by Lia Davis
I bared my human teeth back at him. Not as intimidating, but I didn’t care. “Yeah, I’m half demon. And you will focus on me. Dimitri is mine.”
Black Eyes darted to the right, but I was ready. I shot out my arm while throwing an energy ball at him. With a quick step back, he dodged the ball. “Nice try, bitch.”
I smiled. “That’s crazy bitch to you.”
Fury and fear fueled my dark power and for once I didn’t fight. I let it rise. These weren’t humans or innocents I was dealing with. White and blue flames engulfed my hands.
Violet Eyes laughed. “Your demon fire doesn’t work on us.”
He charged and out of reflex I thrust my hands out. The fire hit him and vanished. Shit. The other demon rushed at me, tackling me to the ground. Violet Eyes pulled out a set of handcuffs and lowered to me.
Oh, hell no. They were not putting those on me. I slammed my palm into the nose of the demon straddled over me, holding me down. The crunch of bone was followed by blood. He fell to his side with his hand over his face. Dumbass should have held on tighter.
The other demon with violet eyes reached out to me, but I rolled, then jumped to my feet. My fury rushed through my veins wildly, mixing with my magic. I let out a growl and threw both hands straight out in front of me. Cold, pure white energy shot out from my palms and blasted the demon in the chest.
Ice started to cover him. What the…?
Then both demons dematerialized.
A moment later, Zane ran into the room, still in wolf form. His green eyes searched me, then he came over and sniffed me down. With a sigh, I lowered to my knees and took his big head in my hands. “I’m fine. Honest. We have to get D out of here and find Wade.”
His response was to lick my face. When I frowned, he laughed, his voice entering my thoughts.
I let go of Zane and turned to Dimitri. My heart hurt to see him so out of it. When I reached out to the circle again, I didn’t hesitate. But I did say a prayer to the Universe.
“The Universe gives me strength to break the barrier between me and my love.” I pressed a hand to the wall of the circle and called to the dark magic stirring deep inside me.
The power traveled down my arms to my hands. My fingertips tingled. Suddenly, Dimitri lifted his head and stared into my eyes. I gasped and almost let go of the demon magic I called.
Dimitri’s face was swollen on one side, bruising around his eyes, and his bottom lip was cut, dried blood smeared on his chin. Fury pushed me to complete the task of freeing him. I needed to get him far away from the demon and make sure my father never hurt anyone else I loved, again.
My father will die.
Pressing my palms against the circle wall, I pushed. “As the daughter of the creator, I claim this magical barrier for my own. I will thee to open without repercussions.”
With ease, the circle opened and I knee-walked to Dimitri. Tears blurred my vision. I reached out to him, not sure where he hurt. Knowing Salrus, he’d beat him and the gods knew what else to get information. But what intel was he looking for?
Just then Dimitri lunged, pulling me into a tight hug. He shook and buried his face into my neck. I circled my arms around him and cradled him close. “We’re going home so you can heal and we can plot that bastard’s death.”
I positioned myself so my shoulder wedged under his arm, then began to stand. Dimitri was weak and felt like dead weight to me. I really needed to build more muscle. After hiding away in a psycho hospital for a few years, I’d never taken the time to build my physical strengths up.
Zane shook, then in a flash of white light shifted to human form. It was hard not to be distracted by his nakedness. Then again, Dimitri needed me to focus. Zane cursed, then said, “Take him to Wyatt and Trevor, I’ll search the rest of the house.”
I nodded as Zane darted from the room. A pissed off wolf on a mission.
In practicing the teleportation thing, I learned it did have its limits. One being I needed to have been at the location before. Plus, I was still limited to short distances, which made me thankful Wyatt and Trevor insisted on coming.
Teleporting with Dimitri in the state he was in would take all my concentration. Even though I was only going to Zane’s truck parked outside the Estate’s gates where Wyatt and Trevor waited.
Taking a deep breath, I focused on Wyatt and Trevor. The room we stood in dissolved to nothing as we were pulled through what felt like thick, jelly-like water. Within moments we stood outside the truck. Wyatt and Trevor jumped into motion, taking Dimitri from me.
“I’m going back. Zane is searching for Wade.” I hesitated, not really wanted to leave Dimitri.
Wyatt cupped my face and kissed my lips quick. “We’ve got D.”
I peered into Wyatt’s grey eyes and nodded. “He’s hurting.”
“I know. We’ll take care of him.”
My guys had become part of my heart. They were there for me and for each other. With a final nod, I teleported back to the room.
Zane wasn’t in there. I hadn’t expected him to be.
Opening my senses, I found Zane in kitchen. He stood in front of a door I assumed was the basement. Zane was still in human form but had a pair of sweatpants on. “Where did you find the pants?”
“The laundry room.”
I opened my mouth to ask how he could just wear other stranger’s clothes, but he added, “When I was here earlier this morning, I got the strange feeling I’ve been here before. I was right. The farther I went in the home, searching each room, I realized I had been here.” He took a shaky breath. “I followed the demon here after Wade died. The fact that the council used it never registered. I was too set on killing the demon. I’m not sure why I didn’t remember.”
I closed the distance and hugged his waist. His confusion reached out to me. It wasn’t like shifters to forget things so easily. My father did something. Maybe took the memories from him using the demon mark. “You lived here for a while.”
“A few weeks before D tracked me down and dragged me to the coven.” Zane kissed my temple. “It might be the reason Salrus brought Dimitri here.”
I nodded, agreeing with him. It didn’t make sense. Then again, nothing my father did was logical. “Salrus is using this place for something big.” Surveying the kitchen, then stretching out my senses, I tried to hold in my sadness. “Wade isn’t here.”
Voicing the words out loud made my chest tighten. Zane opened the door and sniffed the air. “But he was. Maybe there are clues down there.”
Zane was hesitant on going into the basement. That wasn’t good. “What is it?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t like it.”
The energy shifted around us. I whirled around and came face to face with Wade. My heart lurched and stepped forward, reaching out to him. Tears filled my eyes. Wade shook his head and held up his hands. His face was a mask of pain, fear, and conflict. “Get out of here before he comes back. I am not able to disobey him any longer. He did…something.”
No. I reached for him, but he stepped back. That was when I noticed he was in solid form and alive. The wounds from the accidents gone. How could that be?
“What’s going on?” I had a guess and hoped I was wrong. Because I could lose Wade forever. A lump formed in my throat.
My father had brought him back to life and used the Sleeping Stone on him.
“Salrus owns my soul. Now go!” Wade vanished.
I turned to Zane. “How could he?”
A low growl rumbled from his chest. “The bastard must have called in some favors in Hell to bring someone back to the living. I didn’t think he was that powerful of a demon.”
Wade materialized again a second later. “Go. He wants me to kill you. You can’t undo this and I can’t resist any longer. Go. Please!”
Zane tugged at my elbow. I wanted to grab Wade and bring him home. But he was right. Plus, Salrus would use his link to Wade to break through my new boundaries around the coven and my home. “I’ll find a way to
kill him. Then I’ll be back for you.”
Wade’s haunted eyes filled with tears. Then pain etched in his features and I knew Salrus would hurt him bad for disobeying him. Or would the power of the stone hurt him for fighting its effects? “I promise,” I whispered as I teleported Zane and me back to the truck.
I’d lost Wade. Sorrow gripped me so tight, I found it hard to stand. Zane scooped my up in his arms and climbed in the back seat of his Tundra. Instead of placing me on the seat, he held my in his lap. “We’ll get him back.”
I nodded as I buried my face into his bare chest. Trevor started the truck and peeled out of the gravel driveway.
For now, I’d focus on healing Dimitri.
Then I’ll plot the death of a demon, and figure out how to get Wade back before he was lost to me forever.
Chapter 7
“Put him in my room.” I raced ahead of the guys into my room and straight to the bathroom attached to the master suite.
Rushing around, I grabbed a couple of wash cloths from the linen closet. I squatted to search under the sink for a bowl or something I could put water in.
Zane entered the bathroom and stopped beside me. “Reese, go be with D. Trevor’s gone to get water and your ointment.”
I glanced up and noted his hand out to me. With a soft sigh, I placed my hand in his. He tugged me to a stand, then kissed my cheek. “D needs you at his side. Let us handle everything else.”
Before Zane led me to the bed where Dimitri laid, he drew me into a hug. His earthy scent surrounded me, calming. My muscles relaxed and I wound my arms around him while burying my nose into his neck.
Anger had transferred to sadness, fear, and helplessness. Dimitri was hurt. Wade was under the control of my demonic father who was doing the gods knew what to him.
Zane framed my face and forced me to look into his eyes. Bright light of his wolf rippled through his irises. “We’ll get Wade back.”
The promise of his word renewed my strength. I nodded and lifted up on my toes to kiss him. “We will.”
His eyes softened as he caressed my cheek with his knuckles. “That’s my girl. What do you need for Dimitri?”
“I’m not sure yet. Could Tori send over a Healer? Would their magic work on D?” I frowned. Shifter magic was similar to witch magic, but our healing abilities were different. A shifter’s animal healed the human form. A Healer would need to connect to the animal to begin the process.
Tori was our contact in Zane’s pack and a talented tattoo artist. She was also his cousin.
“I’ll call her. A Healer would have more medical knowledge than the rest of us. Plus, she’d be able to tell if he has internal injuries.” Zane steered me to the door and nudged me out of the bathroom.
A new fear stabbed my gut. Internal injuries were something I hadn’t thought about. I glanced back at Zane and he growled, reading my thoughts. “Stop. I’ll call her as soon as you get your ass in that bed with Dimitri.”
I sucked in my bottom lip and held it between my teeth. My wolf was hot when he got growly and demanding. I was thankful for his courage and strength. Whirling around, I threw my arms around him. “Thank you.”
He kissed the top of my head. “Anything for you and D.”
My heart filled with love for the Alpha male as I stepped out of his embrace and made my way to the bed.
Dimitri laid so still, but the pained expression in his features tugged at my soul. Even though I hadn’t claimed him as mine by stealing Salrus’s mark, we were still linked. Taking a deep, calming breath in and then out slowly, I eased on the bed next to him.
The guys had already stripped Dimitri down to his boxers and when I lifted the covers to slide in next to him, I noted the bruises all over his body. Anger stole the sadness and worry away.
I will do whatever is necessary to rid Salrus from this world. No more fear. No more holding back. The bastard will die.
Dimitri lifted his lashes and stared at me. Then his brows dipped. His pain called out to me and I hadn’t a clue what to do for him. He brought his hand up and touched my cheek. Tears filled my eyes. I wanted to hold him, snuggle into him, but I didn’t want to put him in any more discomfort.
“Come here, please.” His words came out rough and husky.
I carefully laid beside him and he instantly wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to into his body. Sighing, I relaxed. “Just tell me what you need.”
“This. For now, only this.” He kissed my forehead.
I was more than happy to just hold him.
Trevor and Wyatt entered the room. I met their stares then saw the amber-colored jars in their hands along with a bowl, and bandages. A whole new mix of emotions formed in my heart. I had the uncontrollable urge to have all my guys wrapped around me.
Trevor took the bowl into the bathroom while Wyatt edged closer to the bed with the jars. “I wasn’t sure which one to bring.”
Sitting up, I studied the jars. I picked the one on the left. It was aloe lotion mixed with willow bark, lavender, and rosemary. “Thank you.”
Wyatt leaned in and kissed me quickly on the lips. “You’re welcome.”
After pulling the cover back, I applied the cream to each of Dimitri’s wounds. Most of them were scratches and bruises. There was one cut deeper than the others that had started to redden.
I didn’t speak as I cleaned his wounds, giving extra care to the deeper one, and the guys didn’t ask questions, which I was thankful for. Tears blurred my vision and my nose tingled. Fatigue was settling over me. I was an emotional wreck.
The doorbell rang, making me glance up to meet Zane’s stare. That was fast. The pack was a fifteen-minute drive from here.
“Tory and the Healer were on their way back from town and only a few minutes away,” he explained before leaving the room to answer the door.
What seemed like minutes passed before Zane led Tory and another female into the room. The stranger was petite with short black hair and green eyes. But it was the swirl of magic in her gaze that sparked my awareness. This wolf was part witch. “Are you the Healer?”
Tory stepped in front of the woman and said, “She’s a Healer and half witch.” Holding up a hand to keep Zane and me from commenting, she added, “I brought her because she can better help Dimitri than our wolf Healer, since he’s a witch. Cassia is also studying human medicine under our pack Healer.”
I nodded, agreeing with Tory. However, Zane stared as if not trusting the female. Ignoring my Alpha wolf, I extended a hand to the female. “Thank you for coming. I’m Reese.”
“Cassia.” Her tone was soft and she avoided looking at Zane.
I didn’t blame her. And when I got Zane alone, I would remind him of how to have good manners. What was wrong with him?
However, the mention of her name along with the knowledge she was a half-breed made me glance to Zane. Recognition lit up his gaze.
I glared at him until he looked back at me. After several moments of staring at each other, he sighed and relaxed. Still I sent him a question through our bond. “Is it because she is a half-breed? Do you think she’s Lewis’s daughter?”
Tory must have caught on to me sending the thought to Zane because she pointed at him. “Don’t mind-link. It’s rude.”
I pressed my lips together to hide my smile. Just then, Cassia spoke. “The pack was gracious to take me in after the council killed my mother.” She faced Zane. “Your parents are taking a stand against them. Most of the packs are. There are things going on that make the para communities uneasy.”
That was news to me. The packs taking a stand, not the council being up to no good. I could tell it was to Zane as well.
Fixing my gaze back on Tory, I asked, “What kind of things?”
Had we really been so focused on Salrus and getting my guys back that we missed it? Wasn’t that part of the council’s plan? Correction, Harrison’s plan. Was it part of the distraction to keep us busy with Salrus while he collected the relics?
�
��My theory is the council is hiding something big. Salrus got out of hand and is leaving it up to you to fix their fuck-up.” Tory shrugged.
I didn’t correct Tory on thinking the council as a whole were the cause of all evil. I wasn’t completely sure myself. Lewis might be helping us, but was he the only one?
Cassia stepped closer to the bed while making eye contact with me. She indicated to Dimitri. “May I?”
“Yes, please.” I sat beside him, giving Cassia the room she needed to search for internal injuries. Gods, I hoped there were none.
Cassia started at his head, her fingers barely touching his skin, then moved them down to his chest. Dimitri closed his eyes and his breathing slowed.
Tory continued to talk. “Uncle David now believes it was the council who set the demon free then used the coincidence of you guys providing an open door with the Ouija board. It was easy for them to pin releasing the demon on you.”
Zane crossed his arms. “What made the old man change his mind?”
Tory pointed to Cassia. “Cassia’s mother was killed by the council…” Tory repeated and glanced at Cassia and sadness clouded her eyes. “Because she had two half-breeds. David has always disagreed with their prejudiced bullshit. Killing a wolf for giving birth to two half-witches was the last straw for him.”
“They hunted her down like a wild animal.” Cassia’s tone darkened a little. I felt her anger mixed with sadness. It gripped my heart and squeezed. I wanted to hug her, hide her, and keep her safe.
However, she and her sister weren’t the only ones out there. How many, I wasn’t sure. But my mom’s journal named a few and hinted at more. All being hunted, like Mom and me and Cassia and her sister.
Many didn’t have anywhere to go and lived on the run. With nowhere to call home…
Tingles of magic nipped at my skin, bringing my focus back to Dimitri. Cassia placed her palms on D’s right side of his ribs. A warm orange glow lit up her hands and Dimitri’s skin. He sucked in a breath and I did the same.
What was happening? Something was wrong.
Just then Zane moved closer, but Wyatt was already there, placing his hands on my shoulders.
