Soroyan wished he could have spared Kyrian the pain, but he hadn’t been able to do that, either. Just one more thing to add to his already burdened conscience.
Kyrian waited, but Soroyan didn’t say anything. What was there to say? His brother was right. Soroyan hadn’t wanted to stay here in Washington state. At least not once he spied the immortals that his brother claimed, through a vision, would become their allies.
At first, it had been due to his hatred of humans, and even though he knew the people living below in their massive log home weren’t actually human, it hadn’t mattered. They looked human, acted human, drove cars, lived in a human habitat, went to human jobs …
That hadn’t been the only reason.
He’d lived in such a cold, dark place for so long, and for the first time in centuries, a female had captured his interest. It became worse when Kyrian insisted they join forces, and in the end, Soroyan had a hard time saying no to his brother.
After helping Tierney and Sami rescue her father and Jax, Soroyan could feel the ice that encased his heart beginning to thaw. With the thaw came emotions he didn’t know how to handle. They’d been buried away for so long.
“I know you want me to think you are still angry with my decision, though I don’t believe you hate them any longer,” Kyrian said, talking about the immortals.
Tierney, Jax, Sami, and Zander––even the Were-leopard Thaniel, and Were-wolf Mark––were starting to grow on Soroyan, and he hated that. He didn’t want to like anyone.
“Maybe,” he answered, not willing to say more on the subject.
“I sense that is not all that is upsetting you,” Kyrian said.
Soroyan growled a warning to his brother to let it go.
“It has to do with Tierney,” Kyrian said shrewdly, pushing.
With his anger rising, Soroyan climbed to his feet. “Leave it alone, brother.” Then he drew on his power and shifted into his massive black wolf, streaked with red. Unafraid, Kyrian stayed where he was, watching him. A moment later, Soroyan turned and walked off.
Only when he was a good distance away, did he begin to run. The anger inside pumped through his veins. Why would his brother push him like this?
Silent only in the way of a seasoned predator, his paws flew over the terrain, barely touching the ground as he ran aimlessly, trying to stem the flow of the anger inside.
In his mind a vision of a purple-eyed female rose up, confusing his wolf. For years he hadn’t thought of a woman sexually, for none came close to his mate. None had made him feel, until Tierney. She changed everything. She first cracked the ice around his heart, and in the ensuing thaw, her pure light had pierced what was left of his soul, making him crave more.
Subconsciously, though she was beautiful––sexy––he knew it wasn’t just that. It was what was left of his shriveled up, dark soul suddenly coming back to life. Still, her beauty and sweet, yet strong personality had gotten through to him in a way that no other had in all these long years.
He’d come alive to find that he couldn’t have what he wanted. Even if she hadn’t been too young for the likes of him, she was taken, a soul mate to another. Jax. To make matters worse, he’d begun to respect Jax.
Suddenly all his senses, his emotions, were wide awake.
Yeah, maybe he should have taken his brother’s advice, but he’d found and lost his soul mate and supposedly, you only get one. As he thought of Delsie, he couldn’t imagine replacing her.
Still, certain pack members had tried to entice him over the years and while he could have had a casual fuck, or taken a mate had he wanted, the idea of a mate who wasn’t a soul mate, just never worked for him. Still didn’t.
Soroyan raced through the forest. Up one side of the mountain and around, then back down the other side. Skirting the lake, he didn’t stop until he found himself standing in the middle of the blacktop with no idea of why he was there or where he was going. He’d often thought that being immortal sucked and that hadn’t changed. What did he have to look forward to?
He drew in a deep breath of night air and exhaled right as a pair of headlights zeroed in on him.
Mesmerized, he didn’t move. Maybe … just maybe …
Subconsciously Soroyan sensed the frantic heartbeat of the driver. Then the human slammed on the brakes and the car began to slide. Soroyan snapped back to reality. He blinked his red eyes, knowing the man would have a tale to tell his buddies this night.
Then, just before impact, he shot out of the way. He needed to find Toren first, before he even considered ending things.
***
Soroyan irritably nursed his drink, waiting for Sin, the owner of Club Purgatori, to show up. Having been told the woman wouldn’t be in until much later, he’d already taken a long walk around Spokane. It was an attempt to get used to the bustling city, and while it was getting easier since he’d been here a few times, he still had moments of feeling like he was suffocating. Claustrophobia, he’d overheard Sami call it.
Soroyan was growing tired of this wait to speak with a woman who may not be able to help. He felt like they were spinning their wheels trying to find his nephew. He hated to admit it, but was beginning to think they’d never get his brother’s twenty-five-year-old son back.
Though he was an adult in human years, in pack years he was young and innocent of the world around him.
Soroyan was about to get up and leave Club Purgatori when a striking female walked in from the back. It was Sin.
She stood beside her bodyguard for a moment and surveyed the room. With long, wavy black hair, full glossy-red lips, blue eyes, and pert breasts, she had all the right curves. Sexy for a human, he supposed, though she didn’t do anything for him. Then he thought of Tierney and gave himself a mental kick.
Why are you thinking of her? She’s too young, and she’s taken! That didn’t stop him from wanting to feel her goodness, even though he was aware that his attraction to Tierney came from the fact she had wormed her way through his defenses, thawing that part of himself he kept separate from others.
Sin surveyed her domain like a queen and when she looked in his direction, Soroyan felt her interest pique. A provocative smile curved her lips while pheromones wafted from her, though the humans in the club didn’t notice. Then she turned away.
Soroyan watched her head back through the door and disappear, followed by her bodyguard. This was the second time Soroyan had come looking for Sin and the first time he’d found her.
Needing to find out what she might know about Toren’s whereabouts, and not wanting to miss her again, Soroyan glanced at Sami. There was nothing he could do for the guy. Suddenly feeling his five hundred years, Soroyan stood up.
When a human bouncer attempted to stop him, Soroyan drew on his power. A moment later, with a stupid look on his face, the bouncer moved aside. Opening the door, Soroyan followed Sin’s scent and found the large bodyguard standing outside her office. Once again, he used his power, but this time the guy glowered at him. Soroyan let out some more power and the guy shivered, and even though fear lit his eyes, he didn’t back down.
“Who are you? What do you want?”
“I am here to speak with Sin.” Soroyan glowered at the guy.
“Just let him in. Tragic, he could eat you for breakfast.” The voice came from inside the office and Soroyan scowled.
Tragic protested. “I’m here to protect you. I can’t do that when you let all the riffraff in,” he said to the woman in the office.
At the other male’s words, Soroyan narrowed his eyes, in the mood to teach the guy a lesson. Sin suddenly standing in the doorway stopped him.
“It’s fine, really,” she said to Tragic as she perused Soroyan with a look of lust before turning away. “Come in, handsome.”
Tragic huffed but moved out of the way, letting Soroyan enter. In the office, Sin inspected him with blatant sexual interest. “Who are you and what do you want?” she asked huskily, licking glossy lips. Though she was nervous, she also o
bviously liked what she saw.
“I’m Soroyan, and I’m looking for my nephew, Toren. He was with a Were-wolf named Mark,” Soroyan said, getting right to the point.
“I see. Well, I’m sorry, I can’t help you. Don’t know where they are,” she said with a provocative gleam in her eye.
He clenched his teeth. “Look, I’m in no mood for games. I think you know something.” Soroyan cocked his head and sniffed. She was giving off some very strong pheromones, telling him she was only part-human. “You are a Daywalker.”
“How did you—” She stopped speaking when he pressed close and sniffed her neck. “You are a wolf, but not a Were. I can … feel your power.” She shivered.
Soroyan inhaled her body’s reaction to him. “No, I’m not a Were.” He put some distance between them and ran his eyes up and down her body. He’d heard of Nightwalkers––what humans would call a vampire––but he also knew their half-human offspring—Daywalkers––could walk in the daylight and eat human food. He’d never met any before. “Tell me what you know,” he demanded.
Sin sighed and her shoulders sagged in disappointment. “I don’t know what to tell you. Yes,” she waved her hand, “I know Mark, and I also know he and a pretty young red-headed man disappeared, but I have no idea where they are.”
Soroyan drew in a breath and tasted the truth of her words. Loki! “We found Mark at the Ilyium compound in Liberty Lake. We didn’t find Toren,” he said, watching her reaction.
“You did?”
Soroyan noted her surprise seemed genuine.
“Is Mark okay?” she asked, concerned.
Taking another step back, Soroyan felt defeated as he scanned her office. There was a security monitor with four different windows showing everyone in the club from different angles. “Yes, Mark’s fine.”
Soroyan could smell another kind of fear coming off of Sin. “I might know who has your nephew, though not where.” Sin’s eyes devoured him some more. Soroyan waited for her to say more. Instead, she moved close and ran her hands across his chest. “You are one big, scary guy, aren’t you?”
When he didn’t say a word, didn’t move or react at all, she turned away and leaned back against her desk. A flicker of fear shone in her eyes. “Have you ever heard of someone named Val Jean?”
The name rang a bell. Then he remembered Tierney had overheard the name a week ago, when she listened in on Sin’s thoughts. “Who is he?”
“Val Jean is the self-proclaimed king of my kind,” Sin said, sucking on her lower lip. “If the Ilyium doesn’t have your wolf, then he might. Val Jean … he collects pets.”
Soroyan frowned. “What do you mean, collects pets?”
“Just that. He collects Supes and keeps them as pets … chained up. I heard he fucks some and drinks from others, gaining power if they are powerful.”
Soroyan felt sick at the thought of his nephew in the hands of this Val Jean. “How do I find him?”
“That I don’t know, and I don’t want to. Besides, it’s a closely guarded secret.”
“Do any of his people ever come in here?” he asked.
“Sometimes. Not often.” She licked her lip as she appraised him.
“You will call me when they come in,” he said, leaning in close to her. Sin inhaled sharply as he wrote a number on the pad on her desk. It was the number Tierney had given him to her cell phone.
“Oh. Sure,” Sin said, definitely disappointed when he edged away again.
Soroyan gazed into the woman’s eyes, not as immune to her desire as he’d have liked to be. “I—”
Sin pressed herself against him and wove her fingers through his hair, then pulled his head down.
As her lips met his, he started to pull away. This wasn’t what he wanted, yet he could feel how badly she wanted him, and deepened the kiss for a moment before letting her go. The pounding of Sin’s heart almost made him smile as he walked away.
Chapter Three
Keshiel
Raven, born the angel Keshiel, lay on the warm, lumpy ground. She closed her eyes and dug her hands––turned to claws––into the hard soil, trying to regulate her thundering heart. Covered in sweat and drying blood, both her own and her enemies’, she ignored the insects flying about and concentrated on the live pulse in the earth deep below her. She pushed all thoughts aside of the dead that lay scattered all around.
Aware of what was coming, she drew in deep, even breaths of muggy air and fought the ancient beast inside of her, knowing if she didn’t rein him in, he’d destroy the world in vengeance of the innocent.
Once she regained control, she lay still and continued to draw each breath, letting it out slowly, not looking forward to what she needed to do next.
With her body back to normal, she kept her eyes closed and sealed all emotion away while thick, black storm clouds appeared out of nowhere in the light teal sky above her. The wind picked up with a furious howl and then, as the first fat drops of rain fell, she finally accepted the first soul. It didn’t matter how hard she resisted, as the innocents began to pass through her to the heavens above, she was still brutally thrust back to the most painful moment of her life twenty years earlier. Back to the agonizing moment when her own child’s soul, dying in unspeakable horror, had departed to the heavens.
Rain soaked her, beating her long black hair into the mud as memories swamped her, trying to cripple her. Raven drew on her soul-deep anger and bit her tongue hard. The taste of blood helped and she clenched her fists as lightning struck the ground not far from her. Then, the first shafts of agony twisted her insides, burning like the fires of hell should.
Raven suffered in silence, holding as still as she could. It was the only thing she could offer those whose lives had ended all too soon.
Once the innocents were secure in the heavens, she attempted to relax her battered and aching body. The rain had let up and though the black mixed with green storm clouds continued to writhe in fury overhead, the air thickened. Weak from blood loss and her mind numb, she lay listening to the buzzing as the insects returned to feed. Then an icy chill crept back into her heart as she reached for the soul of the first of the Ilyium butchers.
Sweet, power-building energy sizzled through her veins while lightning struck in a dizzying dance, charring the ground. Like a drug, the energy slipped through her, healing her aching body, adding to her own power as the dark, evil souls entered her one after the other.
Although repulsed, Raven held each vile soul deep inside, letting her power grow, before releasing them to the fiery pits of hades where they’d spend eternity paying for their despicable crimes.
When she finally rose to her feet, the clouds continued to boil overhead, the heavens crying and angry. Raven shoved her mud-covered hair out of her face and adjusted her sodden clothing as she walked around and gathered up her lost weapons. Then, with one last dispassionate glance at the destruction surrounding her, she turned and walked away.
Others would come and burn the bodies of the group of evil men who had murdered the innocent. Then they’d honor their dead loved ones with ceremonies before burying them. Or, maybe they’d cremate them, set them on a journey to sea? Raven sighed, weary. She couldn’t remember how long it had been since she slept.
Still frowning, she looked to the dusky-red mountains on her left and then back at the blue forest in front of her to remind herself which planet she was on. Right, Titan. As the cobwebs cleared from her mind she could recall the people and customs of this world.
As soon as she exited the portal to the dark and chilly realm of Sorvafellan, she spotted Zales. He waited in the shadows, wearing the long black robes she detested. Raven clenched her jaw and hurried past, knowing he’d follow her.
Once in the hovel she used as a home base, she shivered, finally feeling the cold. Grabbing a couple peat logs off the rack, she quickly started a fire, not acknowledging her fellow rebel and assassin as he walked in behind her and closed the door.
“You are going to blow
your cover if you keep sneaking off and returning saturated in blood,” he said, pushing the hood back to reveal short-cropped brown hair.
Fuming, Raven turned to him. “Remind me again why I can’t just kill the lot of them and be done with it?” She hated pretending to be one of the Ilyium, of having to play a part that wasn’t her at all. It was taking too long to achieve their goal of total destruction of the Ilyium.
“I’ve told you, killing this branch won’t work—” His green eyes followed her around the shoddy room as she dropped her pack on the floor.
Raven waved, knowing the spiel all too well. “I know, the branch will just grow back,” she ground out, tired of hearing it.
Zales studied her a moment. “We have to find the base—”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Cut off the base of the tree and the rest falls.” Growling, she ran her hand through her filthy hair.
“Why are you wet?” he finally asked and she could hear the frustration in his voice. He was asking why she hadn’t used her power to change into clean, dry clothing even though he knew the answer.
It was an old argument. He thought he was responsible for her, she didn’t. She ignored him.
“You really don’t have to do this. You can just walk away. It’s not like we can’t handle it ourselves,” he pressed, then continued at her impassive stare. “Raven, you’ve punished yourself long enough,” he added in a gentler tone that only angered her further.
“Stop. You know why I’m doing this.”
“Lukkah wouldn’t have wanted this for you,” he said quietly.
The pain in his eyes over her dead mate reached her soul. She steeled herself against it. “I can’t just quit. And how do you know what he’d have wanted anyway?” she asked, then immediately regretted her question as his eyes shifted into a cold blue. Like a balloon, her anger deflated. “Sorry.”
It wasn’t his fault he wasn’t there when Lukkah was killed, but he’d only argue that it was. “I didn’t mean to take my anger out on you. Just too many ghosts haunting me this day.” Then she wondered if part of her did blame him just a bit.
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