by Lynn Hagen
“Yes,” Jaden said with a snarl. “You will.”
Panahasi rushed Jaden, tackling him and tumbling until he knew they were in the underworld. “Now!” he shouted.
The keeper appeared, shackling Jaden before shoving him into a cell. He wasn’t sure how he managed to get Jaden here, but Panahasi wasn’t going to question it. He had a feeling the primal source had a hand in helping him get Jaden down here, but Panahasi knew he would never truly know. Besides, the only thought on his mind right now was his mates.
“Can he escape?”
The keeper shrugged. “Hell if I know. But we shall see. He is death without life.”
Panahasi rolled his eyes at the keeper’s riddles, not taking the time to figure them out as he raced from the underworld and back to his mates. By the time he reached them, Crypt was nowhere in sight, and Panahasi’s heart was bursting with joy. He tackled Drake, landing kisses all over his furry face. Casey pounced, nipping at Panahasi until he, too, was in a tight hold.
“I love you both so fucking much.”
“Uh, you okay?” Hondo asked.
“Fucking fantastic!”
“You are scaring the shit out of me,” Hondo said as he backed away. “Who are you and where is my leader?”
Panahasi pushed to his feet, pulling his mates up with him. “Do we have everyone?”
Hondo nodded.
“Then let’s get the fuck out of here.”
“Sounds good to me,” Deandre said, pulling Clay along as they quickly made their way out of the city.
* * * * “What the hell has gotten into you?” Casey asked as he ran from the bedroom, streaking down the hallway. “You’re acting possessed.”
Panahasi stalked him, a feral glint in his dazzling eyes. “Maybe I am.”
Oh, shit. Casey knew that look. Panahasi was about to fuck him within an inch of his life.
“Drake!”
His mate came strolling down the hall, a wicked-ass grin on his face. “You’re on your own.”
“Why!”
“Because you know better than to tell the man you love him. You know what that does to him.”
Casey swallowed hard, running behind the couch but knowing at the same time it would do him no good. Panahasi was going to take him down.
The man had been acting weird as hell since coming back from rescuing Deandre. He wouldn’t stop kissing them or hugging them. He had to constantly touch Drake and Casey or he became bitchy as hell. He had returned to his normal surly ways with everyone else, but with his mates, Panahasi held nothing back.
Casey had no problem with the intimacy. He loved Panahasi and Drake more than his own life. He finally belonged. He had a loving home with two gorgeous men, a crazy-ass family, and was now allowed to leave the penthouse, with an escort of course.
How could life get any better?
“Don’t run,” Panahasi warned.
“He’ll run,” Drake mumbled.
The challenge ignited the wolf inside Casey as he took off down the hallway, peals of laughter following behind him.
* * * * Kobe slid inside Remtin like a thief in the night. He had grown up here, so he knew how to get in without alerting anyone to his presence.
He had one main goal, and that was Zion. If the man thought he could sacrifice himself to save Kobe, he had another thing coming. Kobe was going to find Zion and get him out of this city, even if he had to kill Raphael to get what he had come for.
Deal or no deal, Zion was his to save, and Kobe wasn’t walking away without the small demon.
* * * * Drake walked into the living room, seeing Panahasi sitting in his winged-back chair, reading a book. Casey was laid out on the rug, playing on his new laptop.
Drake stared at the pair for a moment, feeling contentment wash over him. Never again would he have to fight for a place to sleep or food for him and Casey. They were finally home.
Crossing the room, Drake knelt at Panahasi ’s feet, gazing up at the strong warrior.
Panahasi set his book aside. “You’ve come for answers?”
Drake nodded. “But if you don’t want to tell me, I’ll understand.” He really would. Honestly, he wasn’t trying to pry into the man’s life, but he wanted to get to know Panahasi on a deeper level. He wanted a more solid connection with his second mate.
Panahasi nodded. “Ask.”
Casey closed his laptop and crawled across the floor until he was sittingnext to Drake. “Don’t get too nosey, Drake. Think about how you would feel if someone pried into your life.”
Drake nodded. “I’m hearing you loud and clear, Casey.”
He turned back to Panahasi. “You told me you were one of the first creatures to be born.But so was Jaden. Are you brothers?”
Drake could see the hatred filling Panahasi’s eyes, but there was sorrow swimming at the edges. “In a sense, yes.”
Drake nodded. He understood, somewhat. If Panahasi and Jaden were born at the same time, by the same being, then yes, in a sense they were brothers.
“Why do you always look sad?”
Panahasi sat forward, placing a one hand on Casey’s cheek, the other on Drake’s. “Because for so long, I was the loneliest creature to walk the earth. Death, destruction, and misery were my constant companions. When the demon warriors were born, my time was occupied with their training, but the lonely feeling was still there, just at the edges. But the past few years, it was as if it had multiplied by a thousand, until I mated bothof you.”
Drake shook his head. “But there’s more to it than that.”
Panahasi nodded. “There is.”
“What, then?” Drake asked.
“Drake,” Casey warned,“that’s private. Ask him about his likes and dislikes, but stop making him open an obviously painful wound.”
Drake shook his head, knowing he was doing the right thing. “Just this one question and I’llconsider our deal satisfied.” He had to know. If they were going to be mated to Panahasi and share a life together, Drake had to know why the man still sometimes looked melancholy when he thought no one was watching him.
“Because,” Panahasi said sadly as he sat back, his eyes lifting to look at Drake, “I have kept a very dark secret for so long that it eats at my very soul.”
Drake leaned closer, Casey as well, his lips slightly parted as Drake softly asked,“What?”
“I created a race of beings one lonely night when I was desolate and sought the comfort of soft arms.”
“You slept with a woman?” Casey asked in astonishment.
A slight grin curled at the corner of Panahasi’s lips, but Drake could see that it was tinged with sadness. “I have lived since the beginning of time, Casey. Men are not the only creatures I have had in my bed. But I was foolish. I am life, and can bring forth life, even an entire race. I knew I had to be careful, but again, I was desolate and foolish.”
“Who cares about who he slept with,” Drake said as he waved Casey’s astonishment away. Big deal. Drake wanted to know what race Panahasi created. He was curious as hell.
“What I had brought about was not intentional. The temptress had tricked me. She had been dabbling in the black arts and had used me for her experiment.” Panahasi’s voice was bitter as he recounted what was obviously a very painful memory. “She revisited me not too long after the first time on a night I was at my weakest, filled with such rage that I took her without thought, ferociously, angrily. I hadn’t thought about it at the time, but that particular night, the seductress was wild with passion, begging me to be as rough as I possibly could be.
“What I hadn’t known was that she had already given birth to my son. She kept that secret from me, along with her dark intentions. The primal source came to me, asking why I had created a race of beings. I had no clue what it was talking about. Then I found out that after the second visit from the siren, she gave birth yet again. Because of the unrestrained way I had taken her, twins were born, and with a very dark hunger.”
Drake leaned forward, rubbing his c
heek across Panahasi’s leg, feeling the anger, hurt, and sadness coming off of his warrior in waves. He wanted to tell Panahasi that he didn’t have to go on. He wanted to tell his mate that he didn’t have to bare his soul any longer. But Panahasi almost looked relieved to finally reveal what had been haunting him for so long, so Drake said nothing.
“And because of her betrayal, the primal source not only took away my ability to reproduce, but punished me in a way that eats away at me every day of my life.” Panahasi ran his hands over Drake’s and Casey’s heads, as if seeking comfort before continuing. “I am not allowed to divulge who I am to the race I created, and if I do, they will be destroyed. I am not allowed to tell my beloved race who their father is, to tell my three sons who I am or unravel the lies of who they believe to be their true father, Marsian.”
Drake was ready to pull his hair out with anticipation. Okay, so he wanted to know. Panahasi had taken them this far in the story. He wanted to hear exactly what race Panahasi had created. “What race did you create!”
“Vampires.”
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lynn Hagen loves writing about the somewhat flawed, but lovable. She also loves a hero who can see past all the rough edges to find the shining diamond of a beautiful heart.
You can find her on any given day curled up with her laptop and a cup of hot java, letting the next set of characters tell their story.
For all titles by Lynn Hagen, please visit www.bookstrand.com/lynn-hagen
Siren Publishing, Inc. www.SirenPublishing.com