Page 29 of Another Damned Storm (Another Damned #3)

HOOK

After taking Never against a tree like a true heathen, I carried her inside the small cabin and settled her on the springy bed before going back out to gather her clothes.

Between the fight, battling her own fear, and our rough intimacy, she was worn out. And true to her stubborn form, she insisted she was fine. The woman would run herself into the ground given the chance, but what she didn’t realize was that she was a long way from mastering her energy expenditure.

Fighting a demon of Lapalme’s caliber was no small feat.

Calling upon as much power as she had—which still astounded me—was a surefire way to drain her resources in record time.

Because his power came from the original source of dark magic: the Alius.

It was the realm from which all true blooded demons were born, and Lapalme was amongst the oldest of his kind.

And yet, despite having as much life experience as Emerson and Theloneus, his development had clearly taken a very different path. He was selfish, entitled, and I would wager a narcissist at his core.

It boggled the mind that he gave any concern to his demon brothers accepting him back into the fold. I would have expected someone like him to be much happier as a lone wolf.

Or a dictator.

I walked back into the quaint cabin to find Never fast asleep, and a smile ghosted my lips.

Her rest wouldn’t last long, I suspected.

Even now, I could feel the urgency pulling her through her dreams. For as badly as she’d been frightened by her demon side surging to the fore, it had only amplified her desire to fix all that was broken in her world.

I sat on the bed beside her, brushing a strand of hair from her face. Fixing things would mean losing her to the Alius, and I had yet to find a way to prevent that from happening.

Stripping my power from her wasn’t an option. Her life was tangled up with my magic now, as was my own. That didn’t leave me many options.

And if she made the decision to return to the Alius for good, I would have none.

A hollow ache spread through my chest like an omen, but I pushed it down.

I had her now. That was what I needed to focus on.

That and making sure we found a way to keep her family safe.

I was confident I could convince Never to forgive herself for losing control and attacking me.

The wounds she’d inflicted were ephemeral.

But if she lost control with her brother or his daughter or Lily?

Eternity was a terribly long time to carry that kind of guilt.

I bent and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. Now, I just had to hope she would forgive me for what I was about to put her through.

I flashed first to Lily’s sanctuary. Fortunately, it took very little convincing to bring her on board with my plan. Matt, on the other hand, was a touch less receptive.

He leaned back against the door in the small quarters he’d reserved for Never and myself, his arms crossed over his chest. “ If I’m hearing you right, you want to use me as bait in order to rile my sister up enough to make her uncontrollable. Do you get how insane that sounds?”

I dipped my head. “Yes, but it’s not as though you would be alone. Lily and I would be there to ensure your safety.”

He chewed on his bottom lip. “Do you really think it’ll help?”

“It can’t hurt,” Lily shrugged.

That wasn’t entirely true. “There is a chance that she might lose control and turn on you before Lily or I can intervene,” I confessed. “But I believe it is a very small chance.”

“That’s a bold statement coming from the guy she actually did turn on,” he said dryly.

“She saw me as a threat. Or, rather, the demon side of her saw me as a threat. As you are without godly powers, you pose less of a danger to her.” As in none. That was what I was counting on.

His scowl slid between me and Lily. “I have a daughter to think about, and others who need me.”

“But you are the one she will be most driven to protect,” I said. “Keeping you safe is part of who she is, and if she is to learn to control her power quickly, we will need to push her.”

“What is she protecting me from exactly?”

“Lapalme and Thrain. Lapalme was exiled from the Brethren when they found out he fathered your family line, and he will only be welcomed back when his bloodline dies out,” I explained. “He wants Never, you, and your daughter dead, but he can’t do it himself.”

As I spoke, his expression turned fierce. “Now we’re being targeted?”

Lily shook her head. “You were always a target.”

Her simple statement rearranged another puzzle piece that had been niggling at me and dropped it in place. “Possibly as far back as our initial meeting,” I said .

It took a second, but understanding lit up Lily’s face. “That’s diabolical.”

“But it fits.”

Matt’s angry gaze whipped between us. “What?”

“Knowing what we now know, I believe Lapalme may have been the one who summoned Petra back when you were a teenager.” Saying it aloud solidified my thinking. “She was the one who took Wendy’s brothers, after all. Perhaps he believed he could use the demon to take care of you and Never as well.”

He blinked a few times before letting out a sharp exhale. “But he underestimated Never.”

He wasn’t the only one.

“And now the bastard has teamed up with a forgotten god to finish what he started,” Lily said.

Matt unfolded his arms and straightened. “What do I need to do?”

I did try to dissuade Matt from bringing his daughter along when I flashed us to the cabin, but he refused to leave her behind.

Not that I could fault him for his protectiveness.

Given recent revelations, the girl was likely as safe with us in the woods as she would have been in that guarded compound.

It was still risky, but at least this way we could all keep an eye on her.

Never was awake, dressed, and sitting on a weathered stump outside the cabin when we arrived. I’d left our connection open so she could sense that all was okay, but the look of relief on her face when she saw me told me it hadn’t done as much to allay her worry as I’d hoped.

It was worth it, however, when Lily and I shared our suspicions about Lapalme and Petra .

“So, none of this is my fault?” she asked, clearly wanting to believe but hesitating.

I grabbed her hand and squeezed gently. “If we’re right, yes.

We both heard Lapalme. Even if you had stayed in the Alius, they would have continued their assault until your brother and Angie were dead,” I offered, meaning to soothe her with the reminder.

It worked to a point, but I could already feel the rage building inside her.

“They won’t stop, will they?” she asked.

I shook my head. “Thrain wants power. Lapalme wants back in the Brethren. I doubt either is willing to walk away after all they’ve risked.”

“That’s what I figured. Next question.” Her expression turned borderline hostile. “Why have you brought my family here when you know what I’m dealing with?”

Lily raised her hand and gave it a little wave to get Never’s attention. “We’re here to help.”

“To get yourselves killed, you mean? To cause me an eternity of grief and heartache when I lose control and hurt one of you? Or all of you?” She turned back to me. “Take them back.”

Her temper was rising fast, tugging the fine hairs along the back of my neck up along with it.

“That isn’t up to him,” Matt cut in. He and Angie had been hanging back closer to the cabin, but I had no doubt they’d heard everything. He turned to his daughter. “Go inside, Ang.”

I half expected her to argue, but she glanced at Never and gave her a confident nod. “You’ve got this, Aunt Never.”

“Please go inside,” I said politely. My intention was to rile Never up, but not while her niece was outside with all of us. “And be sure to lock the door behind you.”

She moved quickly, ducking inside and flipping the lock loud enough for us all to hear.

“Lily, would you mind?” I tipped my head toward the cabin .

She nodded and moved silently out of sight behind the small building.

“What are you doing?” Never asked, alarm skating across our connection.

Matt and I had discussed our next moves, but he still seemed genuinely startled when Lily prowled back into sight.

He held his hands up, as if that would ever be enough to defend himself from the lithe tiger stalking toward him with her head ducked low and a growl rumbling from between her pointed teeth.

At that point, I was all eyes on Never. Lily had excellent control of her animal, so I didn’t have to worry about Matt.

My hope was that witnessing a threat like that approaching her brother would trigger Never’s defensive side.

The only problem was, we had to do it cut off from each other.

Using me as an anchor to keep her power in check might work in a training situation, but she needed to be able to reel herself in on her own.

Matt backed away slowly. I caught his movement in my periphery, but even if I hadn’t, Never was watching the two of them like a hawk.

Her eyes were still their deep ocean blue, which meant we needed to turn up the pressure.

Lily must have sensed as much, because she lunged forward with a snarl and a swipe of one enormous paw.

“Shit!” Matt yelled, stumbling backward.

Never’s eyes lit with amber light and she edged toward them. “I know what you’re doing,” she said. “It won’t work.”

That glow said otherwise.

The tiger cast her a sideways glance and bared her teeth.

“I mean it, Lily. Back off.”

The display was clearly pushing her buttons, but it wasn’t enough.

I flashed in front of Matt. “Make it look like a struggle,” I said under my breath. Then I grabbed him by his rough canvas jacket and hauled him up off his feet.

He wasn’t much smaller than I was, which meant when he swung at me, he had enough reach to connect.

Harder than I’d expected. I tossed him aside, careful to aim for open space.

He was good, tucking his big body enough before he hit the dirt to prevent an injury, but still making it look like a violent landing.

I pressed the back of my hand to my bloody lip. At least he was taking the challenge seriously.

A look of fury distorted Never’s face. “Stop,” she commanded, the order rippling through the air.

Lily stilled, turning just her head to growl back before launching at Matt from the opposite side.

“Fuck!” He scrambled away from her, headed straight for Never, but I caught him by the back of the jacket and flung him toward the cabin.

I’d barely released him when Never’s smaller body crashed into me, throwing me off balance and sending us both tumbling to the dirt. There was a short scuffle, during which I managed to pin her to the ground, and when she tried to use her strength to roll me to my back, I let her.

Red eyes glared down at me, glittering with a mixture of violence and triumph. She peeled her lips back in a sneer.

What she didn’t do was attack. That alone was progress.

“Good,” I said, battling to find my own calm. Even though I’d known it was coming, seeing her eyes turn red again still sent a shot of alarm through me. “Now, like we practiced earlier. Find your control.”