Dark and Damaged: Eight Tortured Heroes of Paranormal Romance: Paranormal Romance Boxed Set

by Colleen Gleason

  “And what’s your favorite?” He couldn’t help but ease closer where her scent was thicker.

  “Chocolate,” she said. “And cheesecake. And cookies, or…I used to like cookies.”

  “A sweet tooth.” He could work with that.

  “Yeah. Every bite is an epic battle between my willpower and my waistline.”

  And the spoils of that battle would go to him.

  “Matthew makes an excellent cheesecake.” He didn’t, but he would learn. Immediately.

  Her gaze finally met his and held. “So he’s okay?”

  “Yes. He’s fine. Up and walking about, doing Matthew things.” Like cleaning up another dead body.

  “He healed because of your dragon blood?”

  “Yes. It’s kept him with me for a very long time.”

  “And he’s served you? Basically forever?”

  Aside from the bodies, it wasn’t that bad. “He’s amassed a small fortune himself. He could choose to go off and—what do you say these days?—live large. I wouldn’t hold him, nor begrudge him anything he wants.”

  “But he stays.”

  “Sometimes time moves so fast that you hold on to what is steady. To what you know. And from there, safely look out at the world.” Only years passing, one upon another, could teach her that.

  “Look out at all the death, you mean.”

  Thane paused for a moment. “Martin Fraser’s life had been extended, as well.”

  She frowned deeply. “He didn’t deserve to die like that, no matter how long his life had been extended.”

  “He did, Emerson. And Matthew was quick and efficient about it. Fraser came into my stronghold intending to shoot me in the back.”

  Her lips puckered, considering.

  Thane wanted so badly to kiss them. “And he told me about Lena, which will end her life, too. Fraser didn’t have that right. He never had that right. His extended life gave him innumerable privileges; all that was required was loyalty.”

  He swallowed, coming to terms with the discovery of Lena’s treachery. It was his fault for not seeing it before. Where was the one place he hadn’t searched?

  “Well, does it get any worse than this?” Emerson sounded like she couldn’t take much more.

  Nevertheless, he gave her the truth. “My revenge will be complete. I will have Lena and her heir, regardless of his innocence.”

  Emerson hissed and shook her head. “I meant does dragon life get much worse, but I guess you just answered that, too. Yes.”

  “I will mete out justice. And it is justice. She burned my infant son, or she concealed the one who did.” He touched Emerson’s chin to hold her gaze. “But yes, it gets worse. If dragons are rediscovered by humanity, you will learn how bad it can be. We were once hunted to the brink of our extinction, and only secrecy and quiet living protects us. That is the mission of the Assembly.”

  “I don’t know how you all manage quiet living when you like blood so much.”

  You all. She still didn’t think of herself as a dragon. She needed time, he reminded himself, and he would try to give it her, but it was a fight against his dragon he didn’t think he could win for long.

  “Blood is tempting, yes. And fire, too,” he said. “And freedom and flight. But we like prosperity more. And it’s there that the Bloodkin makes their peace.”

  She looked wary and tired, but he pressed her anyway. “Will you let me show you?”

  She watched him for a long time, a little flash of green showing in her eyes as she considered. Of course, she had no idea that he intended to take all of her, not just her trust. But he was a dragon, so she shouldn’t be surprised when she found herself thoroughly possessed by him. A dragon took what it wanted. Took and kept.

  Finally, she nodded. “Yeah, okay. I hate not knowing anything.”

  He tried not to smile too broadly as he reached for her hand. She squeezed his tightly, and with that small movement, she sealed her fate.

  ***

  “I’m so sorry I didn’t return your call,” Emerson said to Bryan, the phone lodged between her ear and shoulder as she carried her suitcase down the stairs. “Things got sketchy. Real sketchy.” And were going to get worse, if that were possible.

  Lena Orvyn had some explaining to do.

  Matthew sprinted up the steps to take the suitcase from her, grumbling, “You couldn’t wait one minute?”

  “Who’s that?” Bryan asked. “What’s happened?”

  “Bloodkin insanity is what’s happened,” Emerson said. “But I’m okay.” Barely. “A dragon shifter is helping me out. That was his, um, right-hand man.” She wasn’t going to call Matthew a servant. And since Matthew shot her a smile as he took the suitcase out the front doors to the car, she guessed she’d labeled him correctly.

  “What dragon shifter is helping you out?”

  Bryan was family, so she decided to go ahead and tell him. “His name is Thane Ealdian. He was involved in that mediation I was working on in Santa Barbara.”

  “Thane Ealdian.” Bryan sounded surprised.

  Uh oh. “You’ve heard of him?” She stepped outside into the morning sun and squinted.

  “Yeah, he’s something of a legend,” Bryan said. “Old dude. Badass fighter back in the day. Is he the one who killed his wife and kid?”

  “They were murdered, but not by him,” Emerson said. Geez. “But he is old.” She tried not to stare at the way Thane filled out a pair of jeans. He was leaning up against his shiny black deathmobile, waiting for her. His arms and chest were doing merciless things to his shirt. “Positively decrepit.”

  Thane smiled, and she flushed. Big day ahead.

  “Ember, I have a bad feeling about this,” Bryan said. “You wanted out.”

  “Your bad feeling is warranted. Two people have died recently regarding the mediation.” Her stomach was leaden even as her heart fluttered erratically at random moments. This time she was deliberately going in search of Bloodkin mayhem rather than it finding her. She wasn’t sure the turnabout was an improvement.

  “Three,” Thane said as he walked around to the driver’s side. “The assassin.”

  Oh yeah. “Three,” she told Bryan while mouthing a thank-you to Matthew, who’d just slammed the trunk shut. The trunk was apparently in the front of the car, not the back.

  The plan was to hear what Lena had to say. At the very least, she’d betrayed Thane by withholding information about his wife and child. At worst, she was directly responsible for their deaths. Emerson would get answers to her own questions, as well. And then Thane would decide what to do from there. But Emerson knew vengeance against Lena and her heir—a two-hundred year old man who lived in Vegas—was probable. The son first, so that Lena would know Thane’s pain. And then he’d come back for her. Very medieval. No, older than that. Old Testament.

  Emerson prayed this Lena woman was not the one who’d done this to him.

  “Dammit, Ember,” Bryan said. “I want you out of there. Now. You can come to me, or I’ll find you. You need to get away from them. I should’ve listened to you in the beginning. I’m sorry.”

  Just the fact that he was offering to help meant so much. “No need to apologize. I kind of sprung the whole Bloodkin thing on you. If I need help, I’ll call you, I promise. How’s Sadie?”

  Matthew opened the car door for her and she got inside. Thane revved the engine and she shook her head at him. No speeding.

  “She’s settled,” Bryan said. “Getting the five-star treatment because of you.”

  “Least I could do.” At least some things were falling into place. “I want to visit her as soon as this business is finished.”

  “I’ll go with you. We can get the pack together again.”

  “Sounds perfect.” It was everything she’d hoped for. Her family. “I’ve got to go.”

  “I’m texting you my address, just in case.”

  “I’ll keep you posted.”

  “Ember, be careful.”

  “You, too
,” she said and ended the call. Then she frowned. She’d been so focused on her situation that she’d forgotten to ask him about his Alpha and how they were getting along. Next call, definitely.

  Thane flipped a tight U-turn and headed down his long driveway, spitting dust and gravel behind them.

  Emerson scowled as she grabbed for her seat belt.

  A toothy smile spread across his face. “Ember is it?”

  “You could hear that?” Was there any privacy among the Bloodkin?

  “The dragon hears all.”

  Hers didn’t. At least not yet. “Good to know. Mental note: no calls in front of Thane.”

  “I got what I wanted, anyway.”

  “And that is?”

  “A name that suits you. Ember. It’s perfect. The spark of the dragon is there, within you. All you have to do is blow.”

  CHAPTER 9

  Thane’s automobile skimmed over the miles, but this time he didn’t try for a memory of low, smooth dragon flight. He kept the speed under ninety and was rewarded by Ember—yes, that was her name to him now—relaxing back into her seat.

  She’d done something to straighten her hair this morning, which he still didn’t understand, and she’d selected a blouse in a deep, Emmerich red, which he did. She had her pick of jewelry—the finest the world had to offer—but she wore only small gold clips on her earlobes and a thin gold chain hanging from her neck.

  Yesterday they’d talked for a long time, sitting there surrounded by his hoard, and eventually Matthew had descended carrying large floor pillows. Trays of food had come later. Wine, too. Thane hadn’t even minded when Ember had invited Matthew to join them.

  “Aren’t you lonely?” she’d asked Matthew. “Don’t you want your own life?”

  “I have everything I could want: a long life and a family. My great-great-grandson just graduated from Harvard Law last week.” Matthew had grinned proudly. “I follow the lives of fifty-three of my descendants and have helped out here and there when they have gotten into trouble. I love social media because I get more access than I’ve ever had before.”

  “Social media,” Thane had said. Those words made no sense together.

  Emerson had ignored him. “Do they know who you are?”

  “Not really,” Matthew had answered shrugging. “A wealthy relative. I’m vague on the connection.”

  “Do you plan on getting any of them involved with the Bloodkin?” she’d asked. “Is that allowed?”

  Matthew had inclined his head to think about the question. “Allowed, yes, but not everyone is suited to the life.”

  “I don’t think I’m suited to it.”

  “Say that again in a hundred years, my lady,” Matthew had answered. “I think you’ll have changed your mind.”

  Thane had disagreed. “It won’t take a hundred years. You’ll change your mind after you’ve flown in the sky for the first time.”

  How he envied her. His dragon might be content with Emerson’s company, but Thane wouldn’t be able to chance shifting again, flying again, until he went to Havyn. And now he had no idea when that might be. He’d have to satisfy himself by watching Ember take to the night sky and indulge in the joy she found. Not long ago, he’d have found such a thing intolerable, but now…he looked forward to it. He could give up flight if he could have her laughter for his own.

  He merged onto the highway heading to the mountains, and it twisted before him like a graphite scribble on the world.

  Beside him, Ember heaved a huge sigh. “I’m so freaking tired and wired at the same time.”

  “Wired,” he repeated. He really had to catch up on the jargon of her generation.

  “Zapping with energy, old man,” she said. “Not necessarily a good thing. I’m having trouble sleeping lately.”

  Too much death, he thought. She needed to get all this behind her, and then she would rest more easily.

  “What does the Night Song sound like?” she asked.

  Or maybe not death. Something else.

  “Sound is only part of it,” he said. It was dangerous to contemplate the Song with the yearning still just beneath his skin, but he wouldn’t hoard information from her. “The Night Song is the cacophony of all living things, the silence of darkness, the glow of the sun reflected on the moon, and the chorus of the stars. It is the caress of air and the shimmer of heat, an altogether bonfire of sensation.”

  “So much feeling,” she said, “that it’s impossibly hot, right? I feel like I’m going to explode.”

  “Your dragon is stretching inside you. Looking out. Wanting more.”

  She gave a shaky laugh. “I don’t think sleeping pills help with that.”

  No. Sex did, but since he was still being patient—damn Matthew—he wouldn’t suggest it. Yet. Soon, though.

  “After we complete our business with Lena,” he said, “you might consider attempting a shift.”

  A line formed between her brows. “So…is the first shift usually done alone, or does another Bloodkin show a beginner how it’s done?”

  He chose his words carefully so as not to hurt her feelings. “It’s usually a family event.”

  Event didn’t do justice to the private celebration that was more extravagant and exclusive than a wedding. Only the closest and most important kin were in attendance. Expensive gifts were brought, the young drak—male or female—feted in style. And upon the third night of feasting, everyone gathered and shifted together.

  She’d gone quiet, so he tried to fill in the gaps where her kin should be. “You’d want your Wolfkin foster brother present, I imagine?”

  She blinked. Her eyebrows went up, and she smiled. “Oh. Yes. I guess so. I’ve seen him shift a few times, so I guess it’s fair.”

  Thane didn’t like that she’d witnessed such an intimate thing, but the wolf had stood by her, so he set it aside.

  “And Matthew would be honored,” he said. “He’s quite taken with you.”

  She grinned. “I like him, too. Okay.”

  Thane caught her looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

  “I hope you’ll be there,” she said.

  “Of course. I’m hosting the party,” he said. The Herreras would not be invited. They’d kept her Emmerich heritage from her for too long. And the Heolstor brothers might wish to come, but he couldn’t tolerate one of them flying with her. Mine.

  He knew just what to gift her, too. Something without price. Something dear.

  “You’d do that for me?” Her eyes were full of feeling. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”

  “You should have so much more.” He couldn’t help that his voice came out in a low rasp. Truth sometimes forced its way into words. His dragon wanted to curl around her and keep her close, striking at anyone who dared come near.

  After a moment, she leaned over toward him, and pressed her cool lips to his cheek.

  A shudder of desire rolled through him—not sexual, not here or now, on the brink of a confrontation with Lena, but certainly one of anticipation.

  She wiggled a little in her seat and rested her head against the window. Only when she was breathing deeply did he look at her. Ember. The name fit so well. She was the last ember of her bloodline, a white-hot jewel hidden in the ashes of time.

  She slept as he drove, her eyes moving behind her lids, her dragon at peace.

  ***

  Just as he had a few days ago, he stopped his car in front of Lena’s stronghold in the mountains. The place was silent, as if deserted. The sequoias were still. No birds called to one another. Even the dust kicked up by the wheels of his automobile seemed loath to swirl and settle.

  “Looks like no one’s home.” Ember opened her car door, but he put a hand on her arm to stop her from getting out until he was by her side. He appreciated her modern independence, but today he was going back to the old ways.

  “Oh, she’s home,” he said. And waiting. All these years, Lena had to have known that sooner or later he would come for her. What
could’ve possibly transpired between the sisters that she’d not only taken Carreen’s life, but Rinc’s, as well?

  Thane strode around the car to Ember’s door with calm determination. He gave her his hand to help her to her feet…and keep her behind him.

  “This doesn’t feel right,” she said, following him up the front steps.

  “No, it does not.” The place felt too aware.

  When they reached the front doors, he didn’t bang on them—if they were going to be opened for him, her staff would have done so already. The latch gave easily in his grip, and he pushed one of the doors open.

  The sharp metallic scent of blood wafted outside in a billow of escaping air.

  “Oh God,” Ember said behind him. She must’ve scented it, too.

  Spilled blood. Again. What did the violence here mean? Had Ransom Heolstor beat him to vengeance?

  “Thane?” Ember gently pulled back on his arm as if to keep him from entering. “This feels like a trap.”

  “We do not retreat,” he said. “We are dragons.”

  “I thought dragons were supposed to be smart.”

  “It’s smart to kill our enemies when the chance presents itself. And besides, the answers we seek are inside.”

  Thane entered cautiously, the scent of blood thickening until his lungs felt coated in it. A pall of death shrouded the house. He’d known that his family’s remains would mean war among the Bloodkin, and it seemed that the Orvyn stronghold had been the first to fall. Lena’s allies would most certainly strike back at whoever had attacked here today.

  “Lena?” he called.

  The silence was broken by a distant intake of breath, followed by a cracked whisper. “Godric.” The voice could only be referring to Godric Tredan of the Triad. What had he to do with anything?

  Thane pulled Ember close. Two steps into the manse, and the air whistled so high only a dragon could hear it. Thane was already turning, pushing Ember out of the way as a Drachentöter darted toward him. It missed his chest, but the weapon pierced his shoulder above his heart. The barbs sprang from its shaft, burying the steel inside him. The starry burst of pain blacked his mind for a moment, but the dragon within could see everything clearly.