by Scott, Helen
“Perhaps. I’m certain he will see her value in time.”
“You mean you hope so.” I sneered at him, cutting him a look and seeing his somber features in the light of the moon. “Catching a mate has made you tenderhearted, Enforcer.”
“Hardly,” he growled. “It has made me see there are more than two sides to every tale. I’ve had no choice but to open my mind. Nothing here makes sense. Marcella’s moods are as fickle as the wind. I don’t believe I’ve seen the true her since I’ve met her.
“She’s been used as a play toy by Morgana…” I winced at that because Morgana was a bitch. “Had a heat triggered upon our claiming. One of her mates almost died. Another almost lost his life to his powers.” He ran a hand through his hair. “And through it all, we’ve had no clue as to why this is happening. Even now, after almost being kidnapped by her father, she doesn’t truly know.”
“If you’re asking for answers, I do not have them.”
Darius released a sharp exhalation. “When do you ever?” He shook his head. “We serve them with blind faith. Will that change?”
“I doubt it.” He didn’t understand, and I was certain he never would.
Darius stormed off, and I let him without calling him on his disrespectful departure. Many times I’d felt the Sire’s call and longed to ignore it. They took and took and took, giving nothing in return. Expecting blind faith, true devotion with no reward for their callousness.
And because I empathized, I could also pity Darius.
Because, although he didn’t know it, he had a Sire of his very own to deal with now.
My purpose in handling the quartet of troublemakers was nefarious. I dealt with them because the Maker needed me to. Because two separate goals were aligned, and the Sires also found it prudent to ignore the fact we weren’t on the same side.
Marcella was one such ‘goal.’ A creature worth sullying the Reapers’ hands with the taint of the Sires. I played my part just as my brothers and the Cavalry did, but our alliances would always be different.
As reward? We’d been given a mate. A pursang princess of all things.
Shaking my head at the forest that sang its usual siren’s song, I snorted because I wasn’t sure if that was Merlin’s idea of a reward or retribution.
Neither prospect boded well.
* * *
Marcella
“Are you nervous?”
I reached up to cup Cade’s cheek. He looked down at me with eyes loaded with a concern so great, my heart shuddered at the sight of it.
Sure, he was an asshole, but he was my asshole, and I wouldn’t change him for anything.
“I have no need to be,” I told him softly, hoping beyond hope that he could hear my sincerity.
“I’m not sure how you’re not,” he grumbled.
“Does that mean you are?” I gave him a gentle smile, sensing he needed this from me.
I wasn’t feeling gentle. I felt like Joan of Arc riding into battle, and I was under no doubt that even though no blood would be shed this day, a war was stirring.
I didn’t know why. Didn’t understand the feelings swirling around inside me, just knew they were real.
Since I’d met these brothers, my pursang had been on edge, and for the first time, she wasn’t. That was how I knew the battle was coming.
Because she was calm.
And I was well aware of how terrifying that was.
My pursang, I was realizing, was a badass.
Thankfully, she imbued some of those characteristics in me. Because, before I’d claimed these men as mine, I would have been terrified about what was about to go down in the council chambers across town.
He pressed a hand to my belly and tucked me against his chest. I loved the proximity and lifted a hand to cup the back of his neck, drawing him ever closer.
“You do that so you could look down my dress?”
He snorted and pecked a kiss on my check. “I’m an opportunist, so of course.”
I grinned and stared at us both in the mirror opposite us.
Darius’s townhouse was our current locale. It had taken us two days of traveling to drive here thanks to our frequent stops as we crossed the country. There was a sense of urgency, but also, I’d had to stop. My pursang had been too on edge not to.
It was ironic, I thought, that she was calm now that we’d made it to the city.
Unlike the house in Vegas that would have suited Hugh Hefner’s needs with its opulence, this townhouse was beyond luxurious. It screamed wealth in a way that made me totally uneasy. If anything, I was more scared about knocking over an ornament here than I was of confronting a group of males and females who, until recently, had been baying for my blood.
So much had happened since then, though.
Since Westbrook, I’d changed. Morphed from a frightened young female into a Sixth. Then, from a Sixth into a creature that couldn’t be defined, could only be described as Descendant.
I had no reason to be afraid when I was something the council itself should fear. Not that I knew why, but if an Ancient could bow to me, someone so old that even Darius respected him? Well, I was hot shit, wasn’t I?
The mirror was eighteenth century, and the four-poster behind me was too. I could easily picture Darius roaming around this room in a linen shirt with a waterfall for a cravat. Breeches and a white powdered wig on his head. Maker only knew who he’d entertained in this home.
I had half a mind to ask him whose side he’d been on during the Civil War.
Had Washington eaten here?
Or Benedict Arnold?
That aside, Cade and I made a pretty picture in our modern dress. He wore a suit that Darius had bought for him, one that wasn’t custom fit for his delicious form but still fit him like a glove. It was as dark as his hair, and the white shirt with a silver-gray silk tie merely complimented his coloring all the more.
I wore a bright red dress. It clung to all my curves as any sinful gown should, and displayed my arms with lean muscles for all to see. In fact, my strength was on full display. My abs could be seen through the taut fabric, and my curves were subtle but not soft.
My body was a machine, and this dress proved it.
“What’s wrong?” I whispered, well aware that the other brothers were readying themselves for our first meeting with the council this evening.
We were about to attend the leaders’ version of an informal party. Of course, that level of informality meant I had to wear a six-thousand dollar dress and over a million dollars’ worth of rubies and emeralds on my ears, throat, and wrists.
I wanted nothing adorning me except for Gid’s ring on my finger, but I was well aware of what Darius was doing.
Branding me as his from the top of my styled head to the toes of my outrageously expensive Prada shoes.
“I hate the council.” He mumbled the words like a small boy might when he spoke of his chores, and I had to hide my smile by turning my face into his shirt to hide my amusement.
“You think I’m their biggest fan?”
He huffed. “No. Can’t we just stay here and fuck?”
“After all the time I spent to look this good?”
That had him snorting. “Babe, you look better with my cum seeping out of your pussy.”
My nose wrinkled at that. “Gross.”
“Hardly. Beautiful,” he purred. “Makes me want to fuck you harder when I see you like that.”
I shuddered, my pursang finally stirring after she’d been so damn quiet since we’d made it to Boston. Maker, even though he could be nasty sometimes, Cade turned me on so fast it was like lighting a match and throwing it on gasoline. Part of me was oh so tempted to bend over and let him fuck me just like he wanted. Walking in smelling of my men and sex would certainly let the council know exactly what I thought of them.
Darius wouldn’t be happy though, and since all of the effort we had put in to get ready was so that we didn’t make asshats out of ourselves, I reined my pursang in and promised her that I w
ould let Cade fuck me senseless soon.
Sighing, I pushed up onto my tiptoes and pulled him down, planting a gentle kiss on the side of his cheek.
“We’ll be fine, I promise. Once we get home, you can fuck me until I scream your name, okay?” I offered as I lowered myself back down, moving carefully on the sky-high heels that Darius wanted me to wear. I let my voice become low and husky to show him exactly how much I wanted that.
Cade’s eyes flared with lust, and the silver ring of his pursang spread over his blue eyes. “I’ll hold you to that, sweetness.”
He was just about to kiss me when the door opened and Darius distracted us. As much as I had wanted him to, I knew that a kiss between us in that moment would have led to more than we had time for.
“Ready?” Darius asked, his eyes flicking between the two of us as he took in the situation.
I gently extracted myself from Cade’s hold and took his hand. “As I’ll ever be,” I replied while I tugged on my time walker’s hand, and moved the two of us out of the bedroom.
The limo ride over was quiet, and tension practically vibrated in the air, but no one was in the mood to make jokes to break it. When we pulled up to the curb, the building we arrived in front of was relatively nondescript. It was at the corner of two streets and made of dark gray and cream stonework. A doorman came out and opened the limo door for us.
We all piled out. Darius and Gideon went first, then they helped me out, while the others followed. Before we could even get to the door, it was being held open for us, and a butler or concierge-type person was standing there with a clipboard. Darius moved forward and spoke with the representative who gestured to the elevator bay and nodded at us, checking something off as he spoke.
When Darius gestured, we all followed him to the elevator and rode in silence up to the top floor. It was almost like they were too nervous to speak, although I think I was the only one who wasn’t nervous. I just didn’t know what to say, or how to ease the distress they were feeling. It wasn’t like I grew up in a supportive environment, so I didn’t exactly have any experience with this type of stuff.
The elevator dinged, and I swear if I didn’t know better, I would have thought that a couple of my guys jumped. When the doors slid open, my jaw dropped. It was like we had stepped into a magazine spread.
Fresh flowers adorned almost every surface while low lighting was accented with small twinkly lights, giving the space a warm glow that made me want to smile. The air smelled like the ocean and the city and the flowers all at once, and it made me long to see the harbor I had only glimpsed as we made our way through Boston earlier.
A short hallway led us to a ballroom of sorts. People milled around and a low chatter filled the air. As soon as we walked in the doorway, silence fell. I had never felt so exposed in my life. I still wasn’t scared or even nervous, but I’d never had that many eyes on me at one time.
This wasn’t even the full-on council meeting; this was just an informal party. But if it was so informal, then why were all the men in tuxes and the women looked like they were attending an invite-only gala of some kind?
No, this was formal as shit, and it was a way that the council was trying to thumb their noses at us and make us feel less than. Well, good fucking luck, because the only people who could have any impact on how I thought of myself and my mates were my mates. So long as they loved me, I didn’t care what anyone else said or thought.
There were more than enough people in there to account for needing the largest entertainment area, but I could also see it for what it was: a show of wealth and power. What no one in the room realized was that I now had a personal, up-close relationship with the Sires, so there was very little the council could do to intimidate me.
“Darius!” someone yelled finally, breaking the odd stasis that had overtaken the room the second we stepped out of the elevator and into the fun-filled fiesta awaiting us. Not.
My eyes searched for the source of the sound and found a man in a suit complete with vest and tails striding toward us with champagne flutes in each hand. When Darius walked forward to meet him, we all followed. I hated feeling like sheep, or a child hiding behind her mother’s skirts, but I wasn’t sure what to do now that we were here.
“Edmund, pleasure to see you again,” Darius said, as he took the offered glass and shook the man’s hand.
“Pleasure is all ours. It’s been too long, although I can understand why if this is the mate you told us about. I wouldn’t want to parade her in front of a bunch of bored old pursangs either! Too much to do in the bedroom, eh?” Edmund nudged Darius with his elbow and almost caused the bubbly liquid to spill from my mate’s glass while the man, who I assumed was a council member, looked me over, his eyes lingering in places that they shouldn’t.
A quiet rumble sounded from Darius, and Edmund’s eyes flicked to the Enforcer.
“Sorry, old chap, just been a while since there’s been new blood in the council meetings. No offense meant. Come now, let’s introduce you to everyone!” Edmund was off, and Darius was trailing after him before I could even find my voice to protest.
Instead of vocalizing how much I disliked being treated like a piece of furniture, I merely stood still. All my other mates stayed around me, which I was sure made quite the picture when Darius looked back and found us in the same spot. He quickly rushed back to me.
“My love, I know you don’t like being treated this way, but please, just for tonight, can you follow along? The formal introduction tomorrow will make sure everyone knows who you are and that you’re not to be trifled with, I promise,” Darius explained, seeming more out of sorts than I expected.
Being an Enforcer meant that he was top of the food chain, but in this room, he wasn’t, even if he was one of the oldest pursangs here. The council members were fawned over like they were demigods or something. And the ones doing the fawning? Well, they were women, and while I was sure they were older than they appeared, they looked more like their goal was being a sugar baby instead of influencing the world at large. It made my stomach roll.
I sucked up my pride and followed Darius’s wishes, allowing myself to be introduced, not that anyone ever did anything except give me a once over.
By the end of the evening, I was beyond furious, not just because of how they treated me, but because no one seemed to give a shit about my other mates, and Darius never introduced them, which set my teeth on edge.
For the first time in a while, I resented Darius and my pursang? Well, she wasn’t happy about that. Nor was she happy with what Darius was doing. All six males were hers, after all, and the discordancy had her surging to the surface in a way that would have me exhausted if she didn’t let up.
Maker, it was going to be a long night, and I couldn’t even self-medicate with champagne. Not around these fuckers, at any rate. No definitely didn’t mean no to bastards like these, which was beyond messed up considering these douches ruled over us with an iron fist.
Hypocrites. I was surrounded by them. Literally.
9
Keiran
When Barclay disappeared, I didn’t think much of it.
He was like that. It was the wolf in him. It was impossible to keep him contained some days, and when he had to wear a suit too? Maker, it would be easier to keep a child in a tuxedo.
The party was in full swing. Well, I called it a party, but it was boring. In fact, I’d been to better eight-year-old birthday parties. At least they had fun shit like piñatas and snow cones.
Here?
They were offering different treats to the masses.
I knew what the start of an orgy looked like, but Marcella didn’t. It concerned me because her pursang was beyond jealous and excruciatingly possessive of us. It wasn’t a complaint. I didn’t want any motherfucker touching my mate, either, so it was a kind of mutual I-will-kill-anyone-who-looks-at-you kind of thing, but still, from what I was watching, I knew things were going to get shitty very quickly.
There we
re three main councilors per line: the Mage, the Enforcer, and the Head. Each of those men and women held state in their own part of the hall where the party was taking place. As a result, we had our own nook. Darius kept drifting off to speak with other members of the council, leaving us behind, and our nook was definitely the tamest.
That he didn’t entertain here was a testament to his not wanting to bring the fuckfest to Marcella, but it was rude in its own way. He hadn’t introduced Marcella to the Mage or the Head of the Maximus line yet, and as the night drew on, I had a feeling he wouldn’t.
Marcella was here, but she was a token presence. Darius did the mingling, and though my mate should have appreciated that she didn’t have to talk to these dickwads as they leered at her tits and tried to charm her out of her panties, the tension screeching from her told me she was anything but happy with Darius’ behavior.
I couldn’t exactly blame her, but I knew the score and she didn’t. In this mood, and around these bastards, there was no telling her either.
To our right, I could hear a woman moaning as one of the Mages went down on her. Nobody needed to see that shit. Dude was over three thousand years old, for Maker’s sake. I didn’t even want to know if he needed the pursang equivalent of Viagra to get a hard-on. Which, of course, prompted the question if Viagra for pursangs even existed. Kronos did, after all, so why not cock-helpers?
Opposite us, one of the few female councilors was sucking someone’s cock, and an Enforcer was watching, jacking himself off as he took in the view.
Marcella could see all of this. As much as I could. But her pursang was angry, and that meant she had tunnel vision. I’d admit that the scent of sex in the air was working on me. I wanted to fuck her something terrible, but there was not even a hint of arousal around her. Her nipples weren’t beading and budding through her dress. She was too angry to be turned on.
I was touched if I was honest.
The sex workers in the room were being shown more respect than we, as Stained, were getting, and Darius had compounded that by not introducing us. While I understood and knew there was no other way, Marcella’s fierce loyalty was like a balm to my chapped soul.
