by Eve Vaughn
“I’ve carried this guilt with me for a very long time. I didn’t want you to know what your parents had done so I never said anything about it. I thought I was protecting you by withholding that information but it didn’t occur to me until a few years ago that you knew.”
“How did you figure it out?” Aries asked, finally finding his voice.
“It was something you said in passing. It was just a random conversation we’d had and you said something about trying not to allow our past to dictate our present. At first, I thought you were referring to me. But then it occurred to me that you might have known about what your parents did. After that, it didn’t take long for me to put two and two together. You’ve gone above and beyond what most Beta would do for their pack and every time I compliment you on a job well done, you simply say it’s your duty. I would often ask myself why you push yourself so hard but don’t accept the thanks. That was when I realized it was guilt. I should have recognized it right away because it’s the same burden I’ve carried all these years. I don’t want you to think that I hold what your parents did against you. Quite honestly, I’m not even mad at Eros. In his misguided sense of what’s right, he’d probably figured he make a better Alpha and that it was best for the pack. I have to believe that his motives were altruistic even though he went about it the wrong way. It’s how I can reconcile with the brother I grew up with and loved to the man who would perpetuate this evil against his own people. At the end of the day, he and your mother paid the ultimate price for their sins.”
“Aries, I might not say this often enough but you make me very proud. I couldn’t have a better Beta, a nephew or a son. You I love you and I just want you to know that it’s time for you to stop carrying around that guilt. You deserve to be happy. I’ve only been able to observe you with your mate briefly but I believe that you can find that happiness with her. If you allow yourself.”
Aries hadn’t cried since his parents had succumbed to Malum, but damn if there weren’t tears in his eyes right now. None of the Kyriakis men were big on sharing their emotions with each other so to hear his Uncle say this meant the world to him and it felt like a huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders. ‘I should have told you about it.”
“I understand why you didn’t. It’s the exact reason I never said anything either. Just know that no matter what, you can come to me for anything.”
“Thank you, Uncle Paris. That means a lot to me.”
“I’m getting another call which hopefully means we have some news on our search, but I’ll be checking in. In the meantime, keep your mate safe.”
“Thank you, again.”
“I love you, Aries.”
“I love you too.”
When Aries disconnected the call his tears flowed freely. He would allow himself this one cry to properly mourn for his parents like he never had before and then he could finally shut the door on that chapter forever.
“Are you all right?”
Aries jumped, surprised that he hadn’t heard Nina approach. He swiftly wiped the tears from his face, slightly embarrassed that she’d caught him at an emotional moment.
“I’m fine,” he answered quickly and pasted a smile on his face. “I thought you were resting.”
She raised a dark brow. “I couldn’t sleep. So are you going to tell me why you were crying if everything is fine?”
He sighed, seeing no point in keeping the truth from her. “I just got off the phone with my Uncle. They’re hitting a few roadblocks in their search for Sarah’s mother. But they think they may be on the right track because they ran into some hunters. Right now they’re waiting for reinforcement.”
“Hunters? I hope they’re okay.”
Aries nodded. “They are.”
“But that’s not the reason why you were crying. Even though I haven’t known you long, you don’t strike me as the type to randomly cry.”
“You’re right. Remember when I was telling you about my parents and the secret shame I carried because of them?”
She nodded slowly. “My Uncle already know. He thought he was the one protecting me by not saying anything. All this time if we’d only talked things would have been cleared up so much sooner.”
“Well, I’m glad you were able to get it resolved.” She moved closer and placed her arms around him.
She fit in his arms perfectly like she was always meant to be there and he didn’t want to let her go. He held her against him, inhaling her delicious scent. Even though it was the simple smell of soap, on her skin it was intoxicating. He placed a kiss on the top of her head.
To his surprise, she placed a kiss on his jawline, and then his neck. Before he realized what was happening, Nina had his shirt off and rained kisses all over his chest.
He growled deep in his throat. “Woman, do you know what you’re doing to me?”
She raised head briefly, her dark eyes locking with his. “I have an idea,” she murmured before returning to the task of undressing him. Aries helped her remove his pants and the next thing he knew, Nina was on her knees, eyeing his cock with a lascivious stare.
“I’ve wanted to do this to you the first time, I saw your magnificent body,” she moaned circling his length with her fingers. When Nina slid her tongue along his shaft, Aries nearly lost it. He gripped a handful of her raven tresses and thrust his hardness against her face.
“Don’t fucking tease me, woman. Suck it,” he commanded.
Nina opened her mouth wide and wrapped her lips around his dick, sliding her mouth along his shaft until the tip of his cock hit the back of her throat. She pulled back, but not completely and then she repeated the process, bobbing her head back and forth. Her mouth made his dick nice and wet as her lips created a tight seal.
Aries rolled his eyes to the back of his head as a wave of pure bliss rolled through his entire being. Her mouth was magic. “Feels so fucking good,” he moaned.
Unable to keep still, he guided her head as he thrust forward, moving it with each stroke. When she cupped and fondled his balls, Aries lost it. He shot his semen deep into her throat, and Nina greedily drank it up.
But even when he finished she still lapped and licked his dick like a lollipop. Finally, when she released him, she raised her head, dark eyes flashing. “Did I please you?”
He pulled Nina to her feet and lifted her into his arms before carrying her to the bed. Aries quickly undressed her before tossing Nina on the center of the bed and quickly fell on top of her. “You didn’t think you could do that to me and not get thoroughly fucked. You were just asking me to take this pussy weren’t you?”
She licked her lips. “I wanted to make you feel better?”
Aries chuckled as he positioned himself between her legs. “Oh, I felt better, and I’m about to feel even more so.”
She trembled as she slid his cockhead along her slit, teasing her entrance. “Aries, please,” she moaned, lifting her hips to press her cunt against him.
You’re already so wet and ready for me. But I want to hear the words. Tell me how much you want this.”
“I want this. So bad. Please take me. Fuck me, conquer me…make love to me.”
It was those last words that were his undoing. He couldn’t hold back any longer so he thrust into her so deep, his balls slapped the seat of her ass. She was so tight it was like she was squeezing the life out of his cock and he couldn’t get enough. “Fuck!” he grunted savoring the sensation of her pussy.
Nina wrapped her legs around his waist, forcing him to move. He had every intention to fuck her hard and fast but when he caught a glimpse of her biting her bottom lip, her dark eyes brimming with passion, he was struck by her beauty. He didn’t know how love worked, but in this short time of their acquaintance, Aries knew he was in love.
He placed his hands on either side of her head and moved slowly, reveling in the oneness of their bodies. “You’re so beautiful”
Her eyes gleamed with the suspicious sheen of tears as she pulled him to her. They
moved together, as Nina met him thrust for thrust. Aries pressed his lips to hers, heightening the romance of the moment.
He raised his head just long enough to look her in his eyes and claim her. “Mine. You know I can never let you go after this, don’t you.”
She bit her bottom lip again as she released a moan. Nina had no idea how fucking sexy that looked.
His climax hit him hard and fast. He spilled his seed deep into her grasping pussy.
“Aries,” she screamed his name, signaling her own release.
He buried his face against her neck and held her tight, not wanting to let her go.
“Aries,” she whispered.
“I…nothing.”
He raised his head to look her in the eyes. “Are you sure?
“Yes, just hold me.”
He tightened his arms around her and as they lay together in each other’s arms, he felt moisture against his face. This time it was from Nina’s tears.
Chapter Fifteen
“How many times do you plan on pacing this room? It won’t make things go any faster.” Dante pushed himself from off the wall and closed the distance between him and Paris. He gripped Paris by the shoulders. “We’re going to find her.”
“The reinforcements should have been here by now. What’s taking them so long?” Paris trusted his friend and knew Dante wouldn’t lead him astray but he had a sinking feeling that something wasn’t right. Dante had called his men a while ago to meet them at this location. It wasn’t a matter of finding the place because they’d already decided when they split up before, that this would be the place they’d all return to whenever their tasks were complete. Something was definitely not adding up about this situation.
“I have someone special flying in that would be of great assistance to us. He should be here any moment,” Dante assured him.
Paris didn’t know why his friend was being so secretive about who was coming but it had to be someone important for Dante to hold this card so close to his chest. “Well, whoever it is, he or she needs to hurry up.”
Just then there was a knock on the cottage door they had taken up as their temporary base. One of the warlocks on Dante’s team had already warded this place so none of their enemies should be able to enter without a considerable amount of power.
Dante placed his hand on Paris’s chest when he would have gone to the door. “I’ll get it.”
Paris grunted in frustration before turning his back to whoever it was.
“Finally. It’s good of you to make it, and I see you’ve found the rest of my team…and what the hell happened?”
“It appears your team ran into a little bit of trouble and as I was heading to this point, I thought I’d offer my assistance. I brought a gift for you.”
Paris would recognize that Russian accent anywhere. He turned to see a tall, blond warlock entering the cottage.
He looked at Dante. “Why didn’t you tell me Steel was on his way?” Paris walked over to the warlock and offered his hand. Steel Romanov hailed from a powerful family and had often fought alongside Paris and Dante in Underground missions.
Steel shook Paris’s hand with a smile on his face. “This was a last minute thing. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to make it.”
Paris frowned. “I’d heard that your family was having some problems of their own with a rogue warlock.”
Steel nodded. “Yes, a warlock by the name Grigori, who’s been targeting my family of late. Things have been quiet for a moment but we’re all on alert. I just happened to be in France following up on a lead when I got the call from Dante. Of course, I would come to help, especially after all the time the two of you have helped my family.”
Paris’s heart warmed at that declaration. “Thank you. That really means a lot to me to hear that. You mentioned something about a gift?”
Steel nodded. “Oh yes, she’s outside. She’s not going anywhere anytime soon.”
Steel headed outside and came back in, dragging the unconscious hunter who had attacked them earlier.
“How?” Dante demanded.
“As Steel already mentioned, we ran into some trouble. On our way here, we were attacked by several Hunters. We were able to take a couple of them down right away but the others were almost too powerful. I shudder to think what would have happened to us is Steel hadn’t come along.” Felix, a vampire and an agent in the Underground spoke up.
“How many were there?” Paris asked.
“Including her,” Felix jerked his thumb toward the hunter, “there were eight that I counted.”
“Did any of them get away?”
“No. A couple of them tried but once Steel joined us, we made their escape impossible. This one Hunter here seems to be the one in charge as they were taking their directives from her,” Hamilton, another vampire answered.
“How long do you think she’ll be out?” Paris wanted to know. “I feel like the longer we wait, the harder it will be to find Anisa.”
“No worries, Paris. I’ll handle this,” Steel assured him.
The warlock chanted a spell making the hunter jerk awake. It seemed to take her a moment to figure out where she was before she realized she was surrounded by several immortals ready to take her out. When Paris would have charged at her, Dante held her back. “We need information.”
The hunter began to chant, but Steele started to chuckle. “Your dark magic won’t work here. I’ve already taken care of that.”
Her nostrils flared. “If you’ve brought me here to get information then you’re wasting your time. I won’t speak,” she said through clenched teeth.
Steel nodded. “So I see you want to do this the hard way. Very well.” He held out his hand which seemed to compel the hunter to her feet.
Her mouth opened wide and she screamed as Steel seemed to manipulate her body without touching her.
When Steel made a pulling motion with his hand, Paris heard a ripping sound before the hunter’s bloody tongue flew out of her mouth. She screamed, collapsing to the floor as blood squirted from her mouth.
The tongue flew toward Steel and he caught it in his hand. We whispered an incantation over it before letting it go. Paris watched in fascination as it flew back into the hunter’s mouth. Steel smirked. “Now you can question her as much as you’d like. She won’t be able to hold her silence or tell a lie.”
As long as Paris had been alive, warlock magic always took him by surprise.
The hunter seemed to writhe in pain as she rolled on the floor, holding her mouth.
Paris knelt next beside her and grabbed her hair. “Where is Anisa?”
It was clear the hunter was attempting to hold her words back but she blurted out. “She’s in a chalet a few miles from here!” She glared at him with venom.
“Where exactly? We’ve scoured this area for serval miles. We haven’t seen where she’d be hiding.”
“Because it wouldn’t be seen by the naked eye and she’s not alone,” the hunter grunted. “Just kill me now because when Gage learns of this betrayal, his punishment will be far more severe,” she pleaded.
“Not just yet…besides, you don’t get to play the victim after all the countless shifters you and your group have murdered.” Paris glared at her. He itched to end her life right there and then but he knew he had to remain calm so they could get the rest of the information from her. “What did you mean when you said she wasn’t alone?”
“She has a protector. A very powerful one.”
“A hunter?” Dante asked.
“A warlock.”
Paris and Dante exchanged questioning glances at Steel who merely shrugged.
“It doesn’t matter,” Paris shook his head. When they found her, they’d deal with whoever she was with. “If this chalet can’t be seen, how can we find it exactly?”
The hunter blurted out map coordinates before she started to laugh. “It doesn’t matter, Gage is already there. And they’ll find a way inside. He’ll finally have the Seraphim.”
“Yes.”
Now that they had all the information Paris needed he charged toward the Hunter and snapped her neck. Her lifeless eyes stared up when he finished her off.
“We could have learned more,” Dante roared.
“No. We have what we need. We know where to find her and we also know Gage is aware of her location, so we have to get to her before it’s too late,” Paris countered.
The vampire shook his head. “But we don’t know how many of his followers are with him. A man in Gage’s position doesn’t travel alone and something tells me that the few hunters we’ve managed to take down aren’t all of them.
“Then we’ll handle them.” Paris would not be deterred, especially when he was so close to finding his lost love.
<><><>
Nina tried to be as quiet as possible as she slid out of the bed. She and Aries had made love several more times and while her body was still exhausted from his expert lovemaking, she couldn’t sleep. Aries snored softly beside her. She paused for a moment to take in his handsome visage. One muscular arm was flung over his eyes and the sheet that was draped over his thighs dipped so low, Nina could see the root of his cock.
She clenched her fist to keep herself from before reaching out and touching him. But as she gazed upon his masculine beauty her heart was breaking. Nina never thought it was possible to fall for someone in so short a time as she had for Aries. She’d been reluctant to love him because she didn’t believe she deserved to be happy and to some extent, she still thought that. But Aries made her wish for something more, for a future filled with love and laughter.
For so many years, years she’d lost track of, Nina lived in a world of misery and pain. Nina had suffered for so long but she’d relished in it because she felt it was what she deserved. So, being with Aries provided Nina enough joy and happiness to last for her remaining days.