Wicked After Dark: 20 Steamy Paranormal Tales of Dragons, Vampires, Werewolves, Shifters, Witches, Angels, Demons, Fey, and More

by Mina Carter

  "Am I?" With a roar of fury, he shoved his palm toward the far wall, which was made of stone. White light exploded from his palm, and the barrier disintegrated, revealing an adjoining room. Stretched out on the floor, under a scarlet blanket was Lucy. Tangled blond curls fell about her cheeks, her hands were folded across her stomach, and her skin was so pale it was almost translucent. Her eyes were closed. Her breath silent. Her heart not beating. But there was a faint aura around her still, a body still clinging to life.

  "Lucy!" Catherine screamed as she lunged to her feet and ran toward her daughter—

  The collar around her neck jerked her back against the wall, and her breath gurgled in her throat, but she still strained toward her child, fighting desperately to find a way to get to her.

  Another burst of white light exploded from Simon's palm, and the wall reformed, cutting her off from Lucy. "No!" Catherine screamed. "Lucy—"

  Simon grabbed her by the collar and yanked her over to him. "Put Dante Sinclair's spirit into me," he snarled. "Now!"

  Catherine grabbed the stopper and yanked it out. The room was immediately filled with the most intense power, a soul so strong it seemed to make the walls bend outward. It was swirling about her, disoriented and confused, just as all the others had been. What did Simon do to the souls to make them unable to find their way?

  "Now," Simon snarled.

  Catherine immediately closed her eyes and reached out to Dante's soul, but it resisted her, refusing to let her connect with him. It was too strong for her to control. She was too drained to overpower it. Please, she whispered desperately, unable to get the sight of Lucy's lifeless form out of her mind. Please, come to me. But it didn't. It wouldn't. It strained against the walls, pushing away from her, as if it could sense the threat that Simon posed. Of course it could. It was the leader of the Order. A man who always knew. "Dante, please—"

  The door suddenly exploded off its hinges, and a monstrous beast exploded through the front wall. Her heart seemed to leap from her chest. Ryland had returned!

  * * *

  Ryland thought his heart would stop when he saw Catherine entrapped by the same chains that had bound him for so long. She was slumped on her knees, her skin ashen, her body trembling violently. She was reaching for him, a look of such relief on her face that his chest actually tightened. He was in time. He was there for her. He would save her. "Catherine!" He bounded through the door toward her—

  Simon jumped in front of him. "Down, beast, down!"

  To his horror, Ryland dropped to the ground like a fucking subservient piece of shit. Catherine's face fell. Raw, indescribable self-loathing flooded him. His woman was dying, and he couldn't save her? Unacceptable. This could not happen. He would not allow it. With a low growl, he willed his body to shake off the command, but nothing happened. He didn't move. Fuck!

  "You all die!" Simon whirled on the rest of the Order, white light exploding from his palm as the others charged into the massive stone lodging.

  "Ryland. Help!" Tears were pouring down her cheeks. Her eyes were haunted, her shirt streaked with blood. On her arms were the completed brands in the shape of Thano's halberds. For a moment, he couldn't take his gaze off them, shocked by the sight. Somehow, somehow, he'd thought that at the final stage, when that moment had connected them after he'd offered his life to save her, that his brands would have replaced Thano's. How could they still be on her like that? The connection between them had been about them, not Thano. It wasn't Thano!

  "Please," she whispered, her voice so full of anguish he felt a fissure crack through him. "Lucy," she managed to say. "She's alive."

  "Alive? She's alive?" Son of a bitch. Urgency exploded through him. "Where is she?"

  "I have to put her soul back in her body. I—" Her breath stuttered, and her skin grew even paler. "I'm dying," she whispered. "Need light. Nothing left—"

  "Catherine!" Her name ripped from his throat, a howl of such longing and need, of a thousand years of suffering finally being released. His life suddenly loomed before him, an empty chasm of isolation and loneliness if she wasn't in it. The magnitude of the loss was debilitating, tearing away at the very fabric of his being, a horror so great he bellowed in agony. "I won't let you die!"

  Summoning reserves he'd never before accessed, he lunged for her once again, galvanized by the terror of losing her. For a moment, he was suspended in stillness, frozen in time, but he could feel the invisible bonds holding him begin to weaken. "Now!" he roared, and suddenly an incredible force swelled within him, infusing his body with indescribable strength. To his shock, he broke free of Simon's hold and was suddenly on his feet again! He charged across the room to the only person in the room who mattered to him. "Catherine!" He ripped the chains out of the walls with his claws, then scooped her up, cradling her against his chest.

  She was too cold. She was shaking too badly. Her body was limp against his, dying. Losing her soul. Fear was like a cold knife, and he pulled her more tightly against him, as if he could use his body to shield her. Tell me what you need. How do I help you?

  She closed her eyes. The east wall. Break it. Get Lucy.

  Ryland didn't even hesitate. He just swung his mighty tail, decimating the wall.

  A small child was lying on the floor, shocking him into silence for a split second. Memories assaulted him, images of being on that same slab as a boy. That had been his bed. His home. His hell. And there was another child there, being groomed to replace him? How many other children had suffered his fate? Rage exploded through him, the need to destroy Simon, but he didn't cave to his instinct for revenge. There was no time for that. Time only to save. Time only to steal two precious victims from death before it could win.

  Still cradling Catherine, he sprinted for the girl. As he set Catherine down beside Lucy, his insides seemed to congeal in the presence of such innocence. He'd never been near something as pure as this child. Never in his life. His life was death and destruction, and even Catherine was steeped in death. But this child, this little girl...he was overwhelmed by what she represented. "She needs to live," he rasped out, his body vibrating with the intensity of his protective feelings for her, for this child, for her mother.

  He lifted the little girl in his bloodied claws, setting her in Catherine's embrace, and then pulled both of them into his arms.

  Tears streamed down Catherine's cheeks as she cradled her daughter, pressing her lips to the blond wisps of her hair. Ryland was so connected with Catherine that he felt the swell of her love for Lucy. It filled him with emotions so beautiful, so intense, it unleashed in him things he'd never felt before. Hope. Beauty. Love. In that moment, being part of the circle of love between Catherine, Lucy, and himself, he finally understood love. He wanted to weep for what she was giving him, for what she was showing him.

  Then Catherine's arms slid away from the child, falling toward the floor, and her head fell back as Lucy lay inert across her mother's torso. I'm dying, she said. I have nothing left. I can't save her.

  Dark, fierce anger flooded Ryland, the same emotions that had carried and fueled him for so long. Fuck that, sweetheart. No one dies on my watch. And with that, he merged with her, sending all his strength and immortality into her. He didn't give a shit that he could feel Thano's energy in the link, still acting as the bridge between them. He tapped into Thano's energy, merged it with his own, and thrust both of their healing energies into Catherine. He wove it through her damaged soul, accepting her encroaching death as his own. With his ties to the nether-realm, death could not hurt him, and he took hers, while he continued to channel his and Thano's Calydon immortality into her.

  The depth of their connection was incredible, and he could feel the intricacies of the bond between them as his soul took the scourges of death from her and accepted it into his own body, where it could do no harm. He knew the moment that he'd cleared enough damage from her, and he felt her soul shudder in relief. Sudden light seemed to rush through them, as if the sun itself had broken
free of the clouds.

  Catherine's arm tightened around Lucy again, and he felt her reaching out with her energy, searching for her daughter's spirit. Although he could not help her on this journey, Ryland mingled his spirit with hers, offering his love and his support as she reached out with her own soul into the tainted air of the nether-realm, calling for her child's lost soul. Lucy. It's Mama. I'm here to bring you home.

  Her voice was like the purest of angels, so filled with the beauty of a mother's love.

  Lucy, it's Mama. Come back to me, baby. Suddenly, fear began to pulse through her. Ryland, I can't find her. We're running out of time. Her body is dying—

  Ryland focused on the child in his arms, and he instantly sensed that Catherine spoke the truth. The last bits of light were blinking out of her physical being. I got this one covered, sweetheart. He'd never heard of anyone doing what he was about to do, but he didn't hesitate, absolutely certain it would work.

  He swiftly and precisely tapped into the blood of Catherine that was in her daughter, merging with Lucy through the blood bond he had with her mother. Once he felt Lucy's spirit, he immediately sent his healing strength into her, the same way he'd done with Catherine. His connection to her was thinner, but he held tight to her, balancing her at the very brink of death, keeping her on this side of the Afterlife by the thinnest of threads. I've got her, love. Go find her soul. But be quick. I don't know how long I can hold her. Even as he said it, he felt the onset of death, trying to steal her away from the physical world. He sent another pulse of his strength and immortality into her as he felt Catherine direct her energy outward again, sweeping their surroundings for her daughter while she entrusted Ryland with her daughter's life.

  There was a loud crash and an explosion of white light, telling him that the battle with Simon was in full force, but he didn't turn around. He kept all his energy focused on the tiny presence in his arms, on nothing else, holding the connection so tightly, knowing that if he faltered at all, he would lose her. The pull of death on her small form was so strong that it was taking all his strength to keep it at bay. Sweat broke out on his brow, and his body started to tremble, but still he held the connection, willing life into the fragile girl in his arms, holding her on this side of life so much longer than she was supposed to be.

  He gritted his jaw, tightening his grip on both females, pulling them tighter against his chest as he willed more life into them. But he could feel he was losing Lucy. It wasn't enough. It was as if...as if he was putting death into her himself... Shit! He was! The beast was made of death, and his spirit was tainted by it. For Catherine, she had reveled in it. But Lucy was an innocent. He had to shift back!

  Swearing, he gritted his teeth and pictured his human form. He held the image in his head and called it to him, willing the beast to leave. Shifting from full beast to man was impossible, something he'd done only that one time with the help of Dante and the angel, but he didn't give a shit. Tonight, it would work. It had to. There was no other option. He thrust all his force into the request, and then, as if it had simply been waiting for the command, the beast disappeared, leaving him a man.

  The feel of Catherine's body against his skin made his heart leap, and he quickly placed his hand over Lucy's heart. Freed from the conscripts of his beast, the purity of his strength and immortality flowed more freely, jerking Lucy back from death just as her body started to quit. He held her there, relentless in his pressure, offering her everything he had, knowing he would hold that child in life even if he drained every last bit of life from himself in the effort.

  * * *

  She couldn't find Lucy's spirit. She couldn't find her daughter! Panic raced through Catherine, terror growing thick as time passed, too much time. Lucy! It's Mama. I love you. I'm here to bring you home. She sent the call out into the nether-realm, frantically searching past hundreds of other lost souls asking for her help to find their way home. So many had died here, their spirits left to rot until Simon decided to harvest them. She had no time to save them. She could feel the strain on Ryland as he held her daughter alive. Lucy!

  Suddenly, in the furthest alcove on the far side of the nether-realm, she heard a tiny voice. Mama?

  Lucy! Catherine sent her soul flying through the darkness, faster and faster, honing in on the presence. She sped around a corner, and then was filled with the beautiful innocence of her daughter, hiding in the very alcove where she and Ryland had taken refuge when they arrived. Catherine reached out with her spirit, through the remnants of her own presence that still lingered there, and realized that her daughter had gone there because she had sensed Catherine's aura lingering. Even after two years apart, Lucy had recognized her and tried to find safety with her. I'm here, baby. She reached out with her spirit, and gently enfolded Lucy's soul into her own, cradling the fragile warmth against her. It's time to go home.

  Holding her daughter tightly, Catherine showed her the path back to where Ryland waited for them, keeping them both safe. Together, mother and daughter sped through the darkness, toward a warmth and a light so powerful that it was calling them back.

  Catherine plunged into her own body and gasped awake. At the same moment, she felt Lucy's body jerk in her arms. Catherine opened her eyes to see Lucy staring up at her, those blue eyes full of shock. "Mama? It's really you?"

  "It is, baby, it is." Tears streaming down her cheeks, Catherine hugged her daughter to her, holding her so tightly that she felt like she could never let go. Lucy threw one arm around Catherine's neck and then reached up for Ryland, who was still encircling them in his protective embrace. Lucy wrapped her arm around Ryland and smiled up at him with the pure adoration that only a child could have. "Hi," she said. "I know you. You took care of me. My name is Lucy."

  The slowest, most tender smile dawned on Ryland's face. "My name is Ryland."

  Lucy smiled. "You're an angel, too, aren't you? Like Mama?"

  Ryland met Catherine's gaze, and she was shocked to see that his eyes were no longer black. They were a brilliant, azure blue, like she'd seen that one time, for that brief second. He smiled at her and brushed a tender, chaste kiss across her forehead, a kiss that promised so much more when they were alone, but offered only comfort while in the presence of a child. Then he smiled back down at her daughter. "Yes, Lucy. I'm an angel, too."

  "I know." Lucy snuggled deeper against his chest, showing no signs of being afraid of the man that so many feared. "We've been waiting for you, haven't we, Mama?"

  Catherine smiled through her tears, overwhelmed. "I think we have."

  Ryland grinned. I love you, angel.

  He loved her? Her throat tightened, and her heart seemed to come alive, filling with such love that she felt like she could heal every last hole in her soul, wiping away the damage she'd done to it. I love you, too—

  She screamed as Thano's halberd plunged right into Ryland's chest, right through the eye of the dragon.

  Chapter Eighteen

  RYLAND RIPPED THANO'S halberd out of his chest and shoved Catherine and Lucy behind him, instinctively using his body as a shield to protect them. His torso already going numb from the direct hit, he lunged to his feet, calling out his machetes just as Thano unleashed another halberd at him. He slashed it aside a split second before it plunged into his throat. "Thano!" he yelled. "Stand down!"

  The other Order members were still fighting Simon, in a battle of blinding white light. The cloaked Order members were moving so quickly he could barely see them, fading in and out of sight, with blue streaks billowing from their cloaks. Zach was in with them, fighting hard as they moved in perfect synchronicity in their attack on Simon, hammering him ruthlessly.

  "You fucking bastard!" Thano screamed as he galloped Apollo across the room toward them, his eyes blood red as he called his weapons back for another blow. "You stole my woman!"

  Thano's eyes were red? Holy crap. He'd gone rogue. The sheva destiny had come for him instead of Ryland, since Thano was her true mate. Jesus. He'd trapped
Thano. Condemned him to the sheva destiny. Guilt coursed through him, and regret. How could he have done this to his own teammate?

  "Oh my God," Catherine whispered from behind him. "He's mad."

  "Yeah, he is." Shit!

  With an inhuman cry of rage, Thano attacked again, spinning Apollo around him in circles.

  Ryland swore and blocked another blow, then saw Thano's eyes fixate on Lucy. "It's because of her," he shouted. "That stupid kid stole my woman from me!"

  "Oh, no," Catherine gasped, pulling Lucy behind Ryland. "No, Thano! Don't!" she yelled.

  Son of a bitch. Just like the legend declared he would, Thano had gone rogue…which meant the next step was for him to destroy that which mattered most to both him and his mate. He'd already delivered a fatal blow to Ryland, and now he was going for Lucy. "Thano! Stop it!" Ryland knew that riding Apollo gave Thano too much of an advantage. He could never defeat him as a man, not with the life already bleeding out of him.

  Without hesitation, Ryland called his beast, his bones exploding in pain as he shifted form. He leapt in front of Catherine and Lucy, roaring as Apollo skidded to a stop, barely thwarted in his charge toward Lucy. Weakness thrummed through Ryland as they fought, his energy depleted by the direct blow Thano had gotten to his chest, but the beast gave him additional strength. Even as they battled, however, he couldn't help thinking of the rest of the destiny. That Catherine would have to bring Thano down, and then she would kill herself.

  A cold chill slithered down his spine at the thought of Catherine killing herself. No. Never. "Never!" He had to be the one to stop Thano. He couldn't let it be Catherine! With renewed determination, Ryland launched himself at Thano.

  The battle crescendoed between rogue and Order member, the same conflict that had been fought for centuries, when an Order member was the only thing that stood between a Calydon and his destiny. How many times had Ryland killed a friend who had gone rogue? How many times had he steeled his emotions while he did what he had to do to protect the innocent? Hundreds of times. Thousands. It was what he did.