Andromeda's Reign

by K. S. Haigwood

  Ace grinned at her joke. “No, the confession is that I stare at the girl I’m kissing in that photo way more than I should. My bed doesn’t smell like her anymore, and that really frustrates me. After two months, Slade waited until I was out of the house and made Karma wash my sheets. I made them both do tread duty for washing away the scent she left behind. I guess that was, like, five confessions.” He scrunched up his nose. “And not washing my sheets for two months sounded really disgusting, didn’t it? Sorry.”

  Mena snickered as she nodded. “Yeah, that’s disgusting, Ace.” Her expressioned turned curious. “Hey, have you been having—”

  “Dreams?” Ace gave her an uneasy smile. “Yeah. Every—”

  “Night,” Mena finished for him, and he nodded as he took her hand and moved forward, following the line. She noticed he didn’t let her hand go after they stopped again. “Can I ask you a really personal question?”

  He pinned her with a soft stare. She never thought this man would ever look at her like he was looking at her now. It was so surreal. His mouth parted, and her eyes fell to look at his lips. They were really pretty. Full and kissable. “You can ask me anything, Mena.”

  “Did we, uh… Did we have…”

  “Sex?” Ace chuckled as he glanced away, scratching his eyebrow with the nail on his thumb, and then he let out a long sigh as he looked back at her face. “What do you think?”

  Her shoulders lifted then fell. “The dreams are really vivid, but I don’t know if it’s my imagination—”

  “Yes, Mena. I am fairly certain that we did.” When she didn’t say anything right away, he said, “Does that bother you?”

  “It bothers me that I don’t remember it,” she said, aggravated.

  Exhaling heavily, Ace took her other hand and brought them up between them as he stepped in front of her. Looking down into her eyes, he said, “It never happened. None of it, Mena, not the bond or the time we spent together. We can start fresh and make new memories. How does that sound?”

  “A brand new start? Just forget about what was stolen from us?”

  “Forget everything we can’t remember,” he confirmed.

  Mena looked at their joined hands in front of her. She wouldn’t forget the dreams. Those were hers to keep. “Would you—I mean, do you want us to make new memories together?”

  He snickered lightly through his nose. “I would be a fucking fool not to want to make memories with you, but we can take things slow if you’re not sure.”

  She squeezed his hand, dying to tell him yes, but she’d hesitated long enough to realize that taking things slow with him would probably be best. They had both been different people when they were bonded to each other. Agreeing to start an intimate relationship with a stranger had catastrophe written all over it. She gave him a nod. “I guess we could take it slow and see what happens.”

  “Is it true?” a female voice said, and Mena and Ace turned to see one of the waitresses standing beside them, a serving tray with four glasses on it, propped up by her shoulder and resting on her palm.

  “Are you talking to me?” Mena said.

  The blond-haired, young woman raised her eyebrows and stared at her with pretty blue eyes behind a black mask. Her eyes shifted to Ace momentarily, before they settled nervously back on Mena. “You don’t remember me at all, do you? The bond really is broken, and you both lost your memories, didn’t you?”

  Mena opened her mouth, but nothing came out, before the girl started talking in a hushed voice.

  “If Abhor sees me here, he will kill me, but I knew you were coming, and I heard a rumor that you don’t remember what happened in Vegas. Is it true?”

  Mena looked at Ace, but it was clear he didn’t know the girl, either.

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” the girl said. “I don’t have time to explain anything to you here, but you need to get out of here. Whatever you do, don’t get anywhere near Abhor. He wants you dead. I was supposed to finish the job back in Vegas, but I believed you and tried to get you out. If your friends hadn’t shown up, we’d both be standing here as ghosts right now. Take my advice and get the hell out of here. Now that I’ve found you and said what I needed to say, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.” She looked at Ace. “She told me to tell you that she forgives you. Doubt either of you remember what you did, but I told her I would give you the message.” The girl reached out and placed something in Mena’s hand, and then she was gone just as fast as she came, melting into the crowd behind Mena.

  Mena looked down at the beautiful brooch the girl had put in her hand, and then she turned terrified eyes up to Ace. His eyes were scanning the people around them again, the muscles in his jaw getting a workout, but when he glanced down at the piece of jewelry, his eyes widened.

  “That was my mother’s brooch,” Ace said.

  “The girl gave it to me. I must have had it on me when I was taken by the slayers. What do we do, Ace?” Her heart pounded. “Who was that girl? Was she being serious?”

  “We get the hell out of here,” he said, then grabbed his phone and put it to his ear as he pulled her through the mass of bodies in his way. His jaw tightened, and Mena realized he was taking the woman seriously. “Slade. Get our crew and Mena’s and get the fuck out. We’re leaving. Now,” Ace said in a rush into the phone then slid it into his pants pocket. Just as they broke through the end of the line and started running for the exit, a man closed the doors and three others stepped into view, holding silver daggers. “Fuck,” Ace muttered as he came to a sudden halt and tucked Mena behind him, keeping his eyes trained on the four men. “What is this—?”

  Mena screamed as someone jerked her off her feet from behind her, tearing her hand out of Ace’s. She couldn’t see him anymore, but she could hear his shouts and some scuffling. She bit the hand that covered her mouth, but the man only swore and tightened his hold on her.

  “Be still or I’ll snap your pretty little neck, bitch,” the man snarled by her ear.

  Mena squeezed her eyes shut as she heard Roel and the others who’d come with her shout her name. She wanted to tell them to run, to get out of there, but she was helpless in the arms of the man who held her, the muzzle of his gun tight against her temple.

  “Mena!” a male shouted, and she opened her eyes to see that six men were holding Slade back, and that every person in the room had gathered closer to see what the commotion was about.

  What is this? Why is this happening? Slade had told her that no shifter could be harmed twenty-four hours before or after the Shift ceremony. It was one of their only laws.

  “Let her go!” Ace roared, but several men surrounded her and the man who grabbed her, so she couldn’t see him.

  “Everyone, please, calm down,” a man said in a soothing voice, and the room fell silent.

  “Abhor,” a gentleman said, “what is the meaning of this nonsense?”

  “Mena!” Brad shouted.

  “Get your hands off my Alpha!” Heath bellowed.

  “Your Alpha is an imposter,” the calm man said, directing his statement at Heath and the man who had asked him a question. “She is moonrising, and must be dealt with accordingly.”

  “Allow me to do the honors,” another male voice said, but Mena could only see the back of a man with dark hair. “I have a score to settle.”

  Two of the males standing in front of her moved a little, creating a gap between their bodies, and she finally caught a glimpse of what Abhor looked like. His squatty build was a little thick around the middle and what hair he had left was mostly gray. The square glasses he wore did little to complement his brown, beady eyes. There was something off about him, almost sinister, like he didn’t have a soul. This man had no intention of letting her live. Mena felt that in her gut.

  “No, Julian!” Ace shouted, and it sounded to Mena as if he was choking.

  “Justice…” Abhor eyed the man coolly as he stroked his pudgy fingers over his chin. “Yes, this is good. I see nothing wrong with letting
you pull the trigger.”

  Hadn’t Ace just called him Julian? This was the man who wanted her dead because Ace had taken his bonded mate. Not even two months into being an Alpha shifter, and already three people had tried to kill her, five if she was counting Marc and Chris. Six if she was counting the guy she’d killed in Las Vegas. Oh, hell, who was counting anymore? She needed to be able to protect herself. If she made it through this night, she was going to have to do some serious defensive training.

  “Please, Julian,” Ace pleaded. “Don’t hurt her. We aren’t bonded any longer.”

  There was a pause, and then Julian spoke again. “Then you shouldn’t be able to feel the pain of her death when I put a silver bullet in her heart, cousin. Bring Ace with us,” Julian said. “I want him to watch.”

  “Mena…” Ace said, but too many people were in the way for her to see him, and she couldn’t speak with the man’s hand over her mouth. She struggled against his hold, but, unlike Bald-and-Pudgy, the guy holding her was big and strong. “Mena, I’m so sorry. I—”

  The noise in the room grew louder all of a sudden, and then Mena heard a deafening roar. Screams, shouts and thunderous bangs echoed off the walls and ceiling as people scrambled to get out of the way of whatever beast was in the room with them. Items were thrown, and tables and chairs were knocked to the floor, and then several growls and one howl broke through the chaotic noise.

  “Get her out of here!” Abhor yelled, and then Mena was swiftly swept off her feet and rushed toward the door.

  She kicked and tried to punch her way free, but the man holding her was too strong.

  The loud blast of a gun went off, and then another, followed by another.

  Mena called on her wolf, and the beast gladly rose to the occasion, rippling under her flesh and waiting impatiently for her to give it the command to take over. From the sound of snarls and jaws snapping, she realized others had had the same idea. With nearly two-thousand potential predators in the room, this could only end badly.

  Feeling the cool metal of the brooch in her left hand, she used her thumb to free the pin on the backside of it then threw her hand back as hard as she could toward the man who was carrying her. He screamed out in agony as he dropped her to the floor. Her head whipped up just in time to see him cover his left eye with a hand. Blood poured through his fingers and down his wrist.

  She turned and scrambled to get to her feet, but was knocked back down by two wolves brawling. Quickly moving out of their way, she kicked the stilettos from her feet and sprinted toward the massive lion that was barreling through the crowd to get to her. “Ace!”

  The dark-haired male, who she’d come to realize was Ace’s cousin, stepped between them, facing her. Mena skidded to a stop thirty feet from him, and her eyes widened as Julian lifted his arm and pointed a gun right at her chest.

  A mighty roar thundered through the room as Ace lunged for Julian. Mena’s eyes grew wide, and she opened her mouth to scream out Ace’s name when Julian pivoted around and pointed the gun at Ace. Even knowing she wouldn’t get to him in time, she called her wolf forward and set it free as she began to run for Julian, her front paws hitting the floor as her bare feet left it. She raced against time, and prayed that karma was on her side for once.

  The loud bang from a gun deafened her, and then Ace’s lion jerked in the air and dropped to the floor. A tortured howl left her throat as she leapt through the air, hurtling over a tiger and wolf in battle. She had to get to her mate, and she refused to think the worst was about to happen. He can’t die. Not now. God, please, not now!

  Everything moved in slow motion after that. Out of her periphery, she saw, with perfect clarity, a massive black wolf slam into Abhor, knocking him off his feet. The wolf’s fangs sank into the man’s neck, and Abhor was still and lifeless before he even hit the floor. The smoking gun bounced out of his hand and slid across the marble floor.

  Julian lowered his arm a bit, obviously stunned that Abhor had managed to take the shot at Ace first, and that was all the hesitation Mena needed to take full control of the situation. She crashed into Julian’s back, sinking her claws into his shoulderblades, and her fangs into his neck as the weight of her body shoved him off balance.

  Julian cried out, and then began to shift. As they tumbled to the floor, Julian’s wolf gained the upper hand and pinned her under his heavy weight. There appeared to be amusement in his silver eyes as he went in for the bite that would end everything for her.

  Mena felt a jerk, and then she was suddenly rolling across the floor. As she turned her head, she saw that Roel’s and Julian’s wolves were tangled in a mess of fur and snapping teeth.

  Another shot rang through the room, and one of the wolves yipped. The massive gray one that had been atop her only a moment before limped toward the open door, leaving a trail of blood on the floor behind him. Roel gave chase after him.

  Mena quickly shifted back to her human form and rushed to Ace.

  Chapter 65

  Saturday, May 2nd 2015 9:21 p.m. CST

  St. Louis, Missouri

  Ace

  The pain registered before anything else could. Keeping my eyes closed, I assessed my surroundings using my other senses. The smell of gunpowder was thick in my sinuses. Lights flickered on the other side of my eyelids, but that could have been my conscious state trying to do another lights out on me. I was lying on my side on something hard and cold, possibly a floor, marble or granite maybe. And I was naked. Why was I lying on a floor naked and hurting like I’d just gone through the seven Sydes of Hell and lived to tell about it? Voices. There were people around me talking. I couldn’t make out a fucking word they said, though. Sleep. Yeah, sleep sounded a whole lot better than this. At least then I could dream about Mena. Mena!

  My eyes flew open, and I bolted up. Well, I tried to bolt, but I think I only managed to get my head an inch off the hard surface before that pain I’d mentioned earlier went into excruciating torture mode. The bright flashing in front of my vision was back, and, yep, I was about to be down for the count again. Over and over, I sucked in air and blew it out, concentrating on Mena: what she looked like, what she smelled like, what her voice sounded like.

  “Easy, son,” Pops said, and his weathered and calloused hand patted me gently on the shoulder. “Just lie still and let them get that silver out of you before we have bigger problems.”

  Two things kept me alert: Pop’s voice, and the dire need to hear that Mena was okay.

  “Mena,” I said, but my voice was gone. Nothing came out of my pie-hole except a few squeaks, and a hiss when it felt like someone stuck a hot branding iron to my kidney. More sucking and blowing of the O2 in the room. There didn’t seem to be enough of the shit.

  My frantic and pain-filled eyes found Pops’ expression troubled. He was a master of the poker face, but I could see right through him; he was concerned about me, and, as far as I knew, the man didn’t worry about much. But he had every right to be if I had silver embedded in my body. The shit was like acid. It would eat and burn through anything it touched. A shifter was pretty damn fucked if they got stabbed or shot with silver and they couldn’t get it out of the body part fast enough. And if it was a vital organ, like the lung, heart, kidney, liver or brain, yeah, they were a definite goner.

  Since I was still breathing, I was guessing the toxic metal was in one of my back muscles. By the sound of things, several people were working together to get it out. What sort of dumbass would shoot a man in the back? Two people came to mind: Julian and that human garbage disposal that was president over the Council—Abhor. Of course, I hadn’t been in human form when I was shot. Without my consent or approval, my lion took over when I couldn’t get to Mena.

  Clearing my throat, I opened my mouth to make another attempt of asking about her, when I heard Mena’s voice. She sounded furious and afraid, and that nearly sent me into panic mode.

  “You can’t be serious, Roel!” Mena exclaimed. “Why is he here?” she demanded. “Bett
er yet, how did you tell him that I was here?”

  “I haven’t spoken to him, Mena,” Roel said. “Lea called me just a few minutes ago and told me that they were almost to the Peabody Opera House. The witch sisters had a premonition about what just happened. He’s coming to help.”

  “I don’t need his help,” she spat. “Tell him to go back home and leave me be!”

  “He isn’t coming here to help you,” Roel said in a quiet voice. I groaned when I tried to turn my head so I could hear him better. “He’s coming here to help Ace, but he won’t be able to just walk in here with two-thousand shifters.”

  “Holy shit,” Slade said as his bare feet came into my line of sight. I was confused. Hadn’t we attended a Masquarade Ball? Why in the hell was he only wearing a pair of black, silk boxers? “You’re awake. Fuck, man, I couldn’t get to Abhor before he pulled that trigger on you, but he’s dead now. And you’re alive. That’s all that matters. Are you okay? You need me to get you anything?” Slade’s tone of voice was odd. He sounded… anxious. And that wasn’t an emotion I associated with my levelheaded Beta. In fact, it scared the shit out of me.

  “He’s in a lot of pain, but he’s a fighter,” Pops said. “I think he’ll pull through just fine, assuming they get that bullet out within the next few minutes.”

  I squeezed my eyes shut and screamed through my clenched jaw as the fingers in my back dug a little deeper. Bringing the image of Mena back to my mind, I fought to stay conscious, and then I opened my eyes. It took every lick of energy I had in me, but I managed to raise my hand and point to her and Roel. They had on different clothing, as well: matching white button-down dress shirts and black slacks. Her hair cascaded down her back in a mess of tangles and curls. I sighed. She was gorgeous.

  Slade nodded. “She’s fine, Ace. She tried to save you when you went all king-of-the-jungle on Justice.”