“Malcolm, stop. If you keep using your powers you’ll sink the whole bloody island.” The two teenage boys laughed at the shrieking woman yelling through the thunderstorm. One of them moved his hand and waves of fog streamed in, covering their escape as they ran from the manor.
“Would that I had a power like yours, brother. Malcolm the Storm Bringer.”
Malcolm patted the boy who could have been his mirror image on the back, laughing as they collapsed beneath the nearest tree, the rain finally dying down. “I like that. It makes me sound like a sorcerer. I may wash all evidence away, but you keep all our secrets hidden. What shall we call you? Marcus…the Midnight Fog.”
His name was Marcus. Marcus Abaddon. Hannah allowed that knowledge in, guiding the light to another locked door. She felt intrusive. She was seeing things that only he and his mate should share. But they couldn’t share them until the blackness that bound him set them free.
Each time the spell rained down on her like shards of pointed glass she felt Alexei’s hand, Lux taking her arm or Glynn Magriel’s touch on her shoulder, taking away the hurt. And each time a new door opened she saw another piece of this lost man’s life.
His mother had left after giving birth to Sari and Sebastian. Marcus had always believed it was because of him, until he’d found out she’d left because of his father’s cruelty.
Marcus had a thing for redheads. Malcolm teased him, called them his only weakness.
“You should train with me, not run after Bridget.”
“She’s running after me. I may even allow her to catch me.”
“Rogue. Careful, lest Sebastian sees you. He would like nothing better than to tell tales to father.”
“There is nothing I can do to please our sire. So I must do my best to displease him as well as I can.”
The next image showed a more adult Marcus, his gaze cynical as he sat in a smoke filled den surrounded by female blood donors. He let people think he was a good for nothing playboy, a Trueblood who hated Trueblood rules. The opposite of his perfect twin brother. It made it easier to catch people off guard. Find out their secrets. And among his kind, there were so many.
He’d started to pull away from Malcolm, the brother he loved more than his own life. He couldn’t share his suspicions with his twin, no matter how much he wanted to. Suspicions that his father was a part of something dark and twisted. That he had dealings with…even he had a hard time thinking it, and he hated the bastard.
This was the only way.
“Damn you, Marcus, is this what your life has become? A blood glutton, a bedtime story used to frighten children? We used to laugh at those men. This is not what The Mother—”
“If you mention your moon goddess to me again I shall become ill, brother Mal. I may be the glutton you name me to be, but what are you? A fop. All rules and no fangs. Where is the Storm Bringer that I used to know and admire?”
“I’m still here, brother. I always will be. Loving you and wishing you would come to your senses.”
Another scene. An Elder approached him to come to a special gathering. Hannah could feel Marcus’s excitement as the hooded figure gestured to him. This was the entry he’d been seeking. He would finally have answers. When he had proof he would go to Malcolm, repair the damage and reunite with his beloved brother and regain the respect of The Mediator, Alexander, who’d been more like a father to him and Mal than their own.
Dark shafts of pain stabbed Hannah’s head before she could see the other man’s face. She fell to the ground, only this time there was no hand in hers, no touch to lift her out of the agony. A cold heavy weight filled her limbs, making her weak, tired.
This was what Liz felt before she lost consciousness. Hannah could see it clearly in his mind. She saw through his eyes as he caught her body when it fell from its perch high in the tree. He’d done this to her. The only light in his dark existence. He couldn’t hear her thoughts, couldn’t hear the questions she was constantly asking herself. He wanted those questions. He would gladly take the pain if only she would stay with him.
“Stay. Stay, wildcat. Don’t leave me alone.”
“Stay. Stay with me. Don’t leave me alone.” Strong arms lifted her out of her chair. Tears streamed down Hannah’s face as she came back to herself. Jasyn. She buried her face in his neck, smelling the warm, earthy scent of him. Alive. Hers.
The soft voices behind her were jarring. “We undid the spell’s center. His marks will fade over the next few risings, and as they do, everything that he is…that he knows, will return to him.” Lux sounded as tired as she felt. “More importantly, he can think again. Question. And Liz will be safe.”
“I’m taking Hannah to bed. Will she be all right?” Jasyn held her closer in response to her wiggling. She wanted to get closer. Needed to be with him. After all that darkness, she needed her mate.
“A few of his memories may linger. In order to clear the way for the others, she went further under than I thought she would. She did an amazing job really. Go. Kit will keep watch and I’ll stay close, but he won’t wake anytime soon. When he does he’ll have a lot on his plate, poor bastard.”
Her body lifted with the breath Jasyn took. “And you, Lux? My brother would use me to sharpen his claws if I left his mate looking the way you do now. Do you need anything? Food? Blood?”
Lux’s chuckle was warm. “I’ll be fine, brother. The sun is nearly on the horizon. Take her.”
She still hadn’t come out of the daze she’d fallen into since they’d left the others. Jasyn had put her beneath the heated shower spray, washing her with gentle but efficient hands. It was torture, trying not to think about what they’d been doing the last time they’d been here together. He dried her off and carried her to the bed. Blessing his American cousins for their thoughtfulness, he closed the seamless wooden blinds to block the sun before stripping off his clothes and climbing in beside her, to offer whatever comfort he could.
He thought about his brother Arygon’s mate Sylvain. The Antara. A female Shadow who’d been forced to hide for most of her life because of her abilities to control the earth and all that grew in and on it. Weres believed the Antara was a sign of the end of everything. A mythical figure that, if she even existed, must be killed lest she use her powers to destroy.
She’d done the exact opposite, reminding werewolf and vampire alike of the Mother’s presence in their lives. Of their true purpose. She helped bring the Weres together under her Alpha mate. She’d made a believer out of Jasyn, whose faith had been tested over the years. But her abilities still made her a target.
He did not envy Lux or Arygon having her for their mate. He loved her like the sister she was, and he adored his niece and nephew. Still, he knew that with Sylvain for a wife, his brother’s worries would never end. He would live in fear that her light would be taken from him.
He had a taste of that tonight, when Hannah was trapped in the darkness of the Wildman’s mind. Her temporary abilities made her special to others in a way that put her in danger. As he held her it hit him that it wouldn’t matter what she was or what she could do. If he’d made her his when she was human, and all she had become was a Were, his mate, she would still be special to him. He would still need to protect her.
“Zander must feel the same about Regina. And now Alexei. But we always worry about losing the ones we love, don’t we? Think we can’t survive without them. We can…we just don’t want to.”
Nicolette was trying to help, he knew. But there was no doubt in his mind that Hannah was necessary for his survival. How he’d lasted so long without her, how he’d stayed away, was a mystery to him. But he couldn’t leave her now. Even if she wanted him to go.
“Don’t go. Stay with me.” For a moment he thought she might be reliving the Trueblood’s memories, but when he looked down she was gazing up at him with clear longing in her eyes. A need that matched his own.
He laid a gentle kiss on her forehead, evading her seeking lips. Her kisses drove him cr
azy, and he wanted to please her, before he lost himself to his animal’s need to mate. He pressed his lips against her eyelids, her cheeks.
By the time his open mouth caressed the curve of her stomach she was moaning his name. Her scent grew stronger and he inhaled deeply. She was intoxicating. His Hannah. His Sheba. He pushed back the covers and knelt between her legs.
“Jasyn.”
He spread her legs, hands gripping her thighs. Great Mother she was beautiful here. Pale curls that had turned to dark gold with her need, the lips of her pussy flushed for him. And the smell of her. Strong and sweet, like honey warmed in the sun. He had to taste her.
His blood pounded in his veins, filling his already stiff erection to the point of pain. His grip on her thighs tightened until her hips were off the bed, her soaked sex a breath away from his hungry mouth.
His gums ached, and his muscles stretched with the need to bury himself within her. To claim her as no one else ever had. And just like that his jealousy surfaced. “Such a pretty view. Who else has seen this hot pussy, my passionate Sheba? When we first met there’d been no one, I felt the proof of your innocence with my fingers. Despite your worldly claims, I knew you’d never felt pleasure until I gave it to you.” He held her fast when she jumped in surprise. “I have to know, Hannah. I let you go, left you alone all these years, and I have to know. Who will I need to make you forget?”
For a moment she looked as though she might fight him, might push him away at his offensive question. Why did he have to do it? Ruin the moment when he had her here in his arms? His father had told him once that Weres who could not, or would not claim their mates suffered from jealous rages. The animal in him cried out to bite her, mark her. The man in him knew there was no excuse.
“Men are idiots. I tell her so all the time. Egotistical idiots and hypocrites. You can sleep with any human, Were or vampire that comes your way. She has to stay locked in a tower pining for you. That’s so eighteen hundreds of you, darling.”
“Is it too much to ask for more privacy and less backseat driving?”
Hannah’s hand touched his on her leg, and he met her gaze, ready to apologize. Grovel if necessary. It didn’t matter. Nothing did now that they were together. But instead of censure, understanding shaped her expression, filling him with gratitude and, he had to admit, confusion. But he wasn’t about to question his good fortune.
“No one, Jasyn. No one but you.”
“All that time? Then, honey, we have a lot of catching up to do.” He couldn’t control the growl rumbling in his throat at the first taste of her on his tongue. Pure Hannah. His. He tugged her pussy lips with his teeth, the flat of his tongue gathering every drop of her arousal.
“Jasyn. Oh, yes Jasyn, please.” He felt Hannah’s hands slide into his hair, but instead of pulling him away, she pressed him closer. He pushed forward until her knees were flush against her breasts, her hips high as he continued to lick and suck every inch of her sweet pussy.
No other woman had this effect on him. He couldn’t stop, couldn’t get enough of her honeyed juices. He spread her pussy lips wide with his fingers so he could get deeper, taste more. Her shout of approval when he thrust his tongue deep inside her made his cock jerk. He needed to make her come. Had to feel her pussy tighten around his tongue, swallow every drop of her climax down his throat.
His tongue curled inside her, pressing against the spot that made her scream, made her shudder against him. Her palms blazed against his temples, nails digging into his scalp. Beneath his lashes he watched as she turned her head, burying her face in the pillow to moan incoherently.
More. More. He pumped his tongue inside her, fucking her with his mouth the way he wanted to with his cock. Hard and fast, deep as he could go. When his thumb pressed against her clit, he felt it. Her muscles clenched around his tongue, hands gripping his head so hard it should hurt, but all he felt was elation. The taste of her climax alone sent him close enough to touch the edge. He pressed the damp tip of his cock against her back to relieve the pressure as he continued to feast.
“Beta, something’s—Dydarren!”
Jasyn’s head was throbbing, satisfaction blindsided by a brilliant flash that made him feel as though his eyes were on fire. He rolled off the bed, away from Hannah, his hands covering his face protectively.
“Jasyn. Jasyn, talk to me. What is it? Hold on, baby, hold on. I’ll go get Lux.” He reached out with his eyes closed and gripped her ankle as she tried to get to the door. She landed on her knees beside him, cradling his head in her hands. “What have I done? I saw the light and I just…just…I’m sorry. Talk to me, please.”
“Shh, Sheba.” He nuzzled her belly with his lips, the need to soothe her overriding the pain. A pain that was fading with every deep breath. As his mind unscrambled he sensed that something was different. Something had changed. “Nicolette…she’s gone.”
“Gone? What do you mean gone?”
Hannah’s voice rose with every word, and Jasyn winced. “She isn’t here.” His hand flew to his temple, and he struggled to sit up. “Hannah, is it still there? The mark? Is it gone?” She didn’t answer, looking at him oddly as he wobbled to the bathroom mirror. He could still see the outline, but the tattoo-like mark was broken in spots, faded in others. “Hannah it’s healing. It’s healing, and Nicolette is—”
“She’s safe. My connection to Alexei and the twins is getting weaker, but I do know she’s safe, and we’re not. We have to get back to England, back to Zander before the Shadow Wolves attack the compound and put all these innocents in danger.”
Hannah stood and looked for the T-shirt and jeans Amy had found for her to wear. She kept her back turned to him so he wouldn’t see her face. A moment ago she was flying, soaring at the feel of his mouth on her sex, bringing her to the heights of ecstasy. Now she was just trying not to cry.
She’d felt it, the power flowing through her, the ribbon of light as her moans of joy became a small chorus of healing voices flowing through her into him. If he’d taken whatever was in those vials Lux was carrying around, she was sure there would be no mark on him at all.
Her desire to heal him, to love him must have gotten through, calling the others whose minds she’d connected with only hours before. How could she allow herself to be angry that they’d used her orgasmic distraction to heal Jasyn and send Nicolette’s consciousness back where it belonged? Her embarrassment was nothing when she thought about all those two had gone through. All Marcus Abaddon had suffered. So why was she upset?
“Great Mother the silence. The blessed silence. No lectures on the evils of men, no crude remarks about the fit of Wyley’s jeans. Just man thoughts. Easy, uncomplicated, singular. I mean I’m glad she’s safe, don’t get me wrong…Hannah?”
She rubbed her wet cheeks on her shoulder as she slipped into a pair of clean cotton panties. “That’s wonderful, Jasyn. I’m going to go check on Lux and the others, see when he thinks our patients will be ready to travel.”
“The sun is up, you can’t go out there. What the hell is the matter with you?” He spun her around, and it was all she could do not to burst into tears at his frustrated expression. She turned her head. “Look at me, Hannah. Five seconds ago you were screaming my name with your legs over my shoulders and my face between your thighs, now you can’t even look at me?”
The vulgar words brought her gaze back to his. “Just let me go, Dydarren. You’re free. No more Nicolette in your head. We’re both back to where we started. And I need to get back to where I belong.”
His hands gentled on her shoulders, caressing her soothingly. “You are where you belong, Sheba. With me.” He pulled her closer, and she inhaled on a shaky sob. “What’s this about, Hannah? What’s going on inside your head?”
“I think I’m losing the connection. My abilities. Their abilities. I’m just me again.” And how selfish was she for worrying about that now? But all she could think of was that she was a liability, a hindrance to them now. A fragile Unborn.
And Jasyn. Would their relationship go back to the way it had been before? With him believing, rightfully, that she was too fragile to be at his side?
Jasyn held her in silence. His heart, beating hard against her ear, was the only indication of his mood. That and the erection lengthening against her bare belly. A shiver of feminine knowledge ran through her at his body’s reaction. A reminder that he’d been moments away from taking her, before the Shadow’s mark had finally broken. Was she going to let her insecurity stand in the way of the kind of passion they had together? After all the time they’d lost, all the years she’d waited, she had to take this chance. To be brave.
“Hannah?”
“Yes, Jasyn?”
“We’re all alone.”
“Seems that way.”
“Are you going to take those panties off while I watch or am I going to have to rip them off of you?”
Hannah pulled back to look into his sparkling eyes. He was smiling. And suddenly she was too. “The second option sounds more up your alley.”
His grin widened, and Hannah could see the glint of his fangs. “It does, doesn’t it?” The sound of cloth shredding and his wicked laughter made her blood sizzle. She turned toward the bed but he had other plans, making her dizzy as he spun her around and bent her over the arm of the quilt-covered recliner in the corner.
“I’m not waiting anymore, Sheba.” He spread her legs with one of his own, an arm wrapped around her torso, his hand cupping her breast. His other gliding over her hip to slide between her thighs. “I wanted to give you time. Wanted to give you moonlight and yellow roses. But there is no perfect time or place. There’s only now. The truth that you belong to me will never change. And you aren’t leaving this room until you’re finally mine in truth, marked and mated. I know it’s not the romantic proposal you pictured. It’s messy and dirty and raw. But it’s real.”
Midnight Falls: Children of the Goddess, Book 4 Page 9