Out of The Shadows (Shadows Ascending Trilogy Book 2)

by Jenn D. Young

  Out of the Shadows

  Jenn D. Young

  Copyright © 2020 Jenn D. Young

  Published by Jenn D. Young

  This is a work of fiction, Names, characters places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

  Design by EmCat Designs All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law.

  This book is dedicated to my writer girls. Thank you for chatting with me, letting me bounce ideas off you and keeping me sane with your encouragement. Aspen, Angel, Maggie, S.E., I love you.

  To my Sassy Sisters group: Tammy, Pamela, Kathy and Becky. You ladies are amazing. Tammy-thank you for all of your kind words, advice and cheerleading. You have helped me grow and shape me as a writer.

  If you have a dream…don’t be afraid to ask for help and ask questions.

  BLURB

  Lorelei

  My time has come. To leave the shadows and learn to control these new powers that have been awakened within me. With my mate, Vincent, at my side, we will work together to battle the forces that are hellbent on bring about the end of the world.

  While fighting our intensifying bond, I am thrust into a world of where one of our closest friends is taken captive by The Syndicate. Will our newly formed bond survive the upcoming battle, or will our enemies destroy us?

  Vincent

  Lorelei is finally mine. Secure in my arms and bound to me, but we are in the middle of an impending war with Lorelei right at the center of it. Old enemies emerge to capture my oldest and dearest friend and I must do everything in my power to get him back. With Lorelei at my side, I feel invisible, but her powers are growing so rapidly she doesn’t know how to control them. Am I strong enough to protect her or will they capture her again?

  Playlist

  Sing – Blutengel

  Scorpion Flower - Moonspell

  I Love the Way You Say My Name – Scarlet Dorn Ft. Chris Harms

  Dream Here – OOMPH!

  Until Eternity – Blackbriar

  Reich mir die Hand – Blutengel

  Trespasser – Dark Sarah

  Burning Desire – OOMPH!

  Brave Enough – Lindsey Stirling ft. Christina Perri

  Hold on to Me – Scarlet Dorn

  Tides of Time – Epica

  What Kind of Love – Avantasia

  Wash Away – Kobra and The Lotus

  Lost in a Heartbeat – Lord of The Lost

  In My Darkest Hours – Mono, Inc. Ft. Chris Harms

  Life Eternal – Ghost

  Prologue

  Vincent

  2015

  I threw the bass guitar across the room in frustration, growling deep in my throat. I watched in satisfaction as it collided with a drum kit and shattered with a variety of crashes and snaps. My demon prowled just below the surface of my skin, itching to be unleashed as the intensity of my emotions rolled within. Even music hadn’t been enough to soothe my soul. I could no longer create beautiful or complex songs, the lyrics I tried to write came up flat and empty. Everything inside me was screaming for my mate.

  My Lorelei.

  Closing my eyes, I thought of her serene face the last time I saw her. It had been the night of her eighteenth birthday. The night that her powers almost fully emerged, breaking down the dam that her mother, Morgana, had erected when she was just a child.

  I still couldn’t understand fully why Morgana went to such lengths to lock away Lorelei’s powers. She would be powerful, that was certain, but to have to use such a strong incantation? There was more to my Lorelei than met the eye… More than Morgana ever wanted to tell me. She had made her brother, Kaniul, and I promise to ensure her safety until she turned twenty-one.

  “Boss, what the fuck is with all the noise?” Nicolae remarked as he made his way into the room. “Damn it, Vincent. That was my bass you decided to smash. I really liked that one too,” he grumbled as he stepped over shattered pieces of the drum kit to retrieve the remains of his guitar.

  “I’ll just buy you a new one,” I growled, not the least bit amused by him and his complaining.

  “But I liked this one. You know they designed it for me specifically.” His form wavered, dark shadows appearing behind him as his skin turned midnight black and vicious claws sprouted from his fingers. Nicolae had not lost control of his form in sometime. It spoke of the level of frustration at the destruction at his feet.

  A deep rumble started in my chest, reacting to the Nightmare demon, annoyance seeping from my very pores. Nicolae snapped to attention and he fully returned to human form. “Today is her birthday, isn’t it?”

  Fucking Nightmare demon just couldn’t keep his mouth shut, could he?

  “Get the fuck out, Nic, before I slice your throat open.” The full force of my demonic power laced the words, my authority as the Demon Prince rising within me, commanding Nicolae from my presence immediately. He bowed his head and left the room swiftly. The door slammed forcefully behind him.

  Sitting down heavily in the office chair, I stared at the destruction at the other end of my studio. I shook my head, cursing myself and my emotional outburst. I turned to my desk and pulled out the small, tattered photograph that was hidden behind various office supplies.

  My fingertips grazing over her face, I softly murmured “Happy birthday, Lorelei.”

  Chapter 1

  Vincent

  Present Day

  My hand scrubbed across my face as I shut the door softly behind me, returning to Lorelei. The implications of her latest adventure in astral projection still raced through my head. Her father was an Archangel. He had to be. Now the question became, which one of the bastards was it? Her description of the figure didn’t lend much to making a concrete identification. Black wings and white eyes could be several of them, and that was if I trusted that that was exactly what she saw.

  Fingers tracing along her cheek, I roused her from her slumber. Icy blue eyes blinked up at me as she slowly stretched out her limbs. Ivory skin tempted me from beneath her torn shirt, her stomach and breasts practically bared to my gaze. Growling, my eyes lingered along her exposed flesh as I bent my head down to take a taunt nipple into my mouth.

  “Vincent,” my angel breathed my name. I closed my eyes, my hands digging into the flesh of her hips as I rolled on top of her. My tongue swirled around the soft peak of her breast before my teeth pulled the bud taunt. Her fingers clutched at my hair, nails digging into my scalp as I growled at the feel of her soft skin under my tongue.

  “Boss, we don’t have time for this.” Nicolae remarked, using our familiar mental communication path. I cursed as I pulled away, resting my forehead against hers.

  LORELEI

  “Nicolae is practically shouting at me in my head, demanding my presence for the sound check,” Vincent growled against my lips. “I really am going to kill him one of these days.” His tongue ran along my bottom lip and teeth tugged it as he shifted away from my body. He winced as he stood, readjusting the distinct bulge in his pants.

  I cried out at the loss of his weight atop mine. “No, I thin
k I will kill him instead.” Power laced my voice, the tone and command from it took me by surprise. I closed my eyes and ran my hands down my face before sliding my legs to the edge of the couch and placing my feet on the floor.

  Vincent’s rich laugh made me look up. Big mistake. I was at eye level with his crotch. I growled as I lifted my gaze up his toned stomach and pecs. The lines of his tattoos wound around his shoulders and stopped just above his nipples. I licked my lips again, forcing myself to close my eyes again.

  “I don’t know how much longer I can take this,” I said through clenched teeth. I stood, looking down at the torn remnants of my shirt and cursed. I had even dozed with tattered clothes on? I must be tired.

  “Side effect of the feeding, Theera.” Vincent walked toward the attached bathroom, shaking his head, the smile still on his face.

  “Here.” He tossed me a shirt. “This will do for now. I will have someone get you some new clothes and bring them up.” He offered a hand and helped me up off the couch. His gaze trailing down my body and back to my eyes, he removed the torn shirt from my arms and slipped the oversized band tee over my head.

  “For fucks sake, Nicolae, we are decent now open the door,” he shouted, turning toward the door.

  He walked through the door with his hands held up in surrender. “No one will kill me, right?” He cocked his head, damned devilish grin on his face.

  I hissed at him, baring my fangs and throwing him a murderous glance, my fury palpable. A pen that was sitting on the desk, spun through the air and stabbed him in the shoulder. Oh, shit. I did that. I gasped as Nicolae looked down at the pen protruding from his flesh in disbelief.

  “What? It isn’t going to kill you. Just a little payback.” I laughed nervously, trying to play off the fact that I had stabbed him with my new found telekinetic ability. Vincent had a satisfying smirk on his face as he looked at me, pride in his eyes.

  “Ouch,” Nicolae grimaced as he pulled the item out, blood dripping from the tip. “You wound me, love, and not just physically. I thought we had a connection, you know?”

  He was just asking for trouble. “Can you ever be serious?” I scoffed.

  “Just trying to lighten the mood a bit.” He whirled around to see Drya coming from down the hallway.

  She wrinkled her nose and gagged as she entered the room. “Oh, seven hells, what is with all the unfulfilled desire in here? It makes me sick.” Her green eyes flickered from me to Vincent as she continued to cough.

  Heat crept up my neck and spread across my face. Vincent growled and placed a comforting hand on my back, trying to reassure me. “What do you need, Drya?”

  “I was coming to tell you the rest of your band is getting restless and annoyed at your absence.” She threw her hair behind her shoulder.

  He ran a hand down his face and sighed. “I will be down in a minute. Drya, please get Lorelei some clothes.” He turned and moved to the bathroom. I could see him rummaging through the closet. I bit my lip in appreciation as he bent down to retrieve something from the bottom shelf.

  “Girl, you are killing me right now,” Drya groaned. “I will go get clothes. Nicolae make him leave before they go at it again. Seriously, demons.” She winked at me as she disappeared into the shadows.

  “Someone just kill me before I die of embarrassment,” I whispered and sank back onto the couch. I settled my elbows on my knees and dropped my head into my hands.

  “Love, you better get used to it. Demons, and even vampires, are extremely open about such things,” Nicolae laughed.

  “Why are you still here?” Vincent shouted as he threw a shirt over his head, pulling it down to cover the lovely view that I had been enjoying of his washboard abs.

  “Just making sure that you get downstairs. She looks like she is about to jump your bones, mate.” He ducked quickly as a small statue sailed in his direction—this one coming straight from Vincent’s hands, not my mind.

  “Fuck you, Nicolae,” he growled.

  “No, thank you, you aren’t my type—" He doubled over in a groan as Vincent sent him a telepathic punch to the midsection.

  I couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of me. Nicolae could never be serious, always joking, and that was a perfect balance to Vincent. It explained why the two were such good friends and allies, and why Vincent hadn’t actually killed him after all of these years. I needed the laughter to distract me from the ache I was feeling inside. The emptiness crawling in the pit of my stomach.

  I needed Vincent with a hunger that consumed my very existence. I need us to be bound physically. Mentally. Emotionally.

  “Not long, Theera. As soon as this show is done you will be in my bed and we won’t leave for days.” Vincent’s voice purred in my head, sending goosebumps down my arms and a sound to escape my throat.

  “And that is exactly why I am supervising.” Nicolae crossed his arms across his chest and arched an eyebrow at me. “Now, boss man, get your ass downstairs before I have some very angry demons and vampires try to tear apart our club.” He snapped his fingers.

  Vincent threw another trinket at Nicolae, which Nicolae caught and set down on a table. “Our club? I believe that it is MY club.”

  “Demons, demons, that’s enough arguing.” I stood and waved my hands at both of them. “You.” I pointed at Vincent. “Go do your sound check. If your instruments sound shitty, I will beat you.”

  “You.” I pointed at Nicolae. “Shut up.”

  They both stared at me for a moment with blank expressions before bursting into laughter. “You hear her boss, she is gonna beat you if you don’t do a good sound check.” He slapped Vincent on the shoulder. “I would pay good money to see that happen.”

  Vincent slapped his palm across the back of Nicolae’s head. “She also told you to shut up.” More laughter sounded from both men. “So why don’t we both listen to her and go downstairs?” Nicolae shook his head and started making his way down the hallway.

  Vincent approached me first before following Nicolae. “Drya will bring you what you need then once you are ready, you can help me finish my sound check to make sure it meets your expectations. Is that acceptable to you, my lady?” He arched a brow and smirked before placing a swift kiss on my parted lips.

  Then he disappeared.

  Chapter 2

  Vincent

  I went through the motions of my sound check, making sure everything was tuned, connected and working properly, but my thoughts never left the woman that I left upstairs in my office. She was beginning to display powers that were beyond all of our expectations. Telekinesis was not an uncommon gift, but in addition to the other powers she was racking up? This was shaping up to be a much more complicated matter than any of us first though.

  Her father being an Archangel explained the variety and intensity of gifts that she possessed. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair in agitation. Now the matter would just be to figure out which of the bastards it was that had sired her.

  When she fully came into the powers, what all would they be? We needed to find out her bloodlines. Her origins. To try and determine what to make of her abilities. We needed the knowledge to be able to better defend and protect her.

  One thing was absolutely certain.

  She was my mate.

  In a life spanning millennium, I didn’t believe that I would have a mate. Being half demon, I just thought the demon blood had more control over my genetics than the Nephilim part. My mother always believed that I would find my other half. She told me to keep my heart open and my mate would come to me.

  Ironic that it was when my heart was at its most closed point; she appeared to me as a 10-year-old in a dream. I smiled as I remembered.

  Dark, melodic notes flowed as I ran my bow over the cello’s strings. My song was a melancholy one, one of loneliness and darkness. After walking this Earth for centuries, life had become nothing but a chore. I was stumbling through and making the motions for decades now. As the final crescendo faded and I let my
bow arm fall to my side, my head jerked up as I was surprised by the sound of clapping.

  I was in a dream, wasn’t I? I may not have had a lot of dream abilities, but I knew when I was in one and had some basic control.

  My breath caught in my throat as I looked toward the sound. It was a child. As I looked into her bright blue eyes, my world came into focus and everything snapped into place.

  Was this what Morgana had warned me about all those years ago? It had to be. The shape of her face, the curve of her lips and her ears were all inherited from her mother, Morgana.

  “Your song sounded so sad.” Her voice was lyrical and innocent. Black hair was matted to her head in tangled waves and her face had smudges of dirt everywhere. Why was she so dirty?

  “What is your name, little one?” I knelt in front of her. My mind was racing, yet calm. My heart was beating swiftly, but everything was clear. The peace of her presence soothed me. Bathed my fractured psyche in a glowing light.

  This child was my mate.

  Everything my mother told me it would be and yet not. I couldn’t properly describe the way I was feeling right now. It was more than I could have ever dreamed of. And it all centered on this small child standing before me.

  “Lorelei. What’s yours?” She had the voice of an angel.

  “Vincent.”

  “Why are you so sad, Vincent?” She cocked her head to the side. I reached out to touch her mind. As we connected, I couldn’t help but smile as she was analyzing every note of the song I had played.

  “I’m not so sad anymore.” I brushed my fingers along her cheek, cleaning the dark smudge of dirt. “How did you get here, Theera?”

  She rubbed at her eyes with her fists and yawned. “I heard you playing. It was sad so I wanted to come cheer you up. Make you play happy music. Every night you always play the saddest music and then it makes me sad, too.”