Page 28

Showered and clad in the soft, airy, cream-colored dress, I scrutinized my reflection. Dark blue bags sat beneath my eyes and were in the shape of a crescent moon. My normally pale complexion was washed out, paler if possible. It made the electric blue-coloring of my eyes seem striking against the light milkiness of my skin. The unruliness of mixed red, caramel, and blonde curls added quite a chaotic combination together.

Ignoring the burning in my shoulder once more, I started toward the kitchen. Pausing in the bedroom, I quickly retrieved a cardigan to shield my arms from the chill in the air this morning. It was a different type of chill, the kind that carried dark omens.

The moment I stepped from the bedroom, a shadow at the end of the hallway forced my step to falter then plant like cement into the flooring. Propped with his shoulder against the wall was Cole. The crisp white dress shirt he wore was unbuttoned, and the sleeves rolled up on his forearms, revealing the dark ink of his tattoos.

“Hello, Sunshine,” Cole whispered, his eyes alight with mirth and an emotion I couldn’t pinpoint simmering within them.

“Cole.” I hadn’t spoken more than a word to him in passing since my mother had tilted everyone’s word, sending it into a tailspin. “Did you need something?”

I wasn’t sure why he was here, nor did I trust him more than Rhys. Both men had done little to earn my trust. They’d shown interest in me merely for what benefit they’d gain from me or having me beneath their thumb.

“Rhys was called away. He asked me to wait here until Nyx replaced me. It appears Rhys doesn’t want you to be alone this morning. It seems he fears your mental state after he took advantage of your altered state.”

My altered state? Was Rhys actually allowing Nyx to come visit? Maybe I’d misjudged his mood this morning. Why hadn’t he told me about his plans?

“Judging by the look on your face, you don’t agree.” A smug grin spread over his sensual lips. The mirth sparkling in his azure gaze made him look roguishly boyish, even though there was very little boyish about him.

Cole was the type of man who crushed your heart the moment you placed it in his grasp. He had no mercy, not even for those of the fairer sex. He enjoyed the reputation of being a notorious rake.

“I don’t regret what I did last night, Cole.” A single dark brow rose on his forehead, as if he were criticizing me for what Rhys and I had done. “Judge me all you like. I enjoyed being beneath, on top, and in front of Rhys. All night long.”

Flipping my hair over my shoulder, I marched past him toward the kitchen. The sound of his amused laughter trailed behind me.

I didn’t care if he was judging me. His opinion of me wasn’t my business. I knew my worth. Last night hadn’t been a mistake. We were two grown ass adults who’d made a choice to enjoy what we offered one another. I’d be damned if I felt shame over a choice that I’d made myself.

“No judgment, Sunshine. If you want to know what I think, I’m applauding you. You finally discovered how to dissociate emotions from sex. Good for you,” he purred against my ear as dark, silky smoke rushed past me, only to materialize in my path. “Not going to ask about Nyota?” A dark look simmered just beneath the surface of his features.

“If I did, would you answer me?” I challenged, causing a flash of anger to spark in his eyes. It issued a shiver from the back of my neck, straight down to my toes.

Cole was an asshole, no-if-and-or-but about it. But he loved his family. No matter how hard he sought to pretend otherwise. Cole had a good heart, even if it was pitch-black.

The air abruptly became charged with savagery. It pushed down on me, forcing air from my chest in a whisper of sound as it escaped in a puff of frost from my lungs.

Mikel’s presence saturated the room, as if he devoured the air then fed it to my lungs slowly. He crowded the space with energy. Whether it was good or bad, I wasn’t sure. The darkness clung to him like a cloak, hovering around his powerful frame.

“Rhys requested that topic not be discussed with the present company, Mikel.” Cole’s tone held a warning that Mikel ignored as the tension grew thicker around me.

Mikel materialized in front of me, issuing a shocked gasp from my parted lips. His inky hair was disheveled, as if he’d come here directly from his bed. The dark button down shirt he wore was unbuttoned to reveal obsidian and crimson tattoos covering his chest to his throat, ending only when they reached his jawline. Full tattooed sleeves began at his wrists, vanishing beneath the rolled up sleeves on his thick forearms.

His face remained impassive. The man was almost entirely expressionless but there was nothing impassive about the man. His entire persona screamed cold-blooded predator, from the sparkle in his eye to the sensual, arrogant smile playing over his full, kissable lips.

There really should’ve been a rule when men like him were created. One that assured them they weren’t the most handsome men on the planet. They should have cloven feet with forked tongues, horns bulging from their foreheads, or some shit that detracted from the sexual undertones flowing from their unblemished complexion.

“I vow to you this, woman: If you had anything to do with the harm that befell my baby sister? Nothing, not even the alpha of the house, will be able to save you from me, Malishka,” Mikel pledged in a guttural tone, one that carried a promise of pain in each word he’d issued.

I held his lethal stare as the curving smile played over his full mouth, slowly turning smug. The air thickened and crackled with the threat of violence he promised, as if he were disrupting the particles in the air. Sweat trickled down my back and neck as Cole inched closer, standing behind me.

Mikel was a lot like Rhys. They both had stony demeanors but also held a softer side, which was reserved for family. I wasn’t sure how I knew that fact about Mikel, but I was one hundred percent positive it was a fact. Both men had a sharper edge, one that could easily end life without hesitation. In short, they both had an increasingly high potential of becoming bona fide serial killers.

My fingers curled into my palms. Lifting my chin, I held my ground. Mikel expected me to cower. It would be a cold day in hell before he got what he wanted from me. I was done cowering before men—or anyone, for that matter.

As I watched, the corners of his mouth twitched with the hint of a smile before it vanished altogether. Instead of posturing, Mikel seemed to relax in the face of my aggressive stance. His midnight gaze slipped down to my abdomen, rolling back to rove over my pale, damp face.

“I don’t understand his obsession with you . . . you’re feverish—”

I lifted my hand, bringing it down in a slashing motion for him to stop talking. “Shut up and listen for a moment before you say something that changes how I feel about you for all of fucking eternity!” I retorted, ignoring his astute observation of my rising temperature.

“I’m gaining an inkling of why he’s obsessed with you, Malishka.” The wolfish smile he aimed at me was all teeth, but there was something soft in his eyes.

“I said shut up and listen,” I hissed, knowing I’d lose my bravado if I didn’t get the words out now. “As much as you wish to think otherwise, Nyota’s my friend. I don’t have many friends. So, know this: I cherish each friend I have. I’d never harm her, ever. She was the only Van Helsing to remain at my side after Rhys disavowed me and any claim he had on me in front of the gathered immortals during Beltane. I get that you’re the big baddie or bully—or whatever role it is you play here. You can be the boogeyman, or whatever, but you don’t scare me. I’m done being bullied here or anywhere else for that matter. I don’t need a babysitter, Mikel,” I hissed irritably. Dismissing him outright, I stepped around him and strode toward the kitchen.

“Brave words for someone so . . . tiny, Malishka.”

Ignoring his provoking tone, I continued toward the kitchen. “If you’re following me, stop,” I growled without looking back to see that they were both on my heels.

“She’s got a pair on her,” Mikel purred, but it wasn’t pride filling his tone. It was worry for Nyota that flooded the undertone of each word he spoke. “Rhys isn’t going to like you coming in here, brother.”

“Rhys can get the fuck over it. He’s blind where she’s concerned. Someone who isn’t blinded by her beauty and fire is needed to determine what her true intentions are. One of us must keep our heads about us, Nikolas. That isn’t you.”

“She’s carrying his heir.”

“She can hear you talking about her, barbarians,” I snapped, whirling around to scowl at them. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to eat. I have a hard enough time keeping food down without you two assholes discussing me like some feral fucking pet you think might bite someone or piss on the expensive carpets. So, either be civil and join me, or leave. Decide before either of you take another step.” Turning on my heel, I marched toward the kitchen.

“She’s got more than balls, brother,” Mikel rumbled. “Too bad she’s a Silversmith. She’d have made a fiery mate for our alpha.”

My anger resonated, issuing magic to shoot to my fingertips. Directing it to the candles, every single one scattered throughout the entrance and front of the house ignited, and flames leaped high into the air. Both men paused, tensing at the show of power I’d exhibited without even trying to do so.

A smile curved over my mouth until I stepped into the kitchen, coming face to face with a furious Rhys. His eyes narrowed on me, then slowly slid to the candles that were lit before bringing them back to rest on me. A dangerous slant slid over his mouth, forcing my stomach to plummet to the ground at my feet.

“How the fuck did you manage that feat, Love?” he enquired in an icy tone. His stance was defensive, as if he expected me to fight him.

“My bad, Van Helsing. It must’ve been something I ate last night.”

Tension flooded the living room until it was pressing down on my chest. Rhys reached for me, but I jerked my shoulder back away from his grasp. It forced a pain filled cry from my lips, causing worry to pinch over his handsome face. His azure eyes darkened as concern glittered in their inky depths.

“Don’t touch me,” I seethed through breathing past the pain engulfing my mind.

“I didn’t touch you, Remington.”

An annoyed snort burst from my lungs as I retorted. “I was shot, asshole. Then nearly blown the fuck up hours later. It’s been one hell of a week.”

“You were shot,” he repeated mellifluously. As he silently examined me, I watched as the color drained from his face. “I fed from you.” Pushing his fingers through his inky tresses, concern turned to anger.

“Obviously,” I uttered. The other two in the room with us made a worried sound, forcing me to turn, eyeing the pair with curiosity. “What’s the issue? You don’t hear me complaining about what occurred last night.”

“It’s forbidden for an incubus to feed from an injured female. You’re not only wounded, but you also carry my child, Love,” he stated barely above a whispered breath. The somberness in his voice caused my stomach to twist with worry.

“I don’t understand the issue. I’m fine,” I stated, even though I felt clammy and the ache in my shoulder was getting worse than before. It apparently wasn’t going to continue allowing me to ignore it anymore.

“That’s why it’s dangerous. I feed from your strength, which is precisely why you’re weakening. Even weakened, you managed to bring forth flames. I’ll ask you one more time. How did you conjure it in an apartment built to suppress your powers, Silversmith?”

The fact that he’d admitted to building the Onyx Wing of the house to mute my abilities was disheartening. It ruined what little progress we’d made during my being here.

“Silversmith magic wasn’t used here, Van Helsing. It’s my magic and mine alone. You may be able to remove my ability to control silver, but you can’t burn out my flame. To achieve that, you’d have to murder me. I believe that goes against your vow of protection, now, doesn’t it?”

The muscle in Rhys’ jaw jumped as tension fluttered over his face. Both anger and sadness slithered through my chest. He was considering whether he could manage it, or, more likely, manage ordering one of his siblings to carry out his order.

“I don’t belong here,” I whispered raspingly, fighting against the tears choking off the air in my lungs. An invisible fist was squeezing my heart like a stress ball.

“No. You don’t. But you’re not leaving here either. You are mine, as is the child you carry, Remington,” he snapped as the air intensified with power, thick enough to suck the air out of the room. Rhys stepped around me, as if he couldn’t stand the sight of me. “I suggest you eat and drink the orange juice in the fridge. All of it.”

“Screw you,” I hissed between clenched teeth.

“I already screwed you last night, Love.” The smugness in his tone irked me. It caused the flames surrounding us to rise, burning hotter than was likely safe in the living quarters. “I’d cease using your flames inside the apartment. The protection magic won’t be able to tell the difference between your magic and that of an enemy.”

“Of course not, not when you consider me to be your enemy. And don’t worry, I won’t be screwing you again. I’ll tend to my needs on my own if they arise. It’s easier than suffering whiplash from your ever-changing moods, Van Helsing.” The only answer I received back was the sound of the door closing, then locking as all three left me to my ranting.

“Insufferable pricks!”