by R. A. Boyd
“Don’t worry,” Sari said as if reading her thoughts. “If it doesn’t work, I’ll do everything I can to get you back here and put you under until we figure things out.”
Willow gave her a smile that barely lifted her lips. She knew Sari would do everything to help her. But she needed to know if her friend could do what it took if things went downhill.
“And if you can’t control me enough to put me under?” Willow asked. She needed to know.
Sariel’s eyes filled with unshed tears as they stared at each other. After a few moments, she put her hand on Willow’s and said, “Then, my friend. My sister. I will kill you myself.”
Chapter 2
“Would you please shut the fuck up?”
Ronin sat in his cell on the edge of his bed. Elbows on his knees and head in his hands, he rocked back and forth and prayed for silence.
Living like this was like having an evil angel on one shoulder and a demonic saber-tooth on the other. They argued and fought for control of his body. But for what? He was locked in a cell that none of them could escape. And to make it worse, his saber-tooth was bitching and complaining because he was caught up in two jail cells: the one of these four walls and the other of Ronin’s body. It was better this way. Even more people would die by his hands if his beast could actually shred through is skin and take control.
All of these deaths are your fault, Samiyah whispered in his ear. All of those people you killed, including the love of my life, and all of the people who will die because the Ghost shifters merely exist. It’s on your head. I will kill your entire clan!
“What part of shut the fuck up didn’t you understand?” Ronin asked aloud. “Yeah, I killed those people. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t want to.”
Don’t you dare take credit for my kills, you swine. Oh, joy. Now his saber-tooth wanted in on the conversation. I took control and killed them. It was my pleasure. It was my rite. I want out of this body!
“I wish they would have just killed me,” Ronin said. “Then I would be free of the both of you fuckers.”
They were harsh words, but Ronin would give anything to make this stop. It was torture. It was maddening. The only peace and quiet either one of them would allow him was when he passed out from exhaustion.
Maybe it was better that his mate ran off and left him to rot. He was no good to her like this. He was no good to anyone.
“You should be happy they didn’t kill you.”
Ronin startled hard and shot up from his bed at the sound of the soft voice.
Adrenaline rushed through his body as his heart hammered in his throat. He had to squint and force himself to focus. Cass stood just outside of the door of his cell, arms crossed over her chest, and watching him quizzically. The power that rolled off of her in waves was breathtaking, and from her relaxed demeanor, she had no idea.
Ronin took a deep, steadying breath and sat back down. “You’re too quiet.”
“So I’ve been told,” she said, a small smile playing across her lovely face.
Her dark coily hair fell just below her shoulders, framing her lovely features like a dark crown with a veil attached to it. She was short and built like an hourglass, but despite her unassuming height and stature, Ronin knew she was a fucking beast. They’d fought once. Well, more like she was keeping her people safe while he tried to stop Samiyah from taking over his body to hurt her. Hell, even if Samiyah had taken over, Cass was a force and would have done significant damage to them. He should have let her maul him.
Ronin took a deep breath and rested his shoulders against the wall behind the bed. The mattress was soft beneath him, but the scratchy hardness of the stone wall was all he deserved.
Cass shifted and cleared her throat. “Has it been like this the whole time, or has it gotten worse since you’ve been here?”
Was she trying to have a conversation with him? Everyone else avoided him like the freaking plague. The only time he had company, other than the dipshits arguing in his head, was when one of his brothers brought him a meal. Jax, the Alpha of the Ghost shifters, tried to talk with him a few times. Ronin’s saber-tooth picked those moments to take over and threaten death to the Alpha and Omega of their clan.
Ronin nodded and looked up at her. “It’s gotten worse. Being in this cell dampens Samiyah’s hold on me. I think he’s weak in here.”
“Tell me,” she replied, uncrossing her arms and digging in her jacket pocket. She pulled out a small brown paper bag and started eating almonds and raisins. “Would you like some?”
Her words were sincere. She was kind to him for no other reason than to be friendly, and she really wanted to hear what he had to say. He would have been able to hear it in her voice if she didn’t give a shit about him. But she cared. For him. Why the hell would anyone give a shit about him?
He held up his hand. “No, thanks. I’m good. What do you want to know?”
“I want to know what happened to you. I mean, I know your beast took over and killed a bunch of people and that the Coven of the Fallen had to take you down. I know that you’ve been sleep while the rage was being taken from you. What happened when you woke up?”
He watched her for a few moments while she ate, and he finally spoke up when she raised her eyebrows in a silent urging. “I didn’t wake up until a few weeks ago. At first, I didn’t know what was happening, but then I remembered my beast taking over and killing those people in Ireland. I remembered the coven telling me that I would sleep while they helped me, but I didn’t know how much time had passed. When I woke up, I thought I was fine. And then I was walking around and doing stuff that wasn’t my bidding. I thought I was dreaming.”
It took him a few days to figure out that he’d been possessed and by an angel no less.
“You woke to him riding around in your body?” Cass asked, leaning her hip against the wall next to his cell.
Ronin scratched the top of his head and nodded. “Yeah. I was giving orders and telling people why the Rogue clan was so important.” He ran his fingers through his short hair and shook his head. “I was telling people how bad the Ghost shifters were, and that we needed to be eradicated. Hell, even my beast was trying his best to stop what was happening. But we couldn’t.”
Cass nodded her head and looked as if she were letting his words sink in as he spoke. “So, Samiyah was in complete control of you.”
“Yes.”
“And the Rogues think you’re you, not Samiyah?”
“Yes.”
“How about your saber-tooth? Does he feel less murdery?” She chuckled and chewed the inside of her jaw. “That’s a horrible question. I guess I mean, did those years asleep really help?”
“Yeah,” he said, standing and motioning for her snack. “It did. But now it’s like I’m going in reverse.”
Ronin took slow and measured steps toward her. He didn’t want to freak her out, but sure as shit, she stood there like he wasn’t a crazy-ass monster who had murdered more people than he was willing to admit. It made him wonder how much of a monster Cass really was.
He could see it behind the kindness of her smile. Especially in her eyes. There was a storm brewing inside this woman, and she didn’t even know.
He finally reached the door of the cell as she watched him. “All the progress I made while I was asleep was thrown out the window once we, me and my saber-tooth, realized what was being done to us. My beast got so angry, started trying to push to the surface again. Begging me to let it take control and kill everyone in my path.”
Cass reached into her other jacket pocket, pulled out another bag of snacks, and gave it to him. “And now?” she said, casually handing him the bag through the bars like they were old friends.
Didn’t she know he could grab hold of her arm and yank it into the cell? His unwilling body could do so much damage to her if she weren’t careful.
“And now,” he said, opening the bag. “It’s messy again. I deserve to die.”
“Your mate is going to save yo
u.”
Ronin’s heart tripped in his chest, and an ache that originated in the pit of his stomach took over his torso. Belting out a bitter laugh, he said, “She can’t save me. I’m no good for her. Just put me out of my misery so I won’t cause any more trouble.”
His mate. The memory of her face and the sound of her voice were the only things that made him feel anything but the enraged emotions he’d grown used to. She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. And she hated him.
The look of shock in her amber-colored, almond-shaped eyes had hypnotized him and his beast. Eyes that color were unnerving and beautiful. He’d seen the disgust on her face once she realized they were mates, and he had heard everything she said before she left.
“She doesn’t want me. She shouldn’t. I’m a terrible person.”
He grabbed a handful of trail mix and started eating to give himself something to do while Cass looked at him so thoroughly, he felt she could see right into his head. From what he’d heard about her abilities, Cass could read his every emotion. Even more so than the clan Omega, Damon.
Samiyah knew that the woman who would be the third in the Alpha Triad of the Ghost shifters would be capable of more than any of them understood. She was the reason the entire clan was getting their mates and having their beasts restored. It was all on her.
Cass puffed her cheeks and then blew out a hard breath. “Yes, she does. She’s wanted a mate for a long time. You’re just a challenge to her that she doesn’t understand.”
Ronin was ready for a snarky comeback from Samiyah, but nothing came. In fact, both his saber-tooth and the hateful angel were quiet. They’d been bickering nonstop since he woke up a few hours ago. But right now, they were silent.
“Are you magic?” Ronin whispered as if afraid to wake the assholes in his head.
She huffed out a laugh and dropped two more bags of snacks into his cell. “I’m pretty sure I’m not.” She shifted from side to side as if afraid to speak. “This is going to sound weird but, I’d really like it if you ate more. You’re not eating all of your food and not nearly drinking enough water. Can you do me a favor and eat a little more? You’re a shifter, and you guys need to eat.”
“What are you? Why are they quiet now? They’re always loud.”
Cass shrugged, and a look of confusion and humor blanketed her face. “You’re welcome?”
We can pledge to her, his saber-tooth whispered in his ear. Tell her.
Whoa. He and his beast had only encountered Cass once before, and that was when Samiyah was in control. And now the crazed animal was ready to pledge allegiance to her? She was magic.
So he wouldn’t sound crazier than everyone already knew he was, he would wait to tell her that his beast accepted her and her position in the Ghost clan. For now, he would tell her Samiyah’s secrets. Well, at least the ones he could pull from Samiyah’s consciousness. That bastard had clamped down on his secrets since Ronin was back in control of his body.
“You need to be careful,” he said, his words pushing past his lips so fast he spit out a half-chewed almond. He grabbed the untouched glass of water from his food tray and took a few sips. Cass wanted him to eat and drink more, so he would. “At Samiyah’s instructions, the Rogue clan had plans to take you. You're the reason the Ghosts are getting their mates and their grace. And it’s why you’re so powerful.”
She looked at the glass and then back at him as if silently urging him to drink more. He took a few huge gulps and finished off the tall glass of cool blue water. The satisfaction in her eyes was evident. She really gave a shit about him.
One side of Cass’s lips quirked up in a satisfied half-smile. “Your friends are in for a really crappy day if they try to take me.” A laugh bubbled from her as she considered her possible kidnapping. “Heck. I just might let them.”
“No!” Panic simmered up through his chest at the thought of the Rogue clan getting their hands on her. “They may be a pack of assholes, but the knowledge and abilities Samiyah and Remus have makes them dangerous. Remus is the only one who knows Samiyah had been in control of my body. They were working on a spell to break the bond between the mates. If they manage to break your bond with Jax and Damon, all of the bonds will be broken in the Ghost shifter clan.”
Cass drew in a sharp breath and brought her hand to her chest. “That would take away their grace and their beasts. Holy crap. How close were they to actually doing it? And who the heck is Remus?”
The Ghost shifters really had no clue how dangerous the Rogue clan was. Most of the members were sheep who followed the craziest person who sounded like a leader, but there were more than a few whose intentions were evil to the core. They were the ones to worry about. And that was the group that grew in numbers everyday in the Rogue clan.
The light sound of footsteps echoed above their heads as at least two people entered the front door of the community hall. A human wouldn’t have been able to pick up on the activity above them, but both Ronin and Cass quieted and listened.
He may not know all the new people in their clan just yet, but Ronin sure as shit knew his mate had just entered the building. Most of the women in this clan wore sneakers or flats, but Willow wore heels so high they made her ass look like it was begging for his attention. He’d noticed them when he first saw Willow a few weeks ago at a bar with the rest of the Ghost women. The night Cass tried to literally rip him apart. Even before he knew Willow was his mate, he’d fought through the haze of Samiyah’s control and eyed Willow’s thick thighs and round ass like he was being paid to do it.
Cass cleared her throat, and when Ronin turned his gaze to her, he was not surprised to see her giving him a knowing smile. “It’s Willow, isn’t it?”
Heat gathered in Ronin’s ears as he watched his alpha scent his desire for Willow. “Yeah. I only know because she wears heels and none—”
“Save it. You don’t have to explain. I know the sound of Jax and Damon. It only makes sense that you should know the sound of your mate.” She stepped closer to the cell and whispered, “You may think that she doesn’t want you, but you’re wrong. And if holding on to the sound of her heels or whatever excuse you were going to give me is what makes you stop wishing for death, do that. I don’t know why, but I believe in you. Your mate is going to free you of Samiyah, and I’m going to help her quiet your beast. We’re family here. Despite how isolated you feel because of what you did before or what you were made to do, you’re one of my people now. Do you understand?”
He did understand. This woman cared more for the well-being of this clan than any of them could ever have hoped for. The Ghost shifters were made a promise by the Creator a long time ago, and Cass was it. Without her, this clan would be nothing. He needed to talk to Jax and Damon.
As Willow made her way down the stairs, Cass took a step back and leaned against the wall.
“Hey, Willow,” Cass said as she winked at Ronin. “Come baring good news?”
Ronin’s dick thumped in his jeans as he watched Willow walk toward his cell. Compared to him, Willow was short. Hell, so were all of the women of the Ghost shifter clan, but there was something about Willow that made him want to tuck her small frame into his larger one and hold her until she fell asleep. Her dark wavy hair danced across her shoulders as she walked, and her caramel skin looked tasty enough to fucking lick. She was thick and curvy with full hips and large breasts. Her belly was soft, and her waist was cinched. Her body made him think of the full-figured women of the Italian Renaissance that men used to worship and crave.
The difference finding a mate made in his life amazed him. Before knowing who Willow was to him, Ronin hadn’t cared about anything but dying. Leading up to the night the Coven had to put him down over seventy years ago, he’d thought of nothing but carnage and death for more than a century. His beast had been whispering to him, taunting him, telling him that it would take over his body and kill everything it laid its eyes on.
Now, there was a new craving in his mind.
Oh, dying to end the strife of this shit life was still on his mind, but now Willow was taking up space in his head too. She was dominating his thoughts. His desires. If he made it through this madness and was able to live a normal-ish life, he would make it his goal to be precisely what Willow wanted and needed.
Fuck the sound of her heels. He would hold on so he could have the honor of sinking his cock into Willow’s soft body. And take her on a date. And whatever else she wanted him to do.
He tried not to stare at her, but he couldn’t help himself. She was beautiful. Even as she avoided his gaze, he could still see the beauty of her eyes. She hated him, and that was okay. He’d been a bad man for a long time. Hell, he would question her sanity if she didn’t feel a natural aversion to him.
Cass made a gagging sound as she hugged Willow. “Ronin. Dude. You’re going to make me barf. Get a hold of your pheromones or I’m not going to visit you ever again.”
Now his ears were really on fire. Cass was supposed to be his friend, and here she was, outing his feelings for Willow. She reminded him a little of Audra.
“Good to see you, Cass. I have news.” Willow glanced at Ronin for a fraction of a second and gave him a tight smile. “It’ll be good news if I can pull this off, but it’ll take time. I stopped past your house on my way here and spoke with Jax. He’s calling a meeting for this afternoon so that everyone can be in on making the decision. I let him know about this.” Willow reached into her back pocket and pulled out a small black velvet satchel.
Cass took the satchel as Willow handed it to her. “What’s this?”
Ronin was curious too, and couldn’t help but take a few steps closer to see what it was. Cass held the little bag upside down and gasped when a chocolate oak bracelet fell into her hand. Tiny carvings that were too small for Ronin to make out from where he stood lined the bracelet.
