by Bonnie Vanak
He was part of them, yet not one of them.
The urge to kill, watch him burn, became overwhelming. With every ounce of strength, Sienna fought it.
I am Seelie Sidhe Fae.
But the rage burned deep inside. Ashamed, terrified, she raced into the living room.
“Matt,” she cried out. “Help me.”
Then a guttural grunt fled her lips.
Cindy glanced up. She screamed, grabbing her children, covering them with her body.
Sienna stretched out her hands in a plea. They glowed red, the tips flaming bright like lit matches.
Her quick reflexes helped her dodge the energy bolt Gabriel suddenly tossed. The males pushed to their feet, shifting into wolves. Teeth bared, growling, they advanced. All but Matt, who’d turned from the window.
Kill them now. Make them suffer. Make them scream.
No. Never.
“Stop it, guys,” Matt said quietly, the tone of a man accustomed to command. “It’s not a pyro demon. There’s no way a pyro demon would ask me for help.”
He held a hand out, keeping the snarling wolves at bay, and looked deep into her eyes.
“Sienna?”
A low cackle tore from her throat, a screech of nails over glass. The wolves whined in pain, but kept advancing as the women fled with the children.
“Sienna. Change back for me.” Urgency laced Matt’s voice. “They can’t see anyone but a pyro demon. C’mon, little pixie, you can do it.”
His voice was deep and soothing, a rope of sanity. Sienna grabbled for that rope, trying to recover who she was, what she was.
You don’t even know what the hell you are, a nasty voice echoed. Maybe you are truly a demon.
“You’re half Draicon. Look at the wolves. They’re part of you, Sienna. Part of the Draicon deep inside. Shift into wolf. You can do it.”
Uncertainty held her back, but she dropped her glowing fingers, the talons sharp as razor wire and glowing hot.
Footsteps, hard and fast. She glanced up, felt her blood race with terror. Raphael, the immortal Draicon Kallan. Death dealer. Remembering how he’d blasted the defunct bomb with a single hand wave, she shrank back. The cold expression told her he wanted to do the same with her. But he held his ground. Raphael glanced at Matt.
“She’s not a pyro demon.”
“Yet she terrified our women.” Raphael’s voice was soft, laced with threat.
“Back off, Rafe.” Matt gave the order as if the immortal wasn’t a powerful being who could kill with a single glance. But the Kallan stepped back, his cold gaze never leaving Sienna.
Matt gave her a gentle smile. “Sienna. Trust me. Look at me. Part of you is just like me, wolf. Feel the wildness of nature, the scent of the earth, the joy of bounding over forest and field. You can do it.”
Taking a tentative step toward him, she hung on to his words as he kept talking. The wolves backed off, their wary gazes trained on her.
Slowly, the fragrance of freshly cut grass and the feel of a cool mountain breeze against her skin overrode the stench of sulfur and the acrid hatred. Sienna closed her eyes, seeing her forest home, a quiet lake, hearing the joyful howls of pack.
When her eyes opened, she stood on four paws, tail lowered, the scents of Draicon flooding her nostrils. Matt crouched down, stroked her head.
“I knew you could do it. That’s my pixie.”
Willing her exhausted body to change, she took on human form, clothing herself. On all fours, her face cupped by Matt’s gentle hand, his blue eyes filled with concern.
The other males shifted back, their expressions furious, their concern for the women in the kitchen, protecting the children.
“I’m sorry,” she told them, her voice hoarse, her throat dry. “I don’t know what happened.”
Silence thick and piercing, quivering in the air. Finally Raphael, the immortal, spoke.
“It’s best you leave, Sienna. Now.”
The curt dismissal shouldn’t have cut so deeply, but she felt it like a slash against her chilled skin.
“I’ll make the arrangements.” Matt looked resolute.
Sienna struggled to her feet. He gripped her arms, his calloused fingers gentle.
“I’m sorry, Matt.” Étienne looked uneasy. “But I won’t risk Cindy and the kids.”
He shot his brother-in-law a fierce look. “She’s not dangerous.”
The Draicon wolves lined up against them, like a firing squad. His family. She’d done this, put a barrier between them.
“I can find a place on my own. A hotel room, until we leave New Orleans,” she began.
“We’ll leave together.” A firm statement, his glare directed at the men. “Better look after the women.”
When the men had gone into the kitchen, Sienna exhaled. The pall of sheer anger hung in the air, clogging her throat, squeezing air from her lungs.
Matt looked down at her, his expression softened.
“I never meant to come between you and your family.”
He trailed a finger down her cheek. “Forget about it. Now I don’t have to suffer their nagging anymore.”
“I don’t know what happened. I was upstairs, thinking about the demon we’d faced in the witch’s house. Trying to get into his mind. You know, trying to see his motives, what he wanted when he’d fled his sand prison. Next thing I knew…”
Stretching out her hands, seeing the pink flesh, she shivered. “I never intended to become one. That’s not the type of glamour I ever want to assume.”
“A very realistic glamour. Enough to convince several powerful male Draicon, including a demon hunter.” Matt stroked her bare arms, sending a different heat surging through her body. A welcoming heat, like a fire burning merrily in a hearth.
Not the cold, dead hatred conjured by the demon whose form she’d assumed.
She collapsed onto the sofa. Matt disappeared into the adjoining kitchen, returned with a glass filled with water. Grateful, she gulped it, relishing the liquid easing her parched throat.
“This proves you’re really Sienna. The preferred drink of pyro demons is gasoline, or flaming apricot brandy as an after-dinner cocktail.”
The light teasing didn’t lift the chill from her shaking shoulders. The glass rattled against the wood coffee table as she set it down.
“What am I, Matt? Fae can glamour and I’m the best, but not like this. Not…” She gulped down a breath. “Not something evil. When I walked into the living room, I saw the children and all I felt was…need. I wanted to hurt them. I couldn’t help it. My fingers itched to shoot flames at them.”
Settling beside her, he cupped her cheek. His palm was warm and rough against her icy skin.
“You’re Sienna McClare. Half Draicon, half Fae. A woman of extraordinary ability who would hurt herself before laying a hand on an innocent. Especially a child.”
“Then explain what happened, because everyone in that kitchen is thinking I’m dangerous.”
“What do you think happened?”
She blew out a frustrated breath. “I don’t know! All I know is I felt consumed by the images I conjured. It wasn’t a mere glamour, but as if I were possessed by what I desired to understand.”
Matt gave her a steady look. “Possessed. Like an actress so consumed by her role, she becomes the character she portrays.”
Sienna sank against an embroidered cushion. “Exactly.”
“But you became wolf. Because deep down, it’s the heart of you. A part you’ve refused to acknowledge and pushed aside. It’s your safe zone, Sienna.”
The blue of his gaze was warm and understanding.
She didn’t want to be wolf. Not a creature with fangs that tore and killed. A kaleidoscope of violent images flashed through her mind, colors swirling, inky dark blood pooling on the ground, thick and viscous. Nothing natural, only a brutal malevolence that sought to maim and kill.
“I know how the demon gained access to your land.” She glanced at the portrait of the proud w
olf over the fireplace mantel. “That’s what I was rushing to tell everyone.”
Matt looked interested. “Go on.”
“I concentrated, saw the form of the demon, and dove into his mind.” Digging into her jeans pocket, she withdrew a few crumbles of the dead moss. “This is the moss you took from the bomb site to try to track the demon. I used the moss to connect to his thoughts. His memories. Connecting with the residual energy, something the Fae taught me. But this…”
Troubled, she tossed down the moss. “I turned into a demon, Matt. Not glamour. It didn’t feel like glamour. It felt real. Why is that? What’s happening to me?”
His touch was soothing and calmed her jagged nerves. “I don’t know. But we’ll find out, eventually. The important thing is, you connected with your wolf when you needed it most.”
That knowledge disturbed her, too. She was Fae. Why couldn’t she shift back into her Fae form? Was it the Draicon influence of the Robichaux den?
It wasn’t important now. Other priorities mattered more.
“He knew how to find your family, Matt, knew you would come here because they’d gained information from the Orb.”
Skin drawn tight over harsh cheekbones, he nodded. “Go on.”
So calm and collected. But cold fury burned in his blue eyes. Sienna gathered her strength.
“Tim didn’t just give out information about you and Adam being SEALs.” Emotion clogged her throat. “When I became the demon, I got into his mind, how he operates. And I realized what happened. Tim must have given the witch all your personal information, as well.”
Muscles went rigid, his hands clenched into fists as if Matt wanted to pound someone. But his voice was calm. “How did the demon break the warding around this land?”
Sienna rubbed her hands on her jeans, trying to erase her revulsion. “He tested the shield. Found a weak spot by the bayou, the edge of the Robichaux territory. The swamp is diffuse with life and dark magick. You can sneak in using a natural element. He came into the land by setting a small fire and then dousing it when he gained access.”
Tensing, he braced his hands on the railing. He looked angry enough to race into the woods and beat the demon to a pulp.
“They want me. Targeted me in Afghanistan. Now they’re targeting me here. Threatening my family.” He turned, brushed a finger down her cheek. “And you. Not on my watch. I’d let them cut out my heart before I’d let that happen.”
“A little drastic, don’t you think?”
A wan smile, steely purpose in those eyes. “Go upstairs, pack your things.”
Anxiety churned in her stomach. Sienna lifted her chin, refusing to show her fear. “I’ll move out right away. Just point me toward a hotel. I even have my own credit card. I may be a hybrid, but hey, I’ve got a great credit score.”
He gave a gentle smile. “I’m taking you with me to the French Quarter. And you’ll be safer there. Here, you’re a moving target.”
“What about your family? Can’t they help?”
A terrible bleakness shadowed his face. “You heard Rafe. I’m on my own.”
She pressed the flat of her palm against his chest and felt his heart beat solid and steady. He was a tower of strength, and yet she sensed the vulnerability. Here, among his family, he, too, felt like a stranger.
“You’re not. I’m here.”
Matt picked up her hand, brushed a kiss on her knuckles. “I want you safe, Sienna.”
“I can take care of myself. If I run into a demon, I’ll just kick him in the groin. Or glamour myself as a fire extinguisher.”
“I’d rather you glamoured yourself into a fireproof safe. I’d teach you to use a gun, but guns don’t work with these bast…sorry, these guys.”
A faint blush reddened his sun-kissed cheeks. Matt looked like an adorable, abashed schoolboy caught smoking in the boys’ room. She found his old-fashioned courtesy charming.
On impulse, she kissed him. His mouth was warm and firm beneath hers. Matt framed her face with his large hands and deepened the kiss, his tongue plunging into her mouth. Delicious heat curled through her body, pulsing between her legs. He groaned and pulled himself away, his body rock hard, his eyes dark and gleaming.
“Whoa. Watch it, little pixie,” he murmured. “Keep that up and I’ll lock you in my bedroom instead of that fireproof safe. Nothing between us but bare skin, my mouth tasting you…all over.”
The hot throbbing increased beneath his heavy-lidded gaze. Sienna tried to control her breathing, set her desire on a back burner. “Where are we staying?”
He traced her lower lip, heat filling his gaze. “A place in the Quarter, an apartment called the Dubois Arms. We were going there today to meet a contact. We’ll crash there, fly out tomorrow. To your cabin.”
“Who are we meeting?” Sienna leaned into his touch.
Matt pressed a finger against her lips. “Secret.”
“Tell me, wolf. We’re in this together, remember?”
“Shay. Quick briefing.” Desire surged, hot and thick, as she rubbed her lips against his finger, her gaze heavy-lidded. “Don’t do that, pixie. No matter how much my family scowls at me, you’ll delay our departure by tempting me to take you upstairs.” Footsteps sounded, and he stepped back.
Cindy came into the living room, her eyes red-rimmed. She’d been crying, and it broke his heart.
“Hey, sis,” he said softly. “It’s okay. I understand. Don’t worry.”
She crossed the distance between them, glanced at Sienna with an apologetic look. “I can’t help but worry about you. You’re my brother. You’re a SEAL. And now, this thing you’re battling…”
His sister’s lovely blue eyes clouded. “I know how powerful the Astra Orb was, Matt. You’re fighting demons. I wish I could help.”
“We’ll be fine,” he assured her.
Her gaze darted to Sienna, and she offered a tremulous smile. Cindy stuck out a slim palm. “I wish we’d had more time to get to know each other. I’m glad Matt found someone, finally.”
As she shook hands, Sienna opened her mouth as if to protest, but Cindy shook her head. “I know. You’re in a state of denial now. But in time, you’ll see. And please know this, no matter what they say…” She rolled her eyes as she glanced over her shoulder. “Despite that their DNA tells them we females can’t protect ourselves, those overprotective males need to accept that you are always welcome in our home.”
Sienna flashed a grateful smile. “Thank you.”
“If you need our help, Sienna, we’re here for you.”
Gratitude swelled inside Matt. He encircled his beloved sister in his arms, gave her a tight hug. “Thanks, sis.”
Cindy kissed his cheek. “Take good care of yourself, Matt. And her.”
As she left the living room, Sienna gave a real smile. “I guess I’d better go pack. I like your sister. I like her a lot.”
He watched her run upstairs, admiring the curve of her strong legs. Scenting someone familiar behind him. Matt clamped down his temper.
“Nice of you to stick up for me.”
“Don’t start on me. Cindy already did. But I have a family to protect.”
“And Sienna’s not dangerous. You dislike her because she’s not one of us. She’s Fae and you think Fae are devious and self-absorbed.” Matt turned and faced his friend, the man who’d urged him to join the navy and undergo the rigorous BUD/S training to become a SEAL. The man he’d trusted above all others.
Who did not trust the woman he was starting to care for.
Wisdom filled Étienne’s gaze. “What about the reason you gave for loathing the Fae, Matt? Now you’ve changed your mind?”
Damn. “She’s not fully Fae. She’s half Draicon, as well. She’s…”
Different. Fascinating. Complex and funny, and tough. Matt’s heart gave a funny jump.
“I told you, she’s got you in knots.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“I know you can. But be careful, Matt,�
� Étienne said softly. “She’s shown us she definitely is not what she seems. That’s mighty powerful magick. She wants the Orb, too. So watch your back, because in the middle of the night, you might find a knife sticking out of it.”
Chapter 10
The apartment complex was in the French Quarter near Jackson Square. Iron latticework grilles adorned the picturesque balconies lining the cobblestoned street. Sienna looked up with wary resignation.
“Terrific. Iron. If the demons don’t get to me, the iron decor will.”
“Don’t touch it. Stay by my side.”
He pressed a worn brass button set on the gate below. The door opened soundlessly. Matt pushed it in. The wood steps creaked beneath their footsteps, and dust motes floated in the streaks of sunshine glinting the watery glass windows. The air was musty and she caught a faint scent of mildew. If anyone did live here, they seldom used the quarters.
On the second floor, a faded Oriental carpet lined the dimly lit hallway. Matt produced a key from his pocket, and unlocked the door that read Apartment 666.
The door opened to a small apartment, a kitchen squeezed into a former closet. A small faded blue rug covered the scuffed hardwood floor. Faded but serviceable furniture sat near a wood coffin that served as a coffee table.
“Where’s Shay? In the coffin?” she quipped.
“Not here yet. We’re early. Under the circumstances, I thought it best to leave as quickly as possible.”
Because of her and the tension she’d created. Sienna felt a sharp stab of regret. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to create friction between you and your family.”
Something flickered in his eyes she’d never seen before, as if a barrier had dropped between them. “Hey, it’s not your fault.” Matt touched her nose playfully. “I needed a good reason to escape them, anyway.”
“They’re your family. You don’t like being around them?” Gods, she’d give anything to have a tight-knit group who cared about her welfare.
“I love them, but they don’t understand the life I’ve chosen with the teams. Why I want to remain a SEAL. They’re all about pack and pack loyalty.”
“And your loyalty is to your team and duty. You’re different.” She was beginning to understand his fierce devotion and the isolation he felt.