Seducing Chaos

by Luna Quinn

  “Fuck!” he roared. Then a thought made him stop dead in his tracks. What about that odd and new awareness of Sasha he’d begun to sense inside himself? The one he’d been trying to ignore, because he had no idea what to do with it, or what it even was? Could he use that to track her? Only one way to find out.

  It’s barely a flicker now, he noted with disappointment. But when he reached deeper inside himself, intentionally feeling for it, grasping at it, it pulsed to life. Stronger now.

  Instincts demanded he shifted to Hellhound for this. When he did, and the pleasure/pain of the change washed over him, he groaned. Determined, he closed himself off to everything around him, letting his instincts guide him. Using the now active awareness of her, he followed it, intent on finding a way to make it stronger somehow and use it to track her.

  Razor gasped when it led him to the part where he was connected to his brothers on a soul level. Then there it was.

  Sweet Goddess of Hellfire…

  Where there had once been three threads running from his soul to his brothers’, there were now four. A connection to Sasha. Faint, but there was no doubt it was her. The silvery-gold threads that connected him to Edge, Night, and Sin shined brightly and pulsed with life. Sasha’s line was almost clear, though a faint electric blue was beginning to appear in the end closest to Razor’s soul. Incomplete, the word whispered through his mind.

  It was almost invisible because he was connected to her, but since she hadn’t accepted him as her mate, she wasn’t connected to him. Not fully. Though, she had to be on some level if there was a thread connecting them, even if it was thin and fragile.

  Well, shit.

  He’d been freaking out over the mate thing, and apparently he had already formed a permanent bond with her. Part of him wanted to howl from joy. The other part was pissing itself in fear. Thankfully, he didn’t have time to think about the fact that Sasha could, even with the connection she seemed to have formed with him, tell him where he could stick his bond and walk away. He couldn’t think too hard on it, because he had just found a sure way to track her, and he was going to use that link and deal with the existence of it later.

  The second he tugged delicately on that nearly invisible string, his senses blew up. He could feel everything around him, but it was all attuned to Sasha. He could almost smell her, too. He ran in the direction the link was pointing him in, using it as a compass. The Hellfire that surrounded each of his paws left a blue trail in his wake.

  Razor lost count of how many gateways and streets he went through. When a buzzing sensation under his skin began, he slowed down. She was nearby. He followed her scent, which grew stronger with each step.

  And then he was passing Others running in the opposite direction. Screams and screeches hit his ears, fear for Sasha rising into his throat. He snarled and picked up his pace.

  Please be okay, pretty girl.

  Turning a corner at full speed, he had only seconds to take in the scene of chaos before he was leaping into the air and closing his maw around the neck of a Vampire-Shifter. The creature went down hard. Razor shook his head fiercely, trying to tear through the thick flesh. The Vamp-Shifter attempted to claw at him, but Razor’s teeth were buried too deep to be dislodged. He took scratches to his back, but nothing mattered more than getting to his Sasha.

  Snarling and twisting his head from side to side again, he didn’t release the creature until it fell silent, its flailing slowly dying down.

  Dropping the carcass, he took a moment to look around. He could feel her, and she was alive, thank fuck. But where?

  He spotted Carmen’s black and blonde ponytail swinging back and forth. The commander of Sector Six was fighting another of the creatures, her double short swords flying through the air like fans.

  There were a few soldiers from the Shadow Realm army fighting, some pulling civilians out of the crossfire. But it was quickly becoming obvious that the Vamp-Shifters had the upper hand. There had to be at least fifteen of them.

  Cursing, Razor moved forward, taking out another creature on his way to Carmen.

  When he reached her, she was pulling one of her swords free from a Vamp-Shifter’s head, using her foot against its neck for leverage. The body twitched and sprayed blood from the gash in its head.

  “Hijo de puta.” Son of a whore. She snarled at the dead beast, the black blood splashing on her gray jeans. Razor knew some Spanish; he’d been friends with Carmen and Gabriel for too long not to at least know his swear words.

  He needed to talk to her, so he shifted back to his human skin, his clothes and weapons in place instantly.

  Carmen’s nose twitched as if she’d caught his scent, and then she was looking up at him. “How the hell did you make it here so quickly? I only just hung up with Edge.”

  Razor shook his head. “I’m not here for you. I’m looking for Sasha.” He glanced around again.

  “The Reaper?” she asked in confusion, as both she and Razor moved farther into the heart of the chaos.

  “Yes, the Reaper,” he confirmed impatiently, punching another creature and using a saber to slash at its neck. “Have you seen her?”

  Before Carmen could answer him, another Vamp-Shifter came at them. The commander pulled out her swords and attacked. Razor knew she could handle herself; she wouldn’t be a commander otherwise. So, once again, he used the newly formed link to feel for Sasha. He didn’t have to look for long. The second he felt her presence, there was a crash to his right, and there she was, coming out of a two story house at a dead run. Xavier was closely behind her, a small child tucked into his arms.

  Beautiful turquoise eyes softened in relief when they spotted him. She made a beeline towards him, and he rushed to meet her.

  “Thank fuck. What the hell happened?” he asked when she and Xavier were within earshot. He wanted to reach out and bring her into his arms, to feel her alive and warm. But it would probably be unprofessional with her boss right there and all. So he refrained.

  “I think Shadow Realm is under attack,” Sasha said, her eyes darting around, watching for attacks. “Xavier says Reapers are collecting from both Iseabach and Simorah. They have similar situations in their Sectors.”

  “Fuck,” Razor cursed harshly. So Sector Five, Six, and Seven were getting hit simultaneously—the farthest Sectors from One, the Sector in which the Hellhounds had their headquarters.

  Was it some sort of red herring? He needed to warn Night and Sin.

  “Why haven’t I heard from them?” Razor went for his cell phone and realized it wasn’t in any of his pockets. He must have dropped it.

  He spit out a slew of swear words. What the hell was wrong with him? He was failing miserably at his job.

  Xavier held the kid closer to his chest. “I need to get out of here. There are too many Calls to linger in one place,” he said. “I’ll be in touch.” And then Xavier and the kid were gone. Razor wasn’t even going to ask why the leader of the Reapers had just taken off with a baby in his arms. He had other shit to worry about.

  “Razor.” Sasha touched his arm. “Look at me.”

  He turned, realizing that he was in a weird half-shifted state—his hands had claws, and he knew his eyes and teeth were all Hellhound, too. He cursed in Vruk and shifted fully back to his human skin.

  “You’re not psychic, Raz. You can’t know everything all the time,” she said to him, her voice firm, but affection softened her words. “No one can. Not even Xavier, and I’m pretty sure that bastard is close to godhood or something.” She gave him a grin, and then stepped into his body, her forehead resting against his chest.

  His breath hitched, and he wrapped his arms around her. Everything about her melted into everything that was Razor. It was fucking magical. That was the only way he could describe it. So perfect, and it made him feel like as long as Sasha was with him, everything would be okay.

  Fuck this, there was no point in trying to deny it. He was in love with her. Probably had been for a while, but there wa
s no reason now to try to explain it away with lies.

  I love Sasha. The feeling settled easier than he’d thought. Emotion welled, and he wished he could tell her then and there…but the words refused to leave his throat. She wasn’t ready to hear them. That certainly didn’t mean he was giving up, fuck no. It only meant that he’d have to fight harder for her.

  Her text to him for help was another step in the right direction. She could have just as easily reached out to Locke or Archer, or even Sael, but no, Sasha had gone to him. It spoke volumes.

  Keeping his eyes on their surroundings, he watched their backs as Sasha finished giving him a quick, tight hug. When she pulled back, she reached up and touched his face.

  Her smile was pure eagerness. “Now, help me kill stuff.”

  He gave her a slow smile in return. “If we weren’t surrounded by chaos,” he told her softly, “I’d fuck you right here.”

  The brat gave him the sexiest little smirk he’d ever seen, right before she pulled out her machete and spun on her booted feet. Her ass swayed invitingly. “You coming or what?” she asked over her shoulder.

  He was a lucky, lucky man.

  “Oh, I’ll be coming, all right,” he called after her. His mood improving, Razor followed her, his rifle out and ready.

  A shadow in motion suddenly blurred past his peripheral vision and made him pause. No one else seemed to have noticed it.

  Until bodies began to hit the floor.

  One after the other, the attackers went down in pools of blood. Everyone was looking around in a panic, wondering if the invisible killer was friend or foe. Razor smiled slowly. Edge had just arrived.

  His brother barreled through two Vampire-Shifters, slashing and stabbing at them without making any noise.

  Death you don’t see coming.

  Turning back in the direction Sasha had gone, Razor caught up with her just as a Vamp-Shifter was emerging from a convenience store. The minute the creature spotted them, it bared its fangs and charged.

  “I got him,” she said, knees bent in preparation, her machete spinning in a tight circle in front of her.

  For the next ten minutes, they worked together like a well-oiled machine. And it felt fucking good to have her by his side.

  Breathing heavily, Razor pushed the last of the creatures off him. Sasha’s face was grim, and he knew exactly how she felt. There was no satisfaction in killing these beasts. Not after Castor had reluctantly explained their origins. Their deaths left him with a bad taste in his mouth. All he felt was disgust at Valtu for having used innocents, much like Erummon had for his sick experiments. And anger, lots of anger, at himself for not having found out sooner what was really going on. Maybe if he had, he could have found a cure, a way to stop it, or at least a way to reverse the change.

  Sasha’s hand was on his shoulder. “There is nothing you could have done,” she reminded him, as if reading his troubled thoughts. “These people made their own choices. You know addiction can be cured with the help of a Witch. They liked their lives. That placed them in Valtu’s path. Not you.”

  Razor chuckled grimly. Goddess, had he ever needed this many pep talks in his life?

  “Thank you.” He kissed her quickly. “Let’s go help the others.”

  It took an hour to calm down the civilians and get them back in their homes. Repair crews were called in to handle the damage, and Razor was confident that the Shifters, who mostly handled all the construction in Shadow Realm, would be able to fix the worst of it so that all the affected could as least sleep in their houses. They would deal with the rest tomorrow.

  When they finally made it back to the Night House, bloody and drained of energy, they were promptly informed that everyone was already seated and ready to start the meeting.

  “What meeting?” Razor asked, picking dried black blood off his forearm.

  Night made a sound of disgust. “You’re seriously off your fucking game. Pussy that good, Raz?”

  Razor snarled and launched himself at his brother, but Edge got to him before he could get there. Night didn’t even flinch. The fucking asshole just grinned.

  Razor gave him a death glare. Night’s smile only got wider.

  “Razor isn’t the only one who forgot. There’s been too much going on,” Edge said while Razor pulled himself free.

  “The meeting with all the commanders, the Witches, and the rest of the gang?” Night answered. “Everyone is already here, they’re all fine. Aleks, Sin, Isea, and Mory look no better than you three, though.” Night motioned towards the door to the war room.

  Sasha stepped into Night’s path.

  “Just so we’re clear,” she said, staring right up at Night’s face, “and the question doesn’t continue to plague you at night when you’re all alone in your undoubtedly huge bed: yes, Night, the pussy is that good.” She flipped him off, then proceeded to open the door for everyone.

  If he hadn’t been in love with her already, that would have done it.

  Night and Edge shared a look. And when Night looked to him, his purple eyes were bright and full of approval. As if he needed another reason to fall any harder for his beautiful Reaper. He didn’t need anyone standing up for him, but she had done just that. Maybe she hadn’t realized what her actions declared. Nonetheless, she had just confirmed to his brothers that they were, indeed, dancing around a mating.

  Inside the war room, those already present were standing around the rectangular table, talking amongst themselves. First in Razor’s field of view was Simorah, aka Mory, commander of Sector Five. There were scratches across her face, and grass stuck to her long black braids. Her clothing was covered in dirt and black blood. She was talking with Iseabach from Seven, whose short hair was covered in the same black ooze. Several cuts marred his dark skin, and his shirt was torn along one side. The ancestral tattoo that ran down to his elbows was smeared in red blood. More of Isea’s skin showed through countless tears in his clothing, ink peeking through every inch. Razor knew his entire body was decorated with the tattoos that were so important to his culture.

  As they all noticed everyone else had just arrived, they began to take their seats. Aleks and her twin brother, Bek, sat next to each other. Aleks’ clothes were caked with black blood, which made it clear she had helped the other Sectors. Bek looked fine, so he’d evidently stayed behind.

  Carmen took a seat next to Sael, looking pretty damn good for someone who had just been in a mini war. In fact, she seemed to have had enough time to go home, shower, and somehow change the color of her hair.

  “Looking good, Carmen,” he complimented, fully intending on teasing her. “Interesting color. What do you call it?”

  Carmen flipped him off. “I call it shut-your-fucking-mouth ice blue.”

  He laughed, and pulled Sasha deeper into the room.

  Sin and Luka sat next to each other. Sin also had several deep gashes on his neck and one across his chest, the remnants of a white T-shirt doing very little to hide the amount of blood splattered on him. It made Razor want to go over and check his little brother over. He didn’t because it usually pissed Sin off. Luka looked uninjured, though a little pissed himself. The alpha of the Shifters kept shooting odd glances at Sin. His baby brother only glowered back at the big bear Shifter. It made Razor frown and wonder if they’d had a fight. In the two years since Luka and Sin had become an item, he couldn’t recall a time they hadn’t been eye fucking each other at every opportunity.

  Atsuko, commander of Four, parked her long body, her double katanas strapped tightly to her back, next to the Vampire clan leader and his second-in-command. On normal days, she was sweet and chatty. Today her face was closed off, and her vibe was deadly.

  Gabriel gave her a tight-lipped smile, but his fangs were visible, and it became clear that all the fresh blood was making him hungry. Razor’s lips twitched. He met the Vampire’s gaze, intentionally bringing up his forearm with the big, bloody cut on it and waving it at Gabriel. The Vampire leaned back in his chair, his
arms crossed over his chest, and scowled. Anila only rolled her eyes. She didn’t look to be having any problems keeping her blood lust under control.

  The three Rs took their seats next to Edge, and that only left Night, Sasha, and Razor. They took their seats just as Edge cleared his throat.

  “Shadow Realm is under attack.” Edge stated the obvious, his eyes reflecting the fury everyone was feeling. The absence of Edge’s icy control wasn’t a good sign. “How?” His voice was practically all growls. His angry breaths filled the room.

  Night spoke up, sighing deeply. “What my brother is trying to say with all this heavy breathing is that there were attacks in Sectors Five, Six, and Seven. Thank fuck that Aleks and Sin got to Five and Seven in time to help, and that Razor and Sasha were already in Six. Whoever orchestrated this attack somehow knew that there was a shift change scheduled, and that there would be a period of ten minutes where soldiers would be leaving and/or starting their shift. The opening for an attack was too perfect.” It was Night’s turn to bare his fangs. “I smell a rat.”

  Fucking fuck. Razor fisted his hands under the table. This was worse than he had thought.

  Edge leaned forward, his palms flat on the tabletop. “The only reason why I’m not sending out every Guild assassin at my disposal is that I have no fucking idea where to send them. Find this rat. Now.”

  “Gods, Edge, don’t run for president, please,” Night said. “Again, what my brother is trying to say is that normal protocols and rules need not apply when you’re trying to dig up this piece of shit. Cheat, kill, maim, dance to the Goddess of the moon, black magic, animal sacrifice: all good. Encouraged, actually.”

  Edge snarled at Night, his gaze promising an ass kicking. Night waved him off, used to it. “Yeah, yeah.”

  Edge looked to Razor then. “Before we move on to our counterattack plan, my brother and his Reaper have a few things to add.”

  Razor almost choked on his own saliva over Edge’s choice of words. He managed to keep it cool, taking hold of Sasha’s hand under the table. He froze at the action because he hadn’t intended to do that. But when Sasha only squeezed his hand in return and didn’t complain about Edge’s comment or the hand holding, he relaxed, nodding at her to go first.