Resisting Darkness

by Kate Wendley

  Dead was what he’d be tonight. Either that or Anthony would be, and then Ethan could finally see pain on Isaiah’s face. His photographic memory could replace the horrors of waking up to the love of his life being murdered with the memory of exacting revenge on her killer.

  A werewolf with hard eyes and deep lines in his face opened the heavy wooden door to the club. Another wolf followed close behind. They took a few steps in, then stopped and surveyed the room before slowly parting to allow in the source of Ethan’s pain and torment.

  The sight of Isaiah sent him into a strange kind of shock. Long repressed memories of tossing the man away from Sonya’s battered body all those years ago blasted into his mind as other memories quickly overtook him… punching the bastard, weeping over Sonya, smelling her sweet scent and kissing her beautiful lips one last time… then realizing he wanted to punish the murderer in the most extreme way possible by turning him into what he hated most.

  He hadn’t thought about those specific details in a long, long time. And to add to his misery, seeing his and Sonya’s good friends Seth and Nala walk in behind Isaiah made Ethan’s heart feel even more ripped apart.

  Isaiah looked like hell, which was a pitiful consolation. He looked fever sick with dark circles under his eyes and skin that was unevenly pale. His gaze darted around the room like a junkie looking for his next fix. Black hair that wasn’t quite as long as Anthony’s hung free and unkempt as he anxiously stood between his werewolf guards.

  Ethan was so enraged, shocked, and utterly furious, he couldn’t do anything but stare as Sebastian greeted the group. He spoke directly to Isaiah in his usual gruff manner.

  “You’re Anthony’s father?”

  “I am.” Isaiah looked like he was struggling to stay focused. His hand trembled as he finger combed his hair out of his face.

  Sebastian gestured to the werewolf guards. “These guys with you?”

  “They are.”

  Torin and Zach quickly joined Sebastian as the eyes of people in the club started to watch the scene.

  Sebastian spoke directly to the guards. “You better have left all your weapons upstairs.”

  The wolf guard in charge of their little group stared Sebastian down, puffing out his chest out as if that would intimidate the Alpha Wolf of Atlanta. He said in a sinister tone, “I am a weapon.”

  Sebastian looked wholly unimpressed. “Good to know. Just so you know, you’re in my territory. If you still have any actual weapons on you, and you pull them out while you’re here, I won’t hold back when I take you down. Got it?”

  The lead guard openly sneered. “You threatening me?”

  Sebastian’s eyes started glowing and his power leaked out all around him. A rumble of a growl started deep in his throat as he stared the guard down, and it wasn’t long before the wolf broke eye contact and looked away in submission.

  Isaiah warily reached a shaking hand out for Sebastian. “You must be the Alpha Wolf. I’m Isaiah. A pleasure to meet you. What’s your name?”

  That voice. It was so much like Anthony’s, but different. The last time Ethan heard it, Isaiah had been screaming for his life.

  Sebastian stared the guard down for another moment or two, flicked a look at the other wolves, who quickly looked away as well, then finally turned his attention to Isaiah. He stared at his offered hand like the last thing he wanted to do was shake it, then looked him in the eye. “I’m Sebastian. You don’t look so good. Do you need to feed or something?”

  Isaiah’s hand dropped as he kept his eyes on Sebastian. “I don’t think feeding again will help. It’s just been a long trip, I’m afraid.”

  Torin extended his hand. “Hi there. I’m Torin. Sebastian’s second. You sure do look just like Anthony.”

  He looked too much like Anthony, who was nowhere in sight, dammit. Where was he? He had to sense that his father here. He needed to get out here so they could finish this!

  Isaiah exchanged an anxious handshake with Torin, then Zach, who seemed more cautious as he stared curiously at the murderer.

  “Name’s Zach. Alpha Jaguar.”

  Isaiah greeted him, then flicked a glance at Anthony’s closed office door. Ethan could feel his irritation spike, and it made him smile. Seth and Nala quietly slipped away from the small gathering and headed straight for Christopher and George. Ethan’s heart felt tight seeing them so excited to be reconnecting with the family again. But the fact that they’d arrived with this murderous bastard seemed like the ultimate betrayal.

  Isaiah, a woman werewolf, and the three wolf guards warily made their way over to the restaurant. The woman looked like she was probably Isaiah’s lover, and the guards looked like they were here to make sure their paycheck for this job came through.

  So where the hell was Anthony?

  Ethan floated closer to the group again as Sebastian scooted two tables together. He leaned closer to Isaiah and quietly said, “Do you want me to tell Anthony you’re here?”

  He scoffed. “He knows I’m here.”

  Sebastian inclined his head and headed to the kitchen, and Ethan couldn’t stay still while he waited for this fight to happen. Maybe he should just go rile Anthony up. He’d been aching to beat on him for years, maybe now was the time. Maybe now…

  What the hell just happened? As he fumed at Anthony’s closed office door, somehow Kaia slipped past his notice and was now in Isaiah’s grasp…

  Chapter 15

  No! Dammit! Isaiah had Kaia by the throat. His hands were shaky and his eyes were crazed like a madman. One wrong move and she’d be dead.

  Ethan hovered above them in mist form, afraid to do anything. Why had this even happened? And why hadn’t Anthony come to greet his father? He had to know he was here. Isaiah was Anthony’s Maker after all.

  Ethan quickly scanned the club, his own vampires all keeping their eye on Isaiah, but also watching randomly around the room, no doubt for Ethan’s cue. He’d given them a quick tap with his power when Isaiah first got here, warning them to stay away from the bastard for now. Back in the days when they traveled more, it was one of his signals to his family that he had his eye on things. When he gave them a harder push with his power was when they knew they could charge in.

  For now he waited, furious that Isaiah was hurting Kaia, and torn between wanting to help her, but also wanting to wait for just the right time to finally make his appearance… and kill Isaiah.

  Having Kaia get hurt in the process hadn’t been part of the plan. Dammit, where was Anthony?

  One of Isaiah’s shifter guards slowly and firmly said, “Isaiah, she’s human. Don’t hurt the human.”

  Isaiah sneered at the man. “I’m not going to hurt her.” He awkwardly leaned closer to Kaia and smelled the side of her head, then cooed somewhat evilly, “You smell like my son. Are you his pet? Tell me who it is you love here.”

  Kaia whimpered. “Anthony. I love Anthony.”

  Isaiah smoothly said, “Of course you do. All good pets love their Masters. Thralls love who they’ve been spelled to love.”

  To Ethan’s relief, Anthony appeared in an angry rush. “Let her go, father.”

  “So now my son makes an appearance. How very nice of you.”

  Anthony narrowed his eyes at him. “If you’d wanted a homecoming party, you should have contacted me. You’ve had over seventy five years to do it. Now let her go.”

  Ethan was surprised to see Isaiah flinch, and the dark circles under his eyes made his frown look all the more harrowing. He hadn’t realized there was animosity between Anthony and his father and it put a new, irritating kink in his plan.

  “Since when did you need me to stay in contact with you? If I remember right, you were the one always wanting to be left alone. Besides, you knew full well I was returning.” There was a hint of hurt in his voice and Ethan’s resolve felt strong again. Isaiah cared for Anthony no matter what Anthony thought of his father. That was good.

  Anthony’s frown deepened when he flicked a glance at K
aia. She’d started trying in earnest to pry Isaiah’s hand from her throat.

  His voice was tight when he said, “Did you return just to fight with me? Let her go. She can’t breathe.”

  Isaiah loosened his grip and fumed, “You know better than to have human pets here. What have you let this place become?” His whole body shook in anger as he spat out, “My son will not have a thrall! You will not become the kind of man that would do such a despicable thing to another creature, let alone to himself.” He scoffed and flung Kaia away.

  Anthony’s eyes went wide in horror as he watched her crash into the outer kitchen wall. Her head slammed against the hard concrete and knocked her out cold. At least that’s all Ethan hoped had happened.

  Anthony flew to her side. “Kaia!”

  Ethan had to stop himself from lunging at Isaiah for hurting her because this wasn’t the fight he was here for. But his invisible form shook in panic and raging anger when Anthony’s hand came away with blood. The look on Anthony’s face as he glared in hatred at his father helped a malicious calm settle over him. It was clear what was going to happen next, and even though he wanted to check on Kaia to see how badly hurt she was, he was too enraptured with Isaiah as he smugly said, “Humans don’t belong−”

  Anthony’s wicked punch cut his father’s words off. Isaiah crashed through the tables his lover and their guards sat at. He popped up with a crazed look in his eyes, and before he could say or do anything else, Anthony was on him again. He punched him again and again, and Isaiah looked completely shocked, at least for the first few hits.

  Anthony was wild, wilder than Ethan had ever seen him. Movement near Kaia caught his eye and he spared a glance to see some shifters coming to her aid. Relieved that she was being tended to, he turned his attention back to why he was here.

  He watched with spiteful happiness as the man from his nightmares was beat on by his own son.

  Isaiah bellowed, “Anthony, stop this at once. I order you.”

  Isaiah’s shifter guards tried to get into the mix, but Anthony simply flung a hand in their direction and they were blown backwards as if a bomb had gone off.

  Anthony roared at Isaiah. “Order me all you want, father, but I’m the Master here. You left, remember? And you came back why? Just to hurt the woman I love?”

  Those were the words that tore at Ethan’s heart. Isaiah had hurt the woman Ethan loved, too. He rushed up and grabbed the bastard from behind… and nearly froze in horror to actually have his hands on the murderer again after all these years.

  He venomously spat out, “That’s what he does, Anthony! He kills the woman you love. Isn’t that right, Isaiah?”

  Anthony jerked back in confusion, then looked crazed with fury that his attack was being interrupted. “Stay out of this, Ethan!”

  He held tight to a handful of Isaiah’s hair with one hand, a vice grip on Isaiah’s arm with his other hand. He jerked harshly on the long hair that looked just like Anthony’s and wickedly sneered, “Not on your life, or on his either.”

  He glared at the back of Isaiah’s head as he let some of his energy roam free, giving the bastard a taste of his power. He snarled in his ear, “I’ve been replaying Sonya’s murder in my photographic memory for three hundred years. Three hundred years!”

  He shook him by his hair as his voice alternated between seething calm and screaming madness. “When I came to Atlanta, do you know what I found? The spitting image of her killer! Do you know how many years I’ve been staring into your son’s face, seeing his face in that memory of just waking up to you finishing up cutting her head off?”

  Isaiah said nothing, which only infuriated Ethan. He shook him more emphatically. “Do you?” He hissed at the man, then flicked a glance at Anthony. He just stared at him, wide eyed and silent. The entire club was silent besides an ill-timed peppy pop song playing over the speakers. Someone quickly turned the irritating music off.

  Anthony said in disbelief, “Father, do you know what he’s talking about? Is Ethan…” He took a deep breath. “Is Ethan the man you told me about? Is he your Maker?”

  Seconds ticked by, but Isaiah was silent besides a tremble and a choking cough as Ethan’s power ate at him. He was sick of not being able to look the man in the eye, or maybe he’d been avoiding it. He shoved him away from himself, then immediately punched him, letting a little of his power help it along. Isaiah slammed to the ground and his head smacked the hard cement floor.

  Ethan stood over his body and madly snarled, “Yes I’m his Maker. Why I did it, well, love makes a man stupid, doesn’t it? I should’ve torn his heart out, the same as he did to Sonya, but no. I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone and let him kill himself.”

  Isaiah slowly pulled himself together and sat up, his own power now flowing freely around him. The sight of this bastard finally facing him made old memories storm through his head again, though. He nearly froze in frantic panic and fought the urge to look around to make sure Harmony was ok.

  Instead, he grabbed Isaiah by the throat and used his link as his Maker to dampen his natural energy. He pulled him to his feet, then held him off the ground by his neck while the murderer tried to pry his hand from his throat. Ethan’s fingernails dug satisfyingly into the skin of his neck as he let his power fly free around him, engulfing the bastard in it.

  It was too similar to what he’d done to the man hundreds of years ago, though, right after waking to Sonya being killed. His anger and rage felt nearly identical, and the memory nearly overwhelmed him. His hand shook as he watched blood trickle out of Isaiah’s eyes, ears and nose.

  He needed to keep his mind in the here and now, so he focused on what he was here for tonight. “I couldn’t kill you because Sonya was against taking someone’s life. But I could let you kill yourself since you obviously hated our kind. But what did you do? You made more of us!” He pointed madly at Anthony with his free hand. “You even turned your own son!”

  Ethan sensed Anthony moving closer as he squeezed Isaiah’s throat, but there was nothing Anthony could do. It wouldn’t take anything at all to break Sonya’s killer’s neck, if only his hand would stop shaking. A little more pressure, a sharp twist to the left, and his nightmare would almost be over. He’d have to rip Isaiah’s heart out and then tear his head off to be sure he was truly dead. It was the same way Ethan killed his own Maker and the devil women that’d kept him trapped for ten long years after he’d been unwillingly turned vampire.

  He faltered at Sonya’s voice in his head. It was a vivid memory of when she’d first asked him if he’d ever killed anyone. Their conversation and the sudden feeling of that night in her arms made his whole body shake as he held Isaiah in the air, blood now dripping freely down the bastard’s face. It saturated his clothes as Ethan’s power continued to eat at him.

  Ethan lowered the devil back to the ground and struggled again with whether or not he truly wanted to kill him. He did, but if he went through with it, could he live with the thought that his final tribute to Sonya’s memory would be stained with murder, the very thing she was so passionately against?

  His heart felt like it was being twisted inside out as he screamed in frustration and reluctantly loosened his grip even more.

  “Don’t you have a damn thing to say for yourself, murderer?”

  Isaiah’s hands were trying to pry Ethan’s grip off his throat, and he was surprisingly starting to win that battle. In the meantime, he hoarsely said, “What I have to say is that I’m sorry.”

  Ethan roared in seething hatred. He punched him as hard as he could, flinging the man at least forty feet to the other side of the club.

  Isaiah slammed into the wall next to the door that led upstairs, cracking the concrete and leaving a bloody smear as he slid to the floor. He jerkily got back up and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “You made me realize that night what a horrible thing I’d done. It’s the reason I started this community. I can never take back what I did, but I can try to help others. I fe
el that I have.”

  Even looking haggard and tired, the bastard’s face was regal and stoic as he spoke. It made Ethan want to tear Isaiah’s eyes out. The man didn’t feel remorse, or pain, or anything of the sort, and that was something Ethan couldn’t live with. But instead of killing Isaiah, he’d make him feel pain by killing someone he loved.

  Anthony.

  In a blind fury he appeared in front of him and shoved a misty hand into his chest, then solidified inside him, grasping his heart. Anthony’s jaw dropped in horror and his eyes went wide as Ethan glared evilly at him.

  He grit his teeth through the shocking onslaught of Anthony’s usually carefully controlled power now flying freely around him. Shifters and vampires that were too close to them screamed and fled the area, but Ethan held on tight. Sebastian and Zach were brave enough to quickly shift, at least partway, and lunge at Ethan, but even they couldn’t get close enough to actually touch him. Not with Anthony’s incredible energy on the loose. They fell back and paced angrily around them, bloody and furious.

  Ethan stared straight into Anthony’s eyes as he spat at Isaiah, “You didn’t feel pain for one minute after you killed Sonya! Losing someone you love will make you feel it, though.” He felt crazed as he squeezed Anthony’s heart, putting some extra oomph into it with a shot of his power. Anthony shuddered and gasped, and his face went even paler than it already naturally was.

  Isaiah frantically screamed from a safe distance. “Son! Escape him! Turn into mist!”

  Anthony held Ethan’s gaze and stoically grunted as his body shook. “I can’t, father.”