Embrace The Shadows (Shadows Ascending Trilogy Book 3)

by Jenn D. Young

  “Our time to shine,” Leo said with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. He rubbed his hands together, waiting for the door to fully close behind the group. We climbed to our feet and approached the guard station with caution.

  “Damius, I should be able to hack into their network with ease.” Leo retrieved a device from his pocket and plugged a cord into the panel next to the door. “With the information Adreon gave me, I’ll be able to remote in and this will give me full control of everything. Including the collars.”

  Nicolae closed his eyes and sighed with relief. His Nightmare was close to the surface. His skin was drawn tight over his face, his hands curled into claws with his nails extended into deadly points. “Settle, brother. This will all be over soon,” I whispered and clasped him on the shoulder.

  My own apprehension ate away at my mind. I was itching to connect with Lorelei again. I needed to feel her presence within me. To feel her warmth surrounding me once again.

  “Bingo,” Leo exclaimed, disconnected the device, and turned toward us with a triumphant smile etched across his face. “We’re in.”

  “Good job, Leo.” Shock rippled through me as I praised the General. I didn’t care right now. I just wanted my fucking mate back. I wanted Nicolae to have his mate back. It didn’t matter about petty arguments or pissing contests.

  “Let’s go,” Damius growled and waved his hand at the door. “We don’t have much time. Open the doors, deactivate the security cameras and collars. In and out. Our only mission today is to get the girls and Kaniul out of here.”

  We nodded in approval. Leo brought the device up and pushed several buttons. The door sprang open and we walked through.

  “Security cameras are on a feedback loop. There is no sound attached, so we’re good on that end. Disabling collars now.” Leo’s brow furrowed in concentration as he tapped furiously on the small tablet. “There we go. They’re disabled and now removed. Let’s go get them so we can get the fuck out of here.”

  My breath hitched in my throat, knowing that I would finally be connected with Lorelei again. I locked gazes with Nicolae, his anticipation for the moment palpable in the air around us. He was more on edge than I was. His jaw was clenched in a firm line as he paced along the small corridor of the entryway.

  “Nicolae, Vincent,” Damius said sharply, drawing our attention to him. “Go and find your mates. We’ll recover Kaniul then get Drya. Go.”

  As he spoke, awareness tingled along my spine. The presence I’d so desperately missed entered my mind with a tentative touch. “Vincent.” Her soft whisper in my mind made my eyelids flutter close and my body sag with relief.

  “I’m coming for you, Theera. Hold on and stay connected with me. Show me where you are.”

  Nicolae blindly reached an arm out to steady himself against the wall, his other hand clutching his chest. He had reconnected with Layla. We were going to get them out of this wretched place and take them back home.

  Where they belonged.

  11

  Vincent

  Nicolae stood by my side as we rushed through the hallways with preternatural speed. Desperation was written all over his face as we reached out with our senses to find the clear pathway to our mates. Layla was still in her holding cell, while Lorelei was separated and seemed to be in a laboratory of sorts.

  “Theera, I’m almost there.”

  “Vincent,” she exhaled with a keening cry. “Please hurry. I don’t know when they’ll return.”

  “I’m so close. I’ll be there before you know it.”

  “Is Layla injured?” I shot Nicolae a curious look. He hadn’t spoken since Leo had deactivated the collars and our connections were reestablished.

  He shook his head as we slowed our pace before a fork in the hall in front of us. “She is scared, although she won’t admit it. I just want to get her the fuck out of here. Take her back home and never let her leave.”

  “We’re almost there, Nic.” I nodded to the right. “Lorelei is this way.”

  He inclined his head. “Then this is where we part ways. Layla is to the left.”

  “Quick in and out. Back here in five.”

  Nicolae nodded and disappeared in a flash of movement. I pushed forward; my mind brushing Lorelei’s to send her a wave of reassurance.

  “We have Kaniul, but he is in bad shape. Hurry the fuck up, Vincent,” Damius protested loudly in my mind.

  “On it,” I responded as I silently snapped the neck of a patrolling guard. The guards were amateurs. Mere fledglings that The Syndicate barely feed enough to keep functional. They’re little more than alarm systems to alert the higher ups if something were to occur. The elite guard that Layla had warned us of was nowhere to be found.

  “Lorelei,” I breathed into her mind as I approached the door to the room where she was being held. I laid my palm against the cool metal, savoring the feel of our connection snapping into place.

  Locking my jaw, I slammed my shoulder into the hard surface and shoved it open with all my might. There—chained to a fucking chair—was my mate. Her bright blue eyes collided with mine and the world fell out from under me. I fell into those deep blue depths, tears already falling down her face.

  She was a mess. Her hair tangled and wild around her head. Her cheeks were hollow and her skin waxen and pale. Those once perfect and plump lips were dry and cracked. I didn’t speak. I couldn’t speak until I gained control over my volatile emotions. Giving her an appraising glance up and down, I took deep and even breaths trying to calm myself. My mind connected with hers and I delved for the memories of the last three days that she had been held captive.

  A pang of regret echoed through my mind when I saw Layla being collared. Such hurt played out across the Seraphim’s face. We would bring down The Syndicate someday, but for now, I needed to grab my mate and get out of this hellhole.

  “Theera,” I whispered brokenly, padding on silent feet to stand before my mate.

  Tears glimmered in Lorelei’s eyes as she peered up at me through her tangled mass of hair. “Vincent.” It was little more than a pleading cry.

  I wrapped my fingers around the thick steel cuffs that held her wrists, but before I could pull, Lorelei interrupted me. “Disengage the lock on the panel over there.” She jerked her chin to the right.

  “I can just pull them off,” I growled, wanting to tear apart this object that was keeping her secured to the chair. “I want to rip it off.” I needed to tear them from her body. This offending metal that had left her trapped and vulnerable.

  She shook her head vigorously. “It won’t work. There is some kind of special lock they have engaged.”

  I laughed in triumph when I snapped the metal and threw the bar with the cuffs attached across the room. Arching an eyebrow, I gave her a knowing smile. “You wound me with your doubts, Theera.”

  Lorelei hesitated only for a moment before launching herself into my embrace. My arms snaked around her around her and I buried my face in the crook of her neck to inhale her unique fragrance.

  “Fuck, I’ve missed you.”

  She pulled back and cupped my cheeks in her small hands. “I’ve missed you too.” The tears that shimmered in her eyes now fell unchecked down her face.

  “Don’t cry, baby.” I drew away the moisture with the pads of my thumbs. I bent and brushed my lips over hers in the lightest of kisses.

  “Vincent, we don’t have time for this. Get the fuck out of there.” Damius hissed in my head, his urgency apparent in the clipped words. In the desperation that clung to his voice.

  “We have to go. Now.” I took her hand in mine and tried to pull her from the room. “Fuck it. We need to get out as fast as we can.” Despite her protests, I swung her up into my arms and fled the room.

  “I can run,” she grumbled, wrapping her arms tighter around my neck as I picked up speed.

  “We need to get there faster. Your energy is too low. Too much of a risk,” I answered and turned my attention to our surroundings. I didn’
t sense any guards—other than the bodies of the ones I had taken care of earlier. Nicolae was ahead of me with Layla secure in his arms. She was in much worse shape than Lorelei. My gut twisted at the thought of Layla enduring any more pain at the hands of the woman that had given birth to her.

  “How did you guys get in here? Where are Adrianna and Kristoff?” My mate asked as her hands sank into the strands of my hair.

  “Later, Lorelei,” I snapped. “We need to get out of here and then I’ll explain everything.”

  “Why don’t we just use shadow flight?” Wow. Probably one of the only times I would ever hear her willingly choose shadow flight over any other transportation option.

  “Because it doesn’t work down here and not everyone has that ability. Now please, I’m going to need to concentrate,” I pleaded with her, already reaching out to Damius to warn him of our approach. The glance that I’d gotten of Nicolae came into full view as we rounded the corner to see Leo waiting for us.

  “About fucking time,” he snapped, tapping on his tablet and the door behind him swung open.

  “Where are Damius and Kaniul?” I asked, glancing around the dimly lit hallway.

  “Damius already transported Kaniul out. His condition was too critical, and he needed to act. Now we need to set off that distraction and get Adrianna and Kristoff away from Drya so we can get her out of here with us,” Leo grated out in a clipped tone.

  Lorelei struggled in my arms. “Where is Kaniul? How badly is he injured?” Her voice rose in volume as she pleaded with Leo. Damn it, I hated the desperation that lingered in her weak voice.

  “Lorelei, right now we need to get the fuck out of here. To do that, we need to finish the plan. Then we can worry about other things. I know you are concerned about your uncle, but Damius would never let anything happen to him. Now quiet before you tip someone off.”

  Fury coiled around her in thick waves as she opened her mouth to give Leo a tongue-lashing, but I tilted her face up toward mine. Still secure in my arms, she couldn’t get away from me and had no choice but to look up into my eyes. “Lorelei, you need to let this go. We’re in the middle of enemy territory. Let Leo do what he is so good at so we can get everyone out of here safely.”

  Her lips pinched together before she nodded in approval. Crossing her arms over her chest, she narrowed her eyes at Leo. The General was still engrossed in his tablet, typing out line after line of code to program the diversion exactly right.

  “Layla,” Lorelei whispered softly, looking at the woman bundled in Nicolae’s arms. “Are you alright?”

  Layla groaned and burrowed her face deeper into Nicolae’s chest. He secured her tightly to him and glided his hand over her hair in comfort. “She needs to feed and rest,” Nicolae answered while still caressing her head.

  “Lorelei,” Layla croaked, lifting her head to peak out from Nicolae’s embrace. “I’m so sorry.”

  Lorelei stiffened in my arms, reacting instinctively to Layla’s apology. “You have nothing to say you’re sorry for, Layla. We’re getting the fuck out of here with our mates, and we’ll take these fuckers down.”

  A hint of a smile played at Layla’s lips before her eyes fluttered shut again. “So tired,” she murmured and slumped back against her mate’s chest.

  “Rest, little one,” Nicolae crooned softly against Layla’s hair. “We’ll be home soon. You’ll be able to get all the rest and sustenance you need.”

  Seeing Nicolae like this was a reminder of how my own life had changed. In the blink of an eye, your whole existence can be shattered and rebuilt. Just by finding your destined mate. For Nicolae, his had been under his nose the whole time. Waiting for him to appear and rescue her from Adrianna’s clutches.

  “Got it,” Leo grunted before a low-pitched alarm sounded from the other end of the building. “In here, hurry.” He shuffled us through the door and the heavy metal slammed shut behind us. The General held up a fist, gesturing for silence. The scuffing of feet and barked orders could be heard from outside the door.

  Leo looked back down at his tablet and tilted it toward me. “This shows the cameras in the holding cell areas. Just Craig and Drya. Adrianna and Kristoff went to the lab cells just as we planned.”

  I nodded, tightening my arms around Lorelei. She squirmed in my hold, wanting to be free, but I wasn’t ready quite to let her go. I needed her touching me, skin to skin, more than I needed the air in my lungs. Being separated from her, with our bond disconnected as it had been, was more than I could bear these last few days. She would not be leaving my arms for weeks to come. Enough years had been taken off my life, thank you very much.

  “Vincent,” she pleaded with me through our familiar mental connection. “Please put me down. I’m not that weak.”

  Of course, she would think that I was holding her for that reason. “Lorelei, I’ve been separated from you for three days. Our bond was completely shattered. I need to hold you in my arms and remind myself that you are real, not just a dream. Please just give me this until we’re out of this god-awful place.”

  She gnashed her teeth but stopped struggling. Relaxing into my hold, she threw her arms around my neck and nuzzled her nose along the exposed skin at the column of my throat. Her emotions cascaded through me: Anger at the situation that we had been thrown into. Despair for Layla. Longing to reconnect to me through our bond. Both through our bodies and our blood.

  Pure unadulterated hunger pulsed through her veins, calling for my blood and my body. It pushed at the limits of my control.

  “I can’t wait to feed you, my Theera,” I rumbled directly into her mind. The feeling of her breath as it spread hot and warm across my skin was almost more than I could bear. We were in the middle of a fucking Syndicate prison, trying to escape with our lives intact and I was getting hard for my mate. Just because she fucking breathed on me.

  “Stop it,” Leo hissed. “I need to concentrate and your hormones lighting up the place are going to get us caught.”

  Lorelei fought back a groan then a giggle at Leo’s chiding statement. “They’re clear, let’s go,” I said as I jerked my chin to the screen. The cameras through the corridors around us showed that the halls were clear. Adrianna and Kristoff were attending to the alarm on the other end of the building and we could sweep in, grab Drya, and get the fuck out of here.

  “Right.” Leo nodded and opened the door with his tablet, and we shuffled out of the room.

  Soon we would be out of this place, and I could spend days with my mate in our bed.

  12

  Lorelei

  I fought the tears that threatened to fall down my face. I’d done enough crying today. After laying my eyes on Vincent when he burst through that door, looking every inch the demon prince from my dreams, I’d nearly broken down in relief. Now, my body was crying out for him. For his blood and his cock. I needed him, but it wasn’t the time or the place.

  Gods help me. I needed to get my priorities in order. We needed to grab Drya and then get the fuck out of here. I needed to make sure that Kaniul was healed. Damn it, what was wrong with me? Thinking about sex in the middle of this insane situation, I had to be certifiable.

  Vincent held me tighter to his chest as the door opened and Leo peered out into the hall. With a jerk of his hand, Leo motioned us forward and we shuffled out to follow him. Layla was silent and still in Nicolae’s arms, drained completely from whatever torture her mother had put her through.

  We treaded on silent feet through the dimly lit hall, surrounded by grey concrete walls. I shivered, wanting desperately to run away and leave this place far behind me. “Almost time, Theera,” Vincent whispered directly into my mind. His nose buried into my hair and he inhaled deeply. I savored the moment, clinging to the close contact of his body against mine.

  The world may be crashing down upon itself, but I was back in the arms of my mate. There was much to untangle and process once we got out of here. Yet, everything felt perfect and safe when I was back with Vincent.


  “This way,” Leo said in a barely audible whisper and crept toward another door. It swung open on his command and we shuffled through. The room was filled with small holding cells, like the ones that I had been contained in, but smaller and only equipped with a metal chair and table with handcuffs attached to it.

  “No! Get out of here, it’s a—” Drya’s words were cut off as a knife sliced quickly across her throat. Blood rained down in a crimson curtain to coat the front of her body, pouring from the wound.

  Adrianna grinned menacingly as she stepped forward and let Drya’s limp form fall to the floor in a puddle of her own blood. “Did you really think we wouldn’t see through this ridiculous rouse that you orchestrated?” She threw her head back and laughed.

  The door slammed shut behind us and guards filed in. Kristoff took his place beside Adrianna, triumph shining on his scarred face. “You played right into our little trap. Now we have you right where we want you.”

  “Fuck you Kristoff,” Vincent snarled.

  Resolve flooded through me. I would end this. Tonight. A rush of power flooded my veins, arcing through my blood like white-hot lightning. Just like it had the night I was taken from Drya’s party. A burst of vigor renewed my spirit and fueled my powers, my strength fully restored.

  “Vincent, put me down. Now.”

  Those two-tone eyes flickered down to me and his eyebrows drew together in concern. But he did as I asked and set me down gently on my feet. He witnessed the electricity bouncing through my eyes. He knew, just as I did in that moment, what was happening.

  My father was here with me, feeding me his strength and restoring my powers.

  The sparks danced through my fingers. I savored the sensation as power filled me. Finally. The desire to throw my head back and scream in ecstasy was raging within me as wave after wave of pure adrenaline surged through my body. The full force of my abilities finally unlocked.