by Lia Davis
“Go. Run.” Eli’s words filled my head. His voice sounded strong. “I’ll find you.”
Turning, I took off in a run again, not sure where the hell I was going. It didn’t matter. I just had to lose the vamp and hope more Hunters didn’t join in on the chase.
The sound of water filled me with hope. The water would help cover my scent. Although the flaw in that idea was I didn’t know how vampires tracked people. Could he sense my magick?
I turned left at a large oak tree and skidded to a stop. The vampire stood a few feet from me. His blond hair was a perfect contrast to his dark clothing and aura. Sparks of crimson flashed in his dark brown eyes. How was he able to be out in the daylight? Harrison must have done something to him.
Stepping back, I shook my head. “Don’t come any closer.”
A smirk formed on his lips and he prowled closer. When I raised my hands and called my power—ready to blast him with an energy ball if I had to—he teleported to stand inches from me. The quick movement stunned me. The hesitation cost me. The vamp wrapped an arm around my waist. Then pressure nudged at my brain. I tried to break the telepathic hold he had on me, but it was no use. He had me trapped like his prey.
“I’m sorry.” His words barely registered as I slipped into darkness.
3
Reese
The Rose Lake Coven’s library wasn’t in as good of shape as I hoped. Dimitri did say he wasn’t sure what condition it was in after my father attacked it several years ago. There was a huge hole in the north wall. I was willing to bet anything on that side of the building was ruined. The rest of the downstairs looked as if someone was looking for something. Shelves were overturned, and books and papers littered the floor.
It was a shame because the parts of the building still standing were beautiful—in a post-apocalyptic kind of way. The flooring was white ceramic tile, while the walls appeared to have been a soft butter-color at one time. It was hard to tell with the dirt and water stains. Sadness seeped into my bones at the destruction of not only the library, but the whole coven.
The smell of mold made my nose tingle. I sneezed, and Zane turned to face me. He narrowed his eyes. Overprotective Alpha male. Me almost dying made all my mates more protective. Whatever.
“It looks like someone was looking for something,” I said to no one in particular as I brushed by Zane. He snaked an arm around my waist and nipped playfully at my ear before releasing me. Heat rolled inside me. I pushed it away for now and walked around him.
Dimitri fell into step with me as I carefully moved books aside with the toe of my runners. He shook his head as he replied to my question. “Not sure what they thought they’d find here.”
Neither did I. It was a coven’s library. Think Reese. “If there were secrets hidden in the library, where would they be?”
“Hidden.” Wade materialized beside me and smiled.
Smart ass. I laughed and reached out to him. Instantly he had me wrapped in his arms, our bodies flattened together. I kissed him. “But where?”
As soon as the words left my mouth, I had a thought. Witches hid things with magick. Well, most paras hid things with some form of magick.
My mother materialized a few feet from us, igniting the urge deep inside to run to her. Each time I saw her I tried to fight the urge but it was hard. After all, she had died a few days after my eighteenth birthday. Losing her ripped my heart out and made me give up on fighting my demonic father. Hence one of the reasons I checked myself into the Rose Lake mental hospital. I was just coming to terms with my mother’s death and taking a stand against Salrus when my mom’s ghost came to me a few months ago. I wasn’t sure how long she’d stay on this side. I had a hunch she was here to help us with the council.
The leader, Harrison, had gone insane and corrupted the council. Mom said he more or less took over and claimed the hybrids were dangerous. Harrison sent Salrus after me and Mom in the first place. All that time I thought it was the council as a whole. I was wrong.
After I killed my demon father and I healed, the guys and I did some research. With Mom’s help and intel, we had discovered the Hybrid Project was bigger than Lewis allowed us to believe. It was started by Lewis, who brought Harrison in as a trusted friend only to later discover it was a huge mistake.
I wasn’t happy at the fact the councilman lied to us. Okay, he didn’t exactly lie, he gave us what we needed to know at the time. Still. People wondered why I had trust issues.
Mom pointed to the ceiling. “I’d start on the second floor where the resource and spell books are. Look for magickal hot spots. Even if it seems like a low charge, check it out. The history of The Original Three would be a great start.”
“Original Three?”
Dimitri snapped his fingers. “Of course. My mom used to tell me stories of the creator of witches. Carlyn.”
He grabbed my hand and tugged me out of Wade’s hold. My undead mate dramatically threw his hands up. “You can’t just steal her anytime you want.”
Dimitri laughed and called over his shoulder. “Yeah, I can.”
I blew Wade a kiss as I teleported D and myself to the second floor. Looking around, I was surprised that there was minimal structural damage to the second floor, despite the hole in the wall downstairs. A number of books were still scattered all around and several of the bookshelves were broken pieces on the floor. The round tables I assumed used to be in the center of the room had been thrown into the walls. They were nothing more than firewood in a pile.
I called to my magick and waved my hand. “Clean up.”
The shelves straightened and the books began sorting themselves. Zane had to duck his head as he approached us to keep from being hit in the face with a flying book. “What’s next?”
I tapped my foot and thought out loud. “There is no basement. An attic would be obvious.”
“There is a door that was always locked in the last reading room on the left.” Dimitri pointed down the hallway.
I perked up. Locked doors held secrets. “That’s where we’re going. Mom, you still here?”
Being a hedge witch, I could sense ghosts, talk to them, and see them when they weren’t in solid form. However, my abilities didn’t seem to work as well on a ghost of another hedge witch. That was news to me. Or maybe it was because she was my mother.
“I’m here.” She took form by the door of the reading room.
I eyed her suspiciously. “Do you know what we’re looking for?”
Hell, I didn’t know what we were looking for. I just couldn’t shake the feeling there was something more to the immortality spell Harrison was searching for. None of it made sense to me.
“No. I have theories but nothing solid.” Mom waited until we went into the room first before she entered. “The Original Three were the first pure-blood paras. Demi-gods, actually. They were siblings. A witch, wolf, and vampire. Carlyn was the witch and the mother of all witches and fae. Stories over the years differed about which god fathered them and where they lived. Although since they had unlimited gifts and were able to create new species, I believe the rumors that Zeus was their father.”
Dimitri crossed the room to a door. “The Original Three founded the council.”
Now I knew why Carlyn’s name sounded familiar. Mom had mentioned her in her journal. “She spelled the council HQ to move around.”
I also learned in my research that the mansion used as the council HQ not only moved locations with the moon cycles, but it changed shapes and sizes too. There were probably hidden rooms in that house.
I stepped closer to D. “Do you need help breaking the lock?”
He tried the handle as if it would magickally open just because we wanted it to. Glancing at me, he smiled. “It’s spelled. I didn’t feel it before. I think I can now because I’m linked to you.”
“Makes sense.” After being marked by my father, D was banned by the coven and the council to not use magick. Knowing everything I did about the council I guessed bindin
g his powers was better than killing him. Most likely a call that Lewis influenced. Or maybe got the majority vote? I hated not knowing all the details.
Motioning to the door, I said, “You try to break the spell or see if it will allow you entry.”
D frowned then stared at the doorknob. After a few moments he gripped the handle in his right hand, then pressed his palm to the wood with his other. “We wish to enter this room. Our intent is pure and we wish no harm to come to anyone or any repercussions from our presences, including handling of the items within the room, and removing items.”
“That was specific.” My words were teasing but I understood why he was so cautious. Unknown magick could be deadly. Especially since we weren’t sure what was behind that door.
D elbowed me then turned the knob. A ripple of magick rebounded from the room as the door gave away and opened. I inhaled sharply at the sensation of power so old and strong. I glanced to Mom. Her blue eyes met mine and her lips lifted in a smile. “That’s Carlyn’s magick. It’s too old to be anyone else’s.”
I nodded and took a step forward. Zane stopped me by grabbing my hand. When I met his stare with my brows raised, he growled. “I don’t like this.”
“Then stay out here and be our look out.” My Alpha wolf was too overprotective. He also didn’t trust magick as much as he pretended to. It didn’t bother me and I wasn’t offended by it. After all, he was raised to trust no one but his Pack.
Zane’s father, David Carter, didn’t like magick either. However, the Alpha of Carter Moon Pack was coming to terms with his misguided trust issues. Plus, he liked me.
With a sigh, I turned to Zane and pressed a palm to his T-shirt covered heart. “Do you trust me?” He nodded and I continued. “The magick is not evil or good. It borderlines in the gray area. That’s magick from the gods. It will not harm us unless we have ill intentions.”
I turned and entered the room, leaving Zane to make his own decision to follow.
The room was the size of a walk-in closet and was empty except for a small square table in the center. On the table was a thick, leather-bound book. I noted the symbol on the front of the book as I moved closer. A sun surrounded in flames with a pentacle in the center.
D glanced at me, then at Zane who stood in the doorway. I sensed D’s hesitation through our bond. Tapping him on the hand, I asked, “Do you want me to open it?”
“We can do it together.”
I nodded and placed my hand on top of his. Dimitri was still learning to trust his own magick. Having a demon show up in your den and mark you would make anyone fear the unknown. For D, it fucked with his anxiety. He was okay with not using magick when the council bound his.
I worried my own power flowing through our bond added to his fear. But so far he was dealing with it. In fact, he had grown stronger since our mating.
“You lead,” I whispered.
Zane had moved into the room, slowly making his way to the table. He stopped on the other side of Dimitri so their shoulders touched. Dimitri released a sigh and relaxed. Gods, I loved my Alpha wolf. He and D had been best friends since elementary school. Longer, maybe. With Zane and me at his side, Dimitri straightened his back and opened the cover of the book.
A breeze blew through my hair and tingled my skin. I was pretty sure there were no windows in the closet-sized room. The pages of the book began flipping rapidly. I opened all my senses. Old magic teased my awareness. I scanned the room, searching for the ghost but didn’t see her. But I knew she was there. “Carlyn? Is that you?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t see you.” I didn’t worry about speaking out loud to ghosts in front of the guys anymore. They accepted my weirdness.
Carlyn appeared in front of the small table. Her vivid teal eyes seemed to glow against her pale, transparent form. “Hello, Reese.” She glanced behind me and nodded to my mother. “Maxine.”
Dimitri flipped his hand over and linked our fingers together and squeezed. “I can hear her.”
Carlyn pointed to the page. “These are all my visions, potions, spells, and much more. Read the last two entries first. They will explain what you are looking for.”
Then she vanished.
I turned to Mom. “Why did she leave?”
“She was pulled back to where ever she needs to be. I’m guessing she’s been reborn.” Mom stepped closer to glance at the book. “This is her Book of Shadows.”
Excitement filled me and I began to tremble a little. “She led us to it.”
“She led you to it.” Mom kissed my forehead.
Deep down I knew that. I felt the pull to something but didn’t know what it was until now. The night Wade brought me to the Coven, I felt like I belonged there. That my journey didn’t end with stopping Salrus.
I meet the gazes of my guys and Mom. “Do you trust Lewis?”
Dimitri, Zane, and Mom said at the same time, “Yes.”
“Then we need to get a message to him to meet with us. I need to know everything he does about the hybrids and The Original Three. And I need the whole truth this time.”
Zane’s phone beeped. He glanced at it and frowned. “Tory says Hunters came to the Pack looking for Cassia.”
My heart lurched. “Where is she?”
His phone beeped again. “Eli, her sentry, is with her.” Zane met my stare. “He’ll take her to a safe house and protect her with his life. It’s his job.”
There was a hint of emotion that leaked into the mating bond. I felt Zane’s concern for his packmate but there was also a knowing that Eli wouldn’t fail. “She’s his mate.”
Zane nodded. He stepped around D and drew me into a hug. “If Eli needs us, he’ll reach out. Until then, we talk to Lewis and research more about Carlyn and her brothers.”
I breathed in his scent, letting it surround me inside and out, calming me. Research sounded good. It would be my distraction for now.
4
Gunner
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck me.
The first time I tasted her blood at the hybrid lab I knew Cassia Walker was mine. I wasn’t prepared for the intense need to claim her when I saw her in the flesh. Her scent—strawberries and lavender—filled my senses. What was more fucked up? She was already mated to the wolf who protected her.
A feral snarl rolled from me. Jerking open the refrigerator, I groaned at the lack of contents. Being a vampire I didn’t need food to survive as long as I had access to blood a few times a week. Although the small vials of Cassia’s blood Harrison sent me once a month seemed to sustain me much longer than human blood. It also allowed me to stay out in the sunlight longer than a few minutes.
I lifted my gaze to my bedroom where I’d left Cassia after teleporting us to my home. It’d been an hour and she hadn’t woken. That worried me. I willed her to sleep to make it easier to teleport her without harming her.
Fuck. Why did I care? She was a hybrid, powerful and deadly. A mark. However, Harrison wanted her alive, which was a change in the kill order. For some reason Cassia and her sister were to be brought to Harrison alive. Not that I planned to take her to him anyway. She was mine.
Bringing in the hybrids alive was one of the changes within the council. The other was the divide in power. Lewis Walker had taken a stand against Harrison along with two other members. Lewis was also trying to align the Hunters with him. In fact, the man had asked me to take Cassia and run with her. That made me more curious about her. I had to make sure I got to her before Harrison sent other Hunters after her.
The bedroom door burst open and slammed into the wall. Cassia marched across the living room, her glare sharp. Her scent heightened as she drew closer. She was pissed. “Where the hell am I? Why was I cuffed to your bed?”
My cock jerked to attention. The command in her tone as she shot out her questions was hot. When she slammed the handcuffs on the counter that separated the living room from the kitchen, I met her green gaze. Her wolf peered at me through her vibrant green eyes.
; She was hot. And mine.
Shaking my head, I had to force myself to look away from her. My gaze drifted to the cuffs. I wasn’t surprised she broke out of them. It was one reason I used them—to see if she was as powerful as I thought. “Would you like some soup? That’s all I have and I’m not leaving to go get you anything and risk you running off.”
A growl escaped from her. “I don’t need you feeding me. Where are we?”
I met her heated stare and let out a growl of my own. “You are in my home. I’m not telling you the location so you can mind link with your mate.”
She jerked back a step and scowled. Her scent sweetened with arousal. Did she feel the mating urge? After a moment, she stormed off in the direction of the front door. Fuck. I rushed around the counter and met her at the door, blocking her exit. “I can’t let you leave.”
With her hands on her hips and eyes narrowed, she said, “Don’t make me hurt you.”
There was a tremble in her voice that told me she would but knew it would hurt her as well. Although the thought of her inflicting pain on me made my dick twitch and harden more than it already was. Why the hell did she have to be my mate? The longer I was in her presence the more I wanted to claim her.
There was no way I’d turn her over to Harrison. Not now. “Do you know why the council wants you?”
“Move.” She pushed at me, but I grabbed her arms and twisted so I flattened her back against the door. She jerked in my hold, scowling. “Let me go.”
“Answer my question.” I pressed against her and breathed her in. A hint of arousal mixed in with her scent. Heat filled me. Desire rose and muddled my thoughts.
“Harrison doesn’t speak for the council as a whole. He’s insane and power hungry.” Her scent took on a sharp earthy note as her wolf surfaced.
Yeah, she hated the council leader. I studied her while feeling her magick brew just under her skin. “When Hunters are sent out, it’s to kill their mark. However, Harrison wants you alive. Do you know why?”
