by Brenda Trim
Lucas nodded his head. “I sense an affinity for her, but she doesn’t speak to my inner demon.”
If only. Of course, I can’t be so fucking lucky. Dante couldn’t relate to the cambion. The female stirred his inner demon and had him standing at full attention. But that was it. He was horny as hell but not in danger of raping the males surrounding him which would happen if she were truly an archdemon. Higher level demons incited cambions with little effort.
Jett shook his head. “How is this possible?”
Dante sighed and took a seat on the armchair cattycorner to the sofa where the angel was. He reached over and pulled a blanket over her shoulders. “I have no idea. It doesn’t make any sense. Lucifer was frozen in the middle of lake Cocytus when those that followed him fell and there’s no fucking way anything living in the Underworld would rescue an angel.”
“Is it possible she fell sometime after the Great War?” Axel turned his head to Dante as he spoke.
Dante’s gaze slid to the couch and scanned the tangled brown hair that rested on the teal throw pillow. “Sure, she could have fallen later, but she’d still suffer the same. Aside from those early days right after the war, every angel that stands against Heaven is sent directly to Hell where they will be torn apart immediately. Trust me, no demon would leave an angel intact or kindly remove their wings. Rhys’s mate is the perfect example of how they’d be treated. When we found her, she had scars covering her back all around where her wings kept growing back.”
Buzzing filled the room and all eyes went to the large picture window where automatic shutters were descending from the ceiling. Dante was still getting used to living in homes where he was shut off from the outside world during the day.
Vampires can’t withstand sunlight, so every Dark Warrior headquarters is retrofitted with automatic protection on the windows. Dante recalled when part of a warrior’s job was to make sure everything was light proof before retiring for the day. Because they battle demons that only roam at night, most in their line of work adjusted to a life in the shadows.
Axel crossed to a bar in the corner and poured himself three fingers of scotch. “So, chances are she fell in the beginning, but that doesn’t tell us much about how she escaped brutality. Maybe she’s so powerful she’s masking her scars and energy signature. And it doesn’t tell us that she’s not a risk to us.”
Dante chuckled mirthlessly. “She’s formidable enough to hide that from us while unconscious, but she’s not capable of fighting off whoever hurt her enough to knock her out? No way. With the level of skill that it would take to mask her power, she’d be able to snap anyone in half. She might even be able to take on Lucifer himself at that rate.”
Jett’s brow furrowed as he stared at the angel. “You might be right about her not being aligned with the demons, but she can’t stay here. I say we kill her before she wakes up and attacks us.”
Dante climbed to his feet and stalked toward the sorcerer. “I’ll remind you one last time. You answer to me, not the other way around. Something horrible happened to this female. We protect the innocent and look out for their well-being. We are not going to kill her before we know where she stands. She will remain here until she’s recovered. Now, you guys go get some rest. I will watch her.”
Lucas nodded his head and left right away, followed by Ty and Axel. Jett lingered for several seconds before he too left the parlor. Dante blew out a breath and approached the bar.
What the fuck was he going to do now? He pulled his cell phone out and sent a message to Zander and the rest of the council saying he found an injured Fallen Angel and would keep them posted.
His phone pinged with several messages within seconds, but he ignored them because the female was stirring. Dante kept wary eyes on the sofa. In a blur of movement, the female jerked awake and sprang to her feet.
Blood was crusted all over her body and she was covered in bruises, but that didn’t deter from her beauty. The snarl reminded Dante he didn’t know what kind of creature he was dealing with.
“Your friend wasn’t able to break me, and neither will you.” The female spit her words at him. Venom and hatred flying from her mouth with her saliva.
Dante held up his hands, palms out, hoping to calm her down and show he wasn’t a threat. “What friend is that? My name is Dante. I’m not going to hurt you.”
Her hands moved behind her back then forward. Silver glinted in the dim light of the lamp. She had a weapon now. Where the fuck had that come from? She was naked and he hadn’t seen anything on her.
“You think because you tell me your name and take me to someone’s fancy home, I trust you? Not fucking likely.” Her eyes never shifted away from Dante.
Dante tried to calm her with his tone. “I found you bleeding on the subway tracks and brought you here to heal. You’re safe. What’s your name?”
She shook her head. “I can sense your pheromones working on me, incubus. It won’t work. You know what I am.” She gestured over her shoulder.
Reason number ten million to hate my incubus side. Dante’s forehead pinched and one corner of his mouth screwed up. “I’m not an incubus. My mother was human. To get to the point, the only thing your scars tell me is that you’ve been hurt. Oh, and I didn’t catch your name.”
The angel turned her head to the side and headed around the coffee table slowly. She was closing the distance between them while also getting closer to the exit. “My name’s Chloe. Not that you’ll be able to tell anyone.”
Dante’s head titled to one side. The angel jumped into the air and flew toward him. Because yeah, he was running on the assumption she was a Fallen Angel, even if she didn’t fit the typical profile of one.
Unprepared for the move, he barely lifted his arms by the time her knife was thrust into his shoulder. “What the fuck?” Dante used the hands that landed on her chest and he shoved her as hard as he could. His mind trying to process what just happened while white hot agony traveled through his body.
Boy had he gotten this one wrong. He should have followed Jett’s advice and killed her before she woke up. Bile rose in his throat the second he thought of harming her. His mind scattered as his body pitched with hers.
Reaching up, he pried her fingers from the blade and yanked it out of his shoulder then tossed it across the room. “Stop it, dammit.”
“Fuck you.” Her foot connected with his hip way too close to his family jewels. He rolled to the side and scrambled away from her.
She didn’t say a thing as she scurried behind the sofa and crouched behind it so only her head was above it. She picked up Axel’s glass and tossed it at him. He dodged it easily, but not the book that followed right after. It hit him in the temple. Warm liquid trickled down the side of his face.
Wiping it with the back of his hand, he raced for the coffee table and jumped onto it then across the back of the couch. She shouted and threw her body to the left. He hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her to him as he hit the floor.
His shoulder smashed the wood and his skull bounced off of it. Her head hit his chin forcing his jaw together. “Let me go.” She squirmed and wiggled and clawed at his arms.
Dante wrapped his free arm lower across her abdomen and tightened his hold. His breath was coming out in pants, carrying her scent to his nose. She confused him. The sulfur and brimstone were faint and seemed to be on the surface. There was a sweetness underneath the blood and grime.
Dante jerked her in his hold. “I don’t want to hurt you. Hold still and listen to me.”
She stopped moving. He relaxed slightly but kept his guard up. The tension in her body was like a live wire on top of him. He needed to get her to listen to him. “What happened Chloe? Why were you battered and bleeding in the subway?”
Her arms fell to her sides and more of the tension bled from her. “What do you care? Just let me go.”
“I brought you here to help you.”
Dante sucked in a deep breath but before he could exhale, her elbow
smashed into his chest at the same time her foot stomped on his balls. On instinct, he threw her away from him and screamed.
Where the fuck were the warriors? They should have heard something. Dante was getting nowhere with her and now she’d hurt him in the worst way possible for his kind. Even if he wanted, he couldn’t find a female for a few hours now.
Soundproof rooms! Dammit. Why did they have to ensure everyone in the compounds had privacy? Who gave a crap if they heard each other having sex or getting themselves off? It’s what fed him lately. Besides, it wasn’t like any of them were strangers to intimacy and physical pleasure.
A foot came sailing toward his face and he rolled. She shouted when her toes connected with the back of his shoulder. He tried to jump to his feet and ended up falling to his knee with one hand cupping his groin.
“Enough!”
“Not until you let me go.” Her shout was followed by her fists flying at him. She landed several blows to his face and chest.
It was difficult to push the pain aside, but he had no choice. When she picked up a sculpture and tossed it at his head, he ducked, and his shoulder slammed into her stomach.
Standing up, he picked her up bent over his shoulder. He fought the urge to take her to the bedroom and tie her to the bed so he could have his way with her. He needed sex after expending so much energy pulling his punches and healing wounds she inflicted.
He made a mistake by not taking the sculpture away from her and was rewarded when she hit his back repeatedly with it. He couldn’t reach behind and grab it, so he smacked her ass.
“And you say you aren’t an incubus? Your foreplay says otherwise.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle despite their current situation. “I can’t deny you’re attractive, but that wasn’t foreplay. I’m the Cambion Lord and a member of the Dark Warrior Alliance. I saw you injured and picked you up to help you. I haven’t hurt you and I will not unless you keep attacking me. I don’t think you’re a demon. I want to help.”
Her hands stopped and a thud echoed through the room. Dante turned and saw the sculpture of a dragon on the floor. Bending down, he picked up the cushion and let her slide off his shoulder.
Putting the cushion back on the couch, he grabbed the blanket next and held it out to her. “Do you want a drink?”
She accepted the fabric and wrapped it around her shoulders. “I’d love a Manhattan but will settle for Grey Goose with an olive.” She scanned the room and limped over to a table on the opposite side of the room.
Dante paused with the vodka in his hand and watched her bend to pick up the blade. “Is that an angel blade?”
Chloe’s head snapped around and her eyes narrowed in his direction. “So, you are planning to hurt me after all.”
Dante shook his head, fatigue suddenly weighing him down. “Look. I have no desire to harm you. My head is just now catching up with you stabbing me. It burned, but it’s not flaming like Illianna’s brother’s weapons do, so I wasn’t sure.”
Her eyebrows shot to her hairline. “You know them?”
Dante grabbed a glass and poured the alcohol in then added an olive. “We need to talk. Like I’ve been trying to tell you. I’m hoping I can help you, or maybe you can help us.”
Chloe’s expression closed down and she plopped onto the sofa. “There’s nothing I can help you with.”
This female was as mercurial as they come. He’d need to approach her like he was defusing a bomb. Better to be cautious and avoid an explosion. Unless her legs were wrapped around his waist and she was screaming his name when she detonated. Then he was more than happy to show her what he was capable of doing.
Chapter 4
Hayden growled as he pivoted on his foot and headed back toward the kitchen in Jesaray House. “It’s time we engage the humans and have them helping protect themselves. Dark Warriors shouldn’t carry the entire burden.”
Zeke set his mug on the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’ve been saying that for years now. What makes you think they won’t turn on us, Sir?”
Hayden took a deep breath and balled his hands into fists. It was always the same thing. How the fuck had Zander manipulated all of the Tehrex Realm? Sure, he was the Vampire King, but this was fucking ridiculous.
No one should be able to make his shifters turn against him. It was about damn time he reestablished his dominance. This time his growl rattled the large window behind him and claws sliced into his palms as they surged through his fingertips.
“You want ta be watchin’ yerself.” Tia’s voice held steel and warning. Hayden’s mouth twitched at the same time his animals prowled beneath his skin.
Zeke held up his hand and smiled at his mate. “It’s okay, love. Hayden’s just letting off some steam. Aren’t you?”
Hayden’s heart slammed against his rib cage. All he could hear was the whoosh of his heaving breaths. Don’t attack your Beta! Slowing his mind and soothing his animals, Hayden focused on the issue at hand.
“I’d never hurt Zeke, Tia. You should know that by now. Zander, however, is another matter altogether. Him I’d like to go a few rounds with. But I want to remind you, Zeke, that I’m your Omega. Your life and loyalty belong to me.” Before Hayden could stop the power, it escaped him and surrounded Zeke.
Zeke stiffened and his eyes went wide. The cords along the sides of his neck stood out as his jaw clenched. Guilt swamped Hayden immediately and was quickly followed by him brushing it off. There was no reason to feel bad about putting him in line. Except Zeke wasn’t challenging him or disobeying him.
Sweat beaded across Zeke’s brow and his face screwed up in a grimace. “What. The. Actual. Fuck?” It wasn’t that Zeke was emphasizing his question. He struggled to get the words out.
Tia stepped around the island and cupped Zeke’s cheeks and placed a kiss to his lips before she turned to face Hayden. “I have some spirits dat want ta play, Hayden.” Energy crackled around her a second before cold washed through the room.
It was the line responding to her call. As a Mambo for the Voodoo Queen, Marie Leaveau, Tia had power over the dead and could call them to do her bidding. They were responding and it was enough to cool his temper.
After taking several deep breaths, Hayden shook his head and pulled the power back in. Zeke gasped and shuddered. “That was unintentional. Thank you for reminding me Zeke is on my side.” Hayden nodded to Tia.
Tia narrowed her eyes at the same time several forms appeared next to her. Initially, they were filmy and indistinct. They solidified into people that hovered next to her. None of them had feet. They floated and seemed to wave side to side. Their clothes were tattered and covered in holes. Most of them wore long-sleeved shirts with ruffles and the women had on floor length skirts.
Zeke wrapped an arm around his mate and tugged her into his chest. She stood there for a couple more seconds before she waved her hand through the air. The ghosts dispersed before disappearing completely.
The stiffness left Zeke in increments starting with his shoulders. It was fascinating for Hayden to watch the touch of a mate heal. Everyone heard stories about how mates affect one another. The one most often talked about is how being skin to skin with your mate can heal you. Seeing it in action was astonishing.
Zeke sighed and melted into Tia’s back. “Why the urgency now?”
Hayden shook himself and focused on Zeke’s question. Now was not the time to get caught in the same loop of wondering why everyone and their grandmother had found their Fated Mate while he was still alone.
Hayden walked to the fridge and grabbed a beer. “We lose good people every day while protecting humans that don’t appreciate the danger that we save them from. I’m sick and tired of supernaturals dying. Especially my shifters. It kills part of me every time I lose one. Humans aren’t helpless. They have weapons and can defend themselves. It’s about fucking time they did.”
Zeke kissed Tia’s neck and she moved out of his grasp and back to the stove. “And wha
t about the risk of them imprisoning our kind in labs where they study them like bugs under a microscope?”
Hayden flicked the lid off his beer with his thumb then tipped the bottle to his lips. He didn’t lower the drink until he’d consumed half of it. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Humans don’t stand a chance against us. Unless you forgot, we shift into animals with sharp claws and teeth. We’re fast, too. We’d smell them from a mile away along with their weapons. There’s no way they can take us down.”
Zeke chuckled. “You’re forgetting some are nearly as skilled as our kind. They train their soldiers for combat where silence is vital to their survival.”
Hayden finished his beer and set the bottle down. “New Orleans wouldn’t have been so bad if we had more cops we could have called on. Araton’s mate was possessed by Lucifer, but she did more to help us and stop him than any of us. Sure, we halted their plans and killed hundreds of demons. None of that would have been possible without Natalia.”
“Not all are like dose in my city.” Tia turned from the stove and waved her wooden spoon through the air. “Da supernatural has always existed dere. We know vampires and ghosts. Not everyone will accept others.”
Zeke was nodding in agreement while Hayden was once again battling stupid. “That might be right. How can we know when we keep it from them? We’ve never given them the chance.” Hayden’s words came out as a shout.
Cursing, Hayden called on everything his grandmother taught him. What everyone was missing was without cluing in the humans they put them in even more danger. His parents had been killed by human hunters because they didn’t know better.
Most people, like most supernaturals, were capable of understanding and compassion. There were always those that are dark individuals, but to assume most will follow their lead is a disservice to the rest. And to deny individuals the opportunity to protect their loved ones was a crime.
Zeke closed half of the distance between them and placed a hand on Hayden’s arm. “You’re right but testing that might just end in disaster for our kind. Imagine if they managed to get a hold of you. Shifters would be lost. I can’t step up and intervene when needed.”
