by Trina M. Lee
Turning in to Lilah’s posh neighborhood got my pulse pounding. I clenched my fists and gathered my thoughts. The power boiled over inside, spilling out like a sieve despite my attempt to rein it in. I could do this. I had to.
“You need to tone that down, Lex,” Jez remarked. “I think you’re starting to give me static cling.”
She patted her hair, smoothing it in jest. I focused hard on containing myself. Anticipation and wrath had me on overdrive.
We parked a block away and walked to the house. Guards waited for us at the edge of the property. The small group of muscle consisted of both vampires and a demon. The temptation to hit them all with a hell of a blast was great, but I resisted. They weren’t worth it.
“You were supposed to come alone,” grunted a vampire with a beefy build and an ugly sneer.
“The invitation didn’t specify that. I doubt having a shifter at my side is going to make much difference. Lilah clearly has an arsenal here.” I raised my arms and spread my feet when he started to frisk me; I had nothing to hide.
One of the other vamps frisked Jez while the demon present merely oversaw the process. Maybe they were ignorant or maybe they were just men, but nobody thought to check Jez’s hairpiece.
They didn’t hold us up with wannabe bad guy talk. However, they also wouldn’t let us go further until sending and receiving word from Lilah that Jez could enter, too. Of course, she allowed Jez to pass. Lilah had something concrete on me. I could bring an army, but as long as the bitch had my sister, I’d have to play nice.
We continued down the stone walk to the front door. There were no hellhounds to greet us this time. No. It was far worse than that.
Falon swung the door open. He stood there with a self-righteous grin that didn’t quite reach his ice-cold eyes. Dressed all in black with his silver wings flared, he stepped back and motioned for us to enter.
The doors slammed shut with a deafening bang. Immediately, several vampires flanked each of us. Again, a demon stood off to the side, just watching. I was beginning to think the demons weren’t there for us but, rather, for Willow or others like him.
“I am going to enjoy this,” Falon said. His smile had vanished, his expression now stony and unreadable. “Follow me.”
He turned his back on us, expecting we’d follow. What choice did we have? I eyed the fallen angel suspiciously. He was playing a dangerous game here. I couldn’t be sure if his loyalties lay with Shya or Lilah. Who was he here to help? His power would have a hand in determining the outcome of this little party.
Falon led us down a hall on the far side of the foyer, past the library we’d seen previously. The vampires were hot on our heels. I paused to give them all a once over. Unrecognizable, every one of them. I found some small relief in the fact that they were not patrons of my club.
At the end of the hall, a demon stood guard in front of a pair of closed double doors. He scowled at Falon but moved aside to let us through. Falon threw the doors open and strode through like he owned the place.
I hesitated in the doorway, peering inside. The vampires at my back shoved me over the threshold. I wasn’t all that surprised by what I saw inside. The fact that I was growing accustomed to demon gatherings was troublesome.
The room was large even for a small mansion like Lilah’s. The only windows were high up on either side of the arched ceiling, high enough to keep sunlight from hitting the lowest part of the room during the day. Careful design, fit for a vampire.
The hardwood floor shone as if freshly polished. The room was open with little clutter. In the center was a sunken circular couch. Several scantily clad bodies moved upon it, both men and women, human and vampire. They created a powerful energy that reeked of blood and lust.
I shielded against the onslaught of seductive energy. So, this was how Lilah enticed vampires into her fold. I had a sneaking suspicion the humans here were not present of their own free will but were instead victims of the vampire influence.
At the far end of the room stood three elaborate armchairs. Lilah sat in the middle with Gabriel and Juliet bound and seated on either side of her. My heart surged when I saw my sister, bruised but alive. Small cuts adorned her wrist and neck, evident of Lilah’s curiosity. Juliet’s blood hadn’t worked. She wasn’t a Hound.
Shya sat in a chair off to the side where he had an ample view of the entire room. Despite being bound in silver, he still wore his constantly amused smile. His grin broadened when he saw me, and a chill crept down my spine. Far too many demons were in this room for my liking.
I followed Falon around the couch, stopping in front of Lilah. Jez was at my side, tense but ready. Meeting Juliet’s eyes, I nodded, hoping to encourage her. She stared back at me, expressionless.
“You came,” Lilah said, crossing one leg over the other. “I’ve got to admit, I almost thought you might leave your sister to fend for herself.”
“No, you didn’t. But, why save her for last? Why kill Zak and Zoey?” I stared hard at Lilah, ignoring the demon that stood behind her but noting that Brook was not among those present.
Lilah did her best to look bored. It didn’t work. She was thrilled to see me. “Because I wanted to. I only wish it had been easier to track down the white wolf.”
I repressed the sudden surge of venomous hatred. I wanted so badly to slap her with a blast of power. Cool and calm. That’s how I had to do this.
“So, what now? You bleed me and let my sister go?” I asked, indignant and refusing to show fear.
Lilah pretended to consider. She looked more like the Lilah I knew tonight. Her flame-colored hair was in a tight braid, and she was dressed to fight. I eyed her sturdy army boots, certain I’d take one in the face before the night was over.
“Are you in a hurry, Alexa? I’m not keeping you from anything, am I? Another hush-hush meeting with the FPA, perhaps.” She shot a snide look Shya’s way. He shrugged but remained silent.
“That’s a pretty cheap tactic for someone as old and experienced as you. Isn’t it?” There was a light touch on my mind from Arys. I let him in, seeking reassurance in his presence.
Lilah raised a hand to Falon, a wordless command. The asshole angel came to stand before me. It was so damn hard not to step away. His pale eyes were vacant of any emotion. Without laying a hand on me, he grasped my energy and jerked hard, stripping power from me.
The pain was immediate and agonizing. I screamed and went down hard on my knees. Falon grabbed my hand and pulled me up. The more solid connection intensified the pain. It felt like he was tearing me in half. Instead, he tore all the power that I’d gathered in readiness from me as if it were a limb from my body.
He whispered to me, using the sound of my shrieks to ensure nobody else heard. “You fucked up. I tried to help you.”
I sagged against him, and he let me go. Jez caught me before I hit the floor again. I gasped for breath, drained to the point of exhaustion. The leopard inside Jez crawled to the surface where it tried to offer me some comfort. I drew on her energy, taking just enough to stay on my feet.
“How was that for a cheap tactic?” Lilah asked, her steely, burnt orange gaze upon me.
My mind raced as I tried to figure out what Falon had meant. When the hell did he ever try to help me?
‘When he dosed you with his power,’ Arys supplied. ‘You came for her, and you failed.’
Shock settled in to fuel more questions. If that were the case, it would mean Falon wanted me to take out Lilah. I regarded him suspiciously, and he carefully avoided my eyes. As far as the angel was concerned, I couldn’t afford to assume anything.
“Can we just get this over with? Or, do you plan on torturing me further?” Maybe I was asking for it, but if I could get Lilah busy kicking my ass, Willow might get his chance to pop in.
“Honey, I haven’t even begun to torture you.” Lilah rose and walked around my sister’s chair, trailing her hand along Juliet’s arm as she did so. “Where is your vampire, Alexa? Surely he wouldn’t
let you walk in here without him.”
“He doesn’t know I’m here. I’m not willing to risk my sister like that. Lilah, seriously, just take what you want from me and let Juliet go. Please.”
“I gave you the opportunity to make an ally out of me. You chose Shya instead.” Lilah’s angry gaze landed on the demon who grinned, infuriating her further. “Naturally, I’m feeling a tad betrayed. I worked at your side for years. I saved your ass, yet you trusted him over me.”
She was jealous of Shya? Really? I would have rolled my eyes if I hadn’t been so sure she’d knock them out of my head.
“Hey, it’s not personal. Remember?” I threw her own words at her. “I didn’t come to stroke the ego of an insecure, washed up demon. Stop wasting my time.”
Jez stiffened beside me and gave my arm a warning squeeze. Lilah’s slow calculated actions were unnerving. I wanted to piss her off enough to shake her control, to throw her off her game somehow.
Lilah’s eyes narrowed, but she held herself together. Without taking her eyes from me, she grabbed Juliet by the hair and jerked her head to the side. Dragging a sharp nail over Juliet’s jugular, Lilah practically purred.
“It’s personal now.” She dug that nail in just enough to bring a bead of blood to the surface. Slow and languid, Lilah bent to run her tongue along Juliet’s slender neck, capturing that drop of crimson.
I shuddered and bit back the urge to shout a useless stream of ugly curses at the demon bitch. The scent of my sister’s blood wafted to tickle my nose with its heady Were aroma.
“You’re a fucking nutcase,” I said, clenching my fists at my sides. “You’re completely mad, aren’t you?”
A light went on as another puzzle piece fell into place. Lilah straightened up, shoving away from Juliet. She took a few steps toward me but kept a safe distance. I was aching on the inside from Falon stripping my power, yet she still feared me.
“I suppose that’s a matter of perspective.” A small smile played about her lips. “Aren’t we all a little mad?”
I shook my head, doing my best to ignore the steady throb in my skull. “It’s not that. It’s him. The separation from your twin flame, it has driven you crazy, made you desperate. Because you know the longer you try to exist without him, the farther you’ll fall into insanity.”
She moved fast. The fist she threw landed like concrete, and I went down hard on my ass. This wolf knew how to take a few hits though, and I was back on my feet going after Lilah before I could rethink the reaction. Falon intercepted, throwing me back with little effort.
“Wrong, you presumptuous bitch,” Lilah seethed, baring fangs. “See here’s the thing about Salem. He and his angels, they were the ones who locked me in a cage. They ensured that if I ever got out, I’d be cursed into this godforsaken form. It was his pathetic attempt to control the way my darkness affected him. At full power, I’m a bigger force than he is. Battling the darkness was driving him mad. So, he took drastic measures.”
I swiped a hand across my split lip, finding it bloody. Bleeding in a room with several unfamiliar vampires was not a good thing. If Kale’s reaction to my blood was any indication of the effect it had on them, there was a chance they could lose control.
“And, you think getting your power back will change that?” I laughed bitterly. “Bleeding me might break your curse, but it will never break your tie to him.”
Lilah’s anger scorched the atmosphere. She seemed flustered. Turning away, she spoke quietly to a tall, brawny demon lingering near the captives. He vanished, leaving me to worry about where he had gone.
I considered reaching out to the vampires in the room, stealing their energy. I could take them all out and have a hell of a load of power to throw at Lilah. Except, until my sister was free, I couldn’t risk it. Drawing on my link to Arys was possible, but his silence had grown, and I no longer felt him in my head. The first trickle of fear slithered through me.
I felt frustrated without any power, but I knew I could do this. I was a wolf, a Hound, whatever the hell that meant. I could do this powerless.
“You know, I hadn’t intended to drag this out. That smart mouth of yours is making me reconsider.” Lilah paced a slow line from Juliet’s chair to Gabriel’s and back again. Both captives stared straight ahead, unflinching and numb. I feared what might have happened to them already.
I stared at the demoness, steady and unafraid. As long as the bitch was talking, it bought us time to get out of this. I shrugged, running a tongue over my cut lip. It had swelled quickly.
“Do what you gotta do,” I said.
Noise at the door drew everyone’s attention. The demon who had just left dragged in an angry, curse spewing Arys.
Lilah’s lips were pressed into a tight, thin line. “You’re a terrible liar, Alexa. Did you expect me to believe your twin would not come? Now, he can watch you bleed.”
Chapter Twenty-One
My heart dropped into my stomach like a stone. Arys was battered but otherwise fine. The demon pulled him through the room and forced him down on his knees in front of Lilah’s chair, facing me. The demon held Arys’s head in a vicelike grip, ready to remove it at Lilah’s command.
Arys’s blue eyes glittered with menace. He would not be broken no matter what they did to him, I knew that. Lilah knew better than anyone what the twin flame bond meant. So, she would break him by making him watch me suffer. It didn’t take a psychologist to put this one together.
“Falon, I believe you owe Alexa some retribution for trapping you in a circle.” Lilah nodded toward me.
“Are you kidding me?” I stared at her in shock. “You’re getting Falon to beat on me for you? Why not do it yourself? I’m sure you want to.”
Lilah crossed her arms and regarded me knowingly. “Why Alexa, I’d think you of all people would certainly understand how easy it is to gain power over a man simply by fucking him. Why get my hands dirty when I have someone to do it for me?”
Falon’s wings ruffled ever so slightly. His carefully neutral expression didn’t change. Without waiting for another command, he walked a slow circle around Jez and me. He shoved her away, effectively separating us.
My heart raced. Panic caused my words to rush forth. “Fuck the circle. That bastard purposely-,”
I saw stars before I finished my sentence. Falon’s hit rocked me back on my heels. I struggled to stay upright. I looked fearfully to Shya as if he could save me. His face was a mask of cool composure, but fire burned in his red eyes.
“Is this worth it?” Lilah asked. It took me a moment to realize she addressed Arys. “Knowing you can’t help her. That you can only watch as she suffers. Is it worth everything you share?”
Arys glared at Lilah with the power of a thousand burning suns. “You’re afraid of her,” he accused. “So afraid you don’t even want to touch her. You see the light in her, and it terrifies you. I see right through you, demon bitch. Because I am you.”
The two of them stared at each other, Arys with accusation and Lilah with uncertainty. Each of them part of the darkness, they shared something then that I would never understand. It momentarily crippled Lilah. She turned away from Arys, scoffing angrily.
“Get me the blade,” she shouted at nobody in particular. “Let’s bleed this wolf.”
Falon pressed dangerously close. With wings flared wide, he trapped me, ensuring I didn’t try anything. I had to do something, but my options were limited, almost nonexistent.
“Take your clothes off,” he demanded. “You have to be wolf for this.”
“Fuck you.” I stood my ground. “This entire thing has been orchestrated for Lilah to throw her weight around, but she doesn’t have any. You and I both know that.”
“All I know is that you better start stripping. I’m sure a few of these guys would be happy to help you.” Falon indicated the small throng of vampires watching the entertainment Lilah had promised them.
I gritted my teeth and fumed. Together Arys and I were powerful enou
gh to wipe out every vampire present and maybe even beat back the demons, too. It wouldn’t happen though. Stripped of my power, I felt weak. I needed time to bounce back from that. Even then, I wouldn’t have access to my power in wolf form.
Lilah held up a shiny dagger with a sharp blade and a black stone pressed into the handle. She twirled it in her hands, eyeing me with a vindictive sneer.
“Tick tock,” she said. Lilah moved between her hostages, lingering near each one of them. Stopping beside Arys, she held the dagger up for me to see. “Have you ever wanted to escape your twin, Alexa? Has anyone ever given you the opportunity to sever the tie?”
My entire body went cold. I shook my head, a vehement protest rising in my throat. “No. Don’t. I’m undressing, ok? I’ll shift, and you’ll get your friggin’ Hound blood. If you hurt anyone, that changes. I’ll go down fighting, and I promise to take you with me.”
The weight of so many eyes upon me was crushing. I kept my eyes on Arys, finding courage in his gaze. He could have fought back, could have escaped the demon’s grasp on him. Yet, he didn’t because my sister was still in danger. He was willing to hold tight and let me call the shots. If we got out of this alright, I’d make sure to show him my appreciation.
It was difficult to keep my hands moving. She wasn’t just stripping me so I could shift; she was exposing me in a way that would sap my remaining strength. She wanted me vulnerable. I couldn’t let that happen. I pulled my top off over my head and let it fall at my feet. My hands shook when I slid my pants down. They were vibrating when I reached to unhook my bra. Maybe I couldn’t do this.
“Come on, wolf,” Falon sneered. “I’d have thought you’d be used to public nudity, being a beast with two bodies. Don’t tell me we’re making you shy.”
I was used to the nudity that came with running in a pack. It was natural, part of what we were. Being forced to strip down for the entertainment of others was not within my comfort zone.
