by Eve Newton
“This is Ember,” Jacob butts in before I can say anything. He stands close to me, way too close, and puts his hand on my ass. “We met a few days ago.”
I slap his hand away quickly, as the dreamboat’s eyes narrow into two tiny slits and his face falls into an ominous expression.
“You know Jacob,” he states flatly.
“Yeah, we kinda hooked up,” Jacob says, clearly staking his claim on me, but no one owns me. Least of all a quick fuck. It pisses me off like you won’t believe.
“Kind of?” the warlock asks with a frown.
“Yeah, well, you know,” Jacob says with a shrug.
“It was nothing,” I state coldly, crossing my arms. Oh, the humiliation. This man is now looking at me like I am some sort of wanton whore. “Your name?” I ask him, keeping up the chill factor so as to hide my thorough embarrassment and disappointment that this is going south in the worst way.
“Pardon my manners,” he says stiffly, bringing his own chill to the party. “I am Draven Stone. Head of the Dark Raven Coven.”
I gulp.
“Holy shit,” Aria mutters under her breath. “Is this the guy?”
“Uh-huh,” I mutter back. “Well, Draven, it seems that I am here for you then.” Yeah, my confidence is returning as I suddenly get a sense that everything is going to work out. The Head of the Coven! No wonder I felt his power in my vision. This warlock standing before me is probably the most powerful creature on Earth. I swallow loudly and feel my cheeks turn red again. It also means he is Jacob’s brother. I remember Simon’s words: “His brother is the Head of the Coven that Sasha is a member of.”
“Me?” he scoffs derisively. “I don’t do sloppy seconds.” He stalks off, leaving me reeling at the insult he just casually threw my way. Aria is snickering behind her hand and Jacob is smiling at me with that too-friendly smile.
“Jackass,” I hiss at him and stalk off after Draven.
I find him in a very elegant drawing room, pouring expensive scotch into a cut crystal glass. I give him a frosty glare, all of my previous girly feelings completely shattered under his scorn for me. No one insults me and gets away with it.
“What makes you think I came here for that?” I ask him with my arms crossed.
“They all come here for that,” he says mildly and sits on a comfortable looking sofa and props his ankle on his knee.
“Such modesty,” I growl at him.
“I tell it like it is,” Draven says. “They use Jacob to get to me and, like I said, I don’t touch my brother’s whores.”
“You bastard,” I spit out at him. “You wouldn’t know class if it smacked you around your thick skull with an antique candlestick.”
“Class,” he repeats and gives me another raking once-over. “Mm, perhaps, once. Fucking my little brother to get yourself into my Coven HQ is something only a whore would do.”
“Call me a whore one more time and I will rip your tongue out,” I snarl.
“Oh, feisty,” he says, totally unconcerned that he has brought forth the beast. I can feel my fangs and claws pop out, but I pull back before I take a swipe at him and ruin any chance of making my life’s work a reality.
“Sexy too, in a common sort of way,” he drawls and takes a sip of his scotch.
“Common?” I repeat, utterly outraged. That’s a worse insult than ‘whore’. “Why you…” I launch myself at him, giving him a well-deserved, resounding slap across his face.
His look of surprise is almost comical as he gapes at me and then stands up, towering over my five-five frame.
“Do you have any idea who you are messing with, vampire?” he says, clearly trying not to roar at me.
“Do you?” I retort. “Warlock.” I put every ounce of disgust I can into my last word and it makes two red spots on his cheeks flare up.
For a split second I think how cute he looks, but push it aside. This idiot has gotten on my proper bad side and there is no coming back from that. Even if he is the one to pull this circle together.
“Good enough to fuck…” He leaves the sentence hanging.
“I wouldn’t touch you if you begged me to,” I say with my hands on my hips. “Ask your brother what you are missing out on.”
I hear Aria clear her throat behind me and Jacob lets out a strangled chuckle.
“Mmm, hmm,” he mutters lewdly.
“Get out!” Draven roars at the two of them, holding out his hand and letting off a current of magic that has them stumbling back and the double doors slamming shut. He crashes his glass down on the antique end table, making it rock unsteadily. I flinch when I think about how he nearly broke such a priceless item and that, coupled with his show of magic, makes me take a deep breath.
“Let’s start again,” he says, clutching at his self-control like a lifeline in a tempestuous storm.
“Why?” I ask obnoxiously.
“You are a difficult woman,” he broods, straightening his jacket and picking up his scotch again. This time he sits himself in a straight-backed armchair. “Take the olive branch or you can get the hell out of here never to return.”
“Fine,” I grumble, knowing that I have no choice.
“Now, Ember, what is it that I can do for you?” he asks politely. Too politely. Dick.
“Well, Draven, it seems that my vision has led me to you and you are to help me and Aria—”
He frowns at me.
“The wolf,” I elaborate and he nods slowly, a surprising realization dawning on his handsome face. “We need to form a circle...”
“To fulfill the prophecy,” he mumbles and sits up straighter.
“To fulfill an ancient prophecy… Wait? What?” I ask a bit sideswiped. He knows?
“Before my mother passed, she told me a vampire and a wolf would appear at my door and that, together, we would bring down the Jurisdiction,” he explains quietly.
“Your mother was a Seer?” I ask amazed, losing my defensive stance and sitting on the coffee table in front of him, scooting it back several inches so that our knees aren’t touching.
“Yes,” he says. “How do you know?”
“I, too, am a Seer,” I say. “I have had visions for many years, all of which have led me to Aria and now to you.”
He takes that in, his brow furrowing even deeper. Geez, the man knows how to brood.
“Your mother… was she from the other Realm?” I ask carefully.
He looks up in surprise. “Yes,” he confirms.
I nod and it all makes sense now. “So was mine and Aria’s.”
“You had a mother?” he asks incredulously.
“For fuck’s sake. Have the lot of you never heard of born vampires? Do you all live under rocks or something?” I snap at him.
“You are a rarity,” he says, the look in his eye now back to the glowing desire that he had before he found out I banged his little brother. “Such a treasure.”
“Eurgh, please,” I say, really not going back to the doe-eyed moron I was earlier. I have been well and truly snapped out of that nonsense.
“You are,” he says, sitting forward.
I lean back as his face is inches from mine and I’m worried he is going to try and kiss me or something.
“Back to the prophecy,” I say clearing my throat, glad that I don’t have to explain it to him.
“Yes,” he says softly. “I was never sure if what my mother said was true, but I guess it is.” He takes a sip of his scotch and then holds the glass out to me. “To our new endeavor,” he says.
I stare at the glass with a frown at the intimate gesture. I wouldn’t even share a drink with Simon, never mind this buffoon.
“I didn’t spit in it,” he says to me with a smile that lights up his eyes.
“I might,” I say and take it from him anyway as he laughs at me.
I take a teeny sip with a moue of distaste and hand it back to him.
“I am not easily offended, Ember,” he says. “You could have refused.”
Now he tells me. I lick my lips and stand up. A very bad idea as his face is now perfectly in line with my pussy and he is licking his own lips, like he wants to delve his tongue right down my slit.
“Uh,” I say and stumble backwards. “We should get going, you know, daylight...”
“You can stay here,” he says grandly, offering us his home for the day.
“Aren’t you afraid I might corrupt your brother?” I say stupidly, thinking of a reason not to stay. I don’t trust him. His turnaround was far too quick and accepting for my liking and that can only mean he wants something. As I’ve said, his kind are sneaky and devious and he is the Head of all of this sneakiness. It makes me very nervous.
He grimaces at me, but then his face relaxes. “I am not worried about Jacob,” he says dismissively. “You are mine, Ember. We belong together. I know that, because my mother told me. She had a vision on her death bed and it appears she was right about everything else.”
“W-what?” I stammer and head for the doorway. “No, no. I am here for one reason only.” His? His? Is he fucking joking? No one has the right to claim me, especially not him.
He boxes me in, coming up so close behind me that his body is touching mine. I reach for the door handle, but he slams a big hand to it, keeping it closed. I can feel the magic coming off him in waves and it is making me feel lightheaded. I need to feed and soon.
“Two reasons,” he whispers in my ear.
“But you don’t do sloppy seconds,” I say, not liking to refer to myself in such a way, but needing to get him off me.
“Think of Jacob as a warm-up,” he says darkly. “When I take you to my bed, Ember, you will know what it is like to be with a real man.”
“Ah,” I choke, trying to regroup my thoughts. “I have been around for two hundred years. There isn’t a single thing that you can do for me that others haven’t,” I tell him, feeling the beads of sweat pop out on my forehead.
“Just wait,” he says with a dark laugh and steps back from me.
I hastily pull the door open and come face-to-face with Aria, whose nostrils are flared as if she can smell the arousal on us both. Her eyes are flashing in question, but I pull on her hand.
“Dawn is coming, we need to leave,” I say.
“I’ll be in touch,” Draven says, leaning against the doorframe.
“You won’t know where to find us,” Aria says.
“I will follow the trail,” he says to me with a smile so wicked, that in spite of the fact that I have to get away from his overbearing presence, I feel myself go damp anyway.
Chapter 14
~Aria~
I glance around the bar of the swanky hotel as I sip at my bottle of beer.
This is the fanciest hotel I’ve ever set foot in. I’m pretty sure the floors are actually marble. Even I know that’s some expensive shit. There are chandeliers hanging from the ceilings that I bet are real crystal and not that fake stuff. The bar top and the tables around the room are made of some decadent frosted glass. Sunlight is streaming in through the floor-to-ceiling windows behind me. It has me wondering why Ember chose this place. It’s definitely no friend to vampires. Even the room we’re staying in upstairs has the same oversized windows. At least there were heavy black drapes to shield her from the sunlight as she slept, otherwise she would’ve fried in seconds when the sun came up a couple of hours ago.
I think she just wanted the luxury, something that this place has in spades. It’s a pretty fucked up way of thinking, if you ask me, choosing comfort over concerns for her life and practicality. But, hey, that’s her lookout. I’m just here enjoying a few drinks right now. It feels good to actually be able to relax for a couple of hours without having to worry about anything.
I really need it after all that shit Ember threw at me just a few hours ago. A prophecy? Jesus Christ, that’s a lot to absorb. Although I’d initially dismissed it, something in me knew she was speaking the truth. I’ve always known that I’m more than other wolves. I just didn’t have an explanation for it.
Until now.
My dad never spoke about my mother. I had no idea she’d been one of them—from the Ambassadors’ world. But was Ember also right about me being bred just for power? That thought sickens me. I don’t want it to be true. Hell, it can’t be true. My dad loved and cared for me. Whatever Ember’s relationship is with her father, that isn’t the same as the relationship I had with mine. No, my dad loved me. I wasn’t bred for power. My dad wasn’t that cold hearted or calculated. I don’t accept that. I won’t.
I don’t like being away from my pack right now. I know that Carter has it covered and that he’ll take care of them, but it’s still unsettling being away from them. I’ve already checked in twice since we left the safe house. I’ve asked Carter to explain the situation to my wolves, telling him that the mission Ember and I are working on could very well end all of this and stop the Ambassadors from carrying out the Jurisdiction’s orders once and for all.
I just hope that’s the case. I’m so fucking tired of running and hiding from them.
Holding out hope of finally being able to destroy them was why I’d forced myself to hang back when Ember had disappeared into that room with Draven and rudely left me outside with his brother, Jacob. Argh. That baby warlock is a piece of work. He couldn’t keep his perverted gaze off me for the entire time Ember and Draven were in there. Sickening, considering he’s clearly fucked Ember. The kid clearly doesn’t know how to keep it in his pants. He probably pulls his dick out for any woman who gets within a few feet of him.
Not my type of man at all.
Where’s the challenge in that?
Besides, I wouldn’t touch someone she’s fucked. As much as I hate it, because making new friends is just reckless and dangerous with the way my life is, I can feel myself developing an odd loyalty to her. Right or wrong, it’s there. I think Jacob got that message when I bared my wolf teeth to him. The look on his face was priceless. I love freaking people out like that.
It seemed like both the warlock brothers have a thing for her, because the desire in the air when Ember and Draven finally came out of that room was so fucking potent I could hardly breathe for a few seconds. Messing with brothers? Dangerous. If Draven really is as important to this prophecy as she says, she better fucking lock it down around both of them. We need all the help we can get right now. We don’t exactly have the upper hand at the moment. Fuck, let’s face it: we’re being hunted.
Maybe she was just on edge and unable to control her desires around Draven, because she hadn’t fed. She picked up a hitchhiker on the way down to the hotel and fixed that pretty damn quick. It was sickening to watch her tear into the guy, but at least she didn’t kill him. Probably, because she knew I’d try to stop her. Fucking vamps and their uncontrollable bloodlust.
Although, I do have my own self-control issues, too. The damn wolf.
“You want another?”
The voice pulls me from my thoughts and I look up to see the handsome bartender eyeing me expectantly.
He flashes me a sexy smile. “Miss? Another?” he presses.
I nod. “Yeah.”
He takes my empty bottle and places a full one down in front of me.
“Thanks.”
He smiles and turns back to his work. He probably finds it odd that someone’s actually in the bar and drinking at seven in the morning. Well, I’ve never been one to follow the rules. It is what it is. I’m just glad I’m the only one in here. I hate human company. It puts me on edge.
I reach for my beer bottle and bring it to my lips. A sudden cool breeze hits my back. I turn my head to see two massive guys walking in. They look like they’ve just stepped out of an old detective movie with the ridiculous black trench coats they’re wearing.
And then I smell it.
My wolf senses snap into focus.
Danger!
Ambassadors undercover, trying to pass as human.
Before they can catch my eye, I turn my head
away.
My hands are shaking as the wolf within has gone on high alert. Fight or flight mode. The incredible rush of adrenaline is almost enough to choke me. But I need to keep calm here.
I feel them approach me, but I remain still.
What the hell are they gonna do in public like this? They can’t risk exposing themselves to humans any more than I can.
They slide onto the stools at the bar, one either side of me, boxing me in. Shit.
“Wolf,” the one to my right whispers hauntingly.
“Assholes,” I grit out.
The one to my left leans in close to me and says, “Come quietly or you will expose your true self.”
I tense at his words. So, that’s their plan? They’re gonna play on my fear of humans finding out what I am? I reach for my beer, acting completely unaffected by his words, as I take a sip. And then, I say, “All of you have become real fucking talkative lately. What’s up with that, huh? Did the Jurisdiction fork out some money for some home tutoring?”
“Engaging with the Tainted is beneath us. However, sometimes it cannot be avoided,” the one to my right tells me.
Beneath them? Urgh. Fuckers.
“Get up and walk with us now,” he goes on.
“No,” I growl.
I feel Leftie shifting on his stool.
The next thing I know, he’s snapping something to my left wrist. It burns like a motherfucker and it has me hissing. Silver!
As I turn to try to rip it off me, the same thing happens to my right.
The wolf rages within.
I kick back my stool and stagger away from them. Glancing at my arms, I see two silver cuffs on each of my wrists. Shit. I can feel them affecting my strength, making me weaker.
I struggle to get the left one off, even as the silver burns my fingers, making them red raw in an instant.
“There are more of us,” Leftie warns, lifting his chin at the windows behind me.
I chance a look over my shoulder and see that six more Ambassador assholes are gathered outside in the parking lot of the hotel. Jesus Christ.