Elina liked that. She liked that he felt respect for Tensel and that a part of him wanted to stay and protect him and the others. With Damonq came the brotherhood. They were loyal to him and to one another.“I don’t understand why Darkness doesn’t just give up and go away when there are so many ancient hunters here. Tensel has an army of humans with weapons that can kill them. Why doesn’t Darkness find another empire where there aren’t any hunters?”Damonq opened the door and stepped into the foyer. She hung back. “We should knock.”“I called ahead and let Tensel know I was bringing you. He said to go inside and up the stairs to the first bedroom.”She found herself smiling. She wasn’t certain she would ever get used to the ancient’s telepathic way of communication. “I would like to buy land near here. Bordering Tensel and Claire. Maybe even on the lake, although the water scares me.”His gaze jumped to her face. “Why?”She shrugged, unwilling to sound like a frightened child. “Drea
Elina took another deep breath, set her shoulders and drew on every ounce of courage she had. “Baby,” she greeted softly. “I know you’re locked away from us, somewhere safe. Somewhere monsters can’t get to you. I know, because I’ve gone there a time or two myself. It’s all right to go there; we all need that respite once in a while. It isn’t cowardice, it’s self-preservation. Just know, you can’t stay there.”She stroked caresses down Amelia’s arm. “I know, Amelia. Darkness’s horrible creatures surrounded me and held me down. They ripped my clothes off. Some of them licked me with their tongues. Their tongues were black and bumpy with parasites wiggling on them. When they touched my skin I felt filthy.”She watched Amelia closely. The body never moved. Her skin was cool to the touch. Had those lashes fluttered, or had Elina just wanted them to do so? Could she do this again? Relive it all for Amelia? She had to, because it was what Amelia was escaping – what she couldn’t face – an
“So far, Darkness has been the aggressor every time,” Tensel said, looking around the circle of ancients, the men he trusted with his family. “I think it’s time we struck back and struck back hard. I know many of you have been out looking and scanning all around San Diego and the surrounding parks and hills, but so far, we’ve got nothing.”The ancients looked at one another, shaking their heads. “Not a thing,” Thomas reported. “They head out toward the water and we lose them there. I’ve checked ships. We all have. The wharf, docks, storage, they disappear without a trace.”“Even the newer demons,” Loj added. “We deliberately targeted them because they tend to leave such a mess behind making them easier to find. We’ve noticed they have another with them, one that’s been at it longer. Darkness isn’t taking chances with his recruits.”“That’s worrisome in itself,” Tensel said with a sigh. “No master devil has ever concerned himself with lesser ones. They’ve always been pawns to sacrific
“No.” Gary stated the denial firmly.The others shook their heads and shifted uncomfortably, as if they might surround Tensel and force him to stay where he was. Tensel looked shocked. He studied the ancients facing him and then slowly looked around the circle.“What is this?” The question was directed at Gary.“You have to be protected. We will hunt.” Gary answered.“I have always hunted,” Tensel said. “Granted, there are many at this table considered stronger and faster, but I have managed, these centuries, to stay alive. I will do what I have always done for our people.”Damonq cleared his throat to bring Tensel’s attention to him. “We are in a new world. An environment the rest of us are struggling to understand and catch up with. You are familiar with this world. You’ve shared your knowledge with us, but where we are still trying to process and learn to fit in, you do so naturally. You fit and move in this century with humans as if you are one of them. You understand their techn
Tensel snarled and leapt at Gary, landing inches from him. “I do not give orders to my fellow hunters.”Gary didn’t flinch. “You have no choice in this matter. None. Look around you. Long before Mikhail sent me, you already had those ancients following where you led. Mikhail recognized your abilities just as everyone at this table has.”Tensel snarled again, whirled around and paced across the room. The Ancient had wide shoulders, but already, Damonq could see weight settling there.“I am here to protect you. Mikhail sent you a healer to keep you alive. I will do so whether you wish it or not.”Damonq’s head went up. “I was there, Gary. In the monastery. Surely you told the prince that your lifemate was in Paris.”Gary sent him a quelling look. “She is no more than an infant. When there is time, I will search, but there are many years between now and then. As Valentine knows, it is not easy to have a child for a lifemate. It can be a special kind of hell. I know when she was born, and
Damonq knew he would take Elina’s choice away, and that was something a modern woman couldn’t live with. He didn’t know how to resolve that issue.Another man might have just let her make her choices and live with the consequences, but he wasn’t that man. He’d never be that man.Stop, Damonq. We talked about this. I am your lifemate. You told me I am and I believe you. I feel the ties connecting us with every breath I take. That means you respect me and see to my happiness.It also means I do the same for you. I know it won’t be easy staying in the house when I think I need to run outside to scoop up a child, but if you assure me you have it covered, and the others are watching over you, I’d only get in the way.He knew it was the best concession she could give him and he loved her all the more for it. His heart felt painful, it was so full. Elina. His heart and soul. There was no way to express to her the feelings he had for her.Thank you. I am sorry about discussing Darkness’s sliv
Damonq wasn’t about to admit he halfway agreed with that last statement of Sandu, not with his woman listening to them.“Damonq, I realize you want Elina tested immediately, but she has been harassed and prodded enough. If we can spare her, I would prefer that.” Tensel’s tone was gentle.Damonq closed his eyes. Was he so selfish that another man had to tell him what would be best for his lifemate? He had wanted to make certain no vestige of Darkness was left in her. Not one single trace.I share your need, Damonq. Perhaps I even drove it. The thought that Darkness might still have some small part of him in me or Carisma was more than I could stand. I wanted you to check me immediately. It’s okay, though. I can wait. May is a baby. She should be examined first. It makes sense to look at Valentine and Liv first as well. I am fine. Elina linked.She wasn’t. He could tell. She felt, once again, apart from everyone. She had been sitting quietly with Amelia, but now she wanted to go lock he
Elina pulled out of Damonq’s mind abruptly and he felt the loss instantly. He gripped her forearms and waited until she looked up at him. It took a while and her gaze kept sliding from his.“Don’t do that. We’re in this together. It doesn’t matter if the sliver is there. We know what Darkness is doing and we’re countering his every move. He can’t make you less than you are. He simply can’t.”“He knows what we’re doing. Those moments we talk, or you’re…” She broke off, shaking her head. “If I leave the house, he’s watching the children. My friends. You. He can hear what you say to one another. What we say to each other.” Her voice broke.His heart clenched hard in his chest. “That’s not the way it works, Elina. Just because he put a slice of himself into you, or someone else, that doesn’t mean he knows what everyone is doing. He would have to reach for it. Leave his body and go into the splinter. That’s always dangerous to him. Just as when we’re healing someone, the body is unprotecte
Storm could feel her heart pounding hard, but it was more out of excitement than fear. She should be afraid, the bird was a true raptor, but it was magnificent. It had black eyes! Round, shiny, very intelligent black eyes. She stared at it for two full minutes. That wasn't normal, she was certain. Very slowly, so she wouldn't startle the creature, she backed across the room to the desk where she kept her phone. Still looking at the bird, she googled the images of the bird, biting her lips intermittently as she waited.Strangely, the bird was observing her just as intently, an intelligence in its gaze as it watched the phone beep occasionally. When the page opened, Storm glanced at the image of the harpy eagle. The eyes were round and shining with intelligence, but they were not black. The eyes in the picture were a bright amber with a black pupil. She let out her breath slowly. Something was wrong with her bird.‘You aren't blind, though, are you?’ She sent the words, not even kno
After Storm was done eating, she thanked Kaden, and let him have the plates when he stretched his hands to collect them. To hold herself from jumping on him, and demanding that he put her out of her sexual misery, she stood up from the bed and sauntered to the window to look at the forest, and clear her immoral thoughts. He had joined her to eat, and for each time his mouth had closed over a morsel of food, she had jerked subtly, as if the mouth was closing over her twin orbs. In a large oak tree, plenty feet away from her, a bird flapped its mighty wings, drawing her attention. A smile swept past her lips when she became aware that she could sight its distinctive features. She was not the same Storm of a month ago. She was different now, considering the amount of trainings she had submitted too.The bird had a round facial disk with a very pronounced ruff. It wasn't an owl but it was large. Very large. The unusual bird could easily weigh at least twenty pounds. She stared at it
Storm walked into Kaden's treehouse and was immediately struck by how it seemed larger than usual. The wooden walls, which should be plain and simple, were adorned with colorful murals and hand-painted designs. One wall even showcased a sprawling mural of a sunset over a peaceful lake, with vivid oranges and pinks blending into each other. And another wall had a charming depiction of a forest, complete with playful animals like squirrels and birds, all brought to life with bright, cheerful colors.The room was filled with natural light that filtered through the large windows, which had been decorated with flowing curtains in soft, earthy tones. The curtains swayed gently in the breeze, adding a sense of movement to the scene. The wooden floor was covered with cozy rugs that added warmth and comfort to the space.A large, comfy bean bag was positioned in one corner, surrounded by soft pillows. Next to it was a small bookshelf brimming with colorful books, their spines lined up neatly
Storm’s mind kept conjuring up provocative images, as she and Kaden walked hand in hand around the clan. The kiss they had shared in her room still tingled on her lips, still kept heat in her blood, still made her hunger for more. She inhaled sharply when Kaden turned and stared at her, his eyes brimming with the emotions that she was sure was playing out in her own mind. For a second, she feared that he might have peeked into her dirty mind, but then she remembered that they were not bonded yet, not in that sense. It brought her swift relief which came with a coating of abashed-ness seen in the coloring of her cheeks and necks, something that wasn’t lost on Kaden who was battling to hold on to his honor. He cussed at himself for closing her lips with his earlier, knowing what could happen from there. But she had been speaking, and her luscious mouth had been like water in a desert land; he had been parched so much that he couldn’t have been able to help himself. And now, the stirr
All through the week, Storm only concentrated on the books Kaden had given her, or rather on the first book she had collected from the pile. Jutul had done the same, concentrating on the second book he had picked. Both had only taken breaks when they wanted to eat or when they wanted to train with Casper for an hour. To assuage Kaden’s caveman jealousy, all the reading had been in the dining downstairs, and yet they weren’t close enough to whatever the books were on about. They weren’t close to the end either, and the transcribers were doing a poor job, despite Jiraq’s input sometimes. It was then that Storm had learnt that Jiraq wasn’t done with the book either. ‘What are you doing with one of the hardest books in the pile?” had been his first question when she had solicited for his help. He had gone ahead to pick up a smaller book, written in English, for her and Jutul to start with, but she had declined—she had grown attached to the old book. And she had vowed to bring it to a fi
Storm groaned tiredly; under the full weight of the knowledge she had been absorbing for the past four hours. Kaden had been true to his word, and with the help of Jiraq, had bundled more than thirty books which smelt of oldness into her room this morning, just before she dressed for school. “For those written in old language, Jiraq was kind enough to let you have his transcriber, so that you can better understand it. You can check them out after classes today.” Kaden had said, when he had stepped into her room with a fellow whom she knew went by the name, Micheal, Liam’s younger brother. She had found out right after Liam’s recuperation weeks ago, about the wicked action on the young fellow who didn’t look a year older than her. The first book on the pile had gotten her attention after the duo had left the room, and picking it up, she had decided to peek at a page, then return to her preparation for school. But a page had turned to two pages, and then five pages, until school was
Storm was chatting with Lucy and Justin, in their phone group , around a time when she should be sleeping, when she heard her name being droned in her ears. “S-t-o-r-m” She furrowed her eyebrows, and looked around the room she shared with Kaden sometimes. There was no one. The voice sounded familiar, and until she felt the eeriness in the room, she didn’t know who it was. The vampire.She got up from the empty bed, and sauntered toward the door, needing to get to Kaden as soon as possible, but the door wouldn’t budge. She stamped her foot on the floor out of frustration, as fear suddenly took root in her mind and body. Where was he when she needed him? Why hadn’t he spent the night with her? She wondered, never minding that she had been one to ask they sleep on separate beds tonight, after he had returned from his meeting with his people, after she had returned from seeing her friends off with Lent. The voice called for her name again, and she shuddered before she could help it, h
There was a stark naked silence in the room after Jutul’s declaration. So stark was it, that Storm felt her ears ringing with deep silence, deep silence and an unclothed unbelief. They were lying? If she didn’t know of Jutul’s gifts, she would have berated him for speaking against her friends. But she knew. She knew he was telling the truth—there wasn’t a need to lie. And she still was finding it hard to believe. Lucy and Justin had planned a lie, and had come to convince them of it? All for what? To gain information on what was going on in the clan? Was their school even on break? Then, the silence was broken by Kaden’s voice which had descended to a certain chillness that informed Storm that her mate was angry, very angry, at being made a fool of. “Lent, place a call to the school’s authorities, and find out if the school is really on break…” Lucy’s dark laughter interrupted his statement, and brought Storm’s attention to her. “So y’all would rather believe Storm’s newest friend
Of course they wouldn’t. Storm thought, looking at Lucy squarely for the first time since she had entered the room. Her friend was still bubbling in age-old anger, and was still carrying a grudge against her.And since, Storm knew she couldn’t do much about it—because what Lucy was demanding was unattainable—she let the latter think that she wasn’t bothered by it. It would help with them leaving earlier. Having seen what exactly was at play here, what evil forces were at play here, she wasn’t about to risk the lives of her friends. She wasn’t about to have their blood on her head, because she wanted them to be included in every facet of her life. It was better they thought she was against them; it was better they believed that she didn’t value their friendship.“So, why are you here, Lucy?” She schooled her face to a cold aloofness, unfazed when Justin let out a cuss word, whilst darting a glance between Lucy and her. There was a minute silence, where Lucy scanned Storm’s features;