by Franca Storm
As he battled against their brutal assault of talons and fangs ripping through his flesh, he caught sight of Josh running towards him. He grabbed the head of a vampire who had his fangs embedded in Ryan’s wrist and ripped the bloodsucker from his Alpha’s flesh in one tug of strength. He kicked another away.
Ryan wrestled the other four off his back.
“Here!” Josh called, throwing him a stake.
Ryan nodded gratefully and the two of them continued to battle the relentless army—an army that seemed endless as more and more of them continued to barrel through the entrance doors.
“Fuck. Shaye put up a protection barrier. How is this happening?” Ryan demanded.
“Oriana must’ve shattered it,” Josh replied as he thrust his fist into another opponent’s face.
Ryan let out a deafening wolf howl, commanding all wolves in the compound to take position and join the fight.
Moments later, a dozen of them hurried down the corridor. They cut through the vampire army.
Ryan glanced through the entrance doors and saw more wolves filling the courtyard and engaging the rest of the vampire army filing through the open gates.
He scanned the area. Where is Oriana? If she’s leading the attack, she would be visible. She’s so damned power-hungry that she would ensure that everyone knew it was her army that was attacking. So why isn’t that the case now?
“Oh my God,” he breathed as an awful realization hit him.
“What?” Josh asked.
“She’s not here for the wolves or me. She’s here for Orion.”
He took off, tearing down the corridor and destroying every vampire that stood in his path.
His heart thundered in his chest, not from the exertion of running, but from fear. Spikes of white-hot adrenaline drove him forward and he summoned another burst of speed. If he shifted, he’d be able to cover the distance much quicker. But he couldn’t in such a tight space.
As he neared Shaye’s room—he’d left Orion in her care—he heard his son’s frightened cries. He smashed his arm against the door, ripping it off its hinges as he burst inside.
Shaye lay unconscious in a heap on the floor beside the bed. Oriana stood over her with Orion in her arms. He was crying and struggling against her rough grip.
“Put him down! Now!” Ryan bellowed at the top of his lungs.
“Orion,” she said, smiling maliciously. “That’s his name. He told me himself with his thoughts.”
Oh my God. No. “Last chance. Put. My. Son. Down. Bitch.”
She didn’t respond, didn’t make a move.
He lunged at her, roaring ferociously.
An explosion of silver light ripped through the room and she teleported just before he could take hold of her. He smacked headfirst into the dry wall and crumpled to a heap on the floor beside Shaye.
He forced himself to his feet and frantically tore at the dissipating cloud of silver. “No! No!” he bellowed. “My son!” he screamed. “My son!”
CHAPTER 24
“Almost there,” Cora said.
She stood with Luca at the White Realm gates, her palms flat against the invisible barrier before them. She pulled harder on her power and the silver glow brightened. She spread her feet shoulder-width apart to steady herself.
And then the barrier materialized as a translucent, glass-like matter. She clenched both her palms and it shattered, fragments raining down at her feet.
She breathed out a satisfied sigh and pulled back her magic.
“Done,” she said, turning to Luca. “You should let Nathanial know right away.”
Luca’s eyes narrowed. “I will escort you back to the wolf compound first.”
She scoffed. “I don’t need a bodyguard.”
He grabbed her right arm and pulled her to him. “I won’t let you do this, Cora.”
“Do what?”
“Push me away.”
She yanked her arm away. “It was just a mistake. I’m sorry if you thought it meant something.”
“Look me in the eye and tell me it didn’t mean anything to you,” he challenged.
She caught his eye. She tried to summon the words and to confirm that it didn’t mean anything to her. But she couldn’t. She blew out a frustrated breath and looked away. “We need to get back,” she said, turning from him and starting to walk away.
In a burst of vampire speed, he stood before her, blocking her path.
“Stop it, Luca!”
His hand slid between her legs and he stroked her pussy through her pants. She failed to stifle a moan at the pleasure of his talented touch. “You want me,” he breathed in her ear.
“No,” she said weakly, shaking her head.
He cupped her face in his hands. “I. Love. You.” He brushed her lips with his and then whispered, “Tell me the truth. Admit that you share my feelings.”
A buzzing in her jacket pocket cut through their tense conversation. Thank God.
She stepped back and ignored his grunts of annoyance, as she eyed the call display
Shit. “It’s Ryan,” she informed him, a nasty wave of guilt assaulting her.
Luca let out a frustrated breath and ran his fingers through his hair with exasperation.
Cora braced herself as she answered the call.
“Yes?” she snapped.
“Cora.”
This isn’t Ryan. I’d recognize that voice anywhere. “Josh?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“This is Ryan’s number. Why do you have his cell?”
“He’s not in any state to speak right now.”
“What? Why?”
There was silence on the other end.
“Josh?” she pressed. “What’s happened?”
“We’re under attack. We need you here now.”
“Oriana’s vampires?”
“Yes. Hurry.”
He hung up abruptly and Cora turned to Luca. “The wolf compound is under attack.”
Luca’s shock mirrored hers exactly. He held out his hand to her and they teleported.
#
Cora gasped in shock as her and Luca arrived in the courtyard of the wolf compound. A full-blown battle was underway. She couldn’t count the number of vampires and wolves fighting all around them. As she scanned the field of battle, she didn’t see Ryan anywhere.
She called her power to her and fired a path through the crowd, propelling them all across the courtyard and clearing a path ahead. She strode forward towards the entrance doors with Luca following close behind. As soon as she stepped into the compound, she could feel powerful black magic all around her.
“Do you feel that?”
He came up beside her and took her hand in his, clutching it possessively. She didn’t pull away. She didn’t want to.
“Oriana’s magic,” he said. “Black fused with white.”
“It’s suffocating. Toxic.”
She watched him sweep his free hand around the room. A red glow shone for a few seconds before dissipating quickly. “Better?” he asked.
“You blocked it?”
“It was the remnant of her presence here. I just hurried along its dispersal. It would have happened naturally eventually.”
“She’s no longer here then?”
“No.”
A ferocious roar startled them and stopped them both in their tracks.
Ryan’s roar.
They followed the sound to the mess hall.
And there Ryan was, plunging his claws into the heart of a beaten and bloodied vampire writhing on one of the long, wooden tables.
“Where is he?” he bellowed. “Where the fuck did she take him?”
Cora saw Shaye and Josh standing back, looking on worriedly. Josh had his arms wrapped tightly around Shaye, who looked the worst for wear and completely drained.
“What’s happened?” Cora demanded, rushing into the room with Luca following behind.
Ryan’s gaze snapped to hers. His expression softened briefly before h
e sniffed the air and his eyes blackened with fury as he looked between her and Luca.
Shit, he knows. Cora watched as he shook his head to will away whatever he was thinking. He turned back to the vampire he was torturing.
“Ry, I don’t think he knows,” Josh said.
“Then he’ll fucking die!” He eyed Luca and snarled, “Just like every one of them that crosses me and takes what’s mine!”
Cora braced herself for Luca’s reaction to Ryan’s threat. But there wasn’t one. He just walked over to the table where Ryan stood and said in an even tone, “Release him, brother.”
Ryan reared back instead and brought his claws down towards the vampire. Luca caught his wrist before it made contact and pushed him back.
Ryan attempted to lunge at him.
Luca called out, “I need to break her hold on them!”
Ryan stilled.
Luca blew out a breath of relief and went on, “Unless you want them to overrun the entire compound and rip through every one of your wolves.”
Cora watch hesitation flicker over Ryan’s face. But he was already too worked up to let it last, or to see any reason at all. He shook his head to himself and growled ferociously.
“Stop, Ryan!” she yelled, walking up behind him cautiously.
He turned just as she laid her hand on his arm. She watched his expression soften at her touch. Despite everything, she knew it was calming him. It was the power she had over him as his mate. He couldn’t fight it.
He released a heavy breath and stepped back, allowing Luca to do what he needed.
All four of them looked on as Luca placed his right palm over the vampire’s forehead and murmured an incantation.
A few moments passed, before he removed his hand and stepped back.
“Your majesty,” the vampire said as he struggled to sit up.
“Kane, lead the vampires back to the mansion. Immediately.”
The vampire eased himself off the table and staggered out of the mess hall to carry out his Prince’s orders.
“Call your wolves off,” Luca ordered Ryan. “All of my vampires will now be standing down. I have broken Oriana’s hold over all of them, through him.”
“How about I let my wolves rip them to shreds instead?”
“Ry,” Josh cautioned.
“My father would see that as an act of war,” Luca reminded him.
Ryan locked eyes with him. And then a thunderous howl ripped from his throat. “It’s done.”
“Thank you.”
Ryan hissed. He forced himself to tear his hateful gaze from Luca and address Cora instead. “She has our son.”
A chill ran down Cora’s spine. “What?” she choked.
“Oriana has our son. She came here and took him while you were off fucking him, whore!”
Cora stepped back, shocked. Oh my God! He does know!
Luca growled at Ryan’s vicious insult. Josh gasped at the revelation but had the good sense to stay the hell out of it. Shaye looked between them sadly.
Cora’s shock quickly morphed to anger at the way Ryan had just spoken to her and in front of all of them, no less. How fucking dare he? “You slept with that wolf girl!”
She saw him flinch at her accusation. His glare moved to Luca. “You told her?”
She didn’t give Luca a chance to respond as she demanded of Ryan, “Where? When?”
“In the Dark Realm. Everywhere. Many fucking times. She’s the best fuck of my life!” he screamed irately. “I enjoyed every second of it, Cora! She gave me everything.” He stepped into her and grabbed the collar of her jacket, jerking her towards him. “You see, she’s something you’ll never be. Wolf, darlin’. And you? Now you’re just a fucking whore.”
A flash of silver light ripped from Cora, blasting Ryan back several feet.
He crashed into a table over on the other side of the room and it collapsed under the impact.
He grunted and struggled to his feet amid the wreckage, using a chair for support.
“I had an entire relationship behind your back! I’m in love with her! Is that what you wanted to hear? Is it, Cora? Do you feel better now you’ve revenge-fucked Luca to hurt me? Do you?”
He made a move towards her but Luca stood between them in a flash of vampire speed, blocking his path to her.
“You’ve got some balls. I could rip your fucking head from your body before you could even lift a finger. Do you really think I won’t? You fucked my wife! I can smell it everywhere. Your scents are all over one another!”
“You’re destabilizing her magic, Ryan. I can feel it.”
“I don’t give a fuck.”
“You will when she brings this entire place down. You want your son back? Then you both need to work together.”
“Vazra’s magic!” Shaye called out.
They all turned to her.
“I felt Vazra’s magic when Oriana teleported into my room and attacked me. He’s allowing her to channel his power.”
“Then he’s behind this as much as her. He’ll know where my son is,” Cora said.
“It’s a strong possibility,” Shaye agreed.
An argument ensued between all four of them as to what to do, how to approach the situation.
Cora wasn’t paying attention. Their voices faded into the background and everything seemed far away, just a haze, as her thoughts consumed her. Her entire body was trembling as she struggled against the darkness rising within her, willing her to release it. It was more powerful than it’d ever been. And for the first time, she wasn’t sure she could keep it down beneath the surface. It was intoxicating, empowering.
She wanted to release it.
Her emotions were on overload. Orion being in danger. Sleeping with Luca and all the complications associated with that, because of the fact that it had meant something to her, despite her adamant denial. And Ryan. The knowledge that he’d had an entire relationship behind her back. The way he’d spoken to her was unforgiveable. She was the Princess of the White Realm, the most powerful sorceress in all the realms. No one spoke to her like that, treated her that way. It was about time she drove that home to them all!
With the darkness inching its way closer and closer to the surface, she was overcome with a strong urge to strike him, to rip him apart.
Orion. Yes, he was her focus right now. Her son was who mattered.
“No one takes my son!” she screamed.
She’d said it louder than she’d intended and abruptly she felt all eyes on her.
And then she teleported away.
CHAPTER 25
Nathanial and Marella stood hand in hand before Haraz beneath a picturesque waterfall in the castle gardens. Marella had conjured a silky black gown. The bodice was embroidered with sparkling, blood-red diamonds. Nathanial smiled. She was dressed in the colors of the realm. She was perfect. He wore his stately robes—the clothes that he wore during meetings of his royal court and to official ceremonies. They were black with golden seams and blood-red diamonds along the cuffs and collar.
“I join thee this night. Marella, Head of the Coven of White Witches, borne of the White Realm. Nathanial, Vampire King and Protector of the Dark Realm,” Haraz spoke.
He nodded to Nathanial. Nathanial understood. He scraped a talon over his wrist, drawing blood and turned to Marella. She held out her hand to him. He did the same to her, but a lot more gently, just breaking the skin ever so slightly. They pressed their wrists together and turned back to Haraz.
“The joining of your blood is a symbol of your union. You are bound to one another by blood, magic, and soul. Husband and wife. King and Queen of the Dark Realm,” Haraz continued. He smiled at Nathanial and said, “You may complete the joining.”
Nathanial nodded and took Marella in a passionate kiss. A shimmering glow enveloped them—black and white light fusing together to signify the solidification of their marriage.
He pulled back and gazed at her in awe. He felt his eyes sting with tears at having finally w
ed the woman he had wanted for centuries.
Following the ceremony, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her through the castle.
He kicked open the door to their room and strode into the bedroom.
Laying her down on the bed, he told her, “Finally, I get to take you as my wife. You have no idea how much I have wanted this, Marella.”
She smiled happily. “I do know, my husband.”
He chuckled. “I like you calling me that.”
Just as he reached for his robes, he gasped as a powerful sensation ripped through him.
“Do you feel that?”
Marella sat up and nodded worriedly. “A huge surge in power.”
“Cora,” he realized. “Something has happened.”
“It’s unstable. Wild.”
“I know. I must go to her. Now. I’m sorry, angel.”
“I will go with you.”
He held out his hand to her. “All right.”
He saw her surprise. She’d obviously expected him to argue and try to convince her to stay. “Really?”
“Yes. If Cora has lost control, my power won’t be enough. I will have to draw on yours, Luca’s, and Michael’s.” As he led her back through the room and down the corridors he called out, “Michael!”
Michael appeared in front of them within a second. “I felt it,” he said. “She’s headed for the White Realm. The energy she’s emanating right now is so extreme that I didn’t need to use any effort to locate her. It’s just coming through loud and clear.”
Nathanial nodded and closed his eyes for a moment. “The barrier to the White Realm is down. I can feel it. Luca is on his way to the gates as we speak.”
“What could have set her off?” Marella asked worriedly.
“I am not sure. I’m trying to tap into her thoughts, but she’s blocking me. When we get there, do not act without my command. This is a delicate situation. Our objective is only to subdue her if needs be, should she fail to regain control herself. No harm must come to her.”
