by Dia Cole
I blinked. “What are you talking about?”
“When the housekeeper poisoned Mira, you knew just what to give my baby to make her throw up.”
I stiffened. “Rachel poisoned Mira?”
He shook his head. “No. Mrs. Pierce did.”
Ah. Anger spiked my blood. “I never liked that stuffy old bitch.”
He chuckled. “Well you certainly gave her a skull thumping. Mrs. Pierce was in the hospital for a week after you clobbered her with a rolling pin.”
I gasped. “I did not.” Mrs. Pierce was practically a senior citizen.
“You did. But only in self-defense. You said she came at you with a knife. I felt so bad for ending your employment that day when I really should have been giving you a reward.”
My head throbbed. I rubbed my temples trying to piece together my memories. “Why don’t I remember any of that?”
He took a deep breath. “Because I compelled you not to.”
“You compelled me?” I scooted away from him feeling betrayed. Somehow I hadn’t thought Nathan would have stooped to messing with my mind.
“I only did it to protect you. At the time, I didn’t know who had poisoned us and I thought you’d be safer if you didn’t remember what happened and if you left us.”
“But I wasn’t safer, was I?” The memory of the rest of that night brought a bubble of hysterical laughter from my lips. “A serial killer kidnapped me.”
“That was my fault.” He clenched his jaw. “I’d compelled you to go straight home without thinking through my words. You left your car and tried to walk the fifteen miles to your apartment.”
Realization dawned on me. “So that’s why I walked home. You do not know how much grief Syd gave me for being so dumb.”
Nathan looked away. “After that, Ty and I made a vow never to use compulsion on you again.”
“Ty as in Tyberius? Mira’s uncle?” I’d only had a couple run-ins with the dark-skinned model-gorgeous man, but he’d left an impression.
Nathan leaned back against the wall. “Well, Ty is technically Mira’s brother since Tasha is his mother too. But we prefer to call him her uncle.”
Brother. Uncle. Whatever. “When did Tyberius use compulsion on me?” I went over the few times I’d seen the mysterious guy before replaying the steamy threesome we’d had with him. My blood heated as I remembered how thrilling it’d been to be with him while Nathan watched. But Tyberius had abruptly walked out in the middle of our encounter and I hadn’t seen him since.
Nathan pressed his lips together. “I, uh. Damnation. I don’t know how to tell you this.”
A sinking feeling settled in my gut. “Did you guys compel me to have sex with the two of you?”
Nathan’s eyes widened. “No. We’d never do that.”
“Then what?”
He rubbed the nape of his neck. “Initially, it was too dangerous for me to be seen with you—Tasha had her spies everywhere. However, I wanted to spend time with you, so I coerced Ty into dating you for me.”
My mouth fell open. “What?”
“Ty and I formed a special bond when we were children. To survive Tasha’s torture, we often retreated into each other’s minds. It helped us cope.”
“Okay,” I said, trying to follow along.
“As a result, Ty and I can share each other’s experiences. So when Ty took you on dates, I went along vicariously. I heard everything you said and experienced everything you did.”
“That included sex,” I said, trying to hide my inner freak out.
“Hell no. I made him swear not to touch you. However, sometimes you made that difficult.” He gave me a scolding look. “You are a damn sexy female and when you put your mind to seducing a man…” He shook his head. “No wonder he fell in love with you.”
I choked on my breath. Holy crap. Tyberius loves me? How is that even possible? “How long were Ty and I together?”
“You weren’t together,” Nathan corrected.
I wasn’t buying that for a minute. “How long did you date me vicariously through him?”
He flushed. “Several months.”
Several months? What the hell? Earlier in the year Syd had accused me of dating some gorgeous hotty with a fancy car. Had that been Tyberius? I closed my eyes trying to picture the gorgeous man in my mind.
A deep melodic voice whispered, “You own my soul, Starfire.”
My head ached so badly, I let out a cry. “Why can’t I remember?”
“Because I made him wipe your mind after every date.” Nathan lowered his gaze as if he were ashamed. “I didn’t know he was falling for you. I should have though. I was a selfish bastard.” He tightened his fingers around mine.
I pulled my hand away. “Yes, you were.” I couldn’t even imagine what it’d be like to be with someone for months and not have them remember who I was. “So that’s why he got weird and left that night the three of us were together?”
“I think it was too hard seeing you and I together.” Nathan stared at the wall. “He shut me completely out after that night. I lost my brother because of my thoughtless actions.”
I rubbed my chest not knowing how to respond. I felt confused and violated.
Nathan touched my cheek. “Can you forgive me for this too?”
I pulled away. “I don’t know. God, Nathan, you make it so hard. You lied about your wife—Mira’s mother. You broke up with me and shattered my heart—but that was supposedly all a lie. It sounds like you’ve repeatedly brainwashed me. And on top of all that you made your best friend date me and then made me forget him.” I rubbed my head. “What else are you hiding from me?”
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I mean, there were a couple of incidents between us that I made you forget, but other than that, nothing.”
“A couple of incidents?” Red crept into my line of vision. “Fuck you, Nathan.” I’d had enough of his lies and the continual emotional roller coaster he put me on. First he loves me, then he doesn’t, then he loves me, but not if I had other lovers, and now he loves me again. My eyes burned, but tears didn’t fall. I was all out of tears for him.
“Havana, please you have to understand.” Nathan tried to draw me closer.
I pushed him away. “I understand perfectly. Our relationship has always been about you and I’m tired of it.” I gently shifted Mira’s sleeping body to his lap and stood. “Nathan Steele, I unclaim—”
He grabbed my arm. “Don’t. I beg of you, Vana. Don’t do this. You’re exhausted. You’re upset—”
“I’m fucking furious.” I gnashed my teeth wishing I could shift into my monster werewolf and throw him out the window.
“Don’t unclaim me out of anger. Give me a chance to—”
“You’re all out of chances. I don’t want you as my mate any more.”
He flinched. “Vana, please—”
“Don’t talk to me!” I whisper-screamed.
The power I’d infused into my voice had him grabbing his head.
“I unclaim you, Nathan Steele.”
As the bond between us snapped, he let out an anguished sound that echoed inside my heart.
The connection between us shattered, leaving nothing but a cold, empty space between us. My throat tightened. My eyes burned.
I desperately needed comfort from my mates. Where were they? I marched over to the clinic doorway and looked inside.
Mason lay on his side, sleeping peacefully on the cluttered floor, while Gabriel was trying to free Liam from inside the ceiling. Both males were at least half a foot taller than they’d been an hour ago and significantly more muscular.
I blinked, sure my eyes were playing tricks on me. “W-what the hell is going on?”
Gabriel looked over at me with bright golden eyes. “We injected ourselves with your blood.”
I sucked in a breath. “You did what?”
“Your blood changed us both into Alphas. Now we won’t shorten your lifespan.” Gabriel grinned. “I think we’ll be able to t
ake hybrid form once I can get this big mother fucker free.” He glared up at Liam. “Why the hell did you have to get stuck in the ceiling?”
“You’re the one who wanted to ascend in this tiny room,” Liam called out from inside the rafters.
“Shut up and duck that melon of yours down.”
They were injecting my blood into their veins while I was going through one of the most emotional ordeals of my life? “Did you even consider telling me first?”
Gabriel frowned. “No. Why?”
Seriously? I ground my teeth together. “What if the injection killed you and by default me?” And the baby. I rubbed my stomach.
Gabriel gave an infuriating shrug. “It was a calculated risk. Besides now there is a far better chance we can make Nathan’s plan work.”
“What plan?”
Nathan gave me a beseeching look and opened his mouth. Nothing came out.
Oh yeah, I’d compelled him not to talk to me. Good. I didn’t want to speak to the bastard ever again.
“Nathan’s plan to kill Tasha,” Liam called out.
“Overthrow,” Nathan corrected. “We’re only planning on overthrowing Tasha and you're not supposed to tell Vana.”
They were keeping things from me now?
Gabriel snorted. “Fuck that. We’ll kill the Beast. You should see how big Liam and I are.”
Nathan let out a low growl. “I’m the Alpha, I say what the plan is.”
Gabriel laughed. “Not anymore. I’m an Alpha now too and I can beat your ass six ways to Sunday.”
“The fuck you can,” Nathan said with an answering growl.
“I can break you both in half,” Liam called out in a muffled voice.
“I can’t believe you guys.” Volcanic fury thrummed through my veins. These males were supposed to be my family. They were supposed to be the people I trusted most in the world. My heart pounded and my hands shook. I was so sick of the people I loved letting me down.
First there was my mom who rarely bothered to acknowledge my existence my entire life. Then the long string of lovers who cheated on me or broke my heart. And then there was Nathan… A vise tightened around my heart as I replayed all the times he’d hurt me. And now Gabriel and Liam who cared more about increasing their power than the potential risk to our baby. “Go to hell, all of you.”
“Why is she upset?” Liam whispered.
“She’s pregnant. It comes with the territory,” Gabriel responded.
He didn’t just throw down the pregnancy card, did he? “Fuck you. I’m leaving and don’t think about following me.”
Nathan set Mira aside and tried to reach for me. At the same time, Gabriel turned in my direction.
I raised my hand and called on my power. “All three of you stay here.” I needed some time and distance from them before I did something I’d regret. Shaking with anger, I stormed out of the lodge.
Walking out into the bright sunshine did little to improve my mood.
“Assholes. I’m mated to a bunch of assholes.” I kicked a pile of snow as I walked aimlessly along the path between the resort and the lodge. After two minutes of inhaling the fresh crisp mountain air, my anger slowly left me.
Gabriel’s and Liam’s decision to inject my blood without giving me a head’s up was a dick move, but my reaction might have been a little over the top. And my decision to unclaim Nathan, although completely warranted, might have been hasty too. I ran a shaky hand over my face wishing I could undo the last hour.
“Havana? Is that you?” a voice called out.
I turned to see a figure running out of the ski resort.
As the person came closer, I recognized the heart-shaped face and wild cluster of tight blonde curls.
“Tina? What are you doing out here?” We’d left her and the two kids she’d been looking after at Sanctuary.
She ran over, her exhales fogging the cold air. “I’m so glad I found you.” She threw her arms around me. The scent of blood and terror clung to her skin.
My adrenaline spiked. “What happened?”
“Come with me.”
“Come where? Are the kids okay?”
She shook her head, her hazel eyes wide. There were bright red specks covering her face.
“Is that blood? Are you bleeding?”
Instead of answering, she grabbed my arm and started dragging me toward the parking lot. “Hurry. The kids.”
I kept pace with her trying to get some answers. “Did something happen to the children?”
She didn’t answer, but the anxiety coming off her spoke volumes.
The kids are in trouble. Even though I was still furious with my mates, I looked up at the ski lodge and mentally called out, “Guys, Tina is here. She’s frantic. I don’t know what’s going on.”
Liam and Gabriel shouted in my head at once.
“Stay where you are.”
“We’ll be right down.”
“We’re almost there.” Tina motioned at a gold SUV idling a few yards away.
Where did she get the vehicle? I didn’t remember seeing a car like that at Sanctuary. “Are the kids in there?” I tried to see through the darkly tinted windows.
“Hurry!” Tina screamed, tightening her grip around my arm.
My ears rang. “Lower your voice.” Crap, she’s going to attract zombies.
Tina dragged me to the passenger door. “The kids! We have to save the kids from her.”
Her? Oh, God. I stopped in my tracks. “Do you mean Tasha?”
Tina nodded, her eyes filling with tears.
Oh, hell. “Tasha has the kids!” I telepathically shouted to my mates.
“Stop. We can’t get to you!”
“Havana run back to us!”
Liam, Gabriel, and Nathan were hanging out the clinic window, frantic looks on their faces.
Why aren’t they coming?
Tina whirled around. “I’m sorry.”
The doors of the SUV opened and three huge guys dressed in black jumped out.
Crap. I turned to flee, but a heavily muscled, gray-haired male who looked somewhat familiar, grabbed me. “You’re coming with us.”
“Let me go!” I struggled to free myself from his hold. Shit. If only I could shift, I could take them out, but I couldn’t risk the baby. Neither could I risk them taking me. Leaning into my attacker, I kicked him as hard as I could in the balls.
He doubled over, cursing.
Tearing free of his grasp, I darted around the other males. I’d almost made it to the edge of the parking lot when there was a loud pop and something struck me hard in the back.
Everything went dark.
11
Tyberius
There was a time when my mother’s touch offered comfort not pain, when her lips crooned lullabies not curses, and when she gifted me with presents instead of near fatal wounds. But that had been a very long time ago.
Something rustled in the corner of my prison cell.
A mouse? A rat?
At this point either would be a tempting morsel. The guards hadn’t fed me in over a week and the gnawing pain in my stomach destroyed any standards I had. Besides it wouldn’t be the first time I resorted to eating vermin to survive. Once when I’d been a child, I’d survived off cockroaches for months. Of course, then I’d been able to make frequent escapes into my brother’s mind to ease the despair of solitary confinement.
The silver helmet Mother had driven into my skull with spikes prevented me from even that small reprieve.
I tried again to reach Nathan telepathically. I had to warn him that the Beast had discovered our plot. My attempt failed like all the ones before. Blast. Mother had figured out that bands of silver around a Lykos’s head negated most of their abilities including compulsion and telepathy.
Blast. If Nathan continued with his plan, he’d be walking right into a trap.
I didn’t know who had betrayed us. It definitely hadn’t been the Alphas of the Moon Valley or Red Canyon factions. Those poor fe
males were locked in cells down the hall when Mother wasn’t throwing them in front of me.
My refusal to mate with them, or any of the others, had resulted in multiple stab wounds and a castration experience that would live on in my nightmares for eternity. Thank the fates Mother allowed me to regenerate from that one, but she’d nailed the helmet back on before I could even think to send a message to Nathan.
“Nathan can you hear me?”
There was no answer.
Blast. Although we’d once been so close we could communicate over state lines, I couldn’t reach him.
Biting back a moan of pain, I tugged futilely on the metal contraption that covered my entire head and most of my face. Mother had blinded me, but graciously left my mouth free, not that I’d ever say the words she wanted me to say. Never would I help her in her insane pursuit of more Alpha male children.
She’d fucked our childhood up. Wasn’t that enough?
The scratching of tiny claws on the floor grabbed my attention.
Food.
I inhaled deeply, picking up a musty odor. Definitely a rat. Hopefully, a fat one. I tried to push myself off the cold slab of concrete. A torrent of pain clobbered me nearly senseless. Gasping, I closed my eyes.
Guess you get a free pass today, rat.
The most recent visit from Mother resulted in several stab wounds and another broken leg. The injuries were enough to cause me intense agony but never enough to kill me. A pity really. I’d often wished she’d just put me out of my misery. But her torture always stopped short of death. Why she spared Nathan and me the violent ending she delivered everyone else was a mystery.
The scared and lonely little boy that still lived deep inside me insisted it was because she loved me. The realist I’d become knew the Beast wasn’t capable of love.
As if to underscore my thoughts, the piteous moaning sounds from the cells down the hall increased. Mother had somehow put the Alpha females into heat and she’d left them in that desperate wanting state for weeks. I’d almost given in to the Beast’s plan to give those females some relief, but loyalty to my beloved and the refusal to put any other babes’ lives in Mother’s hands held me back.
