Ridden by Darkness

by Michelle, Christine

  From the lack of more reaction, I guessed that my sisters were already made aware of Betina’s circumstances. “I’m so sorry to hear that,” I told her. Then I glanced at my sisters, still waiting for their answers.

  “Everyone has been kind to us,” Charisma insisted.

  Charlotte scoffed and then told me the truth. “There are two on the council who are very insistent that we become their mates,” she informed me.

  “Raven sent his man to go fetch me, and I ended up injured as a result. He thought he had some weird claim on me, so I’ve been worried.”

  “He did?” Charisma asked in surprise while looking a little put off by what I’d told her.

  “He did. Most of the men here heard him admit to it,” I told her gently. “I’m telling you that so that you are prepared when they don’t speak of him in a good light,” I added as she seemed genuinely upset by the fact that the asshole had attempted to lay claim to me.

  “I didn’t realize.”

  “I was concerned for the both of you, because he means to have one of us, no matter the cost.”

  Charisma turned her back to me, shoulders slumped, as Charlotte and Betina each rubbed her back. “It’s better to know this now, before you gave yourself away to him,” our sister whispered to her.

  “We warned you he wasn’t a good fit,” Betina chimed in before turning to me. “He’s always super sweet with her, trying his best to sweep her off her feet and influence her,” she told me. “Charlotte and I were concerned because it didn’t seem to come from an authentic place.”

  I moved closer, putting an arm around Charisma’s shoulders and hugging her to my body. “I’m sorry to have delivered bad news, Sister, but you want to wait for a mate who will be worthy of you and not just using you as a power source. Most of the alphas here in this club are more powerful than Raven is. He wanted one of us because he allowed himself to grow weak while other shifters around him grew stronger. He needs something that will recharge his batteries in an easier way. You want a different kind of man. One who is strong on his own and will cherish you for who you are, not what you are.”

  “That’s easy to say when you already have a mate,” she sniffled as she told me.

  “Honey, no. I took a gamble that Gray would be a better shifter than the men who were hurting me. I appointed him my savior. It worked out well for me, but that was blind luck. “

  “Maybe you should just point out one of the good guys around here, and I’ll just choose one,” she insisted with a small smile blooming on her face. “It would be better than always wondering if someone was just being nice to me to obtain whatever power they think I come loaded with.”

  “I’ll tell you what, if anyone piques your interest while you’re here, just point them out and I’ll give you the lowdown.”

  After a few more giggles and hugs, I excused myself to find Bomber. I may have only had a week ahead of me to spend with my siblings, but I’d grown exceptionally close to Bomber in a very short period of time, and I could feel that his heart was hurting all the way from the other room.

  It wasn’t hard to find him because he hadn’t left the bar. The knowing look thrown my way from the prospect slinging drinks told me all I needed to know about Bomber’s state of mind. The prospect may not have known why he was so out of sorts, but he knew something was up, most likely from the sheer volume of alcohol he was being asked to serve up. I took a deep breath and walked over, throwing my arm around the dragon’s neck and kissing him on the cheek, to which he didn’t respond to at all. There was no hug back, hell, not even a pity smile. Damn, he was not doing so hot.

  “Babe, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but I just wanted you to know that I’m here, and I’m your confidante. What you say will always stay between us.” I took a seat on the barstool beside him and waited for a response that never came. I waved down the prospect behind the bar and ordered 4 shots of whiskey. Bomber cocked an eyebrow up, but still remained silent. “What? It’s two for you, two for me. I figured if I couldn’t beat your shit mood with all of my charm, I’d just join you. I’m on the depression train now, and I’m not hopping off without you. We’re in this together, drink for drink, tear for tear.” I threw in a wink for good measure, and then I reached out and grabbed his hand adding, “It’s okay to be hurt, but you don’t have to suffer alone.”

  “Well, if you’re here to suffer with me, you might want to order another couple of shots,” he explained before downing both of the shots I’d just ordered consecutively without skipping a beat. “I’m a dragon, what the hell am I supposed to do with two shots?” He flashed me a weak smile, and that was all I needed. The prospect overheard us talking and decided to take matters into his own hands, laying out two bottles of whiskey in front of us.

  Before long, Gray wandered out to where we were sitting at the bar, and sat down on the other side of Bomber, clapping him on the back and nodding his head at me. “Your sisters wanted to get some rest, they’re so tired from the trip that Charlotte was borderline falling asleep talking. They said they’d catch you at breakfast tomorrow, so now I get to join you two lovebirds at the bar.” That finally forced a full laugh from Bomber, probably because Gray was known for being a dominant, alpha personality, and I belonged to him. My mate just knew that this was different, and I loved him for not trying to get in the way of that.

  We sat there at the bar for hours, the three of us, drinking more than our fair share of liquor. Gray and I did our level best to stave off Bomber’s inevitable heartbreak for another day, and we all enjoyed the time spent together. I kept feeling an overwhelming need to pinch myself and make sure everything happening around me was real. My sisters were with me for the first time in years. I was mated to the man of my dreams, and even though Bomber was going through a shit time, I’d still managed to find the best of friends in him- a brother of my own.

  “Shhh, you’re being too loud, she’s going to wake up.”

  “You’re the one that won’t stop giggling like a little school girl.” I knew what was happening without even opening my eyes. My sisters were trying to scare me awake like we always took turns doing when we were little. Focusing on controlling my breathing so as not to let on that I was awake and privy to their plans. As soon as I felt that they were close and about to strike, I sat straight up and screamed at the top of my lungs, causing both of my sisters to jump so high, they fell off of my bed and onto the floor, dissolving into a fit of laughter.

  “You didn’t think that you could still pull one over on me, did you?” I asked, feigning disbelief. “I’m older and wiser now, my sisters. Even hungover, I can see your shenanigans coming from a mile away.” I laughed with them for a few seconds before I noticed tears swimming in Charlotte’s eyes. Charisma followed my line of sight and the look of concern on her face registered with Charlotte.

  “I’m fine, I just can’t believe we’re really all here together again. It’s been so long.” I could tell she had more to say, but the tears in her eyes finally spilled over onto her cheeks. Without another word spoken between us, Charisma and I were on the floor in a second with our arms wrapped around our sister.

  “Not a single day went by that I didn’t worry about you both, wonder about what your life was like, or wish that I could see you.” I now had tears of my own running unchecked down my cheeks, and I meant every word I was saying. I never stopped missing them, or wishing that we could be together again as a family. We sat there together on the floor, hugging and crying it out for what simultaneously felt like a split second and forever.

  I wish we could stay,” Charisma whispered to no one in particular.

  “So why can’t you?” I sat up and grabbed both of their hands. “I don’t get why you can’t stay longer than a week. Hell, I don’t understand why you can’t just move in with us. I know you’re not mated yet, but I am, and Gray would never let anything happen to my sisters.”

  “I wish it were that simple, Sis. I really do.”


  “What’s stopping you, especially now that you know Raven was just after you for your power?” As soon as those words left my mouth, Charisma looked as if she’d been slapped across the face, making me feel terrible. If the words could be caught mid-air, I would have snatched them back, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want an answer, no matter how harsh I sounded asking the question.

  “The council is still expecting us to return. They have taken us under their wing, and they’re protecting us until we mate. You were attacked, and while you got lucky, you still lost a part of yourself you’ll never get back. Nothing like that will happen to us under the protection of the council.” It was my turn to look hurt then.

  “I get that you felt safe there before, but Raven will stop at nothing to gain the power he’s seeking. He knows that I’m a dead end, and that he would have to fight a pretty large battle to get to me. If you just walk back into the picture, he will take one of you as his own, and it won’t be for love. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but it’s the truth.” After an agonizingly long moment of silence shared between us, Charisma’s facial expression changed. She no longer looked sad or exasperated. Instead, she appeared detached and emotionless, which was possibly even more terrifying than seeing her angry.

  “We will be leaving in one week. How you choose to spend that week is up to you. If you’d like to spend it fighting and angry at each other, so be it. If you’d like to actually get to know your sisters and enjoy the time that we do have together, then I highly suggest you get over yourself. We will do what we have to in order to stay safe. We both deserve to find our mate just like you did.” Every word was stated matter of factly, and with very little emotion behind them. “Anyway, I’m starving, so if you don’t mind, I’m going to head down to the kitchen and find myself something to eat. You can join me if you’d like.” Our sister didn’t wait for a response from me or Charlotte before calmly leaving the room and shutting the door behind her.

  I looked to Charlotte with an expression on my face that clearly read ‘What the fuck?’ but she held a finger up to halt my speech before it could even begin.

  “I love you, Chantal. So does Charisma. All she talked about since we were reunited was finding you.” Charlotte looked conflicted for a moment on whether or not she was going to continue her train of thought, so I placed a hand atop hers, and rubbed circles on it with my thumb, encouraging her to finish her thought. She lowered her voice to a barely there whisper and continued, “But I don’t think you should push the issue. Finding a mate means everything to her. She hasn’t even shared with me what all she went through before we were brought to the council, but I know that she’s afraid. Nothing is more important to her than the security and freedom that she believes being mated will bring her.”

  “What about you? Are you planning to go back with her?” It was an impossible position to put her in, asking which sister she would choose to be with, but I needed the answer anyway.

  “I don’t know. They’re expecting me to return…” she began. My face fell, but she reached up and grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at her while she finished explaining. “It’s not that I don’t want to be here with you, or even that I want to go back to the council. Someone has to look out for Charisma though. I really worry about her, and I can’t let her go back there on her own. You have Gray, and by the looks of it, an entire motorcycle club of shifter badasses at your back. She only has me. So if she goes, and I definitely think she will, I will have to go with her. The one thing I do agree with Charisma about is that we should make the most of our week together.

  “We shouldn’t spend this time feeling sad or arguing about the future. Let’s go join our sister for breakfast and then you can introduce me to a few of those sexy bikers downstairs.” She winked at me through the tears in her eyes, and then leaned over and kissed my forehead. Charlotte was right about needing to go eat, and as if on cue, my stomach rumbled loudly, forcing a fit of laughter to erupt between us as we headed to the kitchen.

  The three of us banded together to cook a breakfast for the books. We prepared French toast with fresh raspberries, smoked gouda sausage, and eggs scrambled to perfection, exactly as we enjoyed them when we were kids. The awkwardness I expected after my argument with Charisma was nowhere in sight, and I resolved myself to make it through this week without upsetting her again. If I was only going to get a week with my sisters, I was determined to enjoy that time with them.

  20

  Sleep eluded me as my nervousness overpowered all my senses.

  The traitor

  Knowing that I’d had six months of Chantal to myself did nothing to soothe my soul when I woke up to realize she wasn’t still in bed with me. I could hear her down in the kitchen laughing with her sisters. They needed that time to bond after all the time they spent apart, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to wrap myself around her and never let her go.

  Since that clearly wasn’t happening this morning, I decided I’d take a cold shower and then go check on Bomber. We may have distracted him with liquor and laughs last night, but if I knew my brother at all, he’d be feeling sorrier than hell for himself by now. I’d spent 5 minutes knocking and yelling at his door without hearing a response, but the door was locked, so he was most certainly inside.

  Hey! Open up before I assume you're dead and take the damn door off its hinges!" I yelled out. Immediately, as if Bomber had been standing right on the other side, waiting for me to leave, I heard the familiar sound of the lock mechanism engaging, and then the door swung open. He said nothing as he made his way back to his bed and flopped back into the abyss of his blankets. “I know you’re going through some shit right now, but we have other matters to discuss. Plus, I’m not just gonna let you mope around all day like a little bitch.” Bomber’s response was a loud groan that ended up muffled by his pillow.

  “Whatever. Give me 10 minutes and I’ll meet you in Church. We can talk about whatever you need to talk about then,” he relented.

  “Make it 20, dude. You need a shower. You smell like ass,” I said laughing, to which he responded with a grumbled tirade about assholes interrupting his wallowing that was also muffled by his pillow. I clapped him on the shoulder and turned to leave. “20 minutes, get a move on, let’s go!” I shot a quick text out to the other officers, letting them know I would be seeing them in Church shortly and left Bomber alone to drag himself out of bed.

  I wanted to see my precious Moonbeam before I headed into Church with the guys, so I hastily proceeded to the kitchen. As soon as I rounded the corner, making eye contact with Chantal, and I felt this sense of calmness wash over my body. She shot me one of her award-winning smiles, and I found myself wanting to sweep her up into my arms and take her back to my room for some quality alone time. That couldn't happen because we both had shit to do that would keep us separate for a while. Her beaming smile dulled slightly into one of understanding. She skipped over to me, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck and pulling herself up to plant one on me. “We may have to be apart today, but I’ll be with you all night,” she whispered into my ear. “Go do what you have to, we’ll catch up later.” How the hell had I gotten so lucky? Six months after finding her and I still couldn’t believe it. I pulled her in for one last kiss, and left her behind against every instinct and desire in my body.

  “Alright, let’s get this meeting started so that we can get it finished. We need to discuss our little problem with Raven.” Knox stated, matter of factly, gesturing toward me. "Gray, go ahead and take things from here."

  “Love to, Prez,” I began, not wanting to waste time. “I know we got rid of our Raven problem before, but we all knew it wasn’t for good. After hearing some of what Chantal’s sisters had to say, I think he’s going to be a problem again sooner rather than later. The entire time that he was waiting for one of his lackeys to bring Chantal to him, he was building some kind of relationship with Charisma too- one that she believed, or maybe still believes, to
be romantic as well. He is obviously hungry for more power, and he knows that these girls are the only way for him to get it. Raven is not just going to let that go. We need to find a way to stop it from happening. He’s not worth a damn right now, but with more power behind his bite, he could prove to be a pretty big issue in the future.”

  “So what do you propose we do about him then? I agree that he’s going to be a problem. It’s not even a matter of ‘if,’ it’s a matter of ‘when.’ But if he’s already built a relationship with one of the sisters, I’m not so sure that making the first move on him makes sense.” Bomber replied. It was something I’d thought about already, but that didn’t mean I had a good response.

  “Actually, I have the matter of ‘when’ figured out as well,” Knox interjected before I had the chance. “I was contacted by the council just moments before this meeting and informed that Raven will be the one escorting Charisma and Charlotte back when their visitation is up this week. That means we have no more than five or six days to figure out what to do with him when he gets here.” Well, fuck. I knew it would be soon, but I didn’t think it would be less than a week.

  “Fucking hell. What if the girls don’t want to go back? What if they want to stay here with their sister?” Brace asked.

  “The council has offered them protection until they’re properly mated, and they feel safe there, they’ve made that quite clear. I won’t force them to stay,” I stated firmly, in a way that would broker no arguments.

  “Alright, then I’m not sure what we can do. If they want to go, and we’re just going to let them, how are we supposed to stop him from mating with one of them? And who’s to say that he will even be a problem for us after that?”

  “That fucker has a massive ego problem. He did not like coming here and finding out that Chantal had mated with someone else. He definitely didn’t like coming here and finding out that several of us were above him on the power chain either, especially Gray, since he’s the one who mated with Chantal. He was after her because he’s power hungry, and every last one of us stood our ground when he attempted a soft challenge with a power push. He isn’t going to let that go, and the only reason he hasn’t done anything yet is because without a special kind of mate, he knows he’s useless against us.”