The scowl Gabriel wore was downright vicious. “He’s a fucking joke.”

I didn’t know Brook well enough to comment. Also, I didn’t care. In that moment I was merely trying to make sure my feet touched the floor. My head felt like it was in the clouds. It was just as Gabriel said. The pressure in my head was immense, threatening to split my skull open. Yet somehow it felt good to have such mind-shattering power at my fingertips.

Loaded with demon magic, I felt high, detached, and hungry. As we followed Gabriel down the hall, I eyed up each of my companions. Blood, sex, power. I could devour all three, though Gabriel would fight the hardest. Yes. That would be nice.

As if reading my thoughts, he shot me a sidelong glance. “You just have to hold it together until we find Falon. Then I’ll summon Shya. Do not use that power for anything else. Alexa? Are you listening to me?”

“Not really.” A stupid giggle filled the hall. I didn’t realize at the time it was me. “I’m trying to decide which of you I want to taste first.”

Drunk on demonic forces, I got invasively close to Briggs and breathed deeply of his human scent. He made the mistake of jerking out of reach. All it did was encourage me. I pasted him up against the wall and licked the side of his neck. He froze, knowing better than to make any more sudden moves. The salty, masculine taste of him set me on fire. Inhibitions ceased to exist.

“Oh great,” Jez scoffed. “Did you really have to give her so much juice before we’ve even found our way out of here? You’re going to get us all killed.”

“I couldn’t contain it all myself,” Gabriel said, pausing to examine a fork in the hallway. “Alexa’s more powerful. She can handle it.”

Jez grabbed my arm and pulled me off the quivering Fed. “Can doesn’t mean will.”

“You want it.” I pointed a finger at Briggs. “You can say you don’t, but your body betrays you.”

He smelled like fear, rage, and desire. To my power battered brain, it was an enticing cocktail. He was the mouse and I was the cat. I just wanted to play with him.

The real cat tugged on my arm, drawing my attention to her rich scent of shifter and perfume. Although the ladies were not my first drink of choice, I could make an exception for this fine beauty.

“Alexa, stop it.” Jez shook me, going so far as to slap my face. “We need you to keep your shit together. Remember the goal here.”

“Feisty.” I rubbed my stinging cheek and grinned. “I like that.”

With an irritated sigh, Jez glowered at Gabriel. “Can’t you do something about this? She’s going to be a huge pain in the ass otherwise.”

“No.” He held out a hand, feeling the atmosphere before choosing to go right. “I wouldn’t if I could.”

“Why not?” Jez asked. When he didn’t respond, she added, “You’re really not the talkative type, are you?”

I ambled along beside Briggs, close enough to get under his skin. The old-fashioned gas lamps lining the hallway cast a mix of light and shadows on the path ahead. If anyone could find his way out of here, it would be Gabriel. He knew magic, even demon magic. He could sift through the energy and pick apart the threads that erected this house. However, I wasn’t counting my chickens before they hatched.

“He doesn’t want to end up like Kale and Jenner,” I explained with a dramatic sigh, hoping it didn’t give away how much that bothered me, Kale more so than Jenner.

“Can’t say I blame him.” Pulling a dagger from her thigh sheath, Jez spun it expertly in one hand. “You’ve got that look in your eyes, Lex. The same look Kale had right before he tried to kill me. Since I know you’re not entirely you right now, I’m going to warn you: come at me, and I bury this thing in your sternum.”

A challenge. Exciting. The cool promise shone in her dark green eyes. She’d do it too. “That’s fair. Just make sure you miss the heart,” I quipped.

Her gaze dropped but not before I saw the sadness that passed over her heart-shaped face. She had lost Kale, her dear friend, to the vampiric madness that I’d helped bring out in him. Jez missed him more than she liked to let on, but I knew her. Now she thought she was at risk of losing me the same way.

Seeing her pain was sobering. Somehow it helped me rein in the crazy. Somewhat. I refocused on getting through Shya’s horror house, though the wary side-eye Briggs kept slipping me remained enticing. He hurried to catch up to Gabriel, believing him to be less of a monster than me, apparently. Boy was he wrong.

Jez hung back, keeping an eye on me while trying to appear as if she wasn’t. I really loved that girl. Worry slashed through the aphrodisiac effects. I didn’t want her to end up like the rest of us, a creature of darkness. She was better than that.

We passed several doors and intersecting corridors. Gabriel paid no mind to any of them. He walked with purpose, a vampire on a mission. Of course he could be leading us to some horrific torture chamber at Shya’s request for all I knew. Honestly, I indeed suspected he was taking us to a torture chamber either way.

The hall ended at a heavy iron door. Symbols decorated the surface, all of them meaningless to me. Gabriel studied them, brows knit together, deep in thought. His lips moved in a silent chant. The atmosphere thickened and moved, bending to his will. With a groan of metal and a high-pitched squeal, the door slid open.

“Hurry,” Gabriel ordered. “It won’t stay open long.”

We’d all just cleared the threshold when the door slammed shut with a boom that reverberated through the stone room. And that was all it was. Four windowless stone walls and a near-empty space.

All it contained were a few select torture devices as if my expectation had been a self-fulfilling prophecy. A flat stone slab with a blade swinging from a pendulum occupied the center. An iron maiden stood in one corner, bloodstained and cruel. The only instrument of torment in use was the series of restraints lining one wall.

“Dear God.” Shock gave Jez’s hushed exclamation resonance.

Words failed me. I stared dumbfounded at the occupants of the restraints. Shaz and Brogan hung limp against their shackles, exhausted from whatever agony they’d endured. Even more disturbing than the sight of them was the one inflicting the punishment with a wicked grin on his gorgeous face.

Arys.

“Hello, my wolf.” Smooth like velvet, Arys’s low voice reached inside me. “You’re right in time for the best part.”

Chapter Twenty-One

“Are you sure this is the way out?” I whispered to Gabriel, unable to process this newest turn of events.

“Yes. We have to go through the toughest parts of the house to get outside to the maze.” Unlike the rest of us, Gabriel was unfazed by Arys playing in this torture chamber with the two people who deserved it the least. “He’s under the influence of a spell. It’s here, in this room. You’ll have to trust me.”

Before I could question him, Gabriel turned toward Jez, Briggs, and I with a hand up. He uttered some Latin, and a spell smacked us like a metaphysical punch in the face.

Briggs shook his head and reached to steady himself against the closest wall. “What the fuck did you just do?”

“Counter spell,” Gabriel said in his still solemn, disinterested tone. “It’ll keep what’s in this room from taking anyone else. Me included.”

His spell prickled as it slid over me like a protective second skin. It felt tight but strong. I wasn’t a fan of the dark magic he wielded, but in this case I could make an exception.

“Can you break the spell?” I asked, wary of looking at Arys. Just the sight of him made me want to do naughty things. The demon-charged force wrapped in my succubus power encouraged me to act on my impulses.

Gabriel gave the barest nod, as if he didn’t want Arys to see it.

Arys’s blue wolf gaze stayed locked on me, but there was something off about it, a flicker of something like he wasn’t alone in there. He had only to beckon me with a finger, and my feet were moving. Unable to resist I went to him, flinging myself in his arms. I just needed his hands on me.

“Where’ve you been, my love? I looked for you.” He captured my lips in a kiss that tasted like blood. Shaz’s blood.

“Arys, what are you doing? This isn’t you.” I gestured to Shaz and Brogan who had perked up at the possibility of rescue. “You know we have to stick together. All of us. It’s the only way out.”

Arys pressed his lips to my neck and made a wolfish rumble. “What is that roiling about inside you? You’ve been up to something, haven’t you?”

Over his shoulder I met Shaz’s gaze. His wrists were bruised and bloodied, but otherwise he seemed unharmed. Brogan slumped against the wall. Her hazel eyes were dull, and a few strands of blonde hair clung to her sweat-covered forehead. She was unblemished but clearly exhausted. I could take a wild guess as to what he’d been doing to them. The teasing torment of an incubus was as fun for the victim as it was agonizing.

“There’s no time for screwing around like this, Arys. We have to go.” Even as I said it, I was leering at Shaz who frowned and shot a questioning glance at my companions.

With both daggers drawn Jez moved to stand in front of Arys’s imprisoned victims. Determination made her usually soft features hard. While she stood guard Briggs inspected their manacles.

Arys watched this with grim amusement. “Um, just what exactly is going on here?”

“Play time is over, my friend.” To emphasize, Jez twirled both daggers, perfectly in synch.

“There’s got to be a key for these,” Briggs said. “The lock is big. You might be able to pick it with the tip of a dagger.”

Pushing me aside, Arys pressed close to Jez, stopping only when one of her blades rested against his chest. “Play time is over when I say it’s over. I’m bored with these two anyway. So…you can be next.”

“Nobody is next.” I shoved between them, pretending not to notice how good Jez’s flaring temper felt at close range.

After giving them each a push in opposite directions, I went to Brogan and easily manipulated the lock on each heavy shackle. She all but fell into Briggs’s waiting arms. I moved to Shaz and did the same, ignoring the weight of Arys’s scowl.

When I reached for the second cuff holding Shaz’s bleeding wrist, I found twin punctures. My hand shook as I ran a finger through the blood welling up from the wounds. There was heat in my touch. He let out a ragged sigh and leaned into me. I freed his wrist but not before dragging my tongue over the bite marring his lovely flesh.

“That’s disgusting,” Briggs said, his judgmental mask back in place.

Shaz leaned on me, taking deep breaths with eyes closed. He didn’t seem to be especially wounded, just tired. Arys must’ve put him through the ringer. With smut-stained demon essence coating my thoughts, I was disappointed to have missed it.

Gathering himself, Shaz’s eyes fluttered open, settling on Arys before bleeding to wolf. A growl rumbled in his throat, and he lunged toward Arys. His fist connected with the vampire’s face in an audible smack that was repeated three times before I broke them apart with a flaming psi ball tossed between them. That pesky demon power was hard to control.

During all of this Gabriel stood apart from the rest of us. His lids were lowered, and he spoke softly, beneath his breath.

Arys was encouraged by Shaz’s violence, egging him on for more. It was a mistake to taunt Shaz. That only brought out the true beast in him, and Arys knew it.

Voices were raised as Jez and I shouted at them to stop. Briggs pulled Brogan away from the confrontation while I sought to separate them again, sans fire. A smack of demon-tainted power stopped the fight while also tearing a scream from me as a blinding pain seared my brain. I went down on my knees just as Gabriel’s chant ceased, hopefully breaking the spell affecting Arys.

Jez reached for me, but I waved her away. She just smelled too damn good. The need to purge myself of the evil coursing through me had grown strong. I couldn’t contain it much longer.

A hand on my shoulder helped to ground me, and the pain began to fade. Gabriel pulled me up, daring to touch me for the second time tonight. That was no easy feat for him. A touch could mean a vision, something Gabriel couldn’t always avoid but seemed to wish he could.

“Just hold on a little longer,” he said. “We’re almost through. I can feel it.”

Not only did a touch mean a potential vision, it also meant getting close enough to risk my thrall. Knowing I could do it, having the evil in me insist that I should, made it so damn hard to resist. I shoved away from him, feeling both proud and ill as I did. We needed to find Shya and get this over with.

“What the fuck?” Arys muttered, holding his head and blinking several times fast.

Shaz stood over him, fist raised. He was too good a man to pummel someone who was no longer fighting back.

“Can we get the hell out of here now?” Jez piped up. She cast an uncertain glance around. “How do we get out of here anyway?”

Once I was steady on my feet, I went to Arys. Confusion furrowed his brow. He pulled me close, hugging me to him. Pressing his face into my hair, he said, “I don’t know what happened. It’s like I was here, but I wasn’t in control. I couldn’t stop myself.”

“It was demon magic,” Gabriel supplied, though his attention was elsewhere. He walked the perimeter of the torture chamber, seeking the exit we could not see. “Shya planted it.”

Arys groaned and scrubbed a hand over his face. “Fuck. Brogan. Shaz. I’m sorry. I never would have…I mean, that’s not my style, Shaz. You know that.”

Shaz’s hands were clenched into fists. He was all fangs and wolf eyes, seething in silence. Brogan clung to Briggs, the only human present other than her. I’d probably be clinging to him too if I were in her position.

“Brogan?” I kept my distance, knowing better than to get too close. “Are you ok? Did he hurt you?”

She shook her head but wouldn’t meet Arys’s gaze. Her voice was hoarse, whether from screaming in pain or pleasure I didn’t know. Probably both. “Not really. Shaz distracted him. He took the worst of it.”

I looked to Shaz who vibrated with the need to tear Arys apart. Our eyes met, and with a raised brow, I asked the question I dared not ask aloud. His wolf peered out at me, and I read the conflicted emotions within it.

A loud crash caused us all to jump. Gabriel had shoved over the iron maiden. The harsh clang rang in my ears. He pointed to the trap door in the floor where it had sat.

I marveled at him, wondering if Shya realized just how dangerous this kid was now. After all, Shya had ordered Arys to turn Gabriel. Now here he was, using the power he got from our bloodline to uncover the many tricks and traps of the house Shya himself had designed. I was as uneasy as I was fascinated.

It took both Gabriel and Arys to haul the trap door open. They were also the first to head down into the dank stairwell below. Shaz and I brought up the rear. As my anchor, if the vile forces that tempted me were to prove stronger than I was, he might be the only one who could keep me from doing something I’d regret. Of course, there was no way to know for sure other than to put it to the test, which I’d rather not do.

The descent was shorter than expected. The staircase spiraled, taking us not to a door but right into a bedroom. It was lavish and warm in comparison to the cold, unfeeling places we’d traipsed through. For starters, it was huge, the kind of bedroom found in castles or mansions. The walls were painted a neutral beige, but the furniture was a rich wood, lending a coziness to the environment. Right away I noted the balcony. Was that our way out?

A curtained four-poster bed stood against one wall. A fireplace near the bed added to the welcoming feel. The seating area across the room boasted of lush sofas and a coffee table laden with food and drinks. Among them were goblets filled with human blood. I could smell it from where I stood. What caught my attention was the empty tequila bottle in the center.

“Willow?” I sprang into motion, searching the room.

“Alexa, wait,” Gabriel commanded. “There’s more to this room than it seems. Be careful.”

I tried to heed his warning, but suspecting that Willow might be in here spurred me on to scour every inch of the room. Being unable to feel demons the way I could feel vampires made it impossible to know for sure. They had a way of cloaking themselves that was beyond my ability to see through.

“This room feels weird,” Jez commented, drifting over to the coffee table to study the contents. “Like it’s all wrong somehow. I can’t really describe it. Does anyone else feel that?”

“The entire house feels weird,” Shaz replied. He stood rigid in the center of the room. “The architecture makes no sense at all.”

I jerked open a door that led to a bathroom as luxurious as the rest of the room. Empty. No Willow. I went so far as to lift the heavy blankets covering the bed so I could investigate beneath it. Still nothing.

“It’s fear,” Arys said, low and soft. “That’s what you feel in here, Jez. The entire room is just…fear.”

On my hands and knees beside the bed, I glanced up at him, puzzled. Something did feel strange to me, but the whole damn place felt like Bizarro-land. How was he feeling something so specific that I wasn’t?

Another throb of pain racked my skull, and I bit back a cry. Harnessing this much foreign power was not in my skill set. I couldn’t contain it much longer.

“Fear?” Jez repeated, but my attention had landed on the shutter-style doors beside the bed. A closet.

I got up and dived for the door, driven by a shot of adrenaline and certainty. Jerking open the shutters revealed a walk-in closet. Right away the noxious scent of tequila hit me.

“Willow.” His name was a whisper.

The closet was bare and dark. The light from the bedroom didn’t reach the back. My eyes adjusted accordingly.

Before my searching gaze could find him, a broken voice came out of the dark. “Go away.”

“How long have you been in here?” Ignoring his command, I pushed on until I found him at the back, on the floor with his legs drawn up, curled tight in a child-like manner.

“It doesn’t matter. Go away, Alexa.”

I crouched down beside him. In the dim light I could make out the hard set to his shoulders and jaw, but it was his eyes that caused the first trickle of alarm to slide through me. Deep in the depths of Willow’s scarlet gaze lay terror as raw as I’d ever seen it.

“You’re not alone now, Willow. Come on. Let’s get you out of here.” Curse Shya for creating this fucking place in an attempt to tear us all down. The reluctance I’d felt about having to seduce him into a trap was fading fast. I couldn’t wait to give him what he deserved.

When Willow didn’t accept the hand I offered, I gently grabbed hold of his arm. The moment we touched I was electrified by the panic screaming through his aura. It jumped to me, crawling over me like a swarm of insects. My jaw dropped in a silent scream as a flurry of images raced through my mind, each more horrifying than the last.

Shaz with Izzy. Shaz with me. Shaz dead because of me. Jez with black eyes. Juliet, dead at the hand of my lover.

The fears, those I harbored so deep that I dared not think of them lest I somehow make them come true, surged to the forefront of my mind, attacking the scraps of my sanity with everything that scared me most. And beneath it all, feeding that festering fear was something akin to hatred. The need to blame and to loathe something or someone for the terror that called my subconscious home. Because only hate could conquer the insecurities of fear. For a little while anyway.

“I said go away.” With a shout Willow flung me off, breaking our connection. “This is all your fault anyway.”

The closet wasn’t all that big. I landed on my butt near the entry where Arys and Gabriel lurked. The images behind my eyes vanished but left me shaken.

Surprised by Willow’s reaction, I scrambled to my feet and just barely made it out of the closet before he burst out after me. His hair was in disarray, and his eyes were wild.

“It’s because of you that I met Christina. It’s because of you that I had to watch her die. If it wasn’t for you, I would never have sullied myself with her kind.” Willow hurled every vicious word into my face. “When I had to choose, I chose you because you were part of the greater good. Now I’m living my worst nightmare while you play the whore for a fallen fucking angel. A known traitor. I suffer while you fuck and kill your problems away, shitting on the sacrifice I made for you.”

Arys stepped forward, ready to defend me with violence. He burned with the sudden heat of it. With a hand on his chest and a shake of my head, I held him back.

A sob lodged in my throat. I choked on it, unable to speak. Despite the guilt that plagued me, I knew he was wrong to blame me for the choices he’d made. Pursuing Christina, taking her to bed, falling for her. None of that had anything to do with me, and we both knew it. Willow was hurting, and this room was taking him to the place where his fears lived and drowning him in the waters of guilt and despair.

Though my heart hurt under the knife of his scathing accusations, I saw his desperation for what it was. Willow was suffering. Alone. It wasn’t really about me. The ghosts of his past would not die.

“If anyone is the whore, it’s Falon,” Arys seethed, refusing to stay quiet. “You have no right to blame Alexa for your baggage or to judge her for having her own.”

“Arys, please. Just don’t.” Though I appreciated his need to protect me, this was not one of those times when he could.

Willow tore his hateful glare from me to fling it at Arys. It crumbled on his face as sorrow broke through. The former angel was a mess. I wanted so badly to comfort him, yet there was nothing I could offer him right now.

With an anguished cry he jerked away and headed for the balcony where he stood holding the railing, head bowed and wings flared. The rest of us gaped after him. All except Jez. She hugged herself tight and stared at something I couldn’t see.

“Jez?” I drew closer to her, wary of touching after what had happened when I touched Willow. When she didn’t react to my voice, I looked to the others for help. “We need to get out of here.”

“Yeah.” Shaz shuddered and gazed at something unseen. “We really do.”

The horrors my mind had shown me resurfaced as debilitating terror. That was the point of this room. On the surface it was harmless, just a fancy bedroom with a snack table. Deceptive.

Briggs was the first to beeline for the balcony. With Brogan in tow, he moved like a man being chased by the things that lived inside his mind. One by one this room was affecting each of us.

We filed from the bedroom, but Jez remained rooted to the spot. When she was the only one left, I went back and took her hand.

“Jez? I’m here. Whatever you’re seeing, it’s not real. It’s in your head.” I gave a gentle tug, fighting against the frightful energy that tried to jump from her to me.

“That’s what makes it so fucking scary,” she said, grabbing me with a hand tipped with claws that punctured my skin. She was oblivious. “I don’t want to end up like that. I can’t. I just fucking can’t. My entire life I’ve tried so hard to just be me. A shifter. A lady-loving woman who can kick ass and keep going. I don’t want to be a demon. I’d rather be dead than be anything like my father.”

Tears streamed down her face. Her lungs heaved as she gasped between sobs. Jez was going into full meltdown mode.

“You’re not him, Jezzy. You never will be.” Perhaps I shouldn’t have been making promises that were not mine to keep. The pounding of her heart reverberated in my ears as her terror sought to work its way inside me. I had to get her out.

“I can’t,” she sobbed. “I just can’t.”

Arys watched from the balcony door. Everyone else was already out there, gazing out upon the maze. I could just glimpse the edge of it through the window from where I stood.

Despite the tremor that shook me, I pulled Jez into my arms and hugged her close. Sharing in her fright was all I could offer her. It pulled me back to that dreadful place where everyone I loved died horribly while I was forced to watch. Blood tears streaked hot paths down my cheeks.

Strong arms encircled us both as Arys ushered us from the room. Oddly enough he was unaffected. The fear running rampant through us never touched him. Once he’d pushed us out onto the balcony, the painful spell fell away, and my mind cleared.

Wiping a hand through my tears, I gawked at him in wonder. “Why didn’t it affect you?”

He shook his head and sadness flashed through his midnight eyes. “I’ve already lived through my greatest fear. Nothing that room can throw at me can be worse than that.”

Two more tears escaped my eyes, coaxed forth by his declaration. Killing me. That had been Arys’s greatest fear, because he’d had to live with the certainty of it for over a hundred years. If I’d had any doubt before, it was gone now. It was most definitely time to move past what had happened to us both that night. Neither of us had come away unscathed.

I pressed a kiss to the palm of his hand before pressing one to Jez’s temple. I truly adored these people I was blessed to cross paths with as we all took this uncertain journey.

“So what now?” Briggs asked. He stood at the railing as far as he could get from anyone other than Brogan.

I turned to take in the full expanse of the maze. It was quite breathtaking. A lavender sky hung over it, evidence that we were in a place that existed beyond reality. The hedges were green and full, taller than anyone could reasonably climb. I wondered if the winged beings could fly over. Doubtful. Shya wouldn’t leave a loophole like that.

The balcony was high, and there was no way down but to jump. The rest of us could do it just fine, but Briggs and Brogan would break their legs. Maybe their necks.

“Willow?” I asked, afraid to get too close after the way he’d lost it on me.

He stared at the maze without turning. He responded in a dull, listless tone, like he already knew what I would ask. “I can take them down.”

Gabriel studied the maze, nodding to himself. “There’s no way out of that thing. Every path that doesn’t lead to a dead end leads to the center. There’s a pentagram there. It’s got to be a vortex. That’s the exit.”

When I searched the maze with that in mind, I was able to see it. On the ground level it would be impossible to figure out. It was nothing short of miraculous that none of us had wandered in there alone. Going in as a group would be safer.

Willow flew Brogan and a reluctant Briggs down to the ground, one at a time. The rest of us made the jump with little trouble. After a test run we discovered that Willow was only able to fly so high before an unseen force thrust him back down, keeping him from flying over the maze itself.

As a group of eight we approached the entrance. Shya had acted as if he expected us to turn on each other, but had he really anticipated that we would find each other, had he planned for us to enter the maze together? Assumptions were dangerous, as I was discovering.

The entrance to the maze was like a large, gaping mouth about to swallow us whole. Gabriel had tried to get a feel for the maze, but as we moved through it, it seemed to shift around us, never staying the same long enough for us to figure it out.

Our human companions tired quickly.

Several times we turned a corner only to find a dead end and a pack of hellhounds waiting to drive us back the way we’d come. The ugly beasts gave chase, snarling and snapping. Their eerie red eyes glowed like two small flames in their black faces. We beat them back with little trouble. Together our group had more than enough power and weaponry to take them out. They were little more than a delay to keep us busy while the maze rearranged itself once again.

Gradually the pale purple sky above us began to darken. There was no sun or moon, just a smattering of purple stars against a blackening sky.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that we needed to hurry.

Every dead end stripped away our persistence little by little. Surprisingly, it was Briggs that kept us moving, barking orders at us like we were his team.

“We didn’t come this far to give up, did we?” he demanded, still shouldering most of Brogan’s weight. “Keep your eyes on the sky. Use the stars to navigate. They aren’t shifting too, are they?”

Gabriel did his best to feel his way through the maze’s magic, but unlike the house it was erratic and misleading. He grew frustrated, which only made him more sullen than usual.

“I can see why Shya left the maze for last,” I said. “It’s fucking discouraging.”

“Screw that.” Anger had replaced fear for Jez. She stalked each path with a dagger in hand and a glower. “Briggs is right. We didn’t make it out of that house to throw in the towel at this point. I’m not giving up.”

Giving up wasn’t an option. However, I was growing increasingly concerned with Falon’s continued absence. We needed him to trap Shya. Of course Willow could always take his place, but would he? Or more importantly, could he handle it? Recent events led me to doubt that.

When we turned into yet another dead end, Jez lost her temper and hacked away at the maze wall while spewing venomous obscenities. The green, unidentifiable foliage grew back as she chopped, angering her further.

“Don’t waste your energy,” Arys advised. “You may need it.”

A breeze ruffled my hair though there was no wind. Power. Reaching out to feel the maze’s essence I was overcome with the stifling sensation of demon. It reached inside me to grab hold of the demonic energy I held barely contained in my core and attempted to rip it from me. I fought to hold on tight to what I considered to be mine.

“Lex?” Next to me Shaz noticed right away that something was wrong. “What’s happening?”

I shook my head, unable to speak as pain stabbed through my brain. It took all of my concentration to keep from having the power I held stripped from me. Arys and Gabriel reacted fast, coming to my aid. They each grabbed one of my hands and combined their strength with mine.

The sudden connection was uplifting and a little dizzying. I drew on the vampires, using their power as my own. The rush of drawing on two incubus vampires brought a wicked laugh bubbling up from me. They were mine and I wanted them.

The power ran two ways between us, and they were equally influenced by me. Gabriel especially reacted to the twin-flame connection he was now tapped into. He pressed close, his free hand on my face as if he might kiss me. I turned my head, offering him my neck. His lips moved over my jugular, followed by the wet touch of his tongue.

Although I was able to break the maze’s hold, the demonic power I held urged me to claim Gabriel. All he had to do was taste my blood.

“Alexa, don’t. You don’t want to do that.” Arys didn’t mean what he said. He wanted me to do it, just as he’d wanted me to enslave Jenner. I could sense the lie in his cool energy as it tore through me.

A blur, Shaz knocked Gabriel away with a body check that flung him to the maze floor. My white wolf grabbed the hand Gabriel had just held and squeezed. My anchor.

With great reluctance I released Arys, needing to clear my head of the influential rush of his power.

I gripped Shaz like the lifeline he was. “Thank you.”

Shaz stayed close, holding tight to my hand like he would never let go. I hoped his view of me didn’t change when he saw what I had to do to Shya.

As we ventured on, Gabriel kept his distance.

The power I’d sensed grew until it was a roar of white noise. Shielding against it grew more difficult with each step. We had to be getting closer to the center. I wasn’t the only one feeling it. Arys, Gabriel, and Willow all grew tense. It felt like fire under my skin, scorching me from the inside out. Like the force I struggled to contain, it was both pain and pleasure, a twisted little mix of delight and depravity.

At last we turned a bend in the dark maze and found it: the center of the maze. Blue fire outlined a large pentagon. It was the center of the pentagram surrounding us. Leaning against the maze wall just outside the flaming perimeter was Falon.

Arms crossed and smirk in place, he said, “Took you longer than I expected.” There was no mistaking how pleased Falon was with himself to have been the first to make it to the heart of the maze.

I wasn’t rewarding that with acknowledgment. “You seem to be yourself again,” I noted with a wince as I clenched my teeth against the next onslaught of agony. “What gives?”

“Oh yeah…about that. Oops?” Falon shrugged, offering me nothing else. His silver eyes drifted over each of us in turn before settling on me once again. “So…are you ready?”

Chapter Twenty-Two

I would never be ready. That, however, wasn’t an option.

“Time to summon our host. This has to be fast.” Gabriel walked right through the blue flames to the middle of the pentagon. To my utter shock, they parted to let him pass. He produced a bag of salt and quickly set to work making a salt circle. He paused only long enough to look up at Shaz. “Whatever it is you do that keeps Alexa from losing her head, you’re going to have to do it again. When I let blood from her to twist the spell, it will suck me in.” To Arys he said, “Don’t let me taste her blood. Please.”

Gabriel’s words came in a rush, and I knew it was because we were being watched. There was no way that Shya wasn’t keeping an eye on our progress. Could he hear us though? There was no way of knowing for sure.

Latin tumbled from Gabriel’s lips. He stepped out of the salt circle but stayed inside the blue fire, and a sudden wind picked up. It threw his long hair into his face and whipped the flames about.

Tension filled me. Any moment now Shya would be summoned into that salt circle, and he was going to be pissed.

I could do this, right?

“I hope you guys know what you’re doing.” The reflection of the fire shone in Jez’s eyes. She stood as far as she could get from the flaming circle without disappearing back into the maze.

I nodded and sucked air into my lungs. “Me too.”

The air rippled, and the stink of sulfur announced Shya before he materialized. When he did the flames roared, reaching toward the sky before settling back down to a height of just a few feet.

Knowing he was trapped in that circle did nothing to ease my worries. Demons were crafty. He might find a way out. Demons were not infallible though, and I had to cling to the reassurance in that.

Shya’s grim smile was in place, but his eyes revealed the depths of his wrath. His gaze landed on Gabriel first. He nodded to himself, and then looked at us each in turn, ending with me and then Falon.

“I suppose you’re all feeling quite proud of yourselves,” he said. “You found the way out. Evidently, that’s not enough for you. So why don’t you tell me what’s going on here?”

He didn’t know? I’d expected him to know, to be a step ahead. But mostly I’d expected that because I didn’t trust Falon or Gabriel.

“You know what this is,” Gabriel said, cold and hostile. “You thought you could make us all your slaves. Guess again.”

Shya pointed a finger at him and hissed, “You were such a mistake. Nothing but a pain in my ass. Nobody wants you, Gabriel. Not your mother. Surely not Alexa and her family of freaks. And now, not even me.”

“Fuck you, Shya,” I spat, unable to contain my temper. “You don’t speak for me.”

Leveling an ice-cold stare on me, the demon clasped his hands together and nodded. “I knew you would be the hardest to break. I should’ve killed you after the shit you pulled with Lilah’s key, but I was weak. I wanted to play with you, make you suffer.”

“Oh you’ll get to play with me, Shya. Don’t worry about that.” No effort was required to inject my tone with the promise of payback. Now that he was standing in front of me wearing that smug expression, I was ready. Shya’s reign of hell on this city would stop tonight.

I felt like I was about to burst. The demonic power strained against the mental cage I’d wrestled it into, fighting to break free. Ultimately, it was stronger than me. At some point it would win, but I hoped to be well on my way to making Shya my bitch when that happened. Yet it had to happen soon.

“What are you waiting for?” Shya taunted. “Obviously I was not the only one with plans for this night. Show me what you’ve got.”

We both knew that I would have to enter that circle. Once I was in there with him, anything could happen. Now came the greatest test. I had to put my trust in Gabriel and Falon, believing they could and would do their part. First, I had to do mine. Oh God.

Hesitating would only show weakness, so I forced my feet to move. As I strode up to the blue flames, they parted for me as they had for Gabriel, closing again when I’d passed through. The ground beneath my feet hummed with the vibration of the vortex. It was right where Shya was standing, but Gabriel’s summons and circle kept him trapped. It would trap me too.

Shya watched me like a snake in the grass, patient, waiting for the right moment to strike. Waiting for the prey to come to him, unawares of what lay in wait for him. Yet I did know what came next, and I approached willingly anyway.

The weight of so many sets of eyes upon us almost made me falter. There was a very real chance they would all watch Shya turn me to dust. Power rose up in me, my own hybrid mix wrapped around the demon force. The pressure in my head was immense, threatening to blind me.

Careful not to touch the salt circle, I stepped over it, anticipating the stifling sensation of being sealed in. I braced for an attack, but Shya merely stood there watching me with cold amusement. Oh, how I loathed that expression. I wanted so badly to wipe it off his face.

Shya spread his arms and lifted a brow. His black wings were tucked against his back, taunting me with the feather I needed. In his trademark dark suit and slick, black hair, he was so deceptively human in appearance. Yet the dragon shone in his eyes. I saw it there, lurking. I was profoundly grateful that the salt circle was too small to contain that form.

Knowing he wanted me to make the first move threw me off. Surmising that was why he waited, I had no choice. I tried to slowly let the power slip from me rather than burst forth, but once I loosened my hold there was no controlling it. It rolled out like a wave, crashing against Shya before surging back toward me.

Oh, crap.

I’d been a vessel for this demonic energy, but it wasn’t part of me. Controlling it was ridiculously difficult. Flavored as it was with my succubus thrall, the backsplash tried to pull me under as I inadvertently almost enthralled myself.

That didn’t stop me from seeing my goal and going for it. I directed the flow the best I could, pushing it back to Shya again and again. His smug expression faltered as confusion took its place. His eyes began to glaze over as he slipped under my spell. No way. It couldn’t be that easy.

Shya pressed forward until we were almost touching. With an unexpected gentle caress, he stroked a finger under my chin. What was this? Did I have him? I knew better by now. Too good to be true always was.

“Do you think you’re the first succubus who’s tried to charm me, Alexa? You’re just one of many, and you’re not nearly as good at it as you might think you are.” He shoved me away, thrusting me into the barrier. “What is the purpose of this? Do you think you can enslave me like you’ve done with that idiot?”

I didn’t have to turn around to know he was gesturing to Falon. I also didn’t need to look to know exactly what scowl adorned the fallen angel’s face. If fear hadn’t been clawing its way up my throat, I might have considered it problematic that I knew Falon that well.

“I can try.” I went along with his assumption. If he believed that was my ultimate goal, perhaps this plan had a chance. “I’m just getting started.”

Again I directed the power flowing around us, warming it with the sensual part of me that was all Arys before draping it around Shya.

He chuckled, entertained by my efforts.

“Stop holding back, you chicken shit. You can do better than that.” Falon’s heckling was not helpful.

I owed him so many middle fingers, but there wasn’t time for that kind of distraction. He was right, unfortunately. I was trying to take the easy way out. Nothing about this would be easy, not if I wanted it done right.

I had to touch Shya. That was all there was to it. An energy attack alone might work on humans or tease vampires, but to really take Shya under, I had to get physical.

Part of being a succubus meant that I wanted it too. Normally. With Shya, though no part of me wanted him sexually, the thought of having him bend to my will made me lick my lips in anticipation. He would be mine, and he would love it.

Tuning out our audience, I advanced on him with slow, patient steps. Shya watched me prowl toward him. He let me reach for him, and then he hit me with a blast that slammed me down on my back. Before I could get up, he was there, kneeling over me with a hand around my throat.

“If it’s enslavement you want, I will give it to you. In spades.”

A strangled scream tore from me as he slammed me with a shot that burned to the tips of my toes. My insides were on fire. I gripped his forearm, fighting to counter his attack with my own. I threw everything I had at him, remembering only at the last second not to unleash every last scrap of power at my disposal. Shya was strong, but he wasn’t stronger than the several demons combined within me.

It was a small victory when his grip loosened and his eyes widened. I sat up fast and twisted his arm, throwing as much momentum as I could into the move. Using my weight and strength, I flipped him onto his back and climbed on top of him. His wings were splayed out beneath him, but it was too soon to try for a feather. I needed him completely under my influence.

The sensation of straddling Shya was one of those things I could have gone my whole existence not knowing. Those thoughts would throw me off, so I shoved them aside and leaned in to kiss him. Don’t think about it; don’t think about it, rapped through my head.

Our lips touched, and I pulled him under, seeking to fog his mind so he could see and feel nothing but the erotic need I created. The atmosphere within the circle grew hot and pulsing.

That first taste of success was a tease, but it was exciting.

Shya kissed me back, delving into my mouth with his tongue. His kiss was invasive but controlled. He broke it off and searched my eyes. “I’m sure you’re a hell of a fuck,” he said, voice thick with arousal and anger, “but you don’t really do it for me, and let’s be honest, I have too much pride to allow myself to settle for Falon’s used goods.”

My face burned with rage. How did he think he had a right to judge me? He was a freakin’ demon. He was also a liar.

Shya had weaknesses too. Thinking of Lilah, I growled, “But not too much pride to pass on all of Falon’s conquests, right?” My smile was deadly.

I had just seconds to gain the upper hand. He was right there, hovering on the edge of the abyss. If I could just push him over—

I jerked as pain spread out between my shoulder blades. Sulfur assaulted my nose. I’d been hit with demon magic, but it hadn’t come from Shya. When I turned, I found Willow standing beside the salt circle with a hand raised. Whatever he’d done, it had been strong enough to breach Gabriel’s circle, further evidence of the force Willow now was.

“What did you—?” A strand of fiery orange hair blew across my face, stealing my voice, a voice that no longer sounded like mine. A quick study of my body revealed one that was not mine.

Shya’s brow furrowed in confusion. He shook his head. “No. This isn’t real. I’m not a fucking idiot; I’m the king of illusions.”

My reflection shone in his pupils. Lilah. Willow had made me look just like her. The one woman Shya would do anything for, his greatest weakness.

I didn’t need another insulting command from Falon to know what I had to do, though he offered one anyway. Before Shya could pull free from the slight hold I had on him, I drew on Arys to sustain me. After the disconnection within the house, finding him there felt like the gift it was. One to never be taken for granted. Thankfully, no circle could sever our soul connection to one another.

With my focus intent on making Shya forget everything but the woman he saw, I hit him with my best shot. Using the demon magic to break through his resistance and my sensual vibe to twist it into the manipulative drug I needed it to be, I threw everything I had into taking him down the metaphorical rabbit hole.

And it was enough.

Lilah might be a demon, but she wasn’t a succubus. That didn’t stop Shya from grabbing me like I were a life preserver in a sea of desire where he was drowning.

He sat up so we were face to face and ran his hands through my hair, studying the ginger strands in lust-induced wonder. “How can this be? You’re with Salem. He’s locked you away from me again. Am I dreaming?”

Inside I was freaking out. What the hell should I say? What should I do? I didn’t know Lilah well enough to know how to properly portray her. The only thing I could remember was the bitch calling Shya a worm, so I wasn’t finding any help in the past. I’d have to wing it and hope he was under deep enough to roll with it.

“It doesn’t matter,” I purred, dancing my fingertips over his jawline as I caressed his face. “I’m here. I’m yours.”

Falon scoffed, and Arys told him to shut up. Thankfully, Shya was oblivious.

“I’m definitely dreaming then. But I’ll take it.” Rubbing a thumb over my bottom lip, Shya gazed at me with unbridled adoration. The alert and vindictive gleam that usually shone in his crimson eyes was absent.

I was awestruck at the raw emotion that turned his malicious expression into something filled with pain and yearning. Though I’d been aware of Shya’s feelings for Lilah, I hadn’t considered that they might be love. For that matter, I’d never viewed him as one who could love. He was just so cruel and hard. I’d attributed that to his being a demon. Never had I guessed that perhaps there was another reason for his cruelty. Possibly a reason with ginger hair.

His kiss was tender but desperate. Gentle at first, deepening with every passing moment. There was lust in the hardness he pressed against me, but that kiss burned with the fires of love.

“I knew,” he whispered against my lips. “I knew you loved me. Salem can’t keep us apart. I will wait for you forever. Always I will serve you, my queen.”

In another time and place, it would have given me a sick satisfaction to have Shya address me in such a manner. Now it turned my stomach. I didn’t want to see this side of Shya, didn’t want to know it existed.

Because I didn’t know what to say, I kissed him again. Too much talking was dangerous. It put me at risk of saying something to fuck this up. Shya was right where we wanted him. I had to keep him there long enough to grab that feather, which was so damn close I could feel it.

Kissing Shya wasn’t as bad as I’d thought it would be. I mean, I didn’t hate it. As a succubus I actually found a thrill in it. Despite the heady rush, I couldn’t lose myself in it the way I usually did with one of my victims. I was much too aware that I was seeing a side of Shya he’d never want me to see.

“Tell me that you love me.” Shya pulled back to gaze into my eyes. His longing for Lilah’s acceptance and affection wasn’t pathetic or ridiculous, just painfully sad.

Guilt slithered through me. Driving him stupid with lust was one thing, but exposing the broken heart he hid well was another. Fuck me, did I feel bad about this?

After everything he’s done, everything he still plans to do? Fuck him. Fuck his pitiful obsession with Lilah. This is no less than he deserves.

“Don’t talk,” I murmured, dragging my lips over his ear and down the side of his neck. I couldn’t keep looking into his eyes without ruining this. “I just want to feel you.”

My request was honored. With a hand on his chest, I eased him back down, flat on the ground beneath me. The flaming circle surrounding us cast a blue glow upon us. It brought out the blue-black hue of Shya’s hair and wings.

I eyed those wings, my gaze tracing the curve of each feather. Patience was no virtue of mine. Resisting the urge to grab one and yank it free was so damn hard. Such a move would shatter the illusion, and Shya would come out fighting. Subtlety was key here.

Feasting on the sexual, life-giving energy of my victim was my usual goal. Not this time. As good as it felt to have him fall under my thrall, I didn’t want to find out what the demon’s intimate essence would do to me. I was already going to bear mental scars from this night. No need to add to them.

In the moment when his hands slid down my body, my brain began to scream at me. I shuddered, and it wasn’t in the good way that he thought it was. The weighty stares of my companions grew heavy.

Arys watched with excitement. I could feel it. In my peripheral view I saw Falon inch closer, drawn by my allure. Though I couldn’t see Shaz, I suspected he wasn’t unaffected either.

I ran both hands through Shya’s hair, over his shoulders, and down his splayed wings. He groaned, holding tight to my hips as his lips found mine again. His tongue was hot against mine. As he delved deeper into my mouth, I ground my groin against his. But all I could think about was the soft feathers beneath my fingers.

Each caress of his feathers had him straining against me. I might have to live with the memory of Shya’s hard on between my legs, but it was going to be worth it. This would be his last pleasurable experience for a very long time.

Unable to ensure that Falon and Gabriel were ready, I had no option but to trust them. Once I swiped the feather, everything would happen fast.

Slow and careful, my hand rested over the feather I’d chosen. Knowing this was my moment, I gave it a tug as gentle as I could muster. It didn’t budge. Shya seemed unaware. His hands slipped around to cup my ass. There was no way in hell I was taking things any farther than they’d already gone. I would have to just go for it.

I gripped the feather as tight as I could and pulled. There was a moment of resistance. Knowing there was no going back, I put forth some real effort, and with a disgusting pop, it jerked free. Blood dripped from the tip of the feather. I turned to find Gabriel with drowning pupils and a hand extended. As adrenaline flooded me, I shoved it toward him.

He reached inside the circle with one of Jez’s daggers in hand. Without a word of warning, he sliced the blade across my wrist. The wound opened up, and he rubbed the feather through it, coating it in my blood before pulling away and resealing the circle.

Falon joined him, offering himself as the immortal energy source we needed. Gabriel was already chanting when he drew on Falon’s power.

It all happened so fast. Just a blink and the spell started to form. But my thrall had been broken, and Shya rose up from the abyss like a snake striking without warning.

With a backhand loaded with power, he smacked me. I tasted blood, but more importantly, I was flat on my back trying to figure out which way was up. Having expended all of the demonic energy, it was just me against Shya.

And I didn’t stand a chance.

Trapped inside the salt circle with him, I fumbled to protect myself as his boot hit my stomach. Scorching heat followed as he attacked me in every way. I threw up a small barrier around me, hoping it’d hold long enough for me to get up.

“How dare you manipulate my emotions?” Shya bellowed. “Do you think you’re superior to me, Alexa? A Hound tainted by darkness? You’re nothing. You’re fucking nothing.”

My barrier took the brunt of another hit. It rippled like a bubble about to pop. Willow appeared at the edge of the salt circle, hand raised.

“No, Willow, don’t,” I shouted. “Protect them.” I pointed to Falon and Gabriel who stood together, heads bowed, twisting the spell that would save us all. If Willow broke through this circle to save me, it would only set Shya free, giving him a chance to stop the spell. We couldn’t take that risk.

Arys and Shaz hovered at the edge of the flames, watching as Shya rained down hell upon me. My best offensive moves would never be enough to stun the demon, so I focused my efforts on defense. Barrier after barrier I threw up between us. Each one Shya tore down with little effort.

Though I was unable to see how Gabriel wrapped the divine essence of my blood around Falon’s immortal energy and tied it to Shya, I felt the spell take form.

So did Shya.

It began to pull on him, like a fierce wind whisking him off his feet. Alarm filled his eyes, and he lunged for me, breaking through another barrier to grab hold of me.

“If I’m going down, you’re coming with me,” he hissed, holding so tight his fingers dug deep into my flesh.

I could feel it inside me, the door the spell had opened. Like a gaping mouth it swallowed Shya, sucking him in little by little.

“No,” I screamed. “Let me go.”

Shaz’s frantic shout rang in my ears. He beat fists against the salt circle wall, unable to breach the stronghold Gabriel had created. “Gabriel, get her out of there.”

The young vampire’s head snapped up, his eyes black from the rush of magic pouring from him. He rushed through the blue flames and kicked the salt, destroying the circle. In one hand he held the black obsidian amulet he’d obtained for this purpose. In the other, Shya’s feather.

Gabriel let the feather fall into the blue flames. A cerulean explosion lit up the sky. Chaos descended all around us.

The magic jerked Shya toward the amulet, but he held tight to me. While I struggled to pull free, Arys attempted to come to my aid with an attack that fell away, deflected by the demon’s desperate struggle. Shya was hell bent on taking me with him.

Again Willow raised a hand, but Gabriel shouted at him to stop. He was too powerful. If he sent Shya back to the other side, we would lose our chance.

It was Jez who came at us with both daggers raised, Jez who plunged them both into Shya’s back, delivering the strike that broke his focus. As his hands slipped from me, he lashed out with one final blow.

“May you never know peace when the moon is full,” Shya hissed, clasping my hand in his. “See you soon, sweetheart.”

A cloud of smoke exploded in my face, choking me. When it dissipated I was unhurt other than a strange, glowing mark in the palm of my hand. Panic seized me. What the friggin’ hell did that demon just do to me?

In a flash of blue, the amulet caught fire, and our hands were torn apart as Shya’s being was thrust inside. The flames went out, and the stone hummed, its prisoner trapped safely within.

Shaz pulled me into his arms, and I huddled against him, staring at my palm. It was mine again, the illusion of Lilah had faded. Everything shifted, causing momentary disorientation as Shya’s horror house illusion fell away, leaving us sitting in the grass outside his modern day manor.

Gabriel, looking satisfied but wary, tossed the amulet to me. It vibrated with Shya’s murky, black energy. He caught sight of the mark in my hand and pressed his lips together tight.

“What?” I demanded, voice shaking. “What did he do to me?”

His expression was hard to read, almost carefully composed, when he said, “He cursed you.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

“He cursed me?” I repeated. The words sounded foreign. Wrong. “Did you see this coming when you touched me? A heads up would’ve been nice.”

I leveled an accusatory glare at Gabriel. A gift like his would wear away at one’s mind. No part of me envied his ability to see snapshots of someone else’s future. Regardless, if he’d seen this coming and failed to warn me, he was going to truly die. No more second chances.

“No, I never saw anything to do with Shya.” Twisting his hands together, he shuffled his feet and shook his head. It was so easy to forget he was still an awkward teenager just coming into adulthood. Especially after the poised control and knowledge he’d exhibited tonight.

“Oh? So what did you see then?” I shot a glance to the sky. Sunrise was little more than an hour away. We’d been in Shya’s illusion for hours. It felt like several nights.

“I’m not sharing that information anymore,” he said, voice soft and vulnerable but also a lie. There was nothing vulnerable about Gabriel anymore. “It’s better to not know what’s coming.”

The weight of Arys’s gaze pulled my eyes to his. He’d known for a century what he would do to me. It had chipped a hole in his otherwise impenetrable shield. That was the very reason that I hadn’t told him about Gabriel’s vision of him attacking my sister. I couldn’t lay that weight upon him. I could only try to stop it.

There was no sense pushing the subject. I really didn’t want to know whatever he might have seen. I had bigger issues, the weird triangular mark in the center of my palm being one of them.

It didn’t hurt. When I rubbed a thumb across it there was no sensation, just a numb spot. “Can you tell me more about this?”

Gabriel held a hand over the mark, his brow furrowed in concentration. “It’s tied to your wolf somehow. That’s all I can get out of it. I wish there was more I could tell you.”

My wolf? I replayed Shya’s final words to me. Desperate and devious, he’d lashed out at the part of me that still belonged to the light. But just what exactly had he done?

Looking morose, Willow took his turn examining the triangle. Each point extended into an S-shaped squiggle. It resembled an old scar. Just when I thought I couldn’t possibly hate Shya more, Willow mused, perplexed, “Moon magic. He used the moon to tie a curse to your wolf. I’m not sure what his intent is. We’ll find out during the next full moon. There’s always a loophole with a curse though, a way to break it. Maybe once it’s triggered, we’ll be able to figure that out.”

“You can’t do anything to break it now?” Shaz hovered close, his fist clenched in his platinum hair.

Willow shook his head. He seemed reluctant to meet my eyes. “It doesn’t work that way. Shya created it. The curse has his energy signature. Only he can undo it. However, it can be broken. That’s the rule. Every curse can be broken. It’s a matter of finding out how.”

“Angels can break them too,” Gabriel offered with a shrug. “It’s not often that they do though. Part of the trials of life or some such shit.”

I did a double take, finding his flippant reference to angels curious. He and I really did need to spend some time together. Picking the kid’s brain was a must.

“So we just have to wait and see what it does and hope to figure out how to break it?” Shaz was incredulous. Fatigue lined his eyes.

Willow was indifferent. “Yes.”

“We have to get home,” Arys interrupted, eyeing the horizon. “We can pick this apart when we’re not at risk of being trapped at Shya’s house all day. I need to get the hell away from this place.”

That was something we all agreed on.

The thought of leaving just led me to another issue: Briggs. I stared at him until he felt it and glanced up with a scowl.

Gabriel admitted he’d actually prefer to stay at Shya’s manor, since somebody might as well. It was a great house in a private location on the edge of town. I had just one request: that he keep Briggs here with him until I was able to make some arrangements with Agent Winston. Of course Briggs protested this plan.

“Briggs, if you were in my position would you let me just walk away?” I challenged. “Or would you use me to gain some leverage, maybe strike a deal? Be a good boy, and you’ll be out of here in no time.”

He and I both knew damn well he’d never let me walk if our roles were reversed. If I was giving him back to Winston, I was getting something out of it. I trusted that Gabriel could handle him.

Jez decided she would ensure that Brogan got home safely before heading home herself. Falon disappeared without a word to anyone, not that I expected otherwise. After giving Gabriel a laundry list of instructions and warnings regarding Briggs, Willow pulled me aside on the way to the car.

“Alexa, I owe you an apology,” he said. “The things I said to you were disgusting and unfair. You didn’t deserve that. I’m sorry.” His eyes were hollow, void of their usual spark of easy-going mischief.

Without giving him a chance to deny me, I threw my arms around him in a tight hug. At first he stiffened. When I didn’t let go, he relaxed into it and slung an arm around me.

“You gave up everything to take care of me, Willow,” I spoke soft and low, keeping the exchange private. “Let me take care of you for a while.”

A smile tried to break across his face. Though it made his lips quirk, it didn’t quite light his eyes. “Maybe we can take care of each other.”

“We’ve got to try.” I dangled the amulet between us, grimacing in distaste at the thought of Shya’s incorporeal self stuck inside. “Would this be a bad time to ask for a favor? This thing needs to be hidden away somewhere safe.”

Willow stared at the amulet, his face scrunched into something like disgust. “It’s not safe with me, but I have a friend, an angel, Serene. It will be as safe as it can get with him.”

Surrendering Shya’s prison to anyone was tough. Letting it out of my sight felt like a mistake. However, keeping it felt like a bigger mistake. My manic life offered too many opportunities for something to go wrong. There was no one else I trusted to take it more than Willow.

After he’d gone, Arys, Shaz, and I clambered into my car and headed back into the city, taking the freeway that would lead us home. The drive was quiet. The only noise came from the radio. Arys stared out the passenger window. In the rearview mirror I could see Shaz stretched out in the backseat. His eyes were closed, but he wasn’t sleeping.

I focused on the road. This close to sunrise we couldn’t afford any mishaps that would slow us down. Shifting to wolf would protect me from its burning rays, but Arys didn’t have that luxury.

We made it to my house incident free. I breathed a sigh of relief and dragged my exhausted self from the car into the house. Shaz and Arys went upstairs, each closing the door to one of the two bathrooms up there. Almost simultaneously both showers turned on.

I had to smile. They’d each learned in their time with me that being gentlemanly and offering me the shower first often meant a long wait and very little hot water. Moving to a house with two full baths had only solved some of that problem.

After tossing my bag on the counter and the Dragon Claw on the table, I checked the messages on my phone. Juliet had called, as had Hanna, the Doghead Alpha female. She wanted my help.

“I told that son of a bitch there would be no war with the vampires.” Her voice shook in the voice mail she’d left. “Dayne has a real hard head. He won’t listen to anyone when he’s convinced himself he knows what’s best. I know you have no reason to want to help the pack anymore, but that man is my everything. After a few conversations with Shaz, I believe you can understand what I’m going through here.”

Ah, fuck me.

Ok, I had kept Briggs so I’d have a pawn to trade because it still meant something to me to have a good relationship with the local pack. And now that Shaz was part of the pack, a war with the wolves would be the worst case scenario for him, and I feared that war had already begun. Still, I had absolutely no personal incentive to help get Dayne out of the FPA lockup.

A quick perusal of the house and yard revealed everything to be as I’d left it. As I climbed the stairs, I expected apprehension to slow my pace. It didn’t. In light of what we’d just been through, all I wanted to do was fall into bed with my guys. I needed to feel them cuddled up on either side of me.

Arys was sprawled across my bed wearing only sweat pants with his phone in hand. “Ah, Jenner,” he chuckled as he typed a message. “Always good for a laugh.”

“You’re texting Jenner?” I paused to admire his bare chest and damp, sexy mess of hair on my way to the closet. “Are things ok?”

“Well, it’s Vegas. Nothing to worry about though.”

I wasn’t so sure about that. My brief time in Las Vegas had not left me with that opinion of the city. I started to close the bathroom door, then stopped. “Tell Jenner I said hi.” Jenner would know that ‘hi’ really meant, ‘Don’t let anything happen to Kale, or I’ll kill you.’

The hot spray of the shower felt amazing. The wounds I’d sustained from the arrows were little more than scratches now. Physically I was in pretty great shape. All the fatigue and raw spots were mental. Long after I scrubbed myself clean, I stood there letting the water beat down on my face and head. At some point I would feel the sting of the emotional blemishes although I’d rather not. The words Willow had spoken under the influence of the panic room had penetrated deep. I wouldn’t think about them now, but soon they would rise to the surface and wage war on my psyche.

As soon as I turned off the water, plunging me into sudden quiet, I heard voices beyond the door.

“Piss off, Arys. I just want to go to sleep.”

“Aren’t you a testy thing? Chill out, Shaz. I said I was sorry.”

“You did, but you aren’t. I know you.”

“Do you now?”

I didn’t have to see their faces to know which expression they’d each be wearing. Shaz would be glaring, rugged and commanding. Arys was probably shooting Shaz a sexy grin, enjoying his ire.

It was quiet as I tied my hair atop my head. Wearing underwear and a large Alice Cooper t-shirt, I emerged to find Arys sitting up against the headboard on the outside edge of the bed. Shaz was on the inside, almost pressed to the wall. Fatigue dulled his green eyes.

The light of the bedside lamp bathed them both in a warm, inviting glow. They watched me as I slid onto the foot of the bed, crawling up between them. Sleep often eluded me these days, but I could feel it now, calling my name.

“I can’t believe how tired I am.” I collapsed on the bed and dragged the blankets up around me. “This whole never sleeping thing is getting old.”

I reached out a hand to each of them, and within seconds they were curled up next to me. Shaz pressed his face to my neck in a wolfish nuzzle. I flung a leg over his, reveling in his warmth. I groped about beneath the blanket until I found Arys’s hand. The soft vibration of our connection was comforting.

Despite my exhaustion, I took a few moments to lay there and savor the way it felt to be nestled between them. Vampire and wolf were in harmony inside me, equally at peace. A rare occurrence. One to be enjoyed while it lasted.

I listened to Shaz’s breathing as it slowed and evened out. In his sleep he reached to wrap an arm around me. Arys was relaxed beside me. I didn’t think he was asleep but, like me, enjoying the calm.

There was a lot to think about: seeing Raoul inside Shya’s illusion, the curse that bastard demon had left as a parting gift, and everything we’d all experienced in the panic room. In retrospect, Shya’s horror house hadn’t been all that scary. It had been designed to frighten us with the worst parts of ourselves. We had been the scariest things inside that house, every one of us. And that was the point after all, wasn’t it? Shya, in his own demented way, was a genius.

For now those ponderings would have to go in the vault. No bad thoughts. Nothing was going to ruin this moment for me because I needed this. We all needed this.

* * * *

My sleep was far from dreamless. A mash up of nonsensical images ran through my head. I woke feeling confused and ravenous. And a little hungover.

The residual effects of the demon power left me foggy, like a bad taste in my mouth although it was my mind instead. It needed to be cleansed from me like the foreign matter it was.

As my consciousness surfaced from the depths of slumber, I became keenly aware of the most wonderful aroma, a musky mix of man and animal, strong and rich with a hint of pine and shampoo. My eyes snapped open, and I sat straight up.

“Told you,” Arys said from his place beside me. He lay on his side, head propped on one hand.

Shaz leaned against the wall with the blankets drawn up to his waist. He eyed me with intrigue. His shrug was for Arys. “Fine with me.”

Apparently they’d been having a conversation before I woke up. Couldn’t say I was thrilled with the thought of them sitting there watching my prone, sleeping form. I opened my mouth to speak, but it felt dry and fuzzy. Ick.

“Let me be what you need right now, Lex.” Shaz reached for my hand. He still bore the mark on his wrist from Arys, yet here he was offering himself to me. Was this love? Or lunacy?

Yes, that was what I wanted. Gripped with the urge to lunge at him in a fevered rush to spill his blood, I groaned with the strength it took to fight it. “I don’t want to hurt you,” I said. It was a lie on some level. Hurting him was something I very much wanted to do. The shame that came after was what I could do without.

“You won’t.” He kissed his way over my hand to my wrist. His warm breath tickled my skin, sending a shock wave of delight up my arm. “It’s safe here with the three of us together. This is what you need. It’s what I need.”

I didn’t have to look at Arys to know he was onboard. This had been his idea when he ambushed me with a mini intervention in my living room. Now, finally, the reluctance I’d experienced that night was absent. Being able to sate my hunger with the wolf I loved had seemed like a violation of him, but if it kept me from hunting innocents or losing my mind on a donor at the Kiss, then maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

Shaz wanted this. If he wasn’t afraid, why should I be?

When I did look to Arys for his reaction, I found my hunger mirrored in his eyes. Though his hunger was not for Shaz but for me. The addictive nature of my blood had not only affected Jenner and Kale.

“I won’t let you lose control,” Arys promised. He sat up and kissed my shoulder, a hand on my hip.

Bloodlust clawed at my stomach, twisting it into knots. The combination of their energies, vampire and wolf, tantalized my senses. Now that was a feast.

With a hand on Arys’s face, I kissed him. Unleashing my desires, I claimed his mouth, gasping softly when the rush of his arousal crashed over me. The heat of Shaz’s tongue on my wrist stoked my fire. After trailing a hand over Arys’s bare chest to his navel, I turned to Shaz and made him my focus.

He might be prey, but he was my lover. There was a fine line between victimizing him and bringing him along on this ride with me. And I was going to find it.

I pushed up onto my knees, putting us face to face. Shaz’s back was still against the wall, trapping him. I climbed into his lap and let my thrall fall gently over him. Not too much, just enough to coax a sigh from him and make his pulse quicken. I wanted him to enjoy himself without being completely under my control.

Our lips met, and the full force of all that was Shaz swept me away. He battled for control of the kiss, an Alpha-like aggression balanced out by the emotion behind it. His actions were unhurried. A hand on my cheek and the other on my waist, Shaz kissed me with a passion that knew no bounds.

Behind me Arys pushed strands of hair that had escaped my ponytail off the back of my neck. The touch of his mouth there made the sensitive nerve endings come alive. The sensation of him at my back made me feel confined, trapped between them. I was excited by the promises made by that simple action.

I threw my head back as Shaz kissed his way down my neck. His hands slid up my sides, over my ribs, taking my t-shirt with them. It was soon forgotten, tossed at the end of the bed.

With my back arched, I was able to reach back to sling an arm around Arys’s neck. With fingers playing in his soft hair, I gasped as Shaz lowered his head to my breasts.

“I’ve missed you, Lex,” he murmured against my skin. “I’m going to show you how much.”

“Oh, yes, please,” I sighed, threading my fingers into his hair. Touching them both at the same time gave me a taste of what I hungered for.

Shaz nuzzled me, pressing his face against me. I stroked his tousled head of platinum, needing to take a moment to record this feeling in my memory. The soft touch of his tongue followed as he sucked a taut nipple into his mouth.

Behind me Arys kissed and licked his way along the back of my neck to my shoulder. His hand slid around to my stomach before slipping lower. My underwear didn’t put up much of a fight when he tugged it aside. Arys’s touch was light and delicate, teasing me into wanting more. A growl rumbled in my throat, turning to a groan when he stroked a finger over me.

Beneath me Shaz’s hard on strained. The scent of blood pumping through his veins was paired with the echo of it in my ears.

Hunger for blood and powerful energy screamed through me, demanding that I take what I wanted. Patience was not a concept the hunger understood, unless it was to draw out the torment. As much as I enjoyed a little torment, this was not a quick fix with a stranger. This was an exchange rooted in love.

Letting Shaz love me was not without challenge. The vampire’s inclination to dominate warred with my wolf’s willingness to relax and let things happen, rather than forcing them to happen. Damn, I needed him. Prolonging the best parts made for the greatest rush, yet waiting too long could be dangerous.

I guided his face back to mine for a kiss that cried out with desperate longing. Just the slightest nip of his lip would spill that heady shifter blood. Resisting was torture. Every passing second with their hands on me was torture. The best fucking torture.

When I just couldn’t take it any longer, a tug on Shaz’s shorts rid him of them. I shimmied out of my underwear, and a quick peek beneath the blankets revealed an already naked Arys. Surprise, surprise.

I resumed my position straddling Shaz. I seemed to do a lot of straddling these days. It was a power position I really enjoyed.

With my bottom lip clenched between my teeth, I held Shaz’s gaze and took him inside me, inch by amazing inch. He was rock hard, his body tense, energy running high and hot with arousal. His wolf peered out at me with possessive desire.

There was a sense of fulfillment, of rightness, with him inside me. I started off slow, rising up and then plunging back down, eliciting delicious moans from him with each stroke.

Arys was at my back, tugging my hair from its tie. The blonde mess spilled down my back, and he buried his hands in it. His lips on my ear sent a shiver crawling through me.

I ran my hands over Shaz’s chest, down his finely sculpted abs. Using my fingertips to feel his aura, I drew on the sensual energy that was all man and wolf. Two essences blended into one vibrant, potent force. I took it into me, rolling it around in my mind, cleansing myself of the cobwebs the demon magic left behind.

I needed to taste him.

Each sound he made threatened my control. Every moan and growl took me deeper into the head-spinning rush of the bloodlust. I wanted him. All of him. Now.

Baring fangs, I pushed Shaz’s head to the side and went for his jugular.

Arys’s hand tightened in my hair. He jerked my head back and pressed his lips to my ear. “Not so fast, my love,” he said, his voice low and smooth as velvet.

Power sparked between us. Arys wasn’t gentle when he wrapped me in his allure. It flowed through me to Shaz, completing the circuit. He gripped my hips and thrust up into me, making us both cry out.

Tightening his grip on my hair, Arys bit into my neck. I gasped, overwhelmed and aroused by his demanding bite. Shaz watched Arys suck at the wound with obvious intrigue. His movements were limited by his position against the wall, which tormented us both. I wanted him faster, deeper.

Arys’s tongue glided over the punctures. The rising power was heavy in my head. His control was as frustrating as it was pleasurable. I could turn the tables on him, and we both knew it. But what I really wanted was to sink my teeth into my white wolf and make him howl.

It was what he wanted too. No sooner had Arys released his hold on my hair than Shaz bared his neck to me. Able to move freely, I grinded atop him, taking him deep inside me.

My gaze stayed transfixed on the pulse beating in his neck. With the weight of Arys’s watchful gaze upon us, I dragged my fangs over the throbbing vein. Shaz’s breath came fast. His racing heart echoed in my ears. My fangs pierced his flesh, and we both groaned.

The rest of the world fell away when his blood hit my tongue. All I could see, feel, and taste was Shaz. What he freely gave me was more than blood. It was strength and revitalizing energy, but most importantly, it was love.

Shaz held tight to me as we fell headlong into a shuddering orgasm. There was enough power in the room to keep us riding the high for several long, blissful moments before we descended back to earth.

We flopped down on the bed side by side to enjoy the afterglow. Arys leaned down to taste Shaz on my lips with a kiss. For the first time in a long time, I was content.

I ran a hand down Arys’s body to where his hard shaft rested against his inner thigh. A naughty grin played about my lips. “Your turn.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

It was well after sunset when at last we lay sprawled in euphoric wonder. I tried to run a hand through my tangled locks, scowling at the knots that thwarted me. Despite the comfort of the bed and the constant temptation of the men beside me, another night beckoned.

“I hope we didn’t scar Jez too much,” Shaz said, stretching until his back cracked.

I felt for Jez’s energy and found it missing. I bolted out from between the sheets as if a rocket had shot me out of bed. Frantic and ashamed, I hurried into my robe, swearing when one of the arms got turned inside out and I had to stop to fix it.

“Jez isn’t here. I don’t feel her.” I darted from the room in a panic to look out the upper hall window that overlooked the driveway. No sign of her Jeep.

Sprinting back into the bedroom, I grabbed my phone from the dresser and hit her number in the contacts list. I’d expected her to come home after getting Brogan settled. What if she’d called Arrow and gone to get high while I was here in my own world getting my rocks off?

Both Arys and Shaz watched me from the bed. I waved my hand around for them to get up and get dressed. I had to find Jez.

Just as her voicemail was about to pick up, she answered, and I almost cried in relief. “Jez, where are you?”

“Calm down, Alexa. I’m fine. I know what you’re thinking, but it didn’t happen. I figured you guys needed some alone time, so I stayed in the city.” She sounded relatively alert, putting my mind at ease.

“Are you at your apartment?”

“No.” Her voice took on a sad note. “Actually, I’m at Kale’s house. I’m not sure why, but after I took Brogan home, I just felt like I wanted to come here.”

“Are you ok?” I asked. “Do you want me to come over?”

“No, no, don’t do that,” she said. “I think I’m going to stay in tonight. Just hang out here. Order a pizza and watch some movies. Unless you need me.”

My shoulders slumped with relief. I hadn’t wanted to go to Kale’s house. Too many memories that hadn’t had time to fade.

“I’m going to talk to Winston about Briggs. Hopefully it will be uneventful. Call me if you need me. Ok?” I waited for her to assure me, with much exasperation and a little sarcasm, that she would be fine before hanging up.

“Arys, get dressed,” I demanded. “Unless you plan on lying around here naked all night. I’m heading back into the city. I need to have Winston meet me.”

He lay back against the pillow with both hands folded beneath his head, watching Shaz and I dress. “Would it really be so bad to just spend a night in bed?” The suggestion was accompanied by a gentle pulse of sensual power.

I shook a finger at him before retreating to the bathroom to drag a brush through my mess of hair. “Don’t be manipulative,” I scolded. “If Dayne spends too much time in that place he might never come out sane.”

“Ah, fuck him,” Arys snarled. It was followed by the sound of the bed moving and blankets being flung as he got up. “What has that asshole ever done for you?”

“Not a damn thing, but the FPA is the real enemy here. Leaving the wolves there is dangerous for all of us. Plus, he’s Shaz’s Alpha now, and any opportunity to keep the peace with Doghead can’t be ignored. I can offer Briggs in exchange. If Dayne is still a prick after that…” I paused to consider such an outcome. “Then I guess all bets are off, and I quit trying to play nice.”

Arys laughed, a sexy sound that made my insides quiver. “Oh good. I like it much better when you don’t play nice.”

After a few more attempts to convince us to get back into bed, Arys gave up. Shaz insisted on coming with me, which was only right, seeing as this was wolf business. At this point he was my only ally within that pack, well, possibly Izzy. With a frustrated sigh from my refusal to lie about all night with him, Arys surprised me by saying he was going to drop by the mental facility and visit Ozzie.

I made a phone call to Winston who agreed to meet with us in an hour at a neutral, public location. Having nothing to offer Hanna at this point, I didn’t call her. I was conflicted after what had happened at Doghead. Why was I doing this? Dayne had already declared war on us. Now that he knew it was Arys who’d killed his wolves, he wouldn’t change his mind about that.

The question was, which was the greater evil? A pack of angry wolves or a human government op intent on controlling everything supernatural?

Shaz and I dropped Arys off at home so he could grab his own car—God help those on the road with him—and then we headed to the small café where we were to meet Agent Winston. A brief call to Gabriel confirmed that Briggs was still safely in captivity. I was hopeful that everything would go as planned with little to no hassle.

The little cyber café downtown seemed innocuous enough. A cluster of computers took up one side, and a guy with an acoustic guitar played on the tiny stage in the corner. We sat at one of the tables near the front window. The music would be good for preventing eavesdroppers.

Agent Maggie Winston walked in alone. In a stylish grey suit with her hair perfectly coiffed into a tight knot, she graced us with a pleasant smile. It was so authentic. Maybe too authentic.

We shook hands, and I introduced her to Shaz. Once she’d obtained a latte, which I sniffed at in envy, we got right to business.

“I hope this meeting involves good news,” she said with another too perfect smile. “Anything on Agent Briggs?”

“He’s alive,” I offered. No need to give away too much too soon. “Is having him back still important to you?”

Agent Winston sipped from her latte, her hazel gaze alert and studious as she searched my eyes. “It is. Somewhat. Although that really depends on what you want in exchange for him.”

That response was less than satisfactory. She was going to play hard ball. “Do you have anything to offer?” It was a tactic she’d see right through, but if I could get her to give me an idea of how much the FPA wanted Briggs back, I’d know how much room I had to push for a good deal.

“I have many things I could offer, Ms. O’Brien, though I doubt very much that any of them would interest you. Why not just tell me what you really want.”

“I want several things, but mainly I want my blood sample. I’ll take Dayne and Owen as well.” I laced my fingers together and waited. In my few encounters with Winston, I’d decided I kind of liked her. For now. That could still change in an instant.

Agent Winston’s face was hard set as she drank her coffee, revealing nothing. With a napkin she dabbed some foam from her lips before nodding, a slow bob of her head. “I assumed you’d request the wolves,” she said. “I’m afraid they’re not up for negotiation.” That was it. No explanation. No nothing.

“Why not?” I asked, trying to keep my temper simmering on low. It didn’t take much to send me to the boiling point.

She leaned forward, hands clasped around her cup. “There are reasons, confidential of course, that we feel it’s best to keep them in FPA custody for now. I apologize, but I’m not in a position to share the details.”

Shaz leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table. The simple action was somehow commanding, drawing Winston’s attention. “You do realize there is a pack of two hundred, still roaming the city, who won’t sit back and do nothing while you have their Alpha, don’t you?”

Winston’s smile grew cold and brittle. “Is this a threat, Mr. Richardson?”

“Of course not,” Shaz scoffed. “I don’t make threats. A threat is a warning, and I don’t give warnings.”

His smooth, firm manner drew my attention too. Shaz had grown from a boy to a man in the time I’d known him, and from there to one hell of a fine wolf. From meek and mild to quietly contemplative and always simmering. It was no wonder I adored him so.

“What reason could there possibly be for you guys to keep that many wolves in lockup? What are you doing to them?” I demanded, my tone sharp. I recalled the labs, frightfully sterile and alarming. What was happening to those wolves?

“Currently we’re paying to feed and house them even though they’re serious criminals. They’ll be dealt with on an individual basis. I know you understand the importance of justice.” She spoke in a controlled manner, clearly used to speaking with pissed off people who could kill her in a heartbeat.

I nodded, brows knit together in a slight frown. “I do. However, I’m not sure we share the same definition of justice.”

Agent Winston nodded as well. Her smile had disappeared. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

Just like that she dismissed the conversation about the wolves and moved on. It was infuriating. My temper spiked, and I clenched both hands into fists. Shaz’s hand on my thigh was warm as he tried to calm me without her seeing.

She was good. Really good. Somehow she shut me down without anger or threats, the complete opposite of Briggs, but this wasn’t over.

“My blood,” I said, because I couldn’t think of any other demands off the top of my head. I’d been so sure getting Briggs back would be important enough for them to give up a wolf or two. “Where is it?”

Winston’s gaze wandered over to the guitarist. She studied him, from his ponytail to his Converse shoes. It was a test of my patience. Right when I was ready to snap, she swung her gaze back to me. “It’s missing. Either Briggs removed it from the building or somebody else did.” She might have been lying, but she didn’t smell like a lie.

Shit.

“Please don’t be lying. Though you might not think so, the truth means something to me.” As calm as I could be, I did my best to keep from dragging her across the table by her throat. It wasn’t easy.

“Ms. O’Brien, I can assure you that whatever Briggs did with your sample, it is not known to me.” Winston held my gaze, steady and unflinching.

Fuck! I wanted to scream and smash my fists against the table until it fell into pieces. I looked to Shaz and took a deep breath, finding the flow of air in and out of my undead lungs comforting though hardly calming.

“So what you’re saying is that this whole meeting was a waste. You have nothing for me. Do you even want Briggs back? You said you needed him.” It was my turn to study Winston. Something wasn’t adding up here.

“I’m going to level with you,” she said, leaning in conspiratorially. “We’d like Briggs back, but we’re not willing to give up much to get him. It’s been decided that after this much time unaccounted for, he’s quite possibly more of a liability now anyway. Taking him back could be dangerous.”

“Yeah, but you came looking for him. You asked me to help.”

“As I was instructed to, but it’s been determined that, though Briggs was a damn fine agent, getting him back may not be worth the risk.” She offered up a half shrug. Not a single emotion showed on her face. “He bent the rules. He hid things. We just don’t know that we can trust him. Between you and me, he may be safer if he stays away.”

“What does that mean?” Shaz asked. “You came here to not make a deal because you don’t really want him back? That makes no sense.”

Agent Winston did a slow scan of the café before responding. When she did it was in a tone too low for most human ears. “I’m trying to save his life by not striking a deal with you for him. He knows too much, and he’s proven he will go rogue when it suits his needs. The higher ups do want him back, but as far as I can tell, they’ll probably just torture him for information, then kill him.”

The higher ups being the unseen folks from the head office, I presumed. Or perhaps people even higher up than that. People that most likely hid behind false personas and never made the mistake of actually stepping foot into any FPA building in any city.

“Why are we even here then?” I was baffled.

“Do whatever you’d like with Agent Briggs, Ms. O’Brien,” she said, shoving her chair back. “I came because I was expected to, but seeing as there’s nothing you want that I can give, I think we’re done here. Oh and if you kill him, make it fast. Please.”

I watched her go, flabbergasted and speechless. This had not gone at all as planned. I’d been so sure the FPA would want their man back that I hadn’t considered they might just kill him. Although I did understand why they would. Hell I had my own reasons for wanting to bleed the man.

“So what now?” Shaz asked, rubbing my shoulder.

I shook my head and wondered what the hell I was supposed to do with Briggs now. “I have no idea.”

* * * *

“So what I got from that conversation was that the FPA does want Briggs back, but Winston wants him to stay gone,” Shaz mused aloud as we drove to The Wicked Kiss. “She only asked you to find him because they told her to. She believes they’ll kill him, or worse, so she sabotaged the exchange by refusing to give us anything.”

“It appears to be that way.” I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel while we waited at a red light. “She’ll probably go back to whoever her superior is and tell them we couldn’t reach a mutual agreement.”

“Hanna’s going to be upset. I should stop by Doghead and talk to her in person. Can you drop me off?”

I glanced over at him, admiring his silhouette. The city lights cast his face in both light and shadow, emphasizing how handsome he was. He caught me looking and grinned, pointing at the streetlight, which had turned green while I gawked.

“You can take my car,” I said, stepping on the gas. “Just don’t forget about me. Come back before sunrise.”

“Forget about you?” he repeated with a laugh. “Impossible.”

Oh boy. It was now or never. “Shaz, don’t hate me for this. I know we’ve been over this, so I’m going to keep it short and simple. I just wanted to say that I’m totally cool with it if you want to see other women.”

I cringed under the weight of his stare. His energy grew hot, teasing my appetite for him. “Yeah. We have been over this. So where is this coming from, Lex? Do you think I want you to be cool with me seeing other women? Because I don’t want that. Ever.”

I used driving as a legit reason to avoid eye contact. Now if the lights would just stay green… I racked my brain for the right words, but they didn’t exist. “Maybe I’m wrong. It just seemed like you and Izzy may have formed a connection. Or something.” Lame. So damn lame. What the hell was wrong with me?

Shaz let out a breath in a whoosh. “Come on, Lex. Not this again. Izzy is great. She’s a sweet lady, and I think she’d make a great friend, but I’m done with the picket fence fantasy. Stop trying to force it on me.”

“I’m not forcing, just reminding. You can still have that if you want it.”

He was quiet for a moment. I risked a glance at him to find his lovely face crestfallen. “Do you want to know what I saw when we were in the panic room?” He paused but didn’t wait for an answer. “I saw that picket fence life. The perfect house, perfect car, friendly neighbors, and even a couple of adopted kids. But you weren’t there. I couldn’t see the face of the woman in that phony, perfect life, but she wasn’t you, I knew that much. And it fucking terrified me, Lex.”

A sob lodged in my throat. “My panic room vision was about you too.”

“Nothing scares me as much as the thought of a future without you,” he went on, a hand on my shoulder. His fingers played in my hair.

“Everything has changed. I’ve changed. I’m afraid I’ll just keep hurting you, and you deserve so much better than that.” Blood tears threatened to blur my vision, and I hastily blinked them back.

We pulled into The Wicked Kiss parking lot, and the moment I parked the car, Shaz pulled me as close as the console between us would allow. He kissed my face and held me with a silent desperation.

“Please,” he whispered against my cheek. “Can we finally close the door on this discussion?”

“Ok,” I said, feeling shitty, knowing I had to let this go now. For good. “But if you ever change your mind—”

He silenced me with a kiss that sent shockwaves to the soles of my feet. The pine and wolf scent of him filled my nostrils, bringing my wolf forth with an excited lunge against my insides.

“Lex,” he murmured. “Shut up.”

Another head-spinning kiss and I was nodding, willing to promise him anything if he would just keep kissing me like that. Though I was always hungry for him, my bloodlust had been sated, leaving just the wolf in this moment. It was a simple bliss, and I treasured it.

After watching him drive away in my Charger, I headed inside. Right away my gaze darted to Willow’s usual spot at the bar. It was occupied by someone else. Wherever he was, I hoped he wasn’t doling out his own brand of demonic justice. That was a downward spiral I wasn’t sure anyone could save him from. But I would try.

During a quick walk around the building, I was stopped by a vampiress. She wasn’t someone I recognized, although, with so many passing through the place, it was hard to keep track of them all.

Her dark eyes were red rimmed, tear stains that she’d hastily tried to wipe away. Her face was in a state of perpetual frown, even when she tried to force a smile. Straight brown hair fell past her shoulders, and she wore tight jeans with a long-sleeved sweater.

I asked her if she was sure that she didn’t want to sit down, but she shook her head and pulled a bloodstained tissue from her purse. So I pulled her into a corner, ready to let her talk. My gut tightened as I anticipated the worst.

“My name is Echo. It’s about my husband, Flynn.” At his name her eyes filled with tears, and she quickly dabbed them away. “He was killed last night. By the wolves.”

“Flynn was a vampire?” I asked, encouraging Echo to keep talking.

She nodded and had to dab away another batch of tears before she could speak. “We were here together last night. We have an apartment a few blocks away, so we didn’t leave until just before sunrise. They jumped us. In the alley out back. There had to be ten or fifteen of them. Neither of us had enough power to take them on. Flynn told me to run. I didn’t want to leave him, but he kept screaming it at me. So I ran.” Her voice broke and she stopped.

A gentle prodding of her energy confirmed her claim. She had power, but it was minimal.

My mind raced. Why would the wolves do this? Those who hadn’t been picked up by the Feds would have no reason to do this. Unless they knew about Arys. But how? Only one person could have told them.

Izzy.

Jumping to conclusions wouldn’t help. However, all possibilities had to be considered.

Vampires in general weren’t the touchy feely sort. Not in a situation like this. So I patted her shoulder a few times, but otherwise kept my hands to myself.

“When he never made it home, I spent the whole day pacing the apartment, fearing the worst,” she continued after choking back a few more sobs. “I came back at sunset and found what was left of him, the ashes the wind hadn’t yet scattered. They fucking killed him. What happened to the alliance you were supposed to have with them?” There was no anger or accusation in her melancholy gaze, just a genuine need to know.

“I wish I could tell you,” I said. “The Doghead Alpha has been looking for a reason to turn on us. After two of his wolves turned up dead, he decided that was good enough for him.”

Guilt plagued me. What was done was done. Telling her it had been Arys wouldn’t help anything. It would only cause conflict among the vampires.

Echo nodded, lips pursed in thought. “Does this mean its hunting season for werewolves?”

The sly twist to her voice made me do a double take. With bloody tears dried beneath her eyes and vengeance burning within them, Echo’s aura vibrated with rising fury. Oh, shit.

“I understand that you feel you have to do something about this, but please, don’t let pain make your decisions for you. That never works out well. The Doghead Alpha is in FPA custody right now. That works in our favor.”

“Does it?” she challenged. “That didn’t stop them from jumping us and killing Flynn. The wolves need to be reminded of their role in this city. They can’t take us all, and if you don’t do something—”

“I’m trying,” I broke in, my voice rising. My frustration was fed by the cold spark in my core. Arys was nearby. “I’ve busted my ass to unite the wolves and vampires. We have a bigger enemy than each other, and it’s human. Nobody seems to give a shit about that. We’re all too intent on killing each other, and I’m ready to throw in the towel and let it happen.”

“Look, Alexa,” Echo began. “I know you’re doing your best. Honestly, I don’t envy the position you’re in, but now that they’ve gotten away with killing one of us, it’s not going to stop. We can’t sit back and do nothing.”

“Trust me, I know that.” And I did. I just didn’t know what the fuck to do about it.

As expected, Arys walked through the door. His gaze landed on me, and I was both perplexed and concerned by the dread on his face. What now?

Echo followed my stare to Arys. She touched my arm, just long enough for her pained energy to crawl over me. “I have to go after the wolves who killed Flynn. You would do the same.”

She wasn’t wrong. I couldn’t argue. All I could do was plead. “Echo, please, just give me time to figure this out.”

“I’m not sure we have that kind of time. Thanks for listening.” She disappeared into the crowd before I could think of a valid argument.

The pressure was mounting. A failed bargain with Winston. A vengeance seeking vampiress on top of the vengeance seeking werewolves. What was next?

I met Arys in the middle of the room. Like usual he was fending off advances from human women eager for his bite. If they only knew what they were missing.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, dragging him over near the darkened hall that led to both the restrooms and the back rooms where vampires took their willing victims for some private fun.

“Rachel and Ozzie are dead.” He rubbed a hand over his jaw and cursed. “She killed him. Then she killed herself.”

I stared at him, dumbfounded. If shitty things happen in threes, then I hoped this was it for a while. “Do you know what happened?”

“A nurse at Ozzie’s facility said that Rachel came in there last night. They found her after the first shot went off. She was sobbing over his body, mumbling something about how it was the only way to save him from what they’d become. Then she stuck the gun in her mouth, and it was over.” Arys shook his head and pulled me close. There was unspoken grief in him.

My emotions were raw from recent events. This wasn’t helping. Meeting Ozzie and Rachel had been bittersweet. Their love had been real, as had their purpose. And yet, look how it had all ended.

“Is there hope for any of us?” Despair reared its ugly head inside me.

Rachel and Ozzie. Salem and Lilah. Both pairings had fallen apart after finding one another. Arys and I had faced conflict after conflict, a constant challenge to our bond.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Arys said, tipping my chin up so he could search my eyes. “That is not our future. We’re stronger than that.”

“Are we though? I thought so too, but now I’m not so sure. Twin flames seem to always go bad, Arys. They hurt each other.” I crushed a handful of his t-shirt in my fist and tried to fight the rising surge of panic.

Arys put both hands on my shoulders and pushed calming vibes into me, but it was tainted with the fear he couldn’t hide from me. “We’ve hurt each other too, and it hasn’t changed what we mean to each other. The challenges just make me love you more. Need you more.”

“Until it doesn’t. Until it has you caging me like a rabid animal or putting me out of my misery altogether.” I grabbed his face in both hands and kissed him. A fast, hard and desperate kiss. “Or worse.”

Arys grinned and pushed the hair back from my face. “Why do you assume that I’d be the one doing terrible things to you? It’s not always the dark one making those decisions.”

He was right. Shit.

“That’s true.” I was as big a monster as Arys. Who was to say it wouldn’t be me doing something twisted to him? There was no guessing what lay ahead. “Fuck. So anything could happen. We already know it’s got to be bad.”

“You don’t know that. One night at a time, my wolf. Why fret a future that hasn’t happened yet?”

Sliding his hands down my arms, Arys laced his fingers through mine. Power crackled between our palms. It was like a shot of adrenaline, a force that kept us going from night to night. Vital to our existence while a threat to our sanity.

“The deal fell through with Winston,” I said, feeling the pressure mount. “The FPA won’t give up the wolves, and they only want Briggs back so they can kill him. This whole situation is fucked. We’re fucked.”

“We are not fucked.” A mischievous grin stole over his face. “Well, you could be. I’d be happy to bend you over a table. Again. That was fun.”

“Arys, be serious.” I punched his arm and tried to pull away.

He grabbed me and dragged me against him. Sticking his nose in my hair, he inhaled my scent. “I am serious.”

“Stop that.” My words lacked conviction though; it was hard to be firm when he was nuzzling the spot on my neck that sent a ticklish tingle down my back. “Arys, cut it out. Listen to me. That vampiress over there just told me the wolves jumped her and her husband before dawn. She got away. He didn’t. This is bad. Dayne’s absence isn’t stopping the rest from taking matters into their own hands.”

That got his attention. His dark blue gaze jumped to Echo. The enraged scowl that replaced his grin was worrisome. “So the wolves want to start a battle they can’t win,” he mused. Dark thoughts flitted through his head.

I knew that wicked glint in his eyes. “Remember, Arys, this all started because you hunted those wolves. Don’t get cocky or self righteous.” I didn’t like the expression he wore. It was hungry. Vicious. Ready.

“That’s only part of it. Don’t forget it was Dayne who started making demands. He made you earn an alliance by doing his dirty work. Then he made you kill a vampire in your own nightclub.” Arys’s energy crackled with the strength of his vexation. “He has always sought a reason to be at odds with us. I merely gave him one. That doesn’t change the fact that he’s always been an unreliable asshole who isn’t worthy of what we can offer him.”

I shook my head as dread swelled inside me. Bad things were going to happen. I could feel the certainty of it in my very marrow.

“I don’t feel good about this, Arys,” I said, both loving and hating the way it felt to have the malice Arys felt slither through me as if it were my own. “If shit goes down, Shaz will be caught in the middle.”

Arys cocked his head to one side and considered this with a sly smile. “Shaz in the middle? I kind of like the sound of that. We should try it some time.”

“Ugh, cut it out. If you don’t take this seriously I’m going to kick your ass.” Despite my annoyance my lips did quirk in a half smile.

“Someone’s got to lighten the mood. No sense in us both being uptight.” He snickered at my insulted gasp. “Shaz doesn’t need you to fuss over him. He’s more Alpha than Dayne will ever be.”

“Uptight,” I scoffed, nudging him with an elbow. A frown tightened my brow, and I rubbed a hand over my forehead. Yeah, no arguing that I was stressed, but I had valid reasons for feeling this way.

Arys turned me toward the growing crowd, putting my back to his chest. With a hand on my waist, he rested his chin on my shoulder. “Now pick out a happy little donor to come play with us for a nice, kill-free night of fun.”

“I don’t know about that, Arys.” I resisted but not because I wasn’t intrigued.

Although The Wicked Kiss wasn’t quite our style, it was likely what we needed right then. We’d proven ourselves to be more likely to take things too far when hunting the city streets alone. We needed each other, especially now, when things appeared so bleak for our future together.

I was reluctant to do anything but obsess over the wolves. I needed a plan. We had to be prepared.

“If you let them live inside your head, they’ve already won,” he murmured against my ear. “If Hanna can’t control the pack, then we will. Later. For now, let’s have some fun.”

Epilogue

“Extra chocolate, please. And whipped cream. Definitely do not skimp on the whipped cream.” Jez watched the guy at the crepe place as he made two chocolate, strawberry, and banana crepes. Her feline gaze followed his every move. She was ready to pounce if he didn’t do it right.

Once the guy had concocted two crepes that met her standards, she shoved some cash into his hand and passed one of the crepes to Allie. I watched with blatant envy as the teen bit off a mouthful of creamy, chocolatey goodness. To my eye most foods still looked so damn good, but all it took was a sniff for the aroma to turn my stomach. So unfair.

“Thanks, Jez.” Allie’s shy smile was the most adorable freakin’ thing ever. Her dark eyes still bore the haunted glow of a child forced to grow up too fast, but each smile seemed to lighten the shadows just a little at a time.

“Now let’s get our shop on.” With a wink and a grin, Jez guided Allie away. The two of them walked up ahead as we made our way through the mall.

This close to winter the sun set around five o’clock, giving me almost four hours to hang out and shop with the girls. It wouldn’t be like this in the summer, so I was making the most of it.

Kylarai and I walked behind them, catching up and reconnecting. Though her smile didn’t fully reach her eyes, it was genuine. Ky’s inner strength was beautiful. She’d faced so much and had to fight to achieve the quality of life she now had with Coby and the small town wolf pack. Her broken heart was there on her face every time she looked at me, but she was pushing on, facing every moment with more fierce determination than I would have in her place.

“Her first couple nights were a bit rough,” Ky admitted, her grey eyes on Allie. “It’s getting better though. She was spending a lot of time alone in her room, your old room. She’s been coming out more lately. She watched a movie with us last night. So that’s progress. She’s starting to ask a lot of wolf questions.”

“There’s no better person for her to learn from than you. How’s Coby?” I wanted to keep her talking about the good things, to celebrate in her happy moments. It killed me that, despite having enough power put me on the radar of both demons and Feds, it still wasn’t enough to heal the hurt my dear friend was holding inside.

Her smile grew as she began to talk about her husband. “Coby’s great. We’re great. I mean, other than the obvious. He’s decided to go back to school and study wildlife biology. I’m excited for him.”

We followed Jez and Allie to a clothing store boasting trendy fashion at deal prices. While they browsed around, Ky and I sat on a bench outside watching people pass by.

“Me too. I’m glad he’s pursuing something he has a passion for. I want you guys to be happy. I need someone stable to live vicariously through.” With a soft laugh, I slung an arm around her and pulled her close.

“I still can’t believe you died while I was on my honeymoon,” she said, voice low so passersby wouldn’t hear. “That’s really messed up, you know? I hate that I wasn’t here for you.”

“I don’t. You were exactly where I needed you to be at a time like that. Safe. Happy. That’s all I want for you, Ky.” I rested the side of my head against hers, reveling in the warmth and comfort of her wolf’s energy.

She leaned into me, completely unafraid. It meant so much to me, seeing as at one time she’d been wary of the ways I’d changed. Our paths had grown further apart over the last year, but that would never change what she meant to me.

“Don’t deny yourself happiness, Lex,” she said. “I know you. You think you don’t deserve it so you ruin things for yourself.” When I didn’t reply she added, “Stop pushing Shaz away. He’s a man who can make his own decisions and take his own risks. Let him love you, dammit.”

“I’m trying, Ky. It’s just really fucking hard.”

“Because you think you don’t deserve him.”

“Something like that.”

Jez and Allie reappeared, ready to move onto the next store that caught their interest. Jez chattered away animatedly, keeping the young girl engaged in conversation. It was nothing short of a huge relief to see Allie opening up and moving on with her life.

Moving on. So much easier said than done. Moving on meant getting out of bed and facing the world with all its harsh truths and painful reminders. It meant braving the things that scared us most. Certainly, hiding promised comfort, but it could never bring meaning to an already tortured existence.

Three nights had passed since the meeting with Winston. Briggs was still with Gabriel at Shya’s house. Naturally they were both growing restless with that arrangement, but I didn’t want to just let Briggs go. He was too unpredictable. Though he couldn’t stay with Gabriel much longer. It was a wonder the kid hadn’t lost it and killed him already. Since I had told Juliet during our most recent phone conversation that Briggs was alive and safe, I had to keep him that way.

Willow had given the amulet containing Shya to an angel named Serene. It was as safe as it could get. Now that I had one of the demons in my life out of the way, I could focus my attention on the other. Willow had been dropping in at The Wicked Kiss, but his stays were brief, and he didn’t talk much.

I missed him. Even as a fallen angel who drank too much and enjoyed a good brawl on occasion, he’d had a fun-loving nature. The jubilance he’d once exuded was gone. Whatever light he’d had left had gone out, the last flickering rays of a dying candle now dark.

In my heart I knew Hurst’s warning to beware the angel with black wings was about Willow. At the time I’d been so sure it was Shya, but Willow was slipping deeper into the darkness every night. He needed me, and I had to be there for him, which meant keeping my own dark side under control.

The last few days had made a world of difference in my control. Spending more time with Arys and Shaz kept me grounded, anchored to my light while still able to enjoy the hunger and power. There was no doubting how much I needed them.

Still, there was a limit to what they could do. While I wasn’t losing control on a nightly basis anymore, the killer within could only be calmed, never contained. My dark side would surface, and if I didn’t ensure I took it out on the right person, my guilt-riddled baggage would keep piling up.

Falon was the easiest way to work out the darkest parts of my hunger, the twisted, depraved part of me that I didn’t want Shaz or Arys to see. I hadn’t seen Falon since we trapped Shya, and I didn’t want to see him. Not really. And yet, I hungered for it. In a cruel twist of fate, while I’d been concerned Falon might form an addiction to me, I’d overlooked my own growing craving for him. I could either work out my violent hunger on him or hunt down a creep who deserved it and play with him until I got bored and made a bloody mess.

Deep in the recesses of my mind, a voice I didn’t recognize whispered, Why not just do both?

“So do you think you can make it out to run with us that night? I think it would be good for Allie to have you and Jez there too.” Kylarai was discussing the next full moon, when Allie would experience her first shift.

I dragged my focus back to her, cringing as I tried to figure out how to tell her I couldn’t make it. “Ky, there’s no good way to say this.”

“Oh God, what now?” She looked stricken.

“Shya did something to me,” I said, knowing there was no way to sugarcoat this. “Kind of a curse on my wolf. It’s tied to the full moon. Until I know exactly what it does to me, I can’t risk putting any of you in danger. I’m sorry. I wish I could be there.”

“Holy shit, Alexa.” She shook her head, and her brown waves tumbled about her shoulders. “Every time I think my life is boring, I just talk to you, and suddenly I’m grateful for it.”

Shya’s curse weighed heavily on my mind, but there was no sense obsessing on it. Of course that didn’t mean I wouldn’t. Every curse had a loophole. Even the one we all had twisted together. If the amulet housing Shya was destroyed, he would be set free. Hence the angelic keeper.

I glanced at the mark in the palm of my hand. It too had a loophole. We just had to figure out what it was.

The vibration of my phone buzzing in my bag grabbed my attention. I reached in and dug around in the mess of loose change, mail, and lip balm.

I was hopeful it would be Shaz. He’d been spending a lot of time at Doghead, keeping an eye on the remaining pack and trying to earn Hanna’s trust. Since the FPA had refused to deal on the wolves, she’d been reluctant to meet with me. Learning that her wolves had randomly attacked Echo’s husband as retaliation for Arys’s actions put Hanna in a rough spot. I understood; I was right there with her.

Fighting one another was useless when we had a shared enemy in the FPA. Our conflicts would only work to their advantage. What we needed was to come together to free the wolves they held prisoner and to proclaim to the government agency that we would not be controlled.

Unfortunately, the FPA had secret agents walking among us. Vampires and werewolves willing to work for them, believing like my sister did that they were protecting mankind from the monsters of the night while forgetting that mankind were monsters in their own right.

Tension between vampires and werewolves would be to the benefit of our enemies. However, if Hanna and her wolves wanted to continue this war started by a reckless vampire and an unforgiving wolf, then we must all play our roles. I would wait for Doghead to make their next move, certain it would come despite Shaz’s efforts to arrange peace.

I pulled out my phone and froze. It wasn’t Shaz’s name on the screen. It was Kale’s.

I had just seconds to decide to answer or ignore. My hand moved of its own accord, connecting the call. “Hello?”

A pause, then the silence in the background was broken by his smooth tone. “Hey, Alexa. How are you?”

“Um, good,” I said, knowing I sounded as awkward as I felt. “You?”

“Well, you know, it’s Vegas.” Another pause. “Jez filled me in on the Halloween fun you all had. Sorry I missed it.”

His voice reached inside me, taking me back to his bedroom, to the sensation of being wrapped in his safe embrace. Noting Ky’s curious glance, I gave her a tight smile and held up a finger to indicate I needed a moment. With a nod, she jogged to catch up with Allie and Jez, giving me some privacy.

“Don’t be. It was a gong show.” I gripped the phone tight, racking my brain for something to say.

Shya’s little gathering had affected us all with flashbacks to the past and forced awareness of what lurked within us. We’d all been reluctant to discuss our personal experiences in great detail, leaving me to wonder how it had been for the others. I was grateful Kale had not been among us that night.

Across the distance I could feel Kale’s hesitation. “I just wanted to make sure Jez was ok. She talked a lot about trying to find a way to keep her father’s dark side from manifesting. She’s been talking to Willow about it. Did you know that?”

“No, I didn’t.” I eyed Jez up ahead, wondering why she didn’t tell me.

“Is she doing ok? You know, with the drugs and everything.” Kale did care deeply about Jez. I didn’t doubt that for a moment, though I hoped that wasn’t the only reason he called.

“She’s doing fine. Really.” And she was. I was proud of her. “We’re just out shopping right now. She’s browsing cell phone cases with Allie and Kylarai.” I lingered several feet from the kiosk they’d gathered around, watching people pass but not really seeing them. A lump lodged in my throat. It hurt to breathe.

“Right. She told me about Allie. It’s great that you guys could help her like that. And Kylarai for taking her in, she’s such a gem. I’m sorry for her recent loss.”

Another horrible, awkward silence. I groaned inwardly and let my head fall hard against the wall at my back. “How’s Jenner? And Juliet? She’s not getting into trouble, is she?”

Kale chuckled, and the sound made my knees weak. “She’s an O’Brien. What do you think?”

“I don’t even want to know, do I?”

“Jenner is… Well, he’s an interesting guy. Not really so bad once you get to know him.”

“I doubt that,” I scoffed with a short laugh.

Kale felt so close despite being so far. I’d thought having him refuse to contact me was painful, but this was worse. It was torment. I’d learned to numb out the part of me that was his because it didn’t matter. It could never be. It was weakness.

“Well,” he said after another brief and increasingly uncomfortable silence. “I thought I should check in with you, make sure Jez was doing well. Glad to hear that she is.”

“Is that the only reason you called?” I blurted. It was a spontaneous but rash and stupid move. Why did I have to make things worse?

“You know it’s not,” he said, wistful longing in his soft tone. “I needed to hear your voice. I miss you so fucking much, Alexa. Every night I have to talk myself out of getting on a plane and coming home.”

I’d been so gutted by the way our last conversation had gone that I’d doubted what I meant to him. The relief I felt at his words flooded my eyes with scarlet tears, forcing me to drop my gaze as I blinked them away.

“I’m sorry,” I said, meaning everything that had gone down between us since that very first kiss. It was all I could offer, and it would never be enough.

My voice was thick with a swell of emotion. Could he hear the pain I’d so carefully stored away since he left? Pretending it didn’t exist because there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.

“Take care of yourself, ok?” Kale’s voice wavered. “I worry about you. I know I make you weak. But I need you to be strong. So be who you’re meant to be. Be strong.”

There were no words to properly capture how much love could be encompassed in someone’s voice. Hearing it chipped away at my already fragile willpower.

“Come on, Alexa. Take a picture with us.” Allie called me over with a wave of her hand and a smile that warmed my wounded heart.

The three of them stood outside one of those tiny photo booths designed to make people cram inside and take ridiculous but fun photos. How could I resist?

“Get your ass over here, Lex,” Jez joined in as Kylarai fished change for the booth from her wallet.

“I have to go,” I said, anguish in each word. “The girls are calling me.”

“Alright. Have a nice night.”

“Kale?” I clutched the phone, desperate to maintain this connection. Moving on. What a joke.

“Yeah?”

“I miss you, too.”

I hung up and blinked a few more times, sucking in several deep breaths as I sought to compose myself. Dropping my phone back into my bag, I ambled over to the girls with a grin pasted firmly in place.

A peek inside the photo booth had me laughing. “We’re never going to all fit in there.”

“Wanna bet?” Jez challenged with a wink.

There was much laughter and a little swearing as we piled into a booth barely big enough for two let alone four. Once we were crammed in, limbs all over the place, it was next to impossible to get all of us in the picture.

Jez pushed my face aside as she struggled to get her ‘good side’ into the frame. When I pinched her arm to get her hand off my face, she snarled. Allie erupted into giggles while Kylarai shook her head in an amused, exasperated mom-like manner. As the flash went off, capturing us in an outrageously unflattering light, I couldn’t help but laugh too.

The women surrounding me were the strongest women I’d ever known. Each one of them had faced more horror and pain than any one person should ever have to. They were not merely survivors. They were victors. Warriors. I was blessed to call them my family.

We all needed to know moments of weakness in order to learn how to wield the strength within. That was what I told myself as my heart both ached and rejoiced.

As we filed out of the booth to wait for our photos to shoot out of the little slot, I was grateful to share this moment of carefree fun with them. We needed to make the most of these moments while we could.

Though I couldn’t know what lay ahead, I knew it would test us all. As long as we were on this journey, there would be trials. There would be falling down and rising up. Overwhelming would lead to overcoming.

Kale’s words echoed in my ears. Be strong.

The End

Check out TrinaMLee.net for news and information on the next book in the Alexa O’Brien Huntress series, Hurt: A Shaz Richardson Novella.

About the Author

Trina writes urban fantasy that is dark and gritty with a twist of romance and horror but which is ultimately about people in dark places discovering who they are and what they’re made of.

A lover of rock music, vampires and muscle cars, Trina is a dreamer who always secretly wanted to be a rockstar. She lives in Alberta, Canada with her bass player husband, fierce teenage daughter and three annoying but super cute cats. She has a Venus Fly Trap that loves baby talk and a Dodge Charger named Delilah.

Trina loves to hear from readers so don’t hesitate to drop her a line.

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