Crumbling Control (Helena Hawthorn Series Book 3)

by May Freighter

  “Antoinette,” she said with a giggle that revealed her lack of two front teeth.

  “Byron! Have you seen her?” a loud female voice called from downstairs.

  Lucious knelt on one knee. “I believe your mother is looking for you, young lady.”

  Antoinette took a cautious step back. Her silver eyes never left his. She disappeared around the corner, and Lucious raked his fingers through his hair. What else was the universe hiding from him?

  Having borrowed Byron’s shaver, Lucious stripped his face of the growth. Byron’s wife, Sinead, a human with ocean-blue eyes and a warm smile, offered to cut his hair for him, and he accepted it. Byron’s massive clothes were baggy around Lucious’ frame as he sat at the dinner table with a half-empty cup of coffee in his hand.

  The sun set and night fell on the outskirts of London. Lucious stood and inclined his head. “I believe it is the time I left you to return to your lives.”

  Sinead set down her knife and fork, resting them against her plate. “You should stay here. Byron said there are dangerous men after you.”

  “Exactly. It would be more dangerous for you to get involved with me.”

  Byron snorted, and Lucious eyed him with interest. Facing his wife as he stood, Byron planted a soft kiss on the woman’s forehead. “I’m going to catch up with him, luv. I should be back before morning.”

  “There is no need,” Lucious protested.

  “Said the guy who spent the past week on my bed with enough holes in him to make my daughter call you Mr Swiss cheese.”

  Lucious raised a brow at the strange nickname when he looked at the young girl in her high chair. She giggled. “It’s Mr Swiss, Daddy.”

  “Close enough,” Byron replied.

  “Nevertheless, it is the time I leave your home before I overstay my welcome,” Lucious said with a forced smile.

  Sinead nodded as Antoinette lifted her hands in the air and shouted, “Goodbye hugs!”

  Full of uncertainty, Lucious walked around the table and bent to her height. He caught a whiff of the wolf blood that ran through the little girl’s veins. He could feel Byron’s eyes on him, even without looking. The werewolf remained weary, and Lucious did not blame him.

  When Antoinette’s tiny arms wrapped around his neck, she left a light peck on his cheek. “You are pretty without a beard, Mr Swiss.”

  Lucious cringed at the nickname and pulled back. “Thank you.” He glanced at Byron who grinned like a fool.

  They stepped into the night’s air through the kitchen door. Lucious sucked in a breath. The smell of freshly fallen rain hung in the air as he followed Byron to the garden’s back gate.

  Once they were a good distance away from his home, Byron shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I was worried…”

  “What?” Lucious asked, not sure what he meant.

  Byron raised his voice a little, bringing clarity to his words. “I thought you would bite my kid, Lucious. Your eyes are a sign of madness, but you act as if you’re unaffected by the thirst. Mind explaining that to me?”

  Lucious had to agree. The thirst that drove him mad mere weeks ago had greatly subsided. Instead, he craved something else, someone much sweeter than a human—a certain witch. Recalling the taste of Helena’s blood, he swallowed as saliva pooled in his mouth and the sharp points of his fangs extended slightly.

  “I only crave one woman.” Lucious could not reveal that beyond Helena’s blood, he could only drink from his kind.

  Byron paused mid-stride and faced Lucious with a look of utter disbelief. “Are you telling me you fell in love? You—the man who killed hunters and vampires indiscriminately for the past century, the man who told me to take my dreams of happily ever after and shove them up my—”

  “You do not need to recite everything I said,” Lucious snapped.

  “Sod off!” Byron slapped Lucious on the shoulder. “You are taking the piss, aren’t you?”

  “I do not joke about such matters.”

  Byron’s smile faded, and they kept walking down the road. Cars were parked under the yellow streetlights in front of the tiny gardens of the terraced white houses.

  They came to the end of the road, and Byron said, “Where is she?”

  “With Alexander.”

  “You left your woman with a womaniser? That’s dangerous, don’t you agree?”

  “I am more concerned about my childe’s affection towards her than I am about Alexander’s sway on women,” Lucious said matter-of-factly.

  The small car park ahead was isolated by a three-foot brick wall. A concrete path they were on led to it, and Lucious cautiously followed Byron. His eyes darted around the shadowy parts of the car park in search of any possible threat.

  “My car is over there.” Byron pointed at a beat-up black Range Rover. “Where do you want a lift to?”

  “I can make my way from here alone.”

  Byron shook his head. “After that episode in Harlow, leaving you alone will get you killed faster.”

  Lucious halted and glared at the back of Byron’s head. “What is the real purpose of your assistance?”

  The werewolf scowled at him. “Can’t it be out of goodwill?”

  “You do not believe that any more than I do.”

  “I guess you always were a smart man, Lucious.” Byron fished the keys out of his pocket and unlocked the car. “Care to go for a drive with me while I explain?”

  Glancing between the car and the shadows of the car park, Lucious assessed his options. Curiosity and guilt gnawed at him. He owed Byron for saving him. “Make it quick.”

  “Are you going to tell me about the matter or not?” Lucious demanded after ten minutes of silence. With the tracking bullets out of his body, he could return to Anna and seek advice about feeding. The longer he thought about it, the more his throat ached with a light burn. He swallowed the pooling saliva and faced the werewolf.

  Byron looked at every mirror in the car and his shoulders relaxed a little. The agitation Byron displayed had Lucious on edge. At the same time, he couldn’t get involved in any serious issues with Helena being soul-bound to him.

  “You know about the influx of hunters in the city, yeah?” Byron asked.

  Lucious nodded, awaiting further information.

  “I have talked to Phil. He said he’ll look into the reason behind their sudden decision to come to London.”

  Lucious sat straighter in his seat. If the events at the Demon Gate had anything to do with the arrival of the hunters, the Council would surely blame him and Helena for it. The old informant would have no choice but to share such information with Eliza, especially if he wished to keep his head thereafter.

  “Has Phil told you anything about it?”

  Byron briefly eyed him. “You know something about this, don’t you?”

  “If I did, I would not be asking you.”

  Byron’s lips twitched upwards. “Yeah, the only problem is that for a vampire who’s supposed to be dead, you have a heartbeat that gives away your lies, Lucious.”

  Cursing, Lucious rubbed his eyes. “These are matters I cannot talk about.”

  “Is it to do with your woman?”

  “Would it help if I said it does?”

  Byron chuckled. “She must be one hell of a bird to have turned you into someone who cares. Maybe I should meet her and tell her everything you’ve done in the past twenty years. She might run away.”

  Lucious narrowed his eyes. “This is not a game, Byron. Leave her out of this.”

  “Fine. She can stay out of our business if you return. We do not need the soft-hearted vampire who’s crazy in love with some woman. We need the old vampire back, the one who gets the information no matter the cost.”

  “I thought you were no longer part of Lucas’ pack,” Lucious replied with irritation lacing his words. He did not wish to return to the past. If he did, he may not be able to look at Helena without feeling like his presence was dirtying her.

  Byron par
ked the car in Central London, behind a silver Ford Fiat. They were a short distance away from Phil’s office. A bad feeling had Lucious’ gut in knots.

  “Although I was cast out of his pack, I have connections as a beta. Plus, it’s not solely Lucas who’s on edge, Theo is, too. Both alphas, as much as they like to pretend that nothing is happening, cannot keep their people from finding out the truth since pack members have been going missing these past few days,” Byron explained, climbing out of the car. The door slammed behind him, and Lucious took this as a cue to join him outside in the humid air.

  The dark, starless sky above them did not bring him any comfort as Lucious scanned the area. He briefly closed his eyes, listening out for any inconsistencies or a possible ambush.

  “It’s good to see you haven’t lost your caution,” Byron said and turned the corner into a pitch-black alleyway.

  Lucious focused his attention on the door to Phil’s office as it burst open. Phil dragged a wounded human by the throat. He threw him at the brick wall. A sound of breaking bones filled the silence as the man collapsed into a mangled heap on the concrete. His heart pumped one last beat and gave up.

  Phil retrieved a black handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the bloodstains from his ebony hands. Tucking the dirtied material back into his trousers, he observed his visitors.

  “I do not recall you being on the list of guests tonight,” Phil grumbled.

  Byron grinned. “I like to be spontaneous.”

  The old informant shook his head and waved for them to come inside.

  Sparing one glance at the body, Lucious raised a brow. “Is the Grave Keeper coming tonight?”

  “Who else? That ghoul finds pleasure in seeing a dead body on the street,” Phil retorted.

  “Have we caught you at a bad time?” Byron asked. “You sound a little testy.”

  As a black van pulled up at the end of the street, Phil ushered them indoors and locked the metal door behind them. “It’s best to leave the beast to his job. I do not feel like getting indigestion tonight.” With a loud clap of his hands, Phil marched to his desk. Papers and folders were overflowing, as always. He ignored them and scribbled something down, then handed it to Byron. “That’s the name of the hunter from Ireland I escorted earlier. He’s the third I questioned this week since Lucious is no longer playing the game.” Phil shot him a pointed stare.

  “I have other matters to take care of,” Lucious snapped.

  Phil leered at him. “A human, a witch, or was it a saint? What is Helena Hawthorn?”

  “Phil…” Lucious’ red eyes glowed with an obvious warning.

  “Y-you,” Phil stammered as he took a step back. “A descent?”

  Byron slapped Phil on the back. “That’s what I thought at first, but he appears to be in control.”

  “I am in control as long as you do not threaten what is mine,” Lucious growled.

  Byron lifted his hands in the air. “Easy there. Calm yourself or you’ll break the filing cabinet.”

  Lucious blinked. His hand rested atop of a filing cabinet, which had sunk on one side under the pressure. He released it and forced his rage back into the box.

  Phil’s black eyes filled with curiosity. “Alexander failed to mention this to me.”

  “On the contrary, I feel that Alexander has been talking more than usual,” Lucious said through gritted teeth.

  “You should thank your friend instead. If it was not for my and Byron’s help, you would be dead.” Phil crossed his arms.

  The room bled back to its normal dull greys. With his emotions in check, Lucious took a seat in one of the empty chairs in front of the desk and folded his hands in his lap. “Tell me what it is you want from me. I may as well listen before I decide whether it is something I must be involved in.”

  Phil’s posture stiffened as he took his seat at the desk. “This matter involves us all, Lucious. The protective wards witches had cast centuries ago were severed the instant the dark gate opened. Places we hid from the hunters for so long are being discovered.” His eyes bore into Lucious as he added, “There are many rumours about how you and your woman went through the gate to slay a demon. Perhaps that is why Vincent wants her…”

  Lucious shot out of his seat in a flash. His palms slammed against the papers on the desk, and he loomed over the informant. “He does what?”

  “The word is that Vincent invited her to his home. She went willingly. Alexander confirmed her arrival there an hour ago,” Phil added.

  Seeing red, Lucious shut his eyes. He straightened and sucked in breath after breath into his heaving chest. The smell of Phil’s blood became more prominent than the stench of the bins outside. He fought the hunger by clinging to reality. The Council was once more involved. Not only did they wish to take away his sire from him, they also wanted to take his woman. His body trembled with overwhelming anger.

  “It is fine. Your childe is with her.” Phil’s words did not extinguish Lucious’ fury, but they managed to pacify him enough to stare back at the informant.

  At the back of his mind, Lucious contemplated contacting her through the link, then thought better of it. He could not face her after breaking his word.

  “What did you find out from the hunters?” Byron asked, drawing Lucious’ attention.

  Phil’s expression grew grim. “They said little, as I already expected. The last one, thankfully, had a loose tongue. New to the clan, I suspect. There is a wedding that will be held between two clans. In celebration of the union, they will purge London.”

  Silver stained Byron’s irises. “Let them bloody well try.”

  “Do we know when the wedding will take place?” Lucious asked.

  Phil shook his head. “We need to question more hunters. So far, based on my research, more than one hundred have gathered in Croydon, Watford, and Romford. A new group is due to arrive tomorrow from Berlin via Heathrow Airport.”

  Lucious’ expression darkened. “The German clan involved, are they the Black Mamba by any chance?”

  “How did you know?” Phil inquired.

  “Call it a gut feeling.”

  Byron snorted. “And does this gut feeling have anything to do with the hunters you worked with to get the gate opened?”

  “I did not work with the hunters,” Lucious corrected him.

  “Children, we do not have all day to bicker. The more you two fight, the more time we lose. I need you two to capture some hunters. Split them up and break them. Lucious, we need you onboard for this.” Phil’s harsh features softened. “Because as much as I want to believe the Council can defeat three hundred hunters, I am a man of facts. And facts state that no Council ever survived such a horde.”

  Phil was correct. Ben wanted revenge for the death of his partner. The wedding idea was moot to Lucious. He was certain there was a way he could break a hunter with a day or two at his disposal. Because once the hunters set their mind on a target, they did not stop until either party was dead. And, if Helena was the target, he would eliminate Ben first.

  “I’m in,” Lucious finally announced.

  Byron grinned and knotted his fingers behind his head. “Looks like you will be staying at my place for a couple more days.”

  “No. I have to see my sire.”

  “Do as you wish but get moving,” Phil urged. “My guess is that we don’t have long.”

  3

  Ghosts Of The Past

  The taste of smoke suffocated her as flames besieged Helena. Licking their way up the sofa, she huddled in the corner, tucking her knees close to her chest.

  “Mommy,” she cried out in Russian with fat tears warming on her cheeks.

  Sasha burst into the living room, her frantic eyes searching. Once they settled on Helena, she ran towards the child, picking her up in one swift motion.

  “It’ll be okay, Helena,” her mother cooed and patted her on the back as she scrambled for the hallway, only to pause when a soft murmur came from the kitchen.

  The elderly
woman, with deep-set wrinkles on her forehead and cheeks, looked from the other side of the hungry fire.

  “Mother? Mother where are you?” Sasha called out.

  The grandmother’s face grew distorted by the flames, and she called out from the kitchen, “Save the little one, Sasha. Run and do not look back!”

  “But, Mother!” Sasha covered her mouth with her hand as she coughed.

  Grandmother shook her head. “Run.”

  Reaching for her grandmother, Helena struggled for a way out of her mother’s hold. The distance between them increased. Smoke and unrelenting inferno engulfed the living room. Words were left strangled in Helena’s throat as she coughed and cried into her mother’s shoulder.

  “Grandma!” Helena screamed. Cold sweat clung to her skin. She found tears streaking her face when she wiped at it. With her stomach churning, she scrambled out of bed in search of the toilet.

  She ran to the en-suite and expelled the contents of her stomach into the toilet.

  “Helena, are you sick?” Andrew’s voice came from behind her, and his cold hand landed on her shoulder.

  A pleasant shiver ran through her. She clutched his hand, enjoying the coldness.

  Without question, he knelt beside her and drew her into him, tucking her messy hair behind her ear as he massaged her back with a free hand.

  She didn’t know how much time had passed and didn’t care. The arms she was in were not the ones she wanted. Mentally, she reached out to Lucious, seeking his comfort. When no response came back, another tear escaped. This time, it had nothing to do with the fear from the nightmare she witnessed for the millionth time since her return from the Demon Realm.

  “I’m fine now,” Helena said, pushing away from him.

  Andrew helped her stand and scrutinised her with his worried gaze. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “It’s the same answer as always.” Helena stepped back, eyeing her sweaty pyjamas, and cringed. She owed Perri a new set.

  Andrew reached out, but his hand halted a few inches from her shoulder. His long fingers curled into a fist, and he retracted it. “I will leave you then. Call me if you need anything.”