Resisting Darkness

by Kate Wendley

  “Ethan’s vampires have left. If your guards are staying the night, or even longer, they’ll have to stay upstairs. Your… friend, can of course stay here with you if you’d like.”

  His father stood. “Son, I’d like to talk−”

  “I need to get back to watching over Kaia for the rest of the night and morning. She took a hard hit to the head, which I’m sure you’re aware is a dangerous injury for a human. You and I will have to talk another time. If you need anything, Torin can assist you. He’ll be down soon.”

  Anthony inclined his head to everyone in the group, then briskly left. He could sense through his connection that his father was irritated at him for brushing him off like this, and it would probably come back to haunt him later, but he’d already dealt with enough tension tonight. His father’s problems would just have to wait.

  Chapter 17

  Ethan woke feeling frantic and desperate again. When he realized Harmony was beside him and wrapped up in his arms, he eventually calmed his shaking hands and thumping heart. What was wrong with him? Why was he still having these nightmares? He thought for sure they’d go away once he confronted Isaiah, except that he didn’t feel like he’d gotten any closure from that whole disastrous affair.

  He sighed and focused on Harmony. She’d been staying with him for a few days now. Such a short period of time, yet it felt like she’d belonged to him much longer than that. He kissed her forehead, then ran his finger along the outer edge of her ear, his gaze trailing to her neck.

  Did he really want to do this with her? Was he ready to finally move on from Sonya? He’d felt no guilt last night as he and Harmony made incredible love together, yet even now he couldn’t help thinking of what it’d been like to wake like this with Sonya in his arms each night. He missed that and he missed her.

  When Harmony woke, she smiled lovingly at him, so he tried to relax and forget about the troubles he knew he still had to deal with. Since he hadn’t killed Isaiah, he now had to handle having him back in Atlanta, as well as the rest of his family’s hatred of the man. And… there’d been a growing uneasiness in his gut since last night thinking about Harmony’s safety around the bastard. Surely that was a ridiculous worry, though.

  He pet her cheek as she looked so happily at him. “Good evening my beautiful butterfly. You’re awake early.”

  “Really? What time is it?”

  She stretched her arms above her head and the covers slipped off her enough to reveal her beautiful, naked breasts. Her pert nipples did a good job of distracting him from his thoughts, but he forced his gaze away.

  “It’s a few minutes before sunset. You usually don’t wake until after the sun’s gone down.”

  Her eyes went wide in surprise.

  “How do you feel?”

  “Good.” She gave him the same cautious look she’d been giving him the last few nights.

  “I mean because of my blood. Do you feel all right?”

  She hesitated before saying, “Do you regret offering it to me?”

  A flash of possessiveness ran through him and he briskly rolled on top of her. “Never. Drink from me again, kitten. You’re mine now.”

  He leaned into her neck, playfully toying with her by trailing his lips across her tender skin. She whimpered and arched her naked body against him, and he finally, slowly let her feel his fangs. She gasped when he bit her, then took a shaky breath before leaning into his neck and giving him what he so desperately craved… her hungry bite. He moaned in satisfaction as her delicate fangs pierced his skin, her lips suckling him as she swallowed his blood.

  The feel of Harmony taking from him as he took from her brought back so many erotic memories of him and Sonya doing the same thing. Confused as he was about who it was appropriate for him to crave right now, if not both, the freedom he’d felt with Harmony before the sun rose this morning as they made mad love was still fresh in his mind and he was strongly in the mood for it again.

  He released her from his bite and tried to carefully adjust himself so she could keep biting him, but he needed to touch her. She released him at his fidgeting and he immediately kissed her, the taste of blood in both their mouths only making him that much more excited.

  He anxiously pulled back and huskily said, “I need you.”

  She whimpered in anticipation, and he wasted no time showering her body with kisses. He suckled her voluptuous breasts as she whimpered and urged him on, then explored her slick center, mercilessly teasing her until his own frantic desire matched what he saw on her beautiful face. He slid inside her heavenly body, forcing a needy gasp from her. He grunted his own pleasure while she pulled him closer, his need intensifying with every thrust of his hips.

  He rocked anxiously in time with her body, yearning for more than he’d wanted from a woman for hundreds of years. “Bite me. Please.”

  He groaned in satisfaction when she wrapped her arms all the way around him and attached herself to his neck. Her sharp teeth punctured his skin and her vampire power sent a sensual vibe into his flesh. Her teeth in his neck anchored him to her and he dared not rock too harshly or the incredible feel of her bite would stop, which only made his body all the more tight and tense. He shook in desperation, then bit down for the irresistible taste of her blood as his orgasm rolled through him.

  **

  Harmony lay draped over Ethan’s body as they languidly pet each other.

  He carefully said, “We’ll have all your things from Anthony’s brought here?”

  She looked into his eyes and he was briefly afraid of what she’d say. He didn’t want to get mean about it, but there was no way in hell he was allowing her to be anywhere near that place without him, ever again.

  “This is real, isn’t it? I mean, you and I. It seems like it should be too fast for us to feel like this for each other, but if I didn’t come back here with you every night from now on, I’d feel like something was wrong.”

  He let go of the tense breath he’d been holding. “I know we barely know each other, but I want you here with me.” He more quietly said, “I need you here with me.”

  She started to look emotional, then nodded and kissed him again.

  They both turned their attention to the bedroom door when they heard movement in the other room. It was shifters here to let them feed. Ethan had felt them when he woke, something he was used to. Harmony stilled after a moment, then relaxed against his chest.

  She quietly said, “You’d really been planning to kill Isaiah for over seventy years?”

  He frowned at her question. He didn’t want to talk about Isaiah, and he didn’t want her thinking about him either. “Yes.”

  She innocently said, “I can’t imagine holding that in for so long. You really loved her, didn’t you?”

  Ah, she was talking about Sonya, the woman he’d told her was the only person he’d ever loved. He shifted so he could look her in the eyes. “Yes, I did, but you were right. I have to let her go.”

  Their conversation was rudely interrupted by loud knocking on the front door of the apartment, sounds of people talking, loudly, then George bellowing Ethan’s name from the living room. Christopher and Cory were trying to calm him down.

  Ethan frowned and turned his head toward the commotion. He called out, “George, calm the hell down. I’ll be right there.”

  When the voices quieted some, he turned back to Harmony. “I need to deal with this. Take your time getting ready. I’ll have to shower later.” He reluctantly freed himself from her.

  “I’d rather be part of this.”

  He almost told her no, the brief thought running through his mind that she was just some silly shifter he’d just had a romp in the hay with, but she wasn’t. She was vampire and she was the woman he was desperately falling for. Still, he wanted to know her motivations. “Why?”

  She straightened her spine as she sat naked and tempting on the bed in front of him. “Because I was by your side while you confronted the man from your nightmares, and I’m here
now and you’ve asked me to stay. I want to know what’s going on in your family.”

  He stilled as he looked into her determined face. When he finally realized he was nodding, he smiled and said, “Ok.”

  They hastily cleaned up and dressed, then joined the crowd in the living room.

  George immediately popped up from his perch on the sofa arm. “I knew it! It’s this harlot that made you turn away from your duty to avenge Sonya’s death.”

  Ethan smacked him. Hard. George took the hit in furious indignation. Ethan had never struck him before, having always shown George respect as the former Master of this family and as Sonya’s adoptive father. It didn’t shock anyone more than Ethan that he’d actually hit him, but after a full minute of them glaring at each other, Ethan said in a cold, hard voice, “I don’t care who you are, if you ever call her that again, or anything even remotely disparaging, I won’t be as kind to you as I just was.”

  George’s face was red with fury while he continued huffing and puffing in indignation. “That man is still in our midst, and he’s killed too many of us. You can’t expect the rest of the family to not want justice, even if you’ve decided against it.”

  Ethan glared at him, not liking his tone one bit. Before he could say anything, though, his attention jerked to a familiar sensation outside. He snapped, “Stay here. I’ll be right back,” then disappeared as mist.

  **

  Anthony was frantic to find Kaia. He didn’t even shower before he left home tonight. The only thing he cared about was finding her. She’d apparently left when she woke today and didn’t tell Zach or Sebastian where she was going, and she didn’t leave Anthony a note or a message on his phone, either. She’d taken an awful lot of her things with her, too.

  He could put two and two together. She was upset about his father hurting her last night and was no doubt in shock that she’d been knocked clean out from him throwing her across the restaurant. He didn’t even blame her for leaving. Of course she wouldn’t want to stay somewhere that people were attacking her.

  This was the second time she’d been seriously hurt in his home and it made him both mad and regretfully sad. As hard as he tried to keep her safe, being around him and his world meant there was always a risk she could be seriously hurt. She just didn’t have the strength to defend herself against supernatural creatures.

  But that didn’t mean he was giving up. He frantically drove to Wild Woods, hoping she’d be there even though she wasn’t answering either of her phones. The closer he got, though, the more he knew he was going the wrong direction. His mind ran in circles trying to decide where to go looking for her. He could spend hours driving, or even flying all over the city, and still possibly not find her. Atlanta was a big place with all its suburbs and twisty, winding highways and jammed freeways. And even though he’d had her blood, their connection would never be as strong as it could be if she were a supernatural.

  He clenched the steering wheel and growled in frustration. Ethan would know where she was. Even though he’d been a mess when he left the club last night, his family were still his eyes and ears. They’d have kept an eye on her since she was still technically under his protection.

  Anthony wasn’t sure he was ready to face the man who’d nearly killed him last night, though. It’d only been by Ethan’s goodwill that he wasn’t dead right now, and that thought disturbed him. He’d had no idea how deep the man’s hatred ran until he’d stood with Ethan’s hand in his chest as he gripped his heart. Anthony had stared into his tormented eyes and saw the deep conviction in them to avenge the death of his lover. He’d known by that one look that there was nothing he could do to free himself, so he’d faced his impending death with dignity, something no one would ever take from him again.

  He realized in irritation that he was tracing over the bumps of his hideous scar with his fingertips. The familiar feel was both comforting and revolting, and he let his hand fall back to the steering wheel. He hated thinking about that long ago night when he’d gotten this mark across his face, and he hated being reminded of it every time he looked in the mirror.

  Ethan at least had a legitimate reason for attacking him and his father, but he wondered if it really was Ethan’s love for Kaia that persuaded him into letting Anthony go, or if he would’ve anyway. His mind still wasn’t made up on how cruel he thought Ethan really was, or if he might still go over the edge if provoked.

  Anthony pulled into the Wild Woods’ parking lot. He was irritated last night’s attack even happened, and felt like a fool that he hadn’t been paying well enough attention to see it coming. He knew the blame wasn’t all his own, though. Ethan was powerful, something Anthony had always known, but a powerful man bent on vengeance could have an uncanny ability to know when to strike. And Anthony had been so shocked by the whole night that his attention wasn’t wholly on Ethan. It’d been on his father, and that was his mistake.

  As he sat in his car weighing his options of how to find Kaia, Ethan appeared in front of him. Anthony tensed as they locked eyes, preparing to turn into mist at the slightest provocation.

  Ethan cocked his head and gestured towards the building, then started slowing walking towards the front door. Anthony didn’t move as he watched him, but when Ethan finally got to the door and opened it, then turned around as if to wait for Anthony, he decided to park the car and take his chances. Ethan surely knew exactly where Kaia was, and maybe Anthony could get it out of him before he and Ethan started fighting again.

  He kept his eyes on him as he pulled his car closer to the curb and turned the engine off. He slowly got out, still prepared for any sudden movements. Last night he hadn’t fully comprehended the depths of Ethan’s need for revenge. He tried to put himself in his shoes after that, knowing he might’ve done something similar if Kaia were killed, though attacking an innocent man seemed to push the limits of what he thought he was capable of. Still, he wondered why Ethan waited so many years to call his father back here, especially since he figured out once he met Anthony that the man who murdered Sonya was still alive.

  He warily approached as Ethan watched him.

  “Are you looking for Kaia?”

  Anthony didn’t say anything. He wasn’t sure where he and Ethan stood. Just because he chose not to kill him last night, Anthony had no illusions that they were actually friends now. He also didn’t want to give away the fact that he’d lost Kaia, the woman Ethan thought of as his daughter, just in case Ethan hadn’t actually kept tabs on her. It might send him over the edge again if he knew that.

  “Come inside for a minute and I’ll tell you where she is.”

  He knew where she was. Thank God. Anthony relaxed just a little at those words, though he narrowed his eyes at him, wondering what his game was.

  Ethan gave him an uncomfortable look. “I’m sorry about last night. I was upset.”

  Anthony stared at him in surprise.

  Ethan straightened up and said with more conviction, “I’m not going to try to kill you again, but I’d appreciate it if you don’t make excuses for your father.”

  “I don’t answer for my father’s actions and he doesn’t answer for mine. May I say something, though?”

  Ethan casually cocked an eyebrow.

  “My condolences on your loss. I had no idea. Had I known, it could’ve saved us years of antagonizing each other.”

  Ethan caustically chuckled. “Had you known, I would’ve killed you the first time we met. Just for spite.”

  They locked eyes for a time before Ethan finally looked more relaxed. “Come inside. We need to talk, and I have something for you. For Kaia, I mean.”

  Anthony reluctantly followed him in, then upstairs and into his apartment with his senses wide open. Anthony stopped just inside the doorway with Christopher, Harmony, Cory, Patrick and George all inside, and a lot of tension in the air.

  Ethan said to the room at large, “Anthony’s off limits. You touch him, you deal with me. Got it?” He looked like he was talking to
George, but everyone in the room nodded.

  “We’re going to talk, George.” Ethan turned to Anthony then. “Your father killed a number of our family.”

  He blinked in surprise. “Did he?” Maybe he should’ve talked to his father before coming here tonight.

  Ethan gave him a look and abruptly snapped his mouth closed. After a moment, he said, “I guess that’s a good question.”

  George snapped, “He killed Sonya and Emanuel.”

  This conversation wasn’t giving Anthony a good feeling. And he didn’t want to deal with this issue right now. Finding Kaia was a much more important topic as far as he was concerned, but then, Ethan didn’t seem worried about her whereabouts. Of course, Ethan wasn’t the one that might’ve possibly lost her love.

  It could take Anthony hours, or even longer to find Kaia without Ethan’s help, so he tried to focus on the topic at hand. “I’m sorry to hear that your loved one was killed at the hands of my father. I realize that doesn’t make things right, though. Can we start by perhaps questioning him to find out exactly who else he might’ve killed? Years ago he told me of how he was turned vampire, but I truly don’t have any memories of him telling me that he’d become a vampire hunting aficionado. Not to make light of this emotional topic, but could we start with the facts?”

  Ethan watched Anthony for a long moment before turning back to the others in the room. “George?”

  “How do we know he won’t just lie about it?”

  Anthony said, “You may have whomever you’d like present. Someone who can tell truth from lies.”

  George looked sharply at Ethan. “What difference does it make which ones he killed? He still killed.”

  Ethan scoffed at him and stepped closer to Harmony. “You were a Master, George. We’ve all killed. Besides, Emanuel and his friends were no loss to the family and you know it.”

  George got even more worked up at that. “Maybe so, but the others didn’t deserve it. And he killed Sonya! He killed my little girl!”