AETERNUS: The Immortalle Series Book One

by D. M. Shane

  Blood covered Eric’s body from head to waist. Large cuts and purple bruises on his face, neck, arms, and torso still seeped as the wounds tried to knit themselves shut. One eye was swollen shut, and his nose was broken. One leg was propped on the bed, his foot twisted at an odd angle.

  Emmaline was working to stitch the worst wounds and stem the bleeding. Still, I had no sympathy for the young shifter. Not when my mate was in danger. I’d somewhat regained my composure on the way over, but I still seethed, knowing he was responsible for this shitstorm. How I wanted to beat the shit out of the kid. That was mild compared to what my wolf wanted to do to him.

  “Tell me everything that happened. Leave nothing out.” My voice was dangerously lethal. I felt murderous, and Eric was skating on a treacherously thin line.

  “I was standing watch. The phone rang in the gatehouse, but when I answered it, no one was there and I thought nothing of it until I turned around and caught a punch to the face. Next thing I know, I’m on the ground staring up at a fucking blood leech threatening to rip my throat out if I didn’t do what he wanted. Kane was there, too. The leech made me call and inquire about your whereabouts and wanted to know what time my relief showed up. When I told him you were at the lake, he threatened to kill me if I didn’t disable a few of the cameras,” he explained, his voice growing more pitchy as he spoke.

  I fumed as he continued on.

  “You know, the ones by that gnarled old tree that sits on the north edge of the territory. So, I waited for Elijah to show up for his shift, and then I made my way up to the north ridge, the whole time thinking you’d take them out. As soon as I chucked the cameras, they attacked me. The leech busted my ankle. Then they gagged me and tied me up and dragged me through the woods. They made me watch while the leech shot you. Then they dragged us both to their van and tossed me out down on the main road. I made for the gatehouse as fast as I could. I’m so sorry.”

  The more he shared, the angrier I became. The room brightened around me as my eyes lit up with blue fire.

  “Why didn’t you alert anyone?” I growled, and Eric cowered away in fear. Good. Let the little shit cower.

  “I didn’t have time. They only gave me five minutes to make the north ridge from the gate once Elijah relieved me. Said if I didn’t make it there in time, they’d kill you both. Said if I told anyone, they’d kill you. I swear, I didn’t know what they were planning!”

  I lunged for him, but Gideon blocked my way and shoved me back with a snarl. “Not now. We’ll deal with him later. We need to find Aislin.” He turned toward the kid. “Did they mention where they were going?”

  “Kane mentioned a cabin. Said he took a girl there once before. That was all he said.”

  Gideon and I eyed each other, nodding in agreement. They’d gone east, toward parklands. Though there hadn’t been a cabin there all those years ago. That gave us a basic idea of where to canvas, at least. We’d start at the lake, though, in case the trail led elsewhere.

  “What was the message?” I growled.

  “If you lived, Kane said to tell you that you couldn’t save this one. Not this time. He said that Rafe Vane would see all the mongrels dead, including you, before that happened.”

  Just like that, I saw red, and the world crashed down around me. My worst fear had come true. Kane West had figured out everything. And he’d gone straight to the Vanes.

  I picked up the plastic pitcher of water on the table in front of me and threw it. It bounced off the wall with a clatter. Water rained down and formed a puddle on the floor. A feral growl escaped me and reverberated throughout the room so loudly, everyone in the room froze.

  Forget a woman scorned. Hell hath no fury like the savage creature I was about to unleash.

  I stormed out of the infirmary and didn’t stop until I reached the lake with Gideon and Corbin by my side. There were thirty trackers, along with Madigan, waiting for us when we got there.

  “We found a trail. It leads north through the woods, out of Pack territory, but dead ends in a small meadow. The tire tracks in the grass lead north to road forty-seven,” Madigan announced.

  Road forty-seven was an old farm road that skirted around Pack territory to the east and back around south again. It marked the boundary between our land and Glacier Mountain National Park. If the kid was right, Kane hadn’t given up old habits. We knew exactly where to look, and Kane knew we were coming for him.

  44

  Aislin

  I waited. And waited. And waited more, for what felt like hours. I must have nodded off at some point because the sound of a slamming door startled me. I jerked my head upright, listening as footsteps sounded outside my cell, coming closer and closer. My heart pounded when both Kane and Rafe appeared on the other side of the bars. A third man joined them, and I recognized him as one of Kane’s asshole friends.

  This was it. They were probably here to kill me just as they had killed Arkkadian, though I still refused to believe he was dead. Despite my penchant for panic attacks, I remained calm, remembering Arkkadian’s words. Breathe. Count. Breathe again. If he were here with me now, I know that’s what he’d tell me to do. He’d tell me I was stronger than I gave myself credit for. Anxiety be damned. If they were here to kill me, I would fight them tooth and nail to the very end. I would stand tall to the very end. I would not give up.

  My uncle stood just behind and to the side of Kane, his eyes glowing ruby red, Kane’s a stunning emerald that contradicted his repulsive nature. The longer they watched me, the more I questioned their true purpose for me.

  I studied Kane’s disfigured face while I waited. The gnarly scar covered the entire left side of his face, drifting up into his hairline and down below the collar of his ratty shirt. It looked years old rather than weeks. Whatever wounds he’d suffered in the fire that had destroyed my home and family a few weeks ago had been severe, but with his enhanced healing abilities, I didn’t doubt those scars would disappear in a few more weeks. I hoped the flames burned like hell that day. Too bad he hadn’t died in that fire.

  “That’s the deal, right, Vane? We have a little fun, you pay me the money, and then she’s all yours,” Kane said, already undressing me with his eyes.

  Bile rose in my throat and made me gag. How had I ever let this man near me? How had I not seen from the beginning what a disgusting creature he truly was? Good God, I’d been so naïve all those weeks ago.

  A subtle movement behind Kane caught my eye. Rafe cocked his head to the side, eyeing Kane from behind before shifting just his eyes toward me and smirking. Kane hadn’t seen it. My uncle was playing at something. Instinct told me to get up and move. Now. The bucket full of chain by my side completely forgotten, I shuffled back toward the corner as quick as I could, the heavy chain toppling the bucket, making my movements slow and awkward as it dragged along the floor.

  Kane jingled the keys in his hand before unlocking the door and stepping inside. His buddy followed him in, leaving the door open behind them. Not that it mattered, since I was shackled to the post, anyway. I pressed myself up against the wall as the two men ambled toward me, taking their sweet time. Breathe. Stay calm.

  Kane stopped a few inches in front of me. When he reached a hand toward my face, I slapped it away. “Don’t touch me,” I grated.

  He leaned forward, his lips nearly touching my ear, and whispered, “Oh, we’ll do more than touch, honey. And this time, you aren’t going anywhere. My only regret is that I don’t get to keep you, but it’s worth it knowing the anguish it’ll cause that Alpha prick you love so much.”

  “You don’t scare me,” I retorted. “Fuck you!”

  Could he hurt me? Absolutely. Could I fight him off? Probably not. It didn’t mean I wouldn’t try. Did he scare me? Nope. Not anymore. I knew Kane for the weak coward he was. Only cowards hurt women the way he did.

  My uncle, however, was a different evil altogether.

  Once again, Kane reached up to touch my face, and I slapped it away again. I brought m
y knee up, attempting to jam it into his groin, but he was too quick and shoved my leg out to the side. In one swift move, he jerked me around and pinned me face-first into the wall with his body. His hardness pressed into my backside, and a memory from that night popped into my head. This time, I didn’t panic. I let that memory fill me with strength, and when Kane leaned in, I threw my head back into his face and connected squarely with his nose. A sharp crack resounded, and he jerked backward with a shout of pain.

  “You fucking cunt!” Blood leaked out of his nose, the small bone cockeyed on his face. Wide-eyed, I watched as Kane snapped the end of his nose back into alignment. The blood instantly stopped, and he used his shirt to wipe his face before peeling it off and tossing it to the floor.

  My eyes immediately went to his chest. It, too, was greatly scarred.

  I managed all of three steps before Kane grabbed me by the arm and dragged me back toward the mattress on the floor. I poured every ounce of wrath I could into each punch and kick I threw at him. His partner laughed as he watched me struggle. I knew I wouldn’t win this fight, but I refused to give up.

  Kane threw me down and climbed on top of me. He straddled my hips, grabbed my hands and pinned them above my head. I glared at him, intentionally breathing hard and loud through my nose, letting my anger show. Letting him know he would never get the best of me again, despite being pinned and unable to move. The other man knelt beside my head and took my hands from Kane. He squeezed so hard, pain radiated through my good wrist and I did the best I could not to give them the satisfaction of hearing me scream. Thankfully, my cast protected the other. Without it, my injured wrist would have snapped under the pressure.

  Kane tore at the front of my blouse and the buttons flew every which way as it fell open. He continued to rip and tear until there was nothing left of the fabric. My chest heaved as I continued to breathe angrily. Kane slid down my body and did the same with my pants. He tossed the shredded remnants to the side, leaving my body exposed with nothing but my undergarments to shield me from their leering eyes. Kane crawled back toward me, and I lifted both legs and kicked, catching him off guard as my feet connected with his chest. He toppled backward onto the floor with a growl.

  Just then, the man pinning my hands flew backward and slammed into the wall. His head hit the cement with a resounding crunch, his skull caving in, killing him on impact and leaving blood spatter on the cement. Before Kane could react, my uncle appeared behind him and hauled him into the air by his throat. I crawled away, reaching for the tattered remains of my clothes, and tried to cover myself as I backed into a corner.

  Kane flailed in Rafe’s grip, unable to break free. His eyes bulged, and his face turned scarlet. My uncle tossed him into the iron bars as if he weighed no more than a rag doll. He bounced off the bars and landed on the floor with a thud. The moment Kane reached his feet, he shifted into a giant gray wolf, teeth gnashing and snarling, hackles raised. His tattered clothing fell to the floor.

  My heart pounded in my chest. I hadn’t panicked yet, but this—watching two monsters fight—this was so beyond any scope of fear I’d ever felt. I froze in place, unable to do anything but watch as the two immortals battled in front of me.

  The wolf lunged for Rafe, but my uncle simply sidestepped at the last second. He lashed out with a boot, landing squarely on Kane’s side. The move sent the wolf flying across the room, where he crashed into the opposite wall. The wolf rose to his feet again and raced for the Vamphyre, pure hatred emanating from his glowing eyes.

  Halfway across the cell, he jumped into the air and flew at my uncle, who once again side-stepped, causing Kane to fly face-first into the bars. Kane was letting his anger dictate his every move, rushing blindly into battle when he should have studied his opponent better. Given the choice of two evils, I preferred Kane. I had a better chance of surviving him than the creature with fangs and sanguine eyes, but even I could see Kane’s anger would get him killed.

  Barely missing a beat, the wolf turned on his heel and lunged for Rafe again. My uncle tried to side-step a third time but wasn’t quick enough. He and the wolf crashed to the ground, the wolf pinning the red-eyed bastard down as he lashed out with his teeth just inches from Rafe’s throat. The Vamphyre just smiled as he held Kane at bay, and before I could blink, Rafe dug his claws into the belly of the wolf, shredding flesh. Blood sprayed as he sliced, the wolf’s entrails bursting out of his belly. Kane howled in anguish before collapsing atop my uncle.

  Rafe shoved him off and climbed to his feet. His clothes were drenched in blood. Pieces of flesh fell off onto the cold floor, and he didn’t even bat an eye. I retched on the floor at the grisly sight before me.

  The Vamphyre bent over the injured wolf and addressed him, voice low and murderous. The wolf’s breaths came in rapid huffs as he stared up at Rafe through dimming eyes, too injured to move. “Did you really believe I would conspire with a fucking mongrel? Or that I’d stand here and let you violate First Law in my presence? You’re more pathetic than I thought, dog. Her death belongs to the Vanes!”

  And then, in the blink of an eye, Rafe shoved his fist into Kane’s chest and ripped out his beating heart. I watched, petrified, as my uncle crushed the still-pulsing heart in his grip, and it exploded, painting the walls and my skin with a fine mist of crimson. Rafe dropped the bloody mess without another thought. When it hit the floor, my stomach heaved again.

  “Worthless mutt,” he said, turning his scarlet eyes toward where I huddled in the corner. Rafe paid no heed to the blood covering him from head to toe. Tendrils of dark terror ruthlessly weaved their way through every fiber of my body as my worst nightmare came to life in the form of my mother’s brother.

  “My death belongs to no one. Least of all some blood-sucking vampire.”

  Goading him was dangerous, but I had nothing left to lose. The only way out of this cell was death, unless my mate somehow miraculously showed up to save me. I was a sitting duck, but I’d be damned if I was giving up.

  “Oh, that’s where you’re wrong, little one. You’re a hybrid wretch, and neither my father nor I will stand for it. First Law is absolute in our world and I guarantee the moment my father finds out about you, he will come for you. Do you even know what First Law is?” he asked menacingly.

  I shook my head. I knew my grandfather had a law about Vamphyre and Lycan not being allowed to interbreed, but I didn’t know the entire story.

  “Why don’t you tell me? I could use a history lesson,” I snapped sarcastically. Instinct told me to keep him talking.

  “Watch your tone in the presence of your elders!” he roared. When I didn’t flinch and continued to glare at him, he went on. “Centuries ago, when my grandfather ruled, Vamphyre and Lycans lived in peace. In fact, all Aeternus often intermixed between the two. But my father coveted an Aeternus who did not love him. Emilia was the true Aeternus of his best friend. Your precious Arkkadian Rime’s grandfather, Tiberius, to be exact.

  “When he found out that Emilia and Tiberius were to bond, my father flew into a jealous fit of rage and stole her. Then he killed his own father, taking over the Covenant. War broke out. Lives were lost. But no one succeeded in saving Emilia from my father. He forced the bond, dooming my mother to a life of misery. Once my siblings and I were grown, she took her own life. She was weak and pathetic, but my father was never the same after that. I’d only ever known him to be cruel and vicious, but he was even more so after my mother’s death.”

  “It’s a shame you turned out just like him then,” I said, disdain dripping from my lips like rancid fat.

  His eyes flared brighter than ever. Rafe barely took a step in my direction before the rumble of engines somewhere above caught our attention. He cocked his head to the side with a frown, listening for something I couldn’t hear.

  “Well, little mutt, it seems your knight in shining armor has finally arrived. That didn’t take him as long as I expected. Seems our little visit is over. For now. Just so you know, I could have
killed him earlier, but where would the fun in that be? No, I think we still have some games to play, you and I. Until we meet again, dear niece.” His voice was heavily laced with venom, and I could easily say I felt the same. And then he was gone.

  I huddled in the corner, trying to process everything I’d just witnessed and questioning what my uncle had admitted. Was Arkkadian alive? Please let it be true!

  Kane, at least, was dead. The mutilated remains of his body lay on the ground only a few feet away. I could barely stomach looking, and even though I knew he was dead, I worried that if I took my eyes off him, he’d come back to hurt me. The air shimmered around him, and his body shifted back into its human form. His eyes were vacant and glossy as they stared into the ether.

  Somewhere above, doors slammed and men shouted. I wanted to shout for help, but fear of the unknown paralyzed me. What if it wasn’t Arkkadian? What if my uncle had lied? I backed up into the dark corner as far as I could, silencing my breathing as much as possible, and stared at the ceiling, listening to the muffled voices coming from above. I thought I heard Arkkadian’s voice, but I couldn’t be sure.

  Then two men I recognized, Corbin and Gideon, appeared in the doorway. Arkkadian! I covered my mouth with my hands and burst into tears at the realization that I was safe. Neither of them approached me, wisely opting to call for my mate instead. If I knew Arkkadian as well as I thought, his wolf wouldn’t want another male anywhere near me. They were right to remain where they were.

  “Arkkadian! She’s down here!”

  “Arkkadian!”

  I buried my head in my knees and fell to the floor, curling into a ball, listening to the shouts of men gathering outside my cell. Arkkadian had literally brought an army to rescue me. Relief poured out of me as I wept and waited for him to come to me.