Tempted by Darkness

by Avery Gale

  Marcus Hines owned one of the most exclusive sex clubs in the country. Memberships were coveted and the fees spoke to the social and economic status of those who could afford them. Marcus had attained a level of success in the lifestyle that most club owners could only dream of, but the fact he was probably several hundred years old probably contributed a lot to his success as well. His expertise was sought after and his financial success was envied, but Jameson had always sensed a restlessness just below the surface—now he knew why.

  Stalking back to sit behind his desk, Jameson leaned forward and asked, “Tell me exactly why you are really here, Marcus. You don’t expect me to just let you waltz out to the meadow and observe, do you? And that is assuming you can get past Ruby, which I personally doubt—she might be little, but she sure seems to have a serious kick ass attitude when it comes to you.”

  To Jameson’s surprise, Marcus actually laughed out loud before responding, “That she does. But to be fair, you need to look at both sides of that story. I’m willing to concede my error in not confiding to you and Trev that I knew where your mate was—even though I still think it played out the way it was intended to. But Ruby is more culpable in this than she is willing to admit. And as for gaining your permission, that’s a non-issue because I’m here to protect Kit, not hurt her. All the other factors aside, Kit is still a submissive who is a member of Dark Knights, and that means she falls under my protection when it’s within my ability to provide it.” Marcus studied his fingernails as if they were suddenly the most interesting thing in the world before looking up and grinning, “Besides, Reagan has been struggling with the whole mommy thing, and I’m hoping to redeem myself a bit in her eyes because as it turns out, I’m not really that much help with the baby.”

  Jameson couldn’t hold back his roar of laughter. Could it be the great and mighty Marcus Hines was being humbled by his own infant son? “You know, that almost makes up for the fucking ass wipe stunt you pulled. Knowing that you have finally found something that you aren’t perfect at is sweet vindication, for sure. Hell, for years I’ve worried someone—probably Reagan, was going to nominate you for sainthood.”

  Marcus chuckled, but before he could respond Ruby stormed into the room. “What do you think you are doing, Marcus? Did the Supreme Council ask you to attend today? Boy oh boy, this chaps my ass I tell you. Why they think you are the best thing since sliced bread I have no idea—it’s amazing really that I seem to be the only one who knows what a worm you are. They sent you, didn’t they? And has my husband spoken to you from the other side as well?” When Marcus merely nodded, she turned on the heel of her shocking pink high-tops and stomped from the room muttering something about incompetent fools and traitorous ghosts, leaving a trail of smoke in her wake. Kit’s strong emotions lit candles, but Ruby seemed to be able to conjure smoke from absolutely nothing. He’d always wanted to ask her about it, but hadn’t found a time when he wasn’t worried his inquiry might not lead to a visit from the local fire department.

  Before he and Marcus could discuss the situation any further, Braden bounced into the room with Cecil Owen trailing close behind. “Hey, I just met Granny Good Witch in the entry and she seemed really pissed.” Braden’s eyes settled on Marcus and the young wizard stopped so quickly Cecil actually bumped into him. “Well, I guess I know what set her off.” Jameson admired the young man’s loyalty to his mentor and grinned when Braden’s eyes narrowed, “What did you do? You better not have hurt her feelings again.”

  Cecil settled his long slender fingers over the teen’s shoulders and Jameson watched as Braden’s muscles seemed to relax right in front of his eyes. The two wizards had become fast friends despite their significant age difference, and watching them interact had Jameson wondering which one was reaping the bigger benefit. Most of the time he considered it a draw. Before he could respond, Trev and Kit entered the room, and they were soon followed by several newcomers, who Jameson assumed were members of the Supreme Council.

  Braden had made his way to Jameson’s side and snickered, “They are a strange group, aren’t they? The first time I met the witches from the Council I wondered if they’d dressed in costumes just to freak me out, but Cecil says they always dress like either meirdreaches or flower children—whatever that means.” Jameson had to bite the insides of his cheeks to keep his smile to a minimum. He wasn’t about to tell the young man meirdreach was an Old Irish term for prostitute, so essentially the older wizard had said his fellow Council members dressed like streetwalkers and hippies.

  Listening as the Council members rattled on about all the precautions they felt should be in place, Jameson found himself wanting to roll his eyes at the highhanded attitude. How on earth they had so little faith in Kit baffled him. Hell, she was fucking brilliant and her innate goodness wouldn’t ever steer her wrong. Holy fucking hell. Jameson suddenly felt as if he’d been run over by a truck. He’d been treating her the same way—even though his meddling was coming from a place of love, it really wasn’t any different. He owed his sweet mate a big apology—something he intended to provide as soon as possible.

  By the time Kit was finally allowed to make her way to the meadow, Jameson knew she was reaching the end of her patience. There were small lines bracketing the corners of her eyes that were always a dead giveaway that she was pushing herself past exhaustion. Pushing his words into her mind was easy since she had very little resistance when tired. ‘I’m very proud of you, love. You’re going to do great and we’ll be nearby if you need us.’ He felt more than heard her acknowledgement and gratitude.

  Kit walked to the meadow followed by a ridiculous number of observers and was almost relieved to see Devin standing at the edge of the ravine. When she got close enough to see his grin, she could only shake her head. “I hope you know this wasn’t my doing. Holy horseshoes and hand grenades this is almost as embarrassing as having my mother walk me into for the first day school each year.”

  Devin leaned his head back and laughed out loud, and Kit was struck by how dramatically it changed his appearance. When he leveled his gaze back on her, he smiled while shaking his head, “Don’t worry about it, Kit. I expected this. They don’t trust me and I can hardly blame them. But time is on my side and they’ll eventually see that I mean you no harm.” Kit found herself wanting to believe him, she’d seen the shadows in his eyes that reminded her of a man who had never really felt love and acceptance. In that moment Kit understood how truly lucky she’d been—her upbringing might not have been traditional, but she’d never doubted she was loved. Now she might be frustrated with the dog and pony show behind her, but the simple fact was—each of those people had her back—literally. Her mates’ love and acceptance were unquestionable as well. Yes, she’d been blessed beyond measure.

  Flashing him a warm smile, Kit leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, “Well, we’ll see, personally I don’t think they have much faith in either of us. I’m not sure they trust you to do the right thing, and they don’t think I’m smart enough to know when I’m in over my head.” When he didn’t comment she gave him her annoyed mommy scowl and put her hands on her hips letting know how frustrated she was, then added, “Seriously, they don’t think I’ll know if you are blowing smoke up my ass, but I will—so don’t even try it.”

  “No, ma’am. Wouldn’t even consider it.” Kit found herself shaking her head and smiling at his insolence. God, she didn’t want to like him, but she could already see herself headed in that direction. Damn it all to hell.

  Devin spent the next hour briefing Kit on the basics of the dark side of magic, emphasizing how easily it could be dispelled by light if she’d only use white magic quickly and effectively. Nothing he’d shown her seemed extreme, but there had been short cuts in spell casting that almost seemed like cheating. It was a strange thrill to learn the edgier side of magic and as much as Kit hated to admit it, she was probably enjoying things a little more than she should. For reasons she wasn’t sure she wanted examine too close
ly, she felt a satisfying sense of power using the darker elements of magic.

  Before she realized it, dusk was beginning to fall and Kit suddenly felt exhaustion roll over her in a crashing wave. “Don’t worry, Kit, we’re finished for now. I want you to practice what I’ve shown you because these steps are the foundation of everything that comes after. These building blocks must be second nature before you can master the more powerful steps that will follow. I know how my brother’s magic works and I’m going to give you all the tools you need to defeat him. We’ll meet again in two days.”

  “Why so soon? Has something happened?” The power she’d been feeling moments before had suddenly shifted to fear and Kit felt it stab into her chest, stealing her breath.

  “Many things are happening, but Damian is becoming desperate and suspicious. Either of those in and of themselves would be a problem with him, but together they spell disaster. He’s barely functional because his anger is far greater than his ability to channel it effectively. Locked alone behind the seal, he has no way to vent the rage that is continuing to boil. He calls his minions to speak with him around the seal, and even though he can’t perform the magic himself, he has a rapidly growing group of devoted followers who are happy to do his bidding.”

  Devin’s chin dropped to his chest and Kit could feel him trying to gather his thoughts. The ground beneath her feet rippled and Kit knew Devin was pulling grounding strength from the earth. When he finally raised his face to hers, Kit was surprised to see the pain reflected in his dark eyes. His words were softly spoken but she felt how difficult they’d been for him to utter, “Ask Marcus, perhaps he’ll be willing to tell you about our father. He fell into the same abyss of hatred.” Once again, Kit noticed sadness and vulnerability in the other wizard’s eyes and she wondered what he’d suffered at the hands of his father. She really believed the man standing in front of her was trying to help her, and for that, she was grateful. How isolating it must be to be caught between opposing forces—not being truly accepted by either side.

  Kit simply nodded and turned to go, but then thinking again, she turned back, “Devin?” He was already shimmering as he prepared to disappear from the meadow. Kit watched as he settled back into this realm and smiled. “Do you think it would be all right for Braden to tag along next time? He’s incredibly gifted and I’d like him to be able to learn with me.” She had a feeling any showdown with Damian was going to involved Braden, so it seemed reasonable for him to learn the more practical applications and dangers associated with the dark arts as well. “That is if he’s interested and if I can get his guardian’s approval—which quite frankly is a pretty big if.”

  She was pleased to see laughter light Devin’s eyes when he answered, “Sure, Kit. I understand your reasoning and agree. I’d enjoy getting to know him, he really seems like a great kid—despite his questionable paternal lineage.” They both laughed at his thinly veiled reference to the fact Braden was Damian’s grandson.

  Kit nodded and waved, “See you in a couple of days. Take care.” He simply waved and in a swirl of white smoke he disappeared from her view. By the time she turned around to head back to the main house, there were several people standing right behind her. Damn it to destiny she hated it when they snuck up on her like that.

  Libby Wells pulled up in front of the Wolf Pack’s enormous mansion and sighed. God she was exhausted, she couldn’t ever remember feeling so utterly depleted. Her projects at NYU were nearing completion and she could hardly wait for them to wrap up. She was certainly overdue for some serious R & R, but until she put the final touches on her presentation for the Society of Neuroscience’s upcoming conference, Libby really couldn’t justify taking any time off. Hell, who was she kidding? She’d been sleeping on the small sofa in her office for weeks because it was usually too late when she was finally finished for the day to justify driving home. Jesus Pete there had been one stretch earlier this month where she hadn’t been to her apartment for eight days in a row. Thank God the private bathroom off her office had a small shower.

  Opening the door of her small car, Libby stepped out and leaned backward arching her back trying to relieve some of the kinks that came from sleeping on the damned sofa. She gave a loud squeak when strong hands gripped her shoulders and started to massage them. Her startled response was quickly replaced by groans of gratitude as she felt the muscles loosen under skilled fingers. She didn’t even need to turn around, Libby knew there was only one man at the estate who would touch her so intimately. She felt his warm breath wash over her ear, “Hi, sweetheart. It’s about time you came back to see me. I have someone I want you to meet.” His silken voice drifted over her skin and suddenly Libby’s body forgot all about the fatigue she’d felt a few seconds ago. Damn her traitorous body for letting her hormones highjack her good sense.

  “Well, Charlie, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I’m not really here to see you, although I have to admit your fingers are about to weave some powerful magic and I may just ditch the beastie boys and stay right here for the duration of my visit.” He chuckled and turned her so she faced him then leaned down to press a heated kiss to her lips. The kiss started as a warm greeting but soon rocketed straight to a smoldering promise of the physical pleasure she well knew he could give her. Frick-fracking fuzzy frogs she needed to get this project wrapped up and sleep for a week on some warm beach while gorgeous cabana boys delivered fruity drinks with those cheesy little umbrellas.

  “No can do, sweetness, as much as I’d love to bypass the formalities and fuck you right against the side of your car, that wouldn’t come close to sating my hunger for you.” Libby shuddered as Charlie kissed a path down the side of her neck before licking over her exposed collarbone. “You meet with our Alphas and then we’ll be waiting for you when you’ve finished.” He led her into the chaotic household and Libby couldn’t help but wonder if this place was ever really quiet. Charlie leaned forward and pressed his nose to hers and grinned, “Nope, never and that’s why Dirk and I live in one of the larger cottages out back.”

  “That reading people’s mind trick is annoying you know. And who is Dirk?” She would really love to study his brain and find out how exactly he was able to hear her thoughts. But of course he’d have to be dead and that seemed like a real waste in her opinion because even if he was too young for her, he was thirty-two shades of hot and flat-out amazing in bed.

  She knew he’d heard her when he arched his brow and grinned, “Amazing, huh? And hot? Well, I’m liking how this is working out, but we’ll have a chat about that age thing because as you know shifters don’t age quickly. I’m probably far older than you think I am. But for now, head on in and talk to Jameson and Trev, they’re waiting for you.”

  By the time she was seated across from Jameson, Libby had been fed a snack that would put most of the meals she’d had the past six months to shame. One thing you can say about shifters, they eat well…or at least they eat a lot. Must be nice to burn calories like a blast furnace. Looking up at Jameson, she saw his sly grin and when she glanced to her left she noted a matching one on Trev’s face.

  “Okay, you two. You got me out here, fed me, and have given me alcohol,” she waved her glass of wine at them. “So what’s up? You know the deadline I’m trying to meet, so tell me that Kit is okay and I’ll be on my way.” God she hoped Kit was all right. She felt like the worst friend ever because she really had been so immersed in her project for the past several months she had virtually lost contact with everyone except her grad assistants.

  “Kit is fine, she isn’t the reason we called you. The project you’ve been working on is going to gain you some serious acclaim, Libby. You’ll be offered a number of lucrative contracts, we just wanted ours to be the first offer you heard.” She arched a brow at him wondering what on earth he might have in mind. “First of all, let me congratulate you on your successful project. The implications of your findings are going to put catapult several medical procedures ahead by years. Your findin
gs are going to save a lot of lives.”

  Libby was well aware Jameson’s assessment was point on, what surprised her was the fact he knew it. Deciding to wait to see where the conversation was headed, she simply nodded and held her questions hoping he’d hurry up and get to the point. He looked at her and smiled, “We also know there are some implications in your findings for shifters—some rather significant implications that we’d like to see you follow up on. And we’re willing to build you a lab and pay you well for your time while you pursue those threads.”

  She knew her mouth had to have dropped open, but holy shit they had totally blindsided her. Trev chuckled, “Damn, sorta wish we’d videotaped this, I don’t think Kit is going to believe us when we tell her that we rendered her best friend speechless.” Libby tried to glare at him, but the truth of his words were too much and she couldn’t hold back her laugh.

  “True that. And I’m going to deny it happened too—it’s a matter of pride.” Libby paused and took a deep breath as she looked between the two men that looked to much alike it was almost spooky at times. “Damn, I am completely floored. A lab? Really? Do you really have any idea how much that would cost? And I’m not even going to ask how you’ve gotten access to the results of my research or who has interpreted them so you’d know there are big implications for shifters. A fact I’m not disputing—I’m just surprised you know it, that’s all.”

  Jameson leaned forward, “We’ve already started building a state of the art medical facility. We’re pulling Angie back from the medical center—for a lot of reasons. My brother and I had already been planning to ask her to make the change before her kidnapping, but that showed us just how vulnerable our pack members are when they are away from the estate.” Libby watched Jameson’s eyes soften as he looked at her intently—studying her closely, and she found herself fighting the urge to fidget under his scrutiny. “She was also working herself to death, much like another brilliant, young woman I know.” Ouch. That hit way too close to home. He gave her such a pointed look that she found herself swallowing and looking down at her lap. “We need her expertise and she needs to be here. I’m not saying she was entirely thrilled with our plan, but she seems to be warming up to the idea. We’d like the two of you to work together on ways to improve the quality of our healthcare. The number of shifters has seen a rather dramatic decrease in the past decade. We’d like to see that trend reversed.”