by Aliya DalRae
“You said lick, right?”
“Shut up. I’m not talking to you.”
Merlin’s smile widened. “You will be,” he said and planted another kiss on Martin’s snarly lips.
They both turned as Master Jonathan entered the arena, a microphone in his hand.
“Ladies and gentlemen, kids of all ages, prepare yourselves for a never-before-seen matchup! The Warrior Raven, along with his questionably ferocious beast…”
Boos and hisses sounded from the Kurai Senshi side of the bleachers.
“…has challenged Katsuro Senshi to a cage match. Now we all know it’s a fool’s errand, and the Legion has promised not to hold us responsible for anything that happens here tonight. We’ve taken all safety precautions to ensure the Legion gets both of their Warriors back in one piece, relatively speaking, but we all know there’s no one out there who’s a match for Kurai Senshi!”
The crowd started chanting, “Kurai Senshi, Kurai Senshi.”
Merlin turned to Martin and grinned. This was going to be so much fun.
Master Jonathan introduced Raven, who ran into the arena with his black hair flying and his eyes already sparking violent purple light through the combat clearing. The Legion guests cheered wildly as he strutted around flexing his muscles and roaring his battle cry to the four corners of the cage.
When Merlin’s name was called, he walked quietly through the metal gate and into the center of the arena where he stood, fist to palm, his head bowed. The Legion attendees were fair, lending him their cheers as well, but they were drowned out by those of the Kurai Senshi. Now chants of “Katsuro” filled the air, and Merlin felt the thrill of it in his belly.
He glanced to the side where Martin waited, arms folded across his chest, neither cheering nor smiling. When their eyes met, Merlin winked, and his lover rolled his eyes.
Master Jonathan gave the signal, and everyone from the Legion donned special 3-D like glasses. Viper and Sasha designed them so they would give the non-Kurai Senshi fans the ability to see once the lights went out. And they would go out, the minute Merlin embraced the Shade.
Raven finally joined Merlin in the center of the arena, and they touched gloves.
Raven growled at him and said, “I’m gonna bust you up.”
Grinning at the Rocky reference, Merlin responded the only way he could. “Go for it.”
~~~~~
A s the Vampires took their places in the giant caged arena, Sasha’s phone pinged. She’d set up an Undernet alert on the off-chance information on her father should pop up. A quick glance at the screen proved yet another false alarm. Magic use was detected in the Dayton area, but from the looks of it, it was more likely due to some witches screwing around rather than Ulrich Fuhrmann or any Sorcerer for that matter, making their presence known.
She slipped the phone back into her pocket and refocused on the stage. Viper sat next to her, yelling his lungs out for Raven to get his beast on, whatever that meant. Ever since the battle with the darkest of the Dark Warriors, the male’s attitude toward her had changed. Not that he was friendly or anything, that would be asking entirely too much. However, he appeared to have acquired a new respect for her, one he hadn’t acknowledged prior to the battle with the Kurai Senshi.
Somewhere on the other side of the ring, a bell sounded. “Ding, ding,” Viper whispered, which made no sense to her at all as the bell had already done that work, but he was grinning like she’d never seen before, so she didn’t question it.
One row up, Harrier sat with Raven’s mate, Jessica, and his own mate, Kythryn. The cat Shifter was hooting and hollering, and when the lights went out, she squealed in delight. “This looks like so much fun!” she cried. “You think they could set the next match up with me and Liger-Kitty against some other bad ass?”
Harrier muttered something Sasha couldn’t hear, but knowing him, he wasn’t being agreeable.
Kythryn sought her out after the battle, invited her to have dinner with the couple, and Sasha had happily accepted. As the only two non-Legion women to take part in the battle, they had something in common that the other females in the manse wouldn’t understand. Rachel still hadn’t warmed up to Sasha, and Jessica was Rachel’s niece which meant her loyalties remained with her family. Not that she was rude to Sasha or anything. More like, overly polite.
“Get him, Merlin! Kick his ass!”
Sasha smiled as Kythryn carried on. She never had to worry about an abundance of politeness from that one. In fact, it looked like she had finally made a friend.
The Legion crowd groaned, and Sasha returned her attention to the ring. Raven lay crumpled on the mat, with Merlin standing over him, taunting him to get up. He did, eventually, and the match continued.
When Sasha looked around again, she was surprised to see Viper’s focus on her, rather than on the match. Caught up in the festivities, Sasha smiled up at him, and nearly gasped when he returned the gesture. It wasn’t the raucous grin he’d sported as the match began, but a genuine, honest to goodness, smile that, with the help of the enhanced glasses, she realized went all the way to his eyes. Behind his own lenses, an emerald light sparked, then disappeared when it reached beyond the lenses.
Sasha blinked, and when she looked again, he was watching the match, that brief moment between them gone, or perhaps imagined. Either way, she felt lighter, happier than she could ever remember.
Yes, it seemed like things were going to work out for Sasha in her new home.
When her phone vibrated in her pocket, she ignored it. Her entire reason for inserting herself in the Legion was to be in position when her father reappeared. When she left Primeval Magnus’ custody, finding Ulrich Fuhrmann was the most important thing in her life. Now, as she glanced at the infuriating male to her right, and around her at the people she’d come to know and care for, she wondered for the first time if she was doing the right thing.
She finally had a home. Not a prison or a gilded cage, but a real-life place where people treated her well and she was free to come and go as she pleased. The one sure fire way to screw that all up would be to admit whose daughter she was. She knew it was a matter of time before she would be forced to make a choice: the father she longed to know, or the chance at a family she grew to care for more and more with each passing day.
Her phone vibrated again, and again she let it go. That was a decision for another day.
~~~~~
M aster Masaru sat on his knees on a green silk pillow before a low table. The black lacquer shone with the same glossy finish it had displayed for decades. Across from him, the young Kurai Senshi occupied an identical pillow in a similar position, though she sat up a bit as she poured an herbal tea for them both.
The amber liquid was hot, steam floating from the spout on a billowing cloud as the tea fell in an arch to fill the ceramic cups he’d used for ages.
She handed him the first cup, then poured for herself before sitting back on her pillow. Her head remained bowed, offering him the respect his position commanded. Her back was straight, her posture perfect, and her tea remained untouched.
Masaru sipped his tea slowly, giving the troubled girl the time she needed. The meeting was at her request, and though not unheard of, it was rare for a Kurai Senshi to request such an audience. Then again, Jun was no ordinary Dark Warrior. He referred to her as “girl” and “child” but in truth, her eighth century was fast approaching.
Still, he couldn’t help thinking of her as such. In all his millennia, she was the first female to come to him, one of the Shade’s Chosen, a child of incredible strength. That the Shade brought her to him to train was an honor in and of itself. That he thought of her as daughter added to the privilege.
She reached for the pot to refill her still-full cup. Had he not been watching closely, he would have missed the ever so slight tremor as she realized her mistake and set the pot down again.
“Talk to me, child. What is it that troubles you?”
Jun lifted her hea
d to look him straight on, her dark eyes sparkling with unshed tears.
“There are rumors,” she whispered. “Of Takeshi?”
It was only a matter of time before word reached the ranks. Even without that newfangled internet, a device he’d forbidden in his camp, it was the twenty-first century and news had a way of flying, especially when it was troublesome.
Masaru bowed his head to Jun and said, “Hai. It is true.”
He watched as a single red tear spilled over her bottom lid and slid down the smooth angle of her cheek.
“And Katsuro?”
Masaru folded his hands in his lap. “He lives still.”
A heavy sob escaped Jun’s throat before she could catch it. Whether she cried for Takeshi or Katsuro, it was hard to say.
She took a deep breath and harnessed her emotions as any good Kurai Senshi would do. “I would like to request a transfer,” she whispered.
It was not unexpected, but the emotion that crept into Masaru’s throat surprised him nonetheless.
“Need I ask where you will go?”
It was important that she speak the words, to say aloud her intentions. That she accept her journey for what it was and embrace the future she would soon embark upon.
She reached for her tea, her now-steady hands wrapped around the tiny cup and drew it to her lips. She sipped slowly, replaced the cup on the table and once again raised her eyes to meet his. She straightened her perfect posture and took a deep breath.
“Master Masaru, I request to be transferred to Master Jonathan’s cadre in Ohio.”
“And your purpose?”
She closed her eyes briefly, and when her lids raised, steel replaced the sorrow that previously resided there.
“My purpose is to find Katsuro Senshi. I need to find my brother.”
about the author
Aliya DalRae is the author of the Jessica Sweet Trilogy. Her debut novel, Sweet Vengeance, was published in February 2016, with the sequel, Sweet Discovery, becoming available in April 2017. The third and final book in the trilogy, Sweet Destiny, is well underway.
Born and raised in a farming community in rural Southwest Ohio, Aliya grew up a middle child, with an older and younger brother. Surrounded by corn and cows, it was not unusual for Aliya to immerse herself in books, her way of escaping the humdrum small-town life to visit fantastic lands full of mystery, myth and legend. And of course, romance.
Aliya’s first love was musical theater, and as a teenager dreamed of one day performing on Broadway. Her early writing consisted mostly of poetry and songs. Those dreams were put on hold when life intervened (as life often does), and she moved on with other pursuits.
After graduation, and a brief time living in England, Aliya returned to her home town, where she worked mainly in administrative positions, but her love for books never waned.
In 1992, Aliya met her immortal beloved, and they have been inseparable ever since. When not weaving romantic tales, she can be found working side by side with her husband in their furniture restoration business, where she weaves caned chairs instead.
Visit Aliya at:
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Also by Aliya DalRae
THE JESSICA SWEET TRILOGY
Jessica Sweet is a small-town girl with big time troubles. Her birth parents abandoned her, her adoptive parents are recently dead, and her visions are about to take on a life of their own. Enter Raven, the Vampire race’s version of the boogeyman, and star of Jessica’s oldest and most frequent vision. And he’s drop dead gorgeous. This three-part series details Jessica and Raven’s rollercoaster relationship as they battle evil Sorcerers, feral Vampires, and their own doubts and flaws.
SWEET VENGEANCE
SWEET DISCOVERY
SWEET DESTINY
THE FALLEN CROSS LEGION SERIES
Follow the lives and loves of the Fallen Cross Legion Warriors and Soldiers in this new series by Aliya DalRae. Each book will feature a Fallen Cross favorite, exploring their past as they journey into the future.
FALLEN PREY (Harrier & Kythryn)
FALLEN CAPTIVE (Nox & Rachel)
FALLEN WARRIOR (Merlin & Martin)
THE FALLEN CROSS PACK SERIES
Patrick O’Connell was a family man with a wife he loved and a child they adored. A fateful trip to the corner store robs him of everything he holds dear, including his humanity. This four-part series chronicles Patrick’s change from regular Joe to Werewolf Alpha, following the fated couple’s struggles to regain the life and love so cruelly torn from them.
BITTER BEGINNINGS
BITTER CHALLENGE
BITTER LOSS
BITTER END
THE FALLEN CROSS PACK BOX SET 1-4
BITTER BEAUTY
SHORT STORIES
BEFORE JESSICA THERE WAS ANNA…
Malcolm Gatta was a normal Feline Shifter with a normal Shifter life. However, the arrival of a new Clowder member has set him on a journey of love and loss that will lead him down a path of darkness… a path from which he would rather not return.
Bittersweet is a prequel to the Jessica Sweet Trilogy, covering the four years prior to Malcolm’s arrival at Jessica’s home. Take a peek into the life of everyone’s favorite Shifter. You’ll never look at King Kat the same.
BITTERSWEET
Kythryn’s heart is broken…
The man she loves just married her sister, and in response she’s decided a night of heavy drinking is in order. When a tall, dark and mysterious man, a Cat Shifter like herself, no less, walks into the bar wearing high boots and a duster and makes a strange request, she cannot help her curiosity. (Because, you know, cat.) Following him out of the bar may have been a mistake, but it’s one that will change her life forever.
* Sweet Distraction is the prequel to the upcoming Felino Stivali Tales series. It can also be read as a prequel to the Fallen Cross Legion series.
SWEET DISTRACTION