by Talyn Scott
But none of it could wash away her guilt.
The strange shadow finished off the Gryph’s decapitation as she dragged up two steps, sliding every inch of the way in blood. The second Gryph, however, easily cornered her.
“Bitch,” he spat.
With her serious injuries and broken leg, Jenny accepted defeat right as something metallic sliced through the air. The Gryph grunted, staggered back in utter shock, and then brought his great hands to his throat, in the same way as Searlas. Tears of blood streamed his face as he tried to dislodge the scythe piercing his neck from behind, but a shadowed hand slashed to the side and delivered the final blow.
The final head dropped to the floor, rolling in a river of blood.
“The explosions have finally stopped,” the shadow stated evenly. “Brace yourself, I’m going to lift you.” Jenny cried out as he cradled her in his arms, the pain insurmountable. He opened his mouth to reveal vampire fangs. “The air is still enough to mist you safely now.”
“And how can I trust you?”
“I killed those trying to kill you.”
Jenny tried to wrap her arms around his neck, but they wouldn’t seem to work, her blood loss too great. “Maybe you just wanted me… for yourself.”
Solidifying, the vampire revealed himself to Jenny. “How’s this for security clearance?”
She took in his naturally platinum hair, his burnt-whiskey eyes, and the savage scarring on one side of an otherwise obscenely handsome face. “You lead the vampire… soldiers.”
One side of his mouth curled as he quipped, “Commander Syon at your service.”
“For… what price?” Vampires always charged a price.
“Nothing, so long as you keep this a secret.”
Her eyelids fluttered, her body shutting down. “That can’t be right….”
“This night, you’ve lost your lover by the blade.” He licked a line on her throat, preparing her for his bite in order to transport her. “In the past, I traveled your road.”
She shook her head no, when Syon began his bite. “You can heal them.”
“Them?” He looked around at the carnage. “There’s two beheaded Gryphs and a halfling on the floor. I know damn well that neither of those Gryphs were your lovers, but I smell the halfling on you.”
“I don’t understand.” She’d seen Jed fall when the Gryph pulled out his beating heart. “Then bring back the halfling.”
“He’s quite dead.”
“I can feel his soul lingering, so there’s still a chance. Bring Searlas back,” she pleaded, knowing full well that Syon’s blood would heal the halfling and save his life. “I’ll pay his Blood Debt myself.”
“You’re not thinking clearly.”
“You’re right,” Jenny agreed, “but I still know what I’m doing, what I’m vowing to do.”
“I’ve already cut you a break by denying any Blood Debt you owe me for saving you. What you’re asking… Alpha Jordan would challenge and win.”
Jenny couldn’t leave Searlas on the cold, bloodied floor, not after he’d fought for her life with everything he had. In turn, she would do the same for him. So Jenny uttered the words proven to tempt vampires far beyond blood. “Anything… I’ll do it.”
Syon’s sigh held a greedy edge. “Words you should never say to a vampire.”
Chapter 7
Present Day
Joint Faction Facility, Marco Island FL
“Six months have passed, Jenny.” Without her permission, Gage MacGelton pulled up a chair to Jenny’s bedside and planted his ass to deliver another lecture. “Your injuries have long healed.”
“I know where this is leading,” Jenny replied with honest exhaustion. Daily, Tatum, Molly, and even their grandmother visited her, trying to coax Jenny out of her supposed shell. Then, to Jenny’s delight, her cousin Kalen had flown down for a short visit and ended up staying indefinitely, after finding her three mates. One of which was staring right at her. Doctor Mason Ruyter leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, his brilliant mind trying to puzzle out her exhaustion. No matter what test he’d administered or blood he’d drawn, Mason always arrived at the same conclusion: Jenny was healthy on the outside. The inside, though, needed some work. “But can’t we do this another time.” She’d been awake the entire night and half of the day. “I’m winded from my long visit with Kalen.”
“Don’t you think the time has come for you to go home?” Gage asked, completely ignoring her request.
“To Scotland or Sanibel Island?” Jenny pulled the covers higher, trying not to think about her parents finally moving to Scotland. But at least they were no longer in the way.
“Sanibel Island of course,” Gage insisted. “We don’t want to lose you to Ciaran’s Pack. You’re ours.”
“Then, I’ll come home when I’m able.” Jenny glanced at Mason, his violet eyes giving nothing away. Though as her doctor, he knew damn well she was ready. “I’m not able yet.”
Gage cleared his throat, his denim-blue eyes identical to those of Searlas. “Our Sanibel Island compound is secured.”
“Yes, Alpha Jordan assured me several times.”
“Then it must be the memories from the attack keeping you here. I understand.” He nodded his flaxen head, tapping his bottom lip with a thoughtful fingertip. “I have several accommodations for you to choose from in Miami. I’ll oversee your protection personally.”
“Not yet.”
“Perhaps an official Rites to Mate ceremony would bring forth your mates?” He shrugged. “I can easily schedule this for, say, a week from now, even a month from now. We could invite every unmated Pack male across the globe. Terje and Arian Rune have several unmated brothers, all princes, scattered across Norway and Sweden that we could also invite.”
“That’s quite an honor to bestow on me. Thank you.” Jenny had to word her refusal carefully. “When I’m ready we can revisit this discussion.” She only hoped this shrewd Pack male, fluent in Druid arts and dripping with power, did not scent her deception. Gage MacGelton wasn’t far removed from Alpha Jayce Jordan, his influence on Pack legendary. “Right now, I’m not over him.”
Gage leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “Over whom?”
Mason winced. “My brother Ail,” he explained, when Jenny refused to elaborate.
Jenny was so far over Ail that it shocked even her, but Pack needed to think anything other than the truth. “I hope you’ll understand my delaying Rites to Mate, Gage.”
He searched her eyes a moment, and she fought not to look away, to show weakness, or to show guilt. “I understand.” He looked meaningfully at Mason. “I would talk to Jenny alone.”
“You’re putting me in an uncomfortable position, Gage,” Mason said. “As a Pack male, you’re over me and I can’t refuse your request. But as Jenny’s doctor, I must ask if she feels up to it.”
Mason knew she felt up to it, at least physically, and he was risking insubordination in order to protect Jenny. So she couldn’t let him do it. Nodding her head, she agreed, “A short private chat would be fine.”
When Mason excused himself, Gage grew serious, deadly serious. “I don’t mean to frighten you,” he said after watching her shrink back. “But we need to talk about my nephew, Searlas.”
Hearing his name hit her like a physical blow. Jenny fisted the blanket, her heart shattering anew. “How is he?”
His beautiful face softened only a touch. “Not that well, I’m afraid.”
“You have no idea how sorry I am to hear that.” Why hadn’t Searlas healed? She was going to ring Syon’s neck for keeping this from her. “Has Mason examined him?”
“Yes.” Gage reached out, lifting her hand gently from the blanket and uncurling her fist. “Listen, you were the last person Eagan Ruyter saw with Searlas.”
She kept her voice steady. “On a night filled with rogue Gryphs and death.”
Gage opened his mouth, inhaling deeply. “It’s your scent, Jenny. Your scent
was all over Searlas when I found his body, and I mean all over.”
Heat burned her cheeks.
“Start from the beginning. Tell me what you haven’t been telling anyone for six months, because he’s rising Jenny.” His fingers tightened on hers. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Rising?” As in Undead vampire, she realized. So she’d been lied to all this time. Tears threatened. “Are you sure?”
He gave her a cynical once over. “Do you know how old I am?”
Yeah, Gage was sure. “All I can say is that Eagan and Searlas saved my life.”
“So you keep telling me.” He dropped her hand, fisting his on his knee. “There’s a crater in the middle of your story, Jenny. A smoldering, fiery mess of omissions.”
She stayed quiet, fighting to keep her eyes aligned with his. Jenny had only six months left on her sentence, six dangerous months and she would be free of Commander Syon’s Blood Debt.
Gage sat back in the chair. “I watched over Searlas all of his life, didn’t think his werewolf side would catch up to him until he hit his twenties. But I was so wrong. You see - I found him on a bridge on his sixteenth birthday, looking down and preparing to jump.”
Jenny shook her head. “Don’t tell me anymore.”
Undeterred, Gage plowed on, “He couldn’t deal with the voice in his head, telling him things he didn’t understand, like running through the marsh beneath the full moon. I had to transform fully into my werewolf to make him understand. It took years for him to adjust. And when he finally accepted his fate, he poured his heart into internal and Joint Faction investigations to protect Pack.”
Gage frowned. “When he was old enough to leave his desk job and go into the field, I trained him to fight myself, not trusting another Pack male to understand Searlas’ human side. He’s far weaker than a pureblood; you know this as well as I. But the first sparring session in which he drew first blood, I gave him a dagger.” He gave her a hard look, rising from his chair and leaning over the bed. “That dagger was found in the center of a river of blood in one of our underground bunkers, but we still made out Searlas’ prints.” Gage placed an arm on either side of her, caging Jenny in. “Want to know who else’s prints we found on that dagger.”
“Not really.”
“I didn’t think so.” He pursed his sensual mouth. “But I’m going to tell you anyway.” Dipping his head until he nearly touched her nose with his, Gage whispered, “Yours.”
“Again, Searlas saved me. I used his weapon after he went down.” Jenny couldn’t break her oath and revoke any help Syon had given Searlas. “I can’t… I will not talk about this.”
Gage stood up, straightening his jacket. “Why? You were Searlas’ lover, Jenny, yet you pretend to grieve over Ail mating Molly Shirley.”
Not a word, she reminded herself, not one syllable.
Gage stared down at her. “I’ve had a lot of time to work this over in my mind, and egotistical or not, I can tell you that I’m smarter than most. I know that when I found Searlas at the scene — the bloodbath, if you will — he was next to not one, but two dead Gryphs. An impossible feat for a Pack male to attain, but my halfling nephew killed two? I don’t think so.”
She sat numbly.
“Tell me what happened in that damn bunker!”
“Leave.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Months and months of Druid spells and immortal blood transfusions later, Searlas still remains in a coma. Unheard of for an immortal to stay in a coma for that long, even a halfling. I finally had to stoop and ask a male I loathe on most days, Maestru, to confirm what I’d been suspecting for several days. So, yes, silent Jenny, your lover is rising.” He curled his lip. “I wonder whose blood he’ll want to drink first.”
“I’m sorry for what you’re going through, for what Searlas is going through.” A tear fell. “I truly am. But Searlas is alive.”
“Undead and alive are not interchangeable. Someone owns him now. Tell me who my nephew’s Master is, Jenny,” he demanded dangerously. “Tell me before the bastard comes to collect.”
Searlas had no Master because Jenny continued to pay Syon’s price. “I have no — ”
“Don’t say it. Don’t say you have no idea, when you do. No vampire raises an Undead lightly!” His fist came down on a stainless steel storage cabinet, the tiny windows shattering onto the floor.
Three breaths in, one slow exhale.
Three breaths in, one slow exhale.
Gage slammed into complete transformation, his clothes in tatters, his claws curling from his fingertips, and his canines primed and ready to tear out throats.
Her door burst open. Mason Ruyter grabbed Gage by the arms and pulled him back. “He’s not going to hurt you, Jenny,” Mason reassured her. “I swear it.” Mason grunted as he shoved Gage through the door. “He’d never hurt a female. He’d kill for you, Jenny. The same as he would for Searlas. His werewolf is unhinged from lack of answers.”
“Keep him away from me!” She pointed her finger at Mason. “I won’t answer any more of Gage’s questions because I have no answers.” Her gaze dropped, where shards of glass littered the floor. “Tell him that when he calms down.”
After Mason closed Jenny’s door, Gage pushed away from him, dropping down to his most human state in a startling flash. “I’m good.” He took a fortifying breath. “Don’t look at me that way. I’m not the sort of male who hurts females.”
“You heard me tell Jenny as much.” Mason warned, “But don’t go into full trans around her again. In fact, per the female’s request, don’t go near her again.”
“I can’t do that.”
“As long as she’s my patient, you will.” Mason stomped off, barely controlling his own Beast, while mumbling under his breath. “Go home and get some rest. Get laid, for everyone’s sake.”
Gage found his way down the lengthy infirmary corridor. He’d taken this route one too many times, waiting for Searlas to snap out of his coma-like state. He needed to get his nephew back to Miami, was hoping he could transport Searlas via helicopter by now, but Mason clearly disagreed. The vampire who awakened Searlas from his death, was obviously still feeding him, completing the process to bring forth Searlas into a new life of vampirism. So if they took Searlas from this unknown source — no matter how many times, how many cameras, they’d used to catch said source, nothing they’d tired identified the anonymous vampire — his nephew just might die.
Problem was that no werewolf knew exactly how Undead vampires were made. It was a secret well kept in vampire society, a code never broken.
Deep in thought, he was taken aback when Niall Donn stormed to confront him, wanting answers. Again. Stupidly, Niall blocked the door leading to Searlas’ recovery room, leaving his back vulnerable to Eagan Ruyter, who was standing as Searlas’ guard.
Eyes of midnight fixed on Gage. “Why am I not yet permitted to question the female?”
“Jenny has been and always will be under Alpha Jordan’s protection.” Gage flicked his eyes over Niall’s wings, the black so dark it was as though Gage were staring into a bottomless abyss. “If you’re dimwitted enough to want more of an explanation, look in the mirror, Gryph.”
“She cannot fear every Gryph.”
“I didn’t say Jenny feared your kind.” Gage shrugged, his muscles still stiff from going in and out of transformation too quickly. “Doesn’t mean she wants to deal with any of you, after what happened at the compound.”
“She will deal with me eventually. After all, I’m investigating the disaster that transpired, and I need information.”
“Maybe you’re not listening.” Gage gave the Gryph a look. One that said he could reduce Niall to a begging animal pleading for his life, by Gage’s whim alone. Many immortals could never take down a Gryph, had to Pack hunt one at a time. Not Gage, he had no problems taking one down all by his lonesome. “You’re not going near her.”
“Which invites me to do just the opposite.”
“I’m only asking to speak with one female.”
“One female?” Gage couldn’t read this Gryph, couldn’t peel his layers. “If Alpha Jordan killed more than two hundred rogue Gryphs by the sheer use of his Alpha claws that fateful night, what do you think he will do to a Gryph who tries to interrogate an unmated female under his direct protection? Worse, what do you think he’ll do to those you call yours if you even attempt to go against his wishes with Jenny?”
Niall crossed his arms, his golden royal bands digging into his biceps. “Threats because I want to question one of yours is wasted effort. I will get my information one way or another. Why not cooperate now?”
Gage never threatened, only warned. “Back off or Alpha Jordan will have to stand in line behind me.”
“And me,” Eagan threatened Niall from behind.
Niall kept facing Gage. “I will take my grievances to Prince Volos.”
“I know your family’s heritage.” Gage strode forward until Niall lowered his wings from Searlas’ door. “I highly doubt that you want to draw negative attention in Prince Volos’ court.” He opened the door, stepped inside. “I take my leave of you, Niall Donn. I expect you to take your leave of any thoughts regarding Jenny.”
Jayce misted in right as Gage and Eagan entered Searlas’ room. “I heard something interesting during my meeting with Maestru, confirming what I suspected.”
Chapter 8
“Now, I owe our illustrious Coven Master a favor.” Not that Gage wouldn’t pay any price to know what was going on with Searlas, so he could help him. “Yes, Maestru confirmed that Searlas is rising.”
“You should have taken your Alpha’s word instead of owing Maestru.” Jayce placed his hand over Searlas’ forehead, emitting a static power from Alpha to Pack male. Whether or not it would work on Searlas now, Gage hadn’t a clue. “After all, what other way could a halfling regenerate his heart?”
