Dark Alpha's Claim

by Donna Grant

  Baylon nodded and shifted his gaze to Cael. “I agree. We must retaliate.”

  “And we will,” Cael assured them. “We’re going to make sure we hurt them as they’ve tried to hurt us.”

  Fintan’s red-rimmed gaze was filled with reckoning. “I’ve got an idea.”

  * * *

  Jordyn smiled as she felt the caress on the back of her hand. She didn’t need to open her eyes to know it was Baylon. He’d done that same stroke the times they cuddled between making love.

  At least he was touching her again. That was a vast improvement from before. Though she wasn’t quite sure why he was with her while she slept.

  She opened her eyes to find him sitting by her bed smiling at her. He really had no idea of how gorgeous he was. And his smile. It always made her feel as if her stomach was filled with butterflies.

  “Hello,” he said.

  His smile, his eyes, and that Irish brogue? She was a total goner. “Hello.”

  “How do you feel?”

  Now this was getting odd. “I feel great. How about you?”

  His smile slipped. “You don’t remember, do you?”

  “Remember what?”

  “A ball of Dark magic hit you.”

  Jordyn sat up and spread her arms. “I’m fine.”

  “But you weren’t.” He motioned to her arm with his head.

  She looked down, and her heart stopped. The sleeve of her sweater was completely gone, the edges burned at the shoulder and along her side. “I don’t remember any pain.”

  “That’s probably a blessing.”

  Her head snapped up to look into his dark silver eyes. “What happened?”

  “You were dying. We brought you back here, but then you began to heal.”

  “I saw what Dark magic did to the ground. There’s no way I could heal from that.”

  Baylon winked at her. “I did tell you that you have Fae blood.”

  Could she really have gotten that lucky? Her gaze lowered and she saw the burned hole in Baylon’s shirt. She looked back at him pointedly. “Did Cael heal my coffee burn at my flat?”

  “We can’t heal others.”

  “But the stain on my robe was removed.”

  Baylon’s grin grew. “That we can do.”

  Well. She didn’t think she could be surprised any more, but obviously she was wrong. “And your wounds? I saw you had a few.”

  He laughed and showed her he was healed. “The pitfalls of fighting Dark.”

  “Can a Fae not be killed with magic?”

  The laughter died in Baylon’s eyes. “They can. Imagine magic is like swordplay. You must attack your opponent while deflecting and halting his blade from reaching your body. In a Fae battle, that’s what we must do.”

  “And sometimes magic gets through,” she said and reached over to touch his side.

  “Sometimes.”

  Jordyn refused to look back into his eyes. She knew she would see desire and longing there. If she was going to make sure Death didn’t kill him, Jordyn needed to be sure and not put herself in a position where she gave into him.

  But how she wanted to feel his arms around her, to rest her head on his shoulder.

  “Look at me,” he urged her in a soft voice.

  Jordyn shook her head. Her heart missed a beat when his hands cupped her face and he tilted her head back so their eyes locked.

  “I almost lost you. Do you have any idea what I went through?”

  She saw the torment in his eyes, the pain he allowed her to see. “Don’t do this.”

  “I have to.”

  “No,” she said and put her hands on his wrists. She tried to pull his arms away, but he didn’t budge. “Death will kill you.”

  “Then I’ll die happy. Because I’ll have you.”

  “Baylon,” she implored. She wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around him, but she was also trying to save him. Didn’t he know that?

  But he was looking at her as if he had waited an eternity to hold her. How could any women stand against that?

  His kiss was slow, heady. Erotic. There was no need for words when his kiss told her exactly how much he had feared her death, how he yearned to make love to her.

  How he ached.

  For her.

  Her arms wrapped around his neck as he laid her back on the bed. His body covered hers as the kiss deepened. Baylon groaned when she wound one leg around him.

  He ended the kiss and looked down at her, breathing rapidly. “I know being with you means my death, but after the night I spent thinking you were dying, I don’t care. I need you. Do you understand that? I need you.”

  “I understand perfectly,” she whispered. “Because I need you as well.”

  “I’ve never felt this before. I … I’m not even sure what it is.”

  Jordyn knew. She’d known for awhile now, but had been too frightened of it to admit it. Fintan had called it lust, but it went much deeper than that. The emotion that filled her now was much more potent. “I thought I’d always be alone. I was searching for someone and didn’t even know it. That someone was you.”

  His lips softened. He placed a brief kiss on her lips. “If only I’d known you were out there. I wouldn’t have become a Reaper, and we could be together.”

  “You found me because you’re a Reaper.”

  “I want forever with you, Jordyn. Not hours or days.”

  “I’ll take whatever I can get.” She smoothed her hands along his cheek and then slid her fingers into his thick hair. “Despite the danger and near-death, it feels right that I’m with you.”

  She put a finger over his lips when he began to speak. Jordyn smiled and looked down at his mouth. She traced his lips, recalling the decadent things he could do to her with that mouth.

  “Fate put me in your path,” she said, pulling her eyes back up to his. “I don’t know why, and it doesn’t matter. I belong here. With you.”

  “Then we stand together.”

  “Together,” she repeated with a grin, feeling as if things might really work in their favor somehow. “No matter what the consequences or the outcome.”

  He nodded and ran his fingers along the back of her cheek. “We’ll figure out a way to be together.”

  “I like the sound of that.”

  Baylon’s smile froze in place. His head slowly turned to the side. Jordyn followed his eyes and found Eoghan watching them.

  Eoghan had been kind to her, but by the look in the Reaper’s eyes now, all that was going to change.

  “The others are waiting,” Baylon said as he climbed off her to stand by the bed. He held out his hand to help her down. “You’ll find everything you need to shower and change in the next room.”

  As soon as Jordyn’s feet were on the ground, Baylon yanked her against him.

  “Nothing will keep me from you,” he whispered before he turned and walked away.

  She watched him leave, her smile growing by the moment. Surely she’d be able to talk to Death and explain their love.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Baylon was practically walking on air when he met the others in the main room. Eoghan was staring at him with a closed expression. Baylon wasn’t sure what his friend was thinking, and he really didn’t care.

  Jordyn was alive. Alive and healed.

  And he wanted her.

  It would mean the end of his life, but he couldn’t deny what was between them. The more he tried to keep his distance, the more he needed her.

  It was a desperation, a driving necessity to be near her. He was prepared to lie, cheat, steal, and even kill if it meant he could be with Jordyn.

  Baylon also realized what that meant for his fellow Reapers.

  Death’s words to him so long ago about how important it was that the Reapers only had each other hit home. Now he understood Death’s rules.

  But it didn’t change anything.

  “How is she?” Cael asked.

  Baylon shrugged, unable to hide his grin. “S
he feels great. She doesn’t remember any of the pain.”

  “That’s a blessing,” Talin said.

  Kyran nodded slowly. “That’s for sure. How is that even possible?”

  “It must be her Fae blood,” Baylon said. It was the only explanation.

  Cael crossed his arms over his chest. “It must be.”

  Baylon held Cael’s gaze. He didn’t even try to pretend he didn’t know why the room was charged with tension. Baylon took a deep breath, a calm settling over him. “Say whatever it is that needs to be said.”

  “There’s nothing.” Every head in the room turned to Eoghan. His gaze was on Baylon, but he didn’t say anything more.

  Baylon gave a nod to Eoghan and turned his attention to the others. “Our problem isn’t going to go away. We need to find out who these Dark are and how they got their magic increased to such a degree.”

  “Agreed,” Cael said. “We used the one card we had, and Jordyn nearly died in the process. That doesn’t leave us much.”

  Kyran crossed his arms over his chest. “Let’s back up a moment. They wanted us to kill the humans with Fae blood at first.”

  “Because that would’ve made us seem to go against Death, and then Death would’ve had to kill us,” Talin said.

  Baylon shook his head as anger settled around him. “Which would’ve left Death with no Reapers.”

  “But that didn’t happen,” Fintan pointed out. “We didn’t kill the humans.”

  A muscle flexed at Cael’s jaw. “No, that plan was brought to a halt when I went to Death.”

  “That puts us where?” Talin asked.

  Kyran lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “The Dark didn’t wait around on us. They began to kill any human with Fae blood. Why?”

  “There has to be a connection there,” Baylon said.

  He felt Jordyn’s presence before he saw her. Baylon turned to find her in the shadows. He waited for her to step forward. As soon as the light from the candles landed on her, Baylon found himself smiling.

  She was so beautiful. And she was his. It made him want to shout to the world how happy he was.

  But Jordyn wasn’t smiling. A deep frown marked her brow. “Baylon said that humans with Fae blood had abilities.”

  “Some do,” Cael admitted.

  Baylon waited until Jordyn was even with him before he asked, “Why? What are you thinking?”

  Her turquoise eyes shifted to him. “I just think it odd that we’re being annihilated. Why would they do that? If the focus is not on any of you now, and we don’t have the magic that a full-blooded Fae does, then why kill us? What do they stand to gain?”

  The room was quiet as they considered Jordyn’s words. Baylon couldn’t think of a single reason why the Dark were doing what they were to the half-Fae.

  “Fuck!” Cael said and turned to punch the wall. Stone crumbled beneath his fist to fall at his feet. “I should’ve seen it from the beginning.”

  Kyran dropped his arms. “Seen what?”

  Cael whirled around, his silver eyes alight with an unnatural shine that showed just how angry he was. “This is about Death. If we weren’t here, Death would have to do the work we’re sent for.”

  “And if we can’t control the Dark, Death will come to help,” Baylon finished.

  Fintan ran a hand through his long white hair. “This is fucked up. It has to be someone who knows about Death and us. Who spilled our secrets?”

  Each of them looked at the other. Baylon was the first to say, “It wasn’t me.”

  “I’d never share our secrets,” Kyran said.

  Talin threw up his hands. “It wasn’t me.”

  “Please,” Fintan said with a roll of his eyes.

  Eoghan gave them a droll look.

  Cael blew out a long breath. “It wasn’t me either. Daire has been following Rhi, but I know he hasn’t said anything.”

  “If it wasn’t any of us, then who?” Baylon asked.

  Eoghan’s silver eyes stared hard at Cael as some unspoken communication passed between them. Baylon watched the two carefully before he exchanged a worried glance with the others.

  “No,” Cael said aloud. “It’s not possible.”

  Talin raised a brow. “What isn’t possible?”

  Cael lowered his gaze to the floor where he stared at it for a long time. Baylon felt Jordyn move closer to him, and on instinct laced his fingers with hers.

  Eoghan turned his head away, a resigned and furious expression on his face.

  “Cael,” Fintan stated, his voice pitched low.

  Finally Cael drew in a deep breath, but he didn’t look at them. “It’s not possible, Eoghan, because they’re dead. There’s no way any of the others survived Death’s fury. They’re gone.”

  Now Baylon understood. “Both of you saw their deaths?”

  Eoghan shook his head.

  “Death’s action was swift and lethal. They’re dead,” Cael repeated.

  Kyran asked, “Are you sure of that? Because it sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself.”

  Cael’s head snapped up, his gaze pinning Kyran. “Death wouldn’t have let them survive.”

  “Why not ask Death?” Jordyn asked.

  Cael gave her a cursory glance. “There’s no need. If Death thought for a moment they survived, we would know of it.”

  “Fine,” Talin said. “So the Reapers who betrayed you and Eoghan are dead. That leaves us exactly zero suspects.”

  Baylon knew they were going to get nowhere at this rate. He looked at Jordyn and felt his heart catch. She was in danger. They all were, and if they didn’t figure out a way to stop the Dark Fae, she would end up dead.

  He’d already been down that road. He didn’t want to go down it ever again.

  Her face softened as she gazed up at him. In her turquoise depths, he saw how much she cared. The warmth spreading through him told him his feelings went deep. Deep enough that he knew without having to even think about it that he loved her.

  They way they had met, the circumstances that put her in his arms all pointed to the fact that they were supposed to be together.

  “Consider it,” Baylon told Cael. He shifted his attention their leader. “Let’s just for a moment think about the possibility that one or more of the traitors managed to live.”

  Cael gave a half-hearted shrug. “All right. Say they did.”

  “They’d be pissed,” Talin.

  Fintan snorted. “I know I would be, and I’d be gunning for revenge in the worst way.”

  Cael ran a hand down his face. “Yes. All of that and more, but Death would never have left them alive.”

  “Perhaps she didn’t know they were,” Kyran said.

  Baylon tightened his grip on Jordyn’s hand. “These Dark know things, Cael. They know too much to have just been told.”

  “If it is one of them, then we’ve got a serious problem,” Cael said. He swiveled his head to Eoghan. “If it is them, they’re coming for the both of us and Death.”

  Fury passed over Eoghan’s face before his eyes went stony. There was no need for words. Everything was written plainly on Eoghan’s face. He was ready and waiting for the Fae he’d once considered friends.

  “Yeah. Me, too,” Cael said.

  Talin rocked back on his heels. “We’re going to need to know everything about the three who turned against you. Not just the story, but who these Fae were and why they became Reapers.”

  “Right,” Baylon said. “We need to make sure they no longer have the element of surprise.”

  Cael nodded woodenly. “We need to find another place. If it is them, it won’t be long before they find us. Locate somewhere else for us to meet. This place is no longer safe.”

  “Where are you going?” Fintan asked.

  Cael looked around the room. “I’m going to see Death.”

  After Cael vanished, they stood around for a moment. It was Eoghan who looked at them, and with a nod, disappeared.

  “Well, shit,” Talin
mumbled.

  Fintan turned to Baylon and Jordyn. “If these assholes find out Jordyn is still alive, they’ll not stop until she’s dead.”

  “Especially if it’s Bran,” Kyran said. “Death took away his woman. He won’t like knowing you have one.”

  Jordyn lifted her chin as she looked from Kyran to Baylon. “I’m not going to hide meekly anymore. I may not have any magic, but you have weapons that can be used. I want one. I’ll not be caught unawares again.”

  “Agreed,” Baylon said. He’d already thought of that himself.

  It was Fintan who pulled two daggers from the waist of his jeans and walked to Jordyn. He handed them to her hilt first with a smile. “These blades were forged in the Fires of Erwar. They were specifically made to kill Fae. They’ve served me well. Let them serve you.”

  Baylon gave a nod of thanks to Fintan once Jordyn had wrapped her hands around the pommels and held the long knives in her hands.

  With Jordyn occupied handling the blades, Baylon took the sheaths from Fintan. The weapons weren’t enough, but it was a start.

  “Some of our best warriors are females,” Talin said with a grin. “One of the best is named Rhi.”

  Baylon stood to the side and watched Jordyn rotate her wrists as she twirled the knives. “You’re going to need to be trained. Starting immediately.”

  “We can each take turns,” Kyran said. “We’ll all have a lot to do in preparation.”

  Jordyn lowered her arms to her sides. “So. This is war?”

  Baylon nodded. “This is war.”

  * * *

  Bran walked around the room between the Reapers and the half-Fae Baylon had taken as a lover. Bran couldn’t have gotten any luckier had he tried.

  If his lover was taken, then Bran would be the one to take Jordyn. It was fair after all.

  He smiled as he passed Cael. The mighty Cael, leader of the Reapers, didn’t have a clue that Bran was there. Cael hadn’t put any magic up on the secret room, but still none of the Reapers realized Bran was veiled and among them.

  Reapers, by Death’s command, were the most lethal, strong, and powerful of the Fae. Bran nearly laughed aloud. It was all going to be so very easy.

  It didn’t matter that Eoghan and Cael suspected him, or that Death would search for him in the Netherworld. Soon, Death and the Reapers–minus Daire–would be after him.