"I don’t even know how to do that," Lucas admitted.
"You're doing it now," she told him. She pushed her long blonde hair over her shoulder. "The key is to not want to be seen. So long as you don't wish for it, it won't happen."
"Right, don't let them see me," he said. "Will they know I'm here?"
Lacy gave him a small smile. "Some people have a feeling. Others don't. I guess it just depends on the person and their willingness to believe in what they cannot see."
Lucas made a mental note of Lacy's words, and then left her to go to his family. His mother was seated in the first row, facing his casket, his sister sat at her side, and his cousins and extended family filled in the rest of the seats.
Lucas walked over to them. He crept along on silent feet until he was standing in front of his mother and watched as she cried softly. His sister sat right beside her holding her hand. His family all sat in the chairs under the canopy, staring at the silver casket that held his remains. The minister said a few words, something about leaving this world and moving on to another, but Lucas wasn’t paying attention to them. His attention was focused more on the seven men from his platoon that were standing at attention a hundred yards away. They were at attention in their dress blues. Their rifles were at rest in their hands, patiently waiting for the order to fire.
Lucas flashed himself over to his men. They were stoic, yet he could see the pain etched into the lines of his friends faces. These men were more than soldiers to him. They were part of his family.
“Ready!” The Captain shouted. The seven men raised their guns and pointed them into the air. “Aim!” Seven pairs of eyes stared down their sights. “Fire!” The sound of gunfire exploded through the cemetery. “Fire!” Again they shot into the air. “Fire!” The third round boomed over the hills.
“At ease,” the Captain commanded, and the seven men dropped their rifles back to resting position. The cemetery was eerily quiet in the wake of the twenty-one gun salute. And then, to add to it, from somewhere Lucas couldn’t see, the mournful cry of a lone bugle in the distance filled the air. Goosebumps rose up all over Lucas’ body and he flashed himself back to his mother’s side.
Four Marines were carefully, respectfully folding his flag as the bugle played. Lucas watched as they folded it in perfect formation, then the Sargent marched to his mother. He presented the flag to her, with an open box sitting on top. Inside the box was Lucas’ Purple Heart medal. The soldier gently laid the flag in her hands then stood back and saluted her.
His mother breathed a heavy sigh. “This is all I have now,” she whispered. She stood and faced the soldier in front of her. She pressed her lips into a thin line and hardened her stare. “I gave you my only son. Now all I have is a flag and a shiny medal.”
The Sergeant's eyes flicked as if he wanted to look away from her accusing stare. “He was a gift to us all, ma’am,” he replied to her. “It is an honor to have known him. Oorah.” And then, because there was nothing more to say, he turned on his heel and marched away.
Lucas felt a hand on his shoulder. At first he thought it was Lacy again, but it was too big and heavy to belong to her. One sniff and he knew who it was. He had forgotten that Ash was even there with him, but already he knew his scent. “Serious mind trip right here,” Lucas said without looking at his new leader.
“That’s what I hear,” Ash replied softly. “We need to go.”
Lucas nodded and the pair flashed back to Hell.
Chapter four
Lucas found himself in Ash's office, but Ash was not there. Had he missed the mark and went somewhere he wasn't supposed to? Had the new leader had enough of his constant questions and mishaps? He wouldn’t blame him if he had. As far as Lucas was concerned, he had turned into a complete wuss since arriving in Hell. As he checked out his surroundings, he realized that Jake and Lacy were also gone. He must have missed the memo.
"What ya looking for?" Antonio asked him.
Lucas saw that the angel had parked himself behind Ash's desk. "I was wondering if I had flashed to the wrong place," he admitted.
"Nah," Antonio said. "Ash wanted you here. He and the others went to a meeting in the main cavern. He's got a lot to deal with right now and one of those things is gathering a hunting party for the escaped demons."
"Shouldn't I be helping?" Lucas asked. "I'm not some greenhorn that doesn’t have any skills. I could be helping with this." He tried not to let his irritation show, but Lucas could feel his wolf growling inside him, just as offended as he was.
Antonio laughed. "Dude," he said with a fangy smile. "Chill. Ash wanted you to be here with me so that I could get you on your way to finding that Ryver chick."
"Oh," Lucas said. It wasn't in the middle of the action, but at least it was something.
"Ash said to have you track her and that you would be good at it. I have only known a couple of wolves in my time, but they were all excellent at their jobs. My family even employs a few. I am thinking that, combined with your sniper skills, should get you right to her."
Lucas felt the heat on his neck cool. This was a task specifically for him. He wasn't being forced to sit on the sidelines, but given a special task. This Ash character seemed as though he already had faith in Lucas' abilities. The wolf inside him paced, anxious to get to it and make his alpha proud.
“Hey, Lucas, could you hand me that pencil right there?” Shelly asked, sticking her arm out of the cage and pointing toward Ash’s desk, interrupting Lucas' train of thought.
Lucas looked to Antonio to see if it was okay. When the angel shrugged, Lucas picked up the number two and placed it in Shelly’s open palm. The demon sank back on her haunches and studied the pencil for a moment, rolling it between her index fingers and thumbs.
“Do you need paper too?” Lucas asked her.
“No,” she answered without looking at him, “this is good.” Then the demon spun around and shoved the pencil through the bars of her cage and into the cage of the witch beside her. The lead stuck in the human’s arm and she let out a yelp of pain. Shelly laughed hysterically.
“You, bitch,” the witch snarled while rubbing her injured arm.
“Oh, don’t act like you don’t deserve it,” Shelly snapped back at her. “It’s your damn fault I’m in this fucking cage to begin with. Karma. It’s the bitch here and she’s got her sights set on you.” Shelly tucked the pencil into the far corner of her cage for later use.
“Why do I get the feeling that Ash wouldn’t have let me give it to her?” Lucas asked Antonio.
“Nah, he wouldn’t care,” Antonio answered. “He wants the witch to talk and Shelly’s got her pound of flesh coming from this one. I say let her have her fun.”
Lucas nodded skeptically, unwilling to completely accept Antonio’s answer. He opened his mouth to say something, but the thought was whipped from his head as a strange feeling rooted itself in his gut. “There’s something wrong,” Lucas said. “I feel like I’m being pulled from the inside.”
Antonio’s grin fell from his face and the angel became serious. “Fight it, man,” he told Lucas. “We can’t have this shit go down again.”
Lucas didn’t get the chance to ask what shit Antonio was talking about because he was suddenly enveloped in complete darkness and then everything was just gone.
Antonio stared at the spot where Lucas had stood only a second before. “Damn it!” the angel shouted. “Ash!”
Ash flashed into his office immediately. “What’s wrong?” he asked, his eyes burning red as hot coals.
“Lucas is gone,” Antonio explained. “He was here and now he’s gone. He said something about being pulled. I think he was summoned.”
“Fucking hell,” Ash growled. “Well, let’s go get him.”
Antonio nodded and flashed away to get the others. In a heartbeat, he was back with Lacy and Jake.
“Lucas was summoned, we think,” Ash told them. “We will not risk him. We’re going to find him. Now.”
�
��Do you know where he is?” Jake asked.
Ash nodded. “I’ve gotten better at this since Shelly was taken,” he told him. “Follow me.”
Ash flashed away and the others were quick to follow him.
***
Lucas found himself standing in the sand near his old home. There was a fire burning and he could see his pack gathered around it. He couldn’t believe he forgot about this. He watched as Little Wolf, the spirit walker who had become as close as family, chanted his magic.
It was tradition to have a ceremonial run with the spirit of a fallen pack member. He watched in amazement as Little Wolf’s spirit left his body and stood. The Native American found Lucas immediately and walked over to meet him.
“Lucas,” he said with a smile. “Your family will be happy to know you are alright,” he said. Then, he noticed Lucas’s wings. “Promoted, I see,” he said.
Then the spirit walker’s eyes widened as four pissed off angels appeared around them. “You cannot have him,” Ash growled.
“No, wait,” Lucas said, but Ash cut him off.
“How dare you summon one of my guards?” Ash demanded.
Little Wolf’s spirit backed away slowly. “I don’t understand,” he muttered. The angels were magnificent; more than he had ever imagined. They were beautiful and fierce, their swords at the ready.
“Ash!” Lucas yelled, getting his attention. “This is not what you think.”
“Then what is it?” Ash demanded.
“It’s a run,” Lucas quickly explained. “It’s tradition for my pack to run with the spirit of a fallen member. I never thought it actually worked though.”
Ash’s ire cooled a small amount. “This is something that you will return from?” he asked.
“Of course,” Lucas said. Then he looked to Little Wolf. “Right?”
The spirit walker inclined his head.
“Fine,” Ash grumbled. “But we stay here.”
The spirit walker went back to his body and opened his eyes. “The spirit of our fallen has joined us,” he told Lucas’s pack. “You may run with him now.”
The angels watched as Lucas’ pack transformed from a group of people into a pack of wolves. Lucas shifted as well, taking the form of his wolf. He paced around his family, knowing they couldn’t see him, but knowing they could feel his presence as well. He lifted his snout into the air and howled.
The pack howled with him, as if they could hear him. Then, they took off, running from the fire into the desert.
Ash watched as a silent spectator, in awe of the sacred ceremony before him. He had never witnessed anything so sad and yet so fulfilling at the same time. Lucas' wolf family mourned his loss, but the ceremonial run gave them peace; a sense of contentment that humans would never be able to attain. He looked to his guard, who were standing at his side, and they nodded. The four of them stood at attention and silent as statues, while Lucas ran one last time with his family.
It seemed as if hours passed before Lucas' wolf loped down the sand hill to where Ash stood. He called on his magic, reforming his body back into the human form. "Thanks," he said to Ash with a crooked smile. "I needed that. I think they will be okay now."
Ash nodded, then raised his right hand to his brow. "Gunney," he acknowledged Lucas for his title and nodded his head.
Lucas saluted Ash in return. "Sir," he said sharply. "I'm ready to move on now."
Ash nodded and flashed himself back to Hell, knowing his guard would be fast on his heels.
Chapter five
As Lucas found himself back in the caverns of Hell, he double checked to make sure that everyone was there with him. "I'm sorry," he said to everyone. "I had no idea that the ceremony actually worked. I would have warned you."
"Don't beat yourself up about it," Antonio said. "Besides, we got to watch something that most people never see."
"I agree," Lacy said. "I thought it was beautiful. I have never been so close to so many wolves before, and never realized how loving and caring they really were. I hate to admit it, but I always thought of weres as animalistic men who were hell bent on claiming their women and liked to have rutting sex whenever possible."
Lucas grinned. "Well," he told her, "We are rutting animals hell bent on claiming our mates, but there is a strong sense of family as well."
"Stronger than that of humans," Antonio piped in.
"Hey," Jake barked. "I'm a human and I love my mate just like you do, FangsRUs."
Lucas snorted. "Fangs are us?"
"It's a nickname," Lacy told him. "You will have one too. Give them time. They like to call me Dynamite."
"Because awesomeness comes in small packages," Jake agreed. "You don't want to piss this one off." He pointed at Lacy. "She seems all nice and love and hope and shit, and then the next thing you know, you're in the corner, terrified, ready to piss your pants."
"I have an affinity for emotions," she said calmly. "It is not my fault that you are particularly susceptible."
"Enough," Ash said. He didn’t raise his voice, but the words carried enough authority and finality that everyone stopped talking. "Lucas has had an interesting day. He needs rest so that he can find that woman tomorrow."
Just the mention of that woman had his wolf on full alert. He did need to find her. The scent of her skin was blazed into Lucas's memory, as was the sinful color of her eyes. Blue. Not shifter blue like his, but deep blue, like the ocean on a calm day. Her eyelashes rimmed those beauties, giving her an exotic look. And her hair … what Lucas would give to run his hands through that long, black hair. To hold it in his fist as he brought her to …
"Lucas?" Ash's voice boomed, bringing Lucas out of his own head. And not a moment too soon, he noticed. His cock had also appreciated the memory of the woman and was standing at half-mast. "I said go to your sleeping quarters and rest. Can you manage that?"
"Yes, sir," he sharply replied.
"Good," Ash said with a knowing shake of his head. "Jake will show you the way."
"Let's go," Jake said with a grin and a slap on Lucas' shoulder.
The pair walked out of Ash's office and down the hall. Lucas didn’t say anything as he followed behind Jake. Following was new to Lucas. His whole life he had been a leader. This was going to take some getting used to. Following Ash had been easier than he expected, though. The man had shown in a short time that he can be ferocious, but also a great leader. Lucas had been born to be an alpha, but even his wolf recognized Ash as top dog.
Jake stopped in front of a wooden door. "This is it," he told Lucas. "Home sweet home. There should be a cell phone in there for you. All of our numbers are already programmed in, so if you need anything, just call. Try not to flash in when it's sleeping hours. Some of us have mates, ya know."
Lucas nodded and thanked Jake. After the angel was gone, Lucas opened the door.
Again, he wasn't expecting what he saw. He expected something more Marine-like; a cot and a small dresser. But this–not even close. The walls were painted a muted blue color and the furniture was all stained dark mahogany. There was an enormous chest of drawers on the far wall, complete with mirror. In the center of the room was a huge king sized bed. It even looked comfortable.
On the night stand was a cell phone, just as Jake said there would be. Lucas picked it up and thumbed through the contacts. Yep, everyone there and a few he didn’t recognize. He sat on the bed heavily, loving the way the mattress gave under his weight. Lucas laid back and laced his fingers behind his head. It was only after he had gotten good and comfortable that he remembered that he had wings. They had folded neatly against his back, unhindered by his position.
He could see that there was a bathroom off the main room, but he was too tired to get up and look. He drew in a heavy sigh and closed his eyes.
***
He was running through a forest as his wolf. The beast darted happily between the trees, chasing a rabbit through the brush. Then, a familiar scent reached his nose. Lucas recognized the scent as ea
sily as he would have his own family. Ryver was there. He crouched behind a tree trunk, making himself as small as possible.
And then he saw her. She was standing by a stream, singing softly to herself. Her black hair swayed with the breeze and the sun lit her face like an angel. Even though she looked sweet and innocent, Lucas knew she was anything but. She was Lucifer’s daughter. She was trouble. His wolf growled inwardly at his remark, recognizing his mate in the beautiful woman.
Of course she was his mate. That was why she affected him so strongly. Lucas called on his inner magic and shifted back to his human form. As Ryver lowered her hands into the water, Lucas stepped out from his hiding spot.
She heard his footsteps and turned quickly to face him, her eyes flashing with power. She was ready to take on whomever had the nerve to disturb her. Lucas smiled. As soon as she saw him, her eyes softened. “Lucas,” she breathed.
Lucas said nothing, but strode toward her, taking her into his arms. “My mate,” he whispered into her hair as he pulled her close. The feel of her body against his had him rock hard in a second. She didn’t seem to mind that he was completely naked and that he was now grinding his hips into hers.
“I have been so lost,” she told him. “I have to find my way.”
“I’ll help you,” he vowed. “I will always be there for you.”
Lucas lowered his head and touched his lips to hers. Lightning raced through his veins. He groaned and sucked her lower lip into his mouth. He needed to claim her immediately. He needed to make her his, to mark her and prove to her that she belonged to him. He pushed his tongue into her mouth and she went soft in his arms. Lucas moved one hand up to cradle the back of her head as he explored the hot cavern of her mouth. She tasted sweet, like candy, and he couldn’t get enough.
Her nails raked against his bare skin and Lucas thought he might lose it without ever taking her clothes off. She was everything he ever wanted, even if he didn’t know what that was. His wolf had gone quiet inside of him, waiting for the moment to claim her.
The Keepers of Hell Box Set Page 48