Lost Paradise

by Tara Fox Hall

  Lost Paradise

  Promise Me #8

  by Tara Fox Hall

  Published by

  Melange Books, LLC

  White Bear Lake, MN 55110

  www.melange-books.com

  Lost Paradise, Copyright 2014 Tara Fox Hall

  ISBN: 978-1-61235-847-5

  Names, characters, and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Published in the United States of America.

  Cover Design by Caroline Andrus

  LOST PARADISE

  by Tara Fox Hall

  While the vampire Devlin rejoices at news of his impending progeny with Sar, werecougar Theo braces for more challenges to his Ranked title, content that after Sarelle has the dhamphir child Devlin will be out of their lives forever. Yet when The Lust reappears, Sar’s world again turns upside down as old hatreds make themselves known, resulting in a steamy affair with the weresnake Lash, a new friendship with the werecoyote Serena, and the severing of Sar from the last remains of her old human life in favor of a new Paradise with Devlin.

  To TOR, for all her tireless work helping me edit the Promise Me series.

  Thank you for being my friend.

  Table of Contents

  "Lost Paradise"

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  About the Author

  Previews

  Chapter One

  When I woke up the next morning, my werecougar lover Theo was still sleeping beside me.

  The problem was likely all that scotch my stepfather had plied him with in celebration of us becoming parents. Deciding to wake him after breakfast was ready, I left him sleeping and went out to my hungry and vocal pets.

  After I got the sausage cooking more than a half hour later, I began to be concerned. Usually Theo was in the kitchen by now with plate in hand, waiting for the first piece to be done. But he hadn’t emerged from the bedroom. Hoping he wasn’t sick, I went in to wake him.

  “Theo,” I said firmly, shaking him.

  He didn’t respond.

  Even if the scotch were to blame, his body would’ve metabolized it by now.

  “Theo!” I said loudly, then felt for his heartbeat. It was beating, but slowly, much too slowly. His skin was hot to the touch, burning with fever. He wasn’t sleeping; he was unconscious.

  He’d been poisoned! Theo had almost the same symptoms my vampire paramour Danial had when he had been poisoned years ago. Danial had mentioned the assassins after him and Theo only days before, when we had celebrated our recent Oathing—a vampire version of marriage—with a late honeymoon at Letchworth State Park. One of those assholes had gotten to Theo somehow. But this time, I couldn’t save the day. My blood that had once helped a stricken and dying Danial was useless to Theo.

  Panicked, I ran for the phone. I needed sorcery to undo this. I needed Titus! Thank God for Danial having a brother who wielded considerable power…and that Devlin was also my lover, under the terms of the same Oath that bound me to his brother. Devlin’s demon sorcerer was sure to know an antidote. At this moment, it didn’t matter if Titus ate people so long as he saved Theo’s life.

  I clutched the phone, started to dial Hayden, then stopped. Was it better to just teleport to Titus at Devlin’s estate, or call him first? What if this was some type of were poison? Could it affect other weres besides cougars…Oh God, Elle had been around Theo all night. God, please let her not be sick, or dead!

  I called Danial’s cell immediately. It went to his voice mail.

  “Shit! Danial! It’s Sar. Something’s wrong with Theo. Shit! I’m going to try Terian.”

  I dialed Terian, Danial’s half demon/half faerie bodyguard. He answered after seven rings, his voice heavy with sleep. “Hello?”

  “Terian!” I screamed. “Get to Elle now! I think she’s been poisoned!”

  “What the hell?” he yelled. “What?”

  “Keep her away from other weres if she’s sick!” I gasped, hyperventilating.

  “Theo’s comatose, he’s not responding. I’m taking him to Titus now!”

  “I’ll meet you there!” Terian replied, and hung up.

  I held onto Theo and teleported, ending up in the kitchen at Hayden. We scared the hell out of some blond woman.

  She ran out of the room screaming, “Hayden is under attack! Help! Help!”

  “Help!” I echoed at the top of my lungs. “Titus! Devlin! Help! Help!”

  There was the sound of feet running down the stairs, then Devlin was before me, his dark shadow of a guard Lash right behind him. He lunged in front of Devlin and faced me, his gun drawn.

  “Get back!” I yelled at him. “This might be were poison! I need Titus!”

  Lash—a were himself, of the cottonmouth persuasion—stopped in his tracks at the word ‘poison’. To my relief, he nodded and backed out of the room, his non-human snake eyes on Theo. Devlin came past him to my side and crouched down. “What happened to him?” Devlin asked, the expression on his handsome face half worried, half irritated.

  “Theo’s unconscious,” I gasped, then toppled over myself onto the floor.

  “Sar!” Devlin yelled, all traces of his arrogance gone. He punched buttons on his cell, then screamed into it, “Titus, get your ass here now! Sar’s sick! It may be poison!”

  Seconds later, the demon Titus was beside me, a red light emanating from his hand bathing my skin. “Poison for sure,” Titus said with a lot of hostility. “Were poison. It’s affecting Sar because of the child she’s carrying.”

  “Heal her!” Devlin demanded. “Do whatever you have to. Don’t let her die!”

  “I can’t do anything,” Titus said, cutting Devlin short. “The cure might hurt the baby. Sar will be fine if she rests. She’ll just feel as if she has a cold. I need to work on Theo, though, Dev. He’ll die if he isn’t treated soon.”

  Devlin glanced down at Theo, then his gaze beheld me a second before his golden eyes looked away.

  “Save him, please,” I beseeched him. “Take my blood, if you need it—”

  “Save him, Titus,” Devlin said with a sigh. “She might die if he dies.”

  “Rest, Sar,” Titus said, his deep voice soothing. “I’ll draw out some of the poison that’s in Theo. It’s most likely just cougar-targeted, so everyone else should be fine even if some of Danial’s men were around Theo at your house.”

  Elle…I moved to get up, then lay back, sickened. Devlin crouched near me, murmuring soothing words as Titus worked on Theo, incanting some spells that seemed to have no effect. Then, miraculously, Theo stirred slightly. He sat up at once, opening his grey blue eyes which fast became incredulous.

  “What the hell? How did I get here?”

  I went weak with relief. Devlin and Titus moved back, rising to their feet.

  Theo noticed me prone beside him. At once, he pulled me up into his arms, cradling me. “What happened to us?” he asked. “Are you okay?”

  “You were poisoned,” Titus said in his low gra
ting tone. “You were near death when Sar brought you here. I gave you an antidote which will draw it out of you. You should be fine in a few days.”

  “I’ll pay you,” Theo said stiffly, not smiling. “Thanks.”

  “I’ll send the bill to Danial,” Titus said disdainfully, his red eyes unfriendly.

  Terian appeared, holding Elle in his arms. “Hurry, Titus!”

  I let out a scream, Theo started, and Devlin rolled his eyes in disgust. “Just great!” he said accusingly, glaring at Theo. “How many others did you infect?”

  “How is she?” I asked hysterically, my eyes all for Elle. She looked pale as death.

  “Elle!” Theo cried, staggering as he tried to get to his feet.

  “Keep back from her,” Titus warned. “You’ll re-infect yourself, cougar.”

  “She’s conscious, just barely,” Terian said worriedly. “Danial is beside himself. What happened?”

  “Poison,” Devlin said, getting to his feet. “Meant for Theo, probably.”

  “Give her to me,” Titus said, motioning to Terian. “I’ve got to make more of the antidote. Come with me to my lab, son, and I’ll show you what to do. Odds are, you’ll be making it again soon.”

  My skin crawled at his surety. Theo had more than one hit out on him. What if Titus was right. What if this happened again?

  “You’ll be fine, Theo,” Devlin stated, glaring at his rival, whose eyes were all for Titus as he took Elle downstairs. “Go home and get some clothes on before we all go blind. I’m going back to bed.”

  “Here.” I handed Theo my blue velvet bathrobe. He took it, covering himself.

  Devlin helped me to my feet. “Did you get anything in the mail, Sarelle?” he said, his worried eyes searching mine. “This poison came in contact with you somehow. You and Elle wouldn’t have gotten sick just from being near Theo unless he had some on his skin.”

  An enemy had tried to poison Theo with something similar only last Christmas, sending a package for Theo through the mail to my house. The deadly missive had been intercepted, barely. “Nothing, there was nothing—”

  “It was the cat,” Theo interrupted, running his hand through his hair. “I’ll bet anything it was on the cat I found in our woodshed.”

  “Danial’s new cat?” Devlin said angrily. “Someone put poison on it? Bad enough they abandoned it in mid-winter—”

  “How could they do that?” I asked. “Wouldn’t the cat just have licked it off and died?”

  “Remember, it was sick,” Theo said bitterly. “It’s probably known you like cats, that you have some as pets. Someone left it there for you to find, figuring you would bring it inside to take care of and I would be exposed. After I found it, we kept it in the garage because it was sick. To ensure your cats didn’t get sick, I washed my hands and changed my clothes after I took care of it every time. That must have delayed the poison affecting me. I haven’t felt sick or weak until I woke up on the floor here.”

  “Makes sense,” Devlin supposed. “But risky. What if it got killed before giving the poison to you or managed to groom itself enough to get the poison off?”

  “There’s been nothing else out of the ordinary,” Theo said, rubbing his eyes. “This explains why the cat had a cough when all its tests were negative. The vet said he wasn’t sure exactly what had caused it, that maybe the cat had inhaled some chemical?”

  “This stinks of that bastard Robert,” Devlin interrupted. “You know he’s after you—”

  “I know,” Theo said irritably. He took my hand. “Let’s go home.”

  “Please have Terian call us the moment Elle awakens,” I asked Devlin.

  He nodded. “Get some rest. I’ll call you later.” He turned and walked back upstairs.

  Lash went to follow him, then stopped suddenly, watching Theo and I. Theo growled at him. Lash just smiled a little, then looked pointedly at me for a long moment, a smirk on his face.

  I reddened. Since the early days of my current pregnancy—and the previous one with Danial’s half vampire child, I had been afflicted with The Lust, a desire that hit me in odd moments. It compelled me to rash actions of a sexual nature, usually eliciting violence along with the coupling. Lash had been the target only weeks ago, an event the weresnake clearly hoped to rub in everyone’s face as much as possible.

  Theo growled louder, his warning obvious. Lash shot him an easy grin, baring his fangs, gave me a final look, then went after Devlin.

  I teleported us home to find the house stinking of burned meat.

  I ran into the kitchen, and moved the burned sausage off the stove. It was little more than a black mess in the bottom of the pan. I put it in the sink with detergent and water to soak, then looked for the bacon. I found only the chewed remains of the empty wrapper on the floor. While we’d been gone, the cats had knocked it off the counter, and the dogs Ghost and Darkness had eaten it.

  “I hope you guys are proud of yourselves,” I said sarcastically to them. “There will be no more treats for either of you today.”

  Looking at the stove, it all seemed too much suddenly. Resigned, I got out some more bacon and sausage, and then eggs and bread for toast. “What and how many?” I asked Theo tiredly.

  Theo finished letting the dogs outside, then turned to me. “You don’t have to cook, Sar. We just had a traumatic event.”

  “Good,” I said gladly, grabbing some cereal bowls. “Cheerios or Raisin Bran?”

  * * * *

  “I haven’t ever seen you eat so much,” Theo said as he watched me finish my cereal. “That’s your second bowl.”

  I laughed. “Pregnancy tends to do that.”

  He reached out to take my hand in his. “You did good,” Theo said softly. “You saved me, Sar.”

  “Titus saved you,” I corrected gently. “I just got you to him.”

  “He wouldn’t have saved me if you hadn’t asked him to,” Theo said roughly. “Not for any price. He dislikes me as much as Lash does.”

  Theo’s bitter words sunk in as I finished my cold but filling breakfast.

  Robert, the third Ranked—a hierarchy of those who made their living from jobs of everything from bodyguards to assassins, would likely be trying again, once he found out his attempt on Theo’s life had failed. Rumor was—à la Danial—that Robert was eager to take Theo’s number two spot in the Ranking. Usually that occurred after a challenge of some kind, and a fight to the death. But it seemed like Robert meant to take his prize by any means necessary…no matter how many other lives were collateral damage.

  If I didn’t know Titus, or he wasn’t my friend, Theo would have died. I’d initially balked at Titus, worried at his reputation as a poisoner, his association with Leri—an evil witch who’d threatened me—and his somewhat scary admission that he thought of me as kin now because I’d been exposed to some demon blood from his son, Terian. But after this morning, I no longer cared what Titus was, or what he was into. He’d saved Theo. From now on, I was going to be nice to him and turn a blind eye to what he had to do to live. He couldn’t help what he was. And I needed him now more than ever.

  * * * *

  Despite Titus’s grave words, there were no more problems with poison or attempts at harming Theo in the next four weeks. What did quickly become a problem was Theo’s over-protectiveness of me in my condition. I didn’t lose my temper until he told me I wasn’t to walk the dogs anymore.

  “I’m pregnant, not an invalid!” I yelled in frustration. “I want to try to keep in shape. Already I can’t fit into my jeans—”

  “I’ll buy you a treadmill,” Theo said smoothly. “You are not walking outside, not until the ice is gone.”

  “Fine,” I said reluctantly.

  True to his word, Theo came home with a treadmill the next night, and set it up for me. I got used to using it in time, and it was easier than walking outside on ice, though I missed my walks with the dogs.

  In all other ways, my current pregnancy was the same as my previous one. The Lust pr
esented itself regularly, though it was Devlin who now raised it and sated it without fail. He got great pleasure out of the latter. Though I still found that disquieting, I was grateful for his help, as it allowed me to control my otherwise out of control desires. Better yet, The Lust did not present itself with either Theo or Danial again.

  Some of that may have been the chaste way with which Danial acted toward me now, or the restraint that Theo showed in the few times we were intimate. I didn’t call attention to either behavior, content to cross my fingers and hope that my luck held. Lash still shadowed me whenever I visited Hayden, unless I was with Devlin. I wanted whatever miracle had allowed me to elude a repeat encounter with him to continue for the remainder of my pregnancy.

  Not that I hadn’t grown used to Lash in all the hours we’d spent in each other’s company. I was accustomed to his silence and stillness by now. His reptilian snake eyes still made me uneasy, but he was never rude or coarse, as he had been to Danial that one morning in Letchworth. He never mentioned to me that we had been intimate at all, or acted as if I was anything other than a friend’s girlfriend he was watching over. As time had passed, I had relaxed sufficiently to feel easy in his presence, enough so I began to talk to him when he was in the mood to talk, which wasn’t often.

  One afternoon, I noticed he’d finally neared the end of his book about the Tibetan Dead. “What’s it about?” I asked, filing another birth certificate in the correct drawer.

  “It’s about life after death,” Lash hissed, not looking up from the page. “About what the Tibetans believe.”

  Why don’t you vague that up for me some more, Lash? “What do they believe?” I asked, holding back my retort.

  “Why do you want to know?” Lash inquired, looking up finally.