by Storm Savage
After riding at a high rate of speed for almost an hour, Ian pulled into the lot of a convenience store. Night had fallen and he still couldn’t get hold of his friends. Even Coop was not answering. He needed to tell them what he’d just witnessed and prayed they’d believe him. Hell, they barely believed me before, why would they believe this? They will think I’ve gone bloody mad. He stared at his phone, consumed with self-doubt. Only one person might possibly believe him, but Flame wasn’t taking her calls either. While contemplating his next move the ringtone on his cell chimed.
“Flame?” He hoped.
“Ian, it’s me.” Cassie’s voice struck like a thousand needles.
“Where are you, Cassie?”
“Something terrible has happened,” she sobbed. “I’m at the beach.”
Ian didn’t say anything. He waited to hear what ridiculous explanation she would offer.
“Von took the baby. He said if I didn’t give him our child he would kill you, I was so afraid,” she half lied.
“Von’s dead.”
“No, he’s not. Flame did not succeed in killing him. Apparently there is something else we didn’t know about the Satellite. He was able to return because I was pregnant when Flame tried to kill him. Your warrior woman failed us, Ian.”
He sighed in disgust. “That’s absurd. Why you?”
“Because…” She hesitated. “Of my bloodline. I am a descendent of the dark master who condemned him. Ian, the child was not ours as we thought.”
“You slept with him?” He could not hide the anger in his voice.
“Only once, but not willingly,” Cassie lied. “He came here one day looking for you, but you were out on a bike tour with Coop. I was feeling very lonely at the time. He seduced me. I tried to resist him but could not. We didn’t know he was the Satellite back then. You know how powerful the Satellite’s seduction is. I am so sorry,” she cried. “I assumed the baby was yours.”
Ian was stunned at the way she tried to manipulate him by using their knowledge of the Satellite to sell her story. Had he not seen and heard what transpired between Cassie and Von, he might have believed her. She seemed very convincing and poured on the tears and fake remorse to attempt her deception. He knew why, because she needed him as a mate to stay alive.
“So what happened to the baby?”
Cassie took a deep breath on the other end. “It became him.”
Ian fought back the intense emotion flooding him. “You still slept with another man, Cassie. How am I supposed to deal with that? And Von Calder, of all people! He and his pussy ass Pythons are rivals to us. How could you be so blind and weak?”
“But he was the Satellite and we didn’t know it. You know he was after us because we knew how to kill him. He is very powerful, I am so sorry, please forgive me.”
“You slept with another man, carried his child, and led me to believe it was mine. Now the son I thought was mine is gone, just like that…gone. You ripped my heart out. You knew about my first wife, yet still you betrayed me. You crossed the line and you can’t take that back. It’s too late, too much to forget about…no Cassie…No!”
He ended the call and deleted her from his mobile phone. He wanted to scream at her, tell her what he knew, but for now—for now he needed to think.
As he guided his bike back onto the highway a familiar rumble caught his attention. He stopped and waited, hoping the approaching motorcycles belonged to his friends. In the distance he saw them coming. Flame’s wild blonde hair whipped out in the tail wind and Raef rode at her side. He waved them in when they got closer.
“Ian, what are you doing out here at night? Is everything okay with Cassie?” Flame asked as soon as she cut the engine.
Her question stunned him. Is she psychic? Nevertheless, he was truly relieved to see them again. “Do you know something?”
“I sensed you were in trouble so we came back earlier than planned. You look awful—what’s going on?”
He wiped his eyes with a thumb and forefinger. “I have very tragic news.”
“Oh no…” Flame’s eyes glistened with emotion.
“What happened?” Raef asked in open concern.
“Cassie…and the baby…”
“No…no, no, no…” Flame reached over and grabbed his arm. “Please tell me they are okay.”
“I-I can’t.” His voice cracked. He felt like a pathetic wuss but he couldn’t hold it back any longer. He broke down and quietly wept.
“Ah hell, I’m so sorry, man.” Raef laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.
Ian pulled himself together and looked at them. “It’s not what you think. The child was never mine.”
“What?” they asked in unison, their eyes flew open wide.
“The Satellite. Von Calder. Cassie’s bloodline…she’s a descendent of the dark master who cursed Von.”
“You’re not making sense,” Raef said.
Flame shot Raef a pointed look. “He’s shaking like a leaf, be nice.” Then she turned to Ian. “Let’s park over there and talk.”
He nodded. They coasted to the far end of the lot where nobody was around. He swung one leg over the seat and sat sideways to face them.
“I really hope you believe me. I swear that what I am about to tell you is the God’s honest truth.”
Ian returned home after telling his friends everything. They’d asked him to give them a little time alone to absorb the details then they’d come by and help him sort the madness. Before he left them, Flame had given him a firm warning to avoid all contact with Cassie. She seemed to feel that Cassie would seek him out and try to mate. Ian doubted that. The woman hadn’t shown physical interest in him since her second trimester of pregnancy. He never questioned it and assumed it had to do with her condition.
He felt drained—empty. Pulling into the drive of his coastal home had lost its appeal. No warmth awaited him inside. Nothing but cold hard loneliness would greet him when he opened the door that led from the garage into the house. He wondered how to survive losing another woman—another child. Life had lost all meaning to him and seemed pointless. He doubted even his dear friends could help him this time.
Unable to face going inside, he decided to tune up the bikes. He had several of his own and a few of the pack members used his spacious garage to store theirs. Maybe this will get my mind off of her.
While he worked on the bikes, tuning and checking them over, he heard the service door open. Thinking Flame and Raef had arrived, he looked up from the floor. To his shock, in walked Cassie.
“Where are you going?” Her voice was sweet and sugary like the beautiful woman he’d known. “Looks like you’re preparing for a long road trip.”
“Away,” he replied without looking at her.
The thought of her with Von made him sick. He figured that she had no idea he knew she was a creeper now.
“You were gone a long time for a night ride alone, Ian, where were you?”
“With my friends.”
“You mean Flame?” Jealousy and bitterness drenched her voice.
“Yeah…and Raef.”
Cassie turned away for a moment and sighed. “Please don’t do this. We can overcome anything together.”
“Not this, Cassie! I saw you! I saw you and that bastard on the beach. You actually wanted him! Begged him to keep you! It made me physically ill…get the hell out of here…now!”
“Ian, please…” she sobbed. “I was under his spell on the beach. I didn’t know what I was doing. It’s you that I love, can’t you see that? If you saw us on the beach, then surely now you understand how powerful he is and how he was able to seduce me.” Her crying sounded real. “Please, please forgive me…I love you, baby.”
Ian looked up at her when she touched his arm, which became his undoing. Cassie’s exquisite dark eyes searched his in open hope. He became acutely aware of her mesmerizing beauty. Months had passed since he had enjoyed the love of a woman. Suddenly a familiar ache nagged him. Cassie must have se
nsed the need. She moved in quickly. Ian dropped the wrench he held as her hands moved beneath his shirt and over the muscles of his chest. She pushed his shirt up.
“I need you, baby,” she whispered, sliding one hand between his legs. She stroked him on top of his jeans.
Ian released a deep sigh. Three months of sexual tension had left him vulnerable. He fell under her spell with ease and Flame’s warning fell to the back of his mind. When her lips touched his, he didn’t resist. She had become extraordinarily engaging. He needed to feel again.
Cassie pushed him back on the floor and straddled his waist. As she unzipped the jeans hiding her much-needed life force, her sensuous mouth covered him with kisses. With closed eyes, Ian ran his hands up her silky legs, pushing the flimsy skirt away. He tugged her panties to the side. A powerful bizarre craving overcame him as she threw her head back while grinding her hips against him.
His groin throbbed for relief. Aware only of the burning need inside, he lost sight of the lives at stake. He allowed her to remove his clothes. Skillfully her hands and lips worked him over, driving him to the brink of madness. Unable to hold back another moment, Ian caved to the ache for release. In a sudden move, he rolled her over and thrust into her wanton body. He took her hard and fast.
“Yessss…” she whispered when his seed surged into her.
Mad with uncanny craving for the wicked woman, he refused to stop and repeatedly spilled his release, as if driven by a supernatural force. She greedily welcomed his surrender. Ian rolled onto his back, giving her the freedom to do as she liked. A look of sheer bliss swept over her face as she drained him. When he had nothing left to give, she tried to pull away but he held tight. Consumed by crazed desire, he refused to pull out or release her.
“You saved me,” she murmured.
“Then in return, you will satisfy me all night long, woman. I’ve been horny as hell for months.”
“The night is still young.” She smiled seductively.
Ian felt energy returning to his traitorous body and prepared to take her again.
Chapter Thirteen
An uneasy knot formed in the pit of her stomach as Flame meditated over Ian’s account of what happened on the beach. She’d watched his expressions and body language as he spoke. I did not sense he was lying, but did he see things clearly? Even she had trouble believing this one. I met Cassie. She was wonderful. I just can’t see her doing this. Her heart sank over this new more serious crisis. Cassie had supposedly given herself to the incubus and was running loose. She had no doubt that imminent trouble lurked in the very near future even if the details Ian had relayed panned out to be a little off. Something had pushed him to a near breakdown.
Flame struggled to wrap her mind around the ramifications if what Ian said was accurate. She’d watched Von die. Does he truly have this much power?
“What do you think?” she asked Raef. “You know Ian better than anyone. He lived, breathed, and slept the Satellite for years. Is he over the edge?”
“He looked shattered.”
“We better go check on him.” She glanced at the time on her cell phone. “He’s been home less than an hour. He couldn’t have gotten into much trouble yet.”
“Let’s hope.”
They kicked their bikes into gear then sped off down the dark interstate. Flame loved that Raef rode fast. A breath of fresh air compared to Hatch, who’d insisted on poking along at the speed limit on his fancy touring bike. She loved the feel of the wind on her face and in her hair, the mean growl of her Harley and the raw power between her thighs when going full throttle. Raef glanced over and gave her an encouraging wink as they raced side-by-side.
In less than an hour they pulled into the drive of Ian’s luxurious home. “Wow, what a great house,” she muttered after cutting the engine. “You guys have it made out here.”
“We like it. The weather is great for riding just about all year round.” He grabbed her hand. “C’mon, let’s go see how our friend is holding up.”
Flame pointed to the service door of the garage. “He must be in the garage.”
“Stop.” Raef pulled her back. “Ian never uses that door let alone leaves it open.”
Silently, she withdrew her daggers as they crept closer. Very cautiously, Raef peeked through one of the square panes of the main door. When he turned around his face was painted with horror.
“Is she in there?” Flame whispered.
Raef gave a nod. “It’s bad…really bad.”
She stood on tiptoes to peer inside, not making a sound. Though the urge to gasp came upon her, Flame controlled herself. Tears misted her vision as she stared at Cassie straddling Ian, who lay naked on the garage floor. Her skirt was torn and they were locked in an intense mating. A crescent shaped mark on Cassie’s forehead glowed eerily, like a strange birthmark coated in iridescent paint. Oh no! No, no, no! Not this!
Flame swung around and pressed her back against the door, breathing heavily. “I can’t believe he didn’t listen to me.”
Raef laid a comforting hand alongside her face. “What will happen to him?”
“I think you already know.”
“No…Flame.” His voice was barely audible, yet she heard the desperation and the sorrow. “Not Ian, he’s my best friend.”
“I’m sorry. We have no choice. Cassie was mated and marked by the Satellite. I doubt he will kill her ,as she was used for a higher purpose. Every male she mates will become a creeper. Not only did he use Cassie to restore his wretched soul, but he’s also using her to create more fiends.”
“If Ian hadn’t come to us, we’d never know.” Raef looked away. “I can’t do this.”
Flame’s brows shot up. “Can’t, or won’t?”
When he looked at her again, she saw the pain in his eyes and realized she was once again on her own against the Satellite’s spell.
“Will you at least keep watch while I handle this?”
“Of course.” He stared at her with pleading eyes. “Are you sure there’s no other way?”
“I will strike Cassie first and see what happens. I’m sorry but this is what I am trained to do. We do not back down…ever.”
He gripped both her shoulders. “If it was anyone else, anyone but Ian, I’d be in there with you. I cannot kill him. He’s been like a brother to me.”
She stared back with little emotion. She couldn’t afford to feel right now. “I understand.” After pulling a small tin of accelerant and a lighter from the jacket of her pocket, she drew a deep calming breath.
“Where did you find those?”
“Sshh…I picked them up at a rest stop along the way…just in case. A smart warrior is always prepared for the unexpected.”
He didn’t question further.
Flame hated this assignment. Killing a woman was something she never thought she’d be forced to do. But is Cassie really a woman anymore? She doubted it, by the way she was riding Ian with the glowing mark on her forehead. The once stunning Cassie is now a tool of the Satellite. Everything Ian said must really be true. Flame committed each detail to memory, knowing this was only the beginning of something bigger and more terrifying.
She slunk along the brick wall. Using her years of training, she approached with the stealth of a lioness stalking its prey. Ian’s groans resonated off the concrete walls. Cassie’s purring voice could be heard urging him on. They sounded solidly rapt in the mating, which would be her edge.
Hunkered down alongside a row of motorcycles, she inched her way along in a squatting position until the two lovers came into view. She’d managed to gain a good angle on the pair with Cassie’s back toward her. With Ian flat on the floor, Flame doubted he’d see her coming until it was too late.
Ever so quietly and taking great care, she doused her blades with lighter fluid, flicked the wheel of her lighter and lit the daggers. She didn’t waste a single second in order to prevent the flames from eating the fuel before she could strike. Flame sprung into the open directly behind
Cassie.
The woman’s head jerked around at the sudden movement behind her. Ian looked up.
“No!” he shouted.
Flame wasted no time. She raised her blades overhead then immediately brought them down, plunging both daggers into Cassie’s heart.
Ear-piercing screams filled the garage as Cassie burst into flames. Ian struggled to get out from under her but their bodies appeared to be locked. He couldn’t escape the animalistic mating. Flame pulled her blades back and stood poised to strike again if necessary.
Cassie flailed about with wild eyes, shaking her head and clearly trying to fight her imminent demise. Her long black hair whipping back and forth was all Flame could see amidst the foul smelling smoke. She covered her nose to block out the stench but did not look away. This was an enemy that must die and she had to see it through despite the emotional impact. Within minutes Cassie began to fade. Her thrashing ceased and her body slumped over Ian’s. Another several minutes later the black-haired beauty had completely turned to ash.
Flame peered through the smoke, praying against all odds that Ian had survived. At first she felt hopeful. He gazed up at her with wide eyes.
“What happened, Flame?”
“Ian…are you okay?”
“I-I think so.” Slowly he got to his feet and brushed the ash from his body with brisk strokes. “Where are my clothes?” He seemed confused.
“Over there.”
“I feel drained. Thank God you came along in time.” He strolled over to retrieve his clothes.
Flame gasped when her gaze was drawn to the floor. No! Tears blurred her eyes. Ian had walked right through a pile of ash yet left no footprints. She needed to be sure. Frantically, she looked around the garage and spied a water cooler just a couple feet away. With one wild swing of her blade, the glass shattered and water flooded the floor.
“What are you doing?” He shot her a bewildered look.
