Dark War Chronicles Box Set One

by A. L. Kessler

  “You killed the king that night because you walked in on him raping her. Signing your own death warrant.” Markus appeared behind his sister and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I can change that memory, make it worse.” With a quick motion, Markus snapped Cael’s neck. Kaden’s heart dropped. It wasn’t real, it wasn’t possible. Cael waited for him in the demon realm now. After she’d returned from Lucius.

  Markus raised a brow. “Not convinced? Okay, how about Tegan? Remember how she lost her memories? Only to regain them to remember that she had a mate? I can change her memories to think that you died by my hand. Even now I can feel her mind.”

  Kaden clenched his jaw. He would not rise to this vampire’s bait. Tegan was awake right now and nowhere near the vampires. She would be safe, but he could feel the demon in him rising. It wasn’t the time to bring it out, not yet.

  Markus seemed to sway when he stood from Cael and the room wavered around them. Kaden smiled, the vampire must have been feeling the effects of the demon poison.

  “Still nothing?” Markus disappeared and reappeared behind him. Kaden tried to step away, but Markus sank his fangs into him. Snarling, Kaden pulled away from him, saying goodbye to a chunk of flesh his neck. He swung around with his sword at the same moment that the demon came bursting out of him. In his demon form his sword flew from his hands as they became claws. The sword struck Markus in the chest and Kaden followed up with a swipe of claws, tearing a hole in the vampire’s stomach.

  The dream began to crumple and fade and Kaden snarled, trying to hold on to it, but Markus was waking. His only comforting thought was that the demon poison would take him out. Tegan was the only creature that Kaden knew who survived it without the antidote, and it wasn’t likely that Markus would have it since the alliance with the demons was now broken.

  Dawn was close to falling and Tegan sat in the great room, lounging in Lucius’ throne with a book. She couldn’t concentrate on the words or the story. They weren’t what she wanted, she wanted to hear from Kaden to make sure he was safe, but there had been no news yet. With the time difference from Markus’ territory, Kaden should have taken out the vampire by now. A horrible feeling settled in her gut as she came to the possibility that Kaden hadn’t made it.

  “Tegan?” Lucius’ voice brought her out of her horrible thoughts. “Have you seen Victoria?”

  “She said she had something to take care of.” She didn’t look up from her book. Anger still ran through her at the idea that he sent Kaden on a possibly fatal mission.

  Lucius sighed. “Still mad?”

  “Without a doubt, and I will be until he’s back in my arms and I’m sure Markus has not maimed him in some way.” She snapped. “How could you demand that of him?”

  “I wanted to see how far he was willing to go for you.” Lucius snorted. “I didn’t think he’d actually go after the vampire.”

  She put her book down and glared at him. “Well, he did, and he’s not back yet.”

  “He’s not dead, Tegan, you’d feel it, even with him in the demon realm.” Lucius walked up to her. “If he succeeds then Markus is out of our way. If he doesn’t—“

  “Then he’s dead.” She snarled. “Lucius, I know you don’t want to believe it, but other than you rescuing me, he is the best thing that has happened to me.” She met his gaze. “It’s about time that you accept that.”

  “Yes, it is.” He admitted and it stunned her. “Which means that regardless of if he fails, if he lives he may mate you. He proved how far he was willing to go to protect you.”

  “Boy am I glad to hear that,” Kaden’s voice entered the room and Tegan shot up and ran to him. He cringed as he caught her, but he stayed upright. “Happy to see you too.”

  She stepped back and searched him over, touching the bite on his neck. “Holy shit, I thought you were fighting him in the dream world.”

  “Yeah, well, since I was causing physical damage to him, mine came back to the waking world with me. It’s okay, I’m just a little sore and the bite looked worse earlier.” His voice was light and she wanted to smack him for it.

  Lucius cleared his throat. “And what of Markus?”

  “He woke before I could decapitate him, but his blood has been tainted by demon poison.”

  “Which means he’ll die.” Tegan couldn’t keep the hope from her voice.

  “Yes.” Kaden squeezed her hand.

  “There is an antidote to that poison.” Lucius growled. “What are his chances of getting ahold of that?”

  “Unless he had advance notice of me coming, he won’t be able to get any in time. Especially since my sister cut all ties with him and the Circle.”

  Tegan felt the last bit of worry slip from her. “Perfect.” She grinned and pulled him towards the hall leading to the rooms.

  “Where are you two going?” Lucius asked.

  “To enjoy my mate.” Tegan grinned at him then ran down the hall with Kaden.

  Markus woke with a gasp as an insane pain ran through him. Demon poison. A feminine chuckle made him smile. “I didn’t think you were going to show.”

  “And leave you to die when you mean so much to my plan and the Father? Never.” She came out of the shadows. A black cloak covered her from head to toe, only her pale arms showed as she cradled a vial in front of her. “You need to drink this now or the poison will kill you.”

  “You knew who he was going to send after me?” Markus snorted. “Lucius should be careful about the company he keeps.”

  She nodded. “Of course he should be, but he’s too blinded by everything happening. It’ll be time to make your move soon.”

  Markus took the vial from her and downed the antidote. His wounds would heal. He was lucky he made it out of the dream before Kaden killed him, but there was enough damage to make Kaden think he had won.

  “We’ll make our move soon.” He grumbled. “For now I need to recover and you need to get back.”

  Tegan lay against Kaden’s naked chest and ran her hand over his skin. “This is perfect.”

  “Mmm, yes, I would have to agree.” He chuckled and she couldn’t help but smile. Markus was gone, Lucius was letting her have a mate, and even her brother seemed more occupied with something other than her. She kissed him.

  “So? We’re mated, officially? There’s nothing like the shifters where beasts accept each other? Nothing like that?” Tegan pushed herself up on one arm.

  Kaden laughed. “No, that’s what the marks are. You’ve been my mate Tegan, always have and always will be since the moment I first touched you.”

  Back when she was rescued from the Father...a life so long ago. Kaden made her feel worth something, everything. “Mmm, I love you my demon.”

  “I love you too.”

  Zaaren walked into the bar that his sister ran. The wood paneled walls and cracked mirrors were the least of his concern. Behind the bar was his focus. Mae. The vampire Lucius had changed after swearing he wouldn’t change any more. He’d never shared the reasons why and now it was Zaaren’s main concern. He hated that Lucius had secrets. The younger vampire had grown in power, yes, but he’d grown paranoid too.

  “What can I help you with, Zaaren?” Mae called from the bar. Her hair had been pulled back and her lean body was covered in leather. It made her look lethal, which was the point.

  He didn’t want to admit why he was here. “I’m looking for my sister. I thought she was working tonight?” Of course that was a lie, his sister was probably upstairs tangled in Kaden’s arms. He should have killed the demon when he had a chance.

  “She’s upstairs rearranging all the butterflies Lucius had delivered.” She chuckled and Zaaren felt something in him stir.

  They both looked up when the door opened and a cop walked in.

  “Aw, fuck.” Mae muttered.

  “Mae?” The detective rushed across the small bar and to Mae. “What happened? What have they done to you? I’ve been searching for you.”

  Zaaren glanced at Mae who sighed.


  “Sanders...I don’t know how to break this to you, but...I’m a vampire.”

  The End

  Author’s Note

  I had readers asking for more about Kass and Jax. I decided they needed a little adventure, but I’m sure this wasn’t what everyone had in mind. This story surprised me. It is meant to be read after Past Demons, but also goes hand in hand with Into the Night.

  In the Shadow of the Moon

  DWC: #4.5

  “You’re going to Europe.” Lucius stated the moment he walked into the room.

  Kassity raised a brow. “I’m just now back up to walking and shifting and you’re sending me out of the country? Without my control?”

  “Lucius, that’s not a wise idea.” Jaxon stepped up and crossed his arms.

  In the small room, the vampire seemed to take up most of the space. They were in the concrete room that she normally used when she was in panther form. Since the attack of the former Queen of Blood and Darkness she was having more problems with her beast. Sometimes when she tried to shift it would come to the surface and other times it stayed hidden and tucked away. Until she could figure out how to get it back under the limited control she had, it was best that she and Jaxon stay in this room.

  “We have a Keeper out there that needs help. You just need to get there, secure the tomb, move the coffin to a plane and come home.” His voice gave them no room to argue.

  Nothing was ever that simple when it had to do with the vampires, but this wasn’t a normal mission for her. Normally her missions were killing. “There’s something else going on. What?”

  “The detective that was on your case stopped by the bar. I need you at the very least out of the city.”

  Panic tried to crawl through her. If the human authorities found out that she was still alive they would kill her on sight. A few years ago it wouldn’t have mattered, but now that she had found Jaxon, her attitude had changed. “So we just go to Europe and bring home a sleeping vampire.”

  “And her Keeper.” He nodded. “Jaxon will be with you and I know he can control any outbursts from your beast.”

  So they all hoped, but she could feel how tense Jaxon was. She glanced at him and he shrugged. “I guess we don’t have much of a choice.”

  She sighed and nodded. “When do we leave?”

  “Tonight, I pulled some strings and got you both a flight. They will also be the people who bring everyone back. A man name Ayden will be meeting you at the airport. You both are to listen to his instructions.”

  “And the vampire who runs that territory?”

  “Has been alerted you are coming. He is well aware of the situation here and is not working with the Circle. We are welcome there as long as we don’t cause problems.” He looked to Jaxon. “I know you’re from there, but I don’t know why you left or if you left behind a past.”

  They had never really talked about it; they had both agreed that the past was just that.

  Jaxon shook his head. “Nothing that should interfere with this mission and I’m welcome back there.”

  That was a comforting fact. There was nothing like something from the past coming up. “You just jinxed us.” Kass grumbled. “I’ll get us packed. I’m assuming all other arrangements have been made?”

  “Yes.” Lucius turned to leave. “Check in, we don’t know what the Circle is planning now that the Father is awake. I don’t think he’d hesitate to kill any of my people at this point.”

  “Comforting, really.” Kassity sighed. “We’ll check in when we can. We’ll make it quick.”

  “Maybe Ayden can meet us at the airport and we can just turn around and come home?” Jaxon asked and pushed away from the wall.

  Lucius shook his head. “Because there is nothing like a guy checking in a coffin to alert anyone in the supernatural territory. Ayden is known for being a Keeper.”

  He was right. “Okay, we get it. I’m sure you have things to attend to.”

  “I do.” He walked out and Kassity relaxed.

  “You know, when I said I wanted a vacation...” She mused and looked up at Jaxon. “I didn’t mean I wanted to get sent on a mission.”

  Jaxon grinned. “Aw, come on, it’ll be fun. Besides it’ll be our first time being out of Lucius’ territory together.”

  She hadn’t thought about that. “It will be nice to get out of the mansion for a while. The Original here is making me nervous and Lucius has been on edge. There has been so much tension here.”

  “Now that Tegan is back, it seems like there are a lot more precautions being taken.”

  “And with the Father being awake... yeah, a trip to Europe doesn’t seem so bad now.” She chuckled and stood up. “Let’s just hope my panther stays under control.”

  Jaxon cradled her face gently between his hands. “I won’t let her get out of control. I know you have slid backwards since the attack, but I’m right here with you. You won’t be alone there and you won’t have Lucius’ influences.”

  Even at the simple touch she could feel the tension fading from her. It was one of the great advantages of having a mate. She took a deep breath and nodded. “I know. I love you.” She kissed him. “Let’s get packed and get to the plane.”

  ***

  Kass walked through the airport, clinging to Jaxon’s hand. The crowd moving around them made her nervous and she could feel her beast pacing below the surface, even with Jaxon’s touch. Everyone smelt like danger, and the new smells and sounds were setting her warning signals off.

  Near the baggage claim was a man standing with a sign. He had some strange sense of humor. On the sign were a picture of two panthers and the word welcome. Kassity wasn’t amused, since they were going for subtle, but she noticed that Jaxon couldn’t hide his chuckle.

  “You must be Ayden.” He let go of her hand long enough to shake Ayden’s.

  Kass followed his example. “Let’s get this over with.” She sniffed the air and froze as a familiar scent crossed her. Impossible. She looked at Jaxon to see if he smelt it, but his gaze was wandering the area.

  “We need to go.”

  Kassity wondered if he had caught the same scene she had or a different one. “How many shifters are in this damn place?”

  “Many shifters originated from here, so there are a lot still.” Ayden said gently. They went and grabbed their bags and then Ayden led them out to an SUV in the parking lot.

  Jax put a hand on the small of her back and she jumped. “It’s okay, we just get them ready, get them home and we’re done.”

  “Something’s not right here. I don’t like it.” She let out a low growl.

  Ayden glanced over his back. “I’ve got my own problems here, all I want to do is get Nuala to safety.”

  Jaxon nodded and they all climbed into the car. Kass rolled down the window so she could breathe. The air here smelt differently, something strange was in the air. But she knew it wasn’t just shifters that came from here, a lot of magic had originated in Europe as well. It charged the air and made her nervous.

  “Zaaren didn’t tell me much about you. Just said that Lucius was sending someone to help.”

  Kass snorted. “That’s because Zaaren doesn’t know anything of worth about us. Jaxon and I are panther shifters, we work under Lucius. We were the only ones available to help you.”

  “Zaaren is an ass like that.” He sighed and pulled the SUV into traffic.

  Kass had yet to really talk to Zaaren, she knew that he was an Original, Tegan’s brother and he spent a lot of time yelling at Tegan and Lucius.

  “He’s too busy dealing with the crap back home. There’s a lot going on that Lucius and Zaaren aren’t sharing with us. Starting with what the hell is going on with Tegan. She spent years hiding and suddenly no sunglasses, no blindfold, and a mate.” Jaxon chuckled. “Something is changing with Lucius and I think Zaaren is fighting against it.”

  “Are the rumors true?” Ayden asked. “Has the Father been woken?”

  “Yes.” Kass answe
red and the car fell quiet. No one wanted to admit it out loud, but it was the truth. The Father being awake meant that there was going to be more bloodshed because the war would increase and spill over into the human world. It wasn’t going to be pretty and everyone was dreading it. Except for the Father, it meant that his power would grow.

  Ayden pulled up to a small house and threw the car in park. Jaxon looked around.

  “Where do you keep the vampire?”

  Ayden shook his head. “She’s in her tomb, we’ll move her at nightfall. Precautions with the sun and the coffin.”

  Of course. Jaxon sighed, they’d be here longer than he wanted. The scent he’d caught at the airport was mixed with one from Kassity’s past. He didn’t want to run into the people either scent belonged to. He knew Kassity had caught one, but not the other. She’d been smart enough to realize that there were other shifters, but since she’d never been here nor had she met someone from his previous clan, she had no reason to be alarmed.

  He’d told Lucius that he was okay to go back home, which was true, but it didn’t mean that everyone was happy with the outcome. His past wasn’t something he wanted to revisit. He hadn’t expected for it to come up. He’d been lucky that Kassity never really pushed him on it, maybe because she was ashamed of her own past.

  But she hadn’t slaughtered half the clan. He had, with good reasons of course. He glanced over at his mate and knew that she needed to run soon. He could feel her panther close to the surface. There was something in her that was changing, ever since the attack that had almost killed her. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but he could sense it.

  “Do you own the land?” Jaxon asked as they all got out. Kassity went to get the suitcases out of the back and then handed him his.

  Ayden nodded and led them to the house. “Yes, you two need to run, I’m sure. Being cramped on a plane for that long and then a car ride, your beasts are probably ready to get out.”