by Nina Croft
Table of Contents
Dedication
Prologue
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
Epilogue
Glossary of Terms
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Discover more Entangled Select Otherworld titles… Forever Charmed
The Hunt
Quantum
Prodigal
Discover the Dark Desires series… Break Out
Deadly Pursuit
Death Defying
Temporal Shift
Blood and Metal
Unthinkable
His Fantasy Girl
Her Fantasy Husband
His Fantasy Bride
Losing Control
Out of Control
Bittersweet Blood
Bittersweet Magic
Bittersweet Darkness
Operation Saving Daniel
Betting on Julia
The Descartes Legacy
The Spaniard’s Kiss
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2016 by Nina Croft. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.
Entangled Publishing, LLC
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Visit our website at www.entangledpublishing.com.
Select Otherworld is an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC.
Edited by Candace Havens
Cover design by L.J. Anderson
Cover art from iStock
ISBN 978-1-63375-776-9
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Edition November 2016
For anyone who would love to grow wings and fly…
Prologue
Ten years ago
“Don’t go.”
The words slipped out, but at least Candace managed to keep her voice low so her mother didn’t hear. The air in the cavern was warm, but she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to stop the shivers that racked her body.
Her mother continued to prep the space shuttle, a grim, determined expression on her face. “How? How did this happen? How did they find us?” she muttered. She appeared outwardly calm, but underneath, Candy could see she was breaking apart.
The question had been rhetorical, she was sure, but she answered anyway. “We were betrayed.” Candy twisted her hands together. “That’s what Daddy said.” They’d been lured to the meeting by promises of information as to the whereabouts of her mother and father’s old ship, the Blood Hunter, and her crew. The ship had disappeared through the black hole at Trakis One over twelve years ago—not long before she and her twin, Angel, had been born—and it had never been seen since. Periodically, her mother or father would go out and see if there was any news of them, but until this last time, there had never been anything. “They were waiting for us at the rendezvous point.” All the same, she was sure they would have both escaped if her father hadn’t insisted on sending her off in the escape pod while he acted as a decoy. He’d said he would meet her back here. He hadn’t given her a choice. They should have stayed together.
She paced the sandy floor of the cavern, back and forth in front of the shuttle. Where was he? Was he even alive?
“He’ll be okay,” her mother said, as if Candy had spoken the words out loud, and her tone held no room for disagreement. “The Church doesn’t want him dead. They want him alive. They want us both alive.”
They’d contacted her mother even before the escape pod carrying Candy had arrived back on Trakis Two, ordering her to return to the Church and resume her old duties as Alexia, High Priestess of the Church of Everlasting Life. It was a role her mother had been born to and had obediently assumed up until the age of twenty-three when she’d rebelled, run away, disguised herself as a cabin boy on the Blood Hunter, and eventually fallen in love with assassin Jonathon Decker and lived happily ever after. It was a story Candy never tired of hearing. She wanted to grow up to be just like her father, and planned to be an assassin—once she persuaded him to teach her everything he knew.
Which was never going to happen now.
Her mind was fracturing, falling apart, and she needed to pull herself together. Her mother was leaving. If she didn’t give herself up, the Church would execute her husband. Candy took some deep breaths and tried to stop her shivering.
Finally, everything was ready. Her mother visibly drew herself up, straightening her shoulders. “Stop pacing, Candace. You need to listen to me.”
Candy swallowed down the guilt and the nausea. She wanted to beg her mother not to go. But how could she? She wanted to say that she needed her, but her father needed her more.
The Church was ruthless. They would kill him for stealing their priestess, and if they ever found out what he really was—what her mother had become since leaving the Church—then… She cut off the thought. They wouldn’t find out.
She came to a halt in front of her mother; even at twelve, Candy towered above her tiny figure. Her mother was clearly trying hard to hide her fears. Candy owed it her to do the same. She took a deep breath. “Yes?”
“Candace, you must look after your brother.”
Angel was sick. He was always sick. Where Candy had never had an off day in her life, Angel picked up just about every childhood illness that had somehow managed to make its way from Earth all those years ago. “I will.”
“You have to get away from here. If we’ve been betrayed, they might know of this place.”
“We’ll go farther into the dark side of the planet.”
“And remember—this is not your fault.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but her mother stopped the words with a wave of her hand. “This is not your fault. They would have captured him even if you hadn’t been on board. Now you have to be brave and stay here, take care of Angel, and do not, under any circumstances, come looking for us. They don’t know about you yet, and I couldn’t bear it if they captured you two as well. Please, promise me, Candy.”
She gave an abrupt nod.
“Contact Thorne. He’ll come and take care of you.”
No way. She didn’t want Thorne looking after her, like she was some kid who couldn’t take care of herself. She could look after herself and Angel. She just wasn’t sure how, and a surge of fear washed over her.
“And one more thing. Remember what your father said. If it happens, don’t fight it.” She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Candy. Her mother might be tiny, but her grip was firm. “
I love you, Candace. Remember that, and be strong.”
“I promise.”
“Oh God, I have to go.” Her mother was fighting the tears now. If she cried, Candy would break down completely. Then the grip loosened and she was standing alone, watching her mother walk away, up the ramp onto the shuttle to disappear inside.
Would she ever see her again?
Her whole life was collapsing around her. She’d always been so sure of their love. Now she was abandoned. She knew there was no alternative—right now the Church didn’t even know of her and Angel’s existence. If they found out, there would be two more hostages to use against her mother. All the same, she didn’t want to be left behind.
The engines rumbled into life, and all too soon, the shuttle lifted, hovering above the black sand before heading upward. High above them, the domed ceiling of the cavern opened, revealing the star-strewn sky, and then the engines flared and the shuttle shot off into space.
Now, with no one to see her, Candace collapsed to the ground. Her whole body shook with a myriad of emotions—guilt, fear, despair. Sobs racked her, and she wrapped her arms around her middle and tried to hold herself together.
She didn’t know how long it was before she became aware of something else. A shiver ran over her skin; the very air around her prickled. She’d sensed this before, when her parents had shifted, and for a brief moment, wonder broke through the darker emotions.
She came up on her hands and knees, exhausted from the outpouring of grief, her head hanging down.
Then without warning, her spine arched. Don’t fight it.
But how could she not? Her whole body was on fire, the bones snapping, realigning. Her fingers shrank as huge claws sprouted from the tips and fur flowed over her skin. She threw back her head and screamed, the scream turning to a howl as her face elongated, her human vocal chords gone.
Then the pain vanished as swiftly as it had come, leaving that residual tingle of magic in the air. She stood on all fours, among the tatters of her clothes, all her senses more acute. The scent of the burning from the shuttle’s engine filled her nostrils, and she could hear Angel tossing in his bed, muttering for their mother, and the sound of other creatures farther off. Things that called to her in the darkness. She peered over her shoulder. Her coat was glossy black pricked with dark red. She stepped forward slowly, picking up her paws and placing them down with exaggerated care. Increasing her pace, she trotted in a circle, then faster as she became used to her new form.
She ran through the dark passageways, miles and miles of them carved beneath the surface of the planet. Stretching out her limbs, she raced as though she could outrun her fears. She didn’t know how long she ran. Eventually, she collapsed in an exhausted heap. Head resting on her front paws, she sank into a troubled sleep.
When she awoke, she was lying naked on the cool sand, human once more. She needed to get back to Angel; he’d be scared if he woke up alone.
She sniffed the air—her senses remained stronger, and she picked up the scent that would lead her back to the main area.
She had responsibilities now. She had to take care of Angel and she had to find the people responsible for betraying her parents. And then she would kill them.
The fear and despair still tugged at her mind, but she pushed them aside. She would cope. She didn’t need anybody else; she was a badass werewolf now.
No one could stop her.
Chapter One
Ten years later
The tips of Thorne’s wings twitched as he paced the bridge of the Blood Hunter. It was time to go. Hell, it had been time to go for years now.
He had responsibilities.
“Will you either stop that goddamn pacing, or get the hell out of here,” Captain Tannis snapped. “You’re giving me a goddamn headache.”
He ignored her, stretching his wings to ease the tension, and Tannis had to take a step back or be knocked off her feet. She swore loudly. “And watch with the goddamn wings.” She stared at him through narrowed eyes. “I seriously need to shoot someone.”
They were all a little jumpy. Too long doing nothing. They needed a good fight to clear the air. Unfortunately, there was no one left to fight.
They’d been in limbo since the downfall of the Church six months ago. They could never have envisioned that the whole system would fall apart completely, leaving them no obvious enemies. But once Hatcher, the High Priest of the Church of Everlasting Life, had given up, everyone else had seemed to melt away.
Thorne had waited around until they were sure Fergal wasn’t going to need a full-on rescue mission. At least, that had been his excuse to stay on the Blood Hunter for the last six months, when he should have been back with his own people on Espera.
Fergal was part cyborg, and Daisy’s—the copilot of the Blood Hunter’s—boyfriend. He’d been sort of off-line, his brain almost fried when he’d wrenched control of the cyborg army from the Church, just in time to prevent the majority of the Blood Hunter’s crew from being burned at the stake.
That was six months ago, but now Fergal was conscious and on his way to the Blood Hunter. There was nothing to keep Thorne here. Nothing at all.
And he still had those responsibilities.
The last of his people had already gone ahead. There was just him now, and he’d be on his way any moment.
“Waiting for something?” Rico drawled from where he sat in the pilot’s seat, his long, booted legs stretched out and crossed at the ankle on the console in front of him. “Or should I say someone.”
“Piss off,” Thorne said. But his eyes strayed to the transporter bubble. She knew he was leaving. The least she could do was say good-bye. But why should she? Candy considered him a boring old tosser—or that’s the description she’d used the last time they’d spoken, when he’d tried to explain his reasons for going back.
He’d even suggested she come for a visit. Her answer had been even more derogatory—why visit a boring planet light years from anywhere, full of a load of farmers? She had things to do in the real world.
That’s what he was worried about. He was quite aware she hadn’t given up on her plans for revenge. No, she was nothing if not tenacious.
“Why don’t you just tell her how you feel?” Rico suggested, and Thorne could hear the thread of amusement in the vampire’s voice. Bastard.
“Tell who?” Tannis asked, curiosity overcoming her boredom. “And how does he feel?”
“Mind your own goddamn business,” Thorne muttered. Of course that was going to happen—like never.
“Thorne has a hard-on for Candy,” Rico informed her. “And I don’t mean the sweet variety.”
Tannis sat down abruptly, eyes wide as she stared at Thorne. His wings twitched again. “Candy?” she asked. “Jon and Alex’s Candy?”
“Is there another?”
“As in werewolf, mad-as-a-bitch-in-heat, Candy?”
“That’s the one.”
“Well, all I can say is he’s a brave man.”
“No, he’s not. Because he’s not going to do anything about it. In true, noble, leader-of-the-fucking-people, Mr. Perfect fashion, he’s going to do absolutely nothing.”
Tannis pursed her lips. “A sensible man, then.”
“Well, she is young enough to be his…” Rico shook his head. “I can’t even work it out. It doesn’t bear thinking about. But there is a considerable age difference.”
Nine thousand, nine hundred and eighty years to be precise. Not that he was counting.
“Plus, I’ve never met someone so stuck up his own ass as our friend Thorne here. And Candy is…”
“A complete and utter maniac,” Tannis finished for him.
They were being a bit unfair. Candy was a little wild, but she had her reasons. And she was young. Once the universe settled down, no doubt she would as well. He found himself quite sad at the idea. Maybe that’s what attracted him—her wildness. She was so different from anyone he had ever met.
“Aw, look, he’
s gone all dreamy,” Rico said.
“Fuck off.” But he didn’t try and deny it. Nothing passed the vampire.
“Does Jon know?” Tannis asked.
“There’s nothing to know,” Thorne snapped.
“I heard that she tried to seduce him when she was sixteen. I’m guessing he’s been torn between jumping her bones and running as fast as he can in the opposite direction ever since.”
How the hell did Rico know about that?
“Angel told me,” Rico answered as though he’d spoken the question out loud. “That Candy made a bet with him that she could seduce you. She was apparently not pleased when she lost.”
No, she hadn’t been pleased. She’d made that crystal clear. But she’d been sixteen, and he’d been nearly ten thousand. Though she’d certainly been no child. He doubted she’d been a child since she was twelve—when her father had been captured and her mother coerced into returning to the Church—and she’d taken on responsibility for herself and Angel.
She’d shocked him, that was all.
He hadn’t really been terrified, as she’d accused.
That had been six long years ago. She hadn’t tried again since. And he was glad about that. There could never be anything between them. They were too different. She was so young. He was immensely old. She was wild and impulsive and he was…not. They would drive each other crazy within minutes. They already did.
She was the only person who could reduce him to unreasonable rage. And there was no way he could allow himself to lose control like that. Because he was beginning to believe that if he lost control, bad things could happen. Really bad things.
So why was he still here?
He glanced up from the contemplation of his boots to find Tannis and Rico regarding him with disbelief and amusement respectively. At least he was entertaining.
“I’m leaving,” he said.
“About fucking time,” Tannis replied.
She had never forgiven him for messing with her mind, knocking her out, when they had first met. And she was really unhappy with the knowledge that he could do it again any time he wanted to. And much more, if she knew the truth. Which she didn’t. And he wasn’t about to share.
“We’ll see you out,” Rico said.