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

by Mina Carter

  “Get up. We can’t stay here. We have company.”

  She stood up. “Where?” She looked to where he pointed to the top of the falls. “Who is it?”

  “Demetri Demidov,” he said.

  “That is not good at all.”

  “No, it isn’t. That’s why I said we shouldn’t stay.” He glanced around and then pointed. “The forest is denser over there. If we’re lucky we’ll get lost in it.” He started to drag her by the arm.

  She yanked her arm away. “I got it. I can walk.”

  “Walk?” He urged her to move up the embankment by placing his hand and the center of her back and giving her a shove. “We need to move a little faster than that. Run!”

  She sprinted into the forest, and he followed.

  ~ Nineteen ~

  JOSEPH STARED AT a thick, nearly solid mass of black clouds moving toward him. He felt something touch his mind. It wasn’t Mia, but he sensed it would lead him to her. A deep male voice whispered in his mind using an ancient language that sounded familiar but that he couldn’t quite translate. He could tell it was a compulsion, though. He could’ve easily protected himself from it, but he didn’t fight. Regardless of what was about to happen, he knew it would lead him to Mia.

  “Snap out of it, Joseph,” Haden said. “Fight it. It’s Demetri.”

  Joseph felt Haden attempting to fight the compulsion for him. “Let it happen, Haden.”

  “Damn it, Joseph! He’ll kill you. You can’t help her if you’re dead. Do something to fight it.”

  “No, he can’t.” Joseph stumbled as the black mass slammed into him, but he remained on his feet. Several voices chanting the same ancient language accompanied the man’s voice.

  Everything started spinning. Faster and faster the world whirled around him. No—he was spinning. The voices stopped. All was silent. His stomach rolled, and he closed his eyes in an effort to stop it, but the sensation of spinning increased. He fell to his knees.

  Joseph. He felt Mia’s familiar touch a second before he heard her whisper in his mind. I need you now. Right now.

  Mia, show me where you are, and I will come to you. All at once the voices began chanting, and her presence in his mind vanished. Panicking, realizing he’d made a mistake by allowing Demetri to pull him so far into a compulsion, Joseph tried to stand. He felt Haden take his arm to help him, but it was too late. Utter darkness closing in on him, he fell to his side. He felt his spirit rise from his body and soar to the heavens.

  The next thing he knew, he was standing behind Mia. Unable to move, he watched her for several moments. His dragon was angry. The ancient instincts that had always led him in battle were screaming at him. Something was wrong, but he ignored it. Mia was beautiful. It was a perfectly exquisite moment. She was his miracle. She was the meaning of his life. Seeing her, being close to her after being apart, was like coming home for the first time.

  His dragon clawed at him. It asked: How she was there? How he was there? And why? He pushed his dragon’s instincts aside. The questions didn’t matter. He was with Mia again. He would never leave her side. Nothing could take him away from her.

  He slowly pulled her into the circle of his arms. “I was afraid for you.” He tightened his arms around her, holding her as close as possible against his trembling body. “I missed you so damn much, Mia.”

  “It’s too late.” He heard despair in her voice. He felt her pain. “You said nothing could ever prevent me from reaching you. You said you would follow wherever I go. I believed you, Joseph. Why didn’t you come for me?”

  “No.” But it was true—he’d failed her. A sense of being defeated washed over him. All hope was lost. His heart ached deeply for her, for himself. But wait—he was there with her, wasn’t he? He tried to remember how he got there, tried to focus. But he couldn’t.

  “I can’t stay here. I have to go now, Joseph.”

  “You’re not leaving me. I’m not leaving you.”

  “I don’t have a choice. I can’t stay here with you. You’ve known from the day we met that I’m not the one. You wanted it to be me, but I’m not. The pain you feel for losing me will only last until you find her. She will be your true love, your eternal love. And you can’t find her until I’m gone.” Tears glistening in her eyes, she turned within his arms to face him. “It’s okay. I’m okay.” She stood on the very tips of her toes to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss his cheek. “I must go away from you, but I’ll always love you, Joseph.”

  Lifting her up off her feet, he held her tight against his body. “You are the only woman I will ever love. Your companionship, your love, is the air I breathe. I can’t survive without you. I’m never letting you go.”

  “You don’t have a choice, Joseph. Just as you lived two thousand years before I was even born, you’ll live thousands more.” He didn’t put her down or let go of her, but she was no longer in his arms. She stood just out of his reach. “I’m dead.”

  “Death means nothing to me. I can follow you anywhere, and I have. I’m here with you now.” But he still couldn’t remember how he’d gotten there. He decided it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that he was with her. “I love you, Mia, only you, forever you. Being with you is all that matters to me.”

  “I’m not the one for you. If I had been your true mate you would’ve found me in time. You know it’s true. We aren’t connected in the way of true mates.”

  “I won’t give you up.”

  “You already did.” Mia turned away from Joseph, but she glanced over her shoulder at him. “I called out to you. I tried to touch your mind. I needed you. I begged you to come to me before it was too late, but you didn’t because, though you won’t admit it, you knew I had to go away for you to find the right one.”

  “No. Do not say that. Do not even think it. I’ve been searching for you ever since you were taken. I never gave up. I kept searching for you though I couldn’t feel you.” He frowned. Why couldn’t he feel her? Why couldn’t he hear her? How did he get here? How did she get here? He was forgetting something important. “You’re the love of my life, Mia.”

  “You couldn’t find me, Joseph. That alone is proof I’m not the true love of your life.”

  “You’re wrong.” He caught her shoulder and turned her around. Then taking her chin, he forced her to look up at him. “You belong to me. I belong to you.” He swept her hair from her face with gentle fingers. “I love you, Mia.”

  “It’s too late for us. Time doesn’t matter to you. It never has, and it never will matter to you. You’re immortal so you don’t feel time as I do. It matters to me. It always has, and it will always matter to me. Though my body decays, you will live on. And you will find your true love. Don’t feel sorry for me. Don’t be sad. My pain is finally over. You’ve known it all along, and now it’s time for you to accept the truth. We were pretending. We never belonged together.” Pointing, she looked down over the edge of a waterfall he couldn’t remember being there before. “Through my death you’ve been given the freedom to seek your destiny.”

  Looking down, he followed her gaze and found himself at the bottom of the falls standing over Mia’s lifeless body. She was face up, her lifeless eyes staring up at him. Her arms and legs were unnaturally twisted and sprawled out on the boulders as ice-cold water from the falls crashed down on her.

  “Mia, my heart, my soul.” He didn’t need supernatural abilities to assess her injuries. Her bones were obviously crushed, her flesh torn and bruised. “You cannot leave me.” He crouched low and lifted her body into his arms. “You are my life.”

  Her head lolled to the side to rest against his chest. She was too cold. He had to act quickly. He had to find her before her spirit moved too far away and she was lost to him for forever. He looked down at her, tears falling from his eyes. Her face, her beautiful face was marred with horrible bruises and deep gashes.

  Sorrow and rage filled him. Adrenaline surged through his bloodstream and caused his entire body to shake. With his
grief so powerful, his need to be with her so urgent, he could kill himself. He could inflict a severe enough wound to his body that would allow him to force his spirit from his body.

  “Wait for me, Mia.” Her lifeless body weighed nothing. He fell to his knees. “I’m coming to you.” He’d never felt such horrible anguish. He’d never imagined anything nearly as painful.

  He held her close with one arm, and then he held out his hand as he conjured up a razor-sharp blade. Pressing the blade to his throat, he rocked her lifeless body.

  “Stop! It’s a trick, Joseph!” Haden’s voice boomed all around. “It’s Demetri! You have to fight it!”

  Joseph looked up at Haden. “She’s dead.”

  “No.” Haden grabbed Joseph’s arm, preventing him from slicing his throat. “You’re in a trance. It’s a spell. None of it is real. Wake up, Joseph.”

  “Look at her, Haden. She’s dead. I can’t survive without her—I won’t. Let go of my arm, or I will kill you.”

  “You know it’s not real. You haven’t found her yet. Demetri wants you to believe she’s dead so you’ll give up your spirit. Don’t allow Demetri to win. Fight him. Wake up. If you try to follow Mia by taking your life you will lose her forever.”

  That was it. That was what he couldn’t remember. It was an ancient spell, a compulsion. He dropped the blade and bent his head to press his lips against her cold, bruised forehead. He worked to unravel the spell. It was a manipulation of the truth. She was at the falls, but she was still alive.

  Joseph opened his eyes. “The falls. I found her. Mia is at the falls.”

  Haden reached for Joseph’s hand to help him up. “That was too damn close, Joseph. What the fuck were you thinking? I can’t believe you allowed Demetri to take possession of your mind.”

  “You would’ve done the same thing if you couldn’t find Caylee and you believed it would allow you to find her. I can feel her now. I think she’s unconscious, but she’s alive.” Mia, I’m coming to you. He leapt into the sky like a rocket, taking the form of the dragon as he placed a hedge of deadly protective spells around her.

  Joseph. Oh, Joseph, I hear you. Do you hear me?

  Yes, I hear you, Mia.

  We’re surrounded by vampires. And Demetri is close by. But they haven’t found us. I thought it was you. I thought you were hiding us.

  Us?

  Caleb is with me. They put us together. They wanted him to kill me. He was injured and too weak to help me escape from them, so I gave him my blood.

  Joseph was more than alarmed. He was mad as hell. He didn’t want any male touching her. Taking her blood was much more than a simple touch.

  Don’t get all bent out of shape. Would you rather I’d died? It was the only way for me to get away from the vampires. And for your information, Caleb is far more irritating than you and Haden put together.

  Joseph tried to reach for Caleb but found nothing but a black void. Why can’t I reach him? I can’t feel him.

  That’s because the moron is unconscious.

  A moron? Hmm … it sounds as if I have more competition than a wolf.

  Don’t be an idiot. You know there’s no other man for me.

  That’s a relief.

  He told me to leave him out here. He wanted me to just walk away from him and allow him to slow down the vampires and Demetri so I had a better chance of escaping. He’s an idiot. I wouldn’t have anything to do with leaving him to die. Besides, they haven’t found us.

  Sounds like Caleb. He has an odd belief that women were put on the earth to be protected by men.

  And worse, he tried to use a compulsion on me.

  I bet he was shocked when it didn’t work.

  Mia’s laughter filled his mind. He doesn’t know yet.

  Really? Joseph asked.

  Yep. I hit him over the back of the head. Weren’t you listening? He was going to go after the other vampires and Demetri. He didn’t have a chance. He would’ve been killed, or he would’ve given our location away and we would both be dead. I know it doesn’t make sense, but they never pursued us from the waterfall. I thought Demetri saw us. Joseph had no doubt Demetri knew right where Mia and Caleb were hiding. It was a trap. Demetri was using Mia as bait. I’m sure he did. It’s a trap, Mia.

  Then stay away.

  Joseph laughed at the thought of doing anything other than rushing into the trap. He didn’t want her to worry. While sharing the information he received from her with Haden, he decided to distract her. Do you have your phone, angel?

  No. Why? You want me to make a call for you?

  No. I forgot mine, and I would love to post a picture of Caleb after my woman knocked him out.

  You’re demented.

  But you love me, right?

  Only you, Joseph. I love only you.

  That is good news. Once he was certain Haden had passed the information to Nikolas, who was now hunting Demetri down, he knew he needed more information about Caleb’s condition. What other injuries does Caleb have?

  He has lost a lot of blood. It was horrible. They were torturing him. They drained his blood to force him to kill me. You know, as much as I don’t like him or any other bloodsucker, I give him credit. He could’ve killed me. I felt the need in him for blood. It was intense. He fought it, and he barely took any blood from me. He took just enough to have the strength to get me out of the cave.

  I’ve known Caleb for a very long time. He’s a very good friend. He’s disciplined, and he’s one of the most honorable vampires I’ve ever known. He has never found his mate. Most of his kind are unable to resist the urge to kill and feed on innocent blood for as long as he has. It’s not easy for them when they’ve been alone for so long.

  He’s too honorable. I still can’t believe he tried to use a compulsion to force me to abandon him to save myself even after I warned him it wouldn’t be a good idea to keep trying.

  I can’t even begin to imagine what he was thinking.

  Yeah, right. I bet you would’ve tried it too.

  I don’t try. I do. Joseph was almost afraid to ask about Eli. It was silly. Clearly, she was in love with him, but he feared she might also love Eli if she’d been with him long enough to realize she belonged to him. What happened with Eli? How did you get separated from him?

  First, I don’t know why you would ever think I belong to Eli. I don’t. My soul, my spirit, and my body belong to you, Joseph. No other man can stir the need, the desire that you stir in me. I can’t even begin to imagine being with any other man than you.

  Deep inside the dragon, he couldn’t stop the smile from forming on his face. That’s good news. Because there isn’t an ounce of me that you haven’t owned from the day we met.

  I wasn’t done. Don’t interrupt me again. And stop smiling like that. Nothing I’ve said means I like you. You still make me crazy. I just happen to love crazy. I don’t know what happened after he showed up at the boutique. I don’t remember leaving at all. The last thing I remember before waking up in the cave is calling out to you.

  Did Eli do anything to hurt you? Joseph didn’t even try to hide his anger.

  No. Someone restrained me from behind as Eli put a cloth over my face, and something on it caused me to lose consciousness.

  Haden and I are close. Don’t be alarmed—we’re in the form of our dragons.

  Mia stood and lifted her face, and Joseph felt the joy bubbling in her. She was so happy, so excited to see him. I see you.

  Side by side, they swooped down fast and landed. Mia ran to Joseph as he turned from dragon to man and jumped into his arms. It felt good to hold her, to feel her body against his. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. She kissed him, pouring all of her love for him into the kiss. She kissed him as if for the first time, as if she would never be able to kiss him again.

  Haden cleared his throat. “Nikolas has just told me that he has Demetri on the run. We need to go. It’s not safe here.”

  Joseph slowly lowered Mia ont
o her feet. He took her hand in his because he needed to touch her. “Where is Caleb?”

  She pointed. “I dragged him beneath the trees. He weighs a ton.”

  “You should’ve thought about that before you knocked him out.” Keeping her hand in his, he walked over to Caleb and knelt down to examine him.

  “I really didn’t hit him that hard,” Mia said.

  Haden walked up from behind. “His body is depleted. He needs blood.”

  Mia looked up at Joseph. “I nominate you this time.”

  “He can’t take my blood,” Joseph said. “And he won’t be taking any more from you.”

  Caleb opened his eyes. He blinked a few times, and then he stared up at Mia. “You were supposed to leave.”

  “I’m not alone.”

  Caleb blinked again as his eyes focused on Joseph. “Did you bring an army?”

  “I’m here, and Nikolas is dealing with Demetri,” Haden replied.

  Caleb turned to look at Haden. “I didn’t realize you were here. It’s about time the Drake brothers start fighting together again. I was hoping Nikolas would come out of hiding when Demetri started screwing around with vampires. What the hell is he trying to do with them anyways?”

  Haden smiled. “Nikolas is out and about because his mate is. And we haven’t quite figured out what Demetri is attempting to accomplish.”

  “No way. Are you serious? Nikolas found his mate after all this time?”

  “It’s true.” Haden said. “Unfortunately he refuses to take possession of her.”

  “What?”

  “Nikolas is being overly cautious. He believes he’s too old and too dangerous for her. He believes he might lose control and hurt her.”

  “Your brother thinks he’ll hurt a woman, his woman?” Caleb laughed out loud. “Damn, I’ve missed out on all the good stuff. I bet he’s going absolutely insane. Wait. Since when the hell did Nikolas learn the definition of caution?”

  “Since he learned that Demetri killed his mate,” Haden said.