Table of Contents
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
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
EPILOGUE
INTO THE DIVINE
Forbidden Love Series Book 6
Danielle James
Copyright © 2017 by Danielle James.
All rights reserved. These books or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
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Table of Contents
DEDICATION
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
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
EPILOGUE
AUTHOR’S NOTE
DEDICATION
There are far too many people to thank. This series was more than a few books to me; they have become part of my life. I would start by thanking Greg, for always listening to me about my books and being ready to read and toss ideas around with me. You have always given me the space I need to write and never complained. I think maybe there is just a little bit of you in each of my guys. Is it any wonder why I love you so much?
For Lisa, my wonderful and patient editor, who keeps my commas in check. You have loved my guys from the start and only want what is best for all of them. I love you to pieces and couldn’t possibly get along in this business without you.
For my exceptional Beta team that isn’t afraid to tell me when I need to go back and try again. Wendy, Jerri, Jessica, Kathie and Laura, you are truly worth your weight in gold.
And finally, for all of my readers. You are what makes me want to keep writing. I am so grateful for you and I can never thank you enough.
CHAPTER ONE
Gage sat reclined at the desk with his feet set firmly in the center. He had shoved the computer aside in order to make room for his shit-kickers. Hell, it wasn’t even his desk. It was Angel’s. His family had suggested that he have his own office, but Gage adamantly refused. He didn’t need it. He wasn’t into the political bullshit and currently, his mind was somewhere else. It was in that place where he went when a new song was begging to be written. He replayed the melody in his head, mentally visualizing the notes on the bars as it passed by his mental eye like a scene in a movie. He could hear the notes as they passed by, and he could see the places where Rebel’s guitar would join his bass. He saw where Jacque would pound on the drums and could hear Angel’s voice singing, even though there were no lyrics yet. The new song played with a kaleidoscope of colors in his mind and he committed it to memory. Sebastian would need his help to arrange it right.
“Sire,” a man’s voice said, interrupting the song, and in his mind, it all fell straight down and left a big fat nothing in its place. Gage jerked his attention back to the man seated on the other side of his desk.
Oh yeah, he had been in a meeting. “Yes?” Gage said, trying to recall any part of the conversation with this man.
“Do you think I am right about this?” he asked.
Gage studied the vampire in front of him. It was impossible to tell his age. He had short, neatly cut black hair and shit-brown eyes. He seemed sincere enough, but Gage didn’t miss the air of disdain he held around himself. Gage quickly surfed around in the vampire’s head for remnants of the conversation. Oh yes, there it was. He wanted Gage, the king, to tell his mate’s mother that he could wed his mate. Gage did a mental eye roll.
“After listening to your story, I have come to the conclusion that this is not a matter for me to decide. Your problems with your future mother in law are for you to solve. I can understand those kinds of issues, believe me I do, but I cannot help. You must find some way to make her understand that you are mates.”
“She will never understand!” he said very loudly. “She is human and is very racist.”
Gage sat forward and pulled his feet down from the desk. He looked the man directly in the eyes as he said again, “I am truly sorry that kind of discrimination exists, but I am powerless to stop it. That is a matter that must resolve over time. I cannot help you in this.” Gage stood and opened his office door, effectively dismissing the vampire. “I do wish you all the luck in the world. You are going to need it.”
He watched as the man left his office and the house with his head down. He really did wish there was something he could do to help, but he was not all about fixing family problems. He was hardly a politician, much less a family counselor.
“How’s it going, Sire?” Rebel asked with a sarcastic grin.
“Shut it,” Gage snapped. “Why do you let these people in?”
“Because it’s funny as shit to watch you pretend to listen,” Rebel answered. “Part of the job.”
“How in the hell does Angel do this?” Gage asked. “I have been a king for all of six months and I am ready to chop off my own head to get away from the bullshit.”
Rebel laughed. “Angel is much more patient than you are.”
“No shit,” he grumbled. “He can just keep on doing this shit. I am not cut out for it.”
“But the vampires want to see their king. They want to know that you really are who we say you are and that you are on their side,” Rebel said. “It’s just a formality, you know.”
“As king, I feel like I should decree that all visitors be filtered through Angel before sending them in to see me,” Gage snapped. “And,
since Angel is so much better at this than I am, he can just resolve whatever issue they have.”
“They still want to see you,” Rebel reminded him. “It isn’t about the issues they are having so much as reassuring them that you are not a tyrant.”
Gage shook his head. He didn’t say anything else aloud, but walked off muttering under his breath about tyranny and treason. Rebel watched his unwilling king leave, smothering a chuckle.
Samuel waited on the corner for the drug dealer to finish making his deal. The whore who bought from him reeked of booze and sex and soon would smell of crack as well. He shook his head. He never understood drug users. After he dealt with the man, he would deal with the hooker.
The dealer swaggered down the street. Samuel couldn’t tell if it was intentional or if it was because his jeans were hanging so low on his hips and were so big that if the thug walked normally, they would fall right off his ass.
Samuel watched him light a cigarette and blow the smoke into the air. It was time. Samuel stepped from the shadows and walked directly into the path of the thug. He stopped when he saw Samuel. Who wouldn’t? He had bulked up considerably since changing into a vampire. He was dressed in black jeans and shit-kicker steel toe boots, a black t-shirt and a long, black leather coat that he really didn’t need for warmth; he wore it for looks only. And he looked like a bad ass with that get up and his shaved head.
“Move along,” the thug said to Samuel with more confidence than most. "You don’t want none of this.”
Samuel grinned at him, making sure to show his new fangs off. He had learned to extend them at will just recently and couldn’t help but show off. He found that he liked the smell of fear that almost always followed.
The thug’s eyes popped open wide, but he quickly covered it up with a smart ass remark. “Oooo, the big bad vampire gonna get me? Shew, for real? I gots news for ya, vamp, I ain’t skeered.” He reached into his shorts and pulled out a gun.
Samuel reached inside his coat breast pocket and retrieved his badge. So what if it wasn’t valid anymore. The force had let him keep it when he made the transition from human to vampire and he still flashed it. He found that it still had the same power that it ever had.
The thug hesitated for just a moment, then raised his gun and leveled it with Samuel’s head. “You gots no power over me, Vampire,” he said. “You just the blood suckers po-po. I kin keel you and there ain’t a fucking thing you kin do ‘bout it.”
Samuel narrowed his eyes and growled deep in his chest. His heart had picked up the pace by now and he was loving it. He lived for the adrenaline rush these days. He knew he wasn’t supposed to hunt human criminals anymore, but Angel did such a great job policing his people that Samuel was bored. The cop in him wouldn’t roll over and die either, so he had found a happy medium.
“Can’t say I didn’t warn ya,” the thug said as he pulled the trigger. Samuel reacted and zipped just out of the bullet’s path. He played zig-zag with the thug until all the bullets were spent, and then he made his move.
He moved too fast for the thug’s eyes to register. He grabbed the gun out of the man’s hand and crushed it in his own. The man tried to throw a punch at Samuel, but thanks to all the training with Leigh, Samuel was quite proficient at hand to hand combat. He caught the fist mid-air and crushed the bones effortlessly. The man wailed in pain and Samuel knew he was going to have to ease up or he would kill this waste of life.
When he let go, the thug did something that surprised Samuel. He produced a long knife from his boot and threw it at Sam. It sliced across his side as it flew by and Sam felt the burn immediately. The wound stung like a bitch, but he ignored it.
Bleeding and now cursing the thug, Samuel grabbed him up by the back of his neck and marched him to the local precinct. He deposited the thug on the steps and forced him to look at his eyes.
“You will go inside and turn yourself in. You will admit that you’re dealing and give up your supplier,” he said to the dealer. He added strength to his words by planting a mental suggestion in his head. It wasn’t hard, the fool’s brain was addled by years of drug use.
When the thug nodded, Samuel turned his back and headed back out into the streets.
Azerial, Goddess of the Earth, watched Samuel from her perch in the clouds. She had been keeping close tabs on him lately, and it was lucky for him that she was. She had guided the blade aside so that it did not strike her vampire in a manner that would have been deadly. He had been keeping her busy for weeks now, and she was worried that he was in some real danger in his mind. He was getting reckless, and that would not do for her favorite vampire.
Azerial almost felt as if she was neglecting her other duties since he took up so much of her time as of late; he had a knack for getting into trouble. She knew that she was interfering too much in his new life and she should let him be to make his own mistakes, but she found that she could not just sit by and watch while he put himself in danger.
Even as a human, Samuel had gotten her attention. She watched him as he would hunt criminals and felt his elation each time he put a criminal behind bars. He was making the world a safer place, and she respected him for it.
And then he became ill. Azerial knew he would die if left to his own devices, so she sent Rebel, one of her vampire charges, to see him. Of course, Rebel did not know it was Azerial that planted the suggestion in his mind to seek out Samuel. He thought he was doing it all on his own. But once the vampire saw the condition his friend was in, he did exactly as Azerial knew he would and took him for medical attention.
And that was how Samuel became a vampire himself. It was a simple choice, really. Change what he was, or die from the cancer. Samuel had chosen wisely. Azerial had never been so proud of her charges before. He had shown exceptional bravery and will. But that was just who Samuel was. He was loyal and brave, almost to a fault.
CHAPTER TWO
Gage sat in Angel’s chair again, waiting for the next vampire to enter the office. It had helped with his impatience since they designated one day out of the week for his “followers” to come see him. He realized the importance of being available to the public, but it just wasn’t his cup of tea. He would much rather leave the political bullshit to Angel. Hell, he even publicly named Angel his Vice Vampire; a position he made up, but still. It was the equivalent of the Queen of England’s Prime Minister or the Vice President of the US. That way, Angel could continue to handle the political shit while Gage did what he was good at; writing music. Did that stop his family from allowing vampires in to see him? No. Hell, they thought it was hilarious. They all knew how Gage felt about the title he had to embrace in order to have his mate by his side. He had always been the jokester in the family, and now the tables had turned. Because Gage wanted nothing to do with the title of king, his family made sure he filled his office; at least, in the eyes of the public. They did, however, start screening the people who saw him. The first few people in his office today were all needing small things. Most of them he could even help with. He sighed to himself as someone knocked on his door. All in a day’s work.
The man entered the office on silent feet and Gage knew immediately that this was no vampire. He stared the man down as he walked toward Gage. He was tall and slender, with a marine style haircut and dark eyes. He wore a perfectly pressed Armani suit, complete with dress shoes shined to a brilliant finish. His demeanor screamed style and arrogance, but it was the smell that got Gage’s attention. That smell… he knew it. Demon.
Gage jerked to a standing position, shoving his chair back and out of the way. “What are you doing here, Demon?” he demanded.
“From the King that preaches equality and democracy, that seems a little harsh, don’t you think?” the demon asked, taking a nonchalant seat on the other side of Gage’s desk.
Gage had never trusted demons. They were scarce on this plane of existence, but they were there. Demons were known for being dishonest, disloyal, and all around assholes. “I have never met a
demon that didn’t come for trouble.”
The demon sat forward in his chair. “I assure you, I have come to you peacefully. If I had any intentions of harming the King of vampires, do you think your security would have let me in?” He held his hand out for a handshake. “I am John. Nice to meet you.”
Gage looked at the offered hand but did not take it. He could sense his family waiting nearby for him to give the signal that would end this demon. One move. That was all it would take. One wrong move. Why had they even let him in? “Why don’t you tell me your real name?” Gage sneered at him. His presence alone was making Gage itch for a fight. He could feel every nerve ending in his body poised and ready to strike. If the demon would just say something… do something…
“Fine,” the demon said with an exaggerated sigh. “My name is Abaddon.”
“Destroyer,” Gage said aloud.
“Such a bad connotation,” Abaddon said. “I am a businessman now and I prefer to go by John.”
“You destroy everything you touch,” Gage reminded him. “Your specialty is destroying lives and faith. What are you doing here, John?”
“I have come to you about one of your vampires,” he said, examining his fingernails. “The cop. He is encroaching on my turf. He has arrested at least three of my employees.”
“Your employees are drug dealers,” Gage told him.
“Regardless, your vampire cop is arresting humans, and that is out of your jurisdiction.” John leaned back in the chair and crossed one leg over the other. “I would appreciate it if you would call him off. I would hate to see anything bad happen to him.”
Gage heard the underlying threat in the demons words. “I know what kind of business you are running,” Gage said through clenched teeth. “And I will not abide by threats made to my family.”
“Family? Oh I hadn’t realized the king would consider diluted blood family. Your father certainly didn’t.”
Gage stopped his train of thought at the word father. Did this demon know who his father was? What did he know? How could Gage get him to tell? Without thinking about it, Gage sent a feeler into the demon’s mind. He immediately encountered a wall of fire.
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