“Marry me,” he had asked two weeks later but the proposal had not gone as he planned.
“No,” she’s said and refused to give him a reason for her denial.
“Cree and Fallon are married,” he reminded her.
“That’s Cree and Fallon,” she said. “Not me.”
“You don’t want to marry me,” he said, his heart aching, his pride shattered.
“I don’t want to be married,” she told him. “And I don’t want to talk about it ever again.”
She rolled away from him and left the bed, went into the bathroom and closed the door. The snick of the lock engaging said more than words could have.
As much as it hurt, as confused by her reaction as he was, he let the matter drop though every fiber in his being screamed at him to pursue it. Instinct told him there was more to her refusal to marry than met the eye.
He got up, dressed and left—giving her the time for which she had silently asked.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
He woke with the numbing, otherworldly lethargy that the tenerse had left behind and a heart that was broken. At some point keepers had come into the room to pick him up and place him on a new mattress and pillow. A bottle of Sustenance sat on the little L-shaped table that was welded to the wall. Beside it were several bottles of water and another vac-syringe. He lay there staring at the bottles then turned his back on them, drew his legs up, thrust his clasped hands between them and faced the wall. Dimly in the titanium panel he could see his face. Unblinking, he stared into his own eyes and willed himself back to sleep.
Chapter Thirteen
No one was smiling as Coulter escorted Laci into the conference room. He swept his curious gaze around him, evaluated the six men who sat at the table—lingering on Darkyn Sorn—before moving on to Alexandru Hesar.
“Three Reapers and two Superlords,” he said pleasantly. “Quite the welcome.”
“I am sure you know who each of us is,” the Supervisor of the Exchange told him.
“I do and I would offer my hand to every one of you if I thought you would accept it,” he said, pulling the chair out for Laci.
“Then it is good you refrain from doing so,” Neal Hesar said.
Coulter ignored him as he took a seat beside Laci.
“How are you, milady?” Fallon asked her softly.
She could not meet his gaze. “I am well, Misha,” she replied just as softly.
“Did you think I would harm her, Lord Mikhail?” Coulter inquired.
Fallon gave him a hard, steady look. “We know what is in your mind, Coulter,” he snapped.
“And you’ve no friends here,” Sorn stated.
Coulter swung his gaze to Sorn. “Understood,” he acknowledged. He looked past Sorn to Cree. “It is an honor to be in the same room with you, milord.”
Cree’s upper lip twitched but he made no comment to the compliment. His stony glower was as intense as the other men’s.
“In my defense, the hellion given to me in the Dhaween camp has dictated what has transpired between myself and Laci,” Coulter said. “My bonding with Laci—”
“One-sided as it is,” Fallon interrupted.
“Could not be ignored,” Coulter finished. “I did not ask to become a Reaper nor did I ask for a life-mate. I had no choice in the matter.”
“Oh yes you did. You had a choice to leave another man’s woman alone,” Fallon snapped. “You chose to ignore that choice.” He leaned over the table. “Look me in the eye and tell me you did not deliberately set out to seduce her.”
“I can’t do that, Lord Mikhail,” Coulter said. “Because I did, indeed, set out to seduce her.”
Laci winced. She was sitting with her hands clasped in her lap, eyes down, shoulders sagging.
“You fucking dickwad! You would dare to admit it?” Fallon growled. He shoved his chair back and would have risen had Cree not reached over to lay a restraining hand on his fellow Reaper’s arm to prevent him.
“Stand down,” Cree ordered, and when Fallon would have jerked his arm away, the Alpha Prime clamped his hand tighter on the Hell-hound’s arm. “Stand down or I’ll eject you from the room.”
Fallon pressed his lips tightly together and glared at Coulter.
“She is my life-mate,” Coulter said.
“The fuck she is!” Sorn spoke up. “She is Taylor Reynaud’s bonded life-mate!”
“Not any longer,” Coulter said. “You are Panthera, Lord Darkyn. You understand the imperative of this hellion better than any of the others gathered here even though you have no life-mate.”
When his words were met with silence, Laci raised her head and looked to the Supervisor. “What does he mean?” she asked.
Alexandru exchanged a look with his middle brother then cleared his throat, drawing her attention. “Milady, Panthera hellions are not the same as those of their Lupine and Hell-hound brethren. They are governed by a different set of geasa, taboos,” he told her.
“Taylor is Panthera,” she stated, looking from Alexandru to Constantine. “It is his hellion, not Dixon’s. It was stolen from him.”
“Possession is nine-tenths of the law,” Coulter said with a grin that slipped quickly from his face when each man there turned a lethal glower on him.
“Reynaud has never sworn allegiance to the Triune Goddess,” Alexandru said. “Though he respects and reveres Her, he is not answerable to Her.”
“Nor is his hellion,” Constantine reluctantly added.
“I don’t understand what it is you’re trying to tell me,” Laci said. “What has any of this to do with Dixon stealing what is rightfully Taylor’s?”
“The hellion taken from Reynaud now belongs to Coulter,” her boss said. “It is wrong on so many levels but it is what it is.”
“And because the hellion is now Coulter’s,” Alexandru said. “So are you.”
“Fuck that!” Fallon shouted and shot to his feet. His chair skidded behind him to hit the wall.
“Sit down, Fallon,” Cree ordered.
“The hell I will!” Fallon snarled. “I’m going to reach inside that cocksucker and pull Tay’s hellion out of him!” He started around the table.
“I said sit your ass down, Fallon!” Cree bellowed, getting to his feet.
“Your Alpha Prime has spoken,” Constantine said. “I suggest you do as he orders.”
“Let him come at me,” Coulter said with a hard smile. “I’d like nothing better than to put him in his place.”
Fallon’s head whipped around and he leveled an infuriated glare at Coulter. “Good luck with that, you thieving bastard.”
“If you don’t sit down I am going to put you down myself,” Cree said softly but with enough menace that everyone there—especially Fallon—felt the lethal vibrations rippling through the air.
Fists opening and closing, fangs out, Fallon’s chest was heaving.
“Please, Misha,” Laci said. “I don’t want to be the cause of problems for you.”
“You aren’t,” Fallon mumbled but he returned to his seat—casting Cree a murderous look.
“Well, now that we’ve got that out of the way,” Coulter said. “Let’s get down to the business at hand.”
“It isn’t over,” Fallon said.
Coulter sighed heavily. “No, I fear it isn’t but our private talk must be postponed until a bit later on.”
“Count on it,” Fallon stated.
Turning his eyes to Alexandru, Coulter threaded his hands together, placed them on the table and leaned forward. “I am officially asking for the designation of Alpha at the Exchange.”
“I am the Supervisor of the Exchange,” Constantine stated.
Coulter shifted his regard. “Yes, you are, sir, but with all due respect, you are only a Shadowlord. Your brother is a Ridge Lord and thus has the authority in this room.”
“My brother is in charge of the Exchange,” Alexandru said. “The final decision of who he will assign as Alpha rests solely in his hands.”
; Coulter smiled in such a way it left no doubt in anyone’s mind that he wasn’t buying that for a second but would go along with it. He nodded. “All righty then.” He turned to Constantine. “I am asking for the job.”
“Why?” Constantine demanded.
“Because I know I will be an asset. I love my country. I am loyal to my country and I have dedicated my life to serving my country. I have strong powers no other Reaper has and I can use those powers to aid in keeping the next world war from taking place. I believe I have shown that with the obstacles I have removed for you in the Middle East.”
“You are also being influenced by—” Constantine began.
“Something evil,” Coulter said with a nod. “I am aware, though it doesn’t think I know.”
“You know it is influencing you?” Constantine questioned.
“I know it’s trying,” Coulter replied. “I don’t know what or who it is but I want to.”
“Raphian,” Alexandru said. “That is the name of the evil whispering through your hellion.”
“Raphian,” Coulter repeated, trying out the word. “Sounds nasty.”
“He is nasty,” Cree said. “He is known as the Storm God, the Destroyer of Men’s Souls. He isn’t the evilest thing in the Megaverse but He is the most prevalent.”
“What is the evilest?” Coulter asked.
“The Nikkeson,” Sorn said. “It resides in the muck below the Abyss and when it is let loose on mankind, it butchers everything in its path. No living thing is left standing once it has gone. It is the most virulent evil there is.”
“Running a close second is the Martiya,” Fallon added and could not stop the shudder than ran through him.
“Satan is a Hardy boy compared to Raphian,” Neal Hesar said.
“And His agenda is?” Coulter queried.
“To annihilate mankind,” Neal said.
“Not entirely,” his eldest brother corrected. “It wants to enslave mankind, make it an evil extension of himself. Basically that’s why He released the spores that made the first Reaper.”
“Okay, I want to know all that history but right now, I want to explain something to you men,” Coulter said. He gave each of them a brief look before settling his gaze on Alexandru. “I have no intention of allowing this Raphian, or anyone or anything else to corrupt me. I will know the very moment evil tries to sway my actions. My intention is to use these powers to better our world, to save it from mass destruction. That’s why I joined the SEALs and that’s why I have come here to ask for the job as Alpha.”
“All right,” Alexandru said. “Let’s say we buy that.”
“For now,” Constantine amended.
“If you are sincere in wanting to do what is right, you will agree to give up Reynaud’s hellion,” Alexandru said. “We will replace it with…”
“No,” Coulter said. There was no expression on his face, in his eyes. He didn’t clench the clasped hands resting on the table, didn’t move a muscle, and didn’t blink. His attention was solely on the Ridge Lord.
“You realize that, in itself, is suspect to us,” Constantine stated.
Coulter switched his attention to the Supervisor of the Exchange. “What is mine, stays mine,” he said softly.
“But it isn’t yours,” Laci said, looking up. She wasn’t looking at Coulter but rather at Fallon who was sitting across from her.
Every man in the room could sense the despair tumbling through Laci’s mind, the confusion, the inability to relax. She was wound as tight as a watch spring and giving off vibes that brought out the protective instincts of each of them.
Even the man sitting beside her slowly turned his head to look at her.
“You know you have no reason to fear me, Laci,” he said. “I’ve done nothing to hurt you.”
“You don’t consider mind-raping her harmful?” Cree asked. A muscle was working in his jaw as he sat there with his arms crossed over his chest, staring daggers at Coulter.
“I admit to compelling her when we first met,” Coulter replied. “But the moment we landed here at the Exchange, I removed my hold.”
Cree swung his stare to Laci. “Is this true, milady?”
Laci shrugged. “I don’t know, Viraiden. I honestly don’t.”
“Do you want him as your life-mate?” Fallon demanded.
“You know I don’t. I want Taylor,” she answered. “Only Taylor.”
Fallon leveled his narrowed eyes on Coulter. “You heard her. She wants Reynaud, not you.”
“What can I say? The heart wants what the heart wants,” Coulter said. He wasn’t looking at Fallon. He was looking at Laci.
“So you’ll bow to her wishes and leave her the hell alone,” Fallon said.
“No, he won’t. That’s a Panthera hellion inside him,” Sorn spoke up. “There is nothing stronger than a jaguar’s sense of territory. He may have released his hold on her but he still considers her his.”
“Coulter?” Constantine questioned. “What do you say to that?”
“I’m not a difficult man. I’m willing to share.”
“Share?” Fallon exploded and once more shot to his feet. “The fuck Tay will share his woman with you!”
Coulter finally turned to face Fallon. He smiled. “He’ll have no choice. Mikhail. If you hire me as Alpha—which we all know you are going to do—I demand the Extension between Laci and Reynaud be severed.”
“What?” Laci whispered. Her eyes snapped to the Supervisor. “You can’t do that.”
“Reynaud no longer wants to work in the field,” Coulter said. “That’s why you are looking for a new Alpha. Laci is a very talented, powerful empath and I will need her when I start working for you.” He shrugged. “It is a logical conclusion, gentlemen, since I now possess the former Alpha’s hellion, which is bonded with Laci.”
* * * * *
Taylor looked up as Fallon appeared. He got off the bunk and walked over to stand at the thick plexigon panel.
“She’s here?” he asked.
Fallon nodded.
“Is she okay?”
“As well as can be expected,” Fallon replied.
Taylor stopped breathing. “What does that mean, Misha?”
“I’m not going to beat around the bush, Tay,” Fallon said. “He asked your Extension with her be severed and the Shadowlords agreed.”
The room around him turned dark at its edges and Taylor staggered back. He’d known something was wrong the moment he’d seen Fallon’s face but the news his fellow Reaper just delivered was worse than he’d expected.
“As soon as he dropped that bombshell on us, the Supervisor sent her back to her quarters. She was a fucking mess and you can imagine how upset she was,” Fallon told him. “Now you have a decision to make.”
“Decision?”
Fallon dug his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Can you work in the field again?”
“No, Misha. I can’t. I wouldn’t trust myself out there.”
“Well, that answered that,” Fallon said on a long sigh. “I gotta ask, bro. Can you live with another man working that closely with your woman?”
“I’ll have to, won’t I?” Taylor said, his voice breaking. He cleared his throat. “The bastard hasn’t given us any choice in the matter.”
“No,” Fallon agreed. “He hasn’t, and on top of all that, the fucktwits have taken him on as Alpha.”
“You knew that was going to happen,” Taylor said.
“Better to keep a close eye on him,” Fallon replied, “but I’m glad I don’t have to work with the prick.”
“I want to see her.”
“They’re not going to allow that just yet,” Fallon told him.
“Why the hell not?”
Fallon shrugged. “I don’t know, bro. They don’t tell me fuck.”
“I have to talk to her, Misha,” Taylor said. “I need to.”
“I’ll talk to Cree,” Fallon said. “Between us, maybe him and Sorn and me can convince them to let you see h
er. Just hang tight, okay?”
“Yeah,” Taylor said. He turned away, went back to the bunk and sat down heavily. He lowered his head. “Yeah, man. Do what you can.”
He could feel Fallon staring at him for a moment longer and then the Hell-hound was gone.
For a long time, Taylor sat as still as a statue, barely breathing. He felt moisture gathering behind his eyes but willed it away. His heart hurt so badly he thought it would stop beating.
When an hour had passed, he slowly lifted his head. Anyone who saw the rage building in his stare would have backed away. Wise men would have run from that angry red glint.
“I am going to kill you, Dixon Coulter,” he said quietly.
“You can try,” came the immediate reply.
It didn’t surprise him the bastard was listening, observing him. He’d expected it. Could feel it. He knew no one else could hear what Coulter was saying to him. The man might be in a room full of other men but his words were meant only for Taylor Reynaud.
“I’m not your enemy, Taylor.”
Taylor looked up at the camera in the corner of the cell. He stared at the opaque gray plexigon dome.
“They are going to need us to work together. You here and me in the field.”
“With her as your Extension,” Taylor said through clenched teeth.
“Yes. With her as my Extension.”
“You go to hell.”
“Like you, I’ve been there.” There was a slight pause. “I endured the pain too.”
“You don’t know what pain is, asshole,” Taylor said with a snort of derision. “But trust me. You’re gonna find out.”
He felt Coulter withdrawing from his mind but continued staring at the camera as though he could see right into the bastard’s eyes.
“I can bring him around,” Coulter told the three men standing in the observation room with him.
“It may not be as easy as you think,” Alexandru told him.
Coulter smiled. “You need to have a little faith in me, sir. You’d be surprised what I can accomplish when I set my mind to it.”
* * * * *
Laci needed time to herself to process what she’d learned that morning. She didn’t need to be around anyone. She didn’t need to see worried faces staring at her or listen to encouraging words telling her everything was going to be all right.
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