AETERNUS: The Immortalle Series Book One

by D. M. Shane

  “Help! Please help! I need help!” I shouted as I ran up the steps and straight into the man’s arms. Hot tears of fear and relief streamed down my face. The man ushered me inside and then shut and locked the door behind him.

  I pulled free of his arms and ran to a corner, where I had a visual of the whole room. Wrapping my arms around me, I sunk to the floor and curled up into a ball.

  “Let me call the police,” he said, disappearing into the next room.

  The moment he left, I pulled my ripped-up blouse on as fast as I could and curled into a ball again, making myself as small as possible. I wrapped my arms around my legs and rocked back and forth as I watched the front door. I was nearly hysterical by the time he came back into the room, still on his phone.

  “Yes, that’s right, ma’am. Sycamore Lane, not Drive. Thank you.” The man hung up and took a seat on the end of the sofa furthest from me and didn’t move any closer. “Miss, the police are on their way. Is there anything I can do? Can I get you anything? Water?”

  I shrunk in on myself, unable to look at him. I flinched when he stood up, but he only walked to the window and peeked out through the curtain.

  A few minutes later, a knock sounded, and he opened the door, letting a policeman and a pair of EMTs inside. Deep voices. All men. I didn’t want them to touch me. I didn’t want them to look at me. I didn’t want them to know I existed.

  The officer turned to the man and asked him some questions as one of the EMT’s knelt down beside me. I tried to scoot back, but the wall blocked my path.

  “I won’t hurt you, miss. I’m a medic,” he said, speaking quietly. “Can you tell me your name?”

  “Ais… Aislin,” I whispered.

  “Okay, Aislin. My name is David. I just need to make sure you’re okay. Can you tell me how you got that mark on the side of your face?”

  I peeked up at him. My eyes felt swollen, and snot gathered on my upper lip. My cheek pounded with pain. He was young, maybe a few years older than me, with a gentle demeanor. The soft waves of his blond hair brushed over his brown eyes. He smiled gently at me, and the fear in my belly eased a little.

  “My date attacked me. He seemed so nice. He’d asked if I wanted to join him at his place for a movie, but when we got there, he… he….” A shudder rocked through me.

  Panic parked in my chest, weighing me down. I couldn’t get in enough air. I felt like I was suffocating. Why couldn’t I get in enough air? Oh, God—

  His quiet voice cut through my panic. “It’s okay. Let’s take a deep breath and slow your breathing down. Just listen to my voice. Try to take a slow breath in. Good. Now breathe out slowly. There you go. Another. In and out, just like that.”

  I did as David asked, breathing in and out slowly. Surprisingly, it helped a little, the tight band in my chest easing some.

  “Are you hurt anywhere? Are there any injuries besides the bruise on your face?” he questioned carefully.

  “My… my shoulder. He wrenched my arm behind me when he pinned me down. I… he tried to…” I stuttered and looked away. I couldn’t bring myself to say it. It was bad enough I had to remember it, let alone talk about it.

  “That’s okay. You don’t have to say anything. Can you stand up? I’d like to take you to the hospital to have that shoulder checked. You may have a concussion.” He reached for my elbow, but quickly stopped when I cowered away. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

  He backed away, giving me some space. Slowly, I crawled from the corner and stood up. I took two steps forward and then collapsed.

  2

  Aislin

  Six months later

  Tall. Dark. Handsome. Mysterious. Formidable. He watched me as I watched him stride gracefully around the edge of the dance floor and head my direction. He grabbed a stool at the end of the bar and sat down. I finished drying a glass as I took in his features.

  His hair was black as night, close-cropped, with bangs sweeping gently across his forehead. His goatee was perfect, not a whisker out of place. Muscles bulged under a black t-shirt and blue jeans that hugged every ounce of deliciously tanned skin. The man oozed power, and I couldn’t look away.

  A strange sense of familiarity swept over me, almost like I knew him somehow, though I’d never seen him before. I’d felt him the moment he’d walked in the door. I didn’t realize I was staring until Paige, my best friend and roommate, tapped on my shoulder. A hot flush of embarrassment crept up my face.

  “You gonna stand there and stare all night or are you going to fix Mr. Sex on Two Legs a drink? Wipe the drool off your chin,” Paige whispered in my ear. “Damn, he’s hot!”

  “Paige!”

  “What? It’s true!” She laughed as she sauntered away.

  Embarrassed, I walked down to the end of the bar to take the man’s drink order. His beautiful sapphire eyes were hard as steel as they tracked my every move. I shivered, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to stare into those eyes forever or run the other way. The hypnotic pull between us was terrifying, yet captivatingly seductive.

  Normally, I avoided men. I didn’t like them. Not after… that. But something about this man drew me in like a moth to a flame. The connection was undeniable, like two magnets joined by an invisible force.

  Suddenly, his eyes widened a tiny fraction and then he appeared to sniff the air as I approached. Did he just sniff me? I could have sworn he did. Or maybe my mind was just playing tricks. He wasn’t Kane. I buried the memory quickly, sure I was imagining things.

  “Good evening, sir. What can I get for you?” I asked. That same familiar feeling nagged at me, but I just couldn’t place it. How could I know someone I’d never met?

  “Arkkadian,” he stated, hard eyes assessing me.

  “Excuse me, sir?” I asked.

  “My name is Arkkadian Rime. You don’t have to call me sir,” he remarked as he rested his elbows on the bar. His blue eyes bored into me, making me slightly uncomfortable while reeling me in at the same time.

  “I’m sorry, sir. Um, Mr. Rime. May I get you something to drink?” I barely stuttered the words out. I felt like a nervous fool, and my cheeks grew hot. The raw power emanating off this man crashed into me. And that deep voice? It was like smooth velvet caressing every inch of my skin. From out of nowhere, desire pooled down low. Oh, my God! What was wrong with me?

  “Just Arkkadian. Jack and Coke, please.” The corner of his lips twitched before he smiled. He was playing it cool, but he knew what kind of effect he had on me. And he knew I knew because my poker face sucked. It always had.

  “Very well, I’ll be right back.” I could have sworn his eyes twinkled when I’d called him sir. I turned on my heel and headed straight for the bottle of Jack.

  Paige threw me a thumbs up, and I stuck my tongue out. Could she be any more obvious? Gah! I glanced back at Arkkadian as I mixed his drink. His eyes were still on me. Watching. Waiting. Waiting for what, I didn’t know. Goosebumps prickled my skin. It was unnerving, yet intensely arousing the way he watched me. I warred with the contradiction of feelings he spurred inside me.

  “Oh… my… stars! Is he sexy or what?” Paige swooned, pretending to faint.

  For fuck’s sake! I rolled my eyes at her display of dramatics.

  “Oh, come on, Ash! Admit it. You think he’s hot! I know you do!” She let slip a giggle. My best friend had a naughty streak, and she wasn’t afraid to show it. I wished I could be that confident.

  “I’m not interested.” I downplayed it, hoping she’d cool it. I wasn’t interested in a man and hadn’t been since that night.

  “Hopeless! You are hopeless! You need a man in your life!” Paige laughed.

  I ignored her and went back to mixing the man’s drink. No. The last thing I needed or wanted was a man in my life. I was still dealing with the aftermath of what happened with that asshole, Kane West, a few months ago. I couldn’t fault my best friend, though, because she didn’t know. I hadn’t s
een him since that night, either. The investigation had gone nowhere, and Kane had disappeared. It devastated me when the detective had closed the case. I still worried every day that Kane would waltz right back into my life. The thought was terrifying.

  Just as I set Arkkadian’s drink down, a wave of nausea hit me so hard, I stumbled into the bar top, barely catching myself before I tumbled over. My head felt all fuzzy, almost like it was full of cobwebs.

  When I looked up, Arkkadian’s eyes were dead set on me, his head cocked to the side like he had something he wanted to say but dared not. I took a moment to close my eyes and catch my breath. When I opened them again, his face was unreadable—as if it hid a multitude of secrets behind that smooth façade—but his steel-blue eyes devoured me, betraying his hunger. Those eyes gave away a secret. Just one.

  He wanted me.

  I quickly tried to stifle my fraying nerves as they amped up under his piercing gaze. “Will that be all, sir?” I asked, grabbing the cash he’d laid down.

  “Yes. And please, call me Arkkadian. May I ask your name?” His eyes twinkled again.

  “Aislin. I’ll be back to check on you, Arkkadian. Enjoy your drink.” I smiled and quickly walked away.

  I wanted to disappear. I couldn’t shake the foreboding feeling in the pit of my stomach that I knew him somehow. And for whatever reason, his presence not only made me anxious but highly aroused. And confused. I needed a distraction before my anxiety got the better of me. The last thing I needed was a panic attack at work because I couldn’t get a handle on my warring emotions.

  Music. That’s what I needed. Good music always made me feel better. I made my way to the DJ booth and added a few songs to Jimmy’s request list. I watched as couples two-stepped around the outside of the dance floor. I would have loved to get out on the floor for a few dances, but the Black Horse Saloon was swamped tonight. Paige and I were too busy behind the bar. Sheryl was out sick, and Ginny was out of town for two days. That left Paige and me to run the bar. At least I got to listen to good country music while I worked.

  Carter, my boss, grabbed me by the elbow as I passed him on the way back to the bar. “You okay, Ash?”

  Carter not only owned the Black Horse, but he was also my landlord and friend. Paige and I rented the apartment above the bar from him. He was sharp as a tack. Never missed a thing.

  Three years ago, I’d moved to the small town of Whitewater, Montana, and when I’d gotten the job at the Black Horse, Paige had offered me the extra room in the apartment upstairs. We’d become instant best friends. Carter and his wife, Ann, had become like family, but she’d succumbed to cancer a year ago. I missed her every day.

  “Yeah, I’m good. Thanks. I think I just moved too fast or something,” I fibbed. Carter raised an eyebrow. That excuse wouldn’t get me far. He knew me too well. Truth was, I didn’t know what it was. I’d never been sick a day in my life.

  “Why don’t you go take ten? Have a snack. You’ve been on your feet all evening and I know you didn’t get a break earlier. Go on. I’ll help Paige ‘til you come back.”

  “But…”

  “No buts. Go!” Carter grabbed my shoulders, spun me around, and pushed me toward the office in the back.

  I thought about how good he had always been to me. Carter was the only real father figure I’d ever known in my life. I have no memory of my biological parents, and growing up, I’d bounced from foster home to foster home until I’d aged out of the system. I left Seattle as soon as I’d turned eighteen, bouncing around from small town to small town before settling in Whitewater three years ago. It was the first place that had ever felt like home. The first place where I felt like I fit in. Carter had hired me on the spot, and then Paige had offered me the extra room. They were the only family I had. I’d be lost without them.

  In the office, I grabbed a granola bar from my purse and sat down in Carter’s chair behind the desk. It felt good to get off my feet for a moment. While I snacked, I thought about the man at the bar with the steel-blue eyes. They were like bright sapphires, drawing me into their crystalline depths. Arkkadian was hot, but I wasn’t interested in a man right now. I was still healing, and I’d been avoiding men ever since that night. I still had nightmares. Men scared me, and nothing about this man made much sense. I couldn’t shake that nagging feeling either. The way he watched me at the bar felt like he knew the way to my soul. The thought startled me.

  He exuded raw power, and it radiated off him in droves even as it reeled me in. He was attractive. Alluring. Dangerous. I couldn’t deny the very thought of him shook me to my core.

  Alpha. I didn’t know where the sudden thought had come from, but it fit. He was in charge. And he knew it.

  I finished my snack and headed back, hoping Arkkadian wouldn’t be there. Much to my chagrin, he was still sitting there. I spotted Carter behind the DJ booth, which meant Jimmy must have been on a smoke break. Our eyes met, and recognition sparked inside of me. Mine. The thought sent butterflies zipping around my stomach.

  On my path back to the bar, an arm snaked around my waist unexpectedly, pulling me back and making me gasp. Stiff whiskers and hot breath nuzzled my neck from behind, and I tried to shrug away. The sickly sweet smell of chewing tobacco assaulted my senses, and I froze, knowing exactly who it was.

  No. No. No.

  Bile rose up the back of my throat, and I could taste its acrid flavor. Shit! Kane. Panic sprung forth from my chest, but before I could speak, Kane’s callused hand slid over my mouth. He inhaled before releasing his hot breath on my neck and rubbing his nose behind my ear.

  Stiff with icy fear, I couldn’t move. This couldn’t be happening! Not here. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. But it was. Kane was back. I couldn’t breathe.

  I scrunched my eyes shut with a whimper and willed him to let me go, but his grasp only tightened around me. The boulder of terror sitting atop my chest prevented me from taking in the air I so desperately needed. His hand wandered down my left side, along my scars, and firmly planted upon my hip before giving a harsh squeeze. Right where the R branded my skin.

  “Hey, Ash, how are you? It’s been a while,” Kane crooned in my ear. “I missed you, babe. I’ve been looking forward to seeing you again. God, you smell so divine.” He took another whiff.

  Words froze in my throat. I squirmed in his arms, gasping for breath as tears poured down my face. I tried to be quiet to avoid drawing attention from the crowd. It would only fuel the panic ripping through me.

  Kane squeezed me tighter. “Come on, Ash, why the tears? Didn’t you miss me? I’m just here to show you how much I still like you. The boys and I want to have a little fun tonight, so maybe you can come back to my place after you get off work. You know, you still owe me for that little stunt you pulled.”

  The two men standing beside him laughed.

  “I bet she’s got a fine pussy, man!” The one with the scruffy dark hair laughed. His teeth were jagged and yellow.

  “I wonder how tight her ass is,” the other crowed. I couldn’t see him. “I love a tight ass.”

  I cringed at the thought of either man touching me.

  “Get off me. Please, Kane, let me go,” I pleaded, struggling to pull away from him, but it was futile. My innate fear of the monster that was Kane coiled around me, squeezing me in its vice-like grip. I was on the verge of a full-blown panic attack.

  “Let her go, Kane.” Arkkadian’s command filled the air.

  I couldn’t bring myself to open my eyes and look up at the beautiful stranger with the steel-blue eyes. I was mortified at the thought of him seeing me in such a state. The more I struggled to breathe, the more light-headed I became, and I felt like I was about to pass out.

  Another wave of nausea hit me like a ton of bricks when I realized what Arkkadian had said. They knew each other. He’d called Kane by name. What the fuck?

  “Well, well, well, if it isn’t Arkkadian Rime. Get lost, Alpha. She’s mine. Go find your own,” Kane challenged. I fe
ared the threat in his voice and wondered at their shared history. He’d also called Arkkadian “Alpha.” I’d had that same thought only minutes ago.

  “I said… Let. Her. Go,” Arkkadian demanded.

  “Or what?” Kane’s grip tightened again, his chin digging into my shoulder. I could smell alcohol on his breath, mixed in with the tobacco. It made me gag. He still had a hand on my hip, the other splayed across my belly, clutching me against him as he continued to nuzzle behind my ear.

  Judging by the smell, Kane had been drinking heavily. Last time I saw Kane, he’d been clean-cut, and now he reeked. His beard was greasy, his skin sweaty, and his hair unkempt. Had it all been an act before?

  I was fully hyperventilating now. Tears poured uncontrollably down my face as I tried to suck in more air. Images of that night flashed through my mind. The smell of his breath. The fear. His fist hitting my face. Being pinned to the bed. The eyes. Shit, the glowing eyes!

  “Let her go. Or, we can take this outside. We’ve already been down that road, you and I, and you know how that ends. Though I’m sure the lovely young lady behind the bar would call the police if I gave the word.” Arkkadian’s voice grew more forceful as he spoke, an air of authority present. Dominant. The thought quickly came and went. But the feel of it? It was instinctive. I felt it in my bones where it stayed. If I hadn’t been so scared, I would have found it thrilling.

  Paige had her hand on the phone, looking at me with uncertainty. She didn’t know about the assault a few months ago, let alone that Kane was responsible. I never told my best friend. I never told her the reason for the increase in my hellish nightmares every night. I had refused to speak about any of it. It wasn’t just that I hated what happened, I worried what others would think, and I didn’t want them to see me any different. I didn’t want them to pity me. Or think I was dirty. I felt dirty enough as it was.

  While I silently pleaded with Paige to make the call, Kane grabbed my throat forcefully, cutting off my air entirely. “You and I aren’t through, bitch. You owe me a punishment, and I will collect.” And then I was suddenly shoved forward into Arkkadian’s arms. “Get fucked, Rime.”