by Lizzy Ford
Rousing herself, she dug the journal out and grabbed her phone, sending Vikki a quick text.
I fucked up. They know everything I do. We gotta get out of here.
At least she had a chance to warn her. Vikki could go live with Liam for awhile or maybe, they could both disappear and kill Cambions on their own. Zoey’s plan to get herself killed off by Cambions was sounding better and better. She wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to pull herself together. The magic Declan released into her was holding, stabilizing her internally while her emotions whirled out of control.
She returned to the study.
They were talking quietly. She wondered if Declan was recommending that the Sucubatti give the Professor a death sentence for his part in concealing Vikki’s actions. She crossed the study and held out the journal to Declan.
He met her gaze. Yearning stirred within her as she recalled looking up at him the night before, while their souls tangled in the magic place before they reached orgasms. After the night of sex, she wanted more of him and to feel that connection again. She was safe with him in bed. Right now, she felt like she’d been stripped down and tossed into a frozen lake.
Declan accepted the diary, and she cursed him silently for it.
“Zoey, have some tea,” the Professor said.
He had three cups on the table, a sign none of them were going anywhere. She sat in the third seat, as far from Declan as she could get. Her phone vibrated.
Club tonight? One last free-for-all?
Zoey sighed and typed a quick response to Vikki. My thoughts exactly. She tapped the send button when the Professor reached over to take her phone. She rolled her eyes at him and sat back. The tension was thick, and she had no doubt it was because of her.
“What’re you going to do to the Professor?” she asked Declan with her normal bluntness.
“This is what you have a lifetime to deal with,” the Professor said.
“This isn’t about me.”
Declan had been watching her since she returned. His whiskey eyes almost glowed in the firelight. His reserve was at odds with the warmth he displayed last night. Seeing him made her heart flip and her breath catch. She didn’t know this Declan and his cool self-command scared her, especially when she felt like she was tumbling off a cliff.
“The Professor is near retirement. Nothing will happen to him,” Declan answered. “The IAB has too much respect for him to risk the ire of both Councils.”
Startled, she searched his gaze. “Vikki?”
“Another matter entirely. She cannot be soul-mated to an Incubus and stay here safely.”
“Are you going to tell Olivia?” she asked in a hushed tone.
“A little trust, Zoey.”
“Fuck that.”
Declan’s eyebrows shot up. She assessed he didn’t quite know how to respond.
“You should be worried about you,” the Professor said to her. “Lying to the Enforcers? Drawing weapons on them? It’s against Sucubatti rules as well.”
“They’ll add it to my rap sheet,” she said, unconcerned.
“It won’t happen again.” Though Declan’s voice was quiet, it held an edge she understood.
“No, it won’t,” Zoey said, face warm. She stared at the fire.
“That’s all it took?” the Professor asked. “I’ve tried for years to bring this girl into compliance with any rule.”
“Sometimes it takes the right motivation,” Declan replied. “Hers appears to be avoiding strike two.”
“Damn right!” she retorted. “No second date. No strike two. Nothing. I’m not being exiled from the Sucubatti over whatever you did to me!”
“Oh, that won’t last,” the Professor said in a chipper tone. “The first time you’re hung-over and I can’t fix you, you’ll be at his door.”
Declan laughed. Zoey glared at her guardian. She hadn’t thought about how much she depended on the Professor to soothe her on a daily basis. Pensive, she realized how right he was. Even when she lived with Eric, she visited the Professor daily and always walked away with at least one hit.
She’d lost one home. She couldn’t lose the Professor, too, by being involved with the Incubatti. What the fuck did she do?
“That was before he made me betray you and Vikki,” she said. “Not a good way to start a relationship. It’ll definitely end one.”
“Declan is a complicated man,” the Professor said. “He is assuming his father’s position as chief of the Enforcers – equivalent to Olivia’s in the Sucubatti – while his father is elevated to a member of their ruling Council. Declan was born to lead and bred to be powerful. His recommendations to the Sucubatti will likely reflect his understanding and appreciation for the complexity of loyalties and relationships that define a position such as his.”
Zoey soaked the information in. The Professor was gently defending Declan. She wondered if it was because there was some sort of loyalty among their kind or if he believed his words.
Declan was a man accustomed to control and discipline. She was nothing like him.
“So, you’re going to lie to Olivia, like a typical politician,” she summarized. “I wish people would stop making me complicit in all this shit.”
“I’ll do what I must to protect my family and people,” Declan said. “That includes you.”
He meant business about this soul-mate thing. She wanted to run as fast and far as she could. Unlike Eric, Declan wasn’t the type to let her walk out the front door. He wasn’t even the type to propose. He expected her to accept the fact they were meant for each other.
“He’s strong enough to handle you,” the Professor added. “Declan, Zoey is on the verge of a meltdown. The mess with Eric and Vikki will make her reckless. I should say more reckless, given her normal antics.”
She’d forgotten about the questions in the inquisition regarding Eric. She told them he didn’t stack up to Declan, not knowing who she was addressing. More anger stirred. No matter what the Professor said, Zoey couldn’t think of any way she’d ever trust Declan.
“It’ll most likely involve too much alcohol and trying to get herself killed,” the Professor said. “And Vikki. I believe that’s the correct formula?”
“Usually,” she agreed.
“You know where to find me if you need a hangover cleared,” Declan told her. “The door’s always open to you.”
“Probably to every other female on the planet, too,” she said, recalling his response to her question about first dates.
“That hangover cure just got a price tag.”
“Son of a bitch,” she muttered.
“I can double it.” By the flare in his gaze, he was daring her to say something else.
Zoey bit her tongue.
“Very good, Declan,” the Professor said.
“Whose side are you on?” Zoey demanded.
“His. He’ll keep you alive.”
Zoey never felt so lost. She wasn’t looking forward to the next morning, not if she’d have to learn to deal with hangovers on her own. There was no way she wasn’t drinking this night. With any luck, she wouldn’t wake up in the morning.
Her phone buzzed. The professor picked it up and started reading.
“Don’t you dare, old man,” she warned him.
Zoey reached across him to grab it. He elbowed her, and she tickled him under the chin until he giggled like a little boy. He held it up over his head. She stood and leaned across him, snatching it at last. Declan was smiling.
She plopped down in her chair. She didn’t think anything could make her feel worse, until she read the message from Eric. She felt a pang of guilt but didn’t know which man she felt the guilt for.
Thought about it. We can talk. Know you like clubs. Little Havana’s on 8th, 7PM?
Her gaze went inadvertently to Declan.
“Eric?” he asked.
She nodded.
“Go for it.”
“Of course.” She made herself sound more eager than she was.
“I didn’t date him for a year to walk away at the first issue.”
“Unlike Eric, I know the difference between where you play and where you’ll sleep. That’s rule three, by the way.”
“You are assuming way too much.” Her face felt hot again, and anger flashed through her. “There won’t be an us, Declan.”
His gaze was direct and confident. He smiled again, the same arrogant amusement on his features that had been on the faces of the Enforcers messing with her in the hearing.
“You want to make another bet?” he replied.
“Fuck you, Declan.”
He smiled. “Zoey, I won’t hurt the people you care about.”
“Oh, and I should just blindly trust you?”
“You don’t really have a choice.”
“Bullshit.”
The tension between them was thick. The Professor broke it with a chuckle.
“Save that fire for the bedroom, children,” he lectured. “Zoey, I need to talk to Declan for a bit.”
She rose at the dismissal, grateful for the chance to escape.
“Want a hit? Last freebie,” Declan offered, holding out his hand.
She wanted to tell him to go fuck himself, but she acknowledged silently she’d probably never get another freebie again. Zoey took his hand without looking at him. His sex energy wrapped around her senses, melting her from the inside. She felt the urge to sink into him and couldn’t help thinking how nice it’d be to wake up and go to sleep with the soothing magic and experience it whenever she was overwhelmed. The way he consumed her senses and took her beyond herself reminded her of how much she enjoyed letting loose in his arms.
I’ll never tell you no.
Did he say the words out loud or in her head? She didn’t realize her eyes were closed and she was weaving on her feet, steadied by his other hand. Zoey shook her head to clear it and moved away. Every time he touched her, it was harder to leave.
“I’ve got a hot date to get ready for,” she said, turning away.
That hangover cure will cost you dearly.
He was in her head. She missed a step on her way to the door and fled. Vikki didn’t say anything about Liam talking in her head. It was one thing for someone to read her emotions passively, but to talk to her?
Zoey went to her room, grabbed clothes for the night, and texted Vikki to tell her she was on the way over. She crossed the street when a familiar form stepped from the neatly trimmed bushes hedging the gate.
She stopped. “I haven’t gone on any unauthorized missions since Friday.”
The gorgeous, full-blooded Succubus with cold eyes said nothing but motioned for her to follow. Zoey sighed. First she fucked up in front of the Incubatti Enforcers, and now Olivia’s right hand woman was coming to take her to the disciplinary council. At least Declan hadn’t had time to report yet.
Declan. Fear flew through her. Olivia would know.
She could go back to Declan. Her step faltered again. He just claimed he’d protect her.
Not that she needed it, and definitely not from her boss. Zoey’s head was a mess after the past few days. If there was anyone she couldn’t trust, it was Declan.
Heidi took her back to the No-No chamber, which Zoey had no fond memories of after her interaction with Declan.
Olivia alone awaited her. The towering, willowy woman’s magic ensnared Zoey’s senses. It didn’t mix well with Declan’s though, and Zoey soon had a headache. Declan’s magic seemed to buffer her from the effects, but not completely.
“Leave us, Heidi,” Olivia said.
Heidi obeyed. Zoey rested her hands near her weapons. She was envious of Olivia’s flawless form and looks, the allure that rolled off her, the way her clothes fit and her body moved. A full-blooded Succubus made Zoey’s body grow warm from the inside out in a way that left her uncomfortable and craving Declan more.
She shook her head, unable to clear it of either source of sex energy.
“You’re resisting.” Olivia was studying her. “Quite well, might I add.”
The fear returned. It struck Zoey that she’d never been alone with Olivia. Only Benefactors and full Succubae were permitted such an honor.
“How did the inquiry go?” Olivia asked.
“Pretty bad, as expected.”
“You are a frequent flyer of the disciplinary hearings.”
Zoey nodded. “But I always do my job. I always kill Cambions.”
“I know, Zoey. You and Vikki both are sources of personal pride for me. You do more than most of my Succubae.” She waved a hand to dismiss the invisible women she spoke of. “The Incubatti insist on protecting those parasitic Cambions. They won’t listen to reason on this point.”
Zoey was silent, troubled. Being with Declan meant she, too, was somehow supporting what his people did. Did he support the Cambions as well? She grappled with herself, wishing she could walk away yet knowing it wasn’t going to be possible, if a man like Declan had something to do with it.
“One of them has claimed you.”
Zoey held her breath at the calm pronouncement.
“A powerful one, by the magic in you.”
“You can sense it?” Zoey asked, horrified.
“It was only a matter of time. Why else do you think I created Team R and gave you to the Bennies? I had hoped they would impart the Incubatti history to you.”
Zoey thought of the Professor and the other Benefactors, wondering for the first time why she had been assigned an Incubus instead of a Succubus as a guardian. Her concern for her current situation caused the thought to flee quickly, and she waited for Olivia to punish her.
“Am I …” Zoey swallowed hard. “…in the bad kind of trouble?”
“Only you would ask that question.” Olivia’s sexy chuckle slid through Zoey and made her shiver. “You are not in trouble from my end. Granted, the Council and others can’t know, or you will be transferred at the very least.”
“No.”
“Then keep it quiet, Zoey. What stage of the rite are you on?”
“The first,” she said at last. In the course of a day, she had gone from disbelief in the rite to admitting she was stuck in the middle of it.
“The bond is this strong?” Olivia’s eyes shot up. “Tell me it’s not Ethan.”
“Um, not sure who that is.”
“Who is it?”
Zoey hesitated. She owed Declan nothing. Neither could she shake the subtle, natural magic calming her blood. Her head was aching more, her senses befuddled. Olivia was doing something to her that Declan’s magic was pushing away. The two tussled inside Zoey, confusing her more.
“Declan,” she said at last.
“You’re serious?”
Zoey nodded, uncertain why Olivia appeared stunned. The expression lasted a split second before Olivia became considering then turned into a half-smile, like a cat that cornered a mouse.
“Congrats.”
Zoey had the urge to run.
“If he’s smart, he won’t lose any time completing the rite. I’m imagining you have another date in a few days?”
“He said in three days I’ll be back.” The heat in her voice made Olivia’s smile widen.
“Good.”
“How is that good? Shouldn’t you be pissed?” Zoey asked, perplexed.
“I’m not. In a few days, I’ll tell you why.”
Olivia – the head of the IAB – wanted Zoey involved with the enemy. She didn’t like that at all.
“There are two things I want you to remember, Zoey.” The Succubus grew grave. “The first, that you must always protect the innocent against Cambions.”
“Easy,” Zoey said instantly.
“The second, you cannot trust an Incubatti. Their agendas have not changed since we split from them. They grow stronger, because of what their Cambions do to girls like you. Declan may be your soul-mate, but he has loyalties to his family and his people. He has two sides, one you will never see.”
Zoey suspected as much. She k
new nothing of the man she craved. Olivia waited for her to respond. After a moment, Zoey nodded.
Olivia was right. Zoey couldn’t trust Declan.
Declan was halfway down the hallway to his room when it hit him.
Olivia had five soul-mates secluded on one team. The Sucubatti were known for genetic experiments meant to increase the ability for Hunters to handle sex energy and fight Cambions. Did Olivia discover the girls meant to be Incubus soul-mates by chance? Or was she somehow able to create them? The Sucubatti scientists were known for being the best in the world; they created Halflings in test tubes to try to perfect the Cambion-killing machines. To date, the Hunters were still too unstable to live much longer than twenty-two, but they were also getting stronger, if Team R was any indication.
Maybe Olivia’s scientists figured out some genetic switch that made Halflings compatible as Incubus mates and were experimenting the way they did with Hunters.
He returned to the elevators, plagued by a feeling that he was missing something. Declan went to the subterranean office of his father and entered without knocking, as usual. Wes was present, and their father was frowning.
“I think we have a problem,” Ethan said, before Declan even closed the door.
“More than one,” he agreed.
“This one pertains to you.”
Declan sat at the table, glancing at the iPad Wes slid to him. A grainy video was paused on the screen.
“What am I looking at?” he asked curiously.
“Footage from the night Julius was killed.”
“I didn’t think there was any.”
“It was provided anonymously.”
At the note in his father’s voice, Declan looked up. Ethan and Wes were grim, waiting. Uneasy, Declan tapped the screen to play the video.
He watched in silence. The grainy footage contained no audio but featured Julius, an Incubus known for playing the club scene nightly and his connection with the Cambion leader, Paul. It was probably a matter of time before he crossed paths with the Sucubatti, who watched the Incubatti close to the Cambions.
It wasn’t a Succubus that led him into the garage where his body was found. It was a Hunter with a familiar, heart-shaped face. Alone. Zoey let Julius get pretty far with her before the weapons appeared. Julius was oblivious. True to her claim, Zoey only needed one strike to kill the Incubus.
