by Alex Lux
Even the pain in my mutated arm faded into the recesses of my mind as I walked through the woods, directionless, but knowing exactly where I was going.
Each step felt like a dream, as if a puppet master guided my feet.
I came upon a cave, icicles framing the opening like a dangerous portal to a strange new world. Golden light glowed within, and I followed the light toward a man sitting by a fire.
White furs covered his hunched over body. At first I thought he wore animal skins, but then I saw. He had a human body, but from it grew the fur of a white wolf. Antlers sprang from his head as if grown there and bird wings sprouted from his back as if he might take flight at any moment. He raised a hand, the claw of a bear. His eyes, too dark and wide to be human, studied me to the very depths of my soul. "Come," he said. "I've been waiting for you."
TWENTY NINE
Of Mighty Opposites
DEREK
'Tis dangerous when the baser nature comes
Between the pass and fell incensèd points
Of mighty opposites.
— William Shakespeare, Hamlet
MOVEMENT TO MY right pulled me out of my fever-induced dreams. The cloak someone had dressed me in clung to my wet skin, soaked through as my fever broke. Stretching tore at bandaged wounds that felt tight. I sat up and stared at Ryder, who moved around the stone hall packing a bag with provisions for the road.
He won.
And he didn't kill me.
Ryder looked over and nodded. "Though this has been fun, I must be on my way. When Alaric wakes up, tell him I'll be in touch." Walking over he held out a hand, but pulled back when I didn't reciprocate. "No hard feelings, I hope. I never had a quarrel with you."
I stood on shaky legs. "And so you'll leave us alone? All of us?"
He cocked his head, dark hair falling forward. "Yes, I'll leave you and your friends alone. Drake's in the right hands. I know that now. When he gets better, apologize to him for me, will you?"
The bastard seemed far too cocky and confident. "He might not ever get better."
A secret smile spread over his face, like he knew something I didn't. "Goodbye, Derek. Keep Drake and his child safe. They're on the radar of the higher-ups now."
"Don't tell me how to take care of my friends. I won't let you or any of your kind hurt them again." Strength returned with the adrenaline of my anger.
Ryder pushed open a door and walked into the cold frost of morning. I'd slept through the night.
I thought of Rose, of where she could be, but I had one more thing to handle first. I chased after him, trudging through the fresh snowfall to catch up.
Ryder stood, knee deep in white powder, when he stopped and turned around.
"Thank you." I forced the reluctant words out of my mouth. "For ending the match when you did."
Ryder shrugged. "I owed you one."
"Before you leave, I have something for you," I said, reaching into my robes.
Ryder smiled.
And I stabbed the knife into his heart. "From Curtis."
His warm blood flowed over my hand. I let go, and he collapsed into the snow, rolling down the hill he'd been standing near.
Leaving a trail of crimson in the snow.
Using snow to remove traces of blood from my hand, I cleaned up as best I could and walked back to the fortress. I thought justice would feel… different. Instead, I just felt empty, a gnawing kind of empty that felt like I'd forgotten something I should know. There wasn't the satisfaction I'd hoped, but at least he'd never hurt anyone again.
I found Rose in the dining hall filling a plate of food. She smiled when she saw me. "I was looking for you." She put the food down and came closer, running her hands over my body, examining my injuries. "Are you okay?"
I was wondering the same of her. I thought she'd been injured, that something had happened when she shifted. Pieces of broken memories dulled by fever filled my mind, but I couldn't piece them together. It didn't matter right now. She was here. She was healthy. And I needed her.
The fire warmed our bedroom, making it more comfortable as we undressed each other. Each of us exploring the other, reveling in being alive and together—of having won this battle and survived it.
We kissed hard and without preamble I entered her, filling her with my cock as she raised her hips to meet mine. Our lovemaking was carnal, deep and raw, fast and hard. It was a release and a coming together.
Ignoring the pull from my wounds, I pleasured her in every way I could, with my fingers and mouth and cock. She sucked me and licked me and we fucked again.
We did this until we were spent. Until we had satiated our needs, fed our inner beasts, at least for now.
I stoked the fire and crawled back into bed, holding her close. "Where were you when I woke up?"
"You're not going to believe this," she said. "I met—"
She stopped, her eyes losing focus as she listened to something I couldn't hear. "It's Sam. She's sending me a telepathic message."
Rose's mouth fell open, her perfect red lips so enticing. "It looks like Drake's going to make it. He's recovering."
She went silent, still listening. "Oh. Oh, no. There was another killing, and IPI checked the date after time of death was determined."
She propped her head to look at me, her hazel eyes wide. "It happened while we had Ryder in custody. He's not the killer."
My chest deflated in one great breath.
Rose rested her head on my heart, likely attributing my increased heart rate to her news, but not for the reasons she thought.
Sighing, she laid a hand on my abs. "I'm so glad we didn't kill Ryder. Looks like he was innocent."
I spoke past the lump in my throat. "Yeah. I'm glad too."
My body shivered as the image of my bloody hands filled my vision.
And I tensed as Sam entered my mind to tell me about Drake, only to see my darkest secret.
THIRTY
What A Piece Of Work Is Man
SAM
What a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals!
— William Shakespeare, Hamlet
I PULLED OUT of Derek's mind, shock silencing me. Ryder was dead. I should be happy. He nearly killed the man I loved and forced him to take on the Nephilim powers. Who knew what that would do to Drake, to our family?
But seeing Derek's hands covered in Ryder's blood put it into a different perspective. Now it was too real, too vivid, and guilt ate at me. I had sent Derek on that quest, and now we would both bear the stains of that sin on our souls. A sin I knew well, for I already had the blood of others weighing on me. I thought of Gar, Luke and Lucy's mother, and all the teachers and students who'd lost their lives in our efforts to destroy Rent-A-Kid.
Beleth stood next to me, both of us here to check on Drake as he completed his healing and transformation. "What troubles you?" he asked.
I looked into his inhumanly dark eyes. "Who decides what's right or wrong? Who is qualified to decide who should live and who should die? Do Nephilim truly deserve to die? Do Lycans?"
He stood there, with the stillness only he could command. "Right and wrong are subjective. It depends on your point of view. Nephilim need blood to live, so should they not be allowed to kill humans in the same way humans kill cows for their meat and skin?"
I shuddered at the comparison. Was that all we were to Nephilim? A food source?
"Should the Lycans not be able to kill Nephilim in order to protect the humans?" he asked.
"Do all Nephilim want to kill us?" I couldn't believe that.
Beleth smiled. "I'm here and you're still alive. What do you think?"
Before I could answer, Drake opened his eyes, which glowed a brighter blue than before.
I leaned in, wrapping my arms around him, tears streaming down my face and onto his chest. "Oh Drake, you'r
e okay! I can't believe you're okay. I was so scared."
He wrapped his arms around me, his muscles bulging stronger, like he was before he lost his super strength. He nuzzled his face against my neck, his skin cold to the touch.
And then, his teeth sunk into my neck, draining my blood as darkness enveloped me.
~TO BE CONTINUED~
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About Alex Lux
Alex Lux is a USA TODAY bestselling multi-genre romance author who fancies herself British and living in a swanky flat in London where she and the Queen frequently have tea and crumpets. In reality, she's a native-born Californian who has a great fake accent and often compels her kids to get their fake British on as well. She does love tea, but drinks it with her Sexy Russian Prince (who's not really a prince, but he is Russian, and he is sexy). Together they write books with lots of sex and intrigue while raising three little girls who are entirely too smart for their parents' own good.
When not penning toe-curling sexiness, she writes fantasy and science fiction with her husband as Karpov Kinrade.
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