Brooke rubbed her hands across her face. She exhaled loudly and turned to them.
“Is there anything I can do?”
Nikolai smiled. “Can you see the green and blue light connecting Galen and me to you?”
Brooke looked around. Her eyes widened. She hadn’t seen the threads of light linking them together, green between her and Galen and blue between her and Nikolai.
She stroked her fingers across the line.
Nikolai froze. It felt as if she sucked his cock. He hadn’t realized the level of sensitivity the link had. He filed that thought away for later.
“Hold on to them,” Galen said.
She frowned.
“You’ll be able to pull us out if we’re in trouble,” Nikolai finished the explanation.
She didn’t say anything, but curled the lines of light around her hands.
Nikolai nearly dropped to his knees.
Brooke’s brows shot up. “This has unexplored potential.” Galen laughed. “It does indeed, though I’m not sure right now is the best time to experiment.”
Her smile dropped. “No, I guess not.”
Galen stole a quick kiss and stepped up to the tangle, close enough to touch. He raised a protective shield. Nikolai mirrored his lover’s movement, but also sent Brooke a quick wink. “We’ll play with this some more once we’re back.” She pressed both lines. “We will.”
Nikolai turned to the snarl and tried to identify a strand of Vampire energy. After minutes of tense waiting he grabbed a line of pure black, pushed his Vampire power into it to stop it from shifting and hung on. He felt Galen do the same with a strand of Naema energy. Together they stepped inside the writhing mass.
Galen clung to his line of pus-white while struggling to keep the protective shield between himself and the rest of the power. As if sensing an intruder, the cables had grown frenzied, battering against his guard, trying to stop any progress.
He’d lost sight of Nikolai. Only their mental connection told him his lover battled the same problems. The resistance became worse and worse the closer they made it to the center.
More than once Galen thought he’d be unable to hold the shield. He couldn’t imagine why somebody from his race would have turned traitor and collaborated with Ferals.
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He needed to find out who it was. Right now he only knew the traitor was male.
Unfortunately, the Naema line he’d grabbed carried nothing familiar. Attempting to find this Naema’s signature would be like trying to identify a specific star in the night sky with the naked eye.
Galen pushed the thought aside and concentrated on his shield. Sweat ran down the side of his face and pooled in his lower back. His arms ached as if he’d been lifting an impossible weight for hours, rather than clinging to a wildly bucking rope of power.
Brooke squeezed the connection between them and strength flooded him. Galen froze for a moment. She fed him power through their link. Nikolai had received some as well, making it a little easier to battle through the last few feet.
Everything fell silent. No more battering against his shield, the line lay still in his hand.
They’d reached the eye of the storm, the center of the tangle.
Galen lowered his shield with care. Nikolai followed.
They stood in an endless, white room. Galen could see no walls or doors, only a white floor and ceiling. Nothing else.
“What do we do now?” he asked Nikolai.
His friend shrugged and studied their surroundings. “I’d expected to find something, anything.” He held up his limp black cable. It hung a couple of feet in the air and disappeared out of sight into the endless room.
If they attempted to follow the cable to its source, the encircling web would spring back to life and most likely stun them severely, if not kill them outright.
He couldn’t see his connection to Brooke. “Can you see your link to Brooke?” His friend twisted with the same panic he had building in his gut.
“No.” Nikolai dropped to his knees and patted the floor.
Galen realized the floor was covered in a layer of white fog, fog so thick it had looked as if he’d stood on solid ground. As soon as the discovery hit, his feet dropped through the fog onto a sandy, boggy ground.
Darkness spread across the room, the lights dimming. Galen caught Nikolai’s gaze.
This couldn’t be good.
“What the Jade is going on here?” Nikolai cursed. “This resembles nothing we’d anticipated.”
Galen agreed. “It’s as if we’re being duped, like all this is some sort of elaborate camouflage to protect the source.”
Nikolai growled. “How do we break it?”
“I’m not quite sure, but let’s try usual glamour breakers first, before we worry about doing something exotic.”
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Nikolai nodded. Galen ran through his repertoire of illusion-breaking spells and fired a couple at the walls. The darkening white walls flickered and the colored energy from the tangle became visible for a moment.
Nikolai muttered under his breath and slung an incantation at the fake walls. A loud bang sounded and the wall flickered again.
“Together,” Galen said.
They stood back-to-back and flung spells at the illusion. Galen pushed as much power as he could into the act while keeping some of his strength in reserve.
They had no idea what would come next.
This time a loud crack sounded and the fake walls disappeared. As expected, they stood in the center of the writhing mass. Both still held on to the original line, no longer limp in their hands but under tension and connected to the boggy ground they stood on, covered by fog.
Nikolai pulled out a knife and tried to saw through his cable. The blade turned hot and melted on the spot. “Metaphorical knives it is.” Galen pulled up his line and studied it in more detail. It still looked disgusting, but it no longer pulsed. He tugged and followed it until it disappeared in the white fog. He waved to disperse the barrier.
Jackpot.
Four thick power strands came out of the ground like roots. Galen held the pus-white one, Nikolai gripped the black one. The last two strands of power were gray and muddy brown. They followed along the ground and disappeared into the web, the first two ran through their hands before hitting the tangle.
“Any suggestions?” Galen asked.
“Cutting didn’t work. What about using opposites?” Galen’s brows shot up. “Interesting concept. We have to decipher the original intention first.”
Nikolai shrugged. “Ferals have a limited emotional palette. There aren’t that many choices. The Naema could throw a wrench in the game, he’s the unpredictable part.” Galen rested a hand on his shoulder. Together they studied the dark black strand Nikolai held, sharing their thoughts. “Big surprise there, anger and hate,” Nikolai said.
Galen raced through his memories, back to the day Nikolai and he’d realized the connection between them. They’d met in a bar and had taken a shine to each other the minute their eyes met. Galen had had only a handful of encounters with men, usually more drawn to women, but Nikolai had captured his attention.
They’d shared a couple of drinks, the sexual tension growing until neither man wanted to resist any longer. Nikolai had taken control, taking Galen on a journey like nothing he’d ever experienced.
The next morning they’d split with a kiss and a wave, not expecting to see each other ever again.
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Nikolai cupped Galen’s nape. “What a joke,” he said. “Within hours of separating from you I’d turned so hard, I could’ve used my cock as a hammer. Nobody but you would do.”
Galen kissed him. “I’m so very glad it was me.”
Nikolai understood he had found his lifemate, the other part of his soul, torn asunder at the beginning of time, and he’d gone on the hunt. Galen had been highly aroused as well, but Naemas had nothing comparable, so he’d suffe
red and continued on his journey.
A day and a half later, he decided that he couldn’t stand it anymore and turned around. It took them three days to find each other. After satisfying the physical need for another three days, Nikolai had explained the connection.
Sex established the bond, but both sides had to make a conscious decision to mate otherwise the union would fade.
Galen hadn’t thought twice, despite only knowing Nikolai for such a short time.
The Vampire complemented him in so many ways. The thought of letting go had hurt like hell. There had never been a question on Nikolai’s side. Finding a lifemate was a once in a lifetime chance at happiness.
Their mating that night, the confirmation of their link, would be something neither man would ever forget.
Nikolai grabbed Galen around the neck and pulled him close for a mind-bending kiss. The strand dissolved. Taking his time, he dusted off his hand once he finished the kiss.
He bent down and picked up the muddy-brown strand. This one vibrated slightly between his fingers. He met Galen’s gaze. “Rage?” Galen tightened his grip on Nikolai’s shoulder and grimaced. “I believe that would be too close to anger, which we’ve already had. What about hunger? Ferals always crave blood.”
Nikolai shook his head and added a second hand to the strand. “Greed.” The strand’s vibrations increased.
Galen didn’t have to go far, remembering the morning after they’d spent the first night with Brooke. She’d filled the gap both of them had carried in their hearts. For one brief moment, before the problems began, they’d been fulfilled and content.
They thrust the memory into the strand and it dissolved to dust.
Next came the gray. Nikolai picked it up and got only a faint impression. Galen gripped the strand next to Nikolai.
A jolt shot through them, but it was too vague to give more information.
“It doesn’t feel pure Vampire,” Nikolai said.
“Nor only Naema,” Galen replied.
Nikolai’s lips tightened. “They combined powers, but I’m still not sure what emotion they trapped here.”
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A lighting strike shot through Galen.
Brooke.
There was still a barrier between her and them, which stopped free-flowing mental communication, but she could read some of their emotions through the link.
“What is it, baby?”
She struggled, but he got one word. “Traitor.”
Nikolai nodded. “He betrayed everybody, not just Naemas, but Vampires and humans as well. If the Ferals start another war, nobody will be safe.”
“Betrayal and deception,” Galen murmured.
He didn’t have to dig deep to find a memory. The day he introduced Nikolai as his partner, his lifemate, to his family had been engraved in his mind. To say they’d been unhappy with his choice would be an understatement. They’d demanded he break it off or at least meet Nikolai in secret to protect the family’s standing.
Galen hadn’t wanted to hide his love. His honesty and loyalty to Nikolai had cost him his parents. They didn’t want to be connected to a son who affiliated with a Vampire.
Nikolai curled his arms around his waist, bathing Galen in his love.
He took a deep breath and pushed his dedication and loyalty into the line. The dust covered both their hands.
“One left.” Nikolai gripped the pus-white strand next Galen. Each dissolved energy band lessened the frenzy of the surrounding tangle.
“I don’t feel anything,” Nikolai said.
Galen nodded. “It’s pure Naema.”
Nikolai let go of the strand. Galen still felt him in his head, but he couldn’t help the identification. What did this Naema want? Why would he turn traitor and work with Ferals?
Naemas tended to stick to themselves and had limited contact to other species. As the average age for a Naema was five to six hundred years, they tended to amass fortunes. And social standing.
Naemas had a low birth rate and were cliquier than a high school senior class.
Families grew through profitable marriages and business contracts. The further the family line could be traced back, the snobbier and more self-important the members.
Moving up from one of the lesser families was nigh impossible.
Galen met Nikolai’s gaze. His lover nodded.
What the Jade was the opposite of ambition? Galen rubbed his face. They’d already pushed being content and fulfilled into the malicious tangle. What emotion was left?
He went deeper. This Naema had betrayed everything. He didn’t care about the destruction his action may result in, didn’t think about the consequences.
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Nikolai took his hand. For a moment Galen sank into his partner’s eyes. He could literally see their connection like a shining light linking them.
The care for each other and Brooke, the need to free the trafficked humans and prevent an all-out war slid inside the power strand, but it didn’t dissolve into dust.
Instead energy sparks exploded off it, making them jump back to avoid being burned.
He managed to hang on. The strand now bucked like an unruly Santo-Horse, but he didn’t want to release Nikolai.
Lightning flashed, hitting the ground with a hiss.
They dodged and weaved as if in a ring, but they didn’t let go. Galen ground his teeth as the strand grew hot, burning his palm. He hung on.
The bastard thinks he can throw us off with a bit of pain? Think again.
He struggled to keep his anger and frustration separate, but he managed to push more love and compassion into the bucking energy. It gave one last mighty push and exploded, showering Galen and Nikolai in dust.
For a second Galen saw the inside of a ship, crew running around like headless Gota-Chucks, screams coming from the back.
Then he was back in his own body, in the bed aboard the Mercy, Brooke clenching hard around his cock. It had felt as if their little trip had taken ages, but it had been only a few minutes.
Brooke screamed.
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Chapter Ten
It had been staggering to watch Galen and Nikolai walk through something that was ultimately her mind. Once they’d stepped inside the tangle, she’d been unable to follow. She got snippets of emotions, but nothing tangible.
They had opened themselves up to her, had invited her into their memories, but Brooke still held back, hesitant about the intimacy of such a close link. She caught one word, which seemed to have intense meaning, lifemate, and wanted to know more. Did lifemate explain why the connection between the two of them felt as if their souls had melded?
The last energy line exploding filled her with relief, but she didn’t get a chance to process the change. A deluge of images and emotions flooded her mind, drowning out the here and now. She tried to stem the wave, but torrents tore down every block she put up.
In the end she couldn’t stand it anymore and screamed.
Around the edges of the tsunami overwhelming her, Galen pulled her tight and Nikolai covered her back.
Brooke! Galen’s voice shouted in her head. Let it run, don’t try to control it!
Was he insane? Let this madness run rampant?
Brooke pushed against the swell, fought against the memories of crewmembers, people she thought of as friends, screaming while Ferals fed off them, blood splattering.
They didn’t just drink blood, they bathed in it.
Brooke struggled as hard as she could, but her head felt one hyperspace jump from exploding. Her heart pounded in her chest and sweat poured down her face.
How could she stop this?
Galen kissed her hard enough to make her lips bleed. “You need to let go,” Galen repeated again. “Otherwise the blocked memories will overwhelm you. You could end up in a coma.”
“If you don’t let go, I’ll have to bite you to pull you out. Let go now, before it is too late,” Nikolai adde
d.
Brooke felt the worry racing through them, the fear she wouldn’t trust what they said.
The last was the deciding factor. They had done everything in their power to help her, had been open with her once she’d decided to leave the kidnapping behind.
She trusted Galen and Nikolai.
Brooke stopped fighting her memories.
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She clung to both Galen and Nikolai, who’d curled even more tightly around her.
They stayed close to her in real life and in her head.
She relaxed as much as she could. The memories raced through her, but she stopped trying to focus on anything specific. Brooke hoped once this was through, everything would settle back to where it needed to be, and she would find the memories in the correct place, making sense.
It didn’t mean waiting for the wave to finish was much fun. Her heart hammered and her head had reached launch point. She gritted her teeth. She couldn’t hold on much longer.
They held her even closer, making sure as much skin as possible touched. It was difficult to breathe with both holding her so tightly, but Brooke didn’t care. She was too grateful for the closeness.
Her nails dug into Galen’s shoulder. “Galen.”
“We’ve got you, Brooke, hang in there. Not much longer, don’t give up.” His words helped her cling to consciousness. He was right. The flood, which had washed away everything she was, began to slow to a fast-running river, and then to a trickle until nothing new came rushing in.
Brooke exhaled and unclenched her muscles. They were still connected, but Brooke’s arousal had drained away. She wanted them surrounding her, but wasn’t up for hot monkey-sex.
“We’ve got you, milaya,” Nikolai murmured at her ear. He moved back, leaving her body and walking into the washroom. Only then did she realize their arousal had diminished as well.
Galen chuckled, shadows under his eyes. “Believe me, this is in direct response to your feelings. We want you with us all the way.”
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