Fear The Fall: Fallen Hunters Series

by Melissa Winters

  “How do you like that your human soldiers get to see you taken down by a girl?”

  He leans up until our lips are just barely touching. “You’re far from a simple girl, Tori,” he says, nipping my bottom lip. “They’ve been warned not to underestimate you.”

  I smirk, but it doesn’t last long. Zeke uses his weight to throw me off balance and onto my back, reversing positions with me.

  “Have I told you how much I like having you underneath me?” he growls.

  My frustration from earlier disappears, and suddenly a red-hot need sears me. I want him inside me.

  “Head back to the hotel,” he orders the men. “I’ll see you tonight.”

  The humans don’t stick around, chuckling as they make their way back to their trucks. They know full well what’s coming next, and they’re right to hightail it.

  We don’t wait for them to retreat. Zeke pulls me to my feet and lifts me into his arms. With our lips fused together, he carries me up the loft stairs.

  “Need a shower,” I murmur in between kisses.

  In a matter of moments, I’m stripped naked and pressed against the shower wall, legs wrapped around Zeke’s waist. His mouth lavishes a pert nipple, and a moan escapes my lips. My hands pull at his hair, desperation mounting.

  “Please,” I groan, begging for him to put me out of my misery.

  Water cascades over us as he continues running one hand over the curves of my body, the other holding me in place.

  “I missed you,” he grunts. “Need you.”

  I nod my head, a silent plea for him to take what he wants. I’m frantic for the same thing. My nails rake down his back and it only seems to arouse him more. Without a word he slams up and into me. My head falls back, and my entire body comes alive at the feel of his thickness massaging my inside walls.

  I bask in the pleasure, thanking whoever is listening for this moment. Why did I avoid it for so long? Nothing has ever felt this good. Every single touch has me feeling more alive than I ever have before. A future may not be in our cards, but this right here—I’m down for it.

  After multiple rounds, we both collapse in my bed, sated and exhausted.

  “That,” he starts, then stops, causing me to smirk into his shoulder.

  “Was incredible?” I offer.

  “Beyond,” he admits.

  “I promised the boys we’d hunt tonight, but I’ll admit, I don’t know that my legs will work.” He chuckles.

  “We have to,” I say, wishing like hell we could stay put. “It’s one thing fighting each other, but we need to rid the world of more demons.”

  He kisses me long and hard. “Promise me you’ll be careful tonight,” he requests, and I narrow my eyes.

  “I’ve been fighting demons since I fell, Zeke. Nothing has changed.”

  “Everything has changed,” he snarls, kissing me roughly this time. “You’re finally mine and I won’t lose you, Tori.”

  His words are sobering. I have enjoyed everything we’ve shared and yes, I might be softening to the idea of more with Zeke, but he’s ten steps ahead. We can’t really move forward until I’ve told him the whole truth, and even then, I’m not sure I can allow myself to open my heart completely again.

  His phone rings, saving me from having yet another argument about this pseudo-relationship. I listen to his clipped discussion that lasts for all of two minutes.

  “Zombies have been spotted just off Jackson Square.”

  “Zombies?” I yelp.

  “Get ready. We need to go.”

  I spring from the bed, locating my hunting gear. All the while I’m replaying his words in my head. Demons, werewolves, hellhound, and now zombies. War is brewing, and as much as I don’t want to admit it, we aren’t prepared.

  Bad Blood

  A horde of zombies slink through the dark alleys two blocks from Jackson Square. Our group has managed to trap them between two deserted parking lots, away from humans, and a ward has been put in place to keep the area free from passersby.

  On the way over, we divided ourselves into groups of three. Chad—the apparent leader of the Savannah group—leads one, and Zeke and I manage the others.

  Zeke’s team, comprised of Charlie and Joe, appears to be the weakest of the Savannah crew, but they’re still light-years ahead of where I thought they’d be. With some training, they’ll be very useful.

  This leaves me and the remaining two humans, John and Tyler, to take on the last group. It’s clear that Zeke left me with the two most competent mortals as they swing their blades overhead and crash into one zombie after another, barely breaking a sweat. They’re even able to help Zeke’s crew with the remaining zombies.

  I’m almost disappointed that they don’t need me. I live for the fight, and being sidelined isn’t sitting well, but they need the practice more than I do. So I lean against the wall, bored and ready for this to end. Zombies are easy to exterminate.

  Chad and Ethan almost have our lot cleared when a raucous noise sounds from the old cemetery bordering the abandoned spot.

  “Can you handle this?” I yell to Tyler, who nods in return.

  I’m making my way toward the gates of the cemetery when the noise escalates to a fever pitch.

  “What the hell,” I say out loud, scanning the area, coming up empty-handed.

  The ground shakes, and slits in the ground open up to holes where bodies were likely buried. It’s then that I put the pieces together.

  The zombies are being risen from the grave.

  Only one being is capable of such atrocities—a necromancer. If corpses are being exhumed from the ground, the city is in deep trouble. There is no way that Zeke and I, with our band of misfit humans, can stop whatever voodoo is being enacted.

  “Victoria,” a familiar voice calls from behind. I don’t need to turn to know who it is. I should’ve known something this dire for Earth would bring them.

  “Leeanna,” I reply. “Glad you finally saw fit to intervene.”

  She lets out a humorless laugh. “I’m surprised you care. I thought your fall from grace would have you preoccupied with other things.”

  Her voice is laced with venom, but I don’t have time to analyze the angel’s issues. I knew that my first run-in with my past would be awkward at best and painful at worst. Right now, despite the issues between us, we need to work together.

  She stands beside me, surveying the scene. The dead are crawling from their crypts at a snail’s pace. The one nice thing about zombies is that they’re painfully slow-moving.

  “Can I trust you?” Leeanna snarls, and I roll my eyes.

  “I trained you, and fallen or not, I could still kick your ass.” She bristles at my words but nods her head once.

  “For the sake of Earth, I’ll allow you to fight with me.” I want to growl and shake her until her wings molt, but there are more pressing matters than revenge on my traitorous ex-sister-in-arms.

  I pull Solis from my back and prepare to fight.

  It’s a bloodbath as additional angels fall from the sky, joining the battle. Our swords slice through the air, lopping off heads and severing limbs. The zombie bodies fall in heaps to the ground. One by one, we take them out until none are left and the cemetery is littered with the decomposing carcasses.

  I wipe Solis clean, basking in the afterglow of an intense fight.

  “Wipe the smile off your face, traitor,” Malachi sneers, and I inhale deeply, willing myself to calm down.

  I brought their hatred on by my own actions. I know this, yet it doesn’t stop me from wanting to challenge each and every one of the angels currently glaring at me. I just helped them; couldn’t they just leave me in peace?

  “Leave her alone, Mal,” Leeanna chides, and I am just about to thank her when she continues, “She’s filth.”

  I growl, stalking toward her.

  “Careful, traitor. We can end you with one blow of our blades,” Malachi threatens.

  “Fair fight,” I snap. “You and I both kn
ow, with my blade, you don’t stand a chance.”

  “You lost that the day you decided to be a deserter,” Leeanna says, sounding tired and bored.

  “Victoria.” Zeke’s anxious voice carries across the cemetery, drawing all of our attention. I don’t miss the way Leeanna stiffens.

  “Over here,” I call out.

  When he rounds the corner, his eyes are trained on me. He jogs up, crashing me into his chest and slamming his lips to mine. A choked sound has us pulling apart. Zeke’s eyes lift and land on the trio of archangels. He jumps back, eyes wide.

  “Lee,” he says, and I narrow my eyes.

  Nobody has ever called Leeanna Lee. Pet names are reserved for mortals, not angelic beings. He’s on Earth and emotions run high down here. Anything he once felt in Heaven is amplified tenfold.

  Zeke had a thing for Leeanna.

  She doesn’t reply to him; instead, her heated glare finds mine, and not even a second later, she pounces, sending us both flying back into a mausoleum. We roll several times before I gain the upper hand, pressing her shoulders into the ground roughly.

  My hand rises and is on its way down to smack against her porcelain face when someone yanks me from her. I spin on my feet, ready to tackle Malachi for interfering, when I realize it’s Zeke who stopped me.

  “Don’t,” he warns. “You know what the punishment is for assaulting an angel.”

  “It’s too late for that,” Malachi derides. “I’m taking her life.”

  He stalks toward me, grabbing my arms and holding them behind my back, sending a searing pain through my shoulders. I cry out at the intense burn.

  “You can’t,” Zeke barks. “Look around. These demons won’t stop coming. You need us on the ground. Unless you want God sending you here for however long is necessary.”

  Leeanna balks.

  “You’re in no position to barter, traitor,” Malachi jeers at Zeke, throwing the same insult at him.

  “Lee,” Zeke pleads, “you know I’m right.”

  “Are you? Plans change all the time.”

  “What game are you playing?” he snaps.

  “Why do you care what happens to her?” Her lip lifts into a Cheshire-cat grin that looks more evil than angelic. Her reaction belies her words. She’s mocking him. But for what exactly? “You already know the ending.”

  I’d still be considering what the hell she’s talking about if Zeke’s reaction hadn’t caught my attention. His back is straight, and his eyes are narrowed on Leeanna.

  “What is she talking about?” I ask, looking between the two.

  “Why, Lee? After everything?”

  Despite the fact that I’m moments away from having my life snuffed out at the hands of my former friends, I’m jealous. Pain, regret, and something akin to yearning radiates off both Leeanna and Zeke. My Zeke.

  I don’t want anything serious. He’s not mine.

  “Burn her, for all I care,” Lee says, before turning her back on all of us and walking away.

  “You coward,” I scream at her retreating form, as Malachi lowers me to my knees, securing my hands together behind my back.

  “Any last words?” he says through gritted teeth.

  “This is done, Mal. You and I both know this joke has gone too far.” Zeke’s glare is lethal.

  “Has it?”

  Zeke doesn’t get to say another word as something large crashes through the cemetery, taking down tombstones as it runs toward us. Malachi’s head lifts to the sky and he wails, a sound that makes my ears feel like they’re going to bleed. I can’t even shield them from the sound, since my hands are still secured behind me.

  The crashing continues. It’s getting closer. Malachi and the others spread their wings before they all take to the skies, retreating. As soon as they are out of sight, the loud sound ceases.

  Zeke and I share an ominous look. The cemetery is eerily quiet. Not a single bird chirps or branch rustles. The wind that once whipped through this place is gone. If the lack of noise isn’t odd enough, the bigger question is what could’ve frightened off three archangels?

  “Victoria.”

  The word is whispered in my ear for only me to hear. Chills cascade over my body, leaving me cold to the bone.

  Lucifer.

  He’s here, and that is not good for me.

  When we’re back at the loft, Zeke holds me in his arms and strokes my hair. I haven’t stopped shaking since the cemetery.

  “Baby, you’re safe,” Zeke coos in my ear. “They were just playing a horrible prank.”

  If only that were the reason for my trembling.

  “Angels don’t prank, Zeke.” My teeth chatter. The cold that slipped under my skin is bone deep and not retreating, no matter how many blankets he layers me with.

  “On Earth they do.” He inhales. “They won’t get away with anything like that again.”

  They being Leeanna and Malachi. Two angels who at one time were my family. We had each other’s backs. Now, they’d throw me to the wolves. The sequence of the night’s events runs through my head and keeps getting stuck on the interaction between Zeke and Leeanna. So many strange comments and looks of longing. I might never unsee them.

  I’m torn between wanting Zeke here and wanting him far away from me. He came to my defense, but his affection for Leeanna is clear to anyone with half a brain. With that thought, the chills subside and give way to a burning anger. An unfair anger.

  “Are you going to tell me what was up between you and Lee?” I say her name with disdain I can’t help.

  Not only were we once friends, but I’d been her mentor. Didn’t that count for something? I didn’t fall to betray her. I fell because I was duped. She’s an angel; she surely knows the entire sordid story.

  “We were in the same legion,” Zeke starts, sounding resigned to this conversation but disinclined nonetheless. “We went to Earth often, and each time we were there our feelings . . . ,” he says through his teeth, as though the admission hurts, “grew.”

  I puff out my cheeks, wondering how the heck that worked once they got back to Heaven, and he doesn’t disappoint, moving right into that topic.

  “When we’d return, things went back to normal, for the most part. But with each trip back to Earth, when we returned, a little bit of those feelings came back too.” He runs a hand down his face. “We decided to fall together,” he admits, and my mouth forms an O in surprise at this turn of events. “Needless to say, I fell, and she didn’t.”

  “Oh. Wow,” I say, processing this news. “Let me make sure I understand this,” I say, not trying to come off as hoity-toity, but truly wanting to understand. “You fell in love with an angel, decided to fall together, and when the time came you did, and she chose to let you fall without following.”

  I want to push and nag for more sordid details, because that’s my current mental state, self-sabotage. Zeke doesn’t allow it, pushing forward and making it clear the entire conversation has him vexed.

  “That pretty much sums it up,” he says.

  “I’m sorry, Zeke. That’s . . . awful.”

  I mean every word. I don’t like it, but I care for him. He was as duped into falling as I was, and it isn’t fair. Add to it that he’s still harboring feelings for her, and that just plain sucks. The truth is, I get it. We both have a past hanging over our heads. Unfinished business has a way of sticking around and screwing with your life. I get that more than anyone. Case in point, my dreams as of late.

  Having witnessed Zeke and Leeanna’s whole reunion, it was obvious the feelings were not one-sided, but I’m not about to point that out. Maybe that makes me selfish—definitely makes me selfish—but I’m going to hang on to the one thing that is looking up for me here on Earth. God can deal with Leeanna. I need to help Zeke move on.

  “I don’t want to talk about Lee or the past. I just want you,” he says, burying his head in my hair. “I freaked out when I couldn’t find you.”

  “I’m fine,” I say, snuggling into him
. “I’m badass, remember?”

  He chuckles. “That you are, babe. A total badass.”

  We both laugh, falling into our own comfortable silence, until Zeke breaks it with the one question I was hoping to avoid.

  “What do you think scared off the arcs?”

  Saying his name is the equivalent of summoning him, and nobody wants that. Plus, I’m exhausted and don’t want to discuss the events of tonight.

  “I don’t know. But I’m grateful,” I lie, to steer us in another path.

  “Me too,” he says, rolling on top of me, effectively ending all conversation.

  His lips press against mine, begging entry, and I willingly open to him. Our tongues caress, and a moan escapes my mouth. Zeke’s large hands grab my hips, switching our positions. I giggle at the sudden change-up, but stop short when I look down into lust-filled eyes that belong to someone other than Zeke.

  Luke.

  I gasp, scrambling back.

  “Tori, what’s wrong?”

  Zeke’s voice.

  My head snaps up, and this time, it’s Zeke staring back at me in equal parts confusion and concern.

  “I . . . uh. I thought—” My head shakes back and forth as I try to formulate words and calm my racing heart. “I thought I saw something. A spider.” I tack the last part on to try to explain my reaction.

  Zeke frowns, likely seeing through my lie, but he doesn’t call me on it. Instead, he pats the bed beside him, motioning for me to come back and lie down. I crawl up the bed and snuggle under the covers, head tipped to the ceiling.

  Why did I see Luke in that moment? Why has he been on my mind at all? The frequency is increasing, and with all the shit happening around us, a coincidence seems doubtful. Falling for him brought me to Earth to face all this shit.

  “Tori, look at me,” Zeke commands. My head turns wearily in his direction, but I don’t say anything. “Whatever’s going on, we’ll get through it. You don’t have to shoulder the burdens alone. We’re all in this.”

  I sigh heavily. “I don’t know if we’ll be enough, Zeke. What’s coming . . . it’s bigger than us. I can feel it.”