“You knew him well?” Jarrett questioned. Suddenly he wanted, no, needed, to know all he could. He had only felt this level of desperation once, when Rowena died.
“Oui, I knew him well.” She closed her eyes. “He died for me, mon'ami. He died protecting me.”
A shock rippled through Jarrett. “How?”
“I was younger back then, younger and weaker.” Her eyes communicated genuine pain and sorrow. “I was only forty by the winter’s count, which is how our kind counted our years at that time. Our leader was old, cunning, and powerful.” Delphene called the tragic memory forward and continued, “Terric was his name. He hated humans, more so than they hated us, and he ruled the pack with an iron fist. Fear was his tool, violence his punishment. Terric wanted to keep our lines pure and forbade human contact.
“Many of the pack agreed with his ideology, and the rest were too afraid to do anything about it. They feared retribution from Terric’s loyal followers. None would challenge him for leadership of the pack, as it required a fight to the death.
“A pack usually provides safety, and the pack leader watched out for the whole, but not Terric. Your father understood this and had no love or loyalty for Terric. Samuel often argued with Terric publicly to make him look foolish enough to relent, but no challenge was ever issued.
“Samuel was loyal to many in the pack though, including my mother and me. I am like you, Jarrett. I was born of two races: human and lycan.”
“I take it Terric didn’t know,” Jarrett guessed.
Delphene nodded. “My mother was French, over one hundred winters then. She traveled the world in her time, and loved only once. My father was a slave, but his station hardly mattered. It was his human line that was forbidden.
“My mother found and joined the pack after I was born. She feared for our safety and understood a pack could help me in my first years as a lycan. Abiding by Terric’s rules, I did not even know of my parentage until the pack migrated to Louisiane.
“My mother saw my father on the muddy street one day, and he saw her. I remember it still, for there is nothing that compares to that kind of emotion. Forty years had not diminished their love for one another. From the look in her eyes and the stories she had told me of my father, I knew who he was right away.” Delphene closed her eyes and savored the images. “They rushed to each other and gathered into a tight embrace. I still remember my father’s knuckles, so dark by nature, turning almost white as he gripped my sobbing mother.
“He had aged, and she had not changed at all. Yet, amour was still so strong between them.”
Cade shifted, and Jarrett recognized his discomfort discussing love. “What happened then?” Jarrett asked, progressing the story for his grieving brother’s benefit.
She sighed. “Samuel, your father, saw what transpired. Cade and I figure that this was near the time he left your mother in Virginia.” Delphene shrugged. “That is where the pack resided a couple of months prior—it fits.”
Cade added, “Our father’s heart must have still been raw, and he was sensitive to the situation.”
“He knew what would happen,” Delphene agreed. “Samuel rushed over and guided us to a safer, more discreet place, but he was not quick enough. Another member of the pack saw us sneak away.
“When my mother and I returned to the pack, they were waiting, and Terric, who hated humans so much, presumed my bloodline. He calmly walked to my mother and asked, ‘She is so pretty, does she have her father’s eyes?’ He didn’t act angry or confrontational, and I was too naive to see the trap for what it was.”
Delphene stared at her hands as she broke apart a small stick and threw its pieces into the fire. Her tone turned dark. “Before she even had a chance to answer, Terric killed my mother with a human’s weapon right before my eyes.” She looked up again at Jarrett. “Terric used a silver blade against one of his own.
“I went for him, enraged, but found myself held back by strong arms. Samuel threw me away from the blade that was ready and waiting for my reaction.
“Your father attacked Terric and ripped the dagger from his hand. Chaos ensued. The entire pack fell into a civil war of sorts. It lasted only minutes, but six in the pack died that night.”
“Terric killed him? He killed Sa—our father?” Jarrett assumed.
“Non. Samuel killed Terric, but Terric’s cowardly son stabbed him through the back with the same dagger that stole my mother’s life. Terric’s followers were judged by a tribunal and banished. Another of our stronger warriors assumed the role of pack leader.”
Delphene leaned toward Jarrett. “In a single night, our pack was divided in half. Even mates were torn apart over the outcome. That night was too much for some to cope with, and the vote to never again speak of the tragic event carried. In the breath of a single moment, my mother and your father were forgotten.”
Delphene threw the last pieces of her stick into the fire. As she sat back again, Jarrett saw a crimson light flicker in her golden eyes. The ease at which they erased two good people still simmered within her.
"I didn’t find our father, but I found a connection to him through Delphene,” Cade explained. “I suppose it’s better than some get.”
“I left after that and stayed away for a few years,” Delphene continued her story. “I went to my own father in secret, but he refused to allow me to stay. He feared my possible slavery. I went to France for a time and learned of the lycan lines there,” she shrugged, “but I could not make it my home. Eventually, I came back and found a place in Louisiane. But I was used to a pack, and being alone is not in my nature. I bounced back and forth until I met your brother.
“When Cade came so many years later and our leader lied to him, I could not do it anymore. I could not pretend that my mother and Samuel never existed. By that time, I had learned how to fight and live. I had already distanced myself from most in the pack over the years, so leaving was much easier.”
“Del found me and told me about our parents’ deaths,” Cade added. “I should have told you about our father sooner. I just, well…” He lifted his arms and let them fall in a sort of explanation.
Jarrett was silent for a long time. He wasn’t surprised the topic never came up. Between their two hundred years apart, training to take on Niall, and Collett’s recent death, a long lost father wasn’t on the top of their discussion list.
Delphene finally looked at him. “Where y’at, mon'ami?”
“It’s strange to hear.” He released a slow breath. “I wondered from time to time, at least in my youth. It’s good to know, I suppose. At least Cade found something of him in the name.” Jarrett glanced at Delphene then looked at Cade. “Since we’re divulging information, there is something I haven’t told you. Like this story, it never came up.”
“I suspect there are a lot of things that didn’t come up during the years we weren’t speaking,” Cade supplied. Jarrett nodded once in agreement, and Cade gestured to Jarrett to finish.
“After my first change, Rowena tried to tell me where I came from. She knew what our father was, but Lyndell had kept his identity a secret. She informed me I had a twin, but would not share your name. She must have known, but I think she was afraid I would look for you. Our mother named me after our grandfather, William Jarrett. It’s interesting that our mother used both her father’s and our father’s surnames for us. I guess that means something.”
“Her willingness to die to protect us means more. Merilynn and Rowena too. All three of them sacrificed so much to keep us safe,” Cade pointed out as he sat back down and stared into the fire.
Silence once more surrounded them, but it was no longer awkward. There is peace in knowing who you are and where you came from.
“That’s not all Rowena told me,” Jarrett said, breaking the silence again. “I think you should know, I was born first.” He smiled.
Cade shook his head and smirked. “Of course you were.”
Delphene uttered a small laugh. She saw Jarrett grin a
nd was reminded that there is always a reason to hope. Tomorrow would be a new day.
Chapter 11
“Cade!” Jarrett shouted in warning as a leech demon leapt for Cade’s back. Heeding his brother’s call, Cade turned and jabbed his elbow into the enemy’s face. Sharp, stinging teeth scraped along his skin, drawing red rivulets of blood in their wake.
The trio came to Vegas looking for information and was attacked before they found their informant. Cade, Jarrett, and Delphene battled a small hoard of leech demons in a back alleyway a few blocks away from the strip. The combatants were already down to five, but all three of the wolves understood time was short for this conflict. The collected noises of battle would travel, and Vegas was not a private place.
Cities like Las Vegas were playgrounds for leeches. Late night partying, promiscuous habits and intoxicating substances created easy pickings for dinner. Leech demons hungered for blood, but contrary to vampiric legends, the demons did not kill every victim, and could not convert others to their same fate. More human in appearance than other demonkind, a leech charmed people and lured them to discrete locations. Then they fed. Most victims would wake weak and sick with no memory of what had happened. The remaining victims never woke at all.
Delphene snarled as she fought two leeches simultaneously. Her glowing red eyes penetrated the dark night as she resisted the urge to change into a hybrid form. All three lycanthropes remained in their base human form because of the public arena. Las Vegas at night was never void of people and changing was risky.
Grabbing ahold of the demon who charged him, Jarrett held the creature by the neck and plunged a dagger deep into its black heart. Ichor dripped over his hand for a few seconds until the monster expired and fell apart to ash, crumbling in Jarrett’s grip.
Seeing he was free, Delphene kicked her second opponent in Jarrett’s direction. Happy to assist, Jarrett backhanded the confused demon as it stumbled into him, reversing its direction again, like a ping pong ball. Cade launched one of his combatants past Jarrett into the nearby wall and snatched the stumbling demon Jarrett sent his way
A small laugh escaped Jarrett as he saw the fluid rotation of the leeches between the three lycans. A year ago, he would have never believed he could enjoy being part of a team so much. Despite their recent personal struggles, Jarrett thrived each time he fought in tandem with his twin. Jarrett’s life was no longer only about survival. Now, it had purpose.
Cade flipped the demon behind him over his shoulder and let his claws elongate. Lines of torn flesh appeared on the mottled gray skin as Cade dug in with the razor-like appendages. The leech shrieked, and hissing, it opened its mouth to bite. Cade came in with a fast right hook and unhinged its jaw. The creature’s head snapped around with the force, and Cade drove the leech down into the asphalt with a kick to its middle. The pavement cracked from the impact, and Cade followed up by stomping on the demon's neck as hard as he could, crushing its windpipe. With another opponent rushing him, Cade used the creature’s momentum to throw it into the opposite wall.
“VICTOR!” Cade growled to the demon under his heavy boot, “I want Victor!”
The demon could give no reply. Hot fury was pumping through Cade’s entire body. He knew the leech demon wouldn’t tell him. The two demons they vanquished yesterday hadn’t confessed, nor had any other demon the brothers encountered. His skin tingled, fur grew, and his ears stretched as Cade struggled to will the transformation back.
The comfort found around the campfire the other night was distant now. In the deep recesses of his mind, Cade understood that connection could ground him, and help him pull back again. Part of him wanted to temper the wolf, but his pain was stronger. He craved release like never before. Anger and loneliness were the only emotions Cade could connect to, and they consumed him.
The leech he had just thrown into the wall came back at him, and Cade was too distracted to note the strange behavior. These leeches should have cowered away in search of reinforcements. Demons were only this persistent when they feared answering to someone more than death.
Giving up on the one at his feet, Cade turned and drove the approaching demon back into the wall like a linebacker. The impact was not quiet. Surprisingly, Cade reigned in his strength. Instead of crashing through the wall, the section was only inverted slightly. Stucco and brick cracked as some of the mortar gave way to accommodate the force. A ripple effect caused the windows above them to crack and shelves on the inner wall to collapse. Alarmed cries came from inside.
“Victor, where is he!?” Cade demanded again, slamming his enemy’s head into the wall.
“Be done with them, Chère! The police are coming,” Delphene ordered.
Looking up, Cade could hear sirens approaching. He cursed then bellowed in frustration. Grabbing the dagger at his waist, he moved impossibly fast and finished the demon off. Ash fell over him as he twisted and saw Delphene throw her favorite dagger at the creature with the broken windpipe. Her aim was perfect, the blade imbedded into the scrambling demon’s back, slipping between its ribs and finding the devilish heart. Her dagger clattered to the ground seconds later as the demon disintegrated.
Used to hiding the supernatural world from the general population, the three of them moved quickly. Cade gathered up items left behind by the banished demons to rummage through later. Delphene grabbed her discarded jacket and threw it on to cover as much blood, ichor, and dirt as possible, and Jarrett stripped off his stained shirt, threw it in the nearest dumpster, and kicked the daggers to Cade.
“Too close,” Cade announced as he realized they were out of time. Grabbing the blades with the other items, he hid in the shadows behind the dumpster. “Make it look good, and get rid of them.”
Jarrett glared at him, but Cade was already out of sight.
Delphene ran her hands over Jarrett's bare chest and shoved him to the damaged section of the wall. She purred, “Don’t worry, Wolf, I won’t bite.”
Jarrett smirked and shook his head as she leaned in closer to his lips. “Del, you may be enjoying this role a little too much.”
“Count on it,” she teased. “I’ve been wondering about this for a while now.” Her mouth pressed to his in enticing invitation before he could reply. Her hands roamed over his ribs, sending tingling sensations over his skin. Her teeth scraped his lip and he almost groaned out loud.
Even though the public display of affection was meant to be an act, Jarrett found himself pulled in by the sensations of the passionate kiss. His heart pounded in a heavy rhythm, and one hand reached up to fist in her hair while the other wrapped around Delphene’s waist, pulling her closer. A little more, he thought. Her flavor and scent filled him.
Holding her this way felt a little like jumping off a building. He wasn’t sure he would land safely, but the exhilaration of falling was worth the risk. Damn! he thought and unexpectedly urged, “More,” in a husky growl. He pulled her around to switch their positions against the wall.
A screaming police car halted in front of the alleyway and red and blue lights danced around the enclosed space. An unexpected animal growl escaped Jarrett’s lips when a bright spotlight flicked on, breaking the intimate moment before it went too far. On cue, each fell into the role of drunken lovers.
“Put your hands where I can see them,” shouted a disembodied voice from behind the light.
“Is there a problem?” Delphene slurred.
“We received calls about a fight.”
“Oui, that’s what I call it too,” Delphene giggled.
After several questions and one lecture on public drunkenness from an officer who looked too young to shave, the two of them were put in a cab and sent on their way. When the coast was clear, Cade picked up the items and walked back to the hotel they had booked earlier that evening.
Tired and dirty, he met up with Jarrett and Delphene near the front entrance. They made their way through the casino to the elevators, earning several eager stares from curious onlookers. Jarrett’s muscle
d chest initially drew the attention, but the gazes lingered with fanciful thoughts as people gawked at the three tall, lean warriors.
Las Vegas was no stranger to exotic people, nor was it unused to good looking, muscled men and attractive women. However, the three of them together resembled an Amazon goddess flanked by two Greek gladiators. One woman started to approach as if to ask for a picture, but she retreated upon seeing their strange, warrior eyes.
Delphene had an adjoining room, so she and Jarrett were both able to shower while Cade sorted through what they found. After showering, Delphene stood in the doorway between the two rooms and watched her friend’s growing discouragement when he realized the demons’ belongings amounted to nothing. When Jarrett came out, Cade stalked to the shower without even noticing her, and she could tell he was still riding his wave of fury.
“Is it me, or did they come looking for you guys this time?” she asked as Jarrett evaluated their haul with similar disappointment.
Jarrett shrugged. “It happens sometimes when they find out we’re on their tail.”
“Were you though?”
Scowling, Jarrett met her golden eyes. “On their tail?”
“Oui.”
“No, but word spreads. They may have heard.”
“Come now, Chère. You are The Hunter, you know what I mean. Those demons came for you. They were ready to fight.”
“Maybe.”
“They came in a large group, too,” she hinted.
“Yeah,” he admitted, becoming convinced. The leeches had been relentless. When Cade initially tore into their numbers, not one even bothered trying to escape.
“Cade almost lost control. In Vegas no less,” she added.
“Maybe,” he repeated. His mind shifted to how quickly Cade had banished three of the ten before he and Del could even jump in.
She glared at Jarrett as if he was dumb.
He let go of a heavy breath. “Yeah, I know. He’s reckless sometimes. I already told you that.”
The Truth of Victory: A Powers of Influence Novel Page 10
