by Kali Argent
The world was just a little safer without Elias Diavolos in it. They were safer. No longer would they have to constantly look over their shoulders, living in fear that he’d one day come for her.
She still didn’t understand exactly how her visions worked, and she struggled to make sense of her dreams from night to night, but she’d learn, and she’d use her abilities to do good. She’d help people where she could, and maybe, in some small way, she’d make a difference.
It hadn’t been as much work as she’d anticipated, transporting the refugees from the junior high school to the base in Kansas City. Many of the prisoners had been Gemini, and once released, had gone their own way to search out their packs and families. In the end, there had only been about forty humans, which they’d managed to fit into an old, dented school bus.
They were settling in nicely, and with the support of those around them, they’d eventually get back to some kind of normalcy. They’d never fully heal, and there would always be emotional scars from what they’d been through, but they wouldn’t hurt forever. She had to believe that, because the alternative was just too awful to contemplate.
Which led her to a topic she’d been avoiding since they’d arrived in Kansas City.
“Nik?”
“Hmm?” he answered distractedly, his attention focused on the map spread out on the long table in front of him.
“Nik, can we talk?” She shuffled her feet near the doorway of the conference room. “Please?”
After a brief pause, he looked up at her as he slowly leaned back in his chair. “Always. What do you wish to discuss, cara mia?”
He wasn’t going to like what she had to say, but she’d been having the same dream for three nights, and she was beginning to learn not to ignore such things. In her dream, she stood beside her mate on the roof of an old building, the stars and moon shining down on them as thousands of vampires cheered from the street below. At first, she’d attributed it to self-grandiose and her sense of accomplishment at having freed the slaves in Texas.
Then it had happened again, only this time, there weren’t just vampires, but werewolves and shifters, too. On the third night, nothing much had changed, except Nikolai now wore a golden crown with a dazzling array of colorful jewels that sparkled in the moonlight.
“So,” she began hesitantly, “with your dad dead, that means you’re king now, right?”
His brow furrowed, but he nodded. “It does, not that it means much. We had power and control before the Purge, but I don’t think this new reality lends itself to kings and kingdoms.”
“You’re wrong. People will follow you.”
Nikolai shook his head. “I have no desire to lead.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think you have a choice.” Striding across the room, she stopped on the other side of the desk and sighed. “I’ve seen it. I’ve dreamed about it since we got here. You can unite the vampires, Nik. Not just the vampires, but all the races.”
He studied her through narrowed eyes for a long time, but eventually, he shook his head. “I think you’re mistaken. Maybe you’re misinterpreting your dream.”
She wasn’t, and he knew it. He was just afraid. Hell, she was afraid, too, but they couldn’t walk away from this. “We have to go back to Dallas.”
“No.” Leaning forward, he jabbed his finger in the middle of the map. “We have to go to Colorado.” Both eyebrows winged toward his hairline. “Don’t you want to rescue Abby?”
“You know I do.” Saving Abby wouldn’t do any good if they didn’t change the world they lived in, though. It would just be a matter of time before she was taken again, or someone else in their group went missing—or worse. “Cade and the others are leaving tomorrow to meet up with the Revenant. That’s more than a dozen people to fight for her. Who fights for everyone else?”
It seemed that along the way, the Revenant had lost its purpose. They were supposed to protect people who couldn’t protect themselves. That was their motto, the entire principle behind the tattoo they all wore. Duty. Loyalty. Courage. Sacrifice. They protected all those the moon touched, but lately, they mostly fought for themselves and the ones they loved.
She was guilty of it as well, placing one person above the multitudes, but it had to change. They had to change. They had to do better.
Duncan was still adjusting to life in Kansas City, but he’d been spending a lot of time with a pretty young woman named Paige. Hopefully, she could help him mend what had been broken.
The Chambers twins had also decided to stay since there had been no one else to take over the base. Kamara didn’t particularly view them as leaders, but she had faith they’d rise to the occasion.
Syrus, Heather, and Veronica had said their goodbyes and returned to their safe house just one day after arriving in Kansas City. As it turned out, their new home wasn’t far away, just across the state line in the southeast corner of Nebraska.
Kamara had been a little disappointed about their departure, but they’d been there when she and Nikolai needed them. Really, she couldn’t ask for more than that. If she could convince her mate to stay and fight, she had a good feeling his siblings wouldn’t be able to stay out of the fray for long. It was in their blood, and moreover, it was in their best interest.
Miles, Thea, Rhys, and Cade were currently packing and checking gear, preparing for their journey to a small town outside of Denver. The Valkyrie, for reasons known only to them, had decided to accompany the group. Hell, they seemed almost eager, but Kamara guessed it was to be expected. They might not be Hunters, but they still lived for the hunt.
Not everyone agreed with what the Abraxas coven was doing, not even the vampires in their region. They stayed, and they kept their opinions to themselves because they were scared, because they had nowhere else to turn, and mostly, because they had no reason to upset the status quo. Kamara planned to give them a reason.
“Come on,” she insisted. “Be king. Change the world.”
“And what do I get out of this besides a lot of grief?”
She’d never said it would be easy. “There’s a blowjob in it for you.”
The comment had slipped out, and she’d meant it as a joke, but Nikolai’s eyes widened, and his nostrils flared.
“Are you trying to bribe me with sex?”
Well, if it worked… “No, I’m trying to bribe you with a blowjob.”
Standing, Nikolai raked his predatory gaze over her body from sternum to hips. “Our room. Three minutes.”
“Does that mean you’ll do it?” she asked, but she was already backing toward the door, his answer not overly important at the moment.
“Go,” he growled. “Now.”
There were a hundred things they needed to discuss, the least of which was Nikolai’s ascension to the throne, but another hour—or three—wouldn’t change anything. He’d still be resistant, and the argument would still be waiting for them.
She darted down the hallway of the five-floor hotel in the heart of the city, Nikolai right behind her, to their suite at the end of the corridor. The Revenant had removed the keycard locks, but it still took her a second of fumbling with the handle before she finally got the door open.
Nikolai followed swiftly, kicking the door closed behind him as he began stripping out of his clothes. “Naked. Now.”
“Don’t use that tone with me, Nikolai Diavolos.” Even as she said it, she shoved her pants down her thighs and stripped her shirt off over her head.
“You can call me king,” he answered with a smirk.
Oh, there were a few things she’d like to call him, and “king” wasn’t necessarily at the top of that list. “Stop talking.”
It always happened, every time. It started as fun banter, a chaste kiss, or a simple look. Before either of them knew it, the embers that smoldered between them erupted into a burning fire that consumed them both. It was intense, bordering on insanity, and she hoped the flames never died.
A wave of energy swept through the room
, heating Kamara from the inside out, leaving her wet and aching within seconds. Fuck, he hadn’t even touched her yet, and she already hovered near the brink. “Hurry.”
In three strides, Nikolai reached her, spinning her abruptly and pulling her to him so that her back molded against this warm, muscled chest. His lips whispered along the curve of her neck and across her shoulder, while his hands did sinful things to her body.
“You are so very beautiful, cara mia. So, lovely.”
“That’s sweet,” she answered breathily. “Make love to my ears later.”
“As you wish.” Gripping her hips, he bent her forward over the bed, and pressed his heavy erection against her opening. “Are you ready?”
In answer, Kamara growled in frustration, pushing herself back onto his cock. He slid deep, stretching her inner walls, and the slight burn drew a shaky moan from her parted lips. Damn, he was big. He thick length filled her completely, creating a delicious pressure that continued to build as he set a slow, steady rhythm. She didn’t want his control, though. She wanted him as desperate as her and falling apart at the seams.
Bracing herself on the mattress, she reached between her legs, finding her swollen clit unerringly. She rubbed the ball in hard, fast circles as Nikolai continued his torturously slow pace.
“Fuck,” Nikolai cursed when her core spasmed around him. Blanketing her back, he grabbed her wrist, pulling her hand away to replace it with his own. “Mine.”
“Yes,” she breathed, tangling her fingers in the red comforter that covered the bed. “Yes.”
His fingers flicked over her nub, sometimes light and slow, other times firm and swift, and as her cries grew in volume, his tempo increased in urgency. Each time he growled her name or groaned against the back of her neck, it pushed her that much closer to the edge.
“I’m not going to last if you keep that up,” he warned.
“Good,” was all she could manage in return. “I’m so close. Please, Nik!”
Her mate went wild, snarling and groaning as he snapped his hips, driving into her so deeply she couldn’t tell where she ended and he began. Waves of ecstasy crashed over her, flooding her with pleasure, and when his fangs scraped over her shoulder, she knew she couldn’t hold back her release much longer.
“Ah, fuck,” Nikolai groaned, his body tensing around her.
Kamara pushed back into him when his rhythm stuttered, impaling herself on his cock as she buried her face in the blankets to muffle her screams.
“Yes,” Nikolai murmured. “That’s it. Come for me, Kamara. Make me feel it.”
His dirty words gave her the last push she needed, throwing her headlong into freefall, and she shuddered hard through a blinding orgasm that left her breathless. A few seconds later, Nikolai roared, his body quaking as he followed her into bliss.
Still panting, he pulled her up from the mattress, holding her tenderly as he peppered kisses over her shoulders and up the side of her neck. Kamara sighed, happy and content, shivering a little when his flagging erection slipped from her body.
“You distracted me on purpose,” she accused, but with no real heat to her tone.
Falling onto the bed, Nikolai pulled her down with him, wrapping her protectively in his big arms. “I did, and I’m not sorry for it.”
Moments like these were not guaranteed, not in the world they lived in, and every instinct told her to just shup up and enjoy it, but she couldn’t let it go. She didn’t just want this one moment. She wanted a thousand of them, a million, and there was only one way that could happen.
“Nik, think about it, please. You won’t have to do it alone, but I truly believe you’re the only one who can unite the people. If you’re willing to lead, they’ll follow you.”
He didn’t say anything for a long time, and she resisted the urge to slip into his head. Her patience paid off, and a few minutes later, he rested his brow against her shoulder with a heavy sigh.
“Do you really think we can do it?”
“I do.”
“Where do we even start? How the hell do we set about saving the whole damn world?”
That part was easy. Rolling to face him, she took his face between her hands and pulled him down into a deep, lingering kiss.
“The same way we’ve done everything else. Together.”
EPILOGUE
Sitting in the passenger seat of an inky black SUV, Cade Novak stared out the window, watching the moonlight play over the trees that whipped past. His eyelids drooped a little, but he forced them to stay open, frustrated with his body for being so weak.
He still hadn’t fully recovered from his ordeal with the vampires, but he’d refused to stay behind when Kamara had suggested it. He appreciated her concern, but nothing would deter him. He’d made himself a promise, and he would see it through, even if it killed him.
He remembered the first time he’d met Abby. Roux had been trying to settle into her new life and her new relationship with Deke, which included a friendly gathering with all her friends, both new and old. Cade hadn’t wanted to be there, and he’d been so angry with her, seeing her status as the captain’s mate as the ultimate betrayal.
Cade smiled at his reflection. He still had trust issues when it came to the Gemini, but he’d come a long way since then. In particular, instead of wanting to murder Deke in his sleep, he almost considered the guy a friend. At the very least, he was an ally, and one Cade was grateful to have on his side. Plus, the big shifter made Roux happy, and Cade supposed that was all any of them could really hope for now—just a few stolen moments of happiness.
The moment he’d stepped through the back door and out onto the patio, he’d spotted Abby, and it had been like looking at a ghost. Her long, golden curls had gleamed in the afternoon sunlight, and those big blue eyes had sparkled when she’d looked up at him. She’d looked so tiny and innocent, but her personality had been larger than life, and she’d had no reservations about putting him in his place when he’d stepped out of line.
God, she reminded him of Maddy, right down to the way she wrinkled her nose when she found something distasteful. Cade hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her, and as he’d gotten to know her, he’d realized she had more in common with his late sister than just physical appearance.
He’d lost his baby sister an entire year before the Purge, well before she’d actually died. Every day, he blamed himself. He should have done more. He should have protected her. Now, she was gone, and he’d always have a dark, empty place in his heart where she’d once been.
He couldn’t change the past, but he could learn from his mistakes. Maybe that was why he’d been so drawn to Abby, so willing to risk everything to keep her safe. She didn’t just remind him of his sister. She represented redemption. If he could save her, maybe he’d finally be able to forgive himself for not saving Maddy.
“Fuck!” Miles yelled from the driver’s seat.
He slammed on the brakes, grasping the steering wheel in a white-knuckled grip as the vehicle slid across the asphalt with a high-pitched screech. The SUV came to a jerky stop just inches from the most gorgeous woman Cade had ever seen. Her fiery red hair cascaded over her shoulders and down her chest in a mass of tangled, messy curls. Dirt and dried blood streaked her naked body, covering most of her bronzed skin.
Their eyes met through the windshield, her amber irises glowed with an inner light. She wasn’t human, but werewolf or shifter, Cade couldn’t say.
“What the hell?” Rhys asked as he leaned forward between the front seats. “What is she doing?”
Cade still couldn’t take his eyes off her, not even long enough to exit the vehicle to offer her aid.
Slamming her hands against the hood of the vehicle, the woman looked at him beseechingly. “Help. Please, help me.”
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born with a silver tongue and a pen in her hand, Kali spends her days crafting scandalous romances filled with flawed heroes and kick-ass heroines. When she
's not writing, she can be found curled up in her favorite chair with a good book and a steamy cup of coffee.
Self-proclaimed introvert and supporter of the selectively social, Kali currently resides in North Texas with her insane family, including two lazy dogs and one tragically misunderstood cat.
Seriously, though, the cat is evil.
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