Beyond the Darkness

by Katie Reus

  She shouldn’t be at a place like that. A month ago she’d almost died, had been shot and nearly killed in a savage sacrifice by an insane dragon trying to open a Hell Gate. The female was too damn naïve about this modern world.

  Not trusting his voice, he just nodded and strode from the room, everything else funneling around him as he pulled his cell phone from his jeans pocket. He could have asked Finn where the fights were but he was going to go right to Drake and get the location, to find out if this place was as bad as the male had said.

  The other dragon’s roar of anger when he told Drake where his younger sister was, was all the answer Bran needed.

  Bran’s dragon clawed even harder, desperate to take over and get to the female. His reaction was not normal.

  Somehow he managed to rein his dragon in from shifting and grabbed a ride to the fights with one of Finn’s packmates. For how he felt now, he didn’t trust his dragon completely, wasn’t sure he could control himself in animal form. The fact that his animal was already so close to the surface, begging for freedom, told him everything he needed to know.

  That had never happened, not even when he’d been a child. But something about the petite, blonde female made him savagely protective. And possessive, something he didn’t like at all.

  Chapter 2

  One month ago

  Keelin slipped her thick robe on and fought the shiver that rolled through her. It was no use. Normally she could regulate her body temperature so that she was comfortable in any setting. Not this morning. Not after…she shuddered, still not able to believe everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.

  She’d healed from her gunshot wounds, but whatever her cousin had poisoned her with had left her weak and exhausted. All she knew was, she was going right back to bed. She’d thought she was ready for a shower but even that had exerted too much effort.

  When she opened the door from the en suite she sensed Bran Devlin before she’d even stepped into her bedroom. What was he doing here? His scent, which reminded her of a dark winter night, all woodsy and masculine, tickled her nose. It vaguely registered that she found it more than just a little appealing, but she was too exhausted to care. The fact that she hadn’t heard or scented him earlier said a lot to her state of healing.

  “Bran.” All she could manage was his name. They’d only had a few conversations. He was Alpha of another dragon clan and seemed decent enough. Fia, one of her oldest friends, was mated to the male’s brother and said Bran was a stubborn ass, but Fia thought anyone who didn’t cater to her every whim was an ass. And Keelin knew intrinsically that this male would cater to absolutely no one. It was a good quality in a true leader.

  He stood next to her roll-top desk, dwarfing the delicate piece of furniture. Like most dragons, he was big in human form too. Big and far too sexy for his own good. Something she didn’t want to be noticing. A female like her wouldn’t have a chance with a male like him. She might be considered royalty, but she wasn’t strong or even physically built like the majority of her species. Not that she even wanted to be with this male anyway. The attack she’d just been through had been a wakeup call. It was time to start living her life on her terms. To get out from under the watchful eye of her clan.

  He took a step forward, his sapphire-green eyes flashing. Well, one did. The other was slightly cloudy. She wondered at that for a moment until he spoke. “Do you need help?” His deep voice rolled over her like a seductive balm.

  She shook her head and fiddled with the tie on her long robe. “What are you doing here?” She was surprised her brother Conall had even let him in her house. Her other brother, Drake, was likely with his mate right now, as he should be, after everything they’d been through.

  “Your Aunt Alma sent me up with tea.” He motioned to the silver tray he’d set on her desktop.

  “Oh.” So her aunt had bullied him into this. That made more sense. Apparently even Alpha shifters had trouble standing up to that woman. “Well, thank you. I’m tired so don’t feel like you have to stay or anything.”

  He frowned at her, but didn’t respond as she slowly made her way to her bed. She appreciated him bringing the tea but she couldn’t be bothered with it. She just needed more sleep. And she wanted him to leave. It wasn’t normal for her to have males outside her own clan in her home and definitely not in her bedroom when she was just wearing a robe.

  Keeping her robe on—she’d undress only when she was alone—she slid under the covers with a sigh. As she pulled her thick gold and cream-colored duvet up over her, he picked up one of the small ceramic cups and brought it to her. Steam tendrils curled up from it, the cup instantly warming her hands as she took it.

  “Thank you,” she murmured, expecting him to leave after that, surprised by his thoughtfulness. As an Alpha he had better things to do than play nursemaid, especially to a near stranger like her.

  Instead, he grabbed one of the tufted high-back chairs from near one of her windows and pulled it over so that he was sitting next to her. He leaned forward, placing his hands on his knees, everything about him coiled tight. “Do you need food? Something else? Your aunt said you hadn’t eaten anything since…you’ve been home.”

  “I’m okay, but thank you.” When he just sat there watching her, she plucked at her comforter, unsure what to say. Even though manners had been drilled into her since she was a child, she simply didn’t have the energy for small talk. And if she was honest, his presence was making her uncomfortable. She wasn’t sure why, he was just being kind, but having him in her room was strange.

  He reached up and scrubbed a hand over his black, closely cut hair. The muscles in his arms flexed, as if on display just for her. Feeling stupid for noticing, she fought the heat flooding her cheeks and glanced down at her tea again.

  “I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” he finally murmured. “If my presence bothers you I’ll wait in the hall.”

  Surprised by his words, she looked up. He hadn’t said he’d leave, just that he’d wait in the hall. That was…odd. But maybe her aunt, or even her brother, had asked him to watch out for her. After one of their own clan members had nearly killed Keelin and Victoria, Conall could be in over-protective mode. “You don’t have to wait at all. The threat is gone.”

  “I know I don’t have to. I want to.” He watched her carefully, as if searching for something.

  When he looked at her with those green eyes, she found herself getting flustered and wasn’t sure why. “I’m probably just going to sleep,” she mumbled, feeling self-conscious and more than a little out of sorts.

  “Okay. You’re sure you don’t need anything now?” he asked, standing, his body language still tense, all those fine muscles pulled taut.

  “I’m sure.”

  He nodded once, that frown still in place. “I’ll be in the hall if you need me. Just say my name.”

  Before she could formulate a single word, he was gone, the heavy door shutting behind him with the barest whisper of sound. The sweetest, spiciest scent lingered in the air after he’d gone, something that smelled a lot like desire. But that couldn’t be right.

  * * *

  Present day

  “Three sexy males coming our way, ladies. At your ten o’clock Keelin, so look alive,” Ophelia murmured, the petite female with dark curly hair grinning as she took a sip from her black and pink leopard-pattern flask. At five feet flat, the woman was an inch shorter than Keelin. Tonight she seemed even smaller because she was wearing a pair of pink and white Converse sneakers. The shoes didn’t have any height. A short denim skirt about the size of a bandaid and a black, skintight sweater with pink skulls on it completed her ensemble. She might be over two-hundred years old but she looked like a college-aged student.

  Next to her, Nyx’s cheeks flushed pink. It didn’t take much to get her flustered, Keelin had noticed. It was one of the reasons she liked the female so much. Nyx seemed just as fascinated by the world as Keelin did and didn’t always get idioms
—which told her that Nyx had likely been sheltered too. Wearing dark jeans, black kitten-heel boots, a black turtle neck and a cardigan, she was definitely more buttoned up than most of the women here. Not that it stopped any of the males from checking her out. Her long black hair hung down her back in an inky waterfall and there was an inherent grace about her. Well, until she started moving. Then she normally tripped on something or knocked something—or someone—over. “You do all the talking, Ophelia,” she whispered, her statement not surprising either of them.

  Keelin glanced away from the fighting ring in front of them, which was currently empty, and over to the three males heading their way. A twenty minute break had been called after the last battle between two vampires. She’d never seen vamps fight before and it had been interesting—and incredibly brutal.

  All around them people were talking, laughing, and gossiping about anything under the sun. It was all supernatural beings too, no humans allowed. Humans would likely freak anyway if they ever stumbled upon this place. Not that it was likely to happen.

  Since it was standing room only, with no seating around the octagonal-shaped ring, she wasn’t surprised when someone jostled her from behind. It was a miracle they’d gotten a spot right up front. Or maybe not considering Ophelia had shoved her way up here, using her status as the head healer to the Stavros pack to her full advantage. Everyone was a little terrified of her apparently, not that Keelin could understand why, she was so sweet. But they’d recently lost Victoria since she’d moved up to Montana now that she’d mated with Drake so maybe they were worried about pissing off their only healer.

  “Hello ladies,” one of the males said as he and his two friends, all with dark hair, stopped in front of her and her friends. They almost looked like brothers with the same sharp facial structure, dark eyes and olive-colored skin.

  Keelin forced a smile, something she normally didn’t have to do. Something about their scent was off but she couldn’t place it. She didn’t like not knowing what species a supernatural being was. A quick glance at Ophelia and Nyx revealed they didn’t seem to notice anything so she internally shrugged. As she focused on them, she realized how incredibly good looking they were. Too bad they did nothing for her libido. Damn that Bran Devlin.

  “I’m Marshall,” the one who’d first said hello spoke again. “And this is Martin and Milo.” When Ophelia’s eyebrows raised he laughed. “Our mother liked the letter M.”

  “So you’re brothers?” Ophelia asked.

  He nodded and Keelin realized one of the other males, the one named Martin, was staring at her intently. She half-smiled but he didn’t return it.

  “Who are you guys here to see fight?” Marshall—if that was really even his name—asked.

  As Ophelia answered, everything swam before Keelin’s eyes for a moment. Like reality shifted, the edges of her vision turning fuzzy as the male’s face warped into something…dark. She swallowed hard, trying to tear her gaze away from him. The way he made her feel was as if…she needed to take a long shower to wash an oily residue off her skin. It was revolting.

  His face blurred in front of her, to be replaced with something else, as if she was watching a movie play out. The male was straddling a naked female, his face was covered in blood, his eyes black pits of nothingness, a dark abyss she felt as if she was drowning in. He threw his head back and laughed, his eyes glittering under streams of moonlight filtering in from bars covering a window. They were in a cell of sorts. He grabbed the female’s wrist and bit down—

  Everything fizzled, the vision in front of her dissipating like smoke.

  Blinking, she shook her head and realized Ophelia was watching her. “You okay?” her friend asked in concern.

  Maybe she’d just been standing there staring off into space like an idiot. Whatever, she didn’t care, she just wanted away from these males. “I promised some of the pack we’d meet them. We need to go. Now.” Keelin didn’t bother looking at any of the males, not caring how rude she sounded. Whatever had just happened was real, she was certain. She might not know what she’d just seen but she didn’t want to be around any of these males for a second longer.

  Just like that Ophelia said goodbye to the males and linked her arms through Keelin and Nyx’s and dragged them through the throng of people. Once they’d reached the outer edge of the growing crowd, closer to the exit in this warehouse-type building, Ophelia pulled to a stop.

  “Okay, what was that about?” the healer asked.

  Keelin glanced around, the back of her neck tingling, but she didn’t see the males anywhere. Still, she wasn’t going to tell her friends what had happened in a public place. She was going to wait until they were alone and see if they had any idea what freaky thing had just happened. “Nothing, that guy just creeped me out,” she said, turning to face them.

  “Me too,” Nyx murmured, wrapping her arms around herself.

  “They were kinda weird, huh.” Ophelia nodded, but she was still watching Keelin speculatively. As if she knew Keelin was holding something back.

  “Yeah, and listen, don’t talk to them anymore, okay? There was something off about them. I…sensed it. Just don’t be alone with any of them.”

  The other two females nodded, but before they could respond, two of Ophelia’s packmates strolled up; Solon and Jason.

  Solon wrapped an arm around Ophelia’s shoulders and kissed her on top of the head. “Hey, half-pint. What are you guys up to?” he asked, looking at all of them.

  “Just watching the fights,” Keelin said, knowing Nyx likely wouldn’t say much. She served drinks well enough at Bo’s place, but she didn’t flirt—not that it hurt her tips any—or make much small talk.

  “Your boy find you?” he asked Keelin as Jason started talking quietly to Nyx.

  Keelin’s eyebrows pulled together. “Boy? I do not have a boyfriend.” Nor did she want one, thank you very much. But perhaps Solon meant something else. She was still getting used to so much of the modern slang.

  Solon snorted. “No, I mean Bran Devlin. Heard he was here and looking for you. Oh, there he is…” The male trailed off, staring at Keelin in confusion as she ducked down lightning fast. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “Where is he?” she demanded, ignoring his question as she crouched down like a complete lunatic.

  “In the crowd, coming this way. And I hate to break it to you, but you’re not going to be able to hide very long.”

  Still hunkering down, she swiveled only to see a mass of bodies blocking her from having a visual of the fighting ring and thankfully, Bran. Wherever he was. God, she’d masturbated to thoughts of him yesterday. She hadn’t seen him in a month, but it hadn’t dulled her attraction to him. He’d been all protective and surprisingly possessive of her before she’d left Montana. It made no sense, they had no real ties. But she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him. She didn’t want to see him right now. And she didn’t care how insane she was acting in front of her new friends.

  “I’ll see you guys later,” she said, ducking around Solon and Ophelia—who was laughing at her—then made her way to one of the exits. As she hurried, she used people to block her so she wouldn’t be seen. Luckily she was short and most shifters tended to be tall. It made her getaway easier. Yes she knew she was acting like a crazy person.

  She just didn’t care.

  What the hell was Bran doing here in Biloxi? She’d made it perfectly clear a month ago that she wasn’t interested in anything romantic. Had he followed her here? Freaking Alpha shifters.

  As she stepped through one of the side exit doors, she passed by Vega Stavros. The seventeen year old’s eyes widened when she saw Keelin, probably because she wasn’t supposed to be here. She was supposed to go straight home after her date earlier.

  “Isn’t it past your curfew?

  “I went directly home after my date. Just like I was supposed to,” Vega said, almost sulkily.

  “Then what, young lady, did you sneak out right after you
checked in with your parents?” Keelin demanded, not caring about Bran at this point.

  Vega straightened, her violet eyes filled with amusement. “Young lady?”

  “Yes, that’s right.” Oh my God, she was so her mother. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Bran moving through the crowd. He hadn’t seen her yet. Her heart started beating triple time. “Never mind,” she said, turning back to the girl. “Make sure you stay out of trouble. Solon and Ophelia are here, go find them or I’m calling your dad right now.” Without waiting for a response, she ducked out of the place and into the cool air. If Keelin didn’t think everyone in the pack would be looking out for Vega she would have stayed but there had been two dozen Stavros pack members at the fights tonight. And the truth was, seventeen or not, Vega could take care of herself. Keelin could sense the girl’s power and it was staggering for someone so young.

  Sucking in a deep breath, she hurried across the parking lot, her three-inch heels crunching over the gravel. It was almost spring but there was still a surprising bite of cold in the air. Not that it bothered Keelin.

  As she moved in and out of the vehicles, she glanced around. The parking lot was full, but the warehouse was far from the main road, hidden back enough that no one would accidentally stumble on it. There weren’t any people out here, not with all the action inside. Which was good for her, she’d have privacy to strip and shift so she could fly back to the mansion.

  A burning scent accosted her about two seconds before the three males from inside appeared as if from nowhere, stepping out from behind a black SUV with dark tinted windows. Her alarm bells went off, but she didn’t panic.

  Inhaling deeply, she only scented the three of them. Okay so it was unlikely someone was trying to attack her from behind. Still, she wasn’t letting her guard down.