Rise of the Assassin (Child of an Alpha Series Book 1)

by Kaitlyn Taylor

  “He portaled,” Uncle Chris said, interrupting the madness.

  “What are you talking about?” Uncle Alex asked, walking over to where Uncle Chris was standing. As the strongest sorcerer in Medova he should’ve recognized the energy of a portal before anyone, but his emotions were all over the place just like the rest of the alphas. Their focus was off, and I knew it was because of us.

  “Look at these markings,” he pointed. “They’re in a perfect circle. It’s like burn marks were left behind, kind of like the ones that are left when you close a portal.”

  “How did we not see him do it though?” Uncle Alex agreed, moving on quickly to the next mystery.

  “I could tell you why,” I mumbled under my breath.

  “Cut the shit,” my father snarled through his teeth. “Nobody asked you.”

  I shook my head in disbelief. I understood that they were upset because we left the castle when they specifically told us to stay put. I could even understand the consequences that would come down on us later. I didn’t understand how they weren’t more appreciative of the achievements we accomplished today. We’d finally laid eyes on the monster who had been tormenting us all these years. We'd found information inside the cottage linking him to those murders and found out that he was using dark magic. Did we have any of that information before today? No, we did not.

  They didn’t want to focus on that though. They wanted to discuss how we disobeyed them for the millionth time, as if it were a surprise. How many of these lectures had they recited throughout our lifetime? Odds were, it wouldn’t be the last time either.

  “We should get back to the castle,” my father suggested after getting a look at Deja, who was still leaning against Nova. Nova’s body was healed; the only reason she hadn’t shifted back yet was because of Deja, almost like she felt like this was the best way to protect her. “We can come back and investigate after we get the girls home.”

  “You’re leaving us behind again?” I squealed as Uncle Gabe ran over to Deja, picking her up and waiting for Uncle Alex to open the portal.

  My father moved closer to me. “I don’t want to hear one more word out of you, Luna.” If we were the same height, his nose would probably be almost touching mine, but since I was significantly shorter than him, he was looking down at me with angry silver eyes.

  I huffed as I walked away from him, jumping up through the hole in the cottage instead of following Uncle Alex over to an open area to return home through a portal. I’d seen Deja drop the journal when we were fighting inside, and I was hoping it was still there.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” my father yelled after me, following me, stopping right in front of the hole in the wall.

  “Just grabbing something before we go,” I told him as I moved the broken furniture out of the way. Clearly, they had been hit with some stronger spells because there was no way anyone would ever be able to sit on these chairs again.

  “You’re pushing your luck, Luna,” he shouted as I went further into the cottage. “Get your ass back out here before I come in there and force you out here.”

  “Give me just one second,” I sighed heavily, my voice deeper as I expressed my frustration. I finally found the journal lying underneath one of the side tables. I grabbed it, holding it close to my chest as I walked back to the hole. My father reached for the book as I jumped back down on the grass, but I pulled away from him, preventing him from taking it.

  “When I’m done reading it you can have it,” I told him.

  “Give me the book, Luna,” he demanded.

  “When I’m done, I will give it to you,” I repeated, walking towards the portal that appeared out of my peripheral vision.

  “You think because you found something you’re suddenly in charge?” my father asked as he walked beside me. The anger in his tone disappeared but I’m pretty sure it was only because he was trying to prevent a scene from happening in front of the rest of our family. I’m not sure why he was putting in so much effort. He had no problem causing a scene all the other times they were around.

  “I don’t think I’m in charge,” I told him as I opened the book, flipping the pages as I pretended to read the words. “I think I’m just as valuable to the search party as Levi and Liam and it’s about time you start accepting that.”

  “This isn’t over, Luna,” my father threatened. “As soon as we’re back in the castle, I’m taking that book and you’re going straight to your room.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard this before.” I rolled my eyes as the sound of the paper flipping echoed. “The only difference is, I’m not giving you the book.”

  “Damn it, Luna,” he snarled through his teeth, his fangs dropping from his gums as he put himself between me and the portal. “I’ve had enough of your attitude. You want me to treat you like your brothers? Fine. I’ll treat you like your brothers. You were reckless today and you could’ve gotten yourself and your sisters killed. You should be ashamed of yourself. You didn’t do Medova or our territory proud at all, and I’ve never been more disappointed in you than I am right now.”

  My mouth dropped open. Did he actually talk to Levi and Liam like this? I felt like someone had punched me in the gut, my chest tightening as I held back the tears stabbing the back of my eyes.

  “Do you still want to be treated like your brothers?” my father asked as he turned his back and walked towards the portal.

  Everyone else had already gone through. Uncle Alex was the only one left, waiting for us to leave before following us and closing the portal. I pictured my father’s study, stepping into the middle of it once I was on the other side. It’s hard to believe that we were just in the middle of the west side battling our greatest enemy. When I looked around the room, I found the heirs sprawled out on the couches staring at us with a look that reminded me of how much trouble we were in. I tried to get as close to the door as possible, but Levi snuck up behind me, leaning against the closed door with a smirk on his face. I didn’t even see him leave the couch.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, looking down at the book that I held close to my chest.

  “I’m going to be nice to you because I stepped into your world without realizing just how shitty it is and now I feel bad for you,” I mumbled. “Don’t push it.”

  “You got the disappointment speech.” He smiled as he turned away from me, returning to the couch without saying another word. How was he able to smile after something like that? Why was he finding this so entertaining? I might be glad when I’m not the one in trouble whenever my brothers found themselves on our father’s bad side, but I never smiled.

  “Hand over the book, Luna,” my father said as he stood side-by-side with the other alphas.

  “I’ve already told you no,” I repeated myself.

  “What’s in that book that is so important?” Levi asked, looking over at our father for an answer. My father glared at him; the same anger that he had towards me started to shift to his heir.

  “I wish I knew,” my father snapped. “Luna won’t hand it over, so I haven’t been able to find out.”

  “Just give it to him, Luna,” Levi begged as if he were trying to convince me to end the fight.

  He’d only just joined the conversation. Why was he in such a hurry to end it so quickly?

  “No, because then I’ll never get it back,” I told him. “We found it and I want to read the rest of it before they get their hands on it.”

  Levi rolled his eyes, dropping the back of his head back on the couch. He no longer wanted to be the mediator between our father and myself. He didn’t try very hard, but I understood why he threw up the white flag so quickly.

  “Can you at least tell us what we’re dealing with here?” Uncle Alex asked, glancing over at Kota, hoping she would give him an answer instead of a blank stare.

  There was a fifty-fifty chance that Kota would follow my lead and not give the alphas any information. She had been quiet since our return to the castle, so
I had no idea if she had calmed down or if she was still just as angry as I was. I could tell she was battling with herself on whether or not she should say something. I tried to avoid eye contact with her. I didn’t want to pressure her into doing what I wanted her to do. Obviously, I wanted her to keep her mouth shut, but I didn’t want to put her in that position. I might like getting my way, but I didn’t like making the ones I loved uncomfortable in the process.

  “Dark magic,” she finally said, glancing up at her father, waiting for his reaction.

  Telling them that part might have actually been the right call. For the non-magic users, typical magic was hard to defend against as it was, but dark magic was basically impossible. We were going to need Uncle Alex’s knowledge of dark magic on this one. He was more experienced than any of us and, I couldn’t speak for the rest of them, but I could use all the help I could get.

  Chapter Nine

  I didn’t stick around to listen to whatever the alphas were going to say in return. I bolted out of the room, the journal still in my hands. My father called after me, but I ran for the stairs, determined to keep moving until I reached my chambers. Even when the door shut behind me, I couldn’t help but feel like someone was right behind me ready to snatch the journal away from me. When I turned around to face my room, I yipped when I saw a male figure sitting on my couch. From the door I could tell it was Declan, but he was facing the windows so all I could see was the back of his head.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” I asked, stomping over to the couch and hovering over him.

  “Levi had a feeling I would be needed,” he answered, an arrogant smile looking up at me with light blue eyes staring into mine. I forced myself to turn away before he convinced me to do something I didn’t want to do. His eyes had a way of doing that. At first, I thought it was compulsion, but if it had been, I wouldn’t have questioned any of the things he was trying to get me to do. We always argued before I finally did what he suggested, ruling out the possibility of compulsion.

  “What did he think you were going to do?” I laughed as I plopped down on the other couch. “Seduce the journal out of my hands?”

  “He said nothing about a journal,” he assured me, looking down at the book I still held tightly against my chest. “What’s so special about it anyways?”

  “We found him,” I answered, knowing he would know what I meant. “This journal belongs to him.”

  “You found him or his hideout?” Declan pushed forward on the couch, more intrigued with the discovery of the assassin than the journal.

  “Both,” I told him. I went through the entire timeframe from when we left the castle to when we returned, telling him of the barrier and how we could see through the cloaking spell. I told him of our eyes glowing and how the assassin’s eyes glowed as well, which still bothered me because I didn’t know the meaning behind it. I flipped through the journal pages as I spoke, revealing the reasons why all those people were killed as each page turned over. I got to the end of the journal and waited for his reaction when he saw new pages manifest right before our eyes. “Everything he has ever done or has planned for us is on these pages.”

  “What are we supposed to do about the dark magic?” Declan asked, wondering how we were going to defend ourselves against something as strong as that.

  “I’m hoping the sorcerers will be able to help,” I answered, my shoulders dropping slightly at the thought of not being able to protect ourselves. “Until that time comes though I need to keep reading through this journal and figure out what’s coming next. These attacks against my family are personal and I need to know why.”

  “Do we know his name?” Declan continued with the line of questioning.

  “No,” I answered, yawning as I closed the journal. “There’s a letter M on the first page of the journal, but that’s not going to tell us much.”

  “You should get some rest,” Declan suggested. “You’ve had a long day and you’re no good to anyone if you’re exhausted.”

  “I’m no good even when I’m at full strength,” I laughed, trying to mask my pain. “My father is so angry at me for leaving the castle that he won’t acknowledge the good that we did. He’s even more mad at me because I won’t give him the journal.”

  “Why is it so important that you keep it away from him?” Declan asked, shifting from one couch to the other, sitting closer to me than I was comfortable with. He was a weakness of mine even though I didn’t want to admit it. I had been fighting my feelings for him for a while, but ever since my father brought up the idea of the two of us binding, it was like I couldn’t keep those feelings pushed down anymore. The closer he got to me, the less I was able to control myself, and now was not the time to be out of control.

  “I’ll never get it back if I give it to him,” I said as I pushed myself towards the far side of the couch. I know he noticed, but it didn’t stop him from moving a little bit closer. “He thinks he’s protecting me, but I’m sick of him treating me like a little girl. I can’t go into battle blind.”

  When I looked over at him, I found his face right next to mine, his hands grabbing the journal. I tried to stop him, but he was quick to assure me that he was just moving it to the table in between the two couches. I wasn’t sure it was safe there either, but he was so convincing. I knew what was happening, but I wasn’t able to push away from him anymore, figuratively or literally. The arm of the couch stopped me from being able to move any further. I saw my chest moving up and down at an unhealthy pace. I wanted this so bad, but at the same time I wanted to avoid it for just a little bit longer.

  He reached up for my face, his fingertips sliding down my cheek as his lips came closer. My breathing intensified just as my lips felt the pressure of his against them. My entire body weakened the longer they touched, my arms wrapping around his neck so that he wouldn’t pull away. I slid further down onto the couch so that his body was on top of mine. He held himself up so he wouldn’t crush me. I suddenly forgot about everything that had happened today, the journal no longer an interest, nor the tension between my father and I. Declan’s kiss was like magic, satisfying every craving I’d ever had. Why did I push him away for so long? Even if the binding ceremony never happened between us, why would I deny myself this kind of satisfaction?

  His hand dropped down from my face to my chest, untying the strings on my shirt. He moved slowly, almost like he was giving me the opportunity to stop him. We were past that now. There was no going back now that I’d gotten a taste of what this relationship could be like. His eyes looked directly into mine as he was about to rip the shirt off my body. There was a connection there. We both knew it existed but neither one of us did anything about it. We couldn’t deny it anymore.

  Once my shirt was off, he reached for the bottom of his, lifting it above his head and throwing it in a similar direction that he did mine. His bare skin against mine was comforting; his fingertips moving up and down my arm shot chills down my spine. His lips collided with mine again, this time with much more passion. It was me who reached for his pants, loosening them so they would come off.

  “We can still stop if you don’t want to do this,” he whispered into my ear.

  I laughed at the stupidity coming from his mouth. “Do you think I would be trying to get your pants off if I wanted to stop?” I asked him, pushing him off of me so that I could get my own pants off, since he clearly wasn’t going to do it.

  I tossed the pants behind me, looking back at Declan to see his pants had disappeared as well. Just one look at him told me this was going to be the best sex that I ever had, and I grew angry that Declan kept giving me opportunities to prevent this from happening. I moved closer to him, pushing my chest against his, wrapping one arm around his neck and dropping the other down to feel his hardness. He kissed the side of my neck, working his way down to my chest, cupping both of my breasts as he forced his face to move back towards mine.

  I let go of him, my arm free to drape over his shoulder as both of
his wrapped around my back, lifting me up and forcing my legs to hold on to him. I knew he wouldn’t drop me, but I also didn’t feel like having my legs dangle, reminding me of just how much smaller I was than him. He adjusted his hold on me, moving his hands from my back to underneath my ass. He moved across the room as I forced my lips against his, only pulling away when he gently dropped me onto the bed.

  My legs were still wrapped around him as he hovered over me, his eyes giving me one last shot to back out. It was different this time. It was like he was giving me the choice out of respect for me but there was another part of his eyes that were begging me to let him keep going.

  “I’m sick of waiting,” I whispered in his ear. He pecked my lips one last time and then pulled away.

  “As you wish,” he said just as quietly.

  With one smooth motion, his length entered me, a gasp leaving my mouth as he satisfied a need I had been ignoring. He started off slow, giving me time to adjust to him, but it didn’t last long. His thrusts became faster and harder, pleasuring me in a way no other vampire ever had before. I gripped my hands to his side, my nails digging into his skin. He didn’t seem to mind that he would have nail marks when this was over. They would heal quickly, but I was waiting for him to tell me to let go because it hurt. He didn’t seem to notice it though. He focused on my eyes, refusing to break the line of contact we’d established.

  He framed my face with his arms, holding himself up as our bodies moved in rhythm with one another. I felt tingling in my upper thighs, crawling up my body. My breathing was heavy as I prepared myself for the attack I had been craving the second I saw Declan’s naked body. Declan saw the change in my expression and slowed down, denying me of the pleasure that was about to hit me hard. He removed his arms from around my head and wrapped them around my back, holding on to me tightly as he rolled over onto the mattress while still inside me. I was on top of him, riding him at my own pace, bending forward so I could feel his lips again, giving him the freedom to move his hips up into me.