Beyond the Darkness

by Katie Reus

  And that did it. He relaxed just as Bran had done earlier. Except this time she knew what to do. Using her supernatural speed, she rushed him, using her dominant side to swoop in and semi-tackle him. Instead of tackling, however, she stepped fully into his embrace as he tightened his grip around her. Twisting, she punched her hip into his crotch and swiveled at the same time in a fluid pivot. As she did, she bent and just like Bran said, tossed Spiro on his ass.

  I did it!

  As he hit the ground she let out a little shout of victory and did a fist pump—then yelped as Spiro grabbed her ankle, knocking her to the ground. Before she could move, he was on top of her. All the air whooshed from her lungs until a blur of movement knocked Spiro off her.

  Snarling, Bran had Spiro flattened, face down, his canines descended and the distinct scent of fire tinging the air as he leaned close to the male.

  “Bran, get off him!”

  Spiro wasn’t moving, but he wasn’t injured either. He’d gone still in that preternatural way shifters and vamps could, the faint whisper of his breathing the only sound he was making. “I wasn’t trying to hurt her,” he said quietly. “I thought we were supposed to be sparring.”

  Bran looked at Keelin, his expression fierce and all she saw in his eyes was pure dragon.

  “It’s okay. I’m okay,” she murmured, keeping her voice as low as possible. She wasn’t exactly scared by this display, but she was worried. For Spiro’s safety.

  He blinked, his gaze turning human again. Frowning, he looked down at Spiro then let the male up before moving to stand protectively in front of Keelin.

  The shifter muttered something about just wanting his ‘damn hoodie and crazy dragons’ before stalking from the room.

  The moment the male was gone Bran turned to look at her and ran his hands up and down her arms, as if searching to make sure she was okay. His callused palms were warm and she wanted to feel them everywhere. For a moment his fingers grazed over her bracelet and it seemed as if he wanted to say something.

  But her vision shifted, the edges turning fuzzy until Bran’s face blurred, just as before with that creepy demon.

  What was happening to her?

  Keelin tried to shake her head, to stop whatever was happening but was sucked under for a moment as images flashed in front of her. Bran was mostly naked with shreds of clothes falling off him as if he’d maybe half shifted then stopped. His expression was murderous, his face streaked in blood. “You motherfucking traitor!” he shouted, fire exploding from his mouth at another huge naked male also covered in blood.

  The fire flowed around the male, not touching him, but that didn’t stop Bran from attacking with a…sword. A sword? The male had dark hair and tattoos covering his chest. His eyes sparked red.

  What was happening?

  “Keelin!” Bran’s worried voice cut through her thoughts as the images faded into nothing.

  That was when she realized he’d pulled her tight against him. She ran her fingers up over his chest, resting them lightly against his hard muscles. His heart rate was out of control. Jarred from her vision, his embrace calmed her in a way she hadn’t expected. The strangest sense of possessiveness welled up inside her after what she’d seen. Because she understood on a deeper level that the vision had been real. “Are you okay?” she demanded, smoothing her hands over his skin.

  He stared at her as if she’d lost her mind. “Me? What about you?”

  “I’m fine.” Or she felt fine. “Why?”

  “You spaced out or something. Your eyes glazed over and you weren’t responding. Did that fucker hurt you?”

  “Who?”

  “Spiro,” Bran gritted out.

  “He barely touched me. I…I just had the strangest vision of you and some other male.” Not caring what he thought, she stepped closer, wrapping her arms around him. She needed to know he was okay. She quickly relayed what she’d seen right down to the male’s red eyes, even though she felt a little foolish, wondering if maybe she’d lost her mind—and was surprised when Bran went immobile, watching her almost warily.

  “Who was he? Did he hurt you?” She wasn’t sure why she was so worried when Bran was standing right in front of her, but she couldn’t seem to help it.

  “That male is dead.”

  “You called him a traitor.”

  “I did,” he said, clearly being obtuse and not expanding for her. “Is that the first time you’ve had a vision like that?”

  Keelin wanted to talk more about what she’d just seen but Bran seemed to be shutting her out so she didn’t push. Something told her the male wouldn’t break under torture so there was no point in questioning him. For now. She started to instinctively say yes to his question but shook her head as she remembered the night before. “No. The same thing happened with one of those demons at the underground fight club. It was really brief, but disturbing.” After she described what she’d seen the night before, Bran went more still, if that was even possible.

  Just as quickly, his expression turned thoughtful. “What did the female look like?”

  Closing her eyes, Keelin forced herself to remember every little detail. When she was done describing the woman, she opened her eyes to find Bran pulling his cell phone from his pocket. After a few quick swipes, he pulled up a screen and held it out to her. There was a picture of a woman under the bright red word CLASSIFIED but she ignored that little tidbit—for now—and focused on the female. The woman was alive and smiling in the photo.

  “That’s her.” Keelin looked at Bran as he slipped the phone back into his pocket. “Who is she?”

  “A dead Moana dragon.” Before Keelin could think of a response, if there even was one, he continued. “I’ve got a meeting with the Moana Alpha in two hours and you’re coming with me.”

  Chapter 9

  “There’s more activity than normal tonight,” Shar said, stating the obvious to Naram.

  Naram frowned, watching from their perch on the roof of a house a block over from where the Stavros mansion was. He couldn’t see the actual mansion or onto the grounds because there were so many trees and a surrounding wall, but he could see shifters leaving the residence through the gate. They were being subtle about it, so they wouldn’t draw any attention by potentially nosy humans. Though Naram doubted that would be an issue. He’d done some digging and the pack’s Alpha had been buying up most of the real estate in this historic neighborhood. It was all under shell corporations or different names, but over the past few months he’d bought almost every house that came up for sale so that most were now unused. Which meant no neighbors. Smart move, one Naram could understand. His own private residence was far from any prying eyes.

  Naram and Shar had been watching them ever since they discovered the female dragon living in Biloxi. “Let’s move closer.” Naram placed a hand on Shar’s shoulder as he spoke and transported them a block over.

  He only traveled this way when he had to because it was a huge drain on his powers. Once he’d regained all his strength it wouldn’t matter but until then he was careful with how much energy he expended. Especially since the dragon blood he’d been drinking was almost gone. Even with the ritual carvings he’d been cutting into the dragons to increase the power of the blood, it wasn’t enough. Nothing would be enough until he had that damn bracelet.

  Directly across the street from the mansion now, they stood cloaked on the sidewalk. Cloaking himself and Shar was difficult and the downside was that they couldn’t speak. He might be able to make them appear invisible but he couldn’t hide their voices. And if someone touched him or Shar, his cloaking would fall. It was the downside to magic. There were always limitations no matter who you were. Especially since he didn’t have his talisman anymore. He wondered if Keelin even knew what she possessed on her wrist.

  When the gate opened again he was surprised to see the female dragon in the passenger seat of an SUV, the male dragon driving. They seemed to be having an animated conversation as they steered out of the ga
te—which closed almost immediately behind them.

  Making a split-second decision, he followed them. The chance of stumbling upon her like this was a sign from the gods. He was meant to follow her and possibly even kill her tonight. And reclaim what was rightfully his. His father had wanted to make life difficult for him, to put so much of Naram’s power in that damn talisman. He’d wanted to teach Naram a lesson, to remind him that he needed to hold onto his power and not take it for granted. Well his father was an obnoxious ass. All he’d done was weaken Naram.

  Soon all his troubles would be over and he would finally regain all that was his and take his proper place in the world. First he needed to kill the male to get rid of his most obvious obstacle. Once the male was out of the picture then he could eliminate the female. He hoped.

  Her grandmother had been too strong for him, but she’d only managed to imprison him, not kill him. That had been her ultimate mistake. She should have sent him to Hell, but for some reason she’d been worried he would escape. He didn’t understand why since he had so many enemies there. Enemies who would love nothing more than to see him in chains and tortured for eternity. They were all simply jealous of his heritage.

  Her folly was his gain because now he was free and no one was ever locking him up again. Grasping Shar’s shoulder again, he used his power to flash the two of them from stop to stop, keeping the two dragons within his sight. He needed to see where they were going in order to keep up with them.

  The farther out of the city they drove, the more his powers waned. Still, he was glad the other two weren’t flying. It would have been impossible to follow them in a timely manner. Or even at all. While he’d used the bracelet to originally track her, it had been vague enough to get him to the general area of the city. Now that he was in the same central area as Keelin, he couldn’t track her as well.

  He didn’t like the direction they were headed in. The farther west they went, the closer they crept into Moana territory. They had to know it too. Why would these two dragons head into another dragon clan’s territory? Did they know he’d been taking the Moana dragons?

  No, no one should know. He and Shar had been working alone, only summoning demons when he needed assistance. Of course those scouts the other night had been foolish and cocky, trying to play with Keelin before they incapacitated her, telling her they wanted to kill her. If they hadn’t been so stupid they might not have been incinerated by the male dragon.

  By the time the SUV stopped they’d been traveling almost an hour. Naram wasn’t certain what city they were in now, but they were on a quiet stretch of beach with no neighbors for a mile on either side. The dragon couple pulled up to a quiet, two-story beach house raised off the ground.

  Maybe this was a lover’s tryst? There didn’t appear to be anyone else around, not even humans anywhere that Naram could see. Just lots of bright stars overhead, the heady scent of the Gulf on the other side of the house and the two dragons getting out of the SUV.

  Keeping his and Shar’s cloak in place, he waited to see what the couple would do. After a few moments they got out then entered the home. He waited another solid minute to make sure they didn’t leave again before flashing him and Shar back to their base of operations. Naram didn’t want to leave but he had to recharge or he’d be useless.

  He had three drugged and unconscious Moana dragon shifters in human form in cells, though two were near death. Taking a bag of blood he’d syphoned from one of them, he quickly drank it. He needed the strength before he could do anything else.

  Sweetness burst over his tongue and down his throat, the surge he got from the blood overwhelming. He always felt invincible after getting a taste. Maybe he’d drink from Keelin before he killed her. His cock stirred as he thought about how sweet her royal blood would be, how potent.

  “What are we going to do?” Shar asked, his arms over his chest as he leaned against the far wall of the dungeon.

  “Summon Akkadian demons and have them kill the male. I’m tired of playing safe.”

  Shar nodded his agreement. “The Akkadians are already angry at having been locked away after their brief foray into freedom.”

  “I know.” It was why he was choosing them. Akkadians typically preferred to fight one-on-one, but he was going to order them to attack as one unified battalion. He needed the male dead so he could go after the female and this was the perfect opportunity. They were away from that pack and the club she frequented. No one was around to help them.

  Chapter 10

  One month ago

  Keelin paused as she heard the sound of her bedroom door opening before peeking out from her walk-in closet.

  Bran Devlin and all his annoying sexiness was standing in her doorway looking surly and good enough to eat.

  She stepped out fully from her closet and placed her hands on her hips. He’d just made himself right at home the past week. “What the heck are you doing in my bedroom again? You know I’m not recovering anymore.” The male was making her and her dragon side edgy. She might be sheltered but she knew his behavior wasn’t normal. Males from other clans, or people in general, didn’t just show up unannounced in other people’s bedrooms and homes.

  “Why are you moving to Biloxi?” he demanded, completely ignoring her question.

  “Excuse me?”

  Growling—actually growling at her—he took a step into her room, tension radiating off him in thick waves. “You will be unprotected by your clan.”

  She stepped forward too, wishing she had shoes on so she wouldn’t be so dwarfed by the male. Who did he think he was, to question her decision? “I’m sorry, I’m unclear on how that’s any of your business. I’m also unclear on why you’re in my room.”

  Those beautiful sapphire-green eyes flashed brightly. “I want to court you. And you should not be going to Biloxi alone.”

  Beyond surprised she dropped her hands from her hips. “You want to court me?”

  His head tilted to the side a fraction as he watched her. “That can’t be a surprise to you.”

  Well, it was. Sort of. She’d suspected he might be interested but he’d hovered around her the past few days, acting more like a nanny than anything. She decided to just ignore what he’d said, much like he’d ignored her questions. “I am going to Biloxi.”

  He turned all growly again and for some insane reason she liked the sound of it. Her nipples tightened at the sound as heat flooded between her thighs. What was wrong with her? This stupid caveman act should not be turning her on.

  “Why are you leaving the protection of your clan?”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You think I need protection?”

  For a moment he paused¸ looking as if he suspected this was a trick question. “Dragons should be surrounded by their kind.”

  “So you don’t like other shifters?”

  “I didn’t say that.” He rubbed the back of his neck, the muscles in his arms flexing as he did so. “Are you going to respond to my request to court you?” His whole body pulled taut and he cleared his throat, suddenly seeming nervous.

  “You didn’t actually request anything,” she murmured as nervousness slid through her. Why would an Alpha clan leader want to court her? Her dragon battered against her, clawing at her, telling her to step closer to the male. Just as she’d been ordering her the last few days. For some reason whenever Keelin was in his presence, she wanted to rub up against Bran like a feline in heat. It was insane. “But I’m not interested in a relationship. With anyone.”

  He narrowed his gaze, as if he didn’t believe her.

  She continued before he could respond. “I’m leaving today and nothing will change my mind. Thank you for the offer to court me, but…” She shrugged, unsure how to continue. No male had ever offered before and she had no experience with this type of situation. She was surprised he hadn’t talked to one of her brothers first. Of course, according to their customs he wouldn’t, he’d just go for what he wanted. It was how dragons were. And she actually liked t
hat he’d come to her first, even if his timing was bad.

  Instead of responding, he stalked to where some of her bags were and picked up two of them. “I’ll take your bags downstairs,” he growled because apparently that was all he was capable of doing.

  Her nipples tightened even harder at the sound and she inwardly cursed her response. Frustrating male. She had everything planned out and getting involved with a possessive male was not in the mix.

  No matter how sexy Bran was.

  * * *

  Present Day

  “This is where we’re supposed to meet the Alpha?” Keelin looked around the empty beach house as they stepped farther inside. She couldn’t scent anyone in the house and knew Bran couldn’t either. Otherwise she doubted he would have entered the home. His senses were probably even more attuned than hers since he was an Alpha.

  Bran’s entire body was tense as he followed her gaze, scanning the empty home. There wasn’t even furniture inside. “Yes.”

  “Is this normal for Alphas to meet like this?” She hadn’t been out of Protective Hibernation long and in the past her parents had never involved her in anything, let alone Alpha meetings. Her brother had kept her pretty involved over the last year but she’d never been to a meeting like this with Conall.

  “Yes and no.”

  “That’s helpful,” she muttered, falling in step with him as he headed down a hallway.

  “Cloak and dagger bullshit is typical and meeting in a random place like this can be typical. Since I’ve never met with her before, yes, this is normal enough. If your brother asked to meet me in an abandoned home, I would think twice.”

  “Why?”

  He shot her a quick look as they entered a huge kitchen. “Because it would likely be a trap since we already have a relationship. An obvious trap, but…” Trailing off, he lifted his shoulders, continuing to scan everything in the room like a predator searching for prey.