by Cynthia Eden
Patrick’s gaze slid over her. “Bullshit.”
“Watch your fucking tone with her,” Leo snarled. “I can burn this whole place to the ground in seconds, and your pack will go down in flames.”
Patrick tensed. Mora saw the nervous—and furious—glances that were being exchanged by the pack members.
She also saw Bruce being picked up. He was still alive. Healing, slowly. His head sagged forward, and his eyes were covered by his thick, long hair. Mora cleared her throat. “Can we go somewhere and…talk, privately, Patrick?”
But Patrick shook his head. “What you say to me, you say to my pack.” His stare shifted to Leo. “And I’m dying to know why the Lord of the Light thinks he can come here.”
“Because I can go anywhere,” Leo threw right back. “Especially when you’re planning to attack humans. To kill and destroy the peace.” He stepped toward Patrick, standing toe-to-toe with the wolf. “Did my brother give that order? Did he tell you to attack? Or are you breaking his law, too?”
“What?” Patrick shook his head and appeared genuinely confused. “No, you’ve got it wrong. We aren’t attacking any humans—”
And she saw it happen. Because Mora was staring at Bruce, still watching him, she saw the exact moment when he dropped his fake pose of being too weak to move…
His head whipped up. The hair flew away from his eyes and she saw the pure hate glittering in his stare. He rushed forward, his claws out, lunging to attack.
Oh, shit, he’s coming for me!
Patrick whirled to grab Bruce, but…
Leo beat him.
Leo leapt forward and put his hand on Bruce’s chest. Just his hand…and the ex-alpha ignited. Bruce was screaming and howling as he burned and in just a few seconds, ash was the only thing left of the guy. Ash that drifted to the floor…and then vanished.
Mora had forgotten to breathe during that fast attack. In the aftermath, she sucked in deep gulps of air.
Leo can incinerate someone with a touch? Since when?
“Any questions?” Leo drawled. “Or do you all get that I am not here to screw around?”
Patrick gaped at him.
“Want to be next?” Leo’s body seemed to vibrate with power. “Or do you want to take Fate up on that private talk?”
Patrick swallowed and pointed to a door on the side of the bar. “Let’s talk.”
“Excellent choice,” Leo announced.
Patrick turned and hurried toward that door. Mora followed him, with Leo on her heels and as they walked, the other wolf shifters slowly bowed their heads. Were they showing their submission…to their new alpha? Or…
She risked a fast glance over her shoulder.
To Leo?
Patrick shoved open the door, and she followed him quickly, entering the small, tight confines of a back office. He turned to face her, crossing his arms over his chest, even as she heard the door click shut behind her. Mora glanced back at Leo. He’d closed that door and now he stood in front of it, his legs braced apart, and his hands loose at his sides.
“You’re not really…her…are you?” Patrick asked as his gaze swept over her body. “I mean, that was just some BS line to impress the others out there, right?” And, before she could answer, he inclined his head. “You can speak freely in here. This place has special sound-proofing installed. Our, um, recently deceased pack member Bruce always wanted a room where he could talk without being overheard by the others.”
Mora squared her shoulders. “I’m Fate. No BS involved.”
Patrick’s eyes widened. “Then you knew—just looking at me—that I would be the next alpha?”
Actually, no. “To know your fate, I’d need to touch you.”
His brows flew up. “But, you said—”
“A word, a whisper…a look…that’s how easy it is for me to change some things.” This was a truth that she rarely shared, mostly because it was so dangerous. “I wanted you to win because we knew Bruce was going to lead the attack on the humans. I figured you were our best hope of avoiding that attack.”
“He…he never mentioned an attack to me.” Patrick’s lips pressed together, then he said, “But Bruce was a secretive bastard. And a fucking twisted alpha. He got off on pain—giving it to his own kind…and, I’ve suspected, to humans, too. It was past time for him to be stopped. Someone had to step up.” He nodded. “So I did.”
She wanted to touch him. To see just what fate waited. Mora inched toward Patrick and her hand lifted.
But before her fingers could touch his arm, Leo was there. His hand caught hers. “Careful, baby, I don’t trust this wolf.”
“You don’t trust any wolves,” she retorted instantly. Her gaze dropped to Leo’s hand. He was touching her so carefully, holding her so gently, but that same hand had incinerated a man moments before. She stared at his hand a moment longer and then her gaze lifted to his face.
What is your real fate, Leo? But, as always, she couldn’t see what the future held for him. Not just from a touch. If she wanted another peek, she’d need his blood and she’d need to scry.
“I have nothing to hide,” Patrick drawled, a faint Texas accent roughening his words. “Let Fate touch me. She can see for herself that I’m not planning to attack humans. And I won’t let any of my pack members do it, either. They’ll follow my orders. Luke has laws in place for a reason. We don’t want a war with humans or with you, Lord of the Light.”
Slowly, Leo let her go. She put her fingertips on Patrick’s forearm and…
Patrick bows his head…to Leo. The wolves surround Leo, forming a tight circle. As one, they turn to face the threat.
“Don’t stop until they’re dead!” Leo shouted.
She jerked back her hand. Blinked.
“Did you see my future?” Patrick asked her.
Mora nodded.
“And am I attacking humans?”
She looked back at Leo. It had been Leo in her vision, not Luke. She knew him…always. “Patrick is on your side, Leo.”
Leo frowned at her.
“He’s not going to attack humans.” Not unless you order it. “He will stand with you. You have nothing to fear from Patrick or his pack.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Ramiel was wrong or maybe…maybe things would have been different if Bruce lived. But he didn’t. And the humans are safe. Their blood won’t spill on the ground.”
The tension slowly left Leo’s shoulders.
But it didn’t leave hers. “We should go meet the angels. Let them know the danger has passed.”
“Angels?” Patrick repeated. “Serious fucking angels?”
Leo opened the door. He offered his hand to Mora, and she took it, wrapping her fingers around his. They walked out of that bar, and the werewolves didn’t speak as she and Leo passed by them. The shifters barely seemed to move.
Mora and Leo were just about to exit the building when—
“Fate!” Patrick’s shout.
She looked over her shoulder.
“I won’t forget what you did! You need payback, remember I’m here.”
She blinked in surprise. She didn’t usually make deals with people. That was…Luke’s thing. Leo’s thing. But…a werewolf alpha owed her?
Interesting.
Leo pushed open the door and then they were outside. The sky was lit with red and gold streaks. Dawn had come. The darkness had passed. For now.
Leo pulled her into his arms and his wings swept out. As he flew them high into the sky, Mora glanced back down. The werewolves had followed them outside, and they were watching as Leo took her away.
“They aren’t going to forget us anytime soon,” she said even as the vision of those wolves—circling around Leo as if to protect him—filled her mind once more.
“Ramiel was wrong.” Leo’s voice was a deep rumble, one that she could almost feel sliding through her body. “I went there, intending to do anything necessary to stop their attack. I…I was going to kill them all.” There was a hesitation in
his voice that she’d never heard before.
Leo wasn’t exactly the hesitating type.
The wind whipped her hair back and her arms tightened around him. “Do you…” Oh, jeez, how to ask this question? “Do you often kill with a touch?”
Silence. She saw his jaw harden. “I’ve killed many that way.” His head turned. His gaze met hers. “You think I’m a monster.” He was taking them back toward the ground.
She swallowed. Her mouth had gone absolutely dry. When he touched down on the earth, he kept holding her in his arms. “I’ve never called you a monster.”
His wings vanished. “Calling someone a beast…and thinking it are two different things.”
“Let me go. I can stand on my own now.”
Slowly, he lowered her to the ground, but his hands stayed on her. He didn’t let her go. “Do you think you fucked a monster, baby?”
Mora flinched, but her chin lifted. “No, I think I fucked a man. Because that’s how I see you. I don’t see the big, tough Lord of the Light. I don’t even see the dragon that I know sleeps inside of you.”
Most people didn’t realize that was the nature of his beast…not until the fire came for them.
“I’ve never thought you were a monster,” Mora continued as her stare held his. “But I can’t control how you see yourself.”
His eyelids lowered, concealing his gaze from her. “You saw what I did to the wolf, Bruce.”
“Turned him straight to ash.” Like she’d be forgetting that act anytime soon. “And I’m betting you can do that to anyone, can’t you?”
His fingertips pressed a bit harder to her skin. “I would never do anything to hurt you. I need you to believe that. Our past—”
“I let it go,” Mora cut in, heart racing. “You have to do the same, don’t you see that? We have here and now, not the past.”
“But what about the future? About what’s coming?”
She didn’t want to think about the future right then. She’d spent centuries worrying about the future. It would be nice to just live in the moment. But that was an impossibility for them. “I’ll scry for you,” she told him even though she’d vowed to do no such thing in the very recent past. “Once you and I are far away from here, I’ll tell you exactly what waits. No conditions. No hesitations. I’ll—”
He kissed her. It was a rough and demanding kiss, wild with hunger and a stark, almost savage need. Maybe she should have pulled back.
She didn’t.
Her need for him was just as savage. Her lips opened. Her tongue met his. Greedy, frantic desire erupted within her and Mora pressed her body desperately to his. She’d gone so long without him in her life. She’d thought she was long over him.
But there were some things…some men…
That you just didn’t get over.
“The only thing that waits in my future…” Leo breathed the words against her lips. “It’s you. You’re the only person that matters to me.”
Instinctively, she shook her head, denying—
“You, Mora. I would rip this world apart for you. I would fucking live and die…for you.”
She’d squeezed her eyes shut, but at his rough, utterly terrifying words, her lashes lifted. She found herself staring into his eyes, but it was a stare so different…bright, glowing. Shining with power and intent.
He meant what he was saying.
“I lost you…” He kissed her again. But softer, with more seduction, as if he were trying to woo her. “I lost you, and I swear, my whole life seemed to go dark.”
A fist squeezed her heart…No, no, it can’t be…
Because of me?
“I need you, Mora. I want to fucking kiss every single inch of you. You gave me a taste before, but I need you again. I will always need you. Always crave you.”
She was afraid that she’d always crave him, too.
The wind blew against them, sliding her hair over her cheek and…
He tensed. “Blood.”
“What?”
“I smell blood on the wind.” His head whipped toward the right and she saw his nostrils flare. “A whole lot of blood.”
“The humans?” Her heart nearly stopped. “I thought they were safe! The werewolves aren’t attacking them—”
“Someone is attacking. They’re dying.”
“We have to get to them!”
His wings were already out. She locked her arms around his neck and they burst up into the sky, and as they flew, the scent of blood reached her.
The scent of blood…
And the sound of screams.
Chapter Sixteen
“It’s not the werewolves,” Mora said, her voice tight and scared in Leo’s ear. He hated her fear. As far as he was concerned, Mora should never know a moment’s fear. “Someone else is attacking them.”
Attacking them, killing them.
I sent the angels to watch over the humans. What happened to the angels? Why aren’t they stopping the carnage?
Then he saw the first body. Ripped apart. Blood thick on the ground. A human…
Fury beat inside of him. “Stay with me. At my side.” Each word was gritted out. He had to get down there. But Mora…
She cannot be hurt.
They touched the ground, and there were no more screams. Only silence. The wind whipping against him. And blood.
Tents had been torn to shreds. Bodies lay broken.
And…
Feathers drifted in the wind.
“Please…” Mora’s voice was so small. “Tell me those aren’t from an angel’s wings.”
He couldn’t lie to her. He—
Mora bent before he could say a word, and she locked her fingers around a feather. A shudder went through her body as she knelt there, and then her head was snapping back. Her eyes turned absolutely black for a moment as she stared at him. “Merius…they took his wings…they’re killing him.” She pointed to the left, and Leo took off running. With Mora.
Merius…the silent angel. The one who always seemed so stoic, but Leo knew the truth about him. Merius was quiet because he had a weakness the others angels didn’t. Merius felt too much. Angels were supposed to be immune to the emotions of humans, but Merius wasn’t. He’d gotten a taste for emotions a long time ago, when he’d first met a little blonde vampire. One who hadn’t realized she’d bitten an angel…
And turned his world upside down.
Leo ran to the left, but he kept Mora close, yanking her against him because he knew she didn’t move at the same speed he did. He burst around two massive boulders and found Merius. The angel was lying face down on the bloody ground and his wings were gone…
Three wolves circled him.
Fully transformed wolves.
What in the hell? Patrick swore his pack wouldn’t attack. They swore…
Leo lifted his hand and sent a blast of fire at the wolves. Two of them immediately leapt back, but the third…that hulking white beast tore into Merius’s throat.
Mora slipped from Leo’s grasp as he bounded toward the white wolf. He grabbed the bastard and yanked him back from Merius, sending a bolt of fire ripping across the wolf’s body.
The white wolf howled and shuddered…
And then he turned to ash.
The ash rained down on Merius. A still, bloody, barely breathing Merius.
The other two wolves had raced away.
Leo put his hand on Merius’s throat. An angel fell under his domain. He could heal Merius. He could…
Blood pumped between his fingers. The wound didn’t close. Merius shuddered.
“Where are the others?” Mora cried. “Where’s Trina? And Ramiel?”
Merius’s lips parted, as if he’d speak, but nothing came out.
The bastard wolf ripped out his throat.
Leo pulled up more of his power, sending it all pouring right at Merius. Of course, he could heal the angel. He could heal any creature of the light.
A scream reached him. High, desperate, and
then there was silence.
Leo’s head snapped toward the sound. He found Mora staring with wide eyes. “I’ll go,” she yelled even as she whipped away from him. “I’ll help—you save your angel!”
“No!” Leo bellowed after her. Mora was no match for werewolves. She—
“I can’t die!” Mora yelled back at him. “I can hurt, but I can’t die, so save him and get your ass after me!”
Fuck, fuck.
She was gone.
And Merius was still pumping out his blood. His wings had been slashed right from his body. He was at his absolute most vulnerable. He needed Leo’s help.
But I can’t help him. I can’t heal him. He’s dying right in front of me.
Why? How?
“I’m…sorry,” Leo said, the words grinding from him.
Merius lifted his lashes. There was so much pain in his eyes. Pain…and what looked like fury. Betrayal?
“Merius…”
The life faded from the angel’s gaze. Just…emptied.
“No.” The ground trembled around Leo. “No!” His roar echoed like thunder as lightning split the overhead sky.
His hand was still on Merius’s throat. Blood soaked his fingers. He’d given the angel all the power he had. Merius should have healed.
But something is wrong.
Leo jumped to his feet. “Mora! Come back to me!” His voice bellowed out as terror clawed at him. But she wasn’t there. She’d gone to help another victim.
Claws burst from his fingertips. He felt his teeth lengthen, sharpen, and the white-hot fury of his rage burned inside as the beast he kept chained began to struggle for freedom.
***
Mora scrambled around the bodies. She tried not to look at them, tried not to see the men and women they’d been—before something had ripped them apart.
Patrick didn’t lie to us. I saw his future. His werewolves haven’t attacked.
Had Ramiel been wrong? Was there another pack in the area? Maybe rogues?
She stopped and spun around, searching desperately for Trina or Ramiel. There were no more screams and the scent of blood was coming from every direction. It was truly a blood bath. Truly hell and—
