Dark War Chronicles Box Set One

by A. L. Kessler

  He pulled out the first aid kit and started to patch her up. "There are punishments to be handed out tonight."

  "Which means a formal meeting and you'll be taking my sight."

  The tone in her voice bordered on hate, but he couldn't let it affect him. "You failed to do what I asked of you, it’s not fair if I punish the other two and not you." He brushed a hand through her hair. "Your eyes were almost seen by people I am sure are working with the Circle. Your carelessness when dealing with the Hunter is what weakened you before the attack at the house, it could have cost us everything.”

  "Would you rather I had let the Hunter get Renee? Because he was holding her at gun point." She muttered and moved her head away from his touch.

  "No. I would rather that woman listen and do what she is told." He pressed his lips together and examined the wound on her shoulder. "This should be healed by the end of the week."

  They fell into silence until she finally spoke up. "How long will I be blind for?"

  The sadness in her voice hit him hard. He knew it brought up memories she wished to forget, but that was why he did it. To remind her that he provided a better life for her than when she resided with the Father or when they stayed with the Circle. "Not long," he promised.

  When Lucius was done bandaging her, she got up and went to her closet. Watching her pull out a dress for the formal meeting with the others, he wanted to wrap his arms around her and apologize, but he couldn't be seen as weak. Enough weaknesses had been shown through recent events. She reached up into the closet and pulled down a box. Her hands touched the old wood with such care when she brought it to Lucius. He opened it and pulled out the black fabric. It had been replaced through the centuries, but the symbolism for her had remained the same. The loss of freedom and the need to depend on him.

  He ran the soft fabric through his hands before wrapping it around her eyes, tying it and pulling her hair over it. "I'm sorry." He whispered and kissed her head.

  "You're just doing what needs to be done. This is nothing."

  Compared to what the Father did to her, he knew it to be true. This was nothing, but he felt her anger roll through him when he took her hand and led her to the great room.

  Renee’s heart broke with her words. What she really wanted was to pull him close and wrap her arms around him. Markus’ words and the emptiness from giving the stone away changed her mind. She pulled her uninjured knee up to her chest and wrapped her untethered arm around it. "I can't do this."

  "Do what?" Coran whispered, sticking his hands in his pockets.

  She sniffled as the tears continued down her cheek. "This supernatural world thing. I want to go back to being a normal student and woman.” Despite her words, her heart screamed for him to stay. A fate she didn't believe in said that this man was supposed to stay by her side.

  "You're lying." His eyes studied the heartbeat monitor, watching the sporadic line. "The rhythm changes when you lie. It happens to everyone."

  She shook her head. "Stop that. You don't know what I'm thinking. I just...I want something that is real and not something that’s from a book. I want to be safe and I don't want to see creatures anymore." She tried to stop the tears in her eyes.

  He jerked as if she hit him. Clenching his fist a few times, he took a step backwards and bowed his head. "If that is what you want. I'll leave you be and you shall never see me or my beast again."

  It's for the best she reminded herself even though she had to form a fist to keep herself from reaching out to him. Coran still thought of Trisha and the tragedy there, and Renee needed to let him go. She was human and he wasn't. As he pointed out before it would never work. There was too much in his world that she didn't understand. She swallowed. "Take care, Coran."

  "You too, Renee."

  Coran closed her hospital door and leaned his back against it, studying the white tiles below his feet. He wanted to go back in there and protest, but she’d made herself clear, even if her heartbeat betrayed her lie. Of course her injuries took their toll on her body, he could blame it on that. Closing his eyes, he counted to ten before he moved, the wolf beneath the surface desperate to get back in there.

  She doesn't want me. Opening his eyes, he went to the nurses’ station. Something didn't feel right. A scent in the air sent off warning signals in his mind, but he couldn't place the scent mingled with all the human ones.

  "I'd like to know who to speak to about Renee Flemmons’ hospital bill." He leaned his arms on the counter.

  The nurse glanced up and handed him a card without hesitation. "This is the number for billing. Call them, they'll ask for some information and let you take care of it."

  "Thank you. Inform Dr. Carrington that he has a new patient.” The woman gave him a questioning look. “Tell him Coran Hemming requested that he take on Renee Flemmons’ case. He’ll come running, I promise you.” The good doctor owed Coran big time. The man was in hiding and Coran was the only one who knew what he was. The nurse picked up the phone and dialed a number; Coran watched her as she asked for Dr. Carrington.

  She looked to Coran as she spoke. “There’s a man here requesting that you take a patient.” A couple beats went by. “Coran Hemming.” She met Coran’s gaze. “Dr. Carrington wants to know if there’s anything else you need?”

  “You tell him that Renee is not to leave this hospital until she is fully healed.”

  The nurse repeated his words before saying goodbye and hanging up the phone. “He said he’ll be right over.”

  “Good.” He would be damned if something else happened to her. A pain started in his chest and he knew fate was screaming at him while his wolf struggled to get out, but he couldn't go back. Not now. He stuck the card in his pocket, heading out of the hospital.

  Danielle stopped him at the entrance. "You don't look so hot."

  "What do you know?" He snapped, narrowing his eyes at her. "You come to watch over Renee?"

  "Your eyes are still amber, wolf. Renee didn't want to stay alone, so she called me. I was just down the road." She tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Said something about being attacked two nights in a row."

  He raised a brow. "What are you?"

  "Hunter."

  The air in his lungs rushed out in panic. "She dated one of you and lives with one of you? And never knew?"

  Something passed through her eyes. "Until now, so way to go for busting my cover, wolf. Don't worry, we'll take good care of her at the Society." She smirked and patted his cheek. "Hurts, doesn't it?"

  He growled at her. "She doesn't belong in your Society, she wants to remain as normal as possible."

  "Seems to me she just wanted you out of her life. So crawl back to your master and his weird little human. I'll take care of Renee and she can make the choice she wants." Danielle shrugged. "It's a choice that all exposed humans get to make."

  "I don't like that you're here, that means you know a lot more than you should."

  "Don't worry. I have nothing against your master, and neither does this branch of the Society, lucky for you." She pushed past him and turned around. Walking backwards, she waved at him. "See you later, wolfy."

  Coran growled at the new complication. He needed to run, but the moment he moved towards the car his phone rang. "What?"

  "You need to come see me." Lucius' voice came over the line. Careful and calculated, Coran couldn't tell what the vampire wanted.

  "Why?"

  "Do not question me pup, just get here."

  Renee stopped playing a game on her phone and set it down when a light knock echoed through the room. "Come in."

  Danielle walked in and grinned. "Your first overnight in the hospital, you excited?"

  "So much." Renee let the sarcasm came through her voice. "I want out of here and I want use of all my limbs again, but apparently that is too much to ask for."

  "I ran into Coran on my way in. He looked pretty upset about leaving you here." Danielle pulled up a chair. "Why did you send him away again?"


  "Because he has issues that I don't want to deal with. I don't want to be someone's rebound pet project." Renee looked away. "Because I want to go back to a normal life and whatever Coran is, it isn't normal." But her heart wouldn't agree, the monitor went crazy and she glared at it.

  Danielle shook her head. "Look, I know what Coran is and I know you do too. There has been a lot of stuff going on that's crazy and—"

  "Supernatural."

  "Yes. The thing is, as much as I despise the type of creature Coran works for, stupid blood sucking vampire, Coran is not a bad wolf, and he is loyal to the bone.” Danielle met Renee’s gaze. “I know he cares about you Renee, and I think that you're throwing a great opportunity away. He can protect you. And I hate to tell you this, but the Circle is not done with you." Danielle crossed her arms.

  "How do you know?"

  "Because I'm a Hunter and it's my job to know. We've had an interest in you, Renee, that's why I answered your ad for a roommate. The Circle knows something about you and that makes them want you. I know about your ability, but I don't know what else it could be that they want." She shrugged. "But it's not just the stone they are after. The Society wants to protect you. What Cody did was outside of our rules; he didn’t have permission and is being disciplined. He’s a fucking idiot and I’m sorry that he went after you.”

  Renee wondered for a brief moment how a Hunter was reprimanded for mistakes. "The vampires that attacked me said the Circle wanted me as well and one named Markus just came and took the stone. I thought Lucius would deal with it because it's his territory."

  "Oh honey, vampires have stupid politics they have to follow. You need to make sure he agrees to keep you safe and not just negotiate with the vampires. They can be underhanded and if they want you, they will get you."

  Renee's eyes widened, but Danielle patted her hand. "What does this have to do with Coran?" Renee asked.

  "Well, did he say anything about you two, as a couple?"

  "He said something about being fated." At the word Renee's voice dropped to a whisper and her heart sped up. The more she dwelt on her time together with Coran the calmer she became. "But that doesn't matter, because he and Trisha were fated and she was killed. Coran admitted to not being able to protect her."

  Danielle shrugged. "The past is the past, but he learned from the mistake, trust me. All immortals do. He'll probably be outside the hospital watching out for you. When you are out of here, I bet he follows you to the school and watches you there and then at our house." She laughed. "Like a puppy."

  "That's stalkerish, but kind of sweet." Renee smiled. "I’d much rather—" She shook her head. "It doesn't matter, I sent him away. I want to go back to as normal as possible and that's not him."

  "You’d much rather what?"

  "It doesn't matter."

  "Yes it does, tell me."

  "I’d much rather wake up next to him protecting me than having him be all stalkerish." Heat climbed Renee’s cheeks.

  "Call him."

  "No, he's not a yoyo, I've made up my mind and I'll stick to it." Renee played with one of the wires to her heart monitor, not meeting Danielle's gaze. "And once I'm out of here, I'll take precautions to protect myself. I’ll do whatever it takes so I won’t be the weak human that needs guarding."

  Danielle opened her mouth to say something but then closed it and just sat back, watching her. Thankful for the silent company, Renee closed her eyes, going back to thoughts of Coran. She recalled his smile, the feel of his skin on hers. The passion filled kisses and the way he wrapped his arms around her made her body ache for him to come back. Thoughts of the attack chased those warm feelings away and she bowed her head down and wept.

  Coran stood with Orion in front of Lucius. Tegan was kneeling next to the throne, her eyes still covered with the cloth. Hate filled Coran when Lucius patted her head like a dog. "You all three fucked up, hiding the Hunter attack from me. Coran, did you not think that I would find out Markus was here? One of you should have brought Tegan back here the moment she was shot. The attack on the house never should have happened and now we appear weak in front of the Circle and the Hunters." Lucius absently toyed with Tegan’s hair. "Which means there will be punishments dealt tonight."

  "We aren't children, we were only doing what you wanted us to do. Protecting Renee until she gave the stone back. That's a job that had risks. If you didn't want Tegan in the line of fire you shouldn’t have sent her to help." Orion shook his head. "The attack wasn't something that could be foreseen."

  Coran nodded in agreement. "You wanted me to bring Tegan back originally. Had I done that it would have been just Orion and Renee there. They would have lost against all of those attackers."

  "And now Markus has the stone." Lucius snapped. "Plus, Coran, after telling me that you were fated you acted like an ass and out of fear treat her like nothing more than a fling. You have such an affinity for humans I would think that you would have learned by now that emotions can leave their minds weak and vulnerable. Especially to the likes of Markus. Orion, you've been neglecting your job as Tegan's protector, letting her go after Renee alone the evening that she was attacked by the Hunter." He turned towards Tegan. "And you've disobeyed almost all of my orders for you in regards to Renee."

  Tegan bobbed her head in response and Coran growled. "She's not a child, nor is she a dog, Lucius. She deserves her sight—"

  "Silence." Lucius turned back, his power making the air in the room crackle. "All of you need reminders now and then of what I have provided for you and what I can take away. Most bonded humans are kept stripped naked and on chains. Only Tegan's sight is compromised because of her eyes; because of their color she must hide from our kind. She almost blew that during the battle and now she must be reminded of what it was like when she was first at my side.”

  He pegged Coran with a harsh glare. “You, Coran, will be spending time in forced wolf form because you refused to listen to your instinct and put everyone in danger. Orion, you will be working at the bar to take Tegan's shifts and you are forbidden from seeing Tegan until I say as such." Lucius leaned back on his throne.

  Coran growled and his beast rose to the surface when Lucius flicked his hand. Coran resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "You are impossible." A tingle shot through his body and his wolf tried to force its way out. "We are not children, we are your allies to help you and aid you in battle."

  "You work under me because no other territory would take you in. I rescued you from the Circle and now you obey me in agreement that I won’t kill you for helping torture my human. That was the deal oh so long ago, Coran." Lucius twisted his hand and Coran doubled over.

  "Yes, it was." He finally gave in, fur pouring over his skin while his bones popped and crackled. He touched his muzzle to the ground and raised his yellow eyes to Lucius, wanting to bite the vampire on the ass.

  Markus appeared in the foyer where the others waited. Still cloaked to remain hidden according to tradition, he didn't need to see their faces to feel the tension in the room. He'd promised them the stone and the girl, but only the stone could be obtained with Coran there. The wolf was a force to be reckoned with and Markus considered himself lucky that the girl had willingly handed over the stone. Of course, messing with her mind and planting pictures in it helped and would work to his advantage later.

  "Where is the human?" The tallest male snapped.

  "In a hospital. It was too risky to get her from there, but I have the stone. She will be easy enough to snatch when she leaves Coran's protection."

  The woman chuckled. "The wolf is still working under Lucius? He must feel he still owes the vampire for torturing the human."

  Shame the wolf hadn't provided the needed information during the torture. Markus knew Tegan had a link to the Father and if his theory proved correct then she could sate the thirst the Father would have when he awoke. His plans for her would have to wait though. Despite having forced her to send the stone away, her link to Lucius was too strong to conv
ince the human to leave him or his territory for any amount of time.

  "I think he has formed a greater loyalty than that. Either way, he was with the girl there. She cares for him greatly, which I used in order to get the stone." He held it up to the group, and as it flashed from blue to black Markus chuckled. "We have one piece of the puzzle, now we just need the girl and a way to satisfy his thirst."

  A member laughed. "We'd need an army to sedate him."

  "Not if someone could locate an actual Blood Human." Markus chided. Murmurs made their way through the room. "I believe that the Father had one. Those who were close to them took that information to their grave when the Originals slaughtered them."

  "You were his right hand, did you not see it with your own eyes?" The woman snapped. "Why should we believe you? We should start gathering up the homeless and shifters, people that won't be missed to feed him."

  Markus bristled. He'd never seen the human the Father kept, but he'd heard the rumors. He’d tried to find the human before anyone else did, but Zaaren hadn't trusted him enough and sent Lucius into the house to locate any humans being held captive there. Lucius freed many humans in cages, ruining the start of the human trade the Father wanted, but no actual Blood Human. Since then the Circle had tried to pick up where the Father left off, keeping it hidden from most of the vampire population.

  "He did not trust me with everything. Do not fear, we will find a way to quench his thirst after we raise him." He tossed the stone to the tallest member. "Keep that safe, I have tracks to cover up. Someone killed the rogue wolves I had working for me. If Coran hasn't told Lucius that I'm in the territory, I want to prolong it until I can set things up further."

  "You really think we will be able to take over the territory?" The woman asked.

  Markus nodded. "If we recover the woman and the stone from his territory that gives us reason to have him marked as conspiring against us. It will at least gain us access to his territory and his people. Resisting us would prove that he has something to hide."

  "And do you think he does?"