by Leia King
He cleared his throat and they both turned to him, eyes wide.
Josh shot to his feet. “Uh… hi, Ry,” he said, uneasily.
Ryan cocked an eyebrow at Shaye.
She rolled her eyes, picking up on his insinuation. “Please. We were only talking.”
Ryan walked further into the room and they both seemed to take it as an invitation to crowd around his son, fawning over him. Little growls escaped him and Ryan drew back. “You’re scaring him.”
Shaye chuckled. “You’re being overprotective.”
“Seconded. Those were happy little growls, Ry. I think it’s you who doesn’t like anyone getting near him.”
Ryan pulled his son closer and gently stroked his fuzzy hair. “It’s my job to protect him,” he murmured quietly, enraptured by his son.
“Where’s Cora?” Josh asked.
“Taking a shower.”
“Already?” Shaye asked, surprised. “She’s up and about? It’s only been a little while since she gave birth to this little one.”
“She heals incredibly fast these days. Ever since she unleashed her power, her strength has grown. She broke my hand during the birth. That gives you an idea of how strong she is.”
“Damn, your wife has the ability to kick your ass now,” Josh teased.
“An assumption that will never be put to the test.” He studied Shaye and Josh for several moments. The tension in the air was palpable. “What’s going on with the two of you? What were you talking about?”
“Nothing important,” Shaye responded. Way too quickly.
She was lying. She’d never been good at it. He glared at Josh. “Tell me,” he commanded. He had to tell his Alpha.
Josh heaved a sigh. “Shaye and I discovered some things about the tea that the faery gave to Cora.”
Ryan felt his blood boil at the mention of that asshole. His son reacted to the sudden tension from him and he started to cry.
“I… can’t. I need to calm down. Take him for a moment,” Ryan said to Shaye, handing him over to her. He folded his arms across his chest. “Go on.”
Shaye kept her eyes on his son, purposed avoiding his gaze. That just had him tensing up even more, knowing she couldn’t even look him in the eye.
“Come on,” he pushed.
She cleared her throat and finally started talking. “The tea was actually a potion, created by black magic. Michael’s, we believe. It renders beings of great power susceptible to manipulation. David used this to project his will, his desires and feelings, onto her. Incredibly powerful coercion.”
Ryan fought down the urge to let loose a roar of fury. He didn’t want to scare his son with his rage. “I want to know what he did to her.”
“Ry, I don’t think—” Josh protested.
“Is it possible, Shaye?” Ryan demanded, ignoring Josh’s concern. “Can you show me?”
“Yes. I have already seen it for myself. I had to, in order to access the truth about the leaf. Ryan, I strongly advise against this, because you will not react well.”
“Shaye, another man touched my wife. He manipulated her into doing things against her will. I need to know what.” He saw the hesitation in her eyes. “I can’t lose my temper with my son right here, can I? So, just show me. Please.”
“All right. As you wish.” She handed his son over to Josh.
“Be careful with him,” Ryan said. “Sit down while you’re holding him, J.”
Josh rolled his eyes, but ceded to Ryan’s wishes anyway, settling himself onto the couch.
Shaye took Ryan’s hand and weaved her fingers in his. They locked eyes and then a bright, white glow emanated from her palm.
Ryan grunted as a sudden rush of images ripped through his mind.
“It hurts, because your are tense with anger.”
Anger became just the tip of the fucking iceberg as the images of what David had done became clearer and he began to see full, lengthy visons of what he’d done to his wife.
Seeing the woman he loved more than anything, who he’d vowed to protect from everything, made helpless, while that psycho… preyed on her… fuck. He couldn’t bear it.
It was too much.
He tore his hand from Shaye’s grasp, gasping for breath. He turned away and rested his head against the wall, squeezing his eyes shut and clenching his fists, as he struggled to absorb what he’d just seen.
“I am sorry, Ryan,” Shaye said softly.
“I failed,” he choked. “I’m supposed to protect her.” He thrust his fist into the wall, the power behind it taking a good chunk out of it.
“A lot has been happening, Ry. None of us knew what he was doing,” Josh said.
“Fuck!” he roared.
His son’s fearful cries rang in his ears, making him cringe. Shit.
He gritted his teeth. He had to get control. For his boy.
For once in his life, he managed to reel it in. He turned back to the room.
“Ry?” Josh asked, shocked, because Ryan’s temper was infamous. He’d never calmed down so quickly before.
“I’m fine. Give me my son,” he said, approaching the couch where Josh sat holding the baby.
Josh hesitantly complied.
“Thank you,” Ryan said, turning to leave.
“Ryan!” Shaye called after him, worriedly. “You need to talk about this. You can’t keep your feelings bottled up. That never ends well.”
He responded over his shoulder, ensuring he kept his tone calm, so he didn’t scare his boy again. “I will unleash my feelings when I shred the faery to pieces. Once he’s begging for the agony to end, I’ll make him watch as I tear his fucking heart from his chest.”
He could feel them staring after him as he walked calmly from the room, murmuring soothing words to his son as he went.
22
Marella stood looking out over the royal gardens.
The sun had just descended and the area was cloaked with the thick blanket of night. Its beauty could not be dimmed, though, not even by darkness. The luminous colors of the majestic flowers and the towering trees shone prominently under the moonlight.
A hand brushed against hers, startling her.
“Good evening, angel.
She smiled. Nathanial.
He weaved his fingers in hers. She spun to face him, pulling her hand free quickly. “Not in public,” she hissed.
He smiled with amusement. “Do you really think I would fail to take precautions?”
He gestured around them and she saw a shimmering, red film enveloping them.
“A glamour. To everyone else we are standing apart, simply talking. Arguing, actually, to make it appear more in keeping with what would be expected.”
“Vazra will be able to feel the glamour if he comes this way.”
“Then we will tell him we were arguing about the past and we did not wish others to witness it.”
She chuckled and took his hand again, relishing the physical contact with him. “Thank you. I am at ease with that.”
He wrapped his arm around her and leaned in close. “You left my bed without a word this morning.”
“I didn’t want to wake you.”
He scoffed. “I am a vampire. The slightest movement can rouse me awake.”
“I’m sorry. I had an early meeting with Vazra and the Royal Court. In light of Davidas’s defection, he is considering a replacement faery.”
“Fae cannot be trusted. He should keep the Court as it is now. Just the three of you. Warlock, sorceress, and dragon.”
Marella chuckled. “Thank you for your input.”
“Is it not true?” he asked, his hand fondling her snow-white hair.
“Perhaps,” she murmured.
He sighed. “The child will be named soon and I am expected to return to my kingdom. I am finding the idea of leaving incredibly difficult.”
She smiled up at him and kissed his lips chastely. “As am I.”
“Come with me.”
“What?”
/> “Come home with me. I will make you my queen.”
“I… I cannot, Nathanial. Vazra will see it as a betrayal.”
“The child is the bridge. He will unite the two realms.”
“It has yet to happen. We must all be cautious right now.”
Nathanial pressed his hand to her belly.
“What are you doing?”
“Seeing if you are with child yet.”
She laughed. “With child?”
“The first night we were together, we bonded.”
“It was an accident.”
“That does not matter. The fates will not see the distinction, angel.”
She shook her head.
“I know your fears. But, he will not touch you. I will protect you.”
“We can’t… do this.”
He pulled her to him. “Marella, I know better than anyone that the pull between destined, true mates cannot be denied. I suffered through trying to deny it with Oriana and Cornelius. It is impossible.”
She gripped his hands tightly and said softly, “I do feel love for you. But I need… time. Things are complicated. I need to think.”
Before he could argue with her, she broke from him. She waved her hand at the glamour around them. It shattered and she hurried away from him in haste.
Nathanial growled low in his throat as he watched her go.
She was a stubborn woman. But he would not let that stop him. Not after waiting so long to be with her. He would heed her wishes and grant her the time and space that she had requested. For now. His patience was not infinite.
He waited a while to avoid suspicion and then he followed her path back into the palace.
As he walked by the stairs leading down to the basement level of the palace, a powerful scent had him stopping short. Fresh blood.
It was more than a little strange, because the only blood Vazra kept on the premises was in the form of blood bags.
His curiosity got the better of him and he descended the stairs.
He found himself in a long dark corridor, lit only by a few torches hanging on the stone walls. Fire. Great. Three doors on either side of the corridor were the only things of note.
He tracked the scent of blood and stopped outside the first door to his right. He could not hear anything from within. That was saying something. As Vampire King, his senses were more attuned than any other vampire’s. The room had to be supernaturally soundproofed.
Cautiously, he eased open the door.
He was astounded by what he found within.
A dungeon.
Vazra stood there, his magic live on his palms.
He fired a ball of white fire at a man hanging naked against a bloodstained wall, his arms and legs suspended by hefty restraints.
As Vazra’s magic hit, the man’s ferocious screams had Nathanial cringing as they assaulted his sensitive vampiric hearing, echoing painfully off the walls.
He took in the sight before him, trying to understand what was happening. The man’s flesh was ripped apart, exposing muscle and bone. There was blood everywhere. His entire body was so disfigured that it took Nathanial a while to actually recognize him.
Davidas. The treacherous faery.
Nathanial stepped further into the room. “I believe you have made your point.”
Vazra spun around in surprise. He scowled at the sight of him. “Lost your stomach for torture, have you?”
“Vengeance belongs to Ryan. Not you. Cora is his wife.”
“She is my daughter!” Vazra bellowed, completely irate.
It did nothing to deter Nathanial. The old bastard did not intimidate him. He remained calm and composed as he warned, “Ryan will not be happy about this.”
“He is concerned with his son right now.”
Something occurred to Nathanial then. Something concerning. “How did the faery come to be here?”
“I reached into the human realm and pulled him out.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“You were truly that reckless?”
“Relax, Nathanial. Your son is still alive. Burned somewhat, but alive, nonetheless.”
Nathanial snarled, stepping threateningly towards him. “You knew the three of them were together. Your power is not precise when reaching from one realm to the other. You cannot simply use teleportation. Not without something to latch onto, like a familial bond. Without that, there is only one spell that would have been able to bring him here. Your burning fire of white light.”
“Your point?”
So, he was not even attempting to deny it? He was so far gone. It was beyond concerning.
“It is only by chance that you did not kill Luca in the process!” Nathanial fumed. “It was not an acceptable risk, Vazra!”
“I deemed it acceptable.”
Too far. Nathanial shot out his hand with a burst of vampire speed, wrapping it around Vazra’s throat. He jerked him off the ground, holding him before him. He snarled up at him. “You have not changed. Still as self-serving and as untrustworthy as ever.”
“Release me,” Vazra threatened, raising his palm.
Nathanial considered his options quickly.
The old bastard’s magic did not scare him.
But the consequences of escalating things to the point of him using it did.
He grunted and released him.
Too much was at stake.
He had to be smart.
With a heavy sigh of regret, he turned on his heel and strode from the room.
23
Ryan and Cora lounged either side of their son, watching him sleep.
“Orion,” Cora announced. “That should be his name.”
“Like the constellation?” Ryan asked.
“The constellation that can be seen everywhere in the universe. The most famous and renowned one in existence. Just like our son. He is the bridge across all the realms.”
Ryan smiled. “I like it.”
“Really? You’re on board?”
“Yep.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “I was expecting one hell of an argument about this.”
Ryan chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll find plenty of other things to argue about. It’s inevitable with your stubbornness.”
“My stubbornness?”
He kissed the top of her head. “See? I told you.”
“Funny.” She shifted her weight on the bed. “Do you want to tell them that we’ve named him now?”
“No. Not yet.”
“Ryan, it’s already been a few days.”
Ryan gazed sadly at his son. “He’s only a few days old. Just a baby. And, already, they all have their designs for him, trying to map out his entire life, his supposed destiny. Well, he’s not a bridge to me, not a bargaining chip, none of that. To me… he’s just my son.”
Cora reached out and stroked his arm gently. “I know, Ryan. I feel the same way. But Nathanial has made it clear that he wants to work with you, not against you. He won’t do anything without our consent.”
“I never thought I’d say this, but it’s not him I’m worried about. It’s your father.”
“What does that mean?”
It meant that he didn’t fucking trust him. She wasn’t ready to hear that, though. She’d just reunited with him and he knew they had been growing close. There was no way she’d respond well to words spoken against him.
“Nothing,” he quickly backpedaled. “I’m just being paranoid. Forget it.”
He saw her about to question it, but a sudden cry from Orion stopped her.
Ryan frowned. It hadn’t been a normal cry. It’d been abnormally shrill. A yelp followed.
Pain. Orion was feeling pain. His gut twisted. Fucking hell.
Cora gathered him up in her arms, her anxiety spiking, as she studied him, trying to determine what was wrong.
“Oh my God, Ryan! What’s wrong with him?” she cried, frantically. “He’s hurting!”
&nbs
p; “I know, my love.” He fought to maintain some semblance of calm. Both of them freaking out wouldn’t help the situation. Shit. He held out his hands. “Pass him to me. He’s growling, but it’s too faint. I can’t make out the content.”
She raised her eyebrows. “What? Even with your wolf hearing?”
“Yeah,” he admitted. It was really fucking weird.
Ryan took him in his arms and moved his ear close to his tiny mouth.
He listened for a few moments. Oh no. He eyed Cora. “Get Nathanial.”
She scrambled off the bed and rushed out of the room, shouting for Nathanial down the hallway as she went.
Mere seconds passed when Ryan felt that familiar rush of cold air. He looked up to see Nathanial standing beside him, looking on with worry at the scene before him.
“You’re King of the Dark Realm. You can understand wolf communication, right?”
“Yes. Of course.”
Ryan gestured to Orion’s tiny lips moving ever so slightly, the barely-perceptible sounds coming from him. “Do you hear that?”
He merely nodded.
“Why don’t you seem surprised?”
“Your child is the bridge. His destiny is to unite the White and Dark Realms. I suspected that, as a biproduct of that, he could require both to sustain him. I can ease his discomfort for now, but it will only be temporary. He needs natural exposure.”
Ryan looked up to see Cora barreling back into the room. She ran towards them, her panic off the charts now. “What’s happening? Did you figure out what’s wrong with him?”
Ryan and Nathanial exchanged a look.
“Ryan!” she snapped at him, when he didn’t answer fast enough. It was because he knew she wouldn’t like what he had to tell her. “Tell me! Tell me right now. How bad is it? Is he gonna be okay? What is it? What’s wrong with my baby boy?”
He grasped her arm, hoping his touch would calm her, at least enough for them to discuss what had to be done. The storm in her eyes started to ebb. She drew in several calming breaths. He knew she wouldn’t be able to fully calm until Orion was no longer in pain. “I need to take him to the Dark Realm.”
“What? No. No way.”
Nathanial moved forward and pressed his hand gently to Orion’s head.
