Kiss of Darkness

by Loribelle Hunt

  “Where is Benjamin?” a smooth cultured voice interrupted from the other end of the table. So they didn’t know. She’d thought Marcus hadn’t picked the information out of her head, but was still a little surprised. She wasn’t that good at blocking him. Maybe he’d suddenly started respecting her privacy. No, she wasn’t buying that. But the only other viable option was he’d kept the information to himself. Why?

  She looked up and somehow kept herself from starting. The speaker at the head of the table looked exactly like Marcus, a mirror image, but he wasn’t Marcus. Her senses were extended to feel him, to warn her if he drew close. She hadn’t paid much attention to the two nightwalkers when she’d come in, hadn’t sensed him among them. Frowning, she replayed the last few minutes in her mind. It wasn’t that she hadn’t noticed this guy. He’d been turned away from her, intentionally hiding his face. Now he looked at her, as if daring her to misstep. She followed the mental path to her tormentor.

  What kind of game are we playing now?

  He didn’t answer but she felt him drawing near. In a shimmer of air he materialized and took a seat. Turbulent blue eyes clashed with hers, and his displeasure rolled over her. She ignored it and drank him in. This was the first time she’d seen him in person since the ambush and poisoning, and damn it, he was as gorgeous as she remembered.

  He hadn’t taken the seat at the head of the table. She was relieved he wasn’t the nightwalker Lord after all. Or was he? He definitely had the arrogance. She got the sense she was missing a conversation and was pretty sure he was talking telepathically with his look-alike. She stared back at him for a minute, pinned by his angry gaze, until Dupree kicked her under the table. She switched her gaze to the other nightwalker.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Benjamin was murdered.”

  Fury washed through the room and it took her a full minute to notice it wasn’t all coming from her and her lieutenants. Mitchell and Baron were caught up in it, and so were Marcus and Luke. She didn’t sense anything at all from the third nightwalker. It was like he wasn’t sitting there at all. That spoke of supreme control. She’d normally be worried and on her guard, but she didn’t expect to see him after this meeting.

  Scowling, she concentrated on Marcus. His anger felt more directed at her than in reaction to Benjamin’s murder, which made no sense until she carefully entered his mind. He was pissed that she hadn’t told him before now—he had been honoring her wish for privacy—and trying to control it, and something else she couldn’t pin down. She quietly slipped out of his mind and redirected her thoughts.

  “Who are you?” she asked the nightwalker at the head of the table.

  “Luke.” He nodded to the man who didn’t look like him. “Kadall. And I believe you already know my brother, Marcus.” His nod indicated Marcus. Oh yeah. She knew him.

  “Gia and Dupree.” She pointed them out. “I’m Winter. I’m the new commander.”

  Marcus leaned forward and even under such horrible circumstances his voice was like liquid sin stroking her skin. “What happened?”

  She felt her rage bubble to the surface again and stared down at the table fighting to control it. When she looked up, she was aware her eyes flashed red but continued anyway. Better to just get it over with. Then she could go on the hunt.

  “The compound was attacked yesterday morning.”

  Anger made his eyes glitter. Why didn’t you tell me?

  She stared at him, but didn’t respond to the mental demand.

  “How many did you lose?” the other one, Luke, asked, his voice as frigid as Marcus’s eyes.

  She shook her head. “We aren’t sure yet. Probably around thirty.” But it could be more. Twenty people had lived there full time, but there were always others in and out of the commander’s compound, and the attack did appear timed for maximum loss.

  “You won’t be taking the place over.” She cocked an eyebrow at the order implicit in Marcus’s words.

  “Of course not,” she replied but she couldn’t let him believe it had anything to do with him. “It’s compromised. We’re looking for something else.”

  You could stay here. His voice was soft, but starkly sensual and commanding.

  Thanks for the offer, but we’ll be okay. She knew the invitation had only been for her, but she’d take any buffer she could get.

  “How many demons did they kill?” Luke asked.

  She switched her gaze back to him, but he wasn’t looking at her. He was glaring at Gia who was looking down, hands fisted on her lap, and a piece of information Winter had been wondering about clicked into place. Gia was doing so well, despite lacking a bond, because she was feeding a nightwalker. It should have occurred to her as a possible solution before. Nightwalkers fed on psychic energy and hybrids needed to burn off extra energy. That was knowledge she might be able to use later and she tucked it away into a corner of her mind along with a huge dose of annoyance.

  Oh, you gotta a lot to explain, Gianna Drake, she telepathed to Gia, who didn’t bother to conceal a sigh.

  I know. I’m sorry.

  Not only was one of her most trusted advisors involved with a nightwalker, but he was Marcus’s brother. Twins almost certainly. Did you know?

  Gia didn’t answer right away, but Winter felt the affirmative in her mind.

  I couldn’t tell you who he was without telling you how I knew and I was so…close to turning. Winter. I couldn’t risk it. You and Dupree would have had to kill me.

  You still should have told me.

  Winter probably would have kept it secret too, if their situations were reversed, and Winter wished Gia hadn’t explained, because it made perfect sense to her and she wanted to stay angry. Fuck, she was angry. Even if the information didn’t help anyone stave off the madness, one of her inner circle was sleeping with a nightwalker. This was a total exception to the stay-out-of-people’s-personal-business rule.

  “Winter,” Marcus prodded.

  We’ll discuss this later.

  Gia sent her an image of rolling her eyes. Sure. But it isn’t a big deal.

  Oh, please. You know it is. Does Dupree know?

  No. And you aren’t telling him.

  Not likely. They rarely kept secrets from each other, certainly not big ones.

  “How many demon kills?” Marcus asked again. She met his gaze, Gia forgotten under the regard of that angry blue.

  “None that we found.”

  Marcus was scowling, his disquiet easy for her to read, and she resisted the urge to stand and walk around the table to soothe his brow. “How did they locate one of your compounds? We’re all careful to hide our homes.”

  She didn’t know, but it was a damned good question. The demons couldn’t sense them the way they could sense demons, and everyone was careful not to be followed to anyplace vulnerable.

  “We don’t know yet,” Dupree answered after she gave a slight approving nod.

  Marcus met his brother’s gaze, and again she sensed them communicating telepathically. When he nodded Luke was the next to speak. “We called this meeting because with the increase in demon activity we think it’s time we all started working together.”

  He shocked everyone into silence. The Order sometimes worked with the lupines, though more on an individual than official basis. The nightwalkers never worked with anyone however. She had to have heard him wrong.

  “The demons are getting more brazen. Organized. This situation just highlights the danger we all face if they aren’t stopped.”

  “What are you proposing?” Mitchell asked, his voice more wolf growl than human speech.

  “An experiment. To see if we can all work together.” Luke shrugged, but Winter knew the nonchalance was an act. She could feel Marcus’s concern that she would refuse. Luke went on. “Something along the lines of a task force. The three of us, three of the hybrids and three of you.”

  He pointed out the separate groups as he spoke, but his gaze kept returning to Gia. Without needing to enter h
is mind Winter gathered his emotions to her. It was the kind of trick that normally didn’t work on nightwalkers, but he wasn’t making any effort to shield himself. Since he seemed so fixated on one of her people, she didn’t feel the least bit guilty about it either.

  She almost laughed at what she found. Did he really think Gia would let him protect her? Possess her? He was in for a big disappointment. However, since she didn’t sense any violence directed at Gia, only a determination she remain unharmed, Winter resolved to stay out of it. She was still pissed at Gia for keeping him a secret, but she’d rather have to worry about a nightwalker being so close to them than losing her best friend. Besides, Gia was more than capable of handling him.

  Dupree kicked her under the table again, snapping her from her thoughts. Marcus watched her expectantly for an answer, but she wanted to hear what Mitchell had to say before she committed one way or the other. She glanced in his direction.

  The lupine’s grin was feral, dangerous and suspicious, and put her guard up. The last time she’d seen something like it was a few days before he’d challenged and killed the old alpha. “Been watching too much late-night crime drama, walker?”

  It was the wrong approach, but she didn’t disagree with Mitchell’s sentiment. She didn’t want to work that closely with nightwalkers either, and one in particular who’d been included in that little group. The telepathic connection was bad enough. Close, prolonged physical exposure would probably push her over the edge into madness. Unless she let him feed from her. But no. He’d try to take her over. She’d seen a possessiveness in his mind that was untamed to the point of being feral. She had too many responsibilities, too many people to protect to risk being taken over by an out-of-control nightwalker. No matter how sexy he was.

  Luke didn’t respond to Mitchell right away. Instead he just watched him, quiet, his body eerily still while his emotions were still in turmoil. He gave her the impression of a great hunting cat and she repressed a shudder, certain this was a man whose bad side she didn’t ever want to be on, that she wouldn’t walk away from the experience. Mitchell, who had nerves made of granite, simply waited him out. The silence stretched and slowly Luke got control of himself until she no longer sensed anything from him.

  He shrugged. “Does it matter where the idea came from if it’s helpful? We can’t continue on our current paths. I would think that’s obvious. This is the logical next step.”

  Shit. She’d guessed this was the argument they’d make and he was right, but Winter hated like hell to admit it. She suspected Marcus had cooked up the plan to pull her in deeper than she already was. But to what end? He’d spent two months refusing to see her, why would he suddenly switch to making it impossible not to see her? Maybe it wasn’t his idea after all or maybe he’d sensed her determination to put distance between them. There were too many maybes.

  Her phone vibrated while she tried to decide what to do but she ignored it. Less than a minute later, Gia’s and Dupree’s started up too. He unclipped his and stepped into the hall. She felt a surge of quickly suppressed fury and knew something was wrong before he returned, before she saw the red rage in his eyes. He came back in, but didn’t sit and she knew without entering his mind what the bad news was.

  “Another attack?”

  “Southwest quadrant. Charles. And it’s early. Looks like a full house.”

  She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and let the demon rise. Let the rage and terror and confusion take over. How were the demons finding them? None of them, no member of the Order, would ever give them up. It was impossible to ignore the suspicion that coalesced in her mind fueled by her demon’s anger, by its lust for blood. Some of their compounds were known to the nightwalkers and lupines. Had one of them betrayed her people?

  She barely got a grip on her emotions before saying or doing something stupid. Standing, she rounded the table, going for the door. She had to get out, away from these uneasy allies, and she needed to get to Charles’s place. See for herself what had happened and what could be salvaged.

  Marcus beat her there, an unmovable wall blocking her exit.

  “Get out of my way.”

  “I want a word with you before we go.”

  She cocked an eyebrow. No way in hell. “You’re not going where I am.” But she did have a question or two.

  “We’re working together now, remember?”

  She hadn’t actually agreed to that but they both knew she probably would have if the conversation hadn’t been interrupted by more pressing business. She was going to argue the point anyway, but one look at his face, one glimpse of the implacable resolve in his mind and she knew it was a waste of time. She turned to Gia and Dupree.

  Gia and Dupree left, followed by the lupines. At the door Mitchell caught her gaze and mouthed a question to her. “Later?”

  She nodded once, had a feeling she was going to need a long, sweaty fight later. Her mentor was dead, she was in charge, and there had been two demon attacks in two days. She honestly didn’t think she could take anymore. Sighing, she paced the length of the room, wished she had the long drive home to look forward to to clear her head, followed by a bed with hours of sleep ahead of her. Instead…well just instead. She didn’t turn to face him.

  “Did you know about Gia and your brother?”

  She sensed a flash of hesitation from him. The question seemed to take him off guard. Good. It was about time the tables were turned. “No. But I wouldn’t have stood in the way if I had.”

  “Is that right?” she asked even though she believed him.

  “Would you deny your friend?” He cocked an eyebrow. “Luke is good for her control.”

  “You knew.” Knew that feeding from hybrids could save their soul and sanity. It hurt that he’d kept that from her. He’d been in her mind so much he had to know how close to the end she was.

  Pivoting on her heel, she turned to pace in the other direction but walked right into tall, dark and reticent Himself. She almost stumbled backward. His arms caught her, banding around her waist and pulling her tight against his hard body. Her skin sizzled at the contact. She gasped in surprise and lifting her hands to his chest, she pushed. He didn’t budge, but she caught a flicker of amusement cross his face.

  “Let me go, nightwalker,” she said, keeping her voice frigid.

  “Marcus.”

  “Whatever. Release me.”

  “No.” It was sharply spoken. He held her tighter when she tried to push him away again and her body responded, her nipples tightening, her sex growing wet and welcoming. God, she hoped he didn’t notice. He leaned forward and inhaled deeply. When he straightened, his eyes were hot and angry. “You reek of the lupine.”

  She pushed him again and this time he dropped his arms and stepped back. Arching an eyebrow, she started around the table to the door.

  “I don’t see that that’s any of your business, Marcus. And you’re avoiding the conversation.” His words made her so damned angry. He knew she wasn’t sleeping with Mitchell because he’d assured it, his presence in her mind constant, deliberately making her want no one but him.

  He grabbed her arm and yanked her back. She fell into him, grasping his shoulders for support. Hands twisting through her hair, he leaned over and pressed a kiss to the pulse beating in her neck.

  “We’ll see about that,” he murmured.

  Fire licked through her belly at the touch and she tensed feeling his teeth scrape over her pulse, wondering what he’d do.

  “Stay away from the wolf,” he bit out.

  She snorted. Give up the only real release she had left? Who did this guy think he was? She wouldn’t be sparring so much with Mitchell if Marcus would relieve the hunger he’d fed. Moving out of his arms, she made it to the door before his voice stopped her.

  “I mean it, Winter,” he said softly, right behind her, his breath feathering hotly over her skin. He set his hands on her hips and pushed his erection against her butt. She groaned and tried to turn around, but he he
ld her in place, lips pressing a soft kiss on her nape. God, the man was a tease and he was playing with fire. “I don’t share.”

  “You have to stop this,” she whispered. “My people aren’t like yours. I can’t take the…tension.”

  “I’ll take care of it. I’ll take care of you.” He pressed a trail of kisses from her shoulder up her neck and she shivered when he paused long enough to nip at the sensitive skin below her ear.

  “Why didn’t you tell me? About the feeding thing?” She hated the breathiness in her voice but couldn’t control her response with his lips pressed against her skin.

  “I considered it. You would have said no.”

  “Don’t be so sure of that.”

  “I have every intention of feeding from you, baby,” he whispered just before sharp teeth nipped the side of her neck. “When we settle a few other things.”

  His hands slid around her hips to her belly, slowly edged up under her shirt. The skin-to-skin contact was so electrifying she was afraid she’d combust. She was on the verge of begging him not to stop, to take her right then and there.

  “What things?”

  “You’re moving in here.”

  The order was like a splash of cold water, slapping her back into reality. Was he crazy? Because she definitely was to let him get so close. She wasn’t that close to losing her mind, was she? This was her hormones in control. Not the demon. She jerked away and spun around to face him. “I don’t think so.”

  His expression went dark and dangerous and she knew he was furious at her refusal. He reached for her, but she was quicker, stepping out into the hall and holding her hand up when he approached.