Fire's Touch (The Enlightened Species Book Three)

by Hales, Wendy S.

  She’d given him every indication that she wished him to be her spawn partner. But when the spawn season came … she never did. He’d waited and waited only to learn that DeeAnna and Dean had left their school in favor of the barely civilized one in Antarctica. No message or explanation … just gone. She hadn’t even reached out to him when Dean was captured.

  “You didn’t find him.” She posed it as a statement.

  Of course, she already knew Greyton had failed … otherwise Dean would be with him. “He wasn’t in Haiti, but we’ve identified other possible places he might be.”

  She lifted her face from her hands, the whites around her purple-colored irises bloodshot and tear tortured. “Because of me, he’s weakening, Greyton. I don’t think he can hang on much longer.” Her voice cracked with emotion.

  Greyton couldn’t take it. He gripped her ankles and tugged her into the water, wrapping his arms around her and cupped her head to the curve of his shoulder. He swore he’d never give her another chance to hurt him, yet in the face of her pain he found himself powerless.

  With their bodies and fins swaying, meshed in the currents, he could feel every weeping tremor coming off her as if it were his own. “DeeAnna.” He lifted her chin with his fingers only to find himself lost in her eyes. “Have you fed?”

  Keeping herself strong and healthy was the biggest thing she could do for Dean. No doubt her paired sibling had already tapped into their emotional bond to stay alive. She dropped her eyes with shame. “I try. I can’t keep anything down.” That explained the translucence of her skin and the dark circles under her eyes.

  Greyton cursed under his breath. He intended to ask, “Are there no single-birthed you could feed from?” He cringed when “Are there no female single-birthed you could feed from?” slipped past his lips instead.

  All Aquaties needed to feed at the vein of another every few months to remain healthy. Dean had been taken more than a year ago. Without blood to aid in extracting the nutrients and minerals of everything else she ate … DeeAnna would die. Paired siblings usually only fed from each other, but the rare single-birthed pooled together like a community unto themselves, a sub-culture found in nearly all schools.

  “I … just can’t. I’ve fed from Reesa but …”

  It made her sick, Greyton understood. Her digestive system was used to the blood of her brother to the exclusion of anything else. “Feed.” Greyton dropped his head, exposing his jugular vein.

  “What? NO!” DeeAnna tried to push at his chest, but he could see her second row of small, razor-sharp upper teeth starting to move forward, forcing the row of larger regular teeth to lift into her gum line.

  Greyton lifted his hands to gently cup her cheeks. “Yes. You need to feed. Please, DeeAnna, do if for Dean. You are his only source of strength right now emotionally. When we find him, he will need you to be strong enough to feed him. You can’t do that in this condition.”

  He reminded himself it was for Dean too, especially the part of his body that took on a pulse of its own at the thought of her feeding from him. Which didn’t make sense … there was nothing sexual about it. If DeeAnna was this ill and weak, no doubt Dean was barely alive. Paired siblings drew off each in a unique way.

  Her tiny, shark-like teeth sent a rush of desire though him. Her expression held reservations. “You won’t get offended if I vomit?” Like Reesa did? She didn’t need to say it; the mortification in her eyes told the tale. Vomiting the lifeblood of another would be thought of as rude in their culture.

  “I’ll expect you to. No surprises here, okay? It’s just you and me … no one needs to know what happens. If even a drop of my blood remains in your system, it will help.” Greyton rubbed the softness of her cheeks beneath his thumbs.

  Her gaze dropped to the pulse at his neck and then met his pleadingly. Greyton dropped his head again, exposing his neck, and tucked his arms behind his back so she wouldn’t feel forced in any way.

  Her hands on his shoulders felt feather light. The brush of her upper lip tentatively sought the small dip of flesh just above his pounding artery as her lower lip attached below it. He felt the draw of suction sealing her mouth to his skin and then the small pinpricks of her front four teeth perforating his carotid. Her teeth lifted and her tongue lapped at the blood seeping out. Greyton closed his eyes; this felt nothing like Greycia … it felt intimate.

  He tried counting dolphins in his mind, replaying the raid of Haiti, anything to pull his thoughts away from the urge to bury his manhood deep inside her. Her hands gripped his shoulders. Was she getting sick? He held his breath, waiting for it. Instead he felt her prick his rapidly healing artery a second time and her suction increased, the lap of her tongue beating at his skin voraciously. They floated horizontal and her body relaxed against his, letting him support her weight, trusting him. Slowly he brought his arms around her waist, keeping his hold light.

  When his artery healed the second time, she released her suction. Rather than swimming away to be sick or even pulling away for space, she laid her cheek to his chest and let out a soft purr of contentment.

  “Why are you being so nice to me?”

  Huh? Greyton tried to remember if he’d ever been rude to her. It was possible. He’d been such a fucked up arrogant punk at boarding school. Hell, he still was an arrogant prick. Fates. Was that why she didn’t come to the spawning? Why she migrated to Antarctica?

  “I like you DeeAnna. But, I know I can be a complete ass sometimes.”

  “Greyton … I don’t want to stay here,” she whispered.

  He kissed the hair on top of her head. “Where do you want to go?”

  “Do you think the SOSC would let me be a part of the group looking for my brother? Could I … come with you?” She lifted her face to his, with her chin planted on his chest.

  He swallowed and nodded. “What about Reesa and Roark?”

  “I told Reesa I want to swear allegiance to the SOSC already. She understands that the SOSC and you are the best chance Dean has to be saved.” Was that the only reason? Greyton felt another chunk of his heart being ripped to shreds.

  He doubted DeeAnna owned even a bathing suit. The girl was a lab geek, just like her brother. Could she handle living in the symbiotic world among humanity and the other enlightened? Deal with Greyton’s warrior/assassin aggressive nature? And what about Greycia’s modern thinking? Maybe the change was exactly what DeeAnna needed … whether they found Dean or not.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  “He’s here.” Meg ducked her head into Stacey’s office.

  Stacey’s heart pounded in her chest. He’s here. The wet Seattle morning had given way to a warm afternoon. Sunlight filtered into her office. Drawn from what she was doing, Stacey’s gaze sought the framed pictures on her desk.

  She swallowed the lump of excitement in her throat and returned her attention to the large monitor on the wall. “Michael, make the announcement that Winkel Holdings’ headquarters is relocating to Mesa, Arizona at the end of the fiscal year. Determine which of the management and staff is willing to make the move. Security is already aware and every member is onboard, so just deal with your people and get back to me.”

  Returning to her life in Seattle had been difficult, but with Conlon and most of the people she’d grown close to on the SOSC mission to raid Haiti, her bitch runneth over. Staying busy and spending time with Johnny had been her only sanctuary.

  Stacey had gone over every detail of the new building plans for Winkel Holdings and the construction of the SOSC daycare facility she was funding within the campus. Plus, there was her and Conlon’s new home and the entire outbuilding layout that would go with it on a hundred acres adjacent to the land owned by the SOSC. Her nannies would have small, private homes as well as a room in the main house for their night shifts. Security and staff would also have private living areas. Conlon was gifting Mick and Mattie his current home.

  Contractors, architects, and engineers from every species and from all over the
world were amassed in Arizona right now, yet Stacey couldn’t spend another night in Conlon’s bed without him.

  “Well, let me assure you, Ms. Winkel, I am fully onboard.” Michael’s voice made her realize her mind had wandered … again. Damn it.

  “I’m cutting this meeting short … my husband just returned from a trip.” He’s home!

  Michael gave her a confused look. “I’m sorry, Ms. Winkel, but did you just say husba—” She turned off her computer, cutting him off with a smile. Conlon was her bloodmate, not that Michael could ever understand.

  She could hear voices in the foyer getting louder, feel the ripple of the protective energy weave as more people showed up, yet lifting from her chair to go out was beyond her.

  Her door opened without a knock and Conlon stepped in. She feasted on his features. Dark hazel eyes and a quirked-lip grin … Stacey flew around her desk into his open arms. His kissed the curve of her neck and buried his hand into her hair, holding her tightly, telling her without words that he was glad to see her too.

  Tender, light kisses danced up her cheek, her eyelids, the tip of her nose. Then, with a growl of need, his lips found hers. Stacey opened to her bloodmate. As their tongues tangled, she poured her love for him into their powerful bond. It mingled with the unbelievable depth of his love for her. Desire ricocheted between them and passion swept her away.

  Conlon lifted from her kiss with a hiss between his dentes. “Fates, I’ve missed you.”

  Stacey winked at him. “Then you should have gotten your ass home sooner.”

  “Get used to it, heiress. I’m a warrior—missions come with the territory.” He kissed the tip of her nose as she felt how desperately he’d truly missed her flow through their bloodmate bond.

  “How did it go?” Her hands flew over his body checking for injuries.

  He lifted her chin with his fingers. “I’m unhurt, Stacey. The island was all but abandoned before we got there. The soldiers had burnt everything to the ground. All the soldiers we encountered where executed without a single loss on our side. We extracted eight females and several children left on their own, probably to die.”

  Stacey searched his face, pushed at his mind for what she needed to know. “Is she …?”

  Conlon hooked his arm over her shoulder. “Come on, I have a surprise for you.”

  The foyer opened up as they reached the end of the wide hall beside the curving stairwell. Cassie, Hans, Irsu, Shane, Jess, Umbrae, Enlil, Greycia without Greyton, Eros, Aymee … hell, everyone was here. Hawk and Scotty stood behind Mick a few stairs up. Mick beamed with happiness. He had Johnny in one arm and the other wrapped around Mattie.

  A hush fell over everyone and the group parted. Stacey’s eyes flooded with tears. Near the door was Alto with his back to her; sitting politely at his feet were three hound dogs. “Alto.” Stacey whispered. Conlon had brought him to her.

  Alto gave her an ecstatic smile over his should and slowly turned. A bundle of pink, fluffy blanket was in his arms. “Surprise,” Conlon whispered in her ear.

  The tears broke free as her hands fluttered to her mouth. Conlon nudged her middle back, gently snapping her out of the surreal feeling locking her feet in place. Alto reached into the blanket and opened a wide gap.

  Little light-blue eyes peeked out, blinked up at Alto, and looked around with so much intelligence. Stacey took the few steps separating them. Those light-blue eyes looked right into her soul. Alto carefully transferred the baby into Stacey arms. She looked exactly like Kelly’s sketch.

  “Hello, Kayla,” Stacey blubbered. Kayla’s chin quivered, her cheeks turned bright red, and she let out a cry. No sound had ever been more beautiful to Stacey.

  Stacey unwrapped the blanket around her and clutched her to her chest, bouncing and soothing her. Kayla calmed as her tiny arms wrapped around Stacey’s neck. She felt Conlon’s warm hand at her lower back and turned to see him holding a curious Johnny. Kayla lifted her beautiful face from Stacey’s shoulder and looked from Conlon to Johnny, her lips lifted into a baby smile.

  “Johnny, this is your new baby sister,” Stacey introduced them, sending Johnny images of Umbrae’s children so he’d understand what siblings were. She felt her son’s excitement to be a big brother.

  “Thank you for bringing home our daughter.” She looked up into Conlon’s dark hazel, “drown in them” eyes.

  “Did you finish it?” he asked, his gaze full of love.

  She’d tattooed the final scales and added the tail to her memorial last night. Within the tail design where the letters C-O-N-L-O-N, she smiled and nodded in answer. That was her past. This was her future … their future together.

  Epilogue

  Oney sat staring at page after page. All he had to do was read the headers, and the details of each division swarmed through his mind like stinging bees. “No,” he answered Frank’s last question—the same answer he’d given for the first zillion of Frank’s questions.

  “I don’t understand.”

  Oney was so fucking sick of hearing that sentence from Frank, it took every ounce of control not to crush the guy’s throat and render him mute. “You don’t need to understand.”

  “Bu—” Frank started up again.

  Oney gritted his teeth against his annoyance and the pounding in his head. “I doubt my father explained a fucking thing to you, Frank. Why do you think I will? Until the ceiling of this organization is stabilized, I’m not open to new ventures. Period. Now fuck off.”

  Frank narrowed his eyes with suspicion before stalking away. One could feel the tide turning against him within the ranks of Osiris’s base loyalist. It wouldn’t be much longer before the entire group of them declared a mutiny.

  Not that Oney could blame them. Everything was going to shit … of course that was by Oney’s design. And it was obvious the narcissistic freaks his father had trusted were figuring it out. This was way more of an undertaking than he’d ever anticipated. He needed help, but who the hell would he ask it from? His brothers? Fuck no. Rumor was Twelve and Nine had joined Ten in defecting to the SOSC. Last thing Oney wanted to do was drag either of them back into this hell.

  He didn’t trust the SOSC any more than his father had. With his father’s memories swimming around his melon, that distrust was more pronounced. Of course, weeding through what was real and what was one of Osiris’s paranoid delusions was difficult. One thing was sure, if the SOSC ever turned against society, they would succeed where his father had failed and rule the planet. Osiris had way too many informants inside the SOSC for it to be the “great hope” of symbiosis.

  As much as Oney would love to melt away and disappear like his brothers, there was no way he could. Osiris’s minions would snatch and grab parts of Osiris’s empire, scatter to the wind, and wreak evil havoc unrestrained. He needed a firm handle on things before systematically destroying it and those who posed a threat of taking over. First on his growing list was fucking Frank. Plus there was the Human League. Did the SOSC even know or care about that growing threat?

  Oney leaned back in his chair and roughly rubbed his head. “Son of a bitch,” he muttered.

  “C-can I help?” Cherry’s quiet voice snapped his head on his neck with the impact of a physical blow to the jaw.

  She stood in the hallway with her beautiful face peeking through the door. Her full upper lip was sucked in and she was gnawing on it with her small, white teeth, which only made her thick, luscious lower lip pout adorably. He found himself trapped in the pear-green color of her eyes until she glanced at the floor and blushed.

  “How ’bout you read all this shit for me?” He waved his hand over the pile of documents scattered over the desk and tried to give her a smile.

  Her brows drew together and she sighed. “I’m sorry, I don’t know how to read. I learned to write my name, though. But … I guess that probably wouldn’t help much. Would you—” she shrugged and stepped fully into the room, her hands clasped together demurely “—like me to help with your
headache?”

  She couldn’t read? Fuck. Though Oney could tell she was uncomfortable, it was obvious she wanted to be helpful. Hell, maybe she was bored. He’d caught glimpses of her mulling about since they’d arrived at Osiris’s private headquarters in Siberia more than two weeks ago. It wasn’t like he avoided her, but he didn’t seek her out either, check how she was settling in. Jesus, he was a bastard.

  “Are you a healer, Chéri?”

  She gave a small shake of her head and took small steps toward him. The closer she came, the more intense her scent became and the harder his erection grew. She still wore the same ratty dress. With a spattering of freckles along the bridge of her slightly upturned nose and her hair again in pigtailed braids brushing her shoulders… she was by far the most uniquely attractive female he’d ever seen.

  He took a swift intake of breath as she walked behind his chair, struggling to not react to having someone at his back. Her delicate hands touched lightly to the curve of his neck and shoulders, and she began to knead his stiff muscles. Softly at first, she grew firmer in her massaging of his neck when he was unable to stifle his moan of pleasure. Oney surrendered and let his eyes fall closed, enjoying her attention more than he wanted to evaluate right now.

  “Ahem.”

  Cherry squeaked and ducked so her face peered up at him near his elbow. Okay, that was cute. Oney wiped the grin from his face and met Frank’s curious expression. “What do you want, Frank?”

  “The healer is here,” Frank stated

  “And?” Out of the corner of his eye he saw Cherry cower lower.

  Frank’s gaze shifted between Oney and the spot Cherry would rise from if she dared to stand up. “He’s here to perform a prenatal exam on the breeder.” The sneer of disgust in Frank’s expression pissed Oney off. But the barely discernible sob from Cherry was more pressing.