Greed (The Damning Book 1)

by Katie May

  her. How could she ever learn to love me, or at the very least care for me,

  when I had to compete against six other amazing men? Would she even want

  all of us as her mates? Or would she only want one of us? Or none of us?

  “What the hell are we going to do?” Devlin asked in trepidation. His

  ponytail had come loose at some point, and his hair was now an unruly mess.

  It was strange to see our fearless leader so unkempt. His eyes flashed from

  face to face, unable to fully focus on anyone in particular.

  In that moment, I hated him. I hated my best friend. He had her first, had

  her love, and he had thrown it all away. I knew his reasoning - hell, I even

  understood it - but I didn’t know how to look at him anymore with anything

  but disgust . My Bear growled restlessly in the confines of my mind. He

  wanted to roam free and find her. Claim her. He knew she was ours, and he

  would be damned if he let her out of his sight again.

  “She’s our mate. What even is there to do?” Dair asked reasonably. He

  was the only one who didn’t seem perpetrated by the aspect of sharing. I

  knew Mermaids often had polyamorous relationships. His dad himself had

  five wives, something nearly unheard of in the supernatural community.

  “I don’t...I don’t know if I can…” Devlin ran a hand through his hair. I

  watched my brother’s jerky movements with narrowed eyes.

  “So what? You’re going to demand that she chooses only one of us?

  Demand that she chooses you?” My words were nearly inarticulate. I was

  losing control, fast, and my growl was just another indication.

  “I don’t fucking know! There’s seven of us and only one of her!”

  “Six,” Bash said. He was sitting on the counter in the kitchen, watching

  our interaction with impassive eyes. He tried to give out the front that he gave

  zero shits about her, but I wasn’t an idiot. “Don’t group me into this equation.

  I want nothing to do with her.”

  I snorted.

  He could deny it all he wanted, but even he wasn’t immune to Zara’s

  magnetic pull. It was more than just the bond between us. It was her. Her

  radiant smile, her musical laugh, the way the skin between her brows creased

  when she was deep in thought. I wanted to learn everything there was to

  know about her. I wanted to pull her apart, piece by piece, until her essence

  was bared before me. There was still so much I had yet to learn about her,

  and I had the distinct feeling that years of intensive studying would still fail

  to reveal who Zara was as a person.

  It was only a matter of time until Bash realized that as well. He was hers,

  whether he wanted to be or not.

  “So what do you suppose we do?” Devlin asked tersely. “Share her? Pass

  her around like she is a damn possession?”

  “We talk to her about it. Ask her what she wants to do. She’s my mate,

  and I’m not giving her up.” For the first time in forever, Killian spoke

  without a single stutter. His eyes were pure steel as he surveyed the room.

  “I love her,” Devlin whispered softly.

  “So it’s settled then.” Dair glanced from face to face. “We talk to her.

  And we don’t treat her like a possession. Everything is, and always will be,

  her choice. Is that clear?”

  I couldn’t help but snort.

  “Oh please. If she didn’t want to do something, she could easily kill us. I

  think it’s safe to say that we know who wears the pants in this relationship.”

  The men smiled softly. Even Bash’s lips curved upwards though he

  quickly tried to hide it.

  “She’s gone! She disappeared, and I will never find her again!” Atta, with

  an elaborate flourish, entered the kitchen. She dramatically draped herself

  onto a bar stool.

  “What’s your problem?” Bash snapped. He could never handle my

  sister’s theatrics. Not that I blamed him. There was only so much I myself

  could handle before I wanted to strangle her.

  “My mate, of course,” said Atta, as if the answer was obvious. Bash

  rolled his eyes and muttered “of fucking course” beneath his breath.

  “Please don’t tell me your mate is Zara.” Devlin pinched the bridge of his

  nose in exasperation. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle another person

  thrown into this equation.” Atta raised her eyebrow in confusion.

  “Nooo...that’s Lupe’s mate. Mine is her beautiful, sexy friend. Mali.” She

  spoke the name wistfully, as if it was something sacred. I wondered if I said

  Zara’s name with the same reverence.

  “She looked as if she wanted to stab you in the eyes,” I pointed out. Atta

  swiveled her head to glare at me.

  “You’re one to talk.”

  A ear-splitting scream interrupted my retort.

  From the ballroom.

  Where Zara was.

  Before I realized what was happening, my feet were propelling me back

  towards the room. I was dimly aware of the others following behind me, but I

  could barely concentrate on them. My entire focus was on Zara.

  She had to be okay. She had to. The alternative was too horrible to even

  think about.

  Fear, real, unrelenting fear, settled heavily in my chest, a leaden feeling. I

  couldn’t recall the last time I had felt such a strong emotion before. Fear, and

  your consequential responses towards it, was a funny thing. Each person had

  a fight or flight response that was only amplified when one experienced such

  a strong emotion. For so long, I had ran away from my problems. Always

  running. Always fleeing.

  This was the first time I had ever been willing to fight. Maybe Zara was

  already rubbing off on me. My little fighter.

  There was only one door that led to the ballroom, and it was unexpectedly

  locked. Not even my impressive Shifter strength could open the door. After

  one more ineffectual shove of my shoulder against the wooden frame, I

  turned towards my brothers helplessly.

  “It’s spelled,” Bash whispered, eyes narrowing.

  “Can you break it?” Ryland asked from the shadows. He sounded as tense

  as we all felt. The carefree guy had been transformed into a prowling tiger

  out for the kill.

  “Give me a minute.”

  “But can you break it?” Devlin asked. His eyes were glowing as if

  someone had lit a candle beneath the surface. His dark hair swayed in the

  breeze created by his own power. He needed to calm down before the entire

  building collapsed in on itself. We all needed to calm down. My own Bear

  was pacing, clawing, gnawing in a desperate attempt to break free. I could

  feel my carefully constructed cage begin to break with each second that

  passed.

  “Give me a damn minute!” Bash screamed. He squeezed his eyelids shut

  as he concentrated on the intricate spellwork.

  “Can you feel her?” I asked Devlin. I knew that his bond with her was

  stronger than the others. If anyone would be able to feel her presence, it

  would be him.

  “I don’t know. I can’t concentrate. I can’t…” Once again, he pulled at his

  hair.

  “Well fucking try,” Killian snapped. Before Devlin could respond, the

  door to the ballroom bursted open.
I shoved Bash out of my way in my haste

  to get inside.

  I needed to see with my own eyes that she was okay. For my own sanity,

  she had to be alright.

  The sight before me…

  It was something I would never be able to unsee. Bodies loitered the

  ballroom floor. Though all of their faces were unrecognizable, I could

  distinctly make out dresses of various colors and fabrics. The Matching

  competitors. Innocent women. Mixed in with them were the bodies that could

  only be participants of The Damning.

  And their faces…

  Charred, black skin greeted me. Smoke filtered from their bodies, the

  pungent smell assaulting my senses. If I were to live a thousand more years, I

  would never see a sight as horrendous as this one.

  “Another spell,” Bash whispered. One of my brothers began to throw up

  behind me.

  And yet, despite all of the death mere inches from me, I could only feel

  relief. Not one of these bodies had a purple dress on.

  Zara wasn’t there.

  “She’s not here.” Devlin must’ve came to the same conclusion I had.

  Unlike me, he didn’t sound at all comforted by the fact that she had missed

  this brutal attack. Because if she wasn’t there, where the hell was she?

  I knew, as surely as I knew my own name, that she was in trouble. I

  didn’t know if it was my own intuition or the bond between us.

  In a span of seconds, my body shifted from my human form and into my

  bear one. He clawed at the air angrily, seven-hundred pounds of pure muscle.

  Nobody would hurt my mate.

  I would make sure of that.

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  DEVLIN

  Ididn’t know how to even begin to describe my panic when I opened the

  ballroom door and saw row after row of dead bodies. Most people

  would be relieved - after all, not one had on the purple dress Z was

  wearing earlier - but all I could feel was a smothering fear. The intensity of

  such an emotion threatened to consume me, threatened to plunge me beneath

  wave after wave of icy water with no hope of escape. It slithered down my

  spine, this absolute terror, until I had trouble distinguishing one emotion from

  the next.

  Fear.

  Terror.

  Heartache.

  She wasn’t there.

  And if there was one thing I knew about Z, it was that she wouldn’t have

  left all of these people to their gruesome fate if she had a choice. She fought

  for what she believed in, fought for the innocents. It was just the type of

  person she was. Though she had her own personal darkness, she also had a

  brilliant light that was too pure for this world. Too pure for me.

  “Fuck!” I screamed. My hands once again pulled at my brown hair. Z

  always joked that this was a horrible habit I had to break and that I would

  turn bald before I reached thirty. I would retort that I would stop ripping my

  hair out the second she stopped chewing on her nails. Fighting with her were

  some of my happiest memories.

  Taking a stuttering breath, I focused on the bond. I could feel it extending

  from my chest, reaching for the essence that was innately Z. I would describe

  it as a flame, a flicker of light in a darkened cave. Just as quickly, my

  connection to her vanished.

  “Fuck!” I cursed again.

  “Focus,” Killian said from beside me. “You need to focus and find her.”

  I ignored him. I ignored Lupe’s growl as his Bear completely consumed

  him. I ignored everything besides the intermittent flicking of Z’s vibrant light

  at the end of the bond.

  I would find her. I had to.

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  DAIR

  Ihad never allowed myself to see my paralyzation as a handicap. It was

  merely something that was a part of me, like the fact I turned into a

  Mermaid twelve-hours every day. It was one of the many facets that

  made me...me. I had long since accepted that I would never be able to walk

  again, never be able to dance again, never be able to run again. I was

  confined to my chair, and for the most part, I was okay with that.

  Except for now.

  As my brothers all ran towards the ballroom, they failed to remember me

  and my damn chair. This particular section of the Capital had never been the

  most accessible for people like me, mainly because it was immensely rare to

  see a Nightmare with any type of disability. We were designed to be the

  epitome of perfection. Predators. The top of the food chain.

  Cussing beneath my breath, my wheel got stuck on a section of carpeting.

  Movements erratic, I attempted to maneuver myself over the obstacle. At that

  moment, I hated myself and my weakness. How would I be able to protect Z

  when I could barely look after myself? The answer was simple: I wouldn’t be

  able to.

  “Shit,” I murmured after I had finally freed my chair.

  “What has got you in such a foul mood?” a familiar voice asked in my ear

  slyly. Flinching, I glanced over my shoulder to see my brother's smirking

  face. It seemed to be perpetually etched across his features, that damn smile.

  Before I could respond to his taunts, he began to wheel me in the opposite

  direction of the ballroom.

  “Where the hell are you taking me?” I hissed, my thin patience

  splintering. I normally considered myself a mild-mannered individual, but

  just then, I felt like a lion out for the kill. I needed to get to Z, my mate. I had

  to see for myself that she was okay.

  I never expected the mating bond to be like this. I had heard stories, of

  course, but they all paled in comparison to the actual thing. There was an

  ache in my chest to be with her, to see her smile, and to make her happy. I

  didn’t think it was possible for me to be happy if she wasn’t. Being away

  from her, knowing she was in danger, was torture. I had barely met the girl,

  and already she was consuming every single thought I had.

  “Father would like to speak with you,” my brother, Tavvy, said

  conversationally. At those words, my blood went cold.

  God no.

  Not now.

  “I have somewhere I have to be. Maybe later would be a better time,” I

  tried, attempting to dampen my growing panic. If there was one thing I knew

  about my older brother, it was that he had an acute sense for fear. The man

  relished in it, the sensation, as if it was his own personal fetish. I wondered if

  it actually was. I kept my features impassive and my tone nonchalant as I

  spoke.

  “Quiet!” A blistering slap hit my cheek, and I squeezed my eyelids shut.

  Don’t react. Don’t react.

  “I apologize.” My jaw ticked, but I continued on doggedly. “I shouldn’t

  have spoken out of turn.”

  Pleased with my response, Tavvy wheeled me into the throne room.

  The first person I saw was my father, a haughty tilt to his head and a fur

  robe adorning his body. I knew that the fur would’ve belonged to a deceased

  Shifter. It was a power play, that robe. A game. The only problem was that

  there was no rulebook to the twisted politics that plagued the nation.

  His five wives sat in semi-circle around him. I recognized his fated mate,

  Eli
se, and her cold, unwavering stare. Beside her, was my own mother,

  Brigid. She offered me a timid wave when she saw me, and my own lips

  instinctively curved upwards into a half-hearted smile.

  My mother wasn’t my father’s mate. She had a mate - the father of my

  sister - but she had been forced to leave him when father became aware of her

  ethereal beauty. He was jealous, envious, that such a beautiful creature

  existed and wasn’t tied to him. He stole her away that very night and made

  her his bride.

  Peeling my attention away from my mother, I raised my eyes towards the

  domineering man that seemed to innately command respect and attention

  from everyone in the room. It wasn’t just because he was a large and

  impressive man, though there was no denying that he was, but more so the

  amount of power that he emitted. Anyone with a brain would know that he

  was someone to be both feared and worshiped.

  “Dair! My son! Welcome!” He extended his arms in greeting as if we

  were old friends instead of enemies. He may have been my father, but I hated

  him. I hated what he stood for, and I hated what he had done to me and the

  people I loved.

  “What do you want father?”

  I prepared myself for the inevitable pain - my body tensing, my eyes

  twitching, and my mind closing down. All of these meetings ended the same

  way. The sooner I was tortured, the sooner it would be over, and the sooner I

  could find Z. It was the thought of her that gave me the strength and courage

  to meet my father’s eyes. Eyes that were the exact same shade of azule as my

  own.

  “I’m going to get straight to the point.” He paused, his strident voice

  echoing in the spacious room. It was merely an attempt at dramatics, that

  pause. A pathetic one. “What do you know of the competitor Z?”

  His words were like a bucket of ice water being thrown over my head.

  Whatever I had expected him to say, it wasn’t that. My body tensed under his

  scrutiny, but I tried to keep my face apathetic. He couldn't have known about

  Z being my mate.

  No. There must be another explanation.

  “I know that he is a competitor for The Damning,” I said, keeping my

  voice indifferent. Shrugging, I added, “Besides that, nothing. Why are you

  interested in him?”

  The smile he offered me felt like snakes slithering down my spine. Evil.