by Juniper Hart
Dawn was breaking over the horizon when Helios began to rouse from sleep. His massive frame turned to the side, and he groaned loudly as he felt the creaking in his bones.
“Sire!” Vaughan gasped. “You’re awake!” The half-formed being shuffled toward him, eyes glimmering with happiness. Helios scowled at him.
“How long was I asleep?” he demanded, blinking and looking around. Instantly, he sat up, sniffing the air with some discontent.
“Two days, Sire. How are you feeling?”
“Who else is here?” Helios demanded, jumping to his feet. He realized he was completely naked, but that didn’t bother him as much as realizing there was a bear in the house in which he had been hiding for a month.
The antidote had worked, but not without side effects which still left him weakened and lacking in power. Naps would turn into a full day’s sleep, and he was unable to morph his appearance at all. But he was alive.
“Sire?” Vaughan followed on his master’s heels as Helios tore through the house, looking for the scent.
“Who else is here?” he growled. “I can smell him!”
“Sire… you know who it is. It’s the bear shifter we took from the hospital.”
Helios froze in his tracks, his mind still as the memory of what had happened rushed back. Biting the fairy… the antidote in his hands… and the bear.
“He’s still here?” Helios asked, spinning around as if he had known all along. “I thought you had moved him.”
“No, Sire.” The confusion on Vaughan’s face was almost tangible. “Why would I do that? I mean, I could, but—”
“No, no,” Helios said quickly, regaining his footing and heading down the hall toward the basement stairs. He pulled open the door, suddenly feeling surer of himself as he walked.
I have been going about this the wrong way for centuries, he thought. He didn’t remember he’d already told himself that once. Something had changed in him since the trip to Carlingview. Perhaps it was the weeks on ineffective medicine or the antidote itself, but Helios’ memory just wasn’t what it had been before.
Slowly, he descended the wooden steps into the basement, and he heard a grunt. The sound made him smile hideously against the darkness, and he crept forward, unsure if the bear had heard him or not. The silver cage kept him from shifting, and the bloodied, broken body lay helplessly on the floor as Helios looked down on him.
“How are you doing, Doctor?” he purred.
Hatefully, the bear spat at him, but he was far too weak to speak.
“Vaughan treating you well?” Helios followed the question with a laugh.
“Let… me… out,” the bear wheezed. “Do… you… know who I am?”
“Of course,” Helios chuckled. “Why do you think we took you? In fact, I learned a lot about the staff while I was at Carlingview. It’s amazing how free-speaking the nurses are, even around conscious patients. If the Council knew how many mortals were suspicious of the Enchanted, they’d have to put everyone to death.” He grinned disarmingly. “I know all about you and your ways, doctor. I have to admit, I find your deviousness… refreshing. You don’t force yourself into the unrealistic constraints that Enchanted society has set up for you. Neither do I.”
“Th-they will… find… you,” the bear blubbered. “Kill… you.”
“Oh, stop,” Helios snapped, examining his nails. “You think I haven’t heard this rhetoric a thousand times over the millennia? It’s getting tiresome.” He dropped his hand and peered more intently at the crumpled figure on the floor. “But I don’t care about your ill deeds, doctor. I care far more about your family ties.”
If possible, the bear paled even more, his eyes widening with shock.
“How much does your family love you, doctor?”
“Money?” he choked. “You… want… money?”
Helios’ brows raised. “Well, yes,” he conceded. “I do. But that’s not why I’ve taken you. You are much more valuable to me than money, my dear doctor. Can you guess why?”
Hazel eyes closed, and the dark head of hair fell to the filthy floor.
“Theo,” he breathed.
“Bingo! Wow, you really are smart. I can see why they made you an attending. Yes, Dr. Walter. You’re here because of Theo Veriday.”
The defeated bear shook his head again. “Won’t… pay… for me…”
“I hope you’re selling yourself short, Dr. Walter,” Helios told him pleasantly. “Because the fact that you’re Theo’s cousin is the only thing keeping you alive right now.”
“What do… you… want?” Michael breathed. “I… can… give… you…”
“No,” Helios corrected. “You can’t. Only Theo and Raven can give me what I want. And now I have some incentive to ensure they do precisely that.”
Helios spun and left Dr. Walter alone in the dark, despite the bear’s garbled protests.
“How is the prisoner, Sire?” Vaughan asked when Helios resurfaced on the main floor.
The demon looked at Vaughan blankly, trying to make sense of the question.
“Sire?”
“What?”
“The prisoner, how is he?”
Helios’ brow furrowed in confusion. “What prisoner?”
Alpha’s Deception
Revenge of the Bears
Prologue
For the first time in months, Helios was strong enough to move without being overcome with dizziness or weakness. At first, he had been reluctant to believe that he was in the clear, but as the days passed, he knew that he was recovered. The antidote was working, and Helios was no longer a slave to his ailment. His legs didn’t betray him, his feet even against the floors without a hint of uneasiness.
I no longer feel like a seasick child, he thought with unbidden glee.
“Sire!” Vaughan called happily. “You’ve recovered. You’re finally well again!” The joy in the half-formed demon’s face was nothing short of ecstatic, and for the first time since Helios could remember, he offered his right hand a genuine grin.
“The antidote has done its job,” he said joyfully. “I’m no longer poisoned by aranium…” He trailed off for a moment, his brow furrowing as he looked at Vaughan.
“Sire? What is the matter?” Vaughan asked, his own face shadowing with worry. “Is something wrong?”
Helios shook his head quickly, shaking off the sudden onset of confusion which seemed to have overtake him. For a strange moment, he had forgotten where he was and with whom he spoke.
“Nothing is wrong,” he said almost angrily at being caught in yet another moment of weakness. “Where is my army?”
This time, it was Vaughan who seemed perplexed.
“They wait your instructions, Sire,” he said slowly. “As I said before.”
Helios’ crystalline eyes widened, and he looked at the smaller demon, his mind racing nervously. Had he said so before? Had Helios asked him before? He shoved the absurd questions out of his head. He was overtired, struggling to stay alive for months in the wake of his poisoning. There was nothing to be ashamed of. Anyone else would have been dead in his position.
Of course I’m slightly confused. I haven’t had proper rest in weeks.
“Sire?”
“What? What is it, Vaughan? Can’t you see I’m thinking?” Helios fumed, the smile completely wiped from his face. His moment of happiness was short-lived now that he realized that he must return to the world again.
“I only wish to know what your orders might be now that you are well,” Vaughan mumbled, his voice fraught with apology. Helios stared at his henchman, his eyes narrowing slightly.
It was a fair question, after all. He had spent so much time trying to recover from his initial bout of revenge that there had been little time to pursue a real plan. But things had changed now. He was well again, able to think for himself and backed by an army of demons who still believed in his cause.
“There will be orders,” he assured Vaughan. “Don’t rush me.”
&nbs
p; “Of course, Sire. You have much to consider now,” the beast agreed, nodding vehemently.
Indeed I do, Helios conceded silently. The matter of the army was settled, at least, but there was still more to be done. His finances were depleted completely now. The army would need to be cared for, and although Vaughan had remained faithfully at his side despite having little motivation other than loyalty, Helios couldn’t be sure that the others would feel the same. He would need to acquire a small fortune to continue with his plans. And get out of this hovel.
He looked about the dilapidated room, cringing as he peered at it with healthier eyes. For far too long, he had been condemned to living in the shadows. It was high time that he lived the life he so richly deserved.
“What can I get for you, Sire?” Vaughan asked in his annoyingly persistent way. “Are you hungry? Thirsty?” No, food and drink were not at the forefront of his mind. He needed to finally act after remaining stagnant for so long.
“Pack my meager belongings,” Helios instructed him. “We leave tonight.”
Vaughan eyed him curiously. “Leave for where, Sire? Will we return to Iceland, or head back to Europe?”
Helios scoffed and shook his head.
“No,” he countered, turning to face Vaughan with icy blue eyes. “We will be remaining in the United States for the time being.”
Vaughan waited expectantly, and Helios felt the wheels of his mind turning slowly as he thought of where he needed to go next.
His all-out thrust into revenge had not served him well, and it’d had everything to do with lack of planning. For centuries, Helios had sat about, seething with vengeance, but how much had he truly planned? The world was not the same as it had been a thousand years ago. It was impossible to move as freely as he had once been able to, under the cloak of darkness. Now, there were technological advancements monitoring his every move, eyes in the sky, watching for him specifically, now that he had made his presence known. They had developed ways of searching that Helios had never imagined in his wildest dreams.
Surely Theo Veriday, the leader of the bears on the Council of Seven, and the others would be looking for him with sharper eyes than ever, anticipating his next move. Even leaving the confines of the boarding houses and cheap motels was a grand risk, lest he get caught on some security camera.
I have to do something they won’t expect, but something that will benefit me and the cause, Helios thought, and he knew exactly what he needed to do. If he wanted to be successful in executing his revenge, he would need the means to do so. He hadn’t realized just how expensive the world had become, but he was certainly feeling the pinch now.
“Will we remain in Portland?” Vaughan asked, filling the silence which had gone on much longer than Helios had realized.
“No,” he replied slowly. “But we aren’t going far.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Helios caught a glimpse of his own face in the cracked mirror over the beaten dresser. To his relief, he saw the familiar handsome features he had known for a near-eternity, and the reflection gave him a glimmer of hope. He was back. There was no sign of the gaunt face and dull eyes. He was cured of the poison. He needed to steer clear of aranium going forward. Now that he knew it wasn’t exclusively a danger to him within the sword, Helios realized he would have to be cautious in more ways than one.
I can’t go about biting people at random anymore, he thought with some regret. His dream of one day killing off all the mortals was going to have to wait until he was on surer ground among the Enchanted. He had nothing if not time, though, and a slow smile formed over his face. There was plenty of time to accomplish everything he needed to do. He simply had to wait until the heat of his resurfacing diminished somewhat. And he knew just the place to do that. He would need to go back to his roots.
Vaughan cleared his throat almost impatiently, and Helios scowled at the irritating sidekick.
“Sire? Where should I plan to go?” Vaughan insisted. Helios hissed with annoyance.
“Seattle,” he snarled, wishing Vaughan would go away. “We’re going to Seattle.”
“What is in Seattle, Sire?”
Again, Helios was reverted back to another time, a place across the pond when America did not exist, at least not to the Enchanted who roamed then—before there had been the deep resentment he had harbored toward the mortals, when it had been just him and Carina, their love for one another sustaining them enough that they cared little for anything else. The memory was as painful as it was deep.
No matter how much time elapses, I will never stop missing her, he realized, but that was something with which he had already come to terms. What if he had not gone into business with the Suttons? What if he had been content to drift the earth without the gold and riches that Carina had so desperately wanted? Would Carina still be alive? Would he still be welcomed into the Enchanted?
His back stiffened, and guilt flooded him. How much had she begged him to leave the underworld behind and run off with her? More than he cared to remember.
There was no changing the past, which was quite literally ancient history at this point. Whatever had led him on the path he followed now, Helios would see it through.
“Tobias Sutton is in Seattle,” he announced. A blank look followed the fair demon’s announcement, and Vaughan stared at his master, willing him to explain.
“Forgive me, Sire, but the name means nothing to me,” Vaughan said slowly, his brow furrowing.
“No, it wouldn’t mean anything to you,” Helios agreed. Vaughan had not been with Helios in those days. It had only been him and Carina. “But it still means something to me.” He spun and folded his arms clear across his strong chest. “Didn’t I give you an order?” he demanded. “Pack up whatever there is. We leave at midnight. Be ready, and don’t make me tell you again.”
“Sire, I think it is safer if we leave the country,” Vaughan mumbled, perhaps foreseeing the berating he was about to receive. “They will be looking for you here—”
“I don’t keep you around to think, Vaughan.” It wasn’t the first time that Helios had reminded his henchman of such a thing over the centuries but for once, he felt the need to justify his actions. After all, he had been less than the strong, capable leader Vaughan had begun following all those years ago. The last thing Helios needed was for his right hand to second-guess his plans now, especially when he had been given so many reasons to doubt his employer.
Yet he remains, like a loyal lap dog. I wonder what it will take to make him leave.
Helios hoped he didn’t find out—at least not until the army was under his control. Until then, Vaughan was all he had.
“I have unfinished business with Tobias,” Helios continued almost magnanimously. “From before you and I came to know one another.” The look of confusion only grew on Vaughan’s face, and Helios smothered a sigh. “He owes me,” he snapped. “A great deal more than he’s ever deigned to pay.”
Finally, understanding fell over Vaughan’s face.
“Currency, yes,” the half-formed demon agreed. “We will need every penny we can muster.”
Helios nodded. “Indeed.”
Vaughan seemed content with the explanation he had been given, and he moved toward the closet, presumably to oblige Helios’ request of packing.
It would be a relief to leave Portland behind, particularly when Helios could feel the nearness of his predators. Or perhaps he had done well by remaining in the United States. Perhaps the Council would have assumed he had moved on to exact his revenge elsewhere.
It was impossible to know where they might be looking for him, not without an inside source. But they would certainly not be anticipating that he would go looking for someone that far in his past, of that Helios was sure. To the Council of Seven and the others who sought to destroy him, his life had begun when Carina’s had ended. It never occurred to anyone that he had lived a full existence, one that had led him to become the demon he was today.
Yes, Helios thought
with more confidence than he’d boasted in a long while. We will head to Seattle, and I will settle the score that should have been settled eons ago.
“Shall I round up the army, Sire?” Vaughan asked without turning to face him.
“No,” Helios said. “Not yet. This is a matter between me and Tobias.”
Vaughan cast him a wary but sidelong look. “Are you sure you’re strong enough for this, Sire?”
Helios scowled at the reminder that he had been smothered in weakness for so long.
“Just pack.” Vaughan wisely clamped his mouth closed again, shifting his gaze away guiltily.
Leave the planning to me now. I am well again, and I will collect all my debts, starting with the oldest one I have.
In a few days’ time, his attack would be launched, fully and without fail this time. And it would all start with Tobias Sutton.
1
“This place is a complete donut fest,” Simone announced, rolling her light eyes as she looked around. “We can do better than this for you. Next time, I pick the bar.”
“A donut fest? What the hell does that even mean?” Sierra asked, her brow furrowing in confusion. True, she’d been out of the club scene for a while, but “donut fest” wasn’t a term on her radar. To her emerald eyes, the place was no different than dozens of others she’d seen in her life. Simone, however, seemed impatient to leave.
Sierra wondered if that had anything to do with the fact that her companion wanted to get home to her mate, even though he was in Colorado. She asked herself why Simone had even bothered to come to Seattle at all. Her mind was always on Theo.
Sierra had met her distant cousin after Simone had learned she was also a descendant of the Collingwood Coven. The two had become close immediately and spent as much time together as possible, even though they lived in different states.
I wonder if she used to be more fun, Sierra thought dryly, though she didn’t fault her distant cousin, and best friend, for wanting to leave. The entire scene was getting old for everyone. Sierra wasn’t even sure what she was doing there that night. Even though it had seemed like such a good idea at the time, suddenly, she wished she’d opted to stay home and save her money. It wasn’t like she had an excess to spend.