Zoey Rogue

by Lizzy Ford

  The confirmation of the Professor’s assertion about the fate of twenty-two year old Hunters made Zoey’s breath stick in her throat.

  “There’s a risk in allowing Zoey and Vikki to find their soul-mates,” Tommy pointed out. “But the payoff is likely much higher for you, too.”

  “I want a Cambion-free world. There’s no harm in wanting to do the right thing, is there?” Olivia asked with a smile.

  “Do you all need me here?” Zoey asked at last. “I got shit to do.”

  Tommy smiled, and Olivia raised an eyebrow.

  “The irreverence you must get from your sperm donor,” Olivia said. She lifted a remote control off her desk and pointed it at the screen. “To piggyback on what Tommy has said, I’d like to show you something I find disturbing. Zoey, I know what you’ve likely been going through lately.”

  Zoey looked from Olivia to the television. The scene was paused: it was her with someone she didn’t remember. The dress was the one she wore Saturday morning, when she awoke on the Professor’s porch with no memory of the night before.

  The photo Eric had. Zoey faced the television screen fully, confused and curious about what had happened Friday night. Olivia played the clip. Zoey watched herself kiss then go down on the man before she slashed his throat.

  “This is you, Zoey, isn’t it?” Olivia asked.

  “Yeah,” she answered. “I don’t remember this, though.”

  Olivia ignored her. “Tommy, you want to tell me who the man is?”

  “Julius,” Tommy’s voice was hushed. “An Incubus.”

  Zoey froze.

  “What is the penalty for a half-breed killing an Incubus?” Olivia asked.

  “Death.”

  “Executable by the Chief Enforcer, right?”

  “Correct.”

  “Who – as of today – is Declan,” Olivia mused.

  It was clearly her on the screen, only she didn’t remember killing an Incubus! Zoey’s ears buzzed. She sucked in deep breaths, nearing an all out meltdown.

  “Easy, Zoey,” Tommy said.

  She faced him, searching his gaze. “Did I fuck this all up?”

  “Declan can be reasoned with.”

  “It’s not your fault you fell for him,” Olivia said. “He’s disciplined and dutiful. He’ll have to face the Council, if he doesn’t do his job.”

  You may flaunt the rules of others, but I can’t. He told her as much during the Enforcers’ inquiry of Vikki. He also told her he would do whatever it took to protect her.

  “What’ll happen to him, Tommy?” she asked urgently.

  “You’re caught between the Sucubatti and the Incubatti,” Olivia spoke before Tommy could. “Zoey, I offered you the position of operations officer for us. If Declan rejects you over this, then you’ve got a home here. I’m proud of my daughters and their dedication to doing what’s right.”

  “Zoey, this is a mind game. Olivia is trying to manipulate you and Declan to keep you a part. No matter what the consequences, Declan won’t hurt you,” Tommy said.

  Consequences. Declan had asked her more than once to be more aware of the consequences of her actions. The memory made her feel worse.

  Zoey bit her tongue, willing Tommy to reassure her everything was going to be okay. She wanted a reason to trust the Sucubatti – the only environment she knew – and yet, she wanted a reason to walk away, too, and stay with Declan. What if he couldn’t be with her, now that she’d killed one of his kind? His job came first. He made that clear.

  What of the alternative? Staying with the Sucubatti, knowing what they did to Halflings that turned twenty two?

  “Declan would never betray his soul-mate,” Tommy added firmly.

  She was almost relieved, but unable to fathom how difficult of a position Declan was going to be in over an event that she didn’t remember. Her eyes fell to the tray of energy drinks on the corner of Olivia’s desk.

  “Hmm,” Olivia said. “Maybe you should watch this first, Zoey, before you decide who to trust.”

  Zoey couldn’t imagine Olivia showing her anything else to shake her confidence.

  “Show me what?” she asked.

  “Even if Declan finds a way to smooth things over, which I doubt, you need to see and understand for yourself what an Incubus is. A creature that feeds off the torture of girls.”

  Zoey looked again at the screen.

  “This is footage taken this morning.” Olivia said. “You’ll see you leave Declan’s apartment.”

  Zoey watched. She recognized herself, dressed for the mission she completed with Vikki. Uncertain what she was supposed to be looking for, she waited. About two minutes later, another form crossed the feed. She looked and moved like a Succubus, and Zoey faced the screen fully.

  The woman knocked on Declan’s door. He opened it and not only smiled, but took her into his arms. They kissed with passion that left Zoey with no doubt what happened when they finally stumbled back inside the apartment.

  She wanted to deny what she saw, but couldn’t, not when he’d been wearing exactly what he did this morning when she left.

  “As I said, if he takes you back after you killed an Incubus, can you do the same, knowing he doesn’t wait for you to be gone ten minutes, before he’s fucking someone else?” Olivia asked.

  Zoey crossed her arms. Of all the things she expected, this wasn’t one of them. That Declan had already – and quite eagerly – betrayed her trust robbed Zoey of breath. She let herself become vulnerable to him; she trusted him in a way she never had with anyone else.

  Didn’t he say the rules applied to both of them? That he, too, would not have anyone else in his bed except her?

  “Declan wouldn’t,” Tommy said firmly.

  “Declan did,” Olivia snapped. “Unless you have another explanation?”

  Unable to watch her soul-mate with another woman, Zoey studied Tommy again. He was frowning, his eyes pinned to the screen. The quiet stretched on.

  “I can’t explain this,” he replied at last. “But I know my brother.”

  “Zoey is strong, but she’s not a full-blooded Succubus. It would take one or apparently, several, to satisfy the strongest Incubus ever born,” Olivia pointed out.

  Her words made too much sense. Zoey silently begged Tommy to explain this away. Shock held her silent, but she was starting to hurt in a way far deeper than she had over Eric. Or ever.

  Olivia was right. The energy drinks Zoey downed after the unauthorized mission Friday wiped her memory of the Incubus she killed later that night. It was unforgivable in either society for a half-breed to kill a full-breed. There was no way Declan could walk away from this. There was no way she could deal with him lying to her about sleeping around. It was supposed to be a two-way street.

  “My daughter deserves better,” Olivia continued then turned to Zoey. “It’s absolutely up to you what you decide to do. If you want to go back to him and become my ops officer, I support you. If you want to dump him and become my ops officer, I support you, too.”

  Panic was setting in. Zoey didn’t want either of those things. She’d known Declan for three days – and couldn’t imagine a life without him. She’d known no mother prior to two days ago – and couldn’t imagine a life with one, especially not one like Olivia.

  “I don’t remember Friday night,” she said at last, unable to deal with Declan’s betrayal. “I don’t remember flipping out yesterday, either. I know you fucked with my head, Olivia.”

  “I have no need to do that,” the IAB chief replied.

  “You’re right, Zoey,” Tommy agreed.

  “Then why is everything fucked up, Tommy?” Zoey cried. She drew a deep breath, tears stinging her eyes.

  “Zoey, we’ll figure it out,” Tommy said softly. “You just have to trust Declan.”

  Olivia or Declan. Sucubatti or Incubatti? Was there any alternative?

  She wasn’t going to survive this kind of pain, if she didn’t find a way to push it back.

  “I ca
n’t deal with this. Fuck you both.”

  Zoey took a step back, then two. She looked between Tommy and Olivia. She had one real ally in this world – Vikki – who had never betrayed her or kept secrets from her.

  Olivia’s gaze sharpened. “Maybe you need to take a minute to get things straight.”

  Zoey shook her head. She turned, left the room and fled the underground facility. When she reached the street pavement above, she broke into a sprint and ran blindly, tears on her cheeks.

  Chapter Twenty One: Declan Betrayed

  At Site Z, Declan barely made it through his first meeting without dancing in his seat. He was beyond thrilled to know that Zoey was here. His father’s support of the Cambion-hunting group she wanted to form left Declan feeling as if there was some sort of hope for her fitting into his world, or perhaps, combining their two worlds in a way that they were able to deal with.

  Assuming Olivia didn’t activate his soul-mate while he slept. That was still an issue Declan didn’t know how to fix.

  He paused in the middle of the hallway, his headache pounding. He sipped from his water bottle, unable to shake the pain. It had been gradually getting worse for two days. While he wanted to blame the Sucubatti’s air ventilation system, he found himself unable to understand why the headache wasn’t better, now that he was here.

  With a shake of his head and another gulp of water, he continued down the hallway, towards the small dorm room where he’d left Zoey. He entered and smiled.

  She was waiting for him, naked in bed, on her belly, with her ankles apart and her ass in the air, a silent invitation to fuck her.

  Just like Heidi used to.

  Declan shook his head, seeing his ex-lover there for a second, before his mind cleared to show him Zoey once more. The headache was messing with him.

  “Hey,” he said. “Love that you’re ready for me.”

  “I thought you might,” she whispered, smiling at him. “I’ve been waiting for you to come back.”

  He stripped off his clothing and crossed to her. He touched her and almost stopped. He hoped the strange sense he felt this morning wouldn’t return, not since their rite was complete. The sensation he wasn’t touching his soul-mate was strong, even when clearly he was. Their bond wasn’t channeling her desire or his; it took closing his eyes for his body to accept its fate of fucking her.

  Declan wasn’t certain what to think. There were moments he thought he’d die if he didn’t touch her and those when he touched her and felt no appeasement of his restlessness. He still felt the need to touch his soul-mate.

  As if this weren’t happening. But it was. He was between her legs, kissing her shoulder, testing the slickness of her core with his finger before he slid his penis into her.

  He was here. This was happening. She was already moaning his name.

  Why didn’t it feel right, when it felt like heaven an hour before?

  Declan fucked her leisurely, gently easing in and out of her body as she writhed beneath him. Her hair flickered from brown to blonde, and he closed his eyes as he moved in and out, not understanding what was wrong with his head or why their connection wasn’t flaring to life.

  She came fast, and he rolled her onto her back, entering her once more to finish himself off. She nibbled his ear and murmured his name. Like this morning, he couldn’t come again. He didn’t understand it. His head pounding, he settled on top of her finally and fluttered kisses across her face. She was too far pleased to notice that he was still aroused.

  It was her, but it didn’t feel that way. He felt guilty again, wondering why he wasn’t able to find satisfaction, even with his soul-mate. Or at least, he couldn’t find it all the time. As it was, he was happy most of the time. Maybe that was good enough.

  “What the fuck?”

  Declan twisted, too late to hear the door open or deflect the blow aimed for his head by the irate speaker. Pain smashed through his head, driving him almost to unconsciousness. It sounded like there was some sort of fight going on in the distance, though he wasn’t able to see anything at the moment.

  “Declan?” someone called.

  He groaned, head hurting even worse than it had been. The shouting at the edge of his mind quieted, and someone propped up his shoulders. Cool water slid down his throat. He blinked away the dark.

  “What the fuck happened?” Liam held him propped against one knee. Declan became aware of his ass, rendered cold against the concrete floor. He was covered from the waist down in a sheet.

  “You tell me,” he grunted and pushed himself up. “I’m fucking Zoey one minute and then bam.”

  “Zoey?”

  Declan rubbed his temples. “You know, my soul-mate?” he demanded impatiently.

  “Zoey isn’t here,” his father’s voice carried a sharp note.

  Declan stared at the shape of his father, which took up the doorway. One of his father’s large hands was wrapped around the neck of a female, who clenched a sheet around her.

  “Heidi?” Declan asked, confused. His eyes went to the bed. It was empty.

  “I think we have an issue,” Ethan said.

  “What the fuck is going on?” Declan asked. He rose, holding the sheet around his hips.

  “Get dressed, son. Your new duties need you focused.”

  Even Declan didn’t want to be on the receiving end of the stern look his father gave Heidi. The two disappeared from the door, and Declan looked at Liam.

  “Vikki tore out of here like a bat out of hell,” Liam said. “She was fucking pissed. I settled her down, but I guess it was too late for you.”

  “She hit me?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Why?” Declan touched the tender back of his head.

  “Because your soul-mate is her best friend, and you were fucking someone else.” Liam was gazing at him grimly.

  “I haven’t fucked anyone except Zoey since I started the rite.”

  “That wasn’t Zoey in your bed. Even I could see that.”

  Declan stared at the bed. He’d seen Heidi and Zoey in his bed, but blamed it on his headache. The same thing happened this morning, when he thought Zoey’s eyes had turned green. He spent an hour fucking her then. If it wasn’t Zoey, who was in his bed?

  He opened himself to the bond and grew tense. Zoey’s emotions were all over the place. Meltdown was not the word for this; he couldn’t read anything in the jumble. Either she knew he slept with someone else, or something was very wrong, wherever she was.

  “Where’s Vikki?” he asked suddenly.

  “Probably on her way to get Zoey. Something fucked up is definitely going on,” Liam said.

  “I have to find her.” Declan took a step and wobbled.

  “Put some clothes on. I’ll go with you.”

  The idea of his Zoey with another man made him want to kill something. But he’d actually been the one to fuck someone else. The girl who didn’t handle change well was not going to live through betrayal.

  His head aching, Declan dressed fast and was pulling on a jacket, ready to leave, when his father reappeared in the doorway. He had no way to explain to Zoey what happened or why he was sleeping with Heidi. He didn’t understand it himself, but he had to find her.

  “Water bottle,” Ethan said. “Where is it?”

  Declan pointed. His father crossed to it. Instead of drinking from it, he sniffed it. Declan exchanged a quizzical look with Liam. Declan’s father crossed to him next and gripped his jaw. Irritated, Declan pulled away.

  “Your pupils are huge,” Ethan said finally. “You’ve been drugged.”

  “Drugged,” Declan repeated. He took the water bottle and sniffed it. The faint, bitter scent was familiar, but he wasn’t able to place it. “I’ve had a headache for two days.”

  “Not to get into your personal business, but did you know you were fucking Heidi?” his father asked with concern.

  “No.”

  “From what I pulled out of her mind: Olivia sent another Succubus to your apartment
this morning and Heidi just now.”

  Declan felt sick. He didn’t just cheat on his soul-mate with Heidi, but with two women!

  “Dad, I don’t remember anyone else being here,” he said in a hushed voice. “I thought they were Zoey. What the fuck is going on?”

  “Vikki handed me this before she bolted,” Liam said, handing out a small bottle. “She said Zoey sent it for Declan. No explanation.”

  Declan took it and opened it. One sniff, and he handed it to his father.

  “She figured it out,” Declan said. “Maybe this is what made her kill Julius as well.”

  “I’ll have the lab take a look at it,” Ethan said.

  “I have to find Zoey,” Declan said and started towards the door.

  “Wait, Declan,” his father said. “Right now, I need you to stay put.”

  “No way. I don’t know how to fix this, but I need to tell her before someone else does!”

  “Declan!” His father’s voice was grim. “Tommy called when I was with Heidi. Olivia showed her footage.”

  Declan froze. His chest was tight enough to hurt.

  “You were blind to whomever you were fucking, but the camera was not. Olivia set you up,” his father continued calmly. “She had Tommy standing there when she showed Zoey the video, no doubt to make sure you got the word as well. I don’t think Zoey reacted the way Olivia wanted, because the IAB just started a manhunt for her.”

  “We let Vikki leave, so we can track her,” Liam added. “I’m sorry, Declan, but Zoey fucking disappeared off the radar.”

  “I need you focused here,” his father said.

  “I want to kill that bitch Olivia,” Declan said between clenched teeth. His emotions were raw, tumbling. Rage was as hot as the guilt that made his eyes sting.

  He fucked up. Bad. Zoey was just starting to trust him. The cold fear that trickled through him was unlike anything he’d ever felt.

  “Calm, son,” his father said, planting a hand on his shoulder. “Your first duty as Chief Enforcer: figure out what happened. Strip Heidi’s mind and use that knowledge to corner Olivia. It’s how this game is played.”

  “It’s not a game,” Declan whispered. “I can’t lose Zoey.”