Dark Assassin

by Dena Christy

  “No, what I meant is that I can’t remember much of what happened before the coma. The only thing I remember with clarity is Horn injecting me with the formula, and the night you came to me. Everything else isn’t in here,” he said with a tap on the side of his head.

  “Perhaps it’s best that you do forget all that happened. You’ll heal much faster if you aren’t tormented with bad memories.”

  “Why did you do it? Why did you save me? Nick told me the only reason I’m here right now is because you went against your orders and didn’t kill me.”

  Samara was quiet for a moment to think of an answer to his question.

  “When I saw you that night, there was something different about you. You weren’t like all the other targets I’ve eliminated. I could see you fighting the madness inside, and there seemed to be a genuine remorse for what you had done. It called to me, and made me feel that I could do nothing less than show you mercy and see if you could be saved.”

  Rowan walked over to her and took her hand. There was such sadness in his eyes—eyes that looked so much like Eric’s—that it hurt her to see it. She realized now that while she had shown Rowan mercy, he was unable to be merciful with himself.

  “Thank you. I know I didn’t deserve the compassion that you showed me, but thank you,” he said, letting her hand drop.

  “There is someone who wants to see you if you are up for another visitor.”

  Rowan looked at her in surprise. “Who is it?” he asked, a frown knotting his forehead.

  “Eric.” She tried to gauge his reaction to her news. Rowan looked at her in utter disbelief, before a faint glimmer of hope shone on his face. “Do you want to see him?”

  “Yes,” he said, looking nervous and pleased at the same time.

  Samara went over to the door and opened it. Eric was pacing the hall, and he stopped when he saw her in the doorway. He had the same nervous look on his face that Rowan did. She motioned for him to come in and he stepped toward the door, a slight hesitation in his step. When he walked into the room, Samara could feel the hope and love in both men, and she knew that everything was going to be fine.

  “I’ll leave you two to talk,” she said. She kissed Eric on the cheek and left the room.

  ERIC LOOKED at his brother and couldn’t say a word. There was so much he wanted to say to him, but looking at his brother’s painfully thin frame he couldn’t find the words to say what he needed to say. His brother had suffered so much, and now Eric felt childish and selfish for the distance he had put between them, especially at a time when he brother needed him most. Still, he felt he had to say something.

  “I’m sorry about Chelsea and the baby.”

  Rowan nodded, his eyes still on Eric. “She was not the woman for you, Eric. I knew that at the time. I don’t regret being with her, but I do regret the rift it caused between us. I should have been honest with you, told you how I felt about her.”

  “You loved her?” Eric said, surprised. It had never occurred to him that Rowan might love Chelsea. He had always thought his brother had done what he had done to show Eric that she wasn’t the right woman for him. It had never occurred to him that Rowan might have had feelings for her.

  “Of course I loved her. Do you think I would have hurt you so much, would have caused the rift between us, if I didn’t love her?” Rowan turned away and raked his fingers through his hair.

  “I’ve come to realize that I didn’t love her. You were right, the pack was right, I was just too blind and stubborn to see it.”

  Rowan turned back to him. “You’re with Samara, aren’t you?”

  “Yes. I love her more than my life.”

  “I’m happy for you, Eric. Does this mean you’re home to stay?”

  “Yes, I’m here to stay.”

  “Where are you going to live?” Rowan asked, his face serious.

  “I guess we’ll live in Samara’s apartment until we can find a house. Why?”

  “Do you want to live in my house? Nick says it’s going to be a while before I can get out of here.”

  “Where are you going to go?”

  “I think I’m going to head out to Dad’s cabin for a while, and give myself some time to get my head together. After that, I don’t know. You and Samara are more than welcome to stay at my place.”

  “You will be coming back though, won’t you?”

  “At this point I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’ve done some things, Eric, things I’m struggling to remember. My head’s really fucked up right now, and I need time away to sort it out.”

  “Just make sure you do come back. I want my baby to know you.”

  “Your baby?” Rowan asked, confusion written all over his face. Eric took a step toward him and put his hands on his shoulders.

  “Yes, my baby. Samara is expecting and I want you involved in our baby’s life, so don’t you go disappearing on me.”

  Rowan nodded, and Eric put his arms around his brother and hugged him.

  “It’s great to have you home,” his brother said.

  “I know. It’s great to finally be home.”

  ERIC FOUND Samara sitting in the lunchroom talking to Hadria. As he looked at her, he couldn’t help the feeling of love swelling inside him. This woman had given him so much. She’d given him back his brother, given him back his life, and in a matter of months she would be giving him a child. Eric didn’t know what he had done to deserve her, but he promised himself he would spend every day grateful that she was a part of his life.

  He walked over to the table and put his hand on her shoulder. She placed her hand on top of his before looking up at him. He couldn’t speak, could only look at the love for him shining in her eyes. He felt humbled by it.

  “Well, I can see you two need some time alone,” Hadria said as she smiled at them and left the table. Eric pulled Samara up to her feet and pulled her into his arms.

  “Thank you,” he said against her hair.

  “Thank you for what?” she asked, puzzled.

  “Thank you for giving my brother back to me,” he said before pulling her close to press his lips against hers. Fire ignited between them, and Eric wished they were somewhere much more private.

  Samara drew back with a laugh. “I think it’s time we went home,” she said, putting her arm around his waist and walking with him to the door.

  Home. Eric savored the sound of that word as much as he enjoyed the feel of her body by his side. Home was wherever she was, and Eric knew he would never leave it again.

  DARK CURSE PREVIEW

  CHAPTER 1

  Hadria approached the darkened compound, her eyes probing the shadows that clung to the main building. The Order cleaned out the inhabitants here when they had raided the place a few weeks ago. She'd been part of the team used to extract her adopted daughter, Samara. The fine hairs stood alert on the back of her neck as the silence enveloped her. Not even crickets chirped, and stillness surrounded the main building looming over her.

  “Watch your step, and be careful,” she said to her partner Jaclyn. She'd partnered with the vampire before and they worked well together. Hadria had hoped she and Samara could work together, but since her daughter was expecting a baby, dangerous missions were out of the question for her.

  “I'm not sensing anyone around.” With her heightened vampire senses, Jaclyn would sense if they weren't alone.

  “Caution doesn't hurt,” Hadria said, her voice low as she cocked her head, listening. Nothing moved, the building remained the same but Hadria’s pulse beat in her ears as a small bead of sweat trickled down her back. Five hundred years with the Order had ingrained vigilance in her. At least that’s what she told herself as she inched closer to the building.

  She used to love the rush of adrenaline and the excitement of hunting down the Order's enemies. Now tiredness plagued her. Still, it was better than the life she left behind in Asgard.

  Valhalla had grown boring once Christianity tamed the Vikings. The belief in the
old Gods had waned, there was no one left for Hadria to collect on the battlefield. Joining the Order –being part of something good–had filled a place in her she hadn't realized was empty. It had distracted her from her curse. But now the years weighed on her, and the job didn't fulfill her as it once had.

  Gravel crunched under their feet and the door to the building was no more than five strides ahead. The inky darkness outside swallowed everything around them, and Hadria let Jaclyn take the lead. The vampire had perfect night vision. Hadria forced her jaw to relax. A hundred years ago, she would've been in front, but not now. Now she couldn’t see well enough at night unless a threat was in front of her.

  Who was she kidding? There were some dangers she never saw coming. A thousand years under a curse, and she still couldn't tell when one of her lovers would betray her. Alex had been a perfect example, in a long line of lessons she failed to learn from. Each time she hoped for a different outcome, and each subsequent betrayal ate at her soul.

  She shook her head to clear her mind, and she forced herself to focus on her mission. She and Jaclyn were there to see if they could find anything missed during the previous search of the compound. The compound’s owner–the late James Horn–had used this facility to create a formula to genetically alter wolves. He strove to make them faster, stronger, and better able to produce viable young with human females.

  The formula had a huge flaw. Rabies contaminated the genetic material used to create it. The wolves injected with it turned feral and attacked a number of human females. A short time after the raid, the wolves injected with the formula had disappeared. Cadric wanted to know where they were and have them contained so they wouldn't harm anyone else.

  “Do you know what we're supposed to be looking for?” Jaclyn turned to Hadria when she reached the front door.

  “I don’t know. There must be something the other team missed during their final sweep. Keep your eyes open for anything out of the ordinary.”

  “Got it.”

  Hadria reached into her pocket for the keys to the compound. Sorting through the others on the chain, she found the one she needed to unlock the padlock on the door. The lock fell free, and she shoved it in her pocket along with the keys.

  Her military-style boots made little sound on the tile floor as she walked inside. Jaclyn came in behind her and shut the door. Hadria’s eyes strained to see around her.

  “Do you need some light?” Jaclyn asked.

  Hadria bit her lip as she turned her head in Jaclyn’s direction. “Yes,” she said.

  She hated showing weakness in front of the younger member of the Order, but perhaps the vampire would assume night vision wasn't one of her gifts.

  A light switch clicked behind her, and the florescent lights above her flickered for a moment. The lights emitted a quiet buzzing sound as they stabilized and flooded the foyer with the light. Hadria blinked rapidly as pain lanced through her eyes for a moment.

  “We should head for the lab. It would be the most likely place to find something.” Hadria turned toward the lab. She sensed Jaclyn's hesitation behind her and turned to glance at her partner.

  “Didn't the team already search it?” Jaclyn asked.

  “Yes, but Cadric sent us here to search it again.”

  “Okay.”

  Hadria heard the doubt in Jaclyn's voice, and she spun around on her heel.

  “Are you questioning my authority?” Hadria asked, her voice low. Jaclyn stepped back, holding her hands up.

  “No, if you want us to check the lab, then that's fine by me.”

  Hadria turned away, blowing out a slow breath. Lately she'd heard talk around headquarters that she'd become a liability to some of the members of the Order. Except for Nick, the werewolf members treated her like she had the plague…not that she blamed them.

  Her former lover Alex, had betrayed the entire Order and his species with his involvement with James Horn. The wolf members didn't want to get too close to her, lest her curse taint them too. She may not have seen Loki in a thousand years, but the curse he placed on her still had the power to turn any wolf she became involved with against her. She'd arrogantly refused to allow a werewolf–known back then as the children of Fenrir–into Valhalla. Loki punished her for daring to judge the fitness of one of his son's children.

  Focus.

  Letting her thoughts go, she walked down the hall until the corridor branched off into two directions. Hadria went to the right and Jaclyn followed, her boots squeaking softly.

  The lab door required a pass code to open it. Hadria punched in the code and pulled the door handle. The muscles in her shoulder strained when the door resisted. The lights above the panel remained red. She tried again, with the same results. Suspicion tickled at the edges of her brain.

  “Someone's changed the code.”

  “Are you sure you put it in right?” Jaclyn asked, with the same thread of doubt in her voice.

  “Of course I put the goddamn code in right. Is there something you want to say to me? Do you want to try it?” Hadria turned around to face the woman behind her, her lips flattening as her eyes narrowed. Her nails cut into the palms of her hands as she invaded Jaclyn’s space. The vampire pulled back.

  “I didn't mean to make it sound like you don't know what you're doing. Anyone can make a mistake, especially in a tense situation. If you say you put in the correct code, then I believe you. I just wanted to make sure.”

  Hadria turned to the door, drawing in a slow and steady breath. She didn't want to be sensitive to every word and comment. Jaclyn's hand came down on her shoulder, and she stiffened. It’s not Jaclyn’s fault you doubt yourself. Get over it.

  “I know you’re aware of the talk around headquarters,” Jaclyn said as Hadria stared at the door. “About you and Alex. I just wanted you to know that I don't think you're a liability to the Order. You're one of the strongest members we have and I'm glad to be on your team.”

  Hadria nodded as she typed in the code one more time. The door remained locked.

  “What do we do now?” Jaclyn asked as her hand dropped off Hadria's shoulder.

  “I have one more trick I can try.” Hadria put her hand on the code panel. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes as electricity built in the muscles of her arm, traveled through the palm of her hand and into the panel. Her nose crinkled as the sweet, pungent aroma of ozone invaded her nostrils. She heard the soft click of the lock disengaging, and she twisted the handle and opened the door.

  “That was so cool. How did you do that?” Jaclyn followed Hadria into the lab, awe lacing her voice. A grin kicked at the corner of Hadria’s mouth before she straightened her lips into a smooth line. At least something still worked.

  “I used a bolt of electricity and overrode the circuit.”

  “Can all Valkyrie do that?”

  “No. That ability was a parting gift from Thor when I left Asgard. Let’s search this place and see if we can find anything.”

  There wasn't much left to hunt through, since the team who’d gone ahead of them had done a thorough job of cleaning out the lab. They went through every available spot to hide something, but came up with nothing.

  “This is hopeless. The team took out anything that would have been of value. Maybe we should search somewhere else.”

  Hadria’s gaze swept the room one final time. Her eyes drifted up, and directly above her a single ceiling tile canted a fraction to the side. She climbed up on the table underneath it, and reached up to shove it aside.

  “What did you find?”

  “I'm not sure.” Hadria reached into the hole in the ceiling, and her fingers brushed against something cool and smooth. “I think it's a laptop.”

  Hadria grabbed hold of it, and pulled it out of its hiding spot. It was a laptop. She climbed down from the table and set it on top before turning to Jaclyn. Jaclyn straightened and jerked her head toward the door.

  “Get down,” Hadria shouted as she shoved Jaclyn out of the way. The lab door b
urst open, and the sharp crack of gunfire echoed in the room. Fiery darts of pain hit her torso as she grabbed the laptop and threw herself over the table and down onto the floor on the other side.

  She reached for her weapon and her hand encountered the empty leather of her holster. Shit. In her minds eye, Hadria could see her gun sitting on the console of their vehicle right where she’d left it. A sloppy mistake, one she would not have made even a year ago. Her stomach and injured leg burned. She pressed her hand against the flesh on her torso. Hot and sticky fabric met her palm and when she pulled her hand away blood coated the surface.

  She struggled to her feet. Agony knifed through her right leg, and black spots danced in her line of vision. She collapsed on the floor. Jaclyn let out a screech like a raptor engaging its prey. Her partner could handle the two intruders. Werewolves by the look of them. One good thing about her curse, she could recognize that species from a mile away. Too bad she hadn’t connected them with her unease outside.

  The sound of running, booted feet grew fainter. Her head swam, and her limbs trembled as she pressed one hand against her side, and the other against the wound in her leg. Hadria blinked hard as she focused on breathing in and out. A rapid burst of gunfire sounded, and then silence. Hadria slid sideways, her energy draining from her body as she continued to bleed. She'd always been careful when injured not to lose too much blood. The key to her ability to heal required that she have sufficient blood circulating in her system.

  Rapid steps approached the table and Hadria tensed her muscles. She raised herself up into a crouch, turning her wounded side away from the threat as she tucked her elbows into her sides and raised her fists. The footfalls came around the side of the table, and relief poured through her. Jaclyn, thank God.

  “Don’t let me bleed out.” Hadria whispered. Jaclyn’s image wavered in front of her, and her lips were moving but Hadria couldn’t make out what she was saying. The room around her receded and everything turned black.