There was nothing more to check on here. It was time for me to catch a ride to Sunset for my patrol, and as Gregory, the Lupin leader, was also on patrol, he’d agreed to give me a ride. He’d be here in less than ten minutes. I cut from the east wing down a narrow flight of stairs that would lead me to the ground floor and past the hidden staircase that led to the lair.
“—doing here?” Rivers’s voice was accusatory.
“I was just taking a walk.” Drayton’s voice ... No. Xavier’s voice, dammit.
I stepped onto the corridor. “Hey, what’s going on?” I glanced from Rivers’s suspicious face to Xavier’s defensive one.
“Xavier here was going for a walk,” Rivers said.
What was his problem? We’d agreed that Xavier wasn’t a threat. I’d let him out of the cell, and we’d given him Drayton’s room. There was no reason for Rivers to be so upset. But then my gaze slid past the guys to the doorway that led to the steps down into the MPD tunnels, and Rivers’s attitude suddenly made sense. He was worried Xavier would find the lair. A scan of Xavier’s face convinced me the guy was clueless about our hidden passages. He was probably just at a loose end—a general with no army to command.
Ryker’s warning came to mind. Be careful around Xavier, he’s still a shade. But it was impossible not to feel sorry for the shade. He was adrift and out of his depth here.
I stepped up to Xavier and touched his arm lightly. “Hey, I know this must be hard for you. Just sitting around and waiting.”
He tore his gaze from Rivers and blinked down at me in surprise. I bit the insides of my cheeks at that look—the look that was so Drayton. It was a look of wonder, but why was it on Xavier’s face?
Your tone was soft, my daimon said. Kind.
Had I been that awful, that harsh? Yeah, probably, but then I’d had no reason to be anything else.
Keep a distance.
Yeah. I know.
Xavier swallowed. “I’m unaccustomed to having free time.”
He needed a job, some kind of task to keep him busy. Yeah, I got that. “I’m sure Marika would be happy to have some help scouring the library for anything about how to stop this power from killing me. You can be useful here.”
He stood taller and nodded. “Are you sure she won’t mind the intrusion?”
He was asking if Marika was one of the people who strongly objected to him being here, and honestly, I had no clue. “Just tell her I sent you.”
He pressed his lips together and nodded. “All right.” He glanced over his shoulder. “If you could direct me to the library...”
“Rivers, can you please show Xavier the way to the library? Marika can take over from there.”
Rivers’s jaw ticked but he nodded. “Fine. Follow me.” He strode off, but Xavier lingered for a moment, his expression speculative, before following.
The two guys took the steps back up to the first floor, and I headed for the main entrance and my ride out of Midnight.
Chapter 4
“Been a long time since I saw the sun,” Gregory said.
He was non-hairy—well, as non-hairy as a hairy dude could be. He’d refrained from the full-on balls-hanging-free look and was dressed in loose joggers and a T-shirt. Wouldn’t want to scare the innocent Sunset civilians, he’d said.
The van bumped over a pot hole as the sky up ahead brightened to a beautiful orange hue. Almost there, almost ... home? No, that didn’t feel right anymore. Midnight was home now, had been for a while, but it was like coming back to visit an old friend, one that had provided me with sanctuary when I’d needed it the most. How would the SPD greet me? Bellamy, with his precious cap. Julie, with her perfect hair and nails, and Fulstrom ... Would he still be there, or had he retired? And Henry ... yeah, even the tosser, Henry, who’d competed with me on everything. The way they’d looked at me as I’d been exiled. Pity, horror, disgust ...
“You okay?” Gregory asked.
“Yeah.”
“Worried about how they’re gonna react to seeing you again?”
“No.”
He snorted. “You’re a terrible liar.”
“Yeah, I really need to work on that.”
“Don’t. It’s endearing.”
I arched a brow at him. “You find me endearing?”
He kept his eyes on the road, but his mouth lifted in a smile. “I find you sexy as hell.”
Whoa. My face flamed, and I fixed my gaze on the road. “Um, good to know?”
He let out a bark of laughter. “Don’t worry. I know you’re not interested. I’d have been on you like bees all over honey if I’d got the vibe. Lupin are all about the pheromones.”
I cleared my throat. “Well. That’s the first time in a long time I’ve been lost for words.”
He chuckled low and gravelly. “If you do have a change of heart and fancy a tumble, then you know where to find me.”
Well, he was certainly frank about just putting it out there, and it was kinda refreshing. No games, no messing about.
“Have you heard from Dorian?” Gregory asked.
“No. I tried to contact Adam, but he’s not answering.”
“We haven’t scented them in Midnight for a couple of days.”
“You think we should be worried?”
“I think Dorian is a coward and a liar.”
“You think he’s gone back on his word? That he’s trying to leave us to do the work, hoping we won’t notice he doesn’t have boots on the ground anymore?” I shook my head. “No, even if he did that, Adam wouldn’t leave us high and dry without an explanation.”
Gregory didn’t argue that one. He had a grudging respect for Adam, one of Dorian’s seconds.
We slipped over the border into Sunset and my gut tightened. The fence fizzed on either side of us, active and lethal, and we were bathed in the orange hues of the setting sun. A van waited for us, idling by the tower. The door opened and a familiar large figure jumped out. My heart did a skip and a jump as Nolan, my mentor, my friend, came ambling toward us.
Gregory brought our vehicle to a halt, and I was out and headed toward Nolan before I could think. He held out his arms, and I rushed into them to be instantly enveloped in his familiar scent. My face rubbed against the soft cotton of his shirt as he cupped my head and pressed a kiss to my crown.
“Fuck, Serenity, it’s so good to see you again.”
I pulled back to look up into his rugged face. My vision blurred, and I swallowed the dastardly lump in my throat. “Yeah, you too.”
He released me, and I shifted from foot to foot, suddenly self-conscious. I hid my smile. Yeah. Nolan didn’t do public displays of affection. In fact, I could count on one hand the number of times he’d held me.
The van door slammed shut behind us, and I jerked a thumb over my shoulder. “This is Gregory. The Lupin pack leader.”
Nolan’s brows shot up. “Lupin are a part of the MPD now?”
“Everyone is part of the MPD. We have all hands on deck at the moment.”
He nodded. “It’s been pretty quiet here the last two days. I’m afraid you may not have much to do.”
“Well, how about you let us be the judge of that?”
“Come on, let’s get back to base, and we can pick up the team and start our sweep of the district.”
I must have hesitated because his gaze softened and he smiled wryly. “You’re kinda a celebrity here, Serenity. The others are looking forward to seeing you.”
The knot in my chest eased. “I’m not giving out autographs.”
He let out a bark of laughter. “I’ll let them know.”
Gregory joined us and shook hands with Nolan. The two guys sized each other up, not even bothering to hide the assessment. Nolan was a big guy, same size and stature as Gregory, so they were eye to eye.
Nolan tucked in his chin. “Will you have to shift?” he asked Gregory.
“I doubt it,” Gregory said.
“I’ll issue an alert anyway to let the other officers know
to check before they shoot tonight, just in case.”
“Appreciate that,” Gregory said sincerely.
I pulled open the SPD van door. “I call shotgun.”
Nolan ambled around the van to the driver’s side. “Some things never change.”
***
It was late, almost midnight, by the time Gregory dropped me off at the mansion. Seeing the old gang had been nice, but it had highlighted how much I’d changed. It had highlighted how much I didn’t belong there. Being exiled had felt like a death sentence at the time, but, in reality, it had been the start of something amazing. Even though Midnight was a cesspit of danger and death, it was my cesspit of danger and death.
Hunger gnawed at my stomach, and after snagging a slice of pie from the kitchen—an Orin special, no doubt—I made it up to my room without being accosted by anyone. The pie was gone before I got to the bed. My feet sighed as I pulled off my boots. On a normal day, before the power had been released inside me, I’d have been wiped, desperate for sleep. Now, sleep only came in short bursts, just enough to keep my brain from short circuiting. The rest of the time, my body was on fire from within, aching and needing action as the power craved to be expelled. There’d been no shades tonight, and I’d have to wait till the raid on the railway to get my fix. The bed was a taunt. Ryker had said he’d visit, but he had patrol in three hours so was probably catching a few z’s.
Pulling on my slippers, I headed out in search of something, anything, to keep my mind off the fact that I was slowly dying in a manner that made me feel more alive than ever. My feet led me to Bane’s quarters, the place I’d come when I needed a distraction. He’d rile me up and make me mad enough to forget everything for a while. But Bane wasn’t here. I pressed a hand to the door, and closed my burning eyes. Dammit. What was I even doing here?
The door opened with a soft click, and I stumbled forward into the room filled with Bane’s aroma. The shadows beyond the lamplight shifted in the periphery of my vision.
“Lucifer?”
“I sensed you beyond the door,” he said.
But the voice was different, gruffer with an unrefined edge. It was a voice as familiar to me as my own, one that I’d been craving ever since it had been lost to me.
“Lucifer?” My voice trembled with possibility.
“I’m not so sure anymore.”
I inhaled sharply. Bane. Oh, God. It was his voice. I took a step toward the shadows and they slithered away from me. “Come into the light.”
“Harker ...”
My heart stalled and then kick-started with a painful thud. “Please.” My tone was desperate, and I snapped my mouth closed, reining in the hope that was blaring like a trumpet in my chest. “Please. Step into the light.”
The shadows parted and then Lucifer walked into the lamplight. His violet eyes gleamed where the light hit them, and Bane looked back at me through them. Still, I held my breath. Could it really be? And then, with a snick and a rustle, inky black bat wings rose up behind him.
“Harker. I remember like it was me,” Lucifer said in Bane’s gruff voice.
“Remember what?”
He reached for me. “Us.”
How was this possible? How could he be back? My heart was desperate to believe, but self-preservation forced me to take a step away from him.
I had to know for sure. “Are you Bane?”
“I was Lucifer and then I was Bane, but the brightest memory is the memory of us. I think ... I think I’m Bane. Am I Bane?” He took another step toward me, and I backed up. He looked conflicted, unsure.
Precipice, my daimon said. We can pull him back.
What did she mean? Was Bane’s personality trying to gain dominance? Were his memories trying to settle in a predominant place in Lucifer’s mind? The fangs, the pancakes, and now the wings ... He was trying to claw his way back to me.
Pull him back to us.
“Harker?” It was a sound of torment.
“You made me pancakes just the way I like them.”
“Yes.” He latched onto my words like quicksilver.
“You found the roost, and you took me for a flight just the way you used to.”
“I did. I remember the flights.”
“We love those fancy chocolate biscuits.”
“The ones with the cream filling,” he added.
“Yes, those.”
“And when we fuck, you say my name, over and over, when you come.”
My core tightened. “Yes.” I walked up to him and pressed my hand to his chest, his heartbeat steady and sure beneath my fingers as I tipped my head to look into his face, part Bane, part Lucifer. “I love you, Bane. Please come back to me.”
My voice cracked with emotion, emotion that pressed against the back of my nose and eyes, making them burn, because if this didn’t work, if he retreated from me now, then there would be no other chance. Lucifer would win, he would push Bane to the background, and I’d have lost him for good.
Lucifer covered my hand with his, and then winced, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth. He shook his head, and his visage blurred again, the features morphing so his aquiline nose flared a little and flattened into ... Bane’s nose. Evidence of Lucifer was still there in the perfect curve of his mouth and the tilt of high cheekbones, but Bane’s influence was stronger in those features now.
He looked down at me in wonder, as if seeing me for the first time. Those violet eyes warmed as Bane surged fully to the surface.
Here.
He was really here.
I fisted his shirt and his lips parted in a smile that displayed his wicked fangs. “Harker. I told you I’d come back to you.”
A sob broke from my lips, and I sagged against his chest. “It’s really you?”
He took a step toward me. “I’m here, Harker. I’m back.”
His arms were sturdy bands around me, and he held me as if he would never let me go, his heart galloping against my ear and my pulse racing to meet it.
“I told you I’d come back to you. I fucking told you ...”
My eyes stung and the tears I’d held back for days came spilling forth.
This was Lucifer’s body, had always been his, but the soul ... the soul was all Bane. He tipped my head back and claimed my mouth, and that kiss ... That kiss was all Bane.
Chapter 5
The lounge was in lockdown with just the guys, Cassie, the newly rejuvenated Bane, and Xavier in residence. We needed to plan our attack for tonight.
“I’d come with you if I could,” Bane said. “But I’m a Black Wing, I’m Lucifer to the winged, and I can’t risk breaking the covenant with the White Wings.”
Ryker just stared at him. It was all the guys had done since I’d summoned them all to the lounge.
“How do you think the Black Wings will take this?” Rivers asked, scanning Bane’s face for what seemed like the hundredth time. “You’re really back ...”
Bane smiled thinly. “And I’m not going anywhere. The Black Wings will just have to deal with the changes. I am still their commander. I am still Lucifer.”
“Are you?” Cassie asked. “You look more like Bane than Lucifer, and you have all of Bane’s memories.”
Bane pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s hard to explain. I have all the memories of the things I did as Lucifer, but Bane is who I am.”
“Still,” Cassie persisted. “The Black Wings are going to take some convincing.”
She was right. Bane no longer looked like the Black Wing’s cultured leader, and there would doubtless be some issues. But fuck them. He was a hybrid of feral perfection, and he was mine.
We locked gazes for a long moment and a lance of heat passed between us.
Orin cleared his throat. “It’s great to have you back, Bane.”
“It’s good to be back.”
And he was. He was really here, complete with additional memories. It was a mind fuck, but I’d take it without question because it meant that our team was once again c
omplete.
Rivers poured a drink and handed it to Bane.
Bane downed it. “Fuck, I missed that.”
Laughter rippled around the room and joy expanded in my chest. They were all here, my guys. Okay, so Drayton was sharing his body with Xavier and Bane was really Lucifer, and I was probably going to die soon, but right now, in this singular moment, everything was almost damned perfect.
“I think you should take backup,” Bane said. “Cassie and a few Protectorates, just in case.”
“Hell, yes,” Cassie said.
I nodded in her direction. “No humans, though. We can’t risk them.”
Cassie winced.
“Ava won’t be happy about that,” Ryker pointed out.
I snorted. “True. But if it means she stays alive a little longer then I’m willing to take the brunt of her annoyance. I’m hoping to kill all the shades, but if there is a neph soul still lingering, then I’ll have to expel the shade, and we can’t have convenient human hosts about for them to latch on to.”
Bane shot me an irritated glance. “You can’t afford to check and expel. You need the kills.”
I crossed my arms under my breasts. “We talked about this ages ago, and I believe I won that argument.” I smirked. “Besides, you’re no longer in charge.”
Bane gave me his what the fuck look, and Orin choked off a chuckle.
I shrugged. “You’re a Black Wing. You’re Lucifer, and you can’t officially protect humans, so you’re not in charge of the MPD.”
“Hang on a minute—”
I raised a hand to cut him off. “You passed the reins to me, remember?”
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