Haven City Series Books 7-9: Alpha's Gamble (Haven City Series #7), Alpha Enchanted (Haven City Series #8), Alpha's Cage (Haven City Series #9)

by Zoe Perdita

  Felan took careful steps down the stairs so as not to jolt his leg, and offered his mate a hand. Ari took it after a moment of hesitation. “I wasn’t sure if you’d care or not. But I’m telling you now.”

  Ari didn’t look convinced. His cheeks were flushed after the walk.

  Felan knocked three times and waited.

  A few moments later, a small woman opened the door, looking harassed. She was older than he was with small shrewd eyes the color of coal. Her gray hair sat in a frizzy pile on top of her head. She had the temperament of a badger, probably because she was one. “Cage. Back again. What are you looking for this time?”

  “Ms. Reynolds. As lovely as ever. I’m here for the library. Ancient Persian demons if you have any manuscripts on such a thing.”

  Ari rolled his eyes, and Ms. Reynolds scoffed. “Of course we do. Get in here before you attract a crowd.”

  They shuffled inside, and she shut and locked the door behind them. The hallway was narrow, but surprisingly dry for a basement in that climate. The hum of dehumidifiers kept it that way. Ari didn’t ask any questions until Ms. Reynolds led them into a room at the far end of the basement and shut the door behind them. “I’ll give you one hour,” she said from the outside.

  “Shifter?” Ari asked.

  Felan nodded, his eyes already scanning the old leather bound tomes for what he needed. The scrolls were on the top shelf, each in their own box. He reached for some then pointed at the gloves on the table. “Badger. These are what we need, I hope.”

  Ari slipped on the gloves and sat gingerly.

  The plastic chairs sent an uncomfortable ache to the center of Felan’s back. He guessed Ms. Reynolds had them put there on purpose so no one overstayed their welcome.

  “And why do we need to know about ancient Persian demons?” Ari asked as Felan pushed a scroll toward him.

  “That’s where the sword comes from. Sij, the demon of destruction, to be precise, but that was all folklore. I’d like to find some truth. Since you can’t read these, look for pictures of swords.”

  He imagined Ari was scowling at him, but he didn’t take the time to check. They only had an hour, and he was going to make it count. At least it was better than looking at things like this with Tyler. Ari didn’t complain about not being able to read as many languages as Felan could, for one.

  “And what about this place?” Ari asked as he carefully rolled out the scroll.

  “Hm? Oh, yes. The Mercer family were mages and had an exquisite magical library. They willed the whole thing to the city, hoping to give shadow folk who weren’t members of the old families access to it, but, in order to keep it away from the humans, that didn’t work out. It’s public and run by shadow folk, but most people don’t know about it. Or have any interest, now that I think of it. I always meant to take you here. We’ll have to come back when we have more time.”

  “Only you would think a library made a suitable date,” Ari said, but his voice was lighter than it had been before, and when Felan risked a glance at him, the healer’s nose was buried in the scroll.

  “Are you opposed to the idea?”

  “No, but I expect a trip to the history museum afterward.”

  “Of course. We wouldn’t want to go without that,” Felan said with a chuckle.

  The first few scrolls held nothing of interest to the sword in question.

  As it ticked closer to their hour being up, Ari finally found something useful. “Is this it?”

  His gloved finger hovered above a stylized drawing of a flaming sword in the hand of a demon (the gender unknown). Felan righted his glasses and read the account next to it. It was slow going as the language was one he was only partially fluent in.

  “Yes, I think so. It says ‘Sij’s sword wrought destruction to that which it touched. The flame burns with that which resides in the heart of the wielder.’ ”

  Ari leaned close, his shoulder pressing flush against Felan’s. “Is that all it says?”

  The alpha scanned the rest of the scroll and nodded. “I’m afraid so. But it’s more information than we had before. These aren’t texts with a human perspective; they’re written by shadow folk and hail from Takht-e-Jamshid. Historically magical fact, if you will.”

  Ari sucked in a breath. “Okay, then what does the second part mean? If the Demon's Sword did belong to this Sij and is a magical weapon of destruction, is that all it does? I don’t remember a flaming sword in that pile of stuff. Do you?”

  Felan’s chest swelled. He hadn’t had the chance for a good old scholarly argument with Ari in ages, and they were always worth it. “No, but it might need something to activate the flame. The—what were the gems the hilt was supposed to be imbedded with?”

  “Rubies, but . . . . Oh. Oh shit.” Ari stared at the wall, his mouth pinching shut.

  “What? Did you remember something about a sword?”

  “No, but the rubies, I might have them. There was a set with a necklace and earrings, remember? They felt odd. Made my hands fall asleep, so I locked them up until I could figure them out. What if—”

  “They fuel the sword?” Felan finished.

  Ari shook his head. “Showoff. And yes. So they’re the sword’s battery, what does the second part mean?”

  The flame burns with that which resides in the heart of the wielder.

  Felan furrowed his brow. It wasn’t much to go on, but he was used to making educated guesses in the absence of absolute truth. “That the sword on its own might not be magical, but something about the one who wields it makes it so.”

  Ari snorted and carefully pushed the scroll aside, turning to face Felan right on. “I thought the rubies gave it magic?”

  “The rubies could be a conduit for magic, and it only works when they are installed. And the heart of the wielder brings it all to life. Think about it. The original wielder was the demon of destruction, so the sword is known to destroy. It stands to reason if someone else used it, with a different purpose, the sword might take on that power instead.”

  “So whatever is in the wielder’s heart comes through in the sword? Nice theory for something you just pulled out of your ass.”

  “Do you have a better one, Goldie?” Felan said, his tone taunting.

  Eager.

  Ari’s mouth curled into a smile. “It’s obviously powerful enough to bring a variety of hunters and shadow folk out of the woodwork, and it belonged to a demon of destruction. That’s enough information for me. It must destroy things.”

  “And the wielder?”

  Ari licked his lips. “Anyone holding a sword isn’t thinking nice thoughts.”

  “So jaded for someone your age,” Felan said and let his knee brush Ari’s. The flesh sizzled through the fabric of his pants. This little verbal spar riled up the alpha and sent a hot thrust of desire through his veins. They hadn’t argued like this in far too long.

  Ari shrugged. “Who’s fault is that, dog?”

  Felan opened his mouth to respond, but Ari’s lips smashed into them first. The force of the kiss nearly knocked his chair backwards, either that or the fact that Ari crawled right into his lap, legs straddling Felan’s hips and his groin pressing into the alpha’s own.

  He met the kiss with equal force, slid his tongue between Ari’s hungry lips and lapped at his teeth, grinding up into him until Ari moaned.

  This was one way to get kicked out of the library, and, at the moment, that didn’t seem half bad. Especially when Ari’s hot mouth surged against Felan’s, and his lithe body writhed, hands groping at Felan’s neck and hair for a firmer hold. Everything he’d spent years dreaming about, and this time, Ari hadn’t qualified it with a ‘this means nothing’ speech.

  And yet . . . .

  Kian.

  The thought of his younger brother watching Ari and the healer smiling at him, letting Kian’s spirit hang around because—well, Felan didn’t know.

  But the alpha snarled all the same.

  The sound of footsteps brought h
im back to his senses. Ms. Reynolds sensible shoes clicked on the cement floor.

  Ari sucked in a deep breath, mouth pink and wet, and slipped back into his own seat.

  Felan crossed his legs. Uncomfortable, but he wasn’t about to show off the effect his mate had on him in front of the librarian.

  “Time’s up, wolf,” she said and opened the door.

  Ari nodded and started putting away the scrolls.

  “I’ll do that. You two get out of here. Someone with silver was sniffing around upstairs and security escorted them away. I have a feeling you’re trying to bring trouble here, and I don’t like it,” she said and eyed them both cooly.

  “I’d never dream of it. Ari?” the alpha said and held open the door.

  Ms. Reynolds huffed as they left.

  Hunters.

  How did hunters trail them here?

  Felan hadn’t noticed anyone following them.

  He frowned at that thought as they made their way outside. They were headed back to the car when the familiar scent of another alpha brushed Felan’s nose.

  He straightened.

  Glanced around.

  Spotted Conner Sharp walking toward them, his face a twisted mask. The scars pulled taut across his flesh.

  “Good. We needed to talk to you and Seth. My phone cut out last night, and there are hunters after me. It’s that sword they want, and they trashed my shop. Probably my house. How did you know we’d be here?” Ari asked, and he sounded annoyed for the first time since he came to Felan’s apartment the night before.

  Sharp let out a growl. “I’m a detective, and I detected you. Ari Gold, you’re under arrest.”

  9

  Ari’s first instinct was to run, which he knew was ridiculous. He’d never get away from a damn shifter. A wolf at that. The part of his brain that was the most logical wanted to laugh. Maybe this was some sick joke Seth was playing on him because of the cut off call or something. Only Seth didn’t really do practical jokes. He was more of a dry wit kind of guy.

  Felan, naturally, growled and stepped between Ari and Sharp. The old annoyance didn’t flare to life like it usually did, and Ari blamed it on Felan’s wound and that kiss. Well, those kisses.

  Plural.

  His chest constricted, and he put a hand on Felan’s arm. Glared at Sharp. “What the hell are you talking about? I’m under arrest for what? Having my shop broken into?”

  Sharp sighed. “Trumped up charges. Believe me, we know this is all bullshit. But we have to go someplace private to talk. Here. Don’t make any stops on the way.”

  He handed Ari an address and ducked into a tiny car Ari didn’t recognize. It sure wasn’t his police vehicle.

  Felan glowered at Sharp until the car pulled out of the lot. “I think we might be out of our league.”

  Ari laughed. For an alpha to admit that was like a member of the old families admitting shifters weren’t inferior to them. Not likely.

  “I think you’re right, but we need to know what the hell they think I did. Let’s go.”

  Felan’s lips quirked.

  “What?” Ari grumbled.

  “For one, you didn’t argue with me for asking to come along. For another, I think you still love me.”

  Ari huffed and climbed into Felan’s economical car. It was just as clean as Ari’s own, even if the back seat was covered in historical journals. Still love him? He’d stopped doing that the day Kian died. At least, that’s what Ari always told himself. But was it true? Well, now wasn’t the time to think about it. “You have a car, and I need to keep an eye on your wounds. I don’t hate you, but love is a stretch.”

  “I’ll take what I can get,” Felan said and drove.

  The address Sharp gave them was deep in the area of Haven known as the Flats. It used to be poorest neighborhood in the city, but things had been improving for about a year now. Crime was down and the slums were getting replaced with better low income housing. This part of the Flats, however, hadn’t seen any of those benefits yet.

  It looked like a neighborhood from a war zone, the windows of the surrounding houses partially burnt and boarded up. A fire had ripped through the area several years before and killed a lot of people, Ari remembered. He’d been working twenty-four hour shifts to keep up with the demand for his skills when Felan came over and made him sleep. The alpha then did what he could with the herbs until Ari finally woke up again.

  Strange. He hadn’t thought about that in a long time. Or even considered why Felan did it beyond being a controlling asshole alpha, but there was more to it, and Ari knew that. Felan was worried about his health and wellbeing. Always had been, no matter what.

  His gut warmed, even through the chill in the air, as they stepped out of the car.

  “There’s nothing here,” Felan said and looked at the address indicated on the paper and compared it to the shell of a house. It was in better repair than the rest. The fire looked like it had only caused surface damage.

  Ari shrugged and moved inside.

  Seth paced, and from the way Felan perked up, he figured the alpha smelled him before Ari saw him.

  “Ari. Good. Sharp said you’d be coming. This is a load of shit.”

  “Yeah, I got that,” Ari said and forced himself to stand up straight even when his side wanted him to sit and relax. He didn’t have time to relax. And this was him thinking it after all the patients he got after for the same damn thing. They’d probably all say ‘told you so’ if they could. “What am I wanted for?”

  Seth licked his lips. His almond-shaped violet eyes snapped from Cage to Ari. “Murder.”

  Ari suddenly felt the weather seep under the clothes he borrowed from Cage. “What?”

  “Look, before you freak out, we know you didn’t do it. The scene in your shop was unexpected, and the survivors claimed they just came in to look around and you attacked them. There’s even another witness who said you kicked these kids out of your shop a few days before and threatened them as they left. Not much to go on, but with the dead foxes, someone is suspicious. Sharp and I also think whoever wants the Demon's Sword has a long enough reach to get the police involved as well. Whatever this is, it’s big.”

  Cage grimaced. “What was the scene at his shop?”

  Ari glanced at him, and noted the slight sheen of scholarly interest in his dark eyes. Nothing could temper that; not even a murder charge aimed at his mate. For some reason, Ari’s chest heated at that thought. At least something in his life was a constant in the midst of all this chaos. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t at least a little bit interested himself.

  Seth frowned, and Ari couldn’t tell if it was because the seer disapproved or not. “Weird. The human cops don’t know what to make of it. To tell you the truth, neither do I. Was it the ghost wolf again?”

  Ari rolled his eyes. “No. What did my shop look like? And the ones who didn’t survive?”

  He couldn’t bring himself to say ‘the ones I killed.’ Even if it had been in self-defense, and they were trying to kill him first, he never imagined that he’d be a murderer. Not like this. Sure, some of his patients hadn’t made it (Kian being a notable example—his worst failure), but that wasn’t the same thing as willfully ending someone else’s life. He went to great pains to save whom he could, and if they didn’t make it, it was out of his hands.

  This time, his hands had done the killing with the hope that it would work. His gut twisted with that realization.

  Seth looked at him for a long moment. “They were dead. Frozen and blue, but not with ice. The coroner is going to have a field day with this. One of the witnesses—”

  “You mean the hunters that tried to kill him?” Cage said, his voice a growl.

  Ari had never been more grateful for one of the alpha’s interruptions in his life.

  Seth blinked. “Hunters? Shit. Yeah. Them. Well, they said it might’ve been liquid nitrogen, but I know it wasn’t.”

  “It was a ghost light,” Ari said and a shiver trailed
up his spine. He knew which two it killed; the girl and boy, the ones that sounded like teenagers. And now that he had the information laid in front of him, he knew why he recognized their voices. They were the ones he kicked out of his shop. “And I did kick those hunters out of my shop, but I thought there were high school students at the time, and they were messing around.”

  Seth nodded, his expression softening. “Yeah. Well, I figured it was something magic. The shop is a mess, Ari. They ransacked it looking for that sword. And since you’re wanted for murder, I’m not sure if the insurance will pay out until you get your name cleared.”

  Ari let out a sharp burst of laughter. Of course it wouldn’t. The earlier chill inside him heated to a boil and rolled through his veins.

  These hunters went after his home.

  His shop.

  Even the wolf they thought was his friend.

  All for something Ari wasn’t even sure he had.

  But if this is how they wanted to play, by framing him for murder, he could fight back. They messed with the wrong healer, that was for fucking sure.

  Seth and Cage both stared at him, Seth startled and Cage with the slightest hint of a sardonic smile on his lips, as if he knew just what Ari had been thinking.

  “Fine. If they want this sword so badly, I’ll find it first. You can help me clear my name. But don’t let them come after you. A hunter almost caught Cage at the university last night, and they stole his phone,” Ari said.

  Seth started. “What?”

  “He didn’t almost catch me,” Cage said, scowling. “One of those hunters stabbed Ari last night.”

  “What?” Seth cried, his voice raising. “You two should be resting!”

  “Where can we do that?” Ari asked, putting his hands on his hips and flinching at the ache in his side. Seth was right, but how the hell could he rest when his entire life had been shot to hell because of one stupid object he may or may not have. “They were at my house last night, Seth. One of them was waiting outside of Cage’s apartment this morning. We barely got away.”