Shattered Dawn (Fallen Guardians Book 5)

by Georgia Lyn Hunter

  The people passing gave him a wide berth.

  Hell, he was trying to be fucking strong for her, but he probably looked like the killer he was, with rage and torment seeping off him. Right now, he didn’t give a shit.

  His gaze tracked Shadow as she made her way across the crowded floor to the bar. Like the time he’d first seen her here, she ordered a drink. The male next to her vacated his stool. She sat. Nik didn’t bother to tune into their conversation, watching as she waved him off.

  Human.

  Moments later, a demon approached.

  His heart raced. Blood thundered to his head. Shadow smiled, a cocky one that always made him want to yank her close and kiss it off her tempestuous mouth. A smile she now gave to another. Nik felt as if a brick had lodged in his chest.

  She glided off the stool, and the demon grinned.

  They would find a dark corner, she’d rip his shirt open, touch his skin… He’d seen it the first time. The demon would slide his hand down to her ass, try to kiss her or lick her face, his arousal hiking. Fuck!

  Pain lanced him like someone had forced acid down his gullet. Hands clenched the steel railing. Metal bent.

  Unable to endure the torment, he strode out of the building, because if he remained, he’d go after the demon and rip him apart—kill anyone who dared approach her. Safer for the denizens that he waited outside.

  Away from the stifling nightclub, he stormed down the alley, the urge to keep moving, gripping him by the throat.

  Half an hour?

  It felt like fucking years!

  He kicked a rusty can out of his way.

  A downward shift in the breeze floated a hint of sulfur to him…then a faint cry of terror.

  Nik slowed his erratic pacing. Hell, yeah! A perfect fucking way to work out his fury until Shadow was done.

  He flashed toward the stench of sulfur and slowed in a narrow side lane between two warehouses. Two blights had a struggling female trapped between them. One’s mouth fastened on her neck, the other had his mouth on her breast.

  Not the soul-sucking scourges, but blood-fucking-demons.

  Because of fuckers like these, Shadow had become what she was. An energy vampire!

  His pain and anger coalesced and exploded. Nik shot forward, barreling into the two, breaking them away from the screeching female.

  The woman sagged against the building, blinking at him—then at the demons whose features shifted to leathery brown with a jutting fanged jaw and back to human—in terror.

  “Run!” he snarled, punching one plague in the face. She’d probably never visit a club again. The other demon growled like some escaped animal and dove at him.

  With a shriek, the woman leaped up and scampered off. They probably hadn’t taken much if she could move.

  He nailed one in the gut with several ice spears, trapping him, wheeled around for the other. “You couldn’t fucking remain in the Dark Realm?”

  “Why?” the demon growled. “When the cattle’s better here—”

  Nik kicked him in the belly. The demon stumbled and doubled over. Nik grabbed his head, kneeing him in the jaw. Bones crunched. The dickhead’s screech ricocheted in the alley, then he shot up, landed a few blows. It barely made an impact as Nik punched him again and again.

  “You know the laws of this realm, yet you break them.” Had he come a few minutes later, the female would have ended up another statistic.

  “Nik!”

  He glanced back. Shadow hurried to him in those impossibly high heels. Pain bled through his rage as if determined to cleave him in half.

  “Stay back,” he snarled, summoning his Gaian sword. His weapon took form in an eddy of gray smoke, the black blade reflecting dully beneath the moonlight. He swung his sword beheading his prey. The demon crumpled to the asphalt, his head rolling away. As the body and skull disintegrated into goo and vanished, his dark soul hovered then disappeared into the ground, back to Purgatory.

  Jaw clamped, Nik spun around for the other scourge he’d trapped to find Shadow standing over the decomposing body, her obsidian dagger in her palm, dripping blood.

  She had killed the demon, stealing the fight he needed so damn badly to get through this night. The red streaks in her eyes glowed from her feeding. Theós, he was one fucking mess of agony. His possessive mating instincts demanded he find and kill the demon for touching his mate. But the fucker was an innocent.

  Inhaling harshly, he dismissed his sword.

  “I’ll take you back.” Nik reached for her. But the second he touched her, his control snapped.

  He slammed her against the wall, his mouth coming down on hers, hard and furious as all the pain and anger inside him surged free. He picked her up and braced her against the surface, needing to claim her again. She was his. His mate!

  Her legs tightened around his hips, her fingers digging into his back, her mouth moving in sync with his as she kissed him back, everything about her consuming his thoughts—

  “Nik, wait-wait.” she gasped against his mouth.

  Panting like he’d sprinted through every alley in New York, he lowered his head to her shoulder.

  Her lips pressed to his ear. “I didn’t feed at the club. I couldn’t do it.”

  At her soft words, his head snapped up. But the evidence in her eyes stirred up all the inadequacies of his past and present, at never being good enough. And now, especially for her. “Don’t—”

  She put her fingers to his lips, stopping him. “The demon I killed just now, the one you trapped with ice, I took his.” She gave a little shoulder lift. “He was evil and dying anyway.”

  Feeling as if he’d swallowed gravel, his throat clogged at the rush of emotions flooding him. His eyes burned. “Stars, Shadow. You couldn’t tell me this sooner?”

  He lowered his mental block, and her warmth surged through their mate bond in a heady glow.

  “And miss all this wild, sexy lovin’ from my savage immortal?” She nipped his lower lip then kissed him again. “It does turn me on heaps, by the way…” A feminine eyebrow wiggled in teasing.

  He huffed out a laugh, the heaviness inside him dissipating like mist, filled only with warmth and tenderness for his female who gave him something he never thought he’d ever have—her unreserved acceptance.

  “I’m crazy about you, agápi mou, and need you so damn much! But not in this stinking alley. Later, when I get back.”

  She laughed and kissed his cheek. “Can’t wait.”

  “And just for messin’ around with me,” he growled, “there will be reprisals.”

  “What? Cuff me with ice again?”

  “If that’s what it takes.” He lowered her to her feet. “But now that we found a satisfactory way to aid you, I’ll bring you out on patrol when it’s time for your feeding, and keep you safe while you do this.”

  She smoothed her skirt. “So basically, I’ll be like one of the warriors, heading out at night to kill evil demons?”

  Nik’s eyes narrowed. “No. I’ll do my job finding those scourges. You’ll only be here to get what you need. I’ll take you back to the castle after.”

  She rolled her eyes at his non-negotiable tone. “Nik, I can fight. And I’m not giving up trying to help the homeless.”

  He stilled as the mystical Gaian sword imprinted on his biceps stirred, an abrasive sensation crawling down his spine. Fuck. He shoved Shadow behind him as several humanoid demons took form, summoning his sword again.

  Shadow, can you get back to the castle? he telepathed her, keeping his focus on the horde, hoping like hell Shadow could summon her dematerializing ability.

  I’ll try.

  Several hellfire bolts shot toward them.

  Nik flung out a hand, and an icy wave dosed the fiery arrows coming at them. He dove into the demons, his sword swinging. No one would hunt his mate. Ever.

  Shadow scrambled to summon her dematerializing abilities, but it was like grasping at air. Her heart in her mouth, she willed her obsidian dagger ins
tead, the snarls and grunts growing.

  Before she could jump into the fight, uneasiness stirred. Her gaze darted around her, so sure someone was watching—

  A demon rushed her.

  Oh, shit. Adrenaline pumping, she charged, went in low and rammed her blade straight into his heart. The hellrat shrieked and stumbled. She recalled her dagger.

  “Shadow?” Nik yelled.

  “I’m fine! Dematerializing isn’t working—”

  A black mountainous shape took form, sailed over the demons, knocking her to the asphalt. Her dagger fell. Pain jarred up her spine. Hot, acrid breath coasted over her skin. Terrifying, glowing red eyes nailed hers.

  The hellhound.

  Oh, god, oh, god! Terror streaking through her, she lifted her arms to block her face, didn’t want to see its cavernous mouth or fangs about to snap her head off. Her palms hit its chest, her fingers encountering hot, short silky pelt. Wait, it wasn’t attacking her?

  Her lungs burning for air, Shadow remained motionless and cautiously peered up at the hellhound, her palms still planted on its massive, heaving chest. She frowned. Then it hit her—

  Agitating dark energy rushed through her like a flood, soothing, nourishing, amping up her symbionts’ dull throbbing to one of giddy delight.

  Crap, no wonder it didn’t attack.

  She—her symbionts—were feeding, but unlike her usual horny demon donors, the hellhound appeared comforted. Wow. Good, for her, she hoped.

  But veering on the side of caution, she lowered one hand and summoned her dagger, just in case. Heck, she wasn’t an idiot.

  A long, hot wet tongue swiped her face. Ugh! Even the darn hell-animals licked her, too. Grimacing, she pushed the beast’s ginormous head away and sat up.

  “Shadow!” Nik stood a short distance away, sword in hand, his horror bleeding through to her.

  The hound growled.

  “I’m fine, I’m fine. Don’t come any closer,” she rasped. “It’s not attacking.”

  The creature whined, bumping its big head into her shoulder. Still a little wary, she set the dagger down and rubbed its muzzle, while keeping her one palm on its chest, continuing the feeding connection.

  “Get her!” a shrill voice roared.

  “Fuck—” Nik spun to a half dozen more demons rushing them, blade arching.

  A demon flung out a hand, a blast of power knocking her flat to the ground again. Pain raced through her skull, and she groaned.

  The hellhound snarled, the spikes on its thick neck rising, and it shot past her. Its powerful maw opened, and it grabbed the demon’s head, fangs snapping down. It shook the body like a rag doll and tore the cur’s skull clear off. Blood gushed. A swirling ball of dark energy rushed out and hovered. The hellbeast snapped the soul into its deadly orifice, eyes glowing a neon crimson as it swallowed.

  Shadow almost expected it to cough out a spray of flames.

  “Shadow!” Nik flashed to where she sat on the grimy tarmac. His sword clattered to the ground. He hauled her to her feet, his frantic gaze doing a quick up-down scan of her. “Are you hurt?”

  “I’m okay,” she rasped, her gaze fixed on the hellhound and the disintegrating demon. “A demon attacked me,” her words tripped out, “then the hellhound came.”

  “Let’s get out of here—shit!”

  The truck size hell-dog bounded back, the moonlight emphasizing its enormous lupine head and upper body and sleek, powerful hindquarters, reminding her of a mix of wolf and German Shepard.

  Nik snatched his sword from the ground, and the creature slowed. “Shadow, stay back.”

  “No, no, don’t kill it.” She clutched his forearm, tugging him back with all the success of moving a rooted redwood. “It’s just an innocent animal.”

  “Innocent? It fucking eats souls!”

  A whine echoed, and the dark-as-night creature shimmered and disappeared in an agitating black fog.

  “That was…odd,” she murmured.

  “Odd?” Nik growled, his sword dissipating in a flicker of smoke and settling on his thick biceps as a tattoo again. He dematerialized them, taking form on the kitchen terrace, then hugged her in a lung-squashing embrace. “I could have lost you.” His voice got muffled in her hair. “Whoever the fuck is after me, sent the damn creature here, probably for the souls they think I still have. It must have somehow sniffed out that you’d taken them. Dammit!”

  “I’m okay, really. Maybe someone’s finally watching out for me. Honey—I need air,” she rasped.

  Instantly, he loosened his hold, and she gulped in much needed oxygen. “Nik, there’s something you should know. The hellhound, when I touched it, it let me feed.”

  He gaped at her. “What?”

  “I fed from it.”

  “No. No.” He clasped his neck with both hands, eyes flashing as if he couldn’t connect with what he was hearing. “Those damn things eat souls! They don’t need the relief your feeding provides. Shadow, that thing could come back, tear you open to get those damn souls—theós!”

  Shadow understood his terror, and knew his past bore down on him. She caressed his arm, and keeping her voice soft, she tried to reassure him. “But it didn’t, honey.”

  “Damn.” Nik shook his head, then he scrubbed his face. “We’ll talk when I get back. You’ll be protected in the castle. Stay inside. I have to see what mess is out there. With this sudden demon infestation, we need to find out what the hell’s going on.”

  She clutched his t-shirt. “Please, be safe.”

  His panicked frenzy faded a little. His gaze softened. “With you here, always.” He pressed a quick kiss to her brow. The moment she stepped into the kitchen, he dematerialized.

  In the early hours of the morning, Shadow leaned against the kitchen counter, a glass of water in her hand. The savory and sweet aroma of baking meat pies and rolls saturated the kitchen where Hedori worked, preparing the morning’s meal.

  “Is everything okay?” he asked her, his otherworldly colored eyes skimming her face.

  She couldn’t blame him with the way she stared at the open French doors like a maniac. She forced a smile. “Yes.”

  “They’ll be back soon—” he broke off when Jenna entered from his quarters. Shae’s mother was striking with her auburn hair and dove-gray eyes, and a little subdued in her manner.

  She brushed her unbound hair and stopped in the middle of the kitchen when she saw him.

  “Can I get you anything, my lady?” he asked her, tone as polite as his expression.

  She shook her head. “Can I help?” she asked instead.

  He froze as if surprised at the offer. “Thank you, but I’ve it all under control.

  Jenna frowned, then she glided to the teapot on the counter and poured herself a cup. She gave Shadow a little smile before walking out.

  Kira had mentioned briefly something about Hedori rescuing Jenna from a demented angel who’d trapped her in the Dark Realm several months ago. Shadow couldn’t blame her for withdrawing into herself. It had to be terrifying.

  Her attention flickered to the window. Night still lingered, but daybreak was moments away. Her sharp hearing picked up some of the warriors arriving. Anxiety caused the knots in her stomach to have baby knots as she waited for Nik.

  After the night they had, heck, she was still in shock.

  Her shoulder blades twinged. Ugh. Shadow reached to her back and tried to rub the slight ache that started last night. She must have strained her muscles or something while working out yesterday.

  The door opened, and Ely strolled in, ethereally beautiful in her leathers and tank top, her long pale hair pulled into a high plaited ponytail.

  “The night’s been too quiet,” she grumbled, grabbing a soda from the fridge.

  Quiet? Sheesh. Nik probably hadn’t told them about the demon horde or the hellhound yet.

  Ely dropped on a chair at the table laid out for the morning meal, broke the tab on her can, and swallowed some Pepsi. “You want to join me at t
he gym later today?”

  “Yes. I’d like that.” She smiled.

  The door opened. Aethan and Echo walked in, followed by Blaéz with Darci, then Kira and Týr—and even Bob, the chubby cat. Chairs dragged as they all sat at the massive oak table, and Bob immediately leaped up, parking his pudgy body on Echo’s lap. But her favorite person in the entire castle was missing.

  Nik? She mind-linked with him.

  On my way, agápi, he said softly, and her roiling stomach settled.

  Dagan and Shae appeared, claiming their seats, too.

  A shift in the air and Shadow’s focus snapped to the open terrace door.

  Nik stepped inside, bringing the early morning breeze with him. His gaze immediately found hers…that stare. It warmed her all the way to her soul. God, she missed him. She rushed into his arms, and his mouth found hers in a tender kiss.

  The inner door opened. A compelling presence sweeping through the kitchen had her turning in Nik’s arms. Michael stopped near the island counter, those eerie blue eyes taking them all in, in one sweep.

  Jeez. She still had to get used to having a heavenly being in front of her who dressed like some biker dude in leathers, sporting messy hair and dark shades parked on his head.

  “Really, Arc, dial down that crap,” Nik muttered.

  Blaéz snorted, as did the other warriors.

  Shadow petted Nik’s powerful forearms around her, soothing his crankiness.

  No, not even the archangel could match up to her Nik. His persona might be deadly and dark, but his heart was huge. He gave her what she needed, vengeance for her sister, rescuing her brother, and especially her feeding from other males even when he didn’t like it. Moreover, he saved her from her own darkness.

  Her emotions for him flooding her, she rested her head against his chest.

  Michael lifted an eyebrow at Nik, and Shadow sensed amusement beneath his cool exterior. The angelic allure faded. He raked back the loose strands of hair that slipped his half ponytail. “I don’t have much time—”

  “Hell, Arc,” Aethan groaned, the overhead lights glinting off his striking blue-toned hair. “Give us a moment to breathe and say hello to our mates. Then we can convene for the meet-up.” He scooped Echo from her seat, heavy cat and all, and onto his lap.