Darkness Descends: A Skye Faden Novel

by Alisha Ashton

  “We’re fooked,” Taran declared deadpan when the club came into view.

  There were literally hundreds of people trying to cram through the doors with no bouncers in sight. Traffic was at a standstill, unable to get past the mob that was blocking the street. They could not get the car within two blocks of it.

  “And it looks like we’re walking from here,” Miko observed, pointing out a parking lot for Taran to pull into. They climbed from the car, giving one another worried looks across its roof as people raced past them, all heading toward the club. Less than a minute after starting into the crowd, something occurred to Miko.

  “Hold on there, chief,” he said as he caught Taran’s arm and urged him to stop.

  Taran turned back to face him impatiently. “What’s the matter?”

  “When exactly was the last time you were inside a club?” Miko asked suspiciously, realizing the ancient was likely about to suffer a serious case of culture shock.

  Taran frowned and stood up straighter. “What difference does it make?” He asked indignantly.

  “Whoa – that long, huh?” Miko laughed. “Okay, no big. So, it’s been like what – 20 years or something?”

  Taran arched a brow and shook his head, shifting awkwardly.

  Miko crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes on the ancient.

  “30 years? 40? Dude, at least since the disco era, right?” He exhaled sharply when Taran only gave a curious look in response. “You have no frigging clue what disco is, do you?” He asked worriedly.

  Taran’s scowl confirmed the accuracy of his guess.

  “Relax, Tar – I’m not busting on you,” Miko assured, holding his hands up pleadingly. “I just figured I should prepare you for what you’re about to walk into. Seriously, man, how long has it been since you’ve been out partying?”

  Taran shrugged. “I do nah know, at least a few centuries,” he answered, trying to recall when Ciaran had last dragged him out against his will for a night on the town.

  Miko covered his mouth with his hand, hoping to hide the fact that his jaw was hanging open in abject disbelief.

  “But it does nah matter,” Taran said, waving off Miko’s concern with disinterest. “Fashions and music change – the purpose of places such as this always remains the same. Ya would be surprised by how similar they always manage to be.”

  Miko muffled a short outburst of laughter and muttered, “Yeah, tell me that again in 15 minutes,” under his breath before getting back to his point. “All right, whatever – but you told that guy you were talking to on the phone earlier that you would let him know when you found Skye. I’d say it’s a safe bet that she’s in there,” he said, motioning toward the club at the center of the chaos. “If you gotta call off the hounds, you better do it now. You’re not gonna be able to hear jack shit once we get inside,” he warned and tossed his cell phone to Taran.

  After catching it, Taran frowned and cast a wary look in the direction of the club. Miko’s warning had him wondering just how loud the interior of this building was going to be. As it was, they already had to shout to be heard over the mob of people surrounding them in the street. He grumbled to himself angrily as he fumbled with the unfamiliar design of the impossibly small phone in his hand. Just when he got used to the rotary phone at the castle, they had to come out with something new to learn. That day alone, he had used phones more than he had in the past 20 years combined.

  Miko cautiously leaned closer, showing Taran how to use it. He prayed that the ancient would not get frustrated and crush the thing.

  “Cathal,” Taran greeted once the call connected. He gave Miko an appreciative nod and pressed his hand over his other ear. “I’ve located her. Aye, she’s gone for the clubs. Nah, I do nah think it will be an issue to get her to the castle. If I run into any problems, I’ll give ya a call back.”

  It was a good ten minutes before they were able to get to the front of the building and Taran caught sight of the side of his Jag.

  “Nah... nah nah nah... she did’n... ” he pleaded.

  After fighting through the crowd to reach it, he could only stare down at it in shock. The car was sitting half on, half off the curb with several members of the mob sitting on, in, and around it.

  “I’m going to kill her,” he breathed in astonishment.

  “I guess this solves the mystery of why female faoil don’t survive long, huh?” Miko mused. “Let’s go, Tar. We’ll come back for it,” he promised the heartbroken ancient as he pulled him away from the Jag.

  With a great deal of effort, they managed to force their way into the club. Taran instantly realized Miko’s reason for concern. He had never been in such an awful smelling, deafening, horribly crowded space in all his life. The music was so loud that it was difficult to even think straight. Strobe lights rapidly changed in time with the beat in all directions, flashing across hundreds of people dancing in various states of dress.

  Miko’s eyes bulged when he reached the railing overlooking the dance floor. “Holy shit!” He cried, grabbing Taran’s arm and dragging him closer. “Found her!” He called into his ear over the booming music.

  Taran followed his line of sight to where Skye was currently dancing in a bra and thong at the center of a few hundred men. His mouth hung open in shock and yes, it was entirely due to the view.

  The sight of her soaked body moving so provocatively, wearing nothing but a few scraps of black lace, had him gripping the railing and pleading for strength. Her hair was wild and kinked now, hanging down to the small of her back and flipping as she swayed her hips to the beat. To make matters worse, the current song’s lyrics were rattling off sexual phrases and acts like a to-do list, only adding to the thoughts forming in his mind.

  “Fooking hell,” Taran groaned and held on tighter to the railing. He winced at the effort it was taking to remain in control. The entire building was filled with her scent and it was ten times stronger to his senses. He trembled as he fought off the need to respond to her body’s call.

  “Maybe we can break it up!” Miko shouted, noting that the ancient was having a hard time.

  Taran only nodded in response, unable to take his eyes off of Skye as his hands crushed the railing.

  Arching a concerned brow at the way the metal was twisting in Taran’s white-knuckled grip, Miko turned away. After a bit of a fight, he managed to squeeze to the far wall. He passed a group of women who were stripping off one another’s clothes... then very promptly backed up several paces to enjoy the sight in wide-eyed disbelief.

  Come on, how often did shit like this really happen?

  Forcing his brain to start functioning again, he climbed up on top of a table, lit a handful of napkins on fire and, hoping for the best, held them up to one of the sprinkler heads. Sirens wailed throughout the building. Miko grinned, thinking that he had come up with the perfect solution. The sprinklers came on and the club slowed for a few seconds...

  But DJ Asylum only found it amusing. The track immediately changed, mixing with a song featuring a screamed chorus of ‘let’s get soaking wet!’ and the party became even more intense.

  “Shit!” Miko cried and fought his way back to Taran. “Well, that didn’t help!” He shouted once he reached him.

  “Noticed tha, did ya?” Taran shouted sarcastically as water rained down on him. He took a deep breath and released his grip of the severely damaged railing. “I’m going down there!” He screamed in Miko’s ear and waited for him to try to follow. “You’re staying here!”

  Miko opened his mouth to protest, only to realize there was no point. Arguing with Taran was impossible even when they could hear one another clearly. He shook his head and watched him start the slow trek down the stairs into the swarm of men.

  The deeper Taran traveled into the crowd, the larger and less clothed the men became. It was survival of the fittest, just like in a pack structure. Only the strongest would be given the chance to mate. He took great care to break through the ranks that en
cased her without starting a brawl.

  The instant she came into view, however, the wolf in him attempted to transform... of its own volition.

  Taran froze in place, his body going rigid. He was terrified to move for a moment. His heart thundered inside his chest at the long forgotten sensation of nearly losing his command of the beast within. It had been close to 4,000 years since he had last experienced this. If he lost his grip now, there would be a massacre. Struggling to keep control, he had finally calmed his frantically beating heart when those yellow eyes of hers locked on him.

  She smiled coyly, mouthing an excited ‘Taran!’ and moving closer to him. Reaching over the others, she snagged his hand and pulled him to the front of the group. His mouth hung open uselessly. His breathing quickened as she draped her arms over his shoulders and pressed her soaking wet body against his. Without thought, his lips were curling back over his teeth. A growl escaped him as his hands wandered over the curve of her ass and roughly pulled her body flush with his. She gasped in delight at his dominance and stretched until she could reach his ear.

  “Take me!” She called.

  His eyes rolled closed as his body trembled with the urge to do just that. Again, his wolf tried to trigger the transformation. Again, it took every ounce of strength he possessed to fight it off.

  “We need to get out of here,” he somehow managed to call back.

  She shook her head determinedly. “I’m not ready to leave yet!” She shouted as she wriggled out of his grasp. “Take me right here or don’t take me at all!”

  Taran snarled as she went back to dancing with the other men. They were touching her and staring at him, challenging him for her. He gritted his teeth before reaching out and catching her by the elbow. “Skye, we’re leaving. We need to speak and can nah do it here. We’re going back to the castle.” He shouted.

  When he turned to walk away with her in tow, she yanked her arm from his grip.

  “I’m not going anywhere with you, ‘wee one’,” she mocked cruelly.

  His brow arched as he slowly turned back to face her.

  “You ‘can nah’ have it your way this time,” she declared, imitating his accent as she leaned back against one of the men. “Though I have to say you sound sooo fucking sexy when you’re mad, babe. The Scottish just seethes from you.”

  The men surrounding her laughed at that and quickly went back to dancing with her. They were too busy vying for her attention to pay him any mind.

  “Skye, we’ve nah the time to argue this. Let’s go!” Taran insisted. While he was admittedly reeling from her drastic change in personality, it was far too dangerous for her to be out in the open like this.

  The second he reached for her again, the mood of the mob shifted.

  “She said no, ya raj cunt,” one of the largest men warned as he stepped between them, blocking Skye from view. His jaw was flexing, his eyes were wild with the need to fight. “Now fook off, run on back to your ‘castle’, and leave the lady to have her fun.”

  The others were all staring him down as well, breathing heavily, waiting for someone to make a move. As insults were shouted and threats were made, Taran began slipping away into a daze of violent urges. His eyes were locked with those of the ringleader. Listening to the beast within, he was considering ripping out this man’s throat... like really considering it. A fire was awakening in his blood, begging him to attack, to start this fight, to take all of their arrogant lives as punishment for their disrespect...

  Alas, no matter how much he would enjoy killing every man that stood between him and Skye, it would not change the fact that he would be killing innocents. They could not be blamed for their aggression being at such a boiling point. No man was equipped to handle this level of pheromones. She had reduced them all to their most primal states.

  Snarling furiously, Taran forced himself to walk away. The beast inside raged against him for control. It was making it difficult to breathe. He was fighting the raw power of nature here. Skye was ready to mate. Her body was putting out the call for the strongest male to claim her and he was without a doubt the alpha. She belonged to him by right, was his to take. The rest of them would be no challenge, were he to fight for her.

  Miko eyed Taran warily as he made his way back up the stairs. Once he was close enough, he called out to him. “You could have dropped those clowns, no problem!” He offered and Taran only growled in agreement. “So what are you going to do now?” He asked, happily dancing to the beat with the half-naked girl who had just latched onto him.

  Taran’s body quaked as he watched Skye continue to be touched by men unworthy of the gift of her presence. He wanted to tear them apart. His blood was boiling with the need to leap over the railing and kill every last one of them. Unfortunately, that was not an option.

  So, he did the only thing he could do. He fought fire with fire.

  “Umm... Tar?” Miko laughed as the ancient stripped off his shirt.

  Taran let his hair down and leaned against the railing, watching Skye intensely. “Nah now, Miko,” he warned gruffly before closing his eyes and allowing his mind to paint graphic scenes of what he wanted to do to Skye. He channeled all of the rage he was feeling into desire for her, used the thoughts of claiming her to distract the beast within from its murderous intent. The image of mounting her that had tormented him came back full force, leaving him gasping for air and trembling uncontrollably with the knowledge that it would not be much longer. He moaned and panted, imagining his fingertips sinking into her hips, grabbing that ass...

  So the scent of an aroused mortal male drew her? A faol ready to mate, an alpha approaching with the single intent to claim her as his own was bound to drive her insane. His entire body was sweating despite the sprinklers raining down. His eyelids were heavy with need as he managed in a rumbling voice, “Get your darts ready.”

  Miko watched in astonishment as every woman surrounding them suddenly seemed desperate for Taran’s attention. Watching them trail along after the ancient as he turned and made his way to the stairs, Miko could not help but wonder which faol he would need to drug.

  “Glad to see someone’s fitting into the 21st century!” Miko called after him before shrugging and dancing alone to pass the time.

  Skye was in her element. She had just narrowed her selection to three of the men that surrounded her when something else caught her attention...

  Vaporized sex.

  She closed her eyes as she breathed it in before opening them and frantically searching the crowd for him.

  And hallelujah, praise be to Scotsman, there he was...

  The rest of the club faded away. Her eyes focused on him alone as the music changed to the gravelly vocals of the Bodyrockers’, “I Like the Way You Move.”

  Shirtless and with every muscle rippling, Taran cut through the ranks to reach her. His soaking wet body was gleaning, the lights were catching the exquisite definition of his form. His hair was cascading over his shoulders, now wild and kinked as her own.

  Her breath caught in her throat. She could feel his intentions.

  The men stepped aside now, clearing a path without protest. Their most primal instincts perceived his role as alpha.

  Skye watched in awe as he circled her, sniffing the air around her and savoring her scent, rendering her completely stunned. Her body trembled in anticipation when he stopped behind her.

  Without warning, he snatched a handful of her hair, tugging back on it roughly and forcing her to tilt her head to the side. She whimpered as he pulled her body back flush against his. Her eyes closed and knees went weak feeling the delicious hardness she was starving for pressing against her. He leaned down to the nape of her neck, lathing his tongue along the flesh there before breathing heavily into her ear.

  “Ya do nah play fair, love,” he growled before nipping at her earlobe. “Neither will I,” he warned, tracing his fingers teasingly up her throat. A smile spread across his lips as her body quivered with need in his grasp. “Do ya wa
nt me?” He asked, pressing his mouth to her ear and closing his eyes as she nodded fervently and moaned. “Then do ya choose me?”

  She nodded again, pushing back against him and panting heavily, trying to get closer to his rumbling voice.

  All she could manage was a stream of obscenities when he bit down on her shoulder aggressively. Her legs threatened to give out from beneath her with the urge to drop to all fours.

  Taran growled as he wrapped an arm around her chest to pin her in place. His hand wandered over her breasts, down her stomach, and between her thighs.

  She cried out, pressing her head back against his shoulder and reaching up to claw at his long hair.

  He spun her around to face him. Both of them were panting as they stared one another down. Neither cared in the least about the hundreds of people that were now watching them. As he lifted her up, he kissed her ravenously, guiding her to wrap her legs around his waist. Blindly, he carried her back up the stairs. His eyes refused to open as she gripped the sides of his face and fed on his kiss. The heat between her thighs was pleading for his touch as he got a firm hold on her ass.

  Miko tapped him on the shoulder as he passed, waiting for him to reluctantly take his mouth from hers long enough to look over. He could not help but smirk as Taran struggled to get his eyes to focus. Skye was clinging to him, moaning in his ear and biting at his throat. It had to make it difficult for the poor bastard to think straight.

  “Darts?” Miko offered with a grin.

  Taran only got partly through a response of, “nah yet” before Skye reclaimed his mouth with hers and rendered him speechless once more.

  “Riiiiggghttt,” Miko said doubtfully and put his hand on Taran’s elbow to guide him out to the Jaguar.

  19: Gone Bye-byes

  The couple fell into the backseat gracelessly. They were still pawing at one another with no regard for where they were.