by Katie May
“No!” Kai bellows at the same time another male screams, “Don’t!”
A cold hand grasps my own, and I can practically sense the tension in the room ratcheting up a notch. Everybody seems to be holding their breath.
But why?
Who is this man?
“Nina,” he says, my name leaving his lips like a decadent treat. For some undefinable reason, a flush enters my cheeks, and I duck my head. I don’t quite understand my reaction. “I’m Damien.”
“Damien,” I repeat, offering him another tentative smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Almost involuntary, I slip into Kai’s head—as familiar to me as my own—and survey the man from his eyes.
He’s...gorgeous. That’s the only word capable of encapsulating the six-foot man standing before me. He’s skinnier than Kai, wearing a double-breasted suit coat with overlapping front flaps and two sets of buttons, a covered placket, and a red tie. His face is all sharp angles and smooth curves, accentuating his high cheekbones and brilliant sea-blue eyes. While his skin is as pale as my own, his hair is so dark it almost appears blue, carefully brushed away from his face.
It’s a type of beauty I have only seen reserved in predators. An unmerciful, savage type of beauty that makes my heart thump in my chest. But beauty is beauty, and his ensnares me like a sword disguised in ribbons and bows.
This man, Damien, is watching me as intently as I watch him. There’s curiosity in his gaze as his eyes skillfully travel over my body.
“That’s enough, Damien,” Kai growls, grabbing my waist. Damien’s eyes flash briefly, and it’s only then that I realize he’s still holding my hand. That makes my cheeks flame even brighter as I quickly remove it and shove it in my dress pocket.
“Kai,” I reprimand sternly. “Behave.”
But I can’t stop the giddy smile from cleaving my face in two.
Kai is here. With me.
It doesn’t even matter that “here” is a virtual hellhole quite literally underground.
He had promised he’d come for me...and apparently, I was the one who came for him.
I pull myself out of his head and turn toward him, a brilliant smile playing on my lips, only to be struck cold by his beseeching tone.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he demands curtly.
“Don’t talk to her like that!” a gruff voice snarls, and Kai’s hands tighten imperceptibly on my shoulders. I don’t know if he’s going to pull me closer, push me away, or place me over his shoulder and run away. Either option is immensely appealing.
He’s here.
He’s with me.
I’m practically giddy—not even his sour mood can ruin my day.
“Take a walk, Bronson,” Kai sneers. “You forget who’s in charge.”
The third man, Bronson, releases a low, threatening growl, but he doesn’t move from where he’s hovering nearby. I can’t see him, but I can sense him. His presence, that is. The heat he emanates is almost palpable.
“I’ll ask you one more time, Babygirl,” Kai tells me, and his voice is considerably more gentle. “How did you get here?”
My lower lip begins to tremble as I think of the events that led me to this precise moment.
“I did what you said,” I whisper, ducking my head. “During feeding time, I overpowered Miles and escaped. You were right. He is the weakest guard.” The silence in the room is suddenly stifling. How many people are listening to me recount the last month of horrors? Kai, for sure, and that Damien guy. Bronson, too. And maybe a set of twins? I thought I saw them through Tessa’s eyes, but they could’ve left with the others.
Kai’s breathing is suddenly ragged and uneven, smoke perfuming the air around my face. At the Compound, I had suspected he was different like me. That he had some unexplainable powers.
Is he a part of this supernatural world, too? He must be. How else would he end up in this prison?
That’s something I need to ask him, but first, I need to focus on the topic at hand.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, I lift my hands to cover his on my shoulders, interlocking our fingers and bringing them down to my stomach. His touch burns me, but it’s the sweetest heat imaginable. The fire alights something in my veins, pooling low in my stomach.
“I escaped.” Tears form in my eyes as a small smile plays on my lips. “But then...”
“But then?” the gruff male, Bronson, asks darkly. I don’t know the man, but his tone of voice makes me cringe. Something about the darkness he exudes...
Kai growls, and Bronson’s breath hitches. Without having to see, I know he takes a few steps away from me, his larger-than-life presence no longer suffocating.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbles forlornly. I offer a weak smile in his general direction.
“It’s fine. Truly.”
He’s obviously someone Kai trusts, I tell myself sternly. There’s nothing to be afraid of. With any of these men.
“What happened, Angel?” Damien asks, and the nickname makes me blush stupidly.
“I passed out,” I admit. “When I woke up, I was in the hospital, and this man, William, accused me of hurting someone.”
Murdering someone is a more adequate description, but I can’t quite bring myself to say that dreaded m-word. I know I’m not a killer, and hearing that title makes my stomach twist and tighten.
“What’s his name?” Kai asks gently. When I don’t answer, shaking like a leaf, he elaborates. “The man they claimed you...hurt.”
“Raphael Turner.” My voice is barely above a whisper.
A flurry of curses precedes my declaration.
“He’s a butt munching dickwad,” someone proclaims. The unfamiliar voice sounds from the corner of the room, and I turn my head in that direction. It must be one of the twins.
“What’s a butt munching dickwad?” I ask him, and his laughter abruptly cuts off.
“Is this chick serious?” he asks no one in particular. When Kai and Bronson merely growl and Damien remains silent, the twin sighs heavily. “She is serious, isn’t she?”
“I am...um...very serious.” Removing Kai’s hands from my shoulders, I step closer. “I’m Nina.”
“I heard the introduction the first time,” he replies, a smirk in his voice. My cheeks turn red, but this time it’s from embarrassment.
“Well, yes,” I stutter, fiddling with my fingers. “But it’s polite for you to give me your names as well. Any friend of Kai’s is a friend of mine.” I trust Kai implicitly. The people he keeps around him must be amazing men. Maybe they’re like me, falsely arrested for crimes they didn’t commit. It would make sense for Kai to take them under his wing, as he did for me.
“Friend, huh?” And then, in a jovial voice, “And Kai? I always thought your name would be Bertrand or something.”
My brows furrow. The twin almost acts as if he doesn’t know Kai’s name. But, if they are friends, Kai would’ve told him, right?
“His full name is Malakai,” I confess, and Kai growls low beneath his breath.
“And how, beautiful Nina, do you know Malakai?” The twin moves to stand directly in front of me. At least, I’m assuming it’s the same twin I’ve been talking to this entire time.
“We were at the Compound together,” I answer easily, holding up my hands. I pause inches from his face, raising an eyebrow. “May I?”
“Um...you may?” His voice rises, turning the agreement into a question. Still, I don’t hesitate to place both hands on his face and familiarize myself with his features. Lower cheekbones than Damien’s, but with a face thinner than Kai’s. His skin is smooth beneath my traveling fingers, not a scar or pimple to be felt.
I slide easily into Kai’s head to stare at the mysterious twin.
His hair is golden, longer on the top than the sides, and his features are decidedly boyish. He’s leaner than a lot of the other males—sans Damien—but still breathtakingly muscular. A sultry, mischievous smirk pulls up his thin lips.
Over his shoulder, I see a man similar in appearance to the guy I’m touching. Same blond hair, grassy green eyes, and thin build. Unlike his twin, this man’s lips are curved into a scowl and his eyes are narrowed on me in his brother’s arms.
“What’s your name?” I ask the smiling twin, pulling out of Kai’s head and embracing my customary darkness.
“Why? Do you want to scream it?”
Ignoring Kai’s enraged snarl, I frown. “Why would I scream it?” I drop my hands to my sides and stagger back a step. “Are you going to hurt me?”
Another step has me pressing my back against a man’s front. Damien’s, if the smell is any indication. Clover leaves and something sweet, something I can’t pinpoint.
“Yes, Abel, are you going to hurt the beautiful lady?” Damien asks dryly.
“Of course not!” the twin, Abel, protests. “I was just... I was just trying to...” He groans, his voice muffled as if he has his head in his hands. “Fuck, that’s not what I meant.”
“What did you mean, brother?” the other twin asks with a hint of amusement in his voice.
“Fuck off,” Abel mutters.
“Language,” I reprimand immediately. “He’s your brother. That isn’t nice.”
A loud guffaw sounds behind me, and without even having to look, I know it will belong to Bronson.
“Not nice at all,” the unnamed twin agrees, a smirk evident in his voice.
“Listen,” Abel begins, and he almost sounds hesitant and unsure. For some reason, that makes Kai break into laughter behind me. “I didn’t mean anything about the ‘scream’ comment. I just...”
“You just?” I prompt when he trails off. He blows a raspberry, stirring the hair by my ear.
“Nothing,” he settles on at last. “Never mind.”
Turning away from Abel, I level my sightless eyes onto Kai. I know it can be unnerving to have the full extent of my white gaze on someone, but Kai never seemed to mind. He’s the one who taught me that my blindness was a gift, not a hindrance. He made me feel special and beautiful despite my glaringly obvious flaw.
“Kai, you have a lot of explaining to do,” I begin, attempting to adopt my best no-nonsense tone. Internally, I’m screaming. Dancing. Shaking my hips. I half wonder if I had died and gone to heaven. Being back with Kai... it’s all I have ever wanted. Freedom means nothing without him to enjoy it with. “You said you were going to come back for me,” I finish, and even I can’t hide the sudden surge of vulnerability and pain in my voice.
Bronson releases another threatening growl, almost as if he’s indignant on my behalf. Damien settles his chin on my shoulder, but I flick his nose to get him away. I’m not about to let an unfamiliar male get so close to me, thank you very much. They may be Kai’s friends, but they aren’t mine.
Though I’m not opposed to the idea. I never had friends before. Maybe...
“Babygirl, I tried. I promise you. I thought about you everyday and—”
Whatever he’s about to say is interrupted by a door being pushed open. Heavy breathing follows next as someone enters the room, panting.
“Lord Blade,” the newcomer huffs.
Lord Blade? Whose name is that? The second twin?
“Yes,” Kai answers curtly, confusing me even more. “I thought I told you imbeciles not to interrupt.”
I open my mouth to admonish Kai for calling this man an imbecile when Damien’s hand tightens on my shoulder.
“You can give him hell later, Angel,” he whispers in my ear, and his warm breath causes goosebumps to pebble on my skin.
“It’s an emergency, sir,” the man replies. “It’s Rion. He and the other shifters are refusing to allow us to enter the cafeteria. A fight started. Three of our men are already dead and two of theirs are wounded.”
Kai growls, the sound so inhuman and downright terrifying that I jump, spinning around in Damien’s arms and burying my face in his shirt. The man stiffens underneath me before placing his hands tentatively on my waist, holding me still. Terror pulsates through me—entirely irrational because I know Kai would never hurt me—and taints my body with the pungent, sour smell of it.
“Holy shit!” the man exclaims, and I automatically slip into Kai’s mind to see what has captured the newcomer’s attention. He’s a small man, not as small as me though, with thinning brown hair and wire-rimmed glasses. His eyes are fixed pointedly on me in Damien’s arms.
Is it weird? Me being comforted by a stranger? I didn’t think anything of it. For some reason, I feel safe with these men. Maybe because Kai trusts them and I trust Kai.
Over my head, I watch Damien’s eyes narrow into thin slits and a threatening smile contort his beautiful features.
“You have something to say, worm?” he asks, his tone unrecognizable. Dark and terrifying, inducing full-body shivers.
“Of course not,” the man stutters as Kai swivels his head back to him.
Releasing a low curse, Kai turns to Bronson first. It’s the first time I have gotten a good look at the man, and my heart kickstarts, reverberating around in my ribcage.
He’s enormous. A real giant of a man. He makes Kai look thin and scrawny in comparison. Muscle upon muscle cover his chest, stomach, legs, and arms. His thighs are the size of tree trunks, and when he moves, his muscles ripple and flex.
“Bronson, Damien, you’re with me. Cain and Abel, stay with Nina.”
Bronson’s eyes flare hotly. “No.”
“No?” Kai asks darkly. “You don’t get to say no to me, Bronson. You forget who I am.” Whipping his head toward Damien, Kai snarls, “Release Nina at once, Damien. She’s not one of your toys.”
Of course I’m not a toy. I’m a human being. What the heck has gotten into him? He knows better than anyone what those degrading terms do to me. I will no longer be a weak, defenseless doll for people to use, step on, and then throw away. Not anymore. Not after I freed myself.
Finally, Kai turns to face the twins—one cheery and one somber, their dispositions as different as night and day.
“And you two, do not let any harm come to her, got it? Do not, I repeat, do not do anything to her. Do you understand me?”
The smiling twin, who I assume is Abel, salutes while the other one nods.
“Wait,” I begin, detangling myself from Damien’s arms. I wrench myself out of Kai’s head as I step forward. “You’re leaving me again? After we just found each other?”
The mere prospect sends my heart and head racing. Pain thrums through me like a lightning bolt.
No. No. No. No.
I just got him back.
“I will be back,” Kai reassures me, but his tone is no longer that gentle one I love and adore. It’s cold. Cruel. It’s a literal slap to the face. “Don’t get all desperate and needy on me. It’s not a good look for you.”
Never, not ever, has Kai spoken to me that way. Tears burn my eyes, and I stagger back one step and then another. He’s been my best friend for years, even when he left me all alone.
I had thought I was his as well. His reaction when he first saw me sure indicated as much.
But this? This is someone I hardly recognize.
“Okay,” I whimper. The Compound’s torture hurt less.
Maybe, just maybe, Kai could have come back for me.
And maybe, just maybe, he didn’t want to.
Chapter 9
Abel
Who the fuck is this woman with eyes as silver as the moon and hair like liquid night? With a body both supple and thin? With soft lips juxtaposed by the sharp planes of her face? With skin like alabaster?
And when the fuck did I start using words like “alabaster” and “liquid night” when describing a woman?
Normally, I’ll look at their assets. Namely, their breasts and ass (there’s a reason they’re called assets). I’m a tits man, in case you were wondering.
Currently, her gorgeous doe eyes stare blindly up at me and my brother with pain emanating in their depths. I feel irrationally
furious at the way Blade had treated her. Logically, I know he did it for the scumbag’s benefit—no one can know about Blade’s (excuse me, Malakai’s) attachment to her. I can’t even begin to compute what Rion will do with that information.
Adopting my trademark, sultry smirk, one lost on the petite female, I ask, “So, Nina, it seems that we find ourselves alone.”
Blade must really trust me and my brother if he left her alone with us. Though, out of all the members of his inner circle, we’re the least volatile and dangerous. We still have our powers in the Labyrinth, but as demons, my brother and I are unable to access the full extent of our skills. Can’t really create portals to hell to rejuvenate our powers, now can we? Besides, I have no doubt we will be a tasty dragon kabob if we so much as look at her inappropriately.
I’ve never seen Blade care about anyone but himself, let alone someone he obviously cares about more than himself. The fact that this diminutive slip of a female holds so much power over our esteemed leader terrifies me.
“So it seems,” Nina sighs, turning a longing glance in the general direction Blade disappeared to. For some reason, that irritates the shit out of me.
And it irritates the shit out of me that it irritated the shit out of me in the first place. See my conundrum?
“Don’t be so sad, Bambi,” I jest, placing my arm around her shoulders. She tenses, the action almost instinctive, and I notice Cain’s eyes narrow in on that minuscule movement. Slowly, as to not startle her further, I remove my arm and rest it back by my side.
“Bambi,” she parrots, narrowing her ethereal eyes in my direction. “That’s not my name.” She almost seems...put off, as if I’d purposely mistaken her name with that of another woman. Granted, it wouldn’t be the first time, but that’s not the case here.
“Bambi.” I nod my head once, my smile growing in tandem with her confusion. “Like the movie.”
One black brow quirks as she cocks her head to the side.
“Don’t tell me you’ve never seen Bambi,” I say in horror, placing a hand to my chest. “Have you been living under a rock?”
