Beyond the Darkness

by Katie Reus

  It was possible that the half-demon owner might want to strike a deal with him. And as the female dragon’s boss, Naram could use the male very nicely for his own gain. He needed that blasted female and his bracelet.

  “You want to get one of the rooms behind the red door?” The female vampire next to him traced a finger down his neck, her voice a seductive purr. She was fascinated by him, as so many females were. He knew it was because of his physical form and because she couldn’t figure out what he was—and she wanted to try his blood.

  He might let her drink from him but he hadn’t decided yet. If she was a good fuck, he might. “Perhaps,” he said idly.

  She let out a huff of annoyance and shifted closer. “We can invite someone else with us if that’s your preference.”

  He paused and looked at her, as if debating what she’d said. “What about the male who owns this place? Is he available for the evening?”

  The female sighed and rubbed her breasts against Naram’s arm. “I wish. He’s picky about who he fucks and I heard he’s off the market now anyway. I think he’s fucking one of his new employees. He only likes females though, for future reference.”

  Interesting. Naram hadn’t seen the male in the last couple hours anyway so he might as well indulge in some fun. His apprentice Shar was off on a recon mission and Naram deserved to enjoy himself after all his years in captivity.

  He gave the nameless vampire female a smile he knew she’d find charming and leaned closer, grazing his lips across hers. “If you blow me right now we’ll get a room.”

  Giving him a wicked smile she practically dove for his cock, not caring that the curtain for their booth was still open and that anyone could see them. The one thing he’d learned about vampires long ago was that they were hedonistic.

  As she freed his cock and sucked him deep into her mouth, he closed his eyes and let his head fall back. It was good that some things hadn’t changed.

  Chapter 7

  One month ago

  Keelin stiffened outside the swinging door to her kitchen. He was in there.

  Again.

  What was that male up to? It had been four days since she’d almost died and Bran Devlin had been hovering around her like some paid nanny ever since. It didn’t matter that she’d politely asked him to leave. He just showed back up again.

  Keelin was too worried to tell either of her brothers about his behavior. Bran was an Alpha and even though their clan had been welcomed onto Petronilla property, especially after helping save her and Victoria from that maniac, she wasn’t certain how Drake or Conall would react to knowing the Alpha had been in her home so much. Unless they’d asked him to do it? Drake had been absolutely wrapped up in his new mate and though he’d come to check on Keelin, she couldn’t blame him for wanting to do nothing but stay indoors with Victoria. And as Alpha, Conall had been putting out all sorts of fires that came with being head of a clan. Especially after the shitstorm of discovering one of their own was so treacherous.

  Steeling her backbone, she pushed the heavy kitchen door open to find Bran at the stove. Cooking.

  She blinked. “What are you doing?” she asked, then felt stupid because it was pretty clear.

  He flicked a glance at her over his shoulder, eyed her from head to toe in a clinical manner that had her bristling. Darn that man, he seemed to think she needed his babying. “Cooking for you. Should you be out of bed?”

  “Should you be in my kitchen?” Inhaling the rich scent of coffee, she decided to ignore him as she went in search of the heavenly brew. Being able to brew coffee so quickly was something she liked about this modern world. As far as she was concerned, modern conveniences were awesome. Especially indoor plumbing and coffee makers, thank you very much.

  “I can bring you breakfast in bed.” His voice was quiet, soothing and managed to rankle her because she found him incredibly sexy and he seemed to look at her like she was a cousin or sister to take care of. For a brief moment days ago she’d thought maybe he saw her with male interest but that must have been her imagination.

  “I’m fine, but thanks. I’ve been getting out the last three days.”

  He grunted, his broad back still facing her as he shook his head. Though she couldn’t see his face, she knew he was frowning.

  “Where’s Conall?” she asked when he didn’t respond. She pulled out her favorite coffee creamer from the refrigerator and added a little to her mug.

  “Dealing with some upset clan members I think.”

  “Oh.” She bit her bottom lip and sat at the island on the opposite side from where he was by the stovetop. A little distance was a good thing right now. Her inner dragon was feeling off-balance around the male and she wasn’t sure why. She knew she was fully healed so it couldn’t be that. “Look, it’s not that I don’t appreciate you cooking because it’s very nice, but why are you here?” She was beyond surprised that her Aunt Alma hadn’t taken over like she normally did. The female was like a second mother to Keelin.

  Bran shrugged. “You need someone to take care of you. The sausage is done, how do you want your eggs?”

  She gritted her teeth at his words. She didn’t need anyone to take care of her, but…she was really hungry. “Over easy, please.” She still wanted to ask him about what he’d been doing here the last couple days since it was clear he wasn’t interested in her sexually. And she hated that she wished he was. The male was impossibly sexy, not that she thought she stood a chance with an Alpha.

  The sound of her front door opening made her stiffen until she scented her brother. Seconds later Conall entered the kitchen, his expression exhausted but calculating as he looked at Bran. The two Alphas nodded at each other in greeting but didn’t say anything. Her brother didn’t seem surprised to see him here. Okay, so her brother must have enlisted him to be her nanny. Just great. She rolled her eyes and took a sip of her coffee, savoring the wonderful taste.

  “What the hell is this I hear about you moving to Biloxi?” Conall demanded of her, apparently not caring that they had an audience.

  In her periphery she saw Bran swivel from the oven to look at her. She ignored his presence as best she could and smiled sweetly at her brother. “You heard right so I’m not sure what your question is. I’m leaving at the end of the week.”

  Bran let out a rumbly growl, making both of them turn to look at him. His green eyes flashed angrily, though one of them looked a little cloudy. She wondered if he’d gotten hurt when out looking for her and Victoria. Before she could dwell on it, Conall growled too.

  Freaking males.

  “Is that really the best idea right now?” her brother asked, his face a mask of calm, though she knew it was just an illusion. She could sense the tension in the room it was so palpable.

  “It’s the best idea I’ve ever had. It’s not like it’s permanent, I’m just getting away for a little while. I need this, Conall. Please don’t fight me on it.” Because after all she’d dealt with from her parents, Conall had always been the constant in her life. She couldn’t deal with him if he didn’t support her.

  Sighing, her giant of a brother shook his head and rounded the island, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and dropping a kiss on her head. “I’m going to miss you,” he murmured.

  “That’s it?” Bran’s question startled both of them as he dropped the spatula onto the counter behind him. It wasn’t that he shouted. If anything, his question was deceptively quiet, but she sensed something dark and wild in him and didn’t understand it.

  “Devlin,” Conall said just as quietly, a similar kind of undercurrent pulsing off him as he stepped away from Keelin and fully faced the other Alpha.

  She didn’t understand what passed between them, but whatever it was, it wasn’t settled when Bran turned back to the stove suddenly. Keelin tensed, knowing that his action could be taken as a grave insult. He’d just turned his back on Conall while on Conall’s land. Alphas didn’t do that.

  To her continuing surprise, Conall took
a seat next to her and looked as if he was fighting a grin. “Why don’t you whip me up some eggs too, Devlin? I like over easy.” And that was definitely laughter in her brother’s voice.

  “You’ll get scrambled. And I hope you like shells in it,” Bran said without pause.

  Okay, she didn’t understand what was going on between these two, but she didn’t much care. In just a few short days she’d be free from the overprotectiveness of her clan and would be living in a new city and hopefully making new friends. All with the blessing of her brother.

  This was perfect. No one was going to take her shot at freedom away from her.

  * * *

  Present day

  Keelin set her phone down on her bed and frowned. She’d tried calling half a dozen cousins from her clan and none of them had answered. That was definitely not good.

  She didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but the only thing she could think was that her parents were truly awake from their Protective Hibernation and no one wanted to confirm it. Or worse, they knew her parents were on their way here and didn’t want to tell her.

  Her stomach pitched at the thought. Not that she cared if they came. Let them. She was finally standing on her own two feet. But the truth was, a confrontation was the last thing she wanted. It would get ugly, things would be said and, just, ugh, no thank you.

  She wasn’t even calling her cousins because of that though. Glaring at her phone she thought about calling Ophelia, but knew the female would likely gossip to the rest of her pack. And she couldn’t call Nyx because it was clear in the month she’d known her that the female had no freaking experience with males.

  That left Gabriel. The wolf pack’s Guardian was brutally blunt and she really liked him. She quickly dialed him and was pleased when he picked up on the second ring.

  “Hey, Kee. What’s up?”

  “Not much. Where’ve you been the past couple days?” She hadn’t seen him around the mansion at all and that wasn’t like him. Especially since another Alpha was staying here. He was normally all snarly if there were any perceived threats to the Alpha or anyone else in the pack.

  “Out of town. Work.”

  Ah, then he was doing stuff for Finn and there was no way he’d tell her what about. Fine with her, she just needed answers. “You’re a male.”

  He snorted. “Last time I checked.”

  “What are the rules for shifter males when hooking up with a female?”

  There was a long pause, then, “Uh, what?”

  “You know, like official, well, rules. What do I need to know when hooking up with a male that I don’t plan to mate? Are there things I should or should not do?” She was certain she’d made things clear with Bran, but she wanted to be prepared and not give him the wrong idea that their sexual relationship would lead to more. Because it most certainly would not. She wasn’t even sure if he wanted more, but males could get so possessive.

  “I’ve only been gone a couple days! Who the fuck… Oh, right, Bran’s in town. Shit, Keelin, you can’t just hook up with him.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I saw the way that male looked at you in Montana,” he said as if she were brain damaged.

  “That’s not a sufficient answer. Now tell me the rules!” This conversation was embarrassing enough, she didn’t want to drag it on for longer than necessary.

  “I…I can’t even believe I’m having this conversation,” he muttered. “Okay, with a male like Bran there are no fucking rules. I guarantee he wants to claim you so if you decide to hook up with him—and don’t use that term, we’re too fucking old for it—then all bets are off. He’s going to try to convince you to mate with him.”

  She shook her head even though Gabriel couldn’t see her. “No, we’ve discussed things. He knows where I stand and he hasn’t said a word about mating. I just want to make sure I don’t break any unwritten rules.”

  There was another long silence. So long she looked at her cell phone screen to make sure they hadn’t been disconnected. Finally he spoke again. “Are you a virgin?” His words came out as a horrified whisper.

  “No,” she said through gritted teeth, feeling her face heat up. She’d had sex, albeit boring, unmemorable sex. “I just haven’t slept with a shifter before.” Because her one and only lover had been a weak human. If she’d slept with a shifter her mother would have killed him. Probably. She hadn’t been willing to take the risk.

  Gabriel let out a relieved breath. “Oh, good. Okay, then don’t worry about anything else. You’ve told him the score. You only want him for his body. End of story.”

  “You don’t have to make it sound so bad.”

  “It’s true, isn’t it?” There was a note in his voice she couldn’t quite read.

  “No, not exactly.” What she knew of Bran she liked. Well, when he wasn’t trying to run roughshod over her with his bossiness. But even that felt as if it came from a good place, as if he just wanted to protect her.

  “But you don’t want anything long term?” Gabriel persisted.

  Her inner dragon clawed at her, telling her to shut up, but she said, “Correct. I just want to have fun.” Maybe she wanted to get to know Bran a little more, but she didn’t admit it out loud.

  “Then keep things light between the two of you. Just sex and fun.”

  That sounded easy enough. “Okay, and that’ll work?”

  “Fuck no. He’s an Alpha, but that’s all I can give you. Just don’t be surprised when you end up mated in a couple weeks.”

  She narrowed her eyes in annoyance. “Gabriel, you are a horrible source of information.”

  “I just call it like I see it. Good luck and please do not keep me informed on what goes down between you two. Look, I’ve gotta go,” he murmured, ending the call before she could respond.

  She glared at her silent cell phone. He’d been no help. Maybe she should ask Ophelia after all. The healer was older than Gabriel anyway and she seemed to keep all the males in the pack in line. They all seemed a little terrified of her. Keelin would just need to convince the female not to blab to everyone.

  When her cell phone started ringing she nearly jumped. For a brief moment she contemplated not answering it since it was Conall but knew she needed to. “Hey.”

  “They’re awake,” Conall said without preamble.

  Just like that, the bottom of her stomach dropped out. But just as quickly pure joy surged through her that her parents would be reunited with the son they thought had been taken from them forever. She could only imagine how they must be handling everything. “Have they seen Drake?”

  “Not yet. He and Victoria are on their way back from Oregon now.”

  “How are mother and father taking the news?”

  “Overjoyed and…worried about you.” Her brother sighed and she could imagine him rubbing his hand over his face tiredly. “Well, father thinks it’s good you’re out on your own but mother wants to know where you are and who you’re with.”

  “You didn’t—”

  “No. They don’t know where you are, just that you’re safe. However, you know someone in the clan will break eventually and tell them what you’re up to.”

  “What do they think of all the technology?”

  He snorted, the sound so purely her brother it made her smile. “Mother called it a passing fad, but she likes the indoor plumbing.”

  At that Keelin laughed too, something in her chest rattling loose at the thought of seeing her parents again. She truly loved them and knew they would die for her, but she couldn’t go back to the way things had been. For a moment she thought about telling Conall what had happened at Bo’s club but decided against it.

  He would just worry and the truth was, she wanted to handle this crisis on her own. Or at least without her clan’s help.

  * * *

  Bo glanced up from reading his text at the soft footfalls on the winding staircase of his home. He swallowed hard at the sight of Nyx striding down the stairs, looking like a princ
ess or angel. He nearly snorted at the thought. She couldn’t be that or she wouldn’t be here with him.

  Her long black braid lay over her left breast which was unfortunately covered by a slim-fitted turtleneck. What the hell was up with her and turtlenecks? And why the hell did they get him so hot? Tonight it was a royal blue one and sleeveless, showing off toned arms. Instead of pants she wore a skintight leather skirt with silver studded skulls covering it that reached her knees, and four-inch heels. The heels alone were dangerous considering how often she seemed to run into things, but the entire outfit was slightly different than her normal attire.

  A mix of naughty and nice.

  His cock throbbed and he hoped she didn’t glance down at his crotch. Or maybe she would and put him out of his misery. Yeah, right. A guy could hope though.

  “You look different,” he said as she reached the bottom of the marbled entryway.

  “Thanks, I think. Cynara gave me this skirt. Said I should mix it up. You think it’ll help with tips?” she asked, twirling once, a grin on her face.

  Bo just grunted, making a mental note to ask Cynara what the hell was wrong with her, though he already knew the answer. Cynara was after him to make a move on Nyx. Nosy bitch.

  “Can I ask you something?” Nyx’s heels clicked as she approached.

  “Only if I get to ask you something in return.” Because he was through being subtle. He wanted to know more about her family and why they wanted to take her away from him. Whether that was their intent or not, at the end of the day, his demon side just knew someone wanted to take her. That wasn’t going to happen.

  She bit her bottom lip and his cock jerked as he imagined the feel of that lush mouth wrapped around him. Finally she nodded. “Okay. Is Cynara your sister?”

  He stilled at Nyx’s question, surprised she’d figured it out. They had the same rapist bastard of a father but different mothers so they didn’t look similar. “Half-sister. How did you know?”