Ancient Enemy

by Reus, Katie

  Ancient Enemy

  Ancients Rising

  Katie Reus

  She should be his mortal enemy.

  Ancient dragon shifter Rhys awoke from his slumber hungry for revenge against the witch who killed his sister. When his hunt takes him to the rebuilding city of New Orleans, he finds a woman he can’t keep his eyes off—but she’s a witch. While Rhys wants to despise all of Dallas’s kind, even he can’t deny that she’s beautiful, kind and…adorable. And her pet baby dragon only increases his fascination with the sexy woman. Protective instincts he never knew he had take over him as they hunt powerful monsters. He’s forced to confront everything he thought he knew about witches as his life is turned upside down.

  But he wants her anyway.

  Dallas Kinley is used to being hated because of what she is. Witches have always been the pariahs of the supernatural community. Until now, when the world needs rebuilding. Even though she wants to keep her distance from Rhys, vampires and humans are dying in New Orleans, so she vows to help him hunt down those responsible. But finding the enemy comes at a heavy price, because Dallas is hiding a terrible secret. As they race against the clock to find the murderers, she can only hope his need for revenge won’t rip them apart. Especially when he finds out what she’s been hiding from him.

  Ancient Enemy

  Copyright © 2020 Katie Reus

  Cover art by Sweet ‘N Spicy Designs

  Editor: Julia Ganis

  Digital Formatting by Author E.M.S.

  * * *

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the author.

  Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book. This purchase allows you one legal copy for your own personal reading enjoyment on your personal computer or device. You do not have the right to resell, distribute, print or transfer this book, in whole or in part, to anyone, in any format, via methods either currently known or yet to be invented, or upload this book to a file sharing program. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  Table of Contents

  ANCIENT ENEMY

  About the Book

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Dear Readers

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Complete Booklist

  Dedication

  For Kaylea Cross. Thank you for everything.

  Chapter 1

  Rhys stepped up to the nondescript door of the warehouse building in Biloxi, Mississippi, where a big male was standing guard. It was amazing that this place was standing at all, but most of the Gulf Coast had fared well even after The Fall seven weeks ago.

  The Fall, aka when a bunch of asshole dragons had decided to nearly burn the world down so they could take over. Things hadn’t worked out the way they’d planned, but supernaturals were out to the world, a lot of people were dead, and nearly everywhere was rebuilding.

  As a dragon shifter himself, he wanted to hunt down and destroy those monsters for the death and destruction they’d committed. Many, but not all, were dead at least. And the newly created supernatural territories, which had replaced all human governments, seemed to have things well in hand. They were taking out those dragons one by one.

  Which was good, since his mission in life—the one that had been driving him for as long as he could remember; the one that had forced him into Hibernation thousands of years ago—was still riding him hard.

  That same mission was the reason he was standing outside a nightclub owned by a half-demon he’d never met so he could get some information. The club itself wasn’t open anymore, or at least not right now, but the male had agreed to meet Rhys here.

  “I’m here to see Bo. My name’s Rhys,” he said to the male who was watching him cautiously.

  The broad-shouldered, muscled guy nodded once and Rhys wasn’t sure what kind of being he was. He smelled a bit like a vampire but not quite. “He’s expecting you,” he said as he opened the door.

  Rhys was aware of video cameras aimed at his face as he stepped inside.

  The place was expansive, and he imagined that when the world wasn’t turned upside down, this place probably stayed busy. A supernatural-only club was fairly rare and his kind often needed the chance to unwind without prying human eyes. Not that it really mattered anymore since they were out to humans.

  It was easy to find Bo Broussard, even if he hadn’t known what the male looked like, thanks to his intel.

  The only person visible was a male with light brown skin standing behind a huge bar, pulling out various bottles. Subtle waves of power rolled off him, though whether intentional or unintentional, Rhys wasn’t certain. Some supernaturals couldn’t contain their power—he was one of those as well.

  “Bo Broussard?” Rhys asked as he approached, scanning the entire place. Empty dance floors, high-top tables with chairs stacked on them, clean floors. There were a few doors that he guessed led to a kitchen and maybe bedrooms, if the rumors he’d heard of the place were true.

  The male gave him a quick sweep and nodded once. “That’s me. And you are?”

  He knew the male was expecting him, but he still needed to introduce himself properly. “Rhys of the Donnachaidh clan from northern Scotland.” Though his home hadn’t been called Scotland back when he’d gone into Hibernation. He missed his homeland but nothing felt like home anymore. Not even the place with fields so green men wrote poetry about them. “Thank you for meeting with me. I know times are tough right now.”

  The male simply snorted. “I needed to go through some stuff anyway. Why don’t you have a Scottish accent?”

  “Ah…” He hadn’t been expecting that question.

  The male paused when Rhys did, pinning him with an electric amber stare.

  “What do you know of my kind?”

  The male’s mouth curved up in a sort of knowing grin. “More than most.”

  Rhys wasn’t sure what to make of that. But he knew he needed this male’s knowledge so he was honest. “Do you know what Hibernation is for our kind?”

  “I do.”

  “All right, then. I just woke up from one about a year ago and I’ve been living here in the States ever since then.” He’d been told that he didn’t have any discernible regional dialect—and he liked it that way. His access to and ability to converse in modern language was another thing in itself—through magic mainly. As of now, he spoke a few languages thanks to an old friend who’d h
elped him get acquainted with this modern world.

  “Tell me why you’re here.”

  “I’m hunting a witch named Catta. I have no idea what name she goes by now, but it’s the one I knew her by thousands of years ago.”

  The male stopped what he was doing and leaned against the back of the bar, crossing his arms over his chest. “So why are you here talking to me?”

  “Your name came up a couple times as the male who knows all sorts of things.”

  “Why are you hunting her?” Bo watched Rhys with bright eyes and Rhys was under the impression that the answer mattered.

  He could’ve lied but what would be the point? He wasn’t sure how accurate the half-demon’s sense of smell was, but it didn’t matter. He had no reason to lie. “Because she killed my baby sister. She tortured her and stole her blood in exchange for immortality. Because I’m going to kill her. I won’t rest until she’s dead. So let there be no doubt, if you give me information on this female, I plan to kill her.” Slowly, painfully.

  Bo’s jaw clenched once and Rhys knew that he had a sister of his own. “You’re sure she got immortality?”

  “I…” He knew he would sound mad if he told the male the truth. That he could sense his sister’s blood flowing through the witch, that the female was out there. Nearby, if he had to guess. “I’m very certain.”

  “I don’t know the name Catta, but I’ll ask around for you. There are a couple powerful covens in New Orleans. They gravitated that way after The Fall. If she isn’t there, chances are they will know of a witch who killed a dragon for immortality. Killing one of your kind is…”

  “Difficult.”

  “That it is. Go ahead and sit down,” Bo said motioning to one of the stools in front of the bar as he resumed organizing bottles. “Your hovering is annoying.”

  Even though he preferred to stand, especially with all the energy humming through him, Rhys sat, his gaze flicking to the muted TV screen above the mirror and shelves filled with bottles. He froze as he saw a recording unfolding on the screen.

  “That’s crazy, right?” Bo said after glancing at the screen once before dismissing it. As if he’d seen it before.

  “When did this happen?” It couldn’t be live because it was still daylight out in the video. But it was close to nine o’clock in the evening now. And from the architecture on the feed, he knew the events taking place on the screen were in New Orleans.

  He stared in horror and fascination as his big brother—in dragon form—was blasting away at other dragons, fighting side by side with… Holy shit. He hadn’t even known phoenixes existed anymore. Apparently they did, and on the screen they were having a savage battle with a bunch of dragons in a still-rebuilding New Orleans.

  “That happened two days ago. Do you know them?”

  “I know the male.”

  Bo just stared at him, clearly waiting for him to continue.

  “The huge male is my brother.” And he hadn’t contacted Lachlan since his brother had woken up from Hibernation. He’d been in contact with Cody, their younger brother, and as far as he knew Cody had kept Rhys’s secret that he was awake. He’d woken before Lachlan so his brother hadn’t felt his awakening.

  Shame spiraled through him that he hadn’t contacted Lachlan, but he knew his brother would try to stop him from getting vengeance.

  Rhys knew he was on a dark, self-destructive path and he didn’t want to bring his oldest brother down with him. Because Lachlan would feel the need to swoop in and help. And they’d done that dance before. Lachlan, Cody and Rhys had all lost their sister, but it was clear that Cody and Lachlan had made lives for themselves. And as he watched the events unfold on-screen, he realized that his brother was mated. Or close to being mated, given the protective way he was fighting alongside the phoenix.

  Holy shit, he needed to call Cody.

  “They’re still in New Orleans, if you want to see your brother.”

  “How do you even know that?”

  The male simply grinned at him. “I know a lot of things. But my sister is friends with your brother’s new mate.”

  So Lachlan and the female were mated. “That female looks familiar,” he murmured as a new image flashed on the screen. It was a picture of the female—not in phoenix form—taken as if from afar. Kind of like a tabloid-type image.

  Bo threw his head back and laughed. “That’s the understatement of the decade.”

  Frowning even deeper, Rhys looked at the screen again, but without the volume and no closed caption, he had no clue what was being said. “Why is that funny? Who is she?”

  “Before The Fall she was one of the biggest superstars on the planet. Turns out she’s a goddamn phoenix.”

  “Oh hell.” She was Star. Famous singer who’d taken the world by storm not long after he’d woken from his Hibernation. Holy. Shit. No wonder she looked familiar. He’d seen her face online, seen her on television advertising random things and in magazines. “Look, thank you for meeting with me.” He needed to go though. That familiar hum in his blood was pushing him west. Even if the witch wasn’t in New Orleans, he needed to head in that direction.

  The male simply lifted a shoulder and put the last of the bottles away. “I’m gonna put out some feelers for this Catta, but I need to know how old she is. You can give me a description, but if she killed a dragon for immortality, then she’s powerful. She’s probably changed her appearance who knows how many times. Hell, she might even have a glamour spell in place.”

  He nodded because he already knew that. “I know what she smells like. No matter what magic she uses, she can’t hide that.”

  The half-demon shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. Don’t underestimate your opponent.”

  He didn’t need advice, but he nodded anyway. “Fair enough.”

  “How long have you been hunting her?”

  “A long time…thousands of years.” Technically he’d been asleep for the last few thousands of years, but even in his sleep he’d never been able to fully rest, never been able to stop wishing for her death. He didn’t think Bo wanted the specifics, however.

  Bo gave him a long, hard look. Then he nodded, as if coming to a decision. “I’m going to put you in contact with my sister. She can get you settled in New Orleans. Even if the witch you’re hunting isn’t there—and the chances are slim given how big the world is—there’s still a good chance of someone knowing where she’s located. Covens around the world are well connected. Too bad for you, they very rarely talk to outsiders. You’re going to need an in, and New Orleans is the place to start.”

  “I’ve tried talking to witches,” he snarled, the tether on his rage pulling taut. “I haven’t been able to get a single witch to help me.”

  The male snorted. “It’s no wonder. You carry your disdain for their kind around you like a cloak.”

  “They’re witches,” he muttered.

  The male’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah and I’m a half-demon. I’ve been judged for what I am most of my life simply because of the blood that runs through my veins.”

  “I’m sorry. I just want to find my sister’s killer. She needs to pay for what she did.” It was the only way Rhys could get any peace. Even if he died, as long as he took Catta out, he didn’t care.

  “Will you hurt any innocents in the process?”

  “Never.” That was one line he wouldn’t cross. Because if he did, his sister would be ashamed. And he never wanted to hurt others the way his family had been.

  “All right, then.” Bo pulled out his phone and his fingers flew across the screen. “I just texted you my sister’s information. You’re going to have to get the okay from King, the Alpha of that region, but you shouldn’t have a problem gaining entrance.”

  He nodded because he understood what the guy meant. He was Alpha in nature but he wasn’t an Alpha. He wasn’t looking to take over territory. It was pretty damn hard to take care of anyone else when he could barely take care of himself. That driving need for revenge was the only t
hing he cared about. “Thank you for this. You have no reason to help me.” And Rhys was curious why the male was. “I owe you.”

  The male just watched him for a moment. “I hope you find peace.”

  He would only find peace when the female he was after was dead. When her body was completely incinerated to ash from dragon fire and scattered on the four winds.

  Maybe then he could get some peace.

  Once he was outside, Rhys pulled out his cell phone and called Cody as he strode across the empty gravel parking lot toward his SUV.

  “Hey man, hold on.” There was a shuffling sound and then his brother said, “I’ll be back in a minute,” to someone. In the background Rhys heard laughter and music and then the ambient noise suddenly dimmed. “Is everything okay?” Cody asked.

  “Yeah. Lachlan’s mated?” He wasn’t sure why he phrased it as a question.

  There was a long beat of silence. “I’m guessing you saw the news.”

  “I did. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “The thing with them happened really fast and I haven’t talked to you in a couple weeks.” There was no recrimination in Cody’s voice. Never was.

  He rubbed a hand over his face and slid behind the wheel, but didn’t turn the ignition on. “I’m happy for him,” he said quietly, meaning it with every fiber of his being. Both his brothers deserved happiness and he hoped Cody found someone too.