“Love has a way of doing that to people, Sheba.”
“I’m afraid, Jasyn. I don’t think I can lose anymore people I love today.”
“I won’t let that happen. I promise.”
“Am I late?”
“It’s about damned time, Arygon.” Hannah felt Jasyn’s surprise at the sight of his brother climbing onto the small rise. The gorgeous Were didn’t stop until he’d reached Lux. He took the Trueblood Healer into his arms and kissed him with an unrestrained passion that made her blush.
She couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Wyley, wondering how the Were would deal with seeing the two men so open in their need for each other. The interest in his eyes was unexpected.
“Don’t even think it, mate. Our experimenting days with others are over.”
“It never crossed my mind.”
Lux pulled back, his face flushed with desire. “I’m glad you’re here. Sylvain has missed you.”
“Only Sylvain?” Arygon’s wicked smile turned somber as he looked toward Hannah and Jasyn. “My new sister, I’m sorry for your loss. Nicolette was one of a kind. And I can promise you that her killer will pay.”
“That is my promise to make.” Midnight’s words were low, but everyone heard them. Arygon nodded respectfully toward the Trueblood, as though instantly recognizing a fellow leader.
Arygon greeted Zander. “The strongest Weres of our pack are moments behind me. We left this morning to bring my mate and children home. Halfway here, Alexei and the twins sent me a signal that nearly knocked me over with its power. They showed me what was coming. Whatever the Shadow brings, we are ready.”
Hannah gasped. “The same thing happened to me. That’s how I knew we needed to leave Haven.”
Zander sighed, his worried gaze finding Regina’s. “Your son.”
She shook her head and smiled at her mate. “Our son.”
Jasyn slid his hands down to cup Hannah’s stomach. “I can’t wait to see you pregnant with our child.”
“Neither can I. Although I’ve just decided that he or she is not allowed to play with Alexei.”
“Agreed.”
A roaring, churning mass of sound erupted just beyond the trees in the distance. Hannah knew what it was with a single inhalation. Shadow. And vampire. She felt herself panicking. How would she shift? As an Unborn she just had to think of her totem animal, embrace it in her mind and she changed swiftly, painlessly. Weres were different. It looked painful.
“I won’t lie and say it doesn’t hurt the first time. But once you get the hang of it, it’s almost pleasurable.”
“I bet you say that to all the Shebas you bite and turn into werewolves.”
“You’re my one and only Sheba. Just open your mind and let the Were come out. She’s already there. Waiting. You are already joined.”
She sensed Wyley moving closer, the two Weres flanking her on either side as they changed. She closed her eyes, hearing the jarring sound of bones cracking and muscles stretching.
Open my mind. Open my mind. How could she open her mind when the Shadows were on their way, sounding like thunder rolling through the quiet night air? But then she sensed her. The Were. A wolf pacing in a cage. A beautiful beast with the need to avenge Nicolette’s death. The need to draw blood.
Pain. Every cell in her body exploding and reforming. She felt each follicle open as hair grew on her hands, her face. Her arms and legs were broken and repaired from one heartbeat to the next. She’d never felt anything like it. Hannah was screaming but the Were was howling in delight. Freedom. Strength.
Power.
She opened her eyes, seeking her mate. She looked down. And down. Jasyn and Wyley, fully transformed into the werewolves that had always intimidated her with their size and ferocity, were half her size. How was that possible?
“Sheba, honey, I forgot to tell you…”
“Tell me what?”
“More often than not, female Weres are, well—”
“Bigger. Go on. You can say it.”
“It’s kind of emasculating that my mate could pick me up and carry me around like a chew toy.”
“You do look edible. Jasyn, I feel different. I feel her.”
“Embrace it, love. But stay close. They’re nearly here.”
She saw Regina and Liz looking up at her in shock and gave a toothy smile, feeling more confident than she had in a long time. It was good to be Were.
“Ah, how I love you, my Sheba.”
“Back atcha, Big Daddy.”
Midnight wondered if this was how Malcolm had felt before his first battle. A rage so intense it gave him clarity. Serenity. They had taken his life, killed his brother, destroyed his father. His father. How different would his life had been if Elder Abaddon had been in control of his own actions? He would never know.
It was all about control. The asura saMsaki was an illusion. The Clan Trust was an illusion. The Shadow had been playing with them all along. And his mate, Midnight’s mother, had helped him. They would have to kill him to escape him now.
“Are you still with me, Midnight?”
“You are the only thing that keeps me here.”
“Look around you, my love. You have family. Friends. You’re not alone anymore.”
“Grathita. I have a lot to make up for.”
“Then let’s kick some flea-bitten ass so we can get started.”
“You are a wildcat.”
“But I’m your wildcat. You lucky bloodsucker.”
He couldn’t help but smile. She’d done that for him. Even with her own heart aching at the loss of her friend, she reminded him what happiness felt like. What he was fighting for. What he hadn’t felt since he and his twin had been teenagers.
Midnight stepped in front of the others as a sea of Shadow Wolves emerged from the darkness. Vampires who’d shifted into cats and wolves, even birds of prey flew overhead, all slowing as they caught sight of the small gathering at the standing stones. He sensed Arygon’s Weres circling behind them, waiting for the order to attack.
His voice rang out over the rolling green landscape. “Hear me. Tonight you have a choice. You don’t have to listen to the Shadow that cowers behind you like a child, forcing you to fight his battles. It is Yvan I want. Him alone. You can turn and leave now, and live to fight another day.”
The people beside him understood. He was giving them a chance. But the Shadow below roared their answer, some Truebloods laughing in contempt at the option. “What’s our other choice?”
He heard the question, despite the cacophony, and smiled. They’d already made it. “I was hoping you’d ask. The other choice is nothing you haven’t experienced before. Defeat. Humiliation. Death. Some of you may know of the Storm Bringer. I am his brother. Midnight Fog.”
He lifted his hands, and the fog rolled in like a thick blanket around them. He made sure it didn’t envelop those behind him, only his enemies. He heard the whip strike of lightning, saw it pierce the fog and heard an angry howl. Lux Sariel. He nodded to Arygon, who’d transformed into a large, silver Were beside him, and the battle began.
There were hundreds of them. He felt his mate’s surprise at the number, but he’d known. If the Shadow did anything well, it was hide. Only attacking when there was no other recourse. Or when they believed the Shadow had the advantage. The numbers were definitely in their favor this time. But Midnight knew they’d underestimated the enemy at their peril.
The Mediator had shifted into a large, golden bear, his strength more than a match for the attacking Shadow. Lightning flashed around them, precision strikes that left the smell of charred hide lingering in the air. And Liz was glorious. He couldn’t help but keep an eye on her as her jaguar leapt in the air to grasp and ravage a shifted Trueblood hawk.
“I can handle myself. You’re the one who needs to focus.”
Yes. He had to find Yvan and Miriam. He knew they were here. And if he had to slaughter every last Shadow to find them, that’s what he would do. Old instin
cts took over and he was the Cursed One again, an animal without mercy.
A Trueblood who had chosen the wrong side shifted back into human form when Midnight wrapped his hand around his throat. “Please. I’m one of you. Please don’t hurt me!”
“Another Trueblood might be moved by your heartfelt plea.” Snap. “Sadly, I am not that kind of bloodsucker.”
A female Were whimpered in pain, and Midnight whirled around to see Jasyn’s mate surrounded. Her left shoulder was bleeding, but she was doing a good job of fending the Shadow off, flinging one and then another into the air with a swing of her good paw.
Jasyn and Wyley were rabid in their efforts to get to her, but this group obviously had a plan. Separate and surround the female. He knew a Shadow woman was not allowed many rights, their size and abilities might have something to do with that. But it also made her the biggest target on a fog-filled battlefield.
Midnight walked swiftly through the mass of claws and flesh, leaving a wave of dropping bodies in his wake. He knew it worried his grathita, how easily killing came to him. But right now, he was exactly what the situation called for.
Hannah had been knocked to the ground. He wouldn’t get to her soon enough. Jasyn roared in rage, tearing through the circling pack, fur and flesh shredding in his frenzy to get to his mate.
He was so focused on the drama unfolding in front of him that the attack took him by surprise. He saw Jasyn reach his mate just as a clawed hand came around from behind and scraped across his neck, bending him forward when he gripped it instinctively. Another deep cut sliced into his side, throwing him to the ground.
“Midnight! No!”
His mate’s call made him curse and struggle against the Shadows piling on top of him. They howled for help. They had him. Had the Storm Bringer’s twin. Time to go for the kill.
As his Lizbeth would say, “Fuck that.”
He bent his knees, kicking out with all his power and rolling until he was free of their weight. The wounds hurt, but they weren’t life threatening. The fool Weres hadn’t slashed deep enough.
“You can give them lessons in how to kill you later.”
“I do need to find some useful employment now that I’m back.”
The Shadow who’d jumped him was racing his way, in a blood frenzy that nothing but death or killing could cure. Midnight prepared to give him the former, his hands outstretched to fling the bastard over his head.
The silver glint shimmered in the periphery of his vision followed by the ringing tone of a sword sent the Shadow’s head rolling toward Midnight’s feet, the body dropping where it stood.
“You didn’t think I’d let you have all the fun, did you?”
“Kit!”
“I could have taken him. I don’t owe your giant ex-lover anything.”
“You’re being a baby.”
Midnight snarled. “Thanks.” He wrestled with the nearest Shadow Wolf, tearing out his heart with one well-aimed strike. “I’m glad your wife let you come over to play.”
Kit raised a good humored eyebrow, his already large body growing head and shoulders over the fighters around him, knocking two oncoming Shadows together like coconuts, and tossing them aside. “Are you kidding? I had to tie Jesse up to get her not to leave Priestess Magriel’s. We should hurry before they untie her, so I can take advantage of all her pent up frustration myself. Where’s Max?”
Midnight couldn’t conceal his flinch at the question, and Kit grew even larger. He shook his head. “Guardian, we don’t know where Max is. A body was never found. But a Shadow had his sword.”
“No body? Bah. Then he lives. And we will end this. Now!” The last word, bellowed from his mouth blew a line of Shadow back several steps. He looked down at Midnight and winked. “I brought playmates.”
“Midnight, look. Thank the Goddess. The cavalry has arrived. Kit and Sylvain brought the clans.”
He looked behind them to see a large group charging toward them. Lizbeth was right. Young and old, the allied clans had come to witness, to be a part of the battle. Leading them with her long, silver hair flying behind her like a flag was Lux and Arygon’s mate Sylvain. The Antara, they called her. The tiny, waiflike creature lifted up her hand, and he watched as a boulder pulled itself from the earth to fly into the shrieking crowd of attackers.
“Bloody hell.”
“Isn’t she cute?” Kit laughed as he skewered two comers at once, pushing him off his sword with a grimace. “My wife is half godling, but at least she can’t skewer me with a redwood when she’s mad. If it wasn’t so blasted foggy you could see what the Reader can do. What she did to Grey Wolf. Although if you listen closely, you can hear their screams of utter terror.”
He could. He knew from Lizbeth the Gypsy’s awesome power. He was grateful that she had killed the bastard who’d seen to Malcolm’s death, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to witness it firsthand.
Damned if he wasn’t starting to like the tall bastard.
“Aw. You’re making friends.”
“I should have taken a page from his book and tied you up for the duration.”
“You can do it later.”
His woman. She was fighting at Regina and Zander’s side, every inch a warrior. Malcolm would have been proud. He felt a wave of love and gratitude fill his heart.
“He would have been proud of both of us… Fuck. I see them. Miriam and Yvan. I see them.”
Without a word to Kit, Midnight spun around in mid air, following the direction of his mate’s gaze. His mother’s indigo glare clashed with his.
And the wind started to blow.
The fog dissipated, showing without doubt that the tide had turned to their advantage. Bodies littered the ground. Shadow. Half their number lay dead or dying on the wet grass around them. And watching from the safety of the trees as his own people were being mutilated was the coward himself. Yvan.
He was pacing back and forth, watching as his genius plan fell through. Again. But Miriam wasn’t paying any attention to her mate. The focus of her anger was all directed at one person. Her firstborn son. Midnight.
Yvan didn’t notice when she walked toward the fighting, too busy shaking his fist at a nearby Trueblood, pointing to Sylvain and the other clan members. They met in the middle and she created a funnel of air around them, sealing them off from the rest of the world. “You’re an Abaddon. Why won’t you just die?”
She sounded truly dumbfounded. She didn’t understand how he’d survived all she’d put him through. To be honest, neither did he, but it wasn’t exactly what you wanted to hear the woman who gave birth to you say. “Perhaps I’m too much like my father. Why would you do all of this, go to all this trouble just to ensure the last of your offspring dies?”
“I’m not a monster, Marcus. Do you think I would do all this just to kill you? Of course, killing you is a necessary evil. But Yvan’s vision is so much grander than that. The treaty they were about to sign cannot happen. Since the asura saMsaki had lost its influence, and your pathetic father has been seen for the insane twit he is, we had to create chaos. Yvan decided we could solve all our problems if we killed the Reader and the Antara, the mates of the Alpha Were and Mediator.”
“That plan seems to be working out for you splendidly.”
Miriam slapped him across the face. “Show some respect. If you’d truly been worthy, you could have joined us. But I knew how much you loved your brother. Knew you would never betray him.”
Midnight felt the last shred of love he had for her turn to dust. “Have you ever felt that way about anyone? How could I have been so wrong about you?”
Tears welled up in her strange swirling eyes. “I loved you with all my heart. I even believed I loved your father. Until I met Yvan. Then I understood what passion was. Excitement. And I knew I would never be happy unless I was with him.”
Much as he didn’t want to, he understood. She was twisted. Psychotic. But she did understand love. It just wasn’t him she felt it for. It wasn’t anyone bu
t the Shadow. Her mate. She smiled at him and he didn’t fight her when she curled her hand into a fist, using her ability to pull the air from his lungs.
“She’s a fool, Midnight. I love you. I love you, my grathita. Don’t leave me alone. I need you.”
He never took his gaze from his mother, his vision blurred then cleared when the tears he’d never shed fell down his cheeks. She was smiling. She was enjoying being this close so she could watch him die.
“I love you. Marcus. Midnight. Stay.”
His fist clenched at his side, hesitating even as his vision was going dark. How many nights had he rocked himself to sleep, wishing he was in his mother’s arms? How many times had he planned a daring rescue from whatever hellhole his father had sent her to? He would be her hero. But those were childhood dreams.
His hands came up, so large around her small, dainty head and crushed her skull. The wind died down abruptly, the funnel disappearing. Midnight broke her neck, holding her close while he wrenched her heart from her chest, ensuring she would never harm anyone again. He knew he was still crying. He wasn’t sure he would ever be able to stop.
“I’m close, Midnight. My love, I’m so sorry. So sorry.”
But it wasn’t over yet. Most of the Shadow had been slain or were retreating. But Midnight didn’t care. Let them go. He wanted to end Yvan and his grand vision. He saw him there, staring at his mate’s dead body as though he couldn’t believe it was her. For a moment he looked so lost that Midnight knew he’d loved her too. He’d truly cared for Miriam. Then he saw Midnight and he turned to run, leaving her body behind.
“Coward.” Midnight wanted to run after him, but he was too weak. Blood loss, lack of oxygen and his mother’s betrayal made him stumble. Kit and Lux appeared beside him, helping him remain on his feet. He looked up in time to see Regina, her golden eyes gone black, staring at Yvan’s retreating back.
The Shadow stopped grabbing his head and turning in shock to see the Reader focusing on him. For a moment it looked like he would attack her, his lips curling back in a threatening snarl. Then his gaze landed once more on Miriam’s body. His hands dropped and he fell to his knees, a silent scream on his lips as the Reader destroyed him from the inside out.
Midnight Falls: Children of the Goddess, Book 4 Page 15
