Seducing Chaos

by Luna Quinn

  “With Others still living in secret in the human realm, he had no idea what he had seen. He thought I had killed those people. Killed Emma. Ivan saw me as a monster, a despicable thing that only brought death wherever it went. In that moment, I believed it, too. So when he started to kick me, I let him. I was convinced the baby in my womb didn’t deserve a monster for a mother. But even if I’d wanted to, I could barely speak to defend myself, so I didn’t even try. When I was bleeding and sick everywhere, I felt like it wasn’t enough. Like I deserved more. Ivan left before knowing I had been pregnant. It didn’t matter, I had already destroyed everything.”

  She fell silent and opened her eyes to look up at Razor.

  Cords of muscle stuck out of his neck, and her gaze traveled up to his jaw, which was working to grind his molars aggressively. When he exhaled, she half expected to see steam unfurl from his nostrils. It wasn’t surprising to see the mirror of the beast in his eyes when they opened.

  “Is he alive?” Such menace dripped from the short syllables that it was obvious he was picturing how many ways he could torture her ex-husband.

  The Judge’s verdict had been made without hesitation.

  Sasha’s fingers smoothed over his jaw. “No. He was very much human. I didn’t keep tabs on him after I left Russia, but he’s been dead a long time.”

  The beast and man’s hostility faded, leaving a tenderness in his eyes. She was sure she was one of the very few who got to see such vulnerability in him. Tears filled his eyes on her behalf, only serving to make her tear up again. While neither of them let their tears spill over, his arms tightened around her and held her as close to his chest as possible.

  Pressing her face into the curve of his neck, she hugged him back. He didn’t have to say anything. His body and energy spoke to her. They shared a mutual embrace both physically and mentally, and his thoughts told her everything she needed to know.

  “I’m sorry, Sasha,” he said gently.

  “Thank you,” Sasha whispered. “For everything.”

  “I love you, pretty girl.” His lips tenderly brushed her neck, her cheeks, her eyelids, her lips.

  Taking a deep breath, she straightened, ready to continue. There was a strength in her she’d never felt before. It wasn’t that Razor made her stronger himself; he simply allowed her to recognize the strength she carried in herself to heal even her deepest wounds, turning her weaknesses into strengths.

  “After the deaths of my children, I fled. Xavier assigned me here. I was an absolute mess. When I learned about Salvae, I was on a mission to find them as quickly as possible. I know you know a little of this by now, but Reapers don’t really die. It takes a lot to kill us, but when we do die, we are then reincarnated. The timing is always a little ambiguous, but we eventually come back. Don’t ask me the process—I don’t know the specifics. But after each ‘death,’ we have a choice. If we no longer wish to be brought back, we can choose a permanent death.

  “Since our souls are…different, we have to choose where it goes. So to be able to go to Heaven or the Pit, we have to accomplish a nearly impossible, and sometimes horrible, task. We find our three Salvae, and we have to deliver their bodies with souls—torn out before their death—to the realm we wish to go. Sometimes that means delivering a pure soul to the Pit, or a corrupted soul into Heaven. It’s an unnatural task, and risky. But I never cared what it took.

  “I stopped living in my search. I really did. Anger and guilt pushed me on from day to day, and the sole purpose of my life was my mission. I needed to get my soul to Heaven to be with my children again. I tried to complete my Salvae three times. But I can’t do that anymore.”

  She fell quiet for a long time, with Razor simply running his hands up and down her arms, her back, anywhere he could reach to provide her with comfort.

  Finally, he prompted her. “Why?”

  Sasha looked up and met his gaze. “Because you happened. I didn’t get to that third soul in time because you killed my last Salvae.” She used a finger to smooth out the frown between his eyebrows. “Yes, I was furious. I believed my life had become worthless now that I couldn’t finish my goal. Every time I had attempted to find Salvae in the past, something always stopped me from finishing. It scared me to even consider moving on with my life. Then you happened, and I thought that maybe someone up there was trying to send me a message with all these failed Salvae. Maybe it’s my babies.” She shrugged, eyes filling with tears again. “It took a while, but I’m ready to listen now and give life another shot. With you. When I left Russia, I might as well have been dead. You brought me back to life. And one day, I will be reunited with my children. But not yet.”

  His eyes were shiny as he kissed her tenderly. “You’re a remarkable woman, Sasha. Thank you for giving yourself another chance. You’ve made me the happiest man on New Earth.”

  His arms tightened around her, letting her feel every part of his love for her. It was exactly the balm she’d needed.

  …

  Razor had just stepped out of the shower when there was a knock on the door to his rooms. The additional mental knock told him it was his brothers. He looked at the clock on the wall. Six a.m. That was early even for Night, who kept odd hours. Must be important.

  He nudged Sasha, who grumbled sleepily and rolled to her side on the rumpled bed. The sound made him ridiculously happy.

  “Sorry, pretty girl. We have company.” He leaned over and kissed her temple.

  She opened one eye. “What time is it?”

  He chuckled. “Six. I’m going to go open the door now. Night’s been sending me mental death glares for making him wait outside.”

  “Such an asshole,” she mumbled, but got out of bed. He took a small moment to admire her nakedness before he left the bedroom and shut the door behind him. As soon as the door was closed, he felt strangely uncomfortable with having a naked Sasha just in the other room with his brothers in residence. Which was lunacy, since just a few hours ago, he’d been happily fucking her on a table in the middle of a packed club. Somehow, though, this situation felt entirely different.

  Shaking it off, he threw open the door, more than a little annoyed that whatever the mating symptoms were, it included feeling cautious of any male within touching distance of his mate. Even his brothers.

  “About bloody time. Goddess, this place smells like sex,” Night said the second he stepped into the room.

  “Yeah, good morning to you, too.”

  “I brought coffee,” Sin said, showing him a tray with several mugs and a steaming pot.

  “Ahhh, I knew you were my favorite for a reason.” Razor inhaled the scent of the freshly brewed coffee as Sin walked past him, Edge following closely behind.

  “You don’t have to lie to me, Raz. I’ll bring you coffee even if Edge is your favorite. We all know it’s only a matter of time before you put up a picture of him over your bed,” his baby brother said cheekily.

  Razor laughed as Edge ruffled Sin’s hair, giving him a rare crooked grin.

  “Morning, Edge,” Razor greeted.

  His big brother gave his shoulder a squeeze. “Congratulations, Razor. Where is your mate this morning?”

  That was all Razor needed to feel something settle inside him. There had been no need for a conversation. They’d all embraced her, and that would be that.

  “I’m here,” Sasha answered as she stepped out of the bedroom, now showered and dressed.

  Night and Sin turned, flashing bright smiles at her. Edge’s smile wasn’t as huge, but it was enough for him to see the “welcome to the family” sentiment in it.

  Razor’s face must have reflected the emotions churning inside him, because Night said, “Let’s sit down and talk business before Razor starts weeping.”

  They all laughed. Razor didn’t.

  Fifteen minutes later, all Razor could do was rub at his weary eyes.

  “Is Romina sure this spell will work?” Night inquired, turning over a blue velvet pouch in his hand. Inside w
ere the ingredients to a counter-spell, one Romina had assured Edge would break the glamour she had spoken about yesterday.

  Edge leaned back against the couch. “I believed her when she said she made it specifically to target this particular glamour.”

  According to the Witch, she had done a complicated trace of the magic, and it had led her to Valtu. She had no doubt it was the Demon herself using the glamour. Valtu had been walking around the Night House, and who knew where else, while looking like someone else. Right under their noses.

  Gods, Razor wanted this Demon dead like he’d never wanted anything in his life.

  Night considered the pouch again. “I trust her, but this bloody pouch looks like something I’d put in my bathroom to make it smell good.”

  “You have potpourri in your bathroom?” Sin chortled. Sasha snorted. Razor was too troubled to poke fun at Night.

  Night glared at Sin. “Yes, you have a problem with it, pup?”

  Sin raised his hands, mouth twitching in amusement. “Nope. Not a one.”

  “So, tell me again how and when you guys are supposed to use this counter-spell?” Sasha asked, playing with a strap on her jacket.

  “Romina said we’ll need blood to activate it,” Edge replied. “Only mine, Razor’s, Night’s, or Sin’s will work. We can’t trust anyone outside of us present. As hard as this is for everyone, not even the commanders, other Reapers, Gabriel, or Luka can be trusted right now.” Edge looked meaningfully at Sin. “But it’s necessary.”

  Their younger brother dipped his head in understanding.

  “The spell needs to be activated while the club is full,” Edge continued. “The more bodies it hits, the better our chances. When the glamour is broken, a yellow aura-looking mark will appear around the Demon. Romina said that’s how we’ll know it’s Valtu.”

  Night crossed one leg over the other. “Why do you keep talking about activating this thing in my club while it’s full?”

  Edge exhaled sharply, impatience with Night clear in the way he leaned forward. “Romina sent out a summoning spell that will create a compulsion in Valtu. She’ll suddenly need to come to the Night House. Won’t be able to help herself. That’s where we get her.”

  As Edge spoke, Night’s eyes grew wider until they were huge and full of horror. Razor couldn’t blame him—he was protective of his club, and understandably so. His brother had worked hard to make the Night House what it was.

  Night’s gaze now burned violet fire. “I knew you were hiding something from me. Why the bloody fuck did she do that? And why does it have to be in my club? All I hear in that plan is destruction.”

  “This Demon is taking the form of someone who has access to the club. If I had asked Romina to weave the spell with a different destination, it might have raised suspicion.” Edge leaned back in his chair. “Romina is confident Valtu won’t know why she has the urgency to get to the Night House. We’ll use that to our advantage and make sure we meet her in battle on our terms, not hers.”

  Night groaned. “Now you’re saying battle. My poor baby. Let’s try to go for instant death, no battle. And I’m taking any reparation costs out of your portion of the funds.” He pointed at Sin. “Make a note.”

  Razor looked around, wondering if this was as funny to them as it was to him. They were all trying hard not to laugh.

  Even Edge’s lips twitched. “I’m sorry, Night. I won’t make any promises.”

  “If we have nothing else to address, can we get back to work?” Sin asked, tapping away at the 3D touchscreen tablet in front of him. “I have a lot of things to prepare.”

  “I’ll get with the commanders and shift some people around so we have at least two or three of them nearby when the shit goes down,” Razor added.

  “Let’s get to it,” Edge commanded.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Two days later, Razor stepped into Night’s office and immediately felt the deadly stillness of the room.

  “The wards Romina set up just went off. Someone in glamour is in the club,” Night informed them as soon as the door had closed behind Sasha. He was sitting behind his desk, a stony-faced Edge standing over his shoulder, glaring down at the computer monitor.

  “Fucking finally,” Razor said as he and Sasha took positions in front of the desk.

  It had only been two days, but it felt as if they’d been waiting for longer. While he’d been juggling his responsibilities on the streets, and still under orders from Edge not to disclose anything to the commanders until they knew who the fake was, Razor had worked himself into near exhaustion. He’d also implemented security changes to several soldier bases on his own. It had been fucking hard doing it without raising question from his commanders. Good thing they knew how anal Razor could be and hadn’t even questioned his motives.

  Hearing that this could all end today had the effect of an adrenaline shot.

  “Can you see who triggered it?” Sasha asked, sneaking a peek at the monitor.

  Edge shook his head. “Unfortunately, no. The wards are only alarms. They can’t identify suspects. It could be anyone, anywhere.” He growled. “We don’t have time to go through the security feeds, so we won’t know who we’re looking for until the counter-spell is activated.”

  Fucking Hellfire. That would be risky. The club was filling up with people as they spoke. Going after Valtu without prior knowledge of whose face she was wearing could be disastrous.

  “So, Plan B, then?” His blood was beginning to rush through his veins, anticipation making his fangs ache.

  Night made a sound of annoyance. “We have a full house tonight, so we’ll have to do this without raising her suspicions or alarming the crowd. I don’t want a bloody stampede. That’ll only lead to lots of people dying versus only a few unlucky ones. Most importantly, though, it would lead to more damage to my club.”

  Edge patted Night on the back and walked out from behind the desk. “We go in, spread out, activate the counter-spell, and hope for no casualties.”

  Casualties were bad, but not taking this chance meant more of Valtu’s shit, which would lead to even more fatalities down the line.

  Night stood. “Miguel is quietly evacuating civilians as we speak. We can’t deny admittance since that could tip her off. But he’s stopped the line from advancing with the excuse of a broken cash register. Let’s try to keep the bloodshed to a minimum.”

  “We can try to keep as many of them alive as we can, but Valtu won’t care,” Edge said. “She will try to use your sympathy to gain an advantage. She will find your weak spot and exploit it. Keep that in mind when you’re out there trying to save someone’s life instead of taking what could be our only shot at her.”

  “Well, okay, now that Edge has given us the green light to kill anyone who gets in our way, I have some goodies for you,” Night said, and opened the closet doors. Pushing aside the suits that hung neatly on velvet covered hangers, he revealed a metal door. After entering a code in the small screen above the handle, the door swooshed open.

  “Oh fuck, I think I just got a little hard.” Razor took a moment to drink in the collection of weapons.

  “Down, boy,” Sasha said, petting his back.

  Sin laughed as he walked over and pulled out two katanas, his weapons of choice. “I understand the feeling, Raz,” he murmured, his tattooed hand running lovingly over the sheathed blade.

  Striding over, Razor reached for a leather strap, and buckled it around his hips. He slipped several blades into the sheaths, then grabbed some extra ammo since he’d already had his rifle strapped to his back. Sasha moved in next to him, the heat of her body, combined with all the metal, sending a nice little jolt to his dick.

  I will not touch her. I will not touch her, he chanted in his head.

  She chose a handgun and a long blade, testing the blade before grabbing a leather belt and strapping it on. As if she’d read his lascivious thoughts, the brat brushed against him as she passed, her hand making brief contact with his cock.
>
  He chuckled, shaking his head and giving her a look that promised payback.

  Night made a bigger show of it, of course. He removed and hung up his tailored coat before rolling up the sleeves of his deep blue button-up. He strapped two curved blades to his back, pocketing a few spell pouches from his personal collection. “Gifts from Romina,” Night explained. Personally, Razor was lot more comfortable with his steel and Kremortium weapons than with magical ones. At least he knew what his rifle and sabers would do if he used them wrong. Not so much with the magic stuff.

  Edge was the only one who hadn’t needed any additional weapons. Under his black pants and gray long-sleeved T-shirt, he always carried a small arsenal. That wasn’t even counting the weapons clearly on display across his chest. The custom leather harness was packed down with Edge’s favorite black daggers.

  “Who’s activating the counter-spell?” Razor inquired. They only had one, so they’d have to make it count.

  Edge was already by the door. “Sin has the spell. He’ll activate it. If you see Valtu first, let him know through the link.”

  They all nodded in agreement.

  “All right, let’s get this party started.” Night smiled, showing off sharp fangs.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  When they entered the club, Razor cursed. There were so many people still milling around, even with Miguel quietly evacuating small groups.

  People were everywhere, dancing, drinking, fucking. Too many people. He couldn’t see this going well for anyone. But as much as he hated the thought of innocents dying under his watch, he hated the other option a lot more.

  Without another word, they spread out, each taking a different area of the club. Razor and Sasha slinked away as a team. His hand reached for hers even as his eyes coolly catalogued the room. He pulled her to him, his arm snaking around her waist, blending in with the rest of the crowd.