Changing Beauty (Book 2) (The Deadly Beauties Live On)

by C. M. Owens

  Shit. She’s gone. She’s lost inside the darkness none of us can understand.

  Cursing, I try to figure out a way to get Roslyn out and then take Ella down. Maybe Kimber can send her to a different plane until she comes to.

  “I’m probably gonna regret this,” Gage grumbles.

  Without warning, he throws two red and blue orbs—red and fucking blue—into the fight, destroying the standoff when his power collides in the middle of theirs. The dick’s face becomes visible as a snarl erupts from Ella.

  “I wouldn’t have done that if I were you,” the guy says, smiling as though he knows something we don’t.

  That’s when I hear Gage yelp, and I look over just in time to see Ella has seriously fucking lost it enough to attack him.

  “Stop!” Kimber yells.

  From there, it’s all a blur of motion.

  Karma screams, red power slaps Dice in the chest, something slices through my leg, and all hell breaks loose. More and more powers combine, slamming into us from somewhere else, and I groan when I’m knocked to the ground.

  Son of a bitch. He has reinforcements.

  At least five have joined us, all of them wearing masks as they strike with blow after blow. Leaping up, I grab the first one I can reach, and my knee hammers into their stomach hard enough to send them sailing.

  Just before I reach Roslyn, a streak of blue hits me, and I’m knocked backwards so hard that I actually roar while still in flesh. I lift my head enough to see the dick with silver eyes is twitching his finger. Silver fucking eyes.

  He’s a creature god. Fuck my motherfucking life.

  My eyes move to Roslyn who is staring at me as her chest rises and falls rapidly, and her eyes roll back in her head before coming back down and shifting colors. My heartbeat speeds up when I see one eye sparks with flames and the other shifts with autumn flare.

  No…

  A bloodcurdling scream erupts from somewhere behind me as the battle rages on, but I can’t look away from the impossible. Roslyn grins darkly as she stands up, and then her attention shifts to the fucking creature god.

  “So that’s what it takes?” he asks, seeming pleased about something. “Hurting your boyfriend that now wants you dead as much as I do?”

  She doesn’t say a word before power flies from her hands, swirls of burning flames that rush against the guy and knock him backward. He grunts as he flies through the air and crashes through a tree.

  I’m still stunned, trying to believe what I’m seeing.

  Roslyn is the hybrid. The bloodthirsty, coldblooded killing witch/werewolf hybrid.

  “Might have underestimated your power,” the guy mumbles before standing back up. “Won’t happen again.”

  Just before he strikes, my instincts kick into action, and I shift faster than I ever have before. My clothes rip and shred as a roar leaves my mouth, and I turn into a tiger massive enough to absorb the impact of the blue streaks before they hit her.

  A yelp leaves me when it feels like fire is slicing up my side in an unrelenting assault. The guy curses before the power fades, and I see another shot of black, foggy fire shoot across.

  A howl erupts through the air, and I glance over to see a flash of shock white fur seconds before it disappears. In too much pain to stay in shifted form, I’m forced to let my flesh take back over.

  My side is bleeding profusely when I finish the shift, and I clutch it, trying to keep pressure on it as I scan the area for the wolf I know Roslyn just turned into. With one arm, I crawl to the discarded white dress she ripped apart during her shift, and I grab it to push against my bleeding side.

  “Fuck! She’s loose!” the guy yells.

  She appears in a flurry of motion, a wolf materializing seconds before she’s latched onto his arm.

  He shakes her off, but she disappears again before he can hit her with his blue streaks of energy.

  That’s when I hear the dark, bone-chilling laughter, and I turn in time to see Ella encased in a white light, her hands out at her side as something builds. She’s about to kill us all.

  Staggering up to my feet, I try to think of what to do to stop her, but nothing is coming to mind. Gage keeps trying to get close enough to knock her into a different plane, but the light surrounding her knocks him on his ass every time.

  Kimber cries out as she opens a gate, doing all she can to suck Ella into it, but she’s not strong enough. I rush to her side, helping her add suction to the gate using my own abilities, but with my side bleeding heavily, it’s all I can do to keep from passing out.

  And Ella’s too fucking strong.

  “Motherfucker,” a guy’s voice growls.

  I glance back to see the silver-eyed son of a bitch rushing toward Ella, but unlike Gage, when he hits her light barrier, he crashes right through it and right into her. They both vanish from sight as the others from his crew disappear as well, abandoning the battle like they won’t fight without him.

  Kimber and I drop the gate, and she collapses in Gage’s arms. “We have to go after them,” she mumbles.

  Gage looks at my side, cursing, and Zee appears, tossing my arm over his shoulder as he helps keep me standing.

  “I’ll get Thad back. And, oh shit. Karma.” The word ends on a whisper as I look over and see Dice scooping Karma up.

  “She’s breathing,” Dice exhales. “But that bitch sister of hers did something. She has control of her power. Karma doesn’t. Fucking bully bitch. Why did they attack us? And who is brave enough to go get Ella back?”

  “We’re going after Ella,” Gage says as Kimber seems to regain her strength. “Call Kane. I’m going to need his help. That fucker was stronger than him and Alyssa. And Ella… Fuck. She never gets left alone again. She’s too tempted to give herself over to the unknown. She’s not like Kane or Alyssa. If you thought Alyssa had a dark side, you haven’t seen anything.”

  I saw it with my own fucking eyes. Ella—the girl I accused of being too human—has a bigger secret than I knew. That was more than just losing control—that was embracing and loving insanity. She has more in common with Drackus than Alyssa, and Ella is ten times the force Drackus is.

  It’s a deadly cocktail I wasn’t ready for. None of us were.

  “Where’s Roslyn?” I ask through a painful strain, barely keeping my eyes open. I need a lot of blood right now.

  I’m met with silence, and I look around to see no one is making eye contact with me.

  “She’s the hybrid,” Gage says, the only one brave enough to meet my gaze.

  “Yeah, and there’s something fucked up with what’s going on. Touch her, and you’ll have to kill me or be killed.”

  He starts to speak, but Kimber puts her fingers over his lips to silence him.

  “He’s right. She didn’t change until he was hit. She looked furious. Something happened the second she stopped being scared and got mad. I don’t think she even knows what she is, and Reese and Sadie have something to do with that. Whatever the spell they used on her, she’s suffering because of it. Hell, not even Karma could tell she was fey. It’s like… It’s like they’ve separated her human half from her fey half, and there’s no telling how dangerous that has made her. We need to call Reese.”

  Kimber thankfully makes complete sense. If my beasts were able to take over without a leash… It’d be the dark ages of bloodshed and panic all over again.

  “I need to find her,” I grumble, but then my legs buckle, putting the burden of holding me up completely on Zee.

  “She’ll turn up,” Zee says, easily lifting me as he dematerializes us.

  The planes are crossed easier than what he normally does, but it’s still not as smooth and practiced as Gage. I hold back the urge to retch as we rematerialize at the SUV. He loads me into the back, and I grimace while fighting back a string of names I’d like to call him when he doesn’t exactly use a gentle touch.

  I settle for a death glare, and accept his muttered apology as he takes the driver’s seat. Dice joins
us shortly after, gingerly sliding Karma into the seat with me until her head is resting in my lap.

  Probably a good thing Kane wanted old-school bench seats in this thing. Karma actually snores in my lap, but I lean my head back, ignoring her as I try to think of what the fuck to do about Roslyn.

  I can’t go after her until I’ve healed. Hell, I’m barely staying awake. And I sure as hell am not letting anyone else go after her.

  “Kane is on his way to help Gage and Kimber,” Zee says, putting away his phone as he finishes up a text.

  “You sent that in a text?” Dice muses. “Fucking cold.”

  He reaches back, taking Karma’s hand in his, distracting me. Where the fuck is Roslyn?

  “I wasn’t about to get yelled at. So yes, I sent it in a text. He said Alyssa had to talk to us. I told him to have her meet us at Gage’s place. He said this before I told him about Ella. Other than the brief highlights, I won’t tell you what all he said after I told him about Ella. Chaz is already on his way to help find Ella.”

  I try to stretch out, but it hurts too much to move.

  “Here,” Dice says, leaning up and tugging his shirt over his head. He tosses it to me, and I hold it against my gaping wound.

  “Thanks.”

  “I meant for you to put it over your dick. I’m not overly fond of my girlfriend’s head being so close to it.”

  Rolling my eyes, I flip him off. Zee snickers in the front as he drives like hell to get us home.

  “You don’t look so good,” Dice points out more seriously.

  “Probably has something to do with the fact I’m fucking bleeding to death and my girl is running rampant and killing who knows who.”

  He studies me for a moment before saying, “Nah. It’s your hair. Do something different? Don’t do it again.”

  I try to laugh, but it only hurts to do so. I know what he’s doing, even if he is annoying as fuck. But my mind is still on Roslyn no matter how much he tries to distract me from it.

  “She should have had slave markings,” Zee points out. “She was a part of the slave rings for two years. She should have had the marks like all the others.”

  It’s only one of the many mysteries at our feet.

  “Sadie is involved,” Dice says on a sigh. “She’s from Freya too, and we’ve already established the fact that she’s a master of magic. Somehow she made it to where not even Karma could tell she was more than human. Hiding slave marks would be a breeze in comparison.”

  True. Fucking Sadie. What did she do to her?

  “I’d like to kick Reese’s ass for lying to us,” Zee grumbles. “He sent a text asking where she was when we called him out on his shit. He seemed impatient, considering he sent me at least five texts within a two minute period. He really wants this girl. You ready to fight him for her?”

  I don’t say anything, but I’m starting to piece together what stake Reese has in all of this. At least Zee doesn’t sound like he’s ready to kill her.

  Dice… I’m not so sure about.

  Karma shifts against me, mumbling something before snoring louder, and I wince when her head moves over my cock.

  “Why don’t you have a change of clothes with you?” Dice groans.

  “I do. But again, I’m fucking bleeding to death. I don’t give a damn if my nakedness is a discomfort to you.”

  Zee snorts derisively just as we finally reach my house. As he passes by on our way to Gage’s home, I glance over to see Roslyn’s lights on. It’s probably just Jenny, but—

  “I’ll go check it out. In case you didn’t notice, Jenny’s car was missing from the road,” Zee tells me.

  “Did mindreading come with your shiny new powers?” I ask, trying not to sound as worried as I feel. I want to be out there looking for her.

  It takes only a couple of minutes to reach Gage’s house, and Dice is the first one out. He opens the back door before gingerly lifting Karma out and carrying her inside my house.

  Zee comes to help me out, but as soon as Dice is out of earshot, he whispers, “I’ll go looking for her. She’ll be hunting if she’s in wolf form since her animal instincts are in control. I won’t hurt her.”

  Zee has never been a liar, so I don’t hesitate to trust him.

  “Thanks.”

  He nods once while helping carry me inside.

  “Is it weird the damn creature god seemed more interested in you than any of us?” he asks. “You’re the only one he actually hurt.”

  Like I so often do when I’m annoyed, confused, or irked, I crack my neck to the side. “It was because I was going to Roslyn. He knew. Somehow, that bastard knew what she was, and he was trying to lure her into changing.”

  Zee blows out a breath as Dice meets him at the door to help him carry me in. Alyssa sprints in from the back, carrying several packs of blood that she rips open and essentially shoves into my face.

  “Ella. Where is she? Will he hurt her?” she asks, her voice trembling.

  “I think she’s safe,” Zee answers as I hungrily drink the packs of blood, feeling it slide down my throat. Gah, that shit tastes so good right now.

  “They could probably use some help. I can go back with you,” Dice tells her as he brushes Karma’s hair off her face. She’s stretched out across the couch, still snoring and mumbling.

  Dray appears, and I’ve never been so relieved to see anyone in all my life.

  “This didn’t work with the blood-starved night stalkers. Let’s hope it works this time,” he says with a frown.

  I feel that tickling, tingling feeling, but this time it’s strong, unlike the last time. I breathe in a sigh of painless relief, watching in appreciation as the flesh fuses back together, quickly healing as the blood slowly stops slipping from the almost non-existent wound.

  After a few more minutes of feeling like tiny ants are crawling all over me, I look down to see my side is fully healed. Dray seems to sigh in relief, but he also looks tired. Too much healing drains him.

  “Thanks, Dray. Now I can go track down Roslyn myself.”

  “Might want to put on some clothes first,” Dice points out as I stand. “Now get your dark angel ass over here and help my girl,” he adds, his eyes on Dray.

  Dray tilts his head, studying Karma.

  “Fascinating,” he murmurs to himself as he takes her hand.

  “Not sure what’s so riveting about her ability to snore like a pro,” Dice replies dryly.

  “No. It’s not that. It’s just… She’s not in any duress. It seems like she just put her to sleep. Almost like a sleeper spell a witch would use. But I thought Zee sent a text saying she was hit by her twin—her demon hybrid twin.”

  Dice’s brow furrows. “She was.”

  Deciding I’m more interested in finding Roslyn than hearing about Kya’s powers, I head to my room, toss on some clothes, and grab a motherfucking anointed crossbow.

  If I see that creature god son of a bitch, this will help even out the score.

  “You care if I go with you?” Zee asks.

  I turn, looking over my shoulder to see him propped against the doorjamb. Tonight, he had control of his shit, even though I could tell he was holding back.

  “Why didn’t you kill them when you had the chance?”

  He shrugs. “They didn’t seem like they were trying to kill us. Mostly they seemed to be trying to keep us from killing one of their own. I think they just feared your girl.”

  My girl. My girl the werewolf/witch hybrid that has been killing immortals and draining them almost dry. My girl who has no idea who or what she is.

  “I held back, too. But I won’t if they are planning to fucking kill her.”

  Turning back around, I pull the sensitive trigger, watching as the arrow shoots out like lightning, thuds against a stud in the wall, and sticks there.

  “What are you going to do if we find Roslyn?” Zee asks hesitantly.

  “When we find her, I’m going to be the same charming guy she’s gotten to know.”
<
br />   “Seriously?” he asks, clearly confused.

  “She doesn’t remember it when it happens.” Pulling the arrow out of the wall, I turn to face him. “And I’ll be damned if she finds out before we figure out a way to get this fucked up spell off her.”

  He snorts out a laugh before shaking his head. “Looks like she’s more your type than any of us realized.”

  Yeah, and I can’t wait to see the animal side of her once it’s leashed and under her control.

  Chapter 15

  ELLA

  The haze leaves, and I feel my breath leave with it as my knees try to give out. Everything is blurry and unsteady when I glance around to see that I’m in something that resembles a Kaleidoscope.

  The colors are bright and vivid, but it feels like I’m staring through an unfocused camera lens. It’s as dizzying as it is disorienting.

  “You should sit down for a minute,” a familiar and incredibly unwelcome voice says.

  Whipping around, I prepare to fight, but it’s all too fuzzy to pinpoint where he’s standing.

  “Easy, Princess,” he says in that damn patronizing tone he was using on me before I let loose.

  Oh damn. It felt so good to finally free the part of me that’s always trying to scratch its way to the surface.

  “Stop calling me that,” I mumble, hearing the words slur like I’m drunk.

  “Don’t bother trying to hit me with your magic in here. You’re more likely to hit yourself. Directionality in this plane is very… tricky. Right could be left or straight ahead, and it’s never the same direction twice.”

  I’m almost willing to risk it after what he did to me… what I let him taunt me into doing, rather. I can’t believe I freed myself with all my friends so close by. Thankfully, I never hurt any of them. As good as it felt to let go, I hated losing all control.

  “Didn’t know you were such a fireball,” he muses. “Guess I might have pegged you wrong.”

  Trying to stand becomes a bigger chore. I almost feel queasy, and I know it’s because of this plane. I’ve never seen this plane before.