by Fel Fern
After tending Seb, Kelias yanked the driver’s door open and started the car. The sedan glided past the alley Seb stashed it in. They passed by a couple of cars and the residential neighborhood without any other incident. His heart pounded fiercely against his chest, and his lungs had trouble drawing out air. Seb would live, Kelias knew, but would Alessio? Hell, he wanted to wheel the car around. Run straight to Alessio, but he culled the urge. These thoughts frightened the hell out of Kelias.
A hunter would never pursue that line of thought much less fuck the enemy.
“God,” Kelias whispered. He glanced left and right, expecting reinforcements to come right away, but there was nothing. No sirens blaring. No wolves howling their rage.
“Relax, bud,” Seb said, sounding a little like himself again. “Everything’s going to be all right.”
Kelias didn’t tell Seb it wouldn’t. Not for a long time, because Alessio’s death would haunt him. Fuck. Alessio couldn’t be the monster reports said he was. The man was sexy as hell, unexpectedly loyal and fierce. The deaths of Kelias’s comrades must have been exaggerated, or the reports must have been mistaken.
“We need to regroup, Kelias. Once we get out of Darkfall. We get the others. Make sure both kills are confirmed.” Seb’s words stopped Kelias cold.
“We should report back to the elders,” Kelias said.
“No. We can’t go home with a half-assed job. You know that. We’ll get the others. As a group, we’ll be more formidable,” Seb said.
Kelias bit his lip. He couldn’t drive back after making his hasty mistake. For one, Seb would know he missed Alessio’s heart on purpose, because Seb trained and grew up with him. Seb screwed up his kill because reinforcements arrived. Kelias had no reason to become sloppy. Rounding up the others didn’t sound like a good idea, but it was standard protocol.
Trees rose on either side of them as the car left the town proper. Soon, they’d passed the town welcome sign. Then meet with the rest. Kelias’s mind flew back to the night before. How everything seemed to fall wonderfully in place.
Christ, last night felt like Kelias had tumbled into one of the gay romance novels he secretly liked to read. Seb, Rayne, and the others would scoff at his books, because a true hunter couldn’t afford to show weakness. Reading romance would remind anyone of emotions. Would make them start to wonder, and Kelias did wonder.
After a hard day of training, Kelias looked forward to locking himself in his room to devour story after story, unable to stop. He’d find himself reaching for his dick and masturbating to the thought of some faceless, powerful man, gripping his hips while Kelias remained on all fours, then rutting him. Then after, his lover would take Kelias in his arms, whispering dirty things, sweet words to him.
“No.” Kelias said the word without thinking.
“What?” Seb asked, confused. “Kelias, we can’t finish the kill ourselves. Screw your pride.”
“It’s not about pride. Seb, I think the council made a mistake.” Kelias’s heart was thumping hard, but he had to try to explain. Seb would understand. He had to because he was Kelias’s brother. They weren’t related by blood, but he could trust Seb. He hoped Seb would see his logic. Seb would need convincing, but Kelias would show him not all the members of the supernatural community were monsters.
“What do you mean?”
Kelias bit his lip, debating. Years of conditioning, of blind hatred couldn’t be unmade easily. Kelias knew that. Hell, a part of him asserted Alessio had to die, to pay for the crime of murdering Kelias’s fellow hunters. Kelias didn’t follow orders blindly. Every hunter knew his or her betters tended to exaggerate sometimes, to get the job done. A necessity, so they could survive, but they were wrong about Alessio and the Darkfall wolves. “Alessio isn’t the monster the reports said they were.”
Kelias talked about his fears and suspicions, leaving out the private details of his night with Alessio.
“You’re naïve, Kelias. Always have been too soft,” Seb muttered, shaking his head. “What, after fucking one animal, you’re suddenly converted to their side?”
Kelias nearly lost control of the wheel at those words. “It’s not like that. Damn it, Seb, haven’t you been listening to a word I’ve said?”
“All I hear are the words of a traitor, but this isn’t you, Kelias. You and I know firsthand what these monsters can do. The reports said the Darkfall beasts ripped our brothers and sisters to shreds—”
“The reports said, but is that the truth?” Kelias interrupted. “I knew Alessio for only one night but I can tell he’s a good man.”
Seb’s piercing mocking laughter hurt. “You’re a poor fucking judge of character, Kelias. Anyway, it’s over now. If you botched your kill because of some sentiment, we can correct it soon.”
God, it felt like Kelias was talking to a brick wall.
“We’ll talk to Rayne about this, Kelias. He’ll set you back on the right path. You’re just confused. Hell, I bet this fucker did some kind of magic—”
“Alessio made me feel alive. Made me feel worthy, for the first time in my sorry-ass life,” Kelias snapped. “You know nothing.”
There was silence, and then Seb said, “The others were right about you. They said you couldn’t be trusted, because of your blood.”
Kelias cut the engine and whipped his head, ready to give Seb a piece of his mind. The press of the metal barrel against his forehead stopped Kelias cold. Fear thudded at his heart, seeing the wary resolve in Seb’s eyes. He knew that gun. Fuck, Kelias gave Seb the colt on his birthday. Had the grips custom-made too, with Seb’s initials, and now Seb would use Kelias’s gift to end his life.
“Seb, no,” Kelias whispered, still in shock. He wouldn’t beg for his life. No true hunter of the Order did, but then, perhaps he’d never been a true one. Kelias never pleaded in his entire life. No, untrue. He did last night, to Alessio. The syllables fell on his lips naturally, and submitting to Alessio felt so natural.
“I will grieve for your death, brother,” Seb whispered, showing genuine regret. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell Rayne. I’ll tell them you died in the line of duty.”
Squeezing his eyes shut, Kelias swallowed, accepting defeat. Dying like this wouldn’t be too bad, right? Besides, what would he return to? Things wouldn’t go back to normal. Nothing would be, because Kelias would always carry the guilt. Alessio wasn’t just any other one-night stand. Part of Kelias knew why he’d reacted that way, how Alessio easily strung his body like an instrument, and set his heart aflame.
Mate. The word came unbidden to Kelias’s mind but he knew it was true. It had been hard to admit at first, but he knew with absolute certainty the Beta was his intended. Kelias might be a half-demon reared by humans, but he knew about the concept of mates. Members of the supernatural community believed mates were their missing halves. Soul mates.
Kelias laughed when their instructor back at the Order’s headquarters first mentioned it. Frankly, it had sounded absurd at that point of time that monsters could love, could believe in such a human idea of soul mates. He stopped once the instructor taught the adept hunters about taking advantage of the mate link between monsters. It could be leverage, killing a target’s weaker half.
Could Kelias let go, knowing he’d leave the mortal plane filled with regrets? Kelias flickered his eyes opened, realizing he couldn’t. Alessio lived, he was certain of it. The powerful Beta wouldn’t let a half-demon with a silver blade end his life. If Kelias died, it would be by Alessio’s hand. He’d willingly pay for his deception, but he’d tell Alessio every bit of that wonderful mind-blowing night had been real, not fabricated.
Seb clicked the safety off, hands shaking with both the effort of holding the gun and maybe the years of friendship between them.
“Sorry,” Kelias whispered, meaning it. He snatched the gun away with ease, not anticipating Seb’s other hand rising, the handle of a knife clutched in his fist.
“You’re just like them. The monsters.” Seb sneered, e
yes blazing, any hint of guilt gone. He raised the blade. Kelias didn’t have time to react. Hands on the handle of the gun, he fired, screaming, hot tears gathering at the corner of his eyes. The gun had little recoil, and didn’t make a sound. Kelias came with Seb to their favorite weapon shop to equip the silencer.
Seb fell back against the seats, his mouth a silent cry, his eyes wide open. A perfect bullet hole remained lodged in between his eyes. The knife fell from his fingers. Seb didn’t move or speak again.
“Of course, bullet went straight to the brain.” Kelias let out a hysterical laugh. Christ, his chest hurt. God, what had he done? For a moment, Kelias didn’t know what to do. He looked away from Seb’s corpse and the road ahead of him. The sound of a vibrating phone made him jump in his seat. Realizing it came from Seb, Kelias swallowed. He turned back to his friend, and began pawing through his pockets. It felt wrong to be disturbing the dead, but he didn’t have a choice.
After plucking a disposable phone from Seb’s left jeans pocket, Kelias looked at the screen. Unknown number. He answered, glad his voice sounded steady.
“Seb, is the job done?” came Jill, one of their team members voice.
“This is Kelias.” He took a deep breath. “Both kills are completed.”
He winced, hearing Jill convey the message to their three other team members. Kelias could hear cheers on the other end.
“And Seb?”
Kelias knew Jill wasn’t dumb. She knew this was Seb’s phone, but he answered, and Seb was the unofficial leader of their little team. As a hunter, Jill respected him and Seb always vouched for him. Privately though, Kelias knew Jill distrusted him a little, like most of the hunters he’d worked with. Damn. The exhaustion crept over Kelias now. Wariness built over the years, of constantly needing to prove himself.
“He didn’t make it. Gamma’s men caught up to him. Used his own gun, the gun I gave him, to end him. It took so long, because I couldn’t leave his body.” Kelias didn’t bother hiding the pain in his voice now, or the guilt that that would continue to hunt him for the rest of his life. Jill heard it.
“I see. That’s…unfortunate. Did you make a clean escape?”
“Yes, so far. The wolves are disorganized without their leaders.”
“Seb’s death is worth it then. Come back to us then, brother.” Jill gave him fresh coordinates. Not long ago, Kelias would be overjoyed to have some call him brother, to be acknowledged by a fellow hunter. Numbness settled over him. Even if he managed to keep his lies intact, he had a feeling he would no longer be able to stay in the Order. It was a frightening thought to leave the only home he’d known all his life, but also a liberating one.
Kelias owed Alessio a debt, an explanation, and he intended to fulfill that promise. He drove to the rendezvous point, making certain nothing implicated him to Seb’s death. The meet point was an abandoned barn off-road, a couple of miles from Darkfall territory. It was full dark by the time Kelias arrived. A single lightbulb illuminated the barn. He killed the engine, tensing as the door opened. Jill came out, followed by the Warner brothers, and Joseph.
He didn’t know what kind of welcome to expect, certainly not the Warner brothers clapping his shoulder, congratulating him. At his look, they stopped, becoming sober. “Can…” Kelias faltered. “Can we find time to bury Seb’s body?”
Joseph, an older hunter, and the only one who didn’t acknowledge Seb’s leadership snorted. “We don’t have time.”
“Shut it, Joseph.” Jill shook her head. Kelias opened the passenger door and began to lug Seb’s body out. The Warners helped him without another word.
“Weak fools,” Joseph muttered.
“Go fuck yourself.” Jill shook her head. “Kelias, the ground is good by the back of the barn. I’ll get us shovels.”
“Thank you,” Kelias said hoarsely. He felt like a pretender, being among the other hunters. Why couldn’t he just tell them the truth? That he shot Seb out of self-defense? Going that route though, would hasten his death, and Kelias needed to remain alive so he could see Alessio again.
It felt odd, having other hunters come to Kelias’s defense. Jill came back with rusty shovels, as they moved Seb’s corpse to the back. Kelias took one shovel, and Hardy another.
“Can you tell us what happened?” Jill asked.
“The half-demon’s too emotional to make sense,” Joseph said in disgust.
“Seb was my brother. We trained and grew up together,” Kelias replied hotly.
Joseph’s black eyes gleamed. “What does have to do with anything? Sentiment doesn’t get a hunter anywhere.”
“Shut it, Joe. You have no right to comment. It was Kelias’s kill and Seb’s,” Hardy Warner cut in.
They dug in silence for a while.
“Why did you two separate?” Joseph demanded, gaze on Seb. Kelias suppressed a shudder, not liking the way he examined Seb’s corpse. There were glaring holes in Kelias’s story, but Jill and the Warners took his grief as truth. Joseph needed more convincing, but Kelias had no time for him. “The last time I spoke to Seb, he said you decided to lure the Beta to a quieter place.”
Thank God. Seb didn’t mention anything about him agreeing to sleep with Alessio.
“Better that way. Faster, too. Seb didn’t anticipate the Gamma’s men coming. When we met again, he already lost too much blood,” Kelias explained.
“Enough questions, Joseph. Leave Kelias to his grief,” Jill snapped, and Kelias was thankful for her kindness.
They dug in silence, telling tales of Seb’s exploits. Having known Seb the longest, Kelias did most of the recounting while he dug. His arms grew tired, but he didn’t accept Jill’s offer to relieve him. Kelias needed this, to feel the burn in his muscles, hoping in some way to ease his guilt.
There was no way his sins would be cleansed, but he would try. Exhausted, they drank to Seb’s memory, celebrating a job well done. As expected, Kelias didn’t sleep well that night. Thoughts of Seb in his last moments plagued him. He saw himself shooting Seb, the man he called brother, over and over. When daylight broke, they cleaned up and headed started back on the road to headquarters.
Chapter Six
When pack enforcers came for Alessio, he’d already lost a lot of blood. He remained immobile on the floor by his bed after contacting Jared, a red strain spreading underneath him. In this position, Alessio had a perfect view of the bed. Only hours ago, he and Kelias had lain in his fucking bed, spooned together. He remembered thinking, marveling at the perfect fit of his body against Kelias’s lean one. Although Alessio knew he should feel nothing but hatred for the traitor who stuck a knife into his chest, his wolf remembered the warm press of Kelias’s body, Alessio’s erection pressing against the curve of his ass.
“Fuck,” he croaked. He heard footsteps outside, barging in past his still-open door. More curses. A woman bent over him. He recognized Jane, Jared’s sister and one of the pack enforcers. Alessio trusted the siblings without reserve, because he, Sergio, and Michella practically raised them as their own.
“How’s Michella?” he asked, hating how weak he felt, and how fucking stupid he’d been, for trusting a stranger, and taking him home.
Still, lying in his own pool of blood, Alessio thought about Kelias. A part of him remembered how the half-demon hesitated, how he purposely missed Alessio’s heart. A stone-cold killer, especially one trained since he was a child, especially a member of the Order of the Knife, wouldn’t make such novice mistakes.
“Don’t speak, Alessio,” Jane said, looking at another figure. Isaac, another enforcer, was yelling for a healer. The pack healer, Ward, knelt in front of him, medical kit in hand. Alessio peered over his shoulder, seeing Jane talking in soft tones with Jared and Isaac.
Alessio snarled, finally getting their attention. “Michella. Is she alive?”
“She’s sustained critical injuries, but she’ll make it. Stay still,” Ward snapped. Alessio glared, but the healer ignored him. Ward always had that way about him, no
nonsense and all business.
“Michella—”
“Dino and Raul are with her, guarding her apartment.” Jane assured Alessio, naming the pack’s other enforcers. “They won’t let her out of their sight.”
“Stop gawking and make yourselves useful,” Ward snapped. “Help me get him to the bed. The floor is cold.”
With their help, they moved Alessio to the bed. Ward moved quickly, ordering everyone about to get towels, boiled water, and gauze. Alessio knew what was coming. Gritting his teeth, he fought to remain conscious while Ward extracted the silver bullet from his shoulder.
“These fuckers came prepared,” Jared muttered, anger evident in his voice. He’d always been an angry pup, Alessio mused, despite the unserious, cheerful mask he liked to put on.
“Order of the Knife. These bastards need to be taught a lesson,” Isaac said. “Jane, have you told him?”
“Told me what?” Alessio demanded, beginning to sit up, but Ward shoved him back against the pillows, shooting him a warning look.
The three enforcers gave each other looks and Alessio had a feeling he knew what he’d say next.
“Alessio,” Jane said softly. “We called Sergio.”
“You had no right.” Alessio couldn’t keep the rage out of his voice.
“He is the Alpha, Ales,” Jane reminded him gently. “It’s our duty to report everything concerning the pack and besides, with Michella and you down, we didn’t have a choice.”
No doubt the two men counted on her to calm him down. Like Alessio was a fucking pup who didn’t think before he acted—well, Alessio had been guilty of that one sin. He’d always been the one to act with sense, to put logic first before recklessness, and what happened? Sergio trusted him hold the pack while he left with his mate, and Alessio failed at the simple task.