“It’s my father’s Region. Mammon is the ambassador of Karazik, which consists of several towns and villages on the east side of the River Torment. Infernum is the capital in central Underealm where the queen’s Keep is.”
“So what are you doing here? Have you come to fetch Conah?”
She blushed again. “No, actually, I came to see you. I wanted to ask a favor. I wanted you to be my Companion.”
She said it expectantly, almost reverently, which told me this Companion thing was some kind of honor. “I don’t know what that is.”
“Underealm tradition dictates that the bride take a Companion with her to her new home on the wedding night. The marriage is consummated on the second day, but the first night the Companion keeps vigil so the groom can’t sneak into the bridal suite.” She shrugged one shoulder, looking decidedly nervous. “I was wondering if you’d be my Companion.”
“I…Why me?”
Her smile was self-deprecating. “Princesses don’t make friends easily, Fee. Everyone is either there to serve or to gain some kind of favor. Even my sisters are jealous of me. I have five, but I realized yesterday when my mother asked me who I’d like to take as my Companion, that the only real friend I have, aside from Conah, is you.”
Fuck. My eyes pricked. Damn it with the emotions today. “I’d fucking be honored.”
She hugged me tightly. “Thank you. Thank you so much. You’ll be with the Dominus in Infernum, but I’ll get a carriage sent for you the night before the wedding.”
“I look forward to it.”
She left with a skip in her step, and it was only after she rounded the corridor and was out of view that it hit me…What if I didn’t make it to the Underealm? Who’d be her Companion then?
Nox and I landed outside the gates to Royal Park. The place was massive, over 270 acres of land with several exits that linked to another park, because Royal Park had once been shared by several boroughs.
Sariah, Nix, and a reaper I hadn’t met yet waited for us.
Freya, no doubt.
The new reaper was stocky with dark hair pulled off her broad face and huge brown eyes. She didn’t have any horns or obvious daemon traits, which meant she had more demon blood in her than daemon blood. The races were intermixed now with very few pure demon bloods as far as I was aware. Lilith’s descendants’ genes were dominant, so they always squashed any daemon genes that might have made their way into the family trees. The rest of the demon lords’ bloodlines, not so much.
“Nice to meet you, Freya.” I gave her a warm smile.
“Likewise,” she said.
I glanced at the gates. “Nox said we had a vamp nest to clear?”
Sariah gave him a tight look. “Did he tell you anything else?”
“No. Should he have?”
Sariah sighed. “I don’t think you’ve noticed, but we’re in Rising Pack territory.”
I stared at her. Wait…West London…This far west? “This is still their territory?”
Sariah nodded.
“But…What are we doing here? I thought they dealt with their own issues.”
“They do,” Nix said with a frown.
“But for some reason, they requested backup on this one,” Sariah said, shooting me a meaningful look.
Hunter. It had to be.
My suspicions were confirmed a moment later when a flashy car drew up to the curb and parked smoothly. Hunter got out of the driver’s seat, and four Loup from his pack joined him on the pavement.
Gone was the suit and in its place were denim, cotton, and running shoes. His hair was tousled, making him look younger, more approachable, but his eyes were hard, determined chips of obsidian in his tanned face.
He gave me half a smile as if to say gotcha.
Annoyance swelled inside me in a wave. “What are you playing at, Hunter? You don’t need us. Stop wasting our time.”
“Hello to you too, Miss Dawn,” he said.
So it was Miss Dawn now, was it? “Hunter…”
There was warning in my tone. Warning that he ignored, walking right into my personal space until I had no choice but to back up or raise my chin to look up at him. I chose to do the latter. He might be an alpha to his pack, but I was an alpha to my reapers.
“Why the attitude, Miss Dawn?” he said with a smirk. “You’re reapers. It’s your job to patrol.” He shrugged. “It just so happens that the Rising Pack could do with the backup.”
Backup? Urgh, I wanted to nut him. “We don’t play backup, Hunter. We bring the pain. Your Loup can play backup.”
“Or, we could just work together?” Sariah said, looking between us. “Let’s just clear the nest.”
She gave me a pointed look, like, don’t rise to the bait. Or maybe I was projecting my subconscious advice onto myself using her as a conduit. She was right. I was a professional. A Dominus.
Time to take charge.
“Do we have a rough location of the nest?” I looked to Sariah for information.
Hunter leaned in so his cheek brushed mine, sending tingles racing over my skin and urging my heart into an erratic rhythm. “They’re in the park.”
Dickhead. I shoved him away, lips pinched in annoyance. “Sariah?”
“Somewhere on the east side of the lake.”
I speared Hunter with a look. “East of the lake. My reapers and I will scout from above, and you can take the ground. Sariah, you got a spare comm you can give Hunter so he can keep in touch with us?”
“No need,” Hunter said. “I’ll take you.”
Not take yours but take you. Like hell! “I’m not staying on the ground with you.”
“My territory, my rules,” he said.
“Fine, then you can work alone.”
It was Hunter’s turn to look at Sariah. He raised both brows as a prompt, and she gave a world-weary sigh.
“We have a contract, Fee. If we’re called on for assistance, we have to give it, and we have to adhere to the territory rules.”
Yep, it was official. I despised him.
And yep, he definitely looked smug as shit. Fucker. “Fine, but touch me and die.”
I stalked off toward the gates, anger staining my cheeks with heat. The sooner we got this over with, the better.
I hoped Cora was having a more enjoyable night than me.
Chapter Seven
Cora
Masterton Manor is a Redstone building in the heart of Necro. It looks like a typical townhouse from the outside: wrought iron gates, imposing doorknocker, and tall sash windows. But once I step inside, it’s like the fucking tardis—huge.
The bloody witches have money. You can tell by the chandeliers and the gilt-framed mirrors and fancy flooring. Everything is spotless, and I can probably eat off the floor if I want.
Instead, I’m eating off a plate. Neatly cut salmon sandwiches with a pot of tea; not the whole pot, mind you, just a dainty cup. Damn, I feel like I’ve been dropped into a regency romance, except there’s no bodice-ripping allowed because that would be in bad taste.
Vi smiles at me and picks up her cup, pinky out. Her back is stiff and straight. Talk about posture control.
I arch my brow. “Vi, there’s no one about. You can relax.”
She blinks sharply and then lets out a bark of laughter. “This is why I prefer to be at the house. The pack doesn’t care about posture and etiquette.” Her face clouds. “I will miss that.”
I can’t help but feel sorry for her. We both know that once Grayson mates with Fee, he’ll have eyes only for her. I mean those two are dynamite together, anyone can see the chemistry between them. Vi’s no fool, which is why I’m here. I like the witch, a lot, but I love Fee, and I’m not taking the risk of her getting fucked over.
I’m making sure Vi follows through on her promise to help. The calls have been made, and now we wait for a reply.
Vi sips her tea, her gaze fixed on me speculatively. “You don’t trust me, do you?”
There’s disappointment in he
r eyes, and that should make me feel guilty, but it doesn’t. “I’m sorry, Vi. Love can make people do nasty shit. I can’t take the risk that your green-eyed monster decides to come out to play.”
She sighs. “Of course I’m jealous. I’d be inhuman not to be, but I’m not stupid. I know how mating bonds and attractions work. I’m in love with Grayson, but I have enough self-respect to not want to be the second choice. I deserve a man who will adore me.”
And it’s obvious Grayson cares about Vi, but he wants Fee with every fiber of his being.
Fine, so maybe she isn’t intending to sabotage our chance at getting an amulet. “How hard is it to make one of those things?”
“If you have the ingredients and the power required, a week or so. It takes time. Which is why we need to hope Nalina has one in our artifact vault.”
If only Azazel had been able to tap a coven directly, he’d have known about the fact they kept a vault filled with spelled shit. Shit too dangerous to have out in the open, and shit too old to be left lying about. But even as outlier contact, it seems he isn’t buddy enough with the covens to have a point of entry. Thank goodness for Vi.
I sit back and cross my legs. “The bloodwitch we saw last time we needed an amulet wanted blood, semen, and pain.”
Her eyes grow wide. “You saw a bloodwitch?” I can see her brain working. “That house we went to in Rue Mort…That was the bloodwitch’s house, wasn’t it.”
“Yeah, she’s dead.”
She frowns. “Why is this amulet so important? Why is it so important for Fee to hide who she is?”
“I can’t tell you that, Vi. I’m sorry. I would if I could.”
She nods. “I believe you. But the things the bloodwitch demanded were her price for doing the job. The actual amulet is created using the power of miasma and a few other ingredients. Miasma is only accessed by a collective. It’s impossible to harness if you aren’t bonded to a coven. Bloodwitches are exiled, cut off from the collective, and so they use other methods of forging a link between them and the miasma.”
But I use miasma all the time. How am I doing it? No. My gut warns me not to tell her this. She has no idea I’m a witch either. But I’m realizing now that might be for the best. I’m obviously an anomaly of some sort. But I do need to know more.
“What is miasma?”
“The best way to describe it is earth energy. It’s power given off by the earth itself. It’s in the air and in the ground and in the elements. Witches usually have an affinity to an element, some to two, and it’s through their affinity that they access miasma. But only when they are bonded to a coven. Otherwise, their affinity is just that, an affinity allowing them to do minor spells.”
“What’s your affinity?”
She grins. “Fire.” She clicks her fingers, and a flame appears in her hand.
It goes from orange to blue. I can fucking feel the heat.
“Bloody hell!”
“Fifteen hundred degrees Fahrenheit. That’s how hot I can burn. Not even bone survives that.”
“Wow.”
“Not too many witches have the Bone Flame.”
“Is that what they call it?”
She nods.
“Well, I best remember not to piss you off then.”
She laughs. “Oh, God, no. Unsanctioned use of the Bone Flame is punishable by exile. Trust me. This baby will only be used on coven orders.”
Her phone rings and she glances at the caller ID. “It’s Nalina.”
Oh, shit. Please be good news. Please be good news.
“Hello, Nalina…Can you do it?”
Chapter Eight
Fee
Thank God Hunter didn’t decide to strip and go Loup. I don’t think my Loup would have been able to handle it. As if my loins weren’t already on fire with need. Loins? Fucking hell, what was wrong with me?
The lake was up ahead, spread out like an icy sheet of glass. It wasn’t cold enough to have frozen the water yet, but it wasn’t far off. Beyond the lake was neat woodland built for strolls, webbed with winding paths, nooks, and benches for people to stop and enjoy nature.
I’d been here before as a young teen with Aunt Lara. We’d brought a picnic. Memories of a simpler time assaulted me, but the clawing nostalgia for those times didn’t come. I was happy with who I was now. Happy with my role.
Not so happy about having to be here with Hunter, though.
“Vamps,” one of Hunter’s Loup said. “I can smell them. Smells…off.”
Hunter stopped by a fountain and sniffed the air. “They definitely came this way.”
We were also out in the open. But there was nothing to be done about that. All the pathways leading to the woodland were on open ground with neatly clipped lawns, fountains, and climbing frames for children. But the moon was hiding behind cloud cover, lending us the shadows to move through. We blended into the night in our dark clothes while up above my reapers flew silent and deadly.
My comm lit up.
Utility tunnel a quarter-mile into the woodland. Bear east.
Bingo. It had to be what we were looking for.
“What is it?” Hunter asked.
I showed him the message, and then we fell into a jog toward the bridge that spanned the huge lake.
Hunter kept pace with me even though he could possibly outrun me. He was taller, with longer legs, and yes, that didn’t mean he had speed, but my Loup felt it. Knew it.
Why was he staying by my side? “You can go ahead if you want.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
Warmth spread through me. Urgh, stupid fated mate shit. I picked up speed to get away from him, but he matched my pace and then we were racing, and for a moment euphoria filled my chest as the icy wind slapped my cheeks and brought tears to my eyes. For a moment, it was just me and Hunter, wild and free. A whoop was trapped in my throat. I glanced at him at the same time as he looked at me, and a stupid grin spread across my dumb face.
He matched it. And that fucking smile hit me in the chest like a sledgehammer.
No. Nope. This was what he wanted. He wanted camaraderie, and I wasn’t about to give it to him.
A cement arch was visible through the trees—the access to the utility tunnel. Reining in my unwanted buzz, I slowed my pace, pushing down the feelings of connection that were bubbling up inside me.
This was bad.
This was so fucking bad.
I wasn’t doing this with him. I wasn’t bonding and shit.
Hunter slowed down. “Why are you fighting this?”
“Because I don’t like you, Hunter.”
His lips compressed in a thin line. “You don’t fucking know me.”
“I know that you take shit that doesn’t belong to you. I know that you think you own the world, and I know that you take advantage of people. I know enough.”
His packmates joined us.
And then my reapers landed around us.
“We can continue this conversation later,” Hunter said.
I strode off toward the utility tunnel. “No, thanks. I’ll pass.”
The tunnel reeked of death, and we didn’t have to venture far to find out why. Hunter found a room filled with spare cabling and boxes of mechanical parts. There’d been a lock on it once, but it was busted now, and inside were a couple of dirty mattresses, a table and chairs, and two dead humans propped up in a corner with their heads touching as if they’d been engaged in a tête-tête before deciding to hit decompose on their conversation.
Hunter and I stepped into the room, followed by one of the Loup and Nox. There wasn’t room for anyone else. The Loup scanned the room, his hand over his nose and mouth to block the awful smell. Breathing through my mouth barely helped when the reek was this strong.
“This is old school,” Nox said. “One, maybe two vamps. The nests we’ve been seeing are larger and more organized.”
Nix snorted. “Seeing? The nests are always empty by the time we get there.”
“It was
the same for the museum,” Hunter said. “My Loup went back for clean-up, and the vamp bodies were gone.”
Weird.
“The vamps who were here will be long gone,” Sariah said from the doorway. “No way would they stay here with that smell.”
“She’s right,” Hunter said. “Let’s get out of here. Victor, Ethan, clean up the bodies.”
The Loup in the room nodded, and another pushed his way passed Sariah, earning himself a glare.
“Let’s get out of here,” Hunter said.
He headed for the door, but a sixth sense kept me rooted to the spot. My scalp prickled, and my gaze was drawn to a vent high up in the wall then down to the chair shoved under it.
“Yeah, we should leave.” I caught Hunter’s arm.
He looked surprised that I was touching him, and there was no denying the magnetic pull between us. But fuck that for now.
I jerked my head up to the vent and mouthed vamp.
His brows flicked up, and then he crossed the room in a single stride, yanked the grill off the vent, and pulled the vamp out.
Bingo.
The skinny, fanged creature fell to the ground and curled up into a ball. “No, no. No, no. Please no. Please don’t hurt me.”
The dead-body reek paled in comparison to the vamp’s stench.
“Fuck.” Hunter put distance between himself and the vamp, taking me with him.
I didn’t resist his arm around my waist, telling myself I was too stunned by the disheveled stinky vamp, but the truth was I was enjoying the contact a little too much.
“Leave me. Leave me,” the vamp begged. “They don’t find me here. They come, but they don’t find me. They can’t smell me here.”
The dead bodies…He was keeping them on purpose to mask his scent…
From the expression on Hunter’s face, he’d come to the same conclusion. “Who’s after you? Who are you hiding from?” he demanded.
“The Nappers. They come, and then you’re gone. They come, and then you’re never seen again. They took my nest. They took them all, but I got away. I got out, and I hid. They won’t get me. They won’t.”
Reaper Unveiled (Deadside Reapers Book 4) Page 4