by J. C. Diem
“I realized there was no chance that he could ever love me, so I tore the bond free.” I shuddered at the remembered pain that had been both mental and physical. “After that, I went a little mad.” I didn’t want to confess how weak I’d been, but they deserved to hear the whole story. “I decided to commit suicide by hunting my mother down and killing her.”
Kala made a pained sound and Flynn put his arm around her shoulders and hugged her to his side. They weren’t surprised, but hearing me say it so starkly was still a shock.
“How did you get the necklace?” Mark asked and pointed at the gold chain that I was still wearing. I’d decided it would be a reminder of the mistakes I’d made.
“That took some ingenuity,” I admitted. “I drove back here and parked out of sight of the cameras. I took over Zeus’ mind and made him enter my room and take the jewelry box out of the drawer. Kala let him outside and he brought it to me.”
Kala was miffed that she’d unwittingly been duped into letting my accomplice out. “How did he get it through the fence?” she asked.
“He didn’t and that’s where it gets weird,” I said. “I raised a coyote zombie and sent it under the fence to get the box.”
Mark didn’t even try to hide his astonishment. “Wasn’t it daylight when you did this?”
“Yeah. I told you it was weird.”
“It shouldn’t even have been possible. No one can raise zombies during the day.”
“I guess that can’t really be the case, because I managed to do it.” He gestured for me to go on. “I drove to our base in New Orleans and left the SUV there.” His nod indicated he already knew that, so I continued. “I put the necklace on and it led me to my mother. I pulled my gun and fired off a shot, but she was just too fast.” Telling them that she’d bamboozled me into believing she cared about me was just too embarrassing, so I glossed over that part. “She fed from me then made me drink her blood and I went through the most agonizing pain of my life. When it finally faded, I’d changed into some kind of hybrid.”
“What differences have you noticed about yourself?” As usual, Mark was fascinated by learning new things.
“My speed has improved dramatically. My eyesight and hearing are also better. I still breathe, eat and sleep, but my reflection is kind of weak now.”
Mark turned to Reece and lifted an eyebrow in silent query. “I’m the same,” Reece confirmed. “We can both drink blood, but we don’t need it to survive.”
“Sunlight obviously doesn’t have any ill effects,” Flynn observed.
“It seems you have all the benefits of being half-vampire and few of the downsides,” Mark added.
“I’d call having a weak reflection a downside,” Kala argued.
Mark wasn’t about to let us get sidetracked. “What was it like living with a nest of vampires?” he asked.
“Not much fun. They don’t have a conscience. All they think about is their own gratification.” I grimaced at the things I’d witnessed and what my mother had tried to order me to do with two of her servants. “They live for blood and sex and nothing else.”
“Please tell me you weren’t forced to have sex with any of them,” Kala said in a pained voice. She’d been at the mercy of an alpha werelion who had stripped her of her will. She’d enjoyed every moment of her captivity, but being taken over so completely had left its mark on her.
“She tried to make me sleep with some of her minions, but it didn’t work.”
Flynn frowned when Reece smiled in self-satisfaction. “What do you mean? Why didn’t it work?”
“Some part of me is still bonded to Reece, I guess,” I shrugged. “My body rejects everyone else who tries to touch me.” I didn’t want to admit to anyone that I had pledged myself to Reece, body and soul.
Mark was dubious about my explanation, sensing there was more, but he didn’t call me on it. “How did you manage to resist killing any humans?”
“It wasn’t really that hard,” I said, glad to change the subject. “Since we’re only half-vampire, we still have our souls. We didn’t surrender completely to the vampirism.”
“But we might have, eventually,” Reece added. “Whatever it was that the necromancer did seems to have reduced our vampire’s dominance. I feel as if my wolf and vampire are equally balanced now.”
“Then I’m thankful I didn’t have Viktor killed before he was able to assist us,” Mark said. “Can you explain how Reece ended up with Katrina’s nest?”
“This is where it gets even weirder,” I warned them. “We still change into werewolves at the full moon.” As I’d guessed, they were astounded by that news. “When I changed, all of the emotions I’d suppressed as a vampire welled up and overwhelmed me. I started running and ended up in West Virginia.”
“You went to get Reece back,” Kala said. The hopeless romantic in her was coming out again.
“No,” he said softly. “She came for revenge.”
I was surprised that he remembered that part. “I was going to tear his pack apart, but I decided it would be better revenge if I brought him back to Denver and asked my mother to turn him. I thought he’d end up like me, completely devoid of emotion.”
This next part was going to be difficult to relay. I wasn’t sure if Reece remembered it. “Gareth caught my scent and followed me to Reece’s cell.” I couldn’t bring myself to call him Garrett again. Not now that I knew how much he’d suffered at his mother’s hands. All eyes swung to Reece again before they turned back to me. “Gareth knew I was different, but he didn’t know the extent of the changes I’d gone through. He bit me and tried to force me to bite him in return so we could become bonded. I could have resisted him, but I decided to give him what he wanted. I bit him and he didn’t quite get the result he’d expected.”
“You’re now vampire enough for your bite to be fatal to shifters,” Mark deduced.
“Bingo,” I said without amusement. “After I bit him, the inevitable happened.” I didn’t think there was any need to describe how he’d died screaming and coughing up blood.
I looked at Reece to find him watching me with an expression that was close to serene. It didn’t seem to bother him that I’d killed his little brother. “He deserved it,” Reece said. “He was born defective, just like our father. Nina should have killed him years ago.”
“I take it Katrina agreed to turn Reece?” Flynn asked.
“Only after I killed a few of her minions,” I said.
“How did you manage that?” Kala asked. “I thought you had to obey her every word.”
“I guess being half-werewolf meant she couldn’t control me like she could her other servants. I couldn’t kill her, but I could fight her in other ways. I did my best to convince them they didn’t have to kill humans. For a short while, they were hypnotizing their meals and were only taking enough blood to survive rather than draining them.”
A memory rose that I wished I could banish forever. “Then I witnessed Katrina killing an entire family,” I replied. “I walked in on her to see her draining a baby. It was exactly what she’d done to me so long ago. I knew she’d just keep on reliving that night over and over again and I couldn’t stand it. That’s when my wolf gained ascendency and I headed to West Virginia.”
“Whatever reasons you had for trying to stop your mother and her minions from killing humans, you acted for the good of humankind,” our boss said. “If you ever wonder why Fate chose you to be her champion again, remember that.”
“If you’re Fate’s bitch, what does that make us?” Kala asked.
“You’re my family,” I said honestly. “Whatever she has planned for me, I can’t do it without the TAK Squad at my side.”
“We’ll be there for you, Lexi,” Mark promised. “No matter what happens now, we’ll have your back.”
A lump formed in my throat and I fought to swallow it down before I started sobbing again. I was grateful to know that I wouldn’t be alone in the trials that were coming. The worst wasn’t over
yet. Fate had more horrors to put me through and I had no way of knowing what they’d be.
₪₪₪
Chapter Twenty-Nine
For the first time since Reece had left us to join his pack, we had dinner together. Kala and Flynn did their best to make lighthearted conversation, but the atmosphere was still tense and strained.
I was glad when it was over and I could hide in my bedroom. My laptop was with the rest of my belongings that I’d left behind. I switched it on to find it was fully charged. Mark was most likely responsible for that. His scent hovered over the computer.
Zeus settled on the floor while I sat on my bed with my back against the bedhead to read. Reading had always relaxed me and this time was no different. I scrolled through the archives in search of something interesting. Pulling up everything that Thomas the priest had ever written, I had access to his entire journal now that my clearance level had been upgraded. I was astounded by the sheer number of missions he and his sidekick, Harold, had embarked on. Judging by the dates of the records, they’d worked side by side for twenty years before they’d retired and had left the missions to younger men and women.
Choosing one of the journal entries that was shorter than most, I began to read.
During his time spent as a priest, Thomas had been called on to perform a number of exorcisms. Most had amounted to a sickness of the mind rather than actual demon possession. Only one had been an actual creature that had been called up from hell. That episode had started him on the road to forming what later became known as the Paranormal Investigation Agency. It had given me some pretty frightening nightmares when I’d read about it.
While Thomas was still technically a priest, most of his time was spent on missions to hunt down supernatural creatures. When a request came through for him to look into a possible possession, he’d had to gather his courage before embarking on the journey. At least this time he wasn’t alone. Harold went with him.
They didn’t have to travel far this time. Their destination was a village two day’s ride from London. It was almost dark when they arrived. The village was large enough that they had a choice of inns. Coming to a stop in front of the largest inn, they dismounted. No one came running to take their horses away so they left them tied to the post.
Only a few people were still out and about. The pedestrians hurried towards their homes, nervously keeping their eyes on the ground.
“Is it just me or is the atmosphere somewhat oppressive?” Harold asked uneasily.
“It isn’t just you,” Thomas confirmed. “I feel it as well.”
The inn matched the description they’d been given and they opened the door to find it all but deserted. The innkeeper gaped at them then rushed over, wringing his hands in worry. Thomas and Harold exchanged a quick glance when they saw near panic in the man’s eyes. “I’m afraid I don’t have any rooms available at the moment,” he said in a near whisper.
Portly and balding, his apron was smeared with food and what looked like a few drops of blood. One of his eyes was black and he was sporting bruises on his face. There were gaps among the tables to indicate some had recently gone missing. Fresh scratches marred the floors. Judging by the black eye and fresh blood on his apron, some kind of altercation had occurred in the not too distant past.
Harold made a show of looking around the empty room. “Are all of your guests already asleep?” he asked pointedly.
Flushing at being caught in an obvious lie, the innkeeper was about to respond when footsteps sounded on the stairs. His face paled and he shrank away. “You should leave,” he said in a hoarse whisper. “Go, before she sees you!”
He tried to shove them towards the door, but it was too late. A bright red skirt came into view, followed by a decidedly shapely figure. Harold’s mouth dropped open when the rest of the woman appeared. Her dress was scandalously tight and was cut dangerously low, revealing her impressive cleavage. When they dragged their eyes up to her face they found her staring at them keenly. She was beautiful, with creamy skin, long black hair and green eyes.
“Bring me a tankard of ale,” she said to the innkeeper imperiously in an accent they’d never heard before. He bobbed his head meekly and hurried to do as she demanded.
Stalking between the two men, she deliberately brushed up against Thomas. Tall enough that she didn’t have to tilt her head back to meet his eyes on her way past, she winked. “You’re a strapping one,” she observed. “Do you have Viking blood in your veins perchance?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” he said politely, doing his best to hide his astonishment. Harold was having less luck. Stunned by her beauty, he stared at her with his mouth still open in shock.
She took a seat and gestured for them to join her. They did so cautiously as the innkeeper brought not just one tankard, but three. The woman brought hers to her mouth and gulped it down in one breath. Wiping her mouth with her hand, she slammed the tankard on the table. “Bring me another!” Taking in the fact that neither of the newcomers had even tasted their ale yet, she shot them a challenging look. “Are you men or are you mice wearing trousers?”
Accepting the challenge, Harold downed his ale. Half of it slopped over his face and clothing, but he didn’t stop drinking until he was done. He slammed the tankard down on the table like she had then belched loudly and grinned at his friend.
Fairly certain they’d stumbled across the person who was supposedly possessed, Thomas didn’t quite know what to make of her. She wasn’t showing any signs of being evil, yet there was something very strange about her. If he wanted to learn more, he’d have to play along. He’d never been much of a drinker, but he did his best to down the drink without spilling too much of it.
The woman roared with laughter at his grimace when he was done and slapped him on the back. “Finally, two men who can hold their ale!” She turned to the innkeeper. “Bring us more and keep them coming.”
“I am Thomas and my friend is called Harold,” Thomas said when their drinks had been freshened.
“I am Zisa.” She leaned over and clanked her tankard against his then repeated the ritual with Harold.
“Where are you from, milady?” Harold queried.
“A realm very far from here,” she said. “It is doubtful you’ve heard of it. My people have been barred from this realm for a very long time.”
“Why are you here?” Thomas asked.
“I was sent to give someone a message.”
“Can you tell me who this message is meant for?”
She sent him an assessing look. At six foot two, he was much taller than average. He kept his blond hair at shoulder length. He’d been told by many women that his blue eyes and sharp cheekbones were striking. His physique was lean rather than brawny. “I suspect that you are the man I’m looking for,” she said at last.
With red hair and a spattering of freckles across his face, Harold was far homelier than his friend. He was also a full head shorter. He seemed resigned that Thomas was once again gaining the attention of a beautiful woman. It wasn’t against Thomas’ religion to take a wife, but he hadn’t yet found a woman that he wanted to marry. Until he found her, he wasn’t particularly interested in dallying with ones he didn’t know.
“What is this message and from where did it originate?” Thomas asked. The innkeeper brought them more ale, trying not to be obvious as he cringed away from Zisa. He quickly scurried behind the bar again.
At Thomas’ enquiring look, she explained the man’s fear of her. “I had to teach the swine and several of his patrons that it is bad manners to try to take a woman against her will,” she said with a derisive sneer at the innkeeper. “As for the message, all I can tell you is that the being who gave it to me is very powerful. Before I impart it, you must prove you are worthy.”
That apparently involved drinking copious amounts of ale. They drank until his head began to swim. Harold eventually slumped forward with his face resting on the table, snoring loudly. Zisa was barely showing any signs o
f drunkenness. Her constitution was much stronger than normal. He began to suspect that she might not be human.
Unwilling to leave his friend passed out in such an uncomfortable position, Thomas stood. He was unsteady on his feet, but the lady stood as well. They were almost matched in height and they slung Harold’s arms over their shoulders. They carried him up to a room and dumped him on the bed.
“Come,” Zisa said and walked to the door. “I am convinced you are the man I was sent to speak to. I will give you the message now.”
In trepidation, he followed her down the hall and into her room. She waited for him to enter then closed the door and barred it. Expecting her to give him the message, he was startled when she pushed him against the wall and kissed him. “You have never been with a woman before,” she said in surprise when he made no move to kiss her back.
He wasn’t ashamed of his lack of experience. It was a personal choice. “No. I haven’t.”
This seemed to please her and she smiled. “Then I will try to be gentle with you, warrior priest.”
That surprised him even further. Neither he nor Harold had mentioned his status as a man of God. His words of protest stilled when she pulled her dress over her head and dropped it to the floor. Naked, she was more perfect than his imagination could have ever conjured. His hands moved to cup her breasts almost of their own volition. She leaned against him and ground her pelvis against his. “First, I will give you pleasure,” she whispered into his ear. “Then I will tell you what you need to know.”
She helped him undress then led him to the bed. Show him pleasure she did and he finally understood why people fornicated so often. Strong, yet sensual, she guided him inside her. His body knew what to do by instinct. Zisa was adept at making sure he brought her as much pleasure as he felt.
Taking him by surprise, she rolled them over until she was on top. Her beauty was magnificent as she rode him. She stared directly into his eyes as he felt his body tighten. Then waves of pleasure broke over them both. She cried out and bucked her hips, driving him deep inside her.
