Burned In Shadows

by Eden, Tigris

  They’d found her at one of the fight rings. He’d been there to check out potential new recruits when she’d gone into the cage. He never paid the cage matches close attention. The loser was always recruited to the death squad, and the winner sometimes lived to see the facility. But when the announcer said her name and where she’d came from, not only did his wolf pay attention, but so did the man.

  The crowd had gone wild at the sound of her name; apparently it wasn’t her first fight. The only thing she wore was a tank top and board shorts. She refused to fight women. She only wanted to handle the men. He thought for sure she was headed for the death squad. Women were not stronger than men. It didn’t matter if they were human or immortals. Men had better genetics. They were built tougher, stronger and harder than this girl. She would have her ass handed to her on a platter, courtesy of Enri. He was as mean as they came and if Black had someone he could relate to, it would be him.

  Enri sat in the dark corner of the cage as she’d been introduced, and he’d watched trapped by her demeanor and style. The slightest tropical breeze floated through the crowd and into his nose, instantly his dick was hard. It was the same scent he’d dreamt about. It had to be his brain conjuring up his dream seductress. The two of them were nothing alike. She was taller, more athletic with short hair, but with the wrong colored eyes, his dream enchantress was lush, warm, and soft in all the right places. She smelled like a tropical island made just for the two of them.

  He’d watched as she glided into the cage and waited, Enri looked startled, but seemed to think better of his actions as he prepared to fight her. She was graceful in the ring. Her fighting style tonight was Capoeira. Most people were afraid of Enri and his death wings. She was comfortable and danced in her movements. Enri adjusted his fighting style to hers. The two of them were fluid movement and grace. Then there was contact. Harsh and loud as feet and arms began to connect with body parts. She’d made contact first and then it was a trade off as both were slamming their feet and fists into kidneys, stomachs, and then he’d connected his left foot to the small of her back taking her down.

  Black’s protective instincts had roared to life, and he found himself in front of the cage, starring Enri down with eyes he knew were more wolf-like than human. Why did she bring his wolf and his protective streak out? She wasn’t bonded to him, and he clearly wasn’t bonded to her, but he still wanted to protect her. She appeared defeated at that moment, and he was startled to find he didn’t want to sentence her to Enri’s death squad. He didn’t want to see the flesh rot from her skin and wither into the walking dead. He couldn’t do that to her, and the thought shot pain straight into his chest. He’d opened the cage and Enri stepped back allowing him in. He bent to turn her over when her leg swung out and leveled him. She stood over him, eyes half-mast and wild as she looked down at him with so much rage, he felt the ground shake.

  “I didn’t need your help, wolf.” She’d said to him. That would be the first and last time she would defy him, and he’d make sure of it. With a loud roar, he was in her face, both hands wrapped in her hair exposing her throat. She would submit to him, in all things.

  “I didn’t lend you help, girl. I saved your life. Unless, of course, you want to be in Enri’s death squad.” He breathed harshly in her ear.

  She had the proper sense not to challenge him, or so he thought as her body went limp beneath him. She relaxed, and as he relaxed his hands in her hair, she kneed him in the balls and called him a coward. On a good day, the man that didn’t protect himself went down like a ton of bricks. This was a normal day, and he’d gone down just as hard, but never had a chance to regroup because her knee connected to his head on the way down to the mat. Enri had grabbed her around the waist as she’d screamed obscenities towards him. The crowd cheered her on as she continued to kick and scream like a crazy person. What the fuck had he done to her? She was strong, he’d been impressed and so he’d brought her to the facility. Gagged of course. She wouldn’t shut the fuck up, but the last straw had been when he’d brought her in, and Melissa had been there. She’d immediately recoiled and struck like a snake.

  “Classic, wolf, classic” She spat as he body checked her into a corner. Her hands were tied behind her back and he’d removed the gag. When he’d faced her toward him, Melissa stood off to the side and watched. Zea tracked Melissa’s every moment as he sat her in a chair for processing.

  “I’m Black. Your name?”

  “Fuck off.” Was her reply. He’d rather get his fuck on, but he wasn’t going to think like that. Not now.

  “Well Ms. Off, I’d like to offer you the opportunity of a lifetime. A place to sleep and a place to help you use your aggression where it’s needed.” He tried to be casual, even friendly and he wasn’t with any other recruit he’d brought in.

  “Black suits you, you malignant mother fucker!”

  Melissa walked up behind him and put her arms around his waist, “she’s not worth your time Black.” He shrugged out of her hold, and that seemed to make Zea smile. Her smile was wide and sarcastic, not toward him, towards Melissa. Her back was pressed to the chair with her arms tied behind her back with rope secured to one of the legs to the chair. He’d kept her feet untied, and that again was a mistake on his part. How she got out of the bindings, he would never know. But she had, and it had been a nightmare trying to subdue her. One second she was sitting in the chair refusing to talk to him and glaring daggers into Melissa’s body with her eyes, the next she’d jumped out of the chair and managed to knock him back with her foot, simultaneously attacking Melissa. He watched the two women in shock, he hadn’t been able to get in between the two of them. They were clawing at each other, and he knew sooner rather than later, Melissa was going to transform into her wolf.

  One of the guards outside heard the commotion and descended on her with weapons raised. She stilled then, chest heaving in and out looking like a beautiful Amazonian warrior; her body bent, knee to the ground ready to strike, and her claws were silver tipped. What immortal had silver tipped claws?

  She’d gone down without a fight after that. When he approached her again, she looked up at him with her haunted green eyes as if her heart was breaking. As he stared at her, her eyes had gone from green to honey gold. He’d blinked in amazement, and just like that they were green again. He got in her face, and she froze as the guards held her. He was going to say something to her when she spit in his face, and it hit him square in the eye. He’d almost backhanded her. Instead, he told the guard to throw her in confinement for twenty-four hours. After that she’d been more agreeable to a point. She kept her head down and her mouth shut for the most part. She hadn’t started talking again until recently when she was paired with the brown hair pretty boy as everyone like to call him. Adam the runaway Vampiri from House Vayne. The two of them were a little too close for his liking. But today all of that would change because today the recruits were going to get a particularly nasty surprise.

  Chapter 10

  Royce sat back in his chair and watched Bells sleep. She’d been up for almost two days and still she looked beautiful. Her lips were slightly parted as she slept. Eyebrows crinkled as Bells sighed and shifted her legs. His brother was in the shower, and the three of them living in close proximity for the past three weeks was hell. He and his brother were now in agreement. The little bird would be theirs. He’d been fighting it for too long, and he was still reluctant. What if she wasn’t their intended? Royce had been wrong before, and the consequences still followed him around. They were outcast from their kind, betrayers as far as his father was concerned.

  “The sentence for treason is death.”

  It hurt to hear his father declare death for him and his brother, over a woman. A woman he’d thought belonged to him and his brother. Sanya was beautiful and brave. She’d given them both what they needed. Loved them for all their faults and ways, and all she received for it was death. They’d manipulated the situation. Not realizing their
error until it was too late. She’d run and for her troubles, the council had crucified her. Burned her to ensure she didn’t alert anyone of their existence. They’d hung her up on a cross for all to bear witness. A harsh warning to others. He knew now it had been his fault. He couldn’t protect Sanya. She was never actually theirs. He’d lusted after a woman and convinced his brother she belonged to them and that she was the missing link that completed their circle. They hadn’t shared a woman since.

  Ronin stepped from the shower and Royce looked back at his brother to alert him of Bells sleeping.

  “She looks so peaceful when she sleeps.” Ronin grabbed another towel and started drying off his chest.

  “She does.” He agreed.

  She shifted again in her sleep. The sheet covering her legs rode higher up her thighs, showcasing perfect skin. He wanted to kiss those legs, slowly make his way down to her feet and then back up to the heat of her. Seducing a woman into your bed permanently was hard, but to bring her to bed with two dominant men was something different and a lot more complicated. The temperature in the room was rising as he and his brother both looked on at the sleeping beauty. The chair he occupied in the corner barely kept him seated.

  He’d slipped her some of his blood for knocking him on his ass almost two months ago. She’d sipped, and he watched. Waited in baited breath to see if it would have the effect it was supposed to have. It didn’t and when that happened he’d only wanted to escape. Escape her and all the shit that followed before her. Sanya’s death came back like a terrible headache that would never go away. He’d immediately taken his leave of the group and walked outside of Bells home where he could think. His thoughts meshed together in a parade of scenarios.

  What if he was wrong?

  What if he was right?

  How would Ronin react? Would she accept them? All of his thoughts and feelings occupied his personal space on a level that wouldn’t allow for detachment. Only detachment was his middle name. Other people didn’t see it but he was skilled at hiding it. Now he was faced head on with his feelings of equal parts dread and anticipation. Ain’t that some shit.

  She’d followed him outside. He hadn’t wanted her to, Gods, he certainly hadn’t wanted her to, but she had and he’d kissed her. She’d been as breathless as he was when all was said and done, and still she acted as if the kiss meant nothing.

  Her lips a sweet fire that seared his insides and calmed his conflicted soul. Even as she kissed him she did it with an air of superiority. Like his kiss didn’t affect her in the least. The entire situation had gone up in flames and in a single act of ignorance he’d sealed his fate.

  The gravel crunched under Royce’s feet as he made his way to the side of the house. How was it she was not affected by his blood? Sanya hadn’t reacted to his blood either, and she wasn’t his true mate. She had reacted to Ronin’s. Would Bells react to his brother’s blood like Sanya? Royce shook his head and leaned against the wall. He was in front of a window. It must have been the bathroom because he could hear water running. The sound shouldn’t have been soothing, but it was.

  Water was constant, only changing when affected by temperature. Liquid, vapor and solid forms all the same elements but in different stasis’. It still remained the same, the molecules never changed. Two parts hydrogen one part oxygen. His blood caused reactions in others two constants but with one distinct variable. Someone out there would not react to him or his brother. One woman, would be theirs, and they’d become one. The thought should have brought him relief; instead, dread climbed into his gut and festered.

  His hands were clammy, and his breath labored as he tried pulling the air into his lungs. Too many what if’s and how comes. What the fuck was wrong with him? Sanya hadn’t elicited this type of reaction from him. There was no way to know for sure until his brother tested his blood on her. Damn. How was she going to handle him and his brother?

  There was a sound behind him and Royce quickly turned to face the intruder.

  “You alright?”

  “Don’t I look alright?”

  She was standing in front of him, and Royce took the moment to see her. She was tall and leggy. Beautiful. Silky strands of midnight-blackberry hair fell to her waist and mesmerized him. She had feathers in her hair. He hadn’t noticed that before. They lay against the strands and were strategically placed in certain areas. She was hiding in direct sight. Some shifters could hide their true form. She seemed to blend into her surroundings. Pocahontas and Nefertiti only more sensual, curvier. Her long graceful neck was adorned with a silver necklace that hid under her tank top and reappeared just above her jeans. The skin exposed there was smooth and tan. A violet stone hung on her navel piercing, daring him to kiss the skin it rested against. She was stunning and sassy. That she was able to catch him off guard, was an incredible turn on. He liked a challenge.

  “No, you look…. Well…. You look kind of scared. If my knocking you on your ass is a colossal hit to your ego, I apologize.”

  As if that could happen, his ego was fine. Thankyouverymuch.

  “It’s hot in your house.”

  “Are you serious? Your answer is, it’s hot in my house?”

  She grunted in disbelief and stepped closer. Royce backed up. He didn’t know why he was acting all bitchy. But she scared him, scared him shitless. When his back met the wall, he feigned interest on something that wasn’t on his pant leg and dusted it away. She was not about to get under his skin. He went to his pockets for his smokes and pulled out a slender stick. Balancing it on his lower lip, he searched for his lighter.

  A bluish purple flame appeared in front of his face, and he bent forward and lit the end of his smoke. Her finger was on fire, her perfectly lined brow arched in question. She was fucking adorable.

  “Thanks,” he mumbled.

  “You’re welcome.” She took up space on the other side of him and leaned back against the wall. One leg bent at the knee as the sole of her sneaker rested on the wall. She crossed her arms over her chest and waited while he smoked. Gods she smelled wonderful. It was a mixture of midnight blooms and heated skin, the scent was from her fire trick. And it was the most erotic thing a woman could bring to the table in a relationship. She could burn him and his brother alive. Literally.

  “So, a Phoenix huh?”

  “That’s what they tell me.”

  She reached over into his pocket and pulled out one of his cigarettes and lit it with her hand. She brought it to her lips, inhaled and exhaled, blowing out a ring of circles with her beautiful mouth.

  “She does tricks.” He said smiling into the darkness. He wasn’t going to look at her. Watch her mouth work the smoke out. It was too much for him to handle. He inwardly groaned and cursed some more inside his head. He was in big trouble.

  “I do a lot more than tricks.” She said on an inhale. Good thing they weren’t susceptible to diseases because she was holding in the smoke, letting it fester and cloud her lungs.

  He wasn’t a man to beg for anything. Ever. But with her, it held some appeal. For some strange reason he wanted to coddle her, care for her, see to her every need. Did he feel this way towards Sanya? He couldn’t honestly remember, or maybe he didn’t want to remember. Bells was nothing like the woman from his past. Determined to see what his libido and brain were fussing about he dropped the cigarette, snuffed it out with his boot and turned towards her. He was about to turn on the charm, full speed ahead.

  Royce cleared the memory from his mind. His charm obviously worked that night. He’d gotten all up in her mouth. His lips sought her out. He started on the corner of her mouth and worked his way over to her plump lips. The kiss exploded into something fierce and wild. Midnight mayhem is what it was. And what seemed like hours of seeking and stroking lips was only a handful of seconds before Solon interrupted them. Death walkers appearing within minutes out of fucking nowhere. He had a theory about that, but hadn’t been able to put it to a test yet.

  Roy
ce sat forward in his chair, and Ronin moved to the edge of the bed where Bells slept. They both watched her, and if his brother felt what he was feeling, then she had to be theirs, right? He wanted to go the distance, but then again he didn’t. Tomorrow they were going back to her Enclave. Surelle demanded it. Which is why Adam had been brought into the mix. The damn fool was head over heels in love with Jes, or at least he thought he was. Who wouldn’t fall for her, hell he would have tapped that at least twice if it hadn’t been for Draven being his best friend, or the fact that he was so hung up on Bells. Jes was that intriguing. In the beginning, all the men on the team wanted to shelter her, but she quickly put them in their places. The new Jes was stronger, faster, and adapting to things in ways immortals dreamed about. She was the perfect soldier. Whatever that bastard did back at the warehouse had worked.

  “How long should we let her sleep?”

  His brother wasn’t one to show his emotions. He watched, waited, and calculated everything down to the last thread. People assumed it was Ronin who was the animal. He’d let them keep thinking that too. It wouldn’t do anybody any good to see his dark side. Ronin was the eldest brother by three minutes, and he worked his aggression out on a daily basis, which helped a lot. When they were in feral form, all bets were off. They didn’t play nice, and humanity was on the back burner while their animal’s steered the wheel.

  “As long as she needs. We’ve been up for more hours than I care to think about.” He looked over to where his brother was sitting and instead of speaking out loud he decided to engage him in a more private manner.

  “Why are you moping?”

  “I’m not. I’m worried, more about you than her at this point. You’ve turned stalkerish.”