by Brenda Trim
The cool, fresh air outside was a welcome relief. He saw Millie leaning against a car to the right of the entrance. She was wringing her hands and glancing behind the side of the building.
Hayden took a deep breath as he approached her. His steps faltered and he caught himself on her car. He drank that drink awfully fast, but that couldn’t be making him unsteady. What the fuck is going on? As Omega nothing should affect him this severely.
“You okay?” Her voice was high pitched and hurried.
Warning signals fired off in his mind, but he had a hard time figuring out why. “I’m fi…fine.” He should call Jason and ask him to come out here.
Hayden turned when he heard the bar door open and saw Jason. Thank the Goddess he came out here. The world swam when he turned back to tell Millie he would see her later.
Several things happened too fast for Hayden to track. Jason shouted a warning at the same time a black van stopped next to them and at least six guys jumped out. They all carried guns and were wearing military uniforms.
Hayden swung a fist, but never connected with anyone. His body fell against the van. He tried to call his animals, but nothing happened. His heart was racing so fast now he wouldn’t be surprised if he went into heart failure.
Countless hands landed on his body and he was thrown inside the van. Whoever these fuckers were, they could hurt Millie. He threw his fists out and jerked his body trying to get away and help her.
He stopped cold when he heard her voice. “Subdue him and secure him to the seat. We don’t know what his kind are capable of.”
Metal cuffs wound around his wrists at the same time a fist slammed into the side of his skull. He growled and flashed sharp canines at the humans pushing him down. The van peeled out and hit something. The vehicle swerved after a loud bang echoed through the space.
Millie’s face entered his line of sight. Since the first time he saw her, he lost his breath and wanted to kiss her. This bitch had just kidnapped him and was taking him Goddess knew where and he still ached for her.
“I’m sorry about this, but we need to understand what you are.” Millie’s expression was pained. She twisted to the side and returned with a needle in her hand.
Hayden barely felt the sharp prick when she jabbed it into his arm. Warmth spread as she plunged the liquid into his veins. His vision immediately blurred, and his tongue felt thick. “I’ll make…you…pay,” he snarled right before he passed out.
Chapter 19
“Fuck.” Dante’s curse fell from his lips at the same time his chest constricted as if a vice had closed around his heart, and he stumbled into Jett.
Jett growled as he spun around and caught Dante awkwardly. The warrior took several steps to steady them while scanning the area for the threat. “What happened? You okay?”
Dante panted and clung to him while his connection to Chloe strengthened and solidified. He couldn’t respond to Jett. He was consumed with his mate. She was in immense pain. She’d picked him. That was the only reason their bond would suddenly spring into being like this. His mind blanked and went in a million different directions at the same time.
That meant she was in serious trouble. She didn’t think she had long to live. Her agony was unlike anything Dante could fathom. Rage boiled his blood, making him want to raze the entire planet and eliminate the demon cell by cell. Acting on instinct, Dante reached out and tried to take Chloe’s pain from her while searching for where she was. He had to get to her, and fast. They were almost out of time.
“He’s killing her.” It was impossible for him to catch his breath as he took some of the pain into himself.
Jett’s eyes went wide and he stared at Dante for several seconds before he pulled his phone from his pocket and called the others. “Dante has a bead on her location. Meet us on Fifty First street.” He wrapped an arm around his waist and nudged him to a nearby alley. “Can you walk?”
Dante ran a hand over his face and sucked in a deep breath. A coughing fit shook him for several seconds. Everything hurt like hell. “I’m okay. I’m taking some of her torture hoping she will live through this. I can’t lose her now that I’ve found her. We have to get to her.”
Dante was breathing hard and found it impossible to stand there and wait for backup. He needed to get across town and rescue her. Now!
Jett leaned him against the dirty brick wall of the building a couple feet inside the alley and pinned him with a hard look. “I know I haven’t exactly been welcoming to your mate, but we will do everything to save her. The others will be here in no time and we will go to her, but I need you to get your shit together. You won’t be able to help her if you rush in there like this.”
Dante braced himself on his knees as he listened to Jett and sent reassurance to Chloe at the same time. “You’re right.” He shoved the pain to the corner of his mind and continued taking from her. He heard pounding footsteps and knew the others were close. Standing up straight, he allowed the knowledge that Chloe accepted him and their bond to bolster him.
“Let’s go.” Dante stepped out of the alley with steady feet and determination fueling him. Zander, Lucas, Izzy and the others turned the corner a second later and Dante headed to the nearest subway station.
Zander ran his hand through his hair while watching his daughter. Dante understood how frightened he was for Izzy, but he also knew the Vampire King could never send her away. To do so would completely devastate the Princess. And he would never do that to her.
Zander shook his head and turned to Dante. “Can you sense anything aboot her surroundings?”
Dante closed his eyes and was greeted by a bright gold thread linking him to Chloe. Her torture and discomfort came through on the heels of her regret. She loved him and wished she’d handled things differently.
None of that mattered. He was on his way to her. She just needed to hold on. Concentrating, Dante tried to get an idea of what was around her, but nothing came through.
Opening his eyes, he shook his head. “All I get is that she’s in a lot of pain.”
Zander sighed and pulled his phone out then pressed a contact. “Jace.” Dante’s ears were sensitive enough that he could hear Cailyn cooing to Liam, their son, on the other end. “We need you to portal to Jessup House. We’re on our way to rescue Dante’s mate. She’s been hurt. He’s taking some of her pain, but we doona know what condition she will be in when we find her.”
Dante heard Jace’s response. “Right away sir. I’ll be there when you arrive. Gerrick and Rhys can come with me if you need.”
Zander’s head bobbed as he paced the train car. “Bring them. We doona know what we will encounter. I’ll be in touch.”
Dante missed the rest of their conversation as his body lit up. They were close. “We get off here,” he informed them as the Subway pulled into a station. Dante slipped through the doors before they fully opened.
He ran up the stairs and followed as his gut to lead him down this street and across that one. A few minutes later, he paused outside a large apartment building. “She’s in the basement here.”
Zander stopped next to him. “He’s in a populated section. We need to be careful. This could blow up on us in a big way.”
Dante snarled and entered the lobby. The archdemon was trying to bury their ability to sense his presence by surrounding himself with countless humans. It was brilliant and would only work in a city like New York. Thank the Goddess for his bond to Chloe, or he would never have been able to find her here.
Bypassing the elevator, Dante headed down a short hall and found stairs that lead to the basement. There was no hint of demonic magic, but he knew she was there. On sure feet, he continued until he was in a large area with cages that acted as storage areas for residents. She was nowhere to be seen.
“Shit. There has to be another door.”
Jett glanced back from the other end of the space. “Are you sure she’s here? I don’t sense anything demonic here.”
Dante lifted one co
rner of his mouth and ignored the asshole as he searched for another door. In the far corner he found what he was looking for. As soon as he opened the panel, her hibiscus scent hit him in the face along with the coppery smell of her blood.
He was running before he knew it, pounding down the stairs in front of him. Curses echoed behind him. Dante burst through another door at the bottom and his racing heart stopped ground to a halt.
Chloe was on a table face down. There was so much blood everywhere. Her back was nothing but a series of open wounds, tangled tendons and exposed bones. She wasn’t moving.
His feet carried him to her side. Movement out of the corner of his eye made him duck as a scavenger demon came at him. He didn’t slow, trusting his friends would take care of them. He had to reach Chloe.
He lifted a shaking hand to her battered face. Her eyes were swollen shut and her face covered in cuts and bruises. “I’m here, evergreen. I’m going to get you out of here.”
“Unngh.” Chloe’s body jerked and she made this awful keening sound.
Dante ran gentle fingers over her scalp. “Don’t move. I’ve got you, love.” He removed his shirt and laid it over her back, wincing when she cried out. He couldn’t take her out of here like she was.
Rolling her over carefully gutted him. He would be haunted by the sounds of her agony for the rest of his life. A scan told him there was no “safe” place to pick her up, so he put one arm under her neck and the other under the back of her knees. It took every ounce of his will to keep hold of her when her body started writhing and the screams started again.
Dante cooed to her and bent to kiss her forehead. When her cries calmed, he took a breath and turned around. A sigh of relief left him when he realized he wouldn’t have to fight his way out. Zander and Izzy were at his side when he left the building. Zander took care of humans when they shouted about him carrying a dying woman in his arms.
When he reached the street, he was shocked to be greeted by a van. Izzy sent him a smile and shrugged her shoulders. “I ordered it as soon as I saw her. We need to get her home.”
Dante could kiss her. Instead, he climbed inside followed by Zander and Izzy. He met Jett’s gaze. “Keep searching for the archdemon. He was just there. I’d bet he’s inside one of these apartments. I will be back to help once I know Chloe is stable.”
The warriors nodded their heads and Jett shut the door then banged his hand on the outside of the car. The driver pulled into traffic and sped down the road. Dante’s throat closed and his gut roiled.
Chloe’s breathing was choppy and shallow. There was so much blood everywhere. He lifted his head to Zander. “You’ve got the driver? This is going to make a mess I can’t spend time wondering how we fix.”
Zander squeezed his shoulder. “You doona need to worry aboot that. Concentrate on your mate.”
It seemed like it took forever to reach Jessup House. Izzy had the door open and Dante was rushing up the stone steps nearly the second the van stopped. Zander was there opening the front door.
Jace met him in the entryway with Cailyn and Liam. The little boy was a clone of his father as he clung to his mom’s hand. Dante turned pleading eyes to Jace. “I need you to heal her.”
Jace gestured to the parlor on the left where Dante had first taken Chloe after he rescued her from the subway tunnels. “Put her down there.”
Dante reached the sofa in three strides and set her down on the blanket that was laid across the leather. He fell to his knees and held one of her hands. His heart felt like a vice had closed around it and their bond flickered in his chest.
He couldn’t lose her now. Not when he just found her. Dante was on the balls of his feet when warmth radiated from Jace’s hands. Chloe was pale, bruised and barely breathing. Within seconds some color returned to her face and her facial features relaxed their grimace.
“She’s going to be fine,” Jace assured him. “Tell me you got the fucker that did this to her.”
Zander stood behind the sofa table with his arms crossed over his face. He relied to Jace before Dante could think about anything except the fact that his mate was going to live. “No’ yet. Arsehole was gone before we got there.”
Jace’s mouth pursed and his eyes turned black with his anger. “Then get out there and kill him before he finds other supes to torment. I’ve got Chloe.”
Dante pressed his lips to Chloe’s gently then got to his feet. “I’ll go because she will feel safer knowing he’s dead. I expect you to call me the second she wakes up.”
Jace nodded and continued working while Dante marched toward the door. He was on the street with his phone in hand when fabric hit his face and bounced off. Glancing up, he narrowed his eyes at Izzy.
“What was that for?” To his surprise the Princess merely stared at him with one eyebrow raised. She was her parent‘s daughter alright. Not many could hold their own in the face of the anger that was flowing from every pore.
She pointed at his chest. “You’re covered in blood. Humans will react and I’d rather not spend time erasing memories when we have an archdemon to confront.”
Dante sighed and tugged his shirt over his head then tossed it on the stoop of Jessup House. By the time he had the new one on, Zander and Izzy were halfway down the street.
The second he caught up to them they took off running. It didn’t take long for him to follow suit. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he retrieved it as they went. “They’ve got the demon in the basement.”
“I see that. This arsehole will pay for harming one of ours.” Dante’s chest warmed at the fact that Zander had already welcomed Chloe and was ready to seek vengeance on her behalf.
That’s what you did for Fated Mates. Even when they weren’t your own. Dante had been involved countless times in missions to protect the other’s mates. After the Tehrex Realm suffered through the mating curse for seven centuries, they knew how precious the gift of one was.
They were back at the building and descending the stairs ten minutes later. Dante’s blood danced in his veins at the same time his vision almost zeroed in on the Daeva demon bound to the table.
One corner of the demon’s mouth lifted in a sort of smile. “What’s this? More have arrived for the party?”
Dante chuckled. It was a dark sound full of menace more than it was a laugh. “I’m here to make sure you cease to exist for laying a hand on my mate. You fucked with the wrong angel.”
With that promise, Dante yanked two of the four blades piercing the demon’s body. They were keeping him from teleporting away. His hands slashed out and sliced through the handsome features then moved lower and cut his chest.
The image of Chloe lying on this very table bleeding out flashed in his mind and he yelled as he cut and punched with the knives clutched in his fists. He was consumed by the need to eliminate this piece of shit. Blood, flesh and organs flew around his head.
Arms banded around his middle, stopping his next strikes. “Enough. We canna send him back to the Underworld. He is an archdemon, so Izzy can make sure he ceases to exist.”
Dante’s chest was heaving as he stared down at the mess he’d made. The demon was in pieces. Gasping for breath with his black heart exposed. There was nothing recognizable about the being in front of him.
He bobbed his head up and down. And took a step back. The warriors surrounded him along with Zander and Izzy. “I should have asked why he targeted Chloe. Damn, I fucked this up.”
Zander lifted one eyebrow. “But do you feel better? Because I verra much doubt this vile thing would have told us anything close to the truth.”
Some of the tension riding Dante lifted. “You’re right. And ultimately, it doesn’t matter if he was trying to free Lucifer and get his jollies. There will always be creatures like him crossing to our realm to do one or both of those things.”
Zander nodded and turned to his daughter. “Are you ready to do your thing?”
“Yes.” The word came out a snarl as the young Princess turned eyes
filled with hatred on the demon. It was easy to forget Izzy had yet hit her transition and come into her full powers. If the princess hadn’t moved to Khoth she would barely be six years old. Time there runs differently than in the Tehrex Realm, so she was now nineteen years old.
Izzy approached the archdemon and laid her hand on the strip of flesh that was the least bloody. Nothing happened. She closed her eyes, but still nothing. Her face scrunched up and Zander approached her side.
A few seconds later, Izzy turned around and started screaming and throwing shit. Zander lost his shit and started pummeling the bloody mess of a demon. Izzy stopped screaming and stepped in front of her dad then shoved him away.
Dante noticed anger, fear and doubt cross her features. Rage settled and stayed there as she once again placed her hand on the demon. Whatever she did worked because the demon turned to stone then ash within seconds.
Without a backwards glance, Dante left the basement and headed back to Jessup House. He needed to tell Chloe she was safe. And that he loved her and wanted to complete their mating with a ceremony. He could hardly believe how far he’d come in the past few days. Life was no longer an endless eternity of meaningless sex. He had his other half. Someone to love and cherish and have at his side through everything.
It didn’t get much better than this.
Chapter 20
Butterflies took flight in Chloe’s stomach. Somehow Dante pulled off a miracle and her parents and siblings were here for her mating. She had no idea how he managed that. Surely there was no way Abraxos, Araton and Ayil had done him a favor and convinced her family to come down for the ceremony. Right?
Chloe had forced herself not to think about them for too many centuries to count. Now, her mom stood there with tears rolling down her cheeks. Tris finished pinning Chloe’s hair up and dabbed under her eyes where her makeup had smeared.
Her mom wiped her eyes and smiled at her. “You look gorgeous, sweetie. You’ve made a good life for yourself. I’m sorry it’s been so long since we’ve been in contact. I looked at first…”