They finally found the secluded resort where they were supposed to meet Kierland and those from the unit who had come with him. The Watchmen had been held up by another Infettato emergency, but Kellan had gotten out ahead of the others and was waiting for them in the private bungalow he’d reserved for the Watchmen. When Noah mentioned to Ashe that it seemed a bizarre location for a luxury resort and spa, Damon had laughed, saying, “This is probably Hollywood’s idea of roughing it.”
Noah was glad to see that the bungalow was set back from the main building, almost buried in the woods, making it easy for them to get in and out without attracting a lot of attention. Once they were ready to perform the Death-Spell, they could get to the site they’d chosen in about twenty minutes. On their return, the privacy of the bungalow’s location meant they wouldn’t have to deal with any long explanations if they came back looking like the walking wounded.
He parked in one of the empty spaces beside the Spanish-style cottage, and Kellan opened the door, the excited grin on his face putting a bad feeling in Noah’s gut. The Lycan’s blue-green eyes were bright with anticipation as Noah introduced him to Will, the idiot probably looking forward to making himself a nuisance.
“It’s nice to meet another one of the Watchmen in Noah’s unit,” Will said to Kellan, “though I probably shouldn’t call you Watchmen.” With a smile, she asked, “Have you decided on a new name yet?”
“Still no name,” Kellan replied as they made their way inside. “I’ve offered all kinds of great suggestions. Grim Reapers. The Death Dealers and the Ass Kickers. But they shot them down, like all the others.” He pushed out a dramatic sigh and shook his head. “I’m telling you they lack imagination.”
“Obviously,” Willow murmured, stifling a laugh.
Noah slumped down onto one end of a sofa and leaned his head back. Damon took the other end, Ashe sprawled in the chaise and Willow took the chair next to Kellan’s. While they waited for the others to get there, Kellan regaled her with stories about Noah. The bastard even blabbed about the incident at the local village back in England a few months ago, which was how Noah had come by the scar on his ribs.
With a groan, Noah said, “Kellan, enough already.”
“I’m only just getting started,” the Lycan rumbled. “I tried to warn you in my texts that there would be hell to pay. I made it clear that you could either tell me who your mystery babe was, or pay the price in blood, sweat and tears.”
Thankfully, the jackass was forced to shut up when Kierland and the others finally arrived, the Watchmen pouring into the bungalow’s central sitting room in a stream of grim-looking soldiers. Buried were the lovesick smiles and easy laughter that were common among this group of warriors. These were men who had been through hell together in the past year, and they were ready to end it.
While the others spread about the room, Gideon Granger propped his shoulders against one of the textured walls, waiting until all the introductions had been made, then arched a sable brow at his brother. “You lot look like you’ve seen some action.”
Ashe ran a hand over his short scrub of hair and blew out a rough breath. “We had a run-in with some Walkers on our way here. And like idiots, we got caught without any ammo.”
“How’d you get away?” Kierland asked, taking a seat in one of the other chairs.
“We found a church, filled up an empty cartridge of bullets and knocked the bastards out with Kellan’s new gun.”
The Lycan gave a satisfied smile at the mention of his handiwork. “Sweet.”
They talked for a moment about Kellan’s gun, and then Kierland got things rolling. “We have news,” he said, settling his pale green gaze on Noah. “We got a call on our way here. It was from the unit in California.”
Fear gripped his insides and squeezed. “Were they attacked? What happened to my brothers?”
“There was no attack, and Bryce and his family are fine,” Kierland explained. “But Jackson is missing.”
Noah narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean by missing?”
Kierland’s expression was grim. “He messed with the security cameras and snuck out of the compound. Took his bag with him, and stole a few weapons from the unit.”
“Are you telling me that he fucking ran?” Noah snarled, unable to believe Jackson could be that stupid. “What was he thinking?”
“I don’t know what to say, man.” Kellan’s voice was sympathetically rough. “Sometimes we younger brothers can be a serious pain in the ass.”
“Noah, Jackson’s a smart guy,” Willow murmured, obviously trying to make him feel better.
He shoved his hair back from his face and made a thick sound in his throat. “Christ, he couldn’t be that smart. The know-it-all is going to get his ass killed.”
“The unit is searching all the surrounding counties,” Kierland said. “They’re going to keep looking for him. If we’re lucky, it won’t be long before they pick him up again.”
“Why hasn’t he called me?” He moved to his feet and started to pace, the panic nearly suffocating him, his throat so tight it felt like choking. “Stupid question,” he ground out. “I know why. He doesn’t trust me. I’m the one who ordered them into protective custody, and now he doesn’t trust me!” He stopped and shoved the heels of his palms against his eyes, terrified he was going to lose everyone who was important to him. Everyone who mattered. “Christ, I screwed up.”
“Noah, this isn’t your fault,” Willow told him. “You did what you thought was right.”
“Yeah, that should have been my first clue. Every time I try to do the right thing, it turns to shit.” He paused, then slowly locked his gaze on Will. “So maybe I should just say to hell with it and do what I want for a change.”
Her lips parted, and he watched her eyes go wide as she felt the savage force of his need slam into her.
“Hold it right there,” Damon rasped. “You know that’s not gonna happen, Winston.”
A low, guttural growl vibrated in Noah’s chest. “Stay out of this, demon.”
“What’s going on?” The question came from fellow Watchman Aiden Shrader, the tiger-shifter’s amber-colored eyes bright with curiosity.
Damon rubbed his jaw as he looked around the room. “I think this is probably a good time to tell you guys the search for a virgin is over. And before any of you say something asinine, it’s not me.”
“Who the hell is it?” demanded a rumble of male voices.
The demon didn’t bother to say anything in response. Instead, he just looked at Will…and smiled.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
HOW CAN A person be this tired?
Sienna leaned against the wall of the motel room that Calder had booked for the night, trying to find an ounce of energy. She needed to organize her thoughts. To find some way to make sense of the nightmare she was in.
How had she gotten to this point? How was it even possible that she had become this destructive, ghostlike crone who caused others pain?
The air in the room, which Calder and his men complained was too warm, seemed cold against her skin, making her bones rattle, her soul more fractured than whole. Despite the bright glow of light from the lamps, she felt lost in darkness. She knew something had to be done; there was no time for weakness. Not when Willow needed her help if she was going to survive. But Sienna was locked into this damn union with Calder, having sworn in blood to carry out her half of the bargain.
At this point, taking her own life would be the best thing she could do for her sister.
The promise of death wouldn’t have scared her, had she thought she would be with her baby. Her beautiful little Angie. But there was no doubt she would be going to hell. And once there, she wouldn’t even have Mike, the condemned human souls kept separate from those of the clans.
Closing her eyes, she tried to listen in on Calder’s conversation with his men, wondering what was being said on the other side of the room. There’d been so much to do since she’d woken up in that field the
demon had blasted her to, along with the two Casus, that they’d only just rejoined Calder. As his voice rose in anger, she could hear the Casus leader demanding an explanation for the death of their comrade, and knew her accounting would come next. She also knew it wouldn’t be pleasant. Now that Calder had completely regained his strength, he would only push her harder to get him what he wanted.
God, Willow. What am I going to do?
“You failed me, witch.”
She gasped at the close sound of Calder’s deep voice, and opened her eyes to find him standing only a few feet away. With a hard swallow, she said, “I couldn’t have anticipated the interference of the shape-shifters the other night. The entire situation was out of control. To take Winston, I would have had to kill him. And I was under the impression you wanted him alive.”
“Don’t be smart with me,” he warned, coming closer, his foul breath nearly making her gag. “Why didn’t you tell me about the demon who’s helping him?”
She tilted her head back, holding his stare. “Because I didn’t know about him.”
Without any warning, he backhanded her so hard the sound echoed through the room, and she felt the hot trickle of blood slipping over her chin. It wasn’t the first time he’d struck her, but she vowed it would be the last.
“And your sister?” he demanded.
Pressing the back of her hand to her throbbing lip, Sienna said, “How was I to know she would be with Winston? They haven’t seen each other in years.”
“From what I hear, they seem to be making up for lost time.” He gave her a slow, calculating smile. “Which means he’ll care about what happens to her.”
Shaking her head, she fisted her hands at her sides. “I am not involving her in this.”
The Casus laughed. “She’s already involved.”
“I won’t do it,” she rasped, knowing exactly what he would ask of her. “I won’t help you hurt her.”
Before he could respond, the cell phone in his pocket rang. With a disgusted glance in her direction, he took the call, a satisfied smile spreading across his face as he listened. When he finally returned the phone to his pocket, he looked at her and murmured, “One down, two to go.”
Dear God. She knew what that meant. Despite the Watchmen’s wholesale destruction of the shades in Meridian, there were many shades who had previously escaped and returned to this world, like the one who’d been killed in that field in Mississippi. Though Calder preferred to keep the ones who’d escaped through the portal by his side, the other Casus were still his to command, and his command had been simple. He wanted them watching the Winstons.
“Where you have failed,” he said in a low voice, “others have succeeded, Sienna.”
“What happened?” she asked, praying that it wasn’t Noah who’d been captured. Praying that her sister was still alive.
“I’ve had a small group of Casus keeping an eye on the compound where the Watchmen took the other two Winston brothers. This afternoon, the youngest must have decided he’d had enough of their protection. He broke out of the compound and escaped.”
She closed her eyes, feeling as if she would be ill. She knew Jackson. Remembered him as an adorable boy who had blushed every time she’d looked at him. And now she was partly responsible for his death.
Grabbing his jacket from the foot of the bed, Calder pinned her with a chilling glare. “I’m going to meet them. In the meantime, I want you to go after Noah Winston again. And this time, bring your sister, as well.”
“I already told you no,” she whispered.
His nostrils flared as he drew in a sharp breath. “That isn’t a request, Sienna. It’s an order.”
She swallowed the bile in her throat, and somehow found the strength to say, “I am not one of your Casus, Calder. I don’t take orders from you.”
“Is that so?” he asked in a silky rasp, carefully laying his jacket back on the bed.
Sienna scraped up every last ounce of courage she could find and lifted her chin. “My sister wasn’t part of our bargain.”
Calder stalked toward her, his gait slow and easy, as if he had all the time in the world. But the deadly look in his pale eyes told her what was coming. “You’re taking a dangerous path,” he murmured, lifting his hand to her face. He brushed his thumb across her skeletal cheek, watching her expression twist with revulsion at his touch. “Are you sure this is what you want, Sienna?”
Fear thickened her words. “I will not help you hurt my sister.”
“Then you’re hardly of any use to me now,” he offered softly, releasing the long, deadly claws on his right hand. She had only seconds to use the invisibility spell she’d learned, and it wasn’t enough time. His claws ripped across her abdomen, digging deep and making her scream, just before the spell took effect.
“Where are you?” he snarled, slashing again as she scrambled away from him. He caught her thigh, ripping into the muscle, and she nearly bit through her tongue to keep from crying out in agony. He kept slashing, trying to find her, but she rolled across the floor, slamming into the far wall. Pressing one hand to her mouth, Sienna huddled into a corner and struggled to hold in her cries, knowing he was listening for any sound that would reveal her location.
He turned over a few pieces of furniture, a heavy television set barely missing her as it crashed to the floor with a thunderous crack of sound. Calder finally gave up the game, laughing when he noticed the slick, red blood that covered his claws. Proof that he’d hit his target.
“What now?” asked one of the Casus.
“If you want something done right,” he murmured, sending the Casus a sharp smile, “sometimes you’ve got to do it yourself.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
NOAH WAS READY to kill Damon for what he’d done, Willow realized. Literally. Kellan and Kierland, the werewolf brothers, were forced to hold him back, while he shouted and cursed, fighting against their hold. Willow had never seen him so furious.
At least, not until she’d taken a deep breath and told them that she was willing to perform the ceremony. Then he got really mad. It took twenty minutes before his friends felt he no longer needed to be restrained. But he was still fuming, pacing the length of the room from one end to the other, his body coiled hard and tight with rage.
She could have explained how she’d come to this decision. That the horrific discovery of that bride and groom had settled her mind about the ritual. She couldn’t stand by and do nothing when horrors like that were taking place. Something had happened to her that afternoon. Something life-changing and profound. And it had shaken those last vestiges of anger from her heart, leaving it bleeding and open…and eager for a fresh start. She didn’t know what the future would hold. Didn’t know if Noah would ever love her the way that she loved him. But she wanted the chance to see what would happen. She wanted the promise of that maybe. She wanted to grab on to that hope with both hands and fight for it, but first she had to put an end to the war.
She had the means. She just had to use them.
She couldn’t explain any of that to him, though, because she couldn’t get a word in edgewise.
“I’m not going to let her do it,” Noah scraped out, a muscle ticking beneath his right eye. “We can wait to hear back from Quinn.”
Kierland stood with his back braced against the door, as if he feared Noah might throw her over his shoulder and make a run for it. “Noah, we don’t have any time to waste,” he said, his expression tight with concern. “Tensions between the clans are already too high, not to mention the risk of exposure and the sheer loss of life.”
He wiped the back of his wrist over his mouth and glared at the Lycan. “Would you do it? If it was Morgan?” She knew, from what Noah had told her, that Morgan Cantrell was a female Watchman. She was also Kierland’s fiancée.
Kierland worked his jaw, and Noah grunted. “I didn’t think so.”
It was Gideon who spoke next. “Noah, there’s a strong chance that Quinn won’t be able to find the woman
we were told about. It could days before he even locates her. And with every day that goes by, more people are dying.”
“I know that, damn it. But we have no idea what might happen to Will if she sets foot in that circle. Those bastards might rip her to pieces!”
She cleared her throat, and said, “Damon thinks he can—”
He immediately cut her off. “Damon doesn’t know what’s going to happen out there.”
Trying again, she said, “But he thinks he can protect—”
“I don’t care what he thinks!” His words punched with crunching force, making her flinch. “I’m not letting you take that risk.”
“But he—”
“I don’t want to hear it!”
“Damn it, are you ever going to let me say anything?” she screamed, and the room went deathly quiet. They were all staring, wide-eyed and curious, and Willow wondered if any of them were as surprised as she was when she picked up the flower arrangement sitting on one of the end tables. With a husky growl, she hurled the vase at the wall, needing the mindless act of destruction to vent her frustration.
“At least she threw it at the wall,” Kellan drawled from his spot by the window. “If I were her, I’d have aimed for Winston’s head.”
Noah snarled, his hands fisted as he headed toward the Lycan, but Willow reached out and grabbed his arm. She put herself in front of him, tilting her head back so that she could hold his furious gaze. “Noah, please listen. I need to do this.”
“We don’t have to wait for Quinn,” he said in a low voice, his chest rising and falling with his ragged breaths. “We can find someone closer. Damn it, there has to be another choice.”
“Come on. You know us adult virgins are in short supply.” The corner of her mouth lifted with a wry smile. “I’m a rare breed.”
“There will be others,” he rasped, pacing away.
“Really?” she asked, lifting her brows. “Grown women aren’t exactly known for avoiding pleasure. Especially ones who are trained to fight.”
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