by Brenda Trim
Sweltering heat radiated behind Orlando and he glanced over his shoulder. His heart was in his throat. This was not a simple cover up. The humans were going to have a field day with this and he had a sinking feeling that nothing was ever going to be the same after tonight.
*****
The enormity of the infamous Zeum compound awed Ember as she and Hayden followed a shifter down a long hallway. She couldn’t identify Nate’s animal, but she loved the way he teased Hayden and flirted with her. Surprisingly, the hotel-sized home was warm and inviting rather than cold and impersonal. She would have expected with the sheer size that she would feel out of place and uncomfortable. She admitted that Nate’s friendly demeanor added to its charm.
Voices drifted out of a room ahead and curiosity had Ember trying to catch any details she could. She felt honored Hayden had asked her to attend with him, especially since this was something his Lieutenants usually did.
Still simmering with irritation at Orlando, she hoped he wasn’t there. She didn’t want to face him yet. Okay, that was a flat out lie, she acknowledged. She wanted more than anything to see him again, but she was pissed off at the male. His order of priorities needed to be rearranged and she was more than happy to do it for him.
Unfortunately, she vacillated between wanting to strangle the annoying male and needing to strip his clothes and ravage his sexy body. As if her thoughts had conjured the shifter, she heard his voice above the cacophony. It was the most seductive sound she’d ever heard. Not too deep, but full of life.
The room fell silent the moment she and Hayden entered and several seated around the table looked to Hayden with raised eyebrows. She didn’t pay them any attention as her gaze went right to Orlando.
He smiled at her and her damn panties nearly melted off her body. Damn if his grin didn’t need to be registered as a deadly weapon. Frustrated with her reaction to him, she reminded herself she was annoyed with him for not only ignoring the pack’s needs, but also rejecting her advances.
Twisting her face into a scowl, she shook her head at him and turned back to the group seated around a huge wooden table. She contemplated asking Nate into helping her heft the nice table out the front door because Grandma Flo would love to have something like this in the dining hall.
She didn’t know all the faces in the room, but she certainly knew which two were the king and queen. Elsie narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Ember. What the hell was her problem? Ember had never even met the female before.
“Who’s your beautiful companion?” a male with seductive blue eyes asked Hayden, drawing her attention away from the stick-up-her-butt queen.
“This is Ember. Ember this is Dante, the Cambion Lord,” Hayden murmured.
“I must say you have the most exquisite eyes, my love,” the cambion said as he reached over and grabbed Ember’s hand, placing a warm kiss to each knuckle.
Dante’s lips were soft and she could feel his sexual power at play on her. She knew the lure of a sex demon and placed up her mental barrier. Sex demons had the ability to bed anyone that let down their defenses and the Cambion Lord was oozing with seduction.
“You are a silver-tongued devil,” she replied, smiling. She could’ve sworn she saw Orlando bristle at her reaction to the attractive male.
Hayden proceeded to introduce her to the rest of the table’s occupants and Dante released her hand and took his seat. Her palms began sweating when she realized he had brought her to a Dark Alliance Council meeting. It would have been nice to know so she could change into something nicer, she mused. Her holey jeans and Led Zeppelin t-shirt didn’t seem appropriate. Although, the snotty vampire queen was dressed nearly identically so she guessed it was acceptable.
“Love your sweatshirt. It’s classic,” Mack drawled.
Ember smiled at the spiky-haired female whose whiskey eyes were full of fire. She couldn’t help but notice the female’s huge breasts and almost laughed out loud at her tight-fitting t-shirt that read ‘Don’t worry its only kinky the first time’.
“Yours, too. I’ve heard that more than once,” Ember laughed as she gestured to Mack’s shirt.
A growl echoed throughout the room and she glanced in Orlando’s direction. Surely that hadn’t been him. She hoped her responding smirk told him he shouldn’t have turned down her offer for dinner.
Mack chuckled and gave her mate, Kyran, a knowing look. “My bloodsucker says it so often I’m considering it for my next tattoo,” she said and winked toward Kyran.
Ember’s gaze darted to the ink running up both of Mack’s arms. She had the small one on her neck and was itching for another, but couldn’t imagine being bold enough to pull off something that ostentatious. Somehow, it worked on this female, though.
“And, I havena been wrong, have I, Firecracker?” Kyran murmured before he placed a kiss on Mack’s neck.
The female didn’t shiver or melt from his comment, but rolled her eyes instead. What she couldn’t hide was her arousal. It perfumed the air and every supernatural in the room had to be aware of it. These two had it bad for one another and Ember couldn’t stop the spark of jealousy that ignited. Who wouldn’t want that kind of passion, she amended. It was enticing.
“Och, let’s start this meeting before things go too far off track,” Zander ordered. “Thank you for coming. Last night, my Dark Warriors and I faced a horde of skirm and one bluidy fucking archdemon who didn’t think twice about the massacre she left behind. We need a plan of how to deal with this new demon and how we are going to handle the inevitable evidence she is going to leave behind. Seems the bitch is bound and determined to expose our existence,” the vampire king finished then took a swig of his drink; Scotch, if Ember wasn’t mistaken.
“She left at least a hundred dead humans in Gas Works Park and we had to have Breslin burn the scene. There was no way Santi and I could contain that amount of evidence,” Orlando admitted.
“She’s a conniving cunt, for sure. She launched an attack on us around the same time. She was testing our boundaries for weaknesses. Ember detected her first and called in reinforcements,” Hayden shared with the group, which had every eye turning her way.
Clearing her throat, Ember voiced, “I wasn’t about to allow her to take another member of my pack. I managed to cut her but then she disappeared.”
Ember recalled the minor wound and the small amount of her black blood had that had splattered to the ground. To Ember’s shock it had burned all the ferns and ground cover in a two-foot radius.
“What are we going to do about this one? How do we cover up a hundred human deaths without raising suspicion?” Dante asked. All hint of the sex demon’s previous flirting was gone, replaced by a sharp edge of seriousness and concern.
“This time they will chalk it up to an explosion at the old factory. Breslin made sure of that, but who knows where she will target next,” Orlando interjected as he took his switchblade out and started flipping it. Still sexy, Ember thought.
“And, we canna use fire every time. That will look suspicious,” Zander added.
“So we don’t,” Hayden said and sat forward. He folded his large hands on the table and projected a calm Ember didn’t quite understand. “Let them find out. I’m tired of trying to stay one step ahead of the humans, as well as, the demons. Besides, we need them as allies at this point. They can help us beat the demons,” the omega stated.
Ember’s jaw fell along with everyone else’s in the room. The gasps, growls and glares spoke volumes about the reaction to the bomb Hayden dropped. Zander turned a deep shade of red and was leaning over the table in Hayden’s direction.
“Are you fucking insane?” Zander snarled. “Not only has the Goddess forbid it, the humans canna handle that knowledge.”
“They would turn on us,” Dante said with a slam of his fist to the table. “I for one don’t want to become the government’s next experiment. Think of your people, Hayden. They would be chained and put in cages.”
Ember wrapped her arms
around her middle at Dante’s words. She would never survive in a cage. Her cougar would go insane and so would she.
“We don’t know that,” Hayden insisted. “Your opinion underestimates humans.” She inched closer to her Omega, needing the strength of his animals, as well as, wanting to support him.
“No offense, Hayden, but you’re wrong,” Cailyn interjected. From what Ember recalled of the introductions she was Elsie’s sister and Jace’s mate. “My sister’s initial reaction is a perfect example. She is Zander’s Fated Mate, yet she was terrified at first.”
“She’s right,” Mack added. “It’s why I formed SOVA. We attacked and killed vampires.” Ember cocked her head at that bit of irony. Mack had hunted and killed vampires, yet was now mated to one. Interesting story she wanted to hear more about at some point.
“Sure, they turned out to be skirm, but we didn’t know that. We thought they were vampires and needed to be killed. No one stopped to think there could be good vampires. We wanted them all exterminated,” the feisty female added and Ember could see that Mack was an asset to the Dark Warriors.
“I willna incur the Goddess’s wrath by exposing the realm when she has ordered otherwise,” Zander declared and resounding nods around the room followed.
“I concede for now, but you have to realize that we may not have a choice. This demon may do it for us and we need to be prepared for that outcome,” Hayden countered and folded massive arms over his chest.
Her Omega was wise and had made a perfect point. This demon was taking risks and none of them could stop her. Wanting to gage Orlando’s reaction, her gaze sought him out. He was nodding in agreement with Zander and looked at Hayden in disbelief. Her rage bubbled to the surface again over this male’s alliance with the vampire king. She might be undeniably attracted to the male, but if this ever came to blows, she swore to skin his leopard alive.
CHAPTER NINE
Orlando watched Ember’s tempting backside as she bent over sifting through ash and burnt debris. It was impossible to stop the erection that sprang to life or the desire to mount her and stake a claim. He knew it was from wanting a female of his own. It was the desire for a female of his own that had led him down two paths he never should have traveled. Jaidis and Elsie belonged to other males and it was wrong for him to feel anything for either female. Jaidis’s death had hardened his heart.
If he could stop his attraction to the brown-haired beauty with her penetrating golden eyes he would. He had no fucking desire to care for any female at this point. Besides, he had his hands full with Brantley.
“Are you just gonna stand there all day staring at my ass or are you going to come help me?” Ember asked, the amber of her eyes catching fire.
He liked her spunk. He especially liked how she didn’t back down. He’d sensed her reticence upon entering the war room and watched her scan the room. Her gulp wasn’t obvious to most, but he’d been watching her like a hawk. She was exquisite, from the slender line of her throat to the way her chin lifted with her pride and determination.
“I think I’ll keep watching. The view is making me hungry, Wildcat.” he said, truthfully with a small smile at the corner of his mouth.
She gathered her torso up and stood tall while planting her fists on her hips. She was piqued, but he knew her true feelings. Not only was her arousal perfuming the air with its sweet frangipani, his ability told him she wanted him as fiercely as he wanted her. He also knew she wasn’t happy over the fact that she was attracted to him.
He’d never struggled for female companionship and had certainly had his share of lovers, but the fact that this female shared his desires soothed some of his ache. Having gone so long with unreciprocated feelings, this stole his reserve and he nearly pounced on the female. As much as Ember may want him, but she would rip his nuts off if he tried to push her to her hands and knees in this charred scene.
“That’s funny. Seems to me like you’re just being lazy. If I remember correctly, you turned down my dinner invitation. So be a good little kitty and help me,” she ordered as she dismissed him and turned back to her task.
“Ouch,” he winced as he threw his hand over his heart in mock hurt. “Your claws are lethal. Why did Hayden send you to do this investigation? I’d have thought he’d send Zeke and his mate, Tia, with her voodoo powers.”
Ember stiffened at the mention of Zeke and Orlando had to hold back his reaction to her feelings over another male.
He hadn’t been prepared when she’d joked with Mack about males talking her into kinky sex. His claws had shot from the tips of his fingers and his growl had rumbled from his throat before he knew what hit him. He still didn’t understand why he’d been so pissed by the thought of any male tying Ember up and having his way with her, but he was unable to deny his displeasure.
It seemed his long-denied libido was going to take over his mind given that he was unable to stop imagining her on all fours in front of him.
“Zeke and his precious mate can’t do what I can,” Ember snapped.
Orlando lifted one eyebrow at that. Interesting. She was jealous over Zeke being with Tia. He wondered if she’d been seeing him when he discovered his mate. Instant camaraderie formed with the stubborn cougar.
“Sucks when you want something you can’t have,” Orlando observed as he went to work looking through the debris.
Digging through a scene, let alone one so gruesome, and looking for clues was not part of his normal job. At SPD they had a CSI unit to perform these duties and with the Dark Warriors most of their enemies became ash.
His chest tightened and regret was a bitter pill on his tongue as he saw a tiny blackened bone. The child was young, so very innocent, and deserved better in life.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t want Zeke. I just don’t like an outsider being considered one of us,” Ember replied without pausing.
“You’ve been cocooned within the pack too long. When you find your Fated Mate they become one of us no matter who, or what, they are. Don’t forget that Tia carries the soul of a wolf, even if she can’t shift into the beast,” he pointed out.
Ember stood and pushed her glasses up her nose in that sexy way of hers. “Why do you always take their side? If I didn’t smell your leopard I would swear you weren’t even a shifter,” she countered.
“Damn, Wildcat. That’s harsh. I am more shifter than you will ever know. But I am also one of the Goddess’s children and I will fulfill her calling for me. The world is bigger than the acres around Jesaray house,” Orlando informed her.
Orlando pulled a rubber glove from his front packet and used it to pick up the tiny bone. Thrusting it in her direction he allowed his irritation to surface. This female was insufferable at times.
“This little boy needed me to be here and protect him. Dark Warriors are the only thing standing between the demons and humans. Supernaturals, too, for that matter. That job falls to all of us, not just the vampires. Or are you saying it’s their problem and we don’t need to bother ourselves with it?” he challenged.
Ember shook her head, her brown hair flying wildly about her head. “What happened to these humans is unfortunate and I hate that they died, but shifters are being killed, too. Are you going to be there for them?” she spat and fire sparked behind her amber eyes.
“I am always there for Hayden, but he has C.L.A.W.s to keep pack safe. That’s the reason hundreds of them haven’t been killed like they were here. Humans have nothing. I go where the Goddess sends me. I fight this war in her name, not Zander’s, not Hayden’s. No one’s but hers,” he amended, frustrated that she was making him explain his calling.
He might question Fated Mates and the Goddess’s reasoning behind those choices, but he was steadfast in his commitment to protecting human and realm members from the vile archdemons.
That shut the feisty female up for a millisecond as she cocked her head to the side and considered his words. Her breath fogged in front of her as she breathed and her nos
e was turning pink, reminding him how cold it was outside. The sight of her heated his blood and had him sweating beneath his clothes.
“I get what you’re saying, Warrior. But, there always comes a time when something happens and people must choose a side. I can’t help but wonder if you’ll pick the right side,” she muttered with a shrug before she turned back to her work.
Orlando had to look away as her comment struck home. What would he do if he ever had to choose between Hayden and Zander? Would it be that simple?
After several silent seconds of his pushing charred bits and pieces around, he finally said, “Right or wrong, I’ll always choose the side of the Goddess, no matter who that happens to align with.”
Before Ember had a chance to respond, she stood up with something clutched in her gloved hand. Waving the appendage around she exclaimed, “There are two. I knew something was off.”
She was so animated and truly pleased with her find that Orlando found himself hurrying to her side. “What is it? Two what? Demons?” he asked, giving voice to his suspicion.
“Yes!” she practically shouted. “There are two of those bitches. I knew the time frame didn’t add up. And, here is my proof,” she declared as she waved something in her fist as a broad grin broke out over her face.
Her excitement was infectious, and, before he knew what he was doing, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. Her plush breasts felt perfect smashed against his chest and her startled gasp was music to his ears. Her softness was the perfect compliment to his hard definition. And, she smelled incredible. As he gazed into glowing amber eyes, he instantly fell under her spell.
The thought of falling for another female had his gut in knots, but it wasn’t enough to dampen his desire for her. The stiff erection poking into her stomach was proof enough of that. The way her eyes glowed brighter and her arousal deepened told him she felt every solid inch of him and liked it.
It had been so long since he’d found comfort in a female’s arms. Needing a taste of her, he reasoned one kiss wouldn’t hurt. Swiftly, he lowered his mouth to her tempting lips. Electricity zapped between their meshed lips and raced through his blood stream like white lightning. It prodded him and ruined his intention to share a simple kiss as his need took over.