by Tigris Eden
“Cleopatra, why am I not surprised to see you here?” Belinda’s mother asked.
“The Cleopatra?”
“One in the same.” Micah responded.
Whoa.
Cleopatra stepped forward, her gown rustling at her feet and picking up the desert sand. She stood face to face with Surelle.
“Surelle, why is it I’m not surprised that you once again have chosen wrong.”
Belinda’s mother tried to speak, but the other woman raised her hand to silence her.
“What is it you suggest? My heir will not be left alone. She is the Matria of the Phoenix Enclave, sole heir to all that I own. Did you really think I’d leave it all to you, you foolish chit.”
Albanus stepped in eyesight of Belinda’s aunt making sure she knew he was displeased with the words he was hearing. The woman turned assessing eyes on him as she grinned.
“I see where the boys get their looks.” Her eyes thinned to slits as she spoke. “Do you wish to opt for a trial in the form of combat then, will this appease you Feral?”
“Yes.” Albanus said victory clear in his tone. He thought he was going to win the battle with his sons. “My men against the pair of them.”
It was an absolute train wreck. A week and a half ago she was in a roach infested apartment. Today she was in another realm about to witness what could only be called an immortal combat. Two very large Ferals stepped forward. The twins looked between one another before nodding their heads in some sort of silent agreement. She hadn’t known her teammates for long, and normally she wouldn’t care. But this time she was responsible and for the first time in her short life, she was sorry in every sense of the word. This was all going down because of her.
He’d done it again, managed to fuck up his affairs again. She’d fooled them all. Even Dietrich was torn up about it. How did he not see this coming? There had been signs all around them. Little things he paid no attention to, but should have. Gabe started to catalogue their past week and half together during and after work hours. Her mannerisms were unchanging, but there were subtle differences he should have picked up on. Eyes dilating during conversations, immediate mood changes. They all were signs. Maybe it wasn’t all her. Maybe it was her Para-housed who was running the show now. And maybe you’re reaching.
He’d been hell bent on staying away from her but after his conversation with Dravaggio, he’d assumed the best course of action was to talk to her. What he hadn’t expected when he entered the cockpit was for her to be so crass and cold. Dietrich was in the process of landing the plane when she turned harsh hazel eyes on him. Disgust evident and he’d felt responsible for putting it there. It was true, he’d said one night, but there was something about Kapua Hale that called to him on an instinctual level, telling him to protect and cherish who she was as a person, to love her as a man loves a woman. His woman. Would the fates have been cruel enough to have him think she was for him, when in reality she wasn’t?
When the plane landed, she’d smiled mischievously. Now he knew why. The team had been immobilized the moment they’d touched down. Death Walkers and men with weapons old and new swarmed the plane. Draven had single-handedly helped put them down. With Jes being pregnant, she was more worried about her unborn than herself. Even Dravaggio had taken a step back. It was Dietrich who wouldn’t go down without a fight. He took down thirty Death Walkers before being overwhelmed by the enemy. An enemy who still hadn’t seen fit to show himself.
Gabe felt powerless. He knew what was coming next for his team, and for him. Had two weeks passed so quickly? By his count, he still had a couple of days left. But time passed differently in the in-between. Things were going south from this point forward and no matter the outcome, he had to go along for the ride. Debts would be settled, old wounds were going to be split wide open, and all the pus that festered beneath would seep free. Vengeance for some would come at a great price for others.
In order to ascend he had to sit shotgun and ride it out. When he agreed to have his misdeeds aired in front of all, he didn’t take into account the ones he considered small to be given voice either. Nor did he take into account the lives that would come to matter to him. Stefan Dravaggio may never forgive him his transgressions, his friends he’d come to think of as family would never forgive his tampering of their lives either. But either way, everything he’d done had been with reason. All valid except for his initial trigger that started it all. But everyone would have their closure, especially Dravaggio. He would come face to face with the man who killed his father.
He could hear the voices in his head, could smell the freshly packed snow that crunched beneath his leather sandals as he came for the wife who was distressed from labor. Michael was supposed to have come for them, but had sent Gabriel in his stead. Which was the perfect excuse to do what his brother had asked of him. This was the incubus who’d wronged his brother. The woman and both her children were in a bad way. Davarus stood by watching over the human woman who struggled to give birth to her twins.
“You are not the merciful Michael.” The Incubus said.
“No, I’m his bastard brother Gavri’el. He couldn’t come so I’m here in his place to take the mother and her children.
The incubus frowned deeply. All they usually cared about was draining energy from their victims. This one seemed saddened by the woman’s fate.
“Take my life for theirs. I have a son and daughter as well, they need their mother.” The male pleaded. His eyes filling with unshed tears. It was against his law to take life in place of another. His powers were meant to transport those to the next place. Deviating from the plan would upset the fabric of life. But you’re brother has asked you to do this. Make the male beg for it. You can’t be faulted if he is willing to go in their place. Each thread had its own distinct pattern in life. To take a piece before it was time could unravel an entire tapestry throwing other threads surrounding it into complete chaos.
“You know the rules demon, they go to a better place.”
The demon took a step towards him before turning back and kneeling in the snow to comfort the woman whose breathing became more and more shallow. She didn’t look frightened of him, it didn’t look like she was being held against her will. But it could all be an act. He may have threatened her in some way, or maybe because the woman had been his captive for so long, she’d come to care for him, forgetting she was promised to his brother. The Incubus grabbed her pale hand that shook violently as her other hand clutched her belly still holding their unborn twins.
“I regret nothing Stefan,” The woman whispered. The demon laid his other hand on her belly looking up to Gabriel to provide answers.
“Please take me in their place.”
Gabriel shook his head. If he did this, there would be repercussions. Drastic ones.
Azrael appeared next to him whispering in his ear.
“Take his head brother. Do this thing for me. Do you not see the pain she is in because of him. He’s brainwashed her into thinking that their love is real, when it’s me she loves. Me she was promised to. I will care for her babes and her two eldest children. Trust me in this.”
“If I do this, you will not be able to return. You will forever be stuck in the ring of fire. There will be nothing I can do for you.”
“Do it, I would burn for eternity and still be happy knowing my precious and our children are thriving.”
“Yesssss,” hissed his brother.
The Incubus looked to the ailing mother to be and Gabriel knelt on the ice-cold ground and placed a healing hand on the woman’s protruding belly. Her eyes closed on a deep inhale and then she slept, a small sigh escaping as she drifting into a healing sleep.
“I will forever be grateful. My sons will be called Kiel and Kellen Dravaggio. They will do great things on this Earth. See to it their brother Stefan and sister help rear them in a just manner.”
Hardly. Gabriel thought to himse
lf. Incubus demons survived on the energy of others. His sons would trick, tempt, and even kill to sustain their lives. Both men stood. His brother Azrael, off to the side watching with a smile on his face, as they both walked away from the now sleeping human. Abaddon appeared as the Incubus knelt in the snow arms behind his back offering Gabriel his head.
“You’ll be condemned for this or worse,” Abaddon said.
“Don’t listen to him,” Azrael said, walking up to where they all stood around the Incubus. The other male couldn’t hear their conversation as his brother’s kept them shrouded.
“It’s one life for three. How can I be faulted for that?”
Abaddon looked down on the woman who slept and cringed. A gust of ice-cold wind kicked up around them causing their hair to whip in their faces as each brother stared at one another.
“I’ll have no part in this. The sisters will go to the council and I won’t be held accountable for your action in this.”
His brother disappeared leaving him to deal with the Incubus. He knew there would be no divine intervention. All life whether born of this realm or not had free will. Which truly pissed off the sisters. The Spinner of life, the Measurer of life, and the Cutter. They were all soft in the skull as far as he was concerned. They were the worst kind of females ever to be created and their purpose in life was to make others miserable. That day Gabriel took the Incubus’ life to save three. He paid for it by being stripped of his wings and thrust onto Earth for two hundred years. The worst part of it all was that his brother, who’d asked for his help, had been nowhere to be found when it came time to charge him with the crimes. Crimes that should never have been committed to begin with. He knew better now, and even though he’d meddled more after, it was on a smaller scale.
Now he would face his past and in the process loose his friends. Dravaggio had every right to hate him. After Gabe had taken his father, his mother and her children were forced into slavery at the hands of a broker demon name Ceras who in turn sold them, except for the twins to Azrael. The mother being human went insane, but his brother had reared Stefan and his sister breaking them both repeatedly. He’d broken Dravaggio and his sister down piece by piece until they no longer had a care for life. The twins Kiel and Kellen were assumed dead, Gabe knew that wasn’t the case. Death would have been kinder for the twins. When Ceras set them loose into the world, they suffered from insatiable hunger, going on rampant killing sprees in order to get the energy they needed. Now they were locked away from the world, in cages where they were tormented daily for their transgressions. Gabe was still paying for the crimes he committed against the Incubus and his family. He knew the death of Stefan’s mother and loss of his siblings haunted the other man still to this day.
Chapter 20
There was too much going on. Obviously back up had come for them, but like their group, they’d been captured.
“Are we fucking immortals or mortals? I’m about sick and tired of having my ass handed to me on a silver platter.” Royce complained.
At least Cleopatra was on their side. Did he mind that he and his brother were going to fight two of his father’s men? Not really, they’d be equally matched.
“Are we fighting or jaw jabbing?” Ronin asked as he cracked his neck.
“You will be given your natural skills. Weapons at your disposal should you choose.” This came from another one of the hooded figures that’d yet to reveal themselves. That translated to them having their Feral capabilities and nothing else. Which was fine by Royce, he didn’t have to connect via head chat to his brother, they’d be able to take both men down without verbal communication. It was a done deal. They’d use every weapon at their disposal taking their father’s men out and maybe save some scraps for the crowd.
“Belinda.” Ronin looked to their mate and closed his eyes before he spoke. “No matter what Deva, you close your eyes and keep them closed. Block out the noise. I don’t want you to see us like this.”
His brother was right of course. She didn’t need to see the carnage that was going to take place. Flesh would be ripped from bone, chunks of meat would fly, and blood would be on tap, in a constant flow, turning the sand a dirty blue. She shook her head no, placing both hands on her hips as she eyed both of them.
“Baby, I’m gonna watch them go down. I need to make sure you’re alright.” Her voice was strong, but Royce could hear the slight wavering in her words.
“Bells, I don’t want the babies to tap into your memory. They can, and they will while they’re in the womb.”
His beautiful bird nodded, the guards allowing her to turn around so she couldn’t watch them. Cleopatra turned with her, pulling Bells into her arms for comfort and walking them back towards the closed gate, Alexander following closely behind. The crowd grew louder and the ground shook with their excitement. Two large men stepped from the same gate their father had come through. Two men, he and his brother knew well.
“Oberon and Maspheos.” The two feral warriors said nothing.
The traitor Xee and her bumbling companions, asshole number one and asshole number two backed away with Enri and Draven close on their heels. They too went to their side of their closed gate. Silence descended on the crowd and the beat of two drums sounded out a cadence, signaling the start of the fight. Right away their two opponents began changing. Muscles popped and skin stretched to accommodate their bulky frame.
“Game on,” Royce whispered, allowing his true from to take shape. The team had only seen their bodies grow, and their claws lengthen. Ferals had a long list of attributes that helped them to adapt during times of extreme stress or danger. Royce’s muscles popped adjusting to the form very few got a chance to see. His spine cracked as each vertebrae separated allowing his razor sharp horns room to protrude through his back. His faced cracked as his jawline became more pronounced and his cheeks protruded. The snout he went to great lengths to conceal pushed free of his nose, snapping cartilage. His arms and legs now covered in a thick pelt of hair stood on end from the threat they perceived in Oberon and Maspheos. Damn, his shorts were ripped at the seams, leaving only the waistline intact. Their true form was beast like in nature and Royce sent up a silent prayer that his mate would honor his request and not look.
The change took seconds to complete and then they were facing off with their would be killers. Oberon struck first lunging forward and raking Royce across his now bare chest. Deep lacerations burned in his gut and flared to life with fire worms. Disgusting little vermin with a razor sharp teeth and a neurotoxin that would cause its target complete paralysis. It almost worked, almost. Working for the Unit came with its advantages including a heavy dose of inoculations that were administered yearly to protect from things just like these. The first drop of blue blood on the sand had the ground shaking.
Ronin was fairing far better than he was as he had Maspheos on the ground. Royce wiped his chest free of the worms that were dying as they tried to latch onto his skin and raised a bloody brow to Oberon before taking him down. The taste of the other man’s blood burned as he latched onto the other Feral’s jugular, ripping his windpipe clean from his throat. Oberon wasn’t dead, but he was down.
Again, the floor shook, as if it was shuddering in either pain or ecstasy as blue blood soaked into the sand. Oberon lay on the floor, body convulsing as his blood continuously fed the hungry ground.
Interesting. Royce thought.
He looked to his brother Ronin, who’d successfully removed Maspheos limbs, leaving his torso and neck intact. It seemed the other man’s head was now part of the menu as Royce watched his brother feast on the brains. This was an old custom reserved for the lowest of men within the Feral community. To have another male eat your brain was the equivalent to getting skull fucked literally. Gross to some, but in their society it was only the strong that were able to lord over the weak, and by his brother taking the other man’s head and gorging himself on his thoughts and past memories, Ronin would be able to later
share what information he could get.
Blue blood was splattered against the walls, soaked into the sand making the ground sticky and mud-like. They’d barely broken a sweat but form the look of things, they were far from over. Death Walkers with varying stages of decay approached Royce and his brother on all sides.
“For serious, we defeated my father’s merry men of idiots and still there is more to this joke you want to call justice?” Royce threw his hands up, but Ronin egged their attackers on wanting the fight to be over. The crowd yelled and cheered as the zombie-like attackers drew closer.
Six total rushed him and his brother. Black blood spurted in all directions as they began severing heads from bodies. Limbs were disconnected from arm sockets when Ronin picked up a broad sword. A Death Walker who was wielding a sword of his own tore into Royce’s calf muscle, shredding it to the bone. His leg almost gave way but he fought through the pain, his only thought to get back to Bells. His breathing starting to labor as he turned and took yet another head until there was nothing left standing but him and his brother.
On his last leg, Royce collapsed to the sand amidst the blood and twitching bodies of Death Walkers as he tried to catch his breath. He’d been in worse battles, but damn, he was getting too old for this shit. He looked to his left and then his right, searching for his brother. When he couldn’t find him, dark panic and icy fear clung to his blood soaked skin. Scanning again, he spotted Ronin collapsed at Bells feet, arms clinging to her waist as he buried his head in her stomach. Royce crawled over to the couple and his mate immediately dropped to her knees so that she could hold them both in her comforting embrace.
The darkness inside of Royce was set to boil, his hands shook, and not from adrenaline, but for more blood. He felt his woman’s fingers sifting through his hair. In a soothing motion, she conveyed her love and her understanding of what had to be done. The pent up rage was slowly draining from his body leaving him exhausted.
