Dark War Chronicles Box Set One

by A. L. Kessler

  "You aren't going to win the bet." He shook his head and gave her a wave when she started out. "See you later."

  After she shut the door he took a deep breath and rubbed his chest where his tattoo was. He ached when he thought about the outcome last time he had a human in his care. Some nights he could still feel her blood on his hands and feel the weight of her body in his arms. When he closed his eyes he vividly recalled the trembling of her chest when she took her last breath. "Fuck you fate, what the hell is going on?"

  He closed his eyes and could sense his wolf’s ears perk up at the talk of fate. The beast became less demanding when Renee showed up, the urge to hunt and run ebbed whenever she was near him. Coran shook his head, trying to rid himself of the feeling. He refused to give in to those familiar emotions. "I'm an immortal, humans can’t know about us and they don’t do well in our world. I won’t make that mistake again."

  Renee strolled down the sidewalk, her nose stuck in a book. She didn't notice the flashing of lights and the police standing in front of her gate until she ran into one when she tried to turn into the yard.

  "What's going on?" She closed the book and stuck it in her purse before looking around. Shattered glass littered the yard and belongings dotted the sidewalk. Panic, her new friend, began bubbling up in her as she met the officer’s sympathetic stare.

  "Is this your house?"

  "Mine and another girl's. We're renting it from someone out of town." Her voice shook and her eyes swept over the disaster once more. Putting a hand to her mouth, she tried to back away and the officer put a hand on her arm to steady her.

  "Easy, miss." He waited until she took a few deep breaths to compose herself. "The house was broken into and items are scattered, some destroyed. I know this is rough, but I need you to go through and see what of yours might be missing."

  She swallowed. "I need to call my roommate too, she needs to see this." After a moment she forced herself forward a few steps, flinching when a man called out her name. Relief flooded her when she spotted Coran running towards her.

  His gaze darted between the officer, the house, and her. "Are you okay?"

  "Physically, yes." She whispered and turned to continue back up the pathway to the house, going around a chair and a torn couch cushion. He followed her, but she refused to turn back to face him or she would break down.

  "Someone was looking for something." He stated when they entered the house.

  The contents of the entertainment center drawers led a trail through the room, heading towards the stairs. The other shredded couch cushions were leaned against the wall while the pillows had been gutted. Renee took a deep breath and continued into the house, going to the stairs. Coran stayed right behind her as she descended the stairs, coming to a standstill when she flipped on the light.

  "Holy shit." Coran whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder.

  Renee gasped at the scattered posessions on the floor and the debris from her belongings being torn apart. The desk lay tilted on one side, the drawers spread throughout the room, and her clothes were ripped to shreds. "They went through everything." She wanted to turn away from the disaster and weep in the haven of Coran's arms. Racking her mind about why someone would do this to her home, she swallowed while she surveyed the damage.

  "Is anything missing?" He asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

  His touch calmed her, helping clear her mind. She took a deep breath before moving towards the whirlwind of destruction. "I don't know." She started to shift through stuff in silence. Coran hovered over her, but his presence helped her focus. The officer came down to check on them a couple of times and reminded her to make a list of missing belongings. By the time she finished she found nothing missing, but most of it was destroyed.

  She pulled out her phone and dialed Danielle’s number. Her roommate picked up on the third ring.

  “What’s up?”

  “You need to get home, the house was broken into.” Renee tried to keep her voice even, but it cracked a little.

  Danielle was silent on the other line for a few moments. “I’m just around the corner. I’ll be there soon. I don’t want you there alone.”

  “Um...I’m not alone, Coran is with me.” Renee sighed. “I’ll see you soon.”

  Danielle growled. “Don’t hang up on me. Who is Coran?”

  “The bartender, you’ll meet him when you get here. I need to go.” Renee ended the call and shoved the phone into her pocket.

  She met Coran’s warm gaze. "Thank you for staying, I don't think I could have been here alone."

  He picked up a glass figure and put it on a shelf. "It wouldn't be right if I left you here alone, it's not safe."

  "And who are you to decide if she is safe or not?" Danielle came down the stairs; the normally confident blonde’s voice shook. Renee gave her a hug then stepped back.

  "Danielle, this is Coran, I told you about him earlier." Renee motioned to the tall man, who crossed his arms while he studied her roommate.

  "Ah yes, the man who happened to show up at the exact time that you had been attacked. I saw you from the window and now here he is after our house has been broken into. Convenient, no?" Danielle's green eyes met Coran's gaze. "I don't trust you, now leave."

  Coran forced a dark laugh, holding up his hands in peace. "I think I'm your best chance of staying safe. I mean no harm against you or Renee."

  "It couldn't have been him. He didn't know I actually lived here." Renee said, trying to work the logic out in her head. "Besides, I trust him." Renee stared at her roommate, daring her to challenge what Renee said.

  Danielle pressed her lips together and Renee knew she was hiding something. "Right, you trust him. You don't even know him."

  Renee huffed and stood her ground. "I am a grown adult, I will trust who I want to and you can just bug off."

  Coran snorted and gave a poor attempt to cover it up with a cough.

  Renee stormed up the stairs and out the front door, in search of some fresh air. She knew something she didn’t understand was going on behind her back and it irritated her.

  "The offer is still open and I think you'd feel safer at the townhome." Coran's soft voice made her turn around.

  She rubbed her eyes in case any tears were forming there. "Thank you, but I want to remain as normal as I can. I can't make a habit of calling into work and I can't miss class."

  "I know, we'll work something out, but you need to be safe until we can learn who is after you and why."

  "Do you think you can figure that out on your own?"

  Coran smirked. "Yes, I do."

  "Don't you think the police should handle it?" She asked, curious about his confidence.

  He chuckled. "I'll let them try. Go ahead and get some things from downstairs, I'll be there after I call Orion to let him know what's up."

  She nodded and went inside, ignoring her housemate rummaging through the mess in the kitchen and continuing downstairs. Her mind turned over the possibilities of what Coran could be hiding and why her roommate acted so odd. Nothing made sense to Renee as only the impossible seemed to come up. She tried to sort through her chaotic thoughts. The stone, the shadows of animals. There had to be a connection of some sort.

  Coran locked his phone after talking to Orion. The Fae turned out to be more than happy to help protect the human, but not thrilled about other shifters being involved. The risk of Renee being exposed weighed on Coran and he hoped that everything would be taken care of before she learned about his world. He went inside and glared at Danielle. Something about her ate at him, but he couldn't pinpoint it.

  "You want my address so you can make sure I don't kidnap her?" He asked, sneering at her.

  Danielle gave a farel grin. "No I don't, I want you to leave her alone because she's an innocent human."

  "An innocent human? And what are you exactly?" He demanded, not smelling anything other than human on her.

  Danielle snorted. “None of your concern.”

&nb
sp; He shook his head and made his way down the stairs to Renee. He watched her zip back and forth, in and out of rooms gathering items. Broken glass still dotted the carpet and a pile of ripped pictures lay in the corner. His heart ached for her at the violation she went through.

  "Got everything you need?" He asked when she came to a standstill.

  She nodded and started counting on her fingers silently before dragging the bag to the stairs. "I think so."

  "I hate to ask it, but can you recall anything that might have started this whole thing? Anything at all that's out of the ordinary?" He watched her think over the question.

  With a sigh, she met his gaze. "The only thing I can think of is a package that randomly came to me. It was the strangest thing; it had the 1/2 on it. Danielle and I always joke about how the basement is big enough to be a small house, so we call it the 1/2."

  "And what was in this box?" Coran had an idea of the answer, but he wanted, no, needed, to hear it from her.

  "A necklace, well a jewel, well—"

  "May I see it?" He asked, trying to make his voice gentle, but it came out more demanding than he wanted. To his surprise she obeyed and took the fake silver chain off her neck, placing the jewel in his hand.

  The round stone flashed different colors when it touched his skin and his body tensed when he felt the magic in it. An icy feeling filled his veins and magic called for him to follow it. Wickedness leaked from the item and he knew Renee should not have this; no innocent human should have to deal with that level of evil. He was surprised that she hadn’t seemed affected by it at all.

  "Can I keep it?" He asked, wrapping his hand around it.

  "Um, no." She grabbed the chain and gave it a gentle tug. "It was sent to me, there must be a reason why."

  He tried not to growl as he let her take the stone back. "Tell me about when you got it?" The jewel needed to be back in the hands of someone who knew how to deal with the evil of it.

  "Well, I left it in my bag for a couple days because I forgot about it. It was just a normal day when I received it. I walked out—" She paused. "Come to think of it, I did see a woman or a panther—never mind, that sounds crazy. I think it was just my eyes playing tricks on me."

  Kassity. Coran fought to keep his face straight at the idea of the killer panther so close to Renee. "Don't think anything you see is crazy, sometimes fate shows us things we don't want to believe are real." He murmured and resisted the urge to brush her cheek. "So you thought you saw a panther?"

  "It was like a shadow behind the woman. I've seen them around other people too."

  Interesting. He gave a small smile. "Do you see one around me?"

  Her breathing caught for a moment and her heart sped up. Coran knew she was about to lie. "No."

  "Right, that's fate fucking with you." He grumbled and picked up her bag. "You sure it happened when the stone came? That girl was the first person you saw with...a shadow?"

  Renee's brow furrowed and Coran wanted to smooth out the lines there. "No. I can recall it happening before, but it wasn't as clear."

  "Good to know. You need to stick with someone at all times now, either me, Orion, or Tegan." He started up the stairs.

  "You think I'm crazy?"

  He shook his head. "Honey, you don't know what crazy is, this is just the tip of the iceberg."

  "What do you mean?" Panic edged her voice and he fought the urge to pull her into his arms and soothe her.

  Instead, he chuckled. "Nothing, nothing at all. Orion works nights and he’s awake now, he'll watch over you while I run an errand." He needed to do research and figure out why she would see beasts, fate rarely granted such powerful gifts to humans.

  "What kind of errand do you need to run that you can't take me with you? I feel safer with you than I would waiting around at the townhouse." Something in her voice caught him off guard.

  This time he did glance behind, seeing the worry in her hazel eyes made his heart ache. Fuck fate indeed. "Something that would put you in danger if you came with me. Orion is just as dangerous as I am and will protect you fiercely."

  "Right, let's go then. I'm tired of looking at this mess. I'll have to come back eventually to clean it up."

  "Don't worry about it." Danielle met them at the top of the stairs. "I'll vacuum and everything, I want you to call me and check in. Okay?"

  Coran rolled his eyes when the two hugged and Renee agreed to check in. He needed to know about this housemate of Renee’s, it wasn’t often that a human could sense his beast. There had to be something more to her. The wolf stirred underneath his skin and it brought his thoughts back to Renee's gift. His wolf paced under the surface, wanting to come out and inspect the human, but now was not the time. Time to go to the boss.

  Lucius' eyes shot open when a familiar presence swept over him, someone he didn't expect to see tonight, but one he relished. There was only one person who would come into his room while he slept. "Tegan." She stood a few feet away from his bed, giving him space. In the massive room it wasn’t hard, but she felt so far away.

  "I just wanted to check in. I'm supposed to work tonight, thought I'd see if you needed to feed." She'd pulled her hair away from her neck with a tie of some sort. Her sunglasses sat on top of her head, leaving her red eyes free to meet his gaze.

  He hated that he made her hide, but she needed to remain safe. The Circle needed to believe the rumors about her and fear her. Fear was better than them learning the truth. "No, I'll use Kassity tonight." He stood from the bed and held his hand out to her. "How are you feeling?"

  "The same as I have been. Lucius, it's over. As long as I remain calm when the stone is discussed there are no freakouts." She slid her hand into his.

  He didn't believe her, but he needed to trust her. "I smell Orion and Coran on you."

  She tensed. "I went over for a drink or two last night. Nothing happened. In fact, Coran brought a human home last night."

  "Interesting, I thought he'd sworn off humans since his mate was killed." He kissed the top of her hand before releasing it. "So you went over for a drink, and?"

  "I ended up crashing there, but I slept on the floor. Promise." She granted him a smile.

  He wanted to run his fingers through her white hair and take the haunted shadows from her eyes. She seemed more like a child than the adult she’d grown into over the centuries. Always seeing her as the servant he’d rescued, he had a hard time letting her wander on her own. Especially when it involved Orion. "I would have preferred it if you had stayed at your own place."

  "I know, but I was bored and lonely. Orion had the night off, I had the night off, and Coran was home as soon as The Corner was closed."

  Only she could be lonely living above a bar, her bar. "Tegan—"

  "I know, you don't want me getting too close to Orion. I got that the last time you threatened his balls for kissing me." Laughing, she put a hand to her mouth. "Oh that was a priceless conversation."

  He smiled. "I meant every word of it. Has Kassity been by to talk to you?"

  "Not much since she thought she found the woman..." She let her words drop off there. Her eyes tightened in the corners and she pressed her lips together. Subtle signs of her freaking out.

  "Breathe, I just wanted to know. There haven’t been any other developments."

  Tegan's phone went off in her pocket and Lucius cursed the loud device. He hated phones. He rarely kept his on him; most of his people had other means of getting in contact with him.

  "Yeah, huh." Tegan muttered into the phone, rolling her eyes. "I'll let him know." She pressed something on the screen and shoved it back in her pocket. "Coran is on his way. He wants to talk to you about something."

  Lucius locked his jaw at the thought of the wolf being in the compound. Despite Coran being with them for years, Lucius tried to keep him far from Tegan and the compound. The immortal made everyone nervous. "Must be important if he's willing to come here. Do you know what he wants?"

  "I have an idea, but I’d
rather he tell you." She flashed him a grin and spun to leave. "I'll be around for a bit if you need me."

  He couldn't help but smile as she disappeared out the door. The last seven months hadn't been ideal for her and he still worried about her mind being touched, but Tegan was strong. She proved it over and over again to him. He closed his eyes and tried to focus. He needed to feed then he’d deal with the wolf.

  Chapter Five

  Coran walked into Lucius’ great room, the black and white motif surrounding him. His shoes made small clicks on the tile floor of the enormous room as he approached Lucius. Gazing at the vampire lounging on the ancient throne, he laughed. "You look like you haven't slept for days."

  "It's been a long few weeks for me." Lucius snapped, his raven black hair falling over his shoulder as he leaned forward in his chair. "Why have you come tonight, wolf?"

  Coran met Lucius' black eyes and thought better of arguing with the vampire over the unfavored nickname. "I have something to report to you. I know Kassity is supposed to be on the hunt for the stone, but I found the human that is carrying it."

  "You what? Did you approach her about it?" Lucius shot to his feet and took a few steps forward.

  "She's under my protection. Shifters have attacked her twice that we know of. She has suspicions that it has to do with the stone, but she doesn't know anything about the supernatural world." Coran held his hands up to stop Lucius from approaching. "She's special though. She has an ability, but I don't want to drag her into all this. Despite that ability she is human and doesn't belong in this war." He relaxed when the vampire stopped approaching.

  Lucius crossed his arms and raised a brow. "Then how are you going to get the stone from her?"

  "I'll convince her to give it to me." Coran shrugged. "Or I'll find a way to snatch it from her."

  "Why are you protecting her? If she's already been attacked, force on our side is not taboo. You could have already taken the stone for me." Lucius watched him, his black eyes following Coran's every move.