by JL Madore
Clare straightened to what had to be six foot six and chuckled, wagging her finger. “I thought I sensed a Dionysus spell when I arrived. I haven’t come across that bad boy since the rise of the Greeks.”
Storme was curious on three fronts after that. One, how did Clare “sense” the spell? Two, what did Oracle really mean? And three— “What’s the Dionysus spell?”
Clare’s smile grew wider. “It’s a delicious spell of fertility, frenzied madness, and lust, but I’m sure, by the rosy cheeks and askew glances, you ladies discovered that firsthand. My, my, how I would love to have been a fly on the walls in here today.”
A nervous laugh bubbled out of Thea. “No, you wouldn’t.”
She waggled her brows. “Trust me. I would.”
Jules bit her bottom lip, chuckling. “So, that’s why we’re holding an impromptu magic session?”
Clare shook her head, making a tsktsk noise. “Honestly, ladies, you should let that spell play out.”
Pyper cleared her throat. “I get your reluctance. Embracing sexual freedom is different than someone whipping your males into a frenzy.”
“Exactly,” Austin said. “If we want hedonism, it’s ours on our terms, not like today. Not ever again. Thus, the amulets.”
“Thus, the amulets,” Pyper said, sobering and pointing to the iron kettle. “Storme, what’s the second part of this spell?”
Storme leaned forward and blew over the idle wick of the pillar candle. It burst into flame at her will. “Light your candle.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Seth squeezed off two warning shots into the sky and rolled behind the cover of a giant bronze elephant. He felt guilty using the statue as shelter, but not as bad as if he’d used one of her two bronze babies trailing behind her. Return fire pinged off the wide, flapping ear of his mama pachyderm.
Fucking Dwayne. “Cruelty to animals, asshole.”
When Dwayne hoofed it across the open courtyard toward the Commerce Building, he took chase.
At least the elephant family would survive.
Seth pushed hard on the guy’s tail, corralling him toward the correct corner—so Zander close-lined him like you read about. The daemon’s feet flew up and his sneakers catapulted straight into the air. As his head flipped back toward the concrete, Z grabbed his shirt so he landed with an ass-cracking drop but the rest of him remained unbroken.
“Why do you always run, Dwayne? You know we catch you. We always catch you.”
“Instinct,” the fucker said, rolling on the ground, grabbing his ass. “It’s how I’m wired.”
“But now your ass is broken.” Zander sighed and shook his head. “We only wanted to ask you a question.”
Daemon Dwayne rolled around like an electrified worm, whimpering and grabbing at his butt.
“You likely broke your coccyx,” Seth said, feeling a little bad for the guy. “I know, right? Hurts like a motherfucker. Been there.”
Zander arched a brow.
The Sumerian had been in a violent stew all night. Between stepping in it with Austin, Tanek, the Archangels, and losing Ringo, there wasn’t much mercy in his brother tonight. Saving Dwayne’s egg from scrambling on the concrete of the courtyard likely used it all up.
“Where are the Rugaru, Dwayne?” Zander said, placing his badass leather shitkicker on the guy’s abdomen. “Linsale has a thing for females with mixed-species blood. Where will he go to get his fix?”
“Fuck you,” Dwayne spat. “I don’t deal blood no more. You spoiled the market feeding folks for nothing. Bad for business, that.”
Zander scowled. “Bad for you means DonorWatch is doing something right. Darkworlders should be able to eat without giving up their organs or losing their homes, Dwayne.”
“Says you.”
Zander pressed his foot harder, and Dwayne’s screams echoed throughout the Commerce Court courtyard.
“Fuck, Sumerian,” he cried, gripping at the boss silver buckles on Zander’s boots. “You’ll get yours.”
Zander laughed. “Yeah, I’m shaking in my boots.”
To prove his point, Z vibrated that boot on the demon’s belly. The screams let off in a violent second wave and then silenced.
“Dwayne, did you pass ou—” Seth bent forward, and a bullet zinged past his ear. He saw the hole in Dwayne’s frontal lobe and tackled Zander around the corner.
The two of them rolled to their feet and back-flatted against the brick of the building. Zander pulled his gun, and Seth went for his dagger.
“Huh,” Seth said, eyeing the direction from which the shot originated. “Seems all this shaking of trees exposed a rotten apple.”
“Well then,” Zander said, looking pissed. “It’s only right that we squash it.”
“Right you are, my brother. On three. Two. One.”
Ren showered with the same efficiency she always did, and ignored the urge to hide in her bathroom for the rest of her life. She had to face Hark. There was no getting around it, or him. No male before her Nephilim lover had ever made her feel slight and feminine in his company. She liked that. Yes, and mountain of a man that he was, there would be no skirting him. Stubborn and determined, she knew without going out that he was dying outside the door, waiting for her.
The look on his face when she kicked him out broke her heart. Better to break it now, with everything new, than to invest in the fantasy and have it destroy her when he finally did realize he picked the wrong girl.
After scrubbing the towel roughly over the tangle of her hair, she hung it up and started the long process of brushing out the mess she always ended up with. She sat on the vanity stool and got to work. Focusing on her tasks and responsibilities was the way through this. She’d explain to Lady Divinity what happened with Ringo, and then make it right.
The brush caught on a tangle, and she let off a yip.
Pay attention.
She stared into the mirror, but her reflection was lost behind a wavy curtain of tears. There was absolutely nothing to cry about. She was a strong, independent female with a station she loved, serving a loving goddess. Her income covered all her needs. Her sister, in her way, loved her. And now that she’d stood up to her, she’d never let Ayana run her down again. There was no need for tears.
Still, she couldn’t make them stop.
“Ren, please let me come in,” Hark whispered against the outside of the door. “The scent of your despair is killing me.”
She swiped at her cheeks and swallowed against the thickness blocking her throat. “My tears. My problem.”
“Not accurate, and we both know it.”
She fought with the brush as it lodged itself in a massive knot behind her ear. Maybe she didn’t want a mate. Had anyone thought to ask her that? Maybe she liked going it alone and answering to no one. No. She couldn’t even lie about that one to herself.
Tugging hard, she yelped as her scalp protested. That only made her angrier, so she pulled harder.
Crack. The handle of the brush snapped, and she threw it at her reflection. The mirror shattered, exploding in sharp, jagged projectiles that crashed to the counter in front of her.
Hark rushed in behind her a split-second later.
“Enough of this.” Strong arms scooped her off the upholstered stool. He strode out to sit her on the end of the bed.
When he looked at her, she flinched. Grabbing the gold coverlet, she pulled it up and wrapped it around herself.
“Don’t hide from me,” he snapped, his gaze heated. “I told you, and I meant it. You’re breathtaking. You are my Rubens angel. Ethereal and lovely.”
Her eyes rolled, and she shook her head.
He gripped her chin and forced her to look at him. “I love how your deep amber eyes are set in the pale face of a goddess. I love how, when I hold you, you’re solid and tangible yet soft and welcoming. I love your wit and kindness and think that, once again, Lady Divinity has outdone herself. She may have chosen you for me, but it’s because she is omniscient and knows
you are everything I worship in a female.”
Ren pushed his words away and clamped her eyes shut.
Normally, she locked away her insecurities in a little room hidden deep in her heart. She pretended being alone didn’t bother her. Hark ruined all of that.
Worse, she believed him.
“Don’t say those things. I don’t want you to say them.”
He climbed onto the bed behind her and gripped the head of the brush suspended in the tangled mess she’d made. “I will fix this,” he said, his deep timbre a caress over her bare skin. “If it takes a year or a century, I’ll never stop showing you that you are the one for me.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.” He freed the brush and started working out the knots. “I’ve watched Zander, Kyrian, Danel, and the others building lives with their mates. They are perfect for each other. They fight. They clash. But there is no doubt that they are forever. You are my forever, Ren.”
“I’m not.”
“You are. I wasn’t witch-whammied when I made love to you. Whatever affected the others came from the explosion of the spells that took them down. I wasn’t there until later. Storme’s cure changed nothing. I felt no different because it was me all along.”
He finished with the rat’s nest part of her hair and worked long, gentle strokes from the top of her head to the ends. “You grew up the same way I did, isolated in the company of many and made to feel less than those around you. I am Other, not Lightworld, not Darkworld. Nephilim are the outcasts who live amongst people who never see us for who we truly are.”
“That’s not me.”
“Isn’t it? In the first minutes seeing you with your sister, I knew from where your insecurities stemmed. She views your worth as she views the world—visually. It’s skewed and shallow. She truly believes she’s beautiful—”
Ren chuckled. “She is beautiful.”
“No. She only looks it. You, on the other hand—”
“Don’t.”
He set the brush down and pulled her onto her back. Stretching out beside her, he fingered through her hair and smiled. “I absolutely will, sweet Cherub. I’m sure enough for both of us. I have no interest in any other female, let alone your sister. No offense, but I despise everything she values.”
“That’s obvious. I don’t think you’re attracted to her.”
“Then why such heartbreak?”
“Because seeing you with her, it’s obvious that you deserve someone spectacular.”
His brow pinched. “You are spectacular.”
“And you are the first Nephilim to need your eyes checked. If we went to an event, and I was on your arm, people would notice, they’d comment.”
Hark chuckled. “And I’d gut them in the shadows. Problem solved.”
Okay, that made her laugh.
His smile softened, and the tension crackling in the air eased. “Seriously, if that’s all you’re worried about, we’ve got it made. Our garrison defends what’s ours. In the lonely existence of servitude, we were allowed nothing for our own. Now we can love. My brothers will cherish and honor you the same way they do their mates—the same way I do theirs. And the wives know how difficult it is to be mated to one of us. They are their own family of support. They already like you and will accept you wholeheartedly.”
“They are pretty great.”
His smile was easy, his teeth white against the dark chocolate of his skin. “You now have a support network, friends, and family. It’s going to be amazing. You don’t have to believe me all at once, just don’t close the door. Let it happen.”
Ren drew a deep breath and shook her head.
His smile fell.
She cupped his jaw. “No. I’m wondering, how can you possibly be real?”
Hark pressed her into her sheets. His kiss was tender, and he stroked the round of her cheek. “It’s fated, sweet Cherub. Soon you’ll believe it to the depth of your gentle soul.”
The weight on her chest eased the weight within it. She wasn’t certain it would be all he claimed but believed in him and in Lady Divinity.
After she soaked him in and steadied herself, she sat up. “Will you come with me to tell milady that Ringo was taken?”
Hark nodded. “From now on, we face everything together. You’ll never face anything alone again.”
Zander knuckle bumped Seth and bent into the view of the retinal scanner in the vestibule. When it beeped, he straightened and placed his palm on the screen. “Follow up with J.D. at the RedRum. Maybe there are whispers circulating about the rock Linsale climbed under. Stay on the mixed-blood trail. Those dumbasses will hook up with females sooner rather than later.”
“If they had half a brain, they’d keep their heads down.”
“Then we’re lucky that they’re Rugaru.”
Seth snorted. “And I’ll follow up with Layne.”
“Follow up with me how?” Layne said, meeting them in the front foyer. Bo’s little Djinn was leading the way up the stairs from the tunnel. Behind her followed Ronnie and Storme. They were all smiles and looked like they’d had another one of their ladies’ nights.
He waited as they crested the top step, but it was only the three of them. “Where are Austin and Thea?”
“They came up about ten minutes ago. Zane wanted his mommy, so Austin figured she’d head up and check on Nio too. I’d guess they’re in the kitchen or upstairs.”
“Kitchen,” Austin said, tilting into view at the far end of the hall. “Thea’s upstairs, Seth.”
“Thanks, cowgirl.” The Egyptian unlaced his oxblood Doc Martens and struck up a convo with Layne.
Zander unbuckled his boots and then hung up his leather jacket. He half-hoped everyone would retreat to their own areas so he could face Austin solo. The whole “don’t fight in front of the children” also applied to the commander of the garrison. “Everyone good here?”
Everyone nodded, so he took his leave.
He found Austin elbow deep in flour, the room smelling like chocolate ambrosia. Baking was his mate’s anger tell—still pissed. “Hello, my female. Did you have a nice night?”
He leaned in to kiss her lips, but she turned to give him access to her cheek. He’d take it.
He checked that they were still alone and drew a deep breath. “Listen. About before. I’m sorry I shot my mouth off in front of the baby. It won’t happen again. I’ve already sent everyone a text that we gotta be more aware of impressionable minds in the households.”
“I appreciate that.” She reached for the utensil canister and felt the tools until she found the cookie lifter thing. He loved watching her maneuver around the kitchen. If he ruled the streets, she was the queen of her home.
She shifted a stack of cookies onto a plate, and then piled the rest into the cookie keeper. “Help yourself,” she said, pushing the plate toward him.
“In a bit. First, I’d like to fix things.”
She dampened a dishcloth and wiped the counter. The muscle she put into the cleanup seemed to be more about him than the few bits of mess she’d made while baking. “If you want to fix things, you shouldn’t be standing here with me. I’m not the one you need to apologize to.”
Zander deserved that. “I’ll get to Tanek next, but you’re first. You’ll always be first.”
She finished with the cloth, hung it over the dividing wall between the two sinks, and snagged a cookie. “All right then, let’s go fix it.”
“What? Now?”
She bit into her sweet snack and blinked up at him. “Yes. Now. Stetson, walk!”
Zander sighed as the brown ball of fur raced into the kitchen from the living room, his tongue hanging loose, tail wagging. “Walk? Isn’t he in the war room?”
“No. He hasn’t been in the house all night.”
“Then where is he?”
“Where he always goes when he needs time alone.” She paused long enough to emphasize that she knew, and he didn’t. “The cottage house.”
Z
ander didn’t know how she knew that, but he didn’t question her, nor did he doubt her. “That really is your superpower, you know.”
“What is?” she said, heading out the back of the kitchen to the loading dock door.
“You have a sixth sense when it comes to observing people.” He opened her way and let her use his elbow as they walked down the six steps to the asphalt.
The sunrise pushed at the horizon, a glowing pink sliver ready to rise at any moment.
“It’s developed over time. Originally, I wanted to be a large animal vet. Did you know that?”
Zander slowed their pace, in no hurry to arrive at the cottage and face the mess he’d made. He’d much rather patch things up and learn more about his beloved cowgirl. Instead of cutting over the oval track and heading straight across the property, he walked them along the path of the old racetrack. “I don’t think you ever told me that, no.”
“Mhmm, I read every book and watched everything Daddy and our country vet, Mr. Henson, did in the barn. It was all set. I knew what college, what classes, everything.”
“And then?”
“And then I woke up in a hospital bed and found out I’d never see again. Nobody wants a blind vet operating on their livestock. I was devastated. Here I was, driven, set on my path, sure of who I was, and then I wasn’t her anymore.”
Zander paused to pick up one of Stetson’s tennis balls and give it a fling. The dog went barreling off, his ears flapping as he ran. “You were still you.”
“But not the me I thought I was. I was damaged. Broken. It didn’t matter that I had top science marks or that it was the only thing I had ever pictured myself doing. I had to come to terms with the fact that I would never be a country vet.”
Zander accepted the slobbery ball from the dog and sent him off again. “I love who you are.”
She moved her hold from his elbow, up to hug his upper arm. “It took me years to figure out this version of me. Before that, I brooded, had tantrums, and more than a few breakdowns. I drove my daddy to fits of worry, but do you know what he never did?”
Zander recognized the tone and drew a deep breath, bracing for impact. “What?”