Changing Beauty (Book 2) (The Deadly Beauties Live On) (24 page)

My brow lifts, as if to say the words aloud, and she rolls her eyes. “Trying not to be intimidating right now,” she mumbles.

Chaz laughs lightly while going to sit down beside Ella, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Whoa, what? When the hell did Ella get here?

“You’re supposed to be with Alyssa,” I tell her, pulling Roslyn with me when I sit down on a chair.

My girl gets settled on my lap, and for the first time, she seems comfortable in her own skin.

“Chaz said it had something to do with Slade. I want in on this conversation. I’m the best chance of survival if he comes.”

She squirms in her seat, never once meeting my eyes. She has a soft spot for the bastard who wants my girl dead, but she’s not voicing it right now.

“He saves you,” Chaz points out, “but he wants Roslyn dead. Why?”

Roslyn tenses against me, and I wrap my arm around her waist, tugging her closer. She doesn’t have to be afraid in here. There’s an arsenal of people here who can protect her.

“Because she’s a predator,” Dice chimes in. “She feasts on our blood instead of humans.”

A small smile tugs at my lips, and my hand wraps around her hip, clamping down a little harder than I would if she was still mortal. When she shivers against me, I can tell she knows what’s on my mind.

“Speaking of which,” I whisper, loving how her skin pebbles with Goosebumps, “still not into blood play?”

She turns to face me, and her eyes spark to life with autumn and fire, making my cock hard in my very tight pants.

“You two going to fuck or talk? ‘Cause I thought this was a meeting,” Chaz says, reminding me we’re not alone, just as Gage appears, leaning against the wall as he silently takes in the conversation.

Roslyn clears her throat before her eyes die back down to the violet color, and that pretty shade of blush finds her cheeks again. Hard to believe she’s really immortal with the ability to get embarrassed over something so simple.

“We’ll fuck after we talk,” I announce, laughing when Roslyn’s eyes screw shut and she buries her face in her hands.

“So what can you tell us about Slade?” Ella asks, getting back on point without subtlety. “Is he one of the twins we heard about? One of the ones with the hexer’s curse that makes them feel what the other feels?”

“You know, that could be a little awkward,” Dice interjects. “I mean, if one jacks off the other feels it too. So would it be like getting a hand job from your brother?”

I fucking hate the way his sick mind works. Several groans ring out, and Zee slaps Dice on the back of the head.

“Ouch, you dick! It’s a perfectly reasonable question.”

“No,” Roslyn says, not seeming even a little amused. “They only feel each other’s pain—physical pain. Or they did, until Alton managed to somehow the link and made Slade feel double the pain while his pain ceased to exist.”

Roslyn blows out a breath while leaning back against me, and I kiss her shoulder while she talks.

“Slade isn’t just a creature god,” she says, looking around the room at all the expectant faces. “He’s half of the Gemini.”

That raises a few question marks in the air.

“You mean as in the Gemini twins?” Chaz asks, recognition sparking in his eyes.

The dots connect, and I almost slap myself for not thinking of it sooner.

“It’s not a hexer’s curse. It’s the curse of the Gemini. Fuck.”

This is a lot worse than I thought.

“Question,” Dice inserts. “Why do most of you look a little freaked out?”

Gage curses while pushing off from the wall and going to sit down on the other side of Ella.

“I’ve spent centuries thinking the Gemini were nothing more than a myth. The Gemini were never supposed to be separated. Their link was supposed to make them powerful. A force that could be called upon in dark times. By dark times, I’m talking apocalyptic. No one even knew they were stuck in the rings.”

“So I guess we should hope there’s not going to be an apocalypse,” Dice says, still not understanding the gravity of the situation.

“The link isn’t completely severed, but they’re no longer tied together to be as powerful as they could have been,” Roslyn goes on. “Slade would have already killed Alton if he could. But if Alton dies, Slade dies too. So unless he’s feeling suicidal, he’s not killing him. He will, however, lock him in his own version of hell if he ever gets ahold of him. Physical pain is pointless, since Alton is unable to feel anything now. Some say Slade created a plane just to torture his brother. He’ll destroy his mind since he can’t destroy his body.”

Ella’s eyes widen, and she looks over at me. She’s been to his plane, and she didn’t make it sound too pleasant.

“I can see how someone could go crazy in there,” she says under her breath.

“Alton ran the second the rings broke up. No one knows where he is right now. Except for me. If Slade finds out I can track him, he’ll decide he doesn’t want me dead so bad. He’ll want me to track his brother down so he can get his revenge.”

Ella leans back against Chaz, her eyes proving she feels sympathy for someone. I have a feeling it’s Slade. She’s fucking crazy.

“So you’ve had his blood?” I ask her, confused. “When?”

I thought they blood starved her.

She turns and looks at me, guilt etched in her eyes for some reason. “Yes. I’ve had a taste of almost everyone’s blood. Including Karma’s, even though I’ve never met her before. They wanted me to be their search dog. If someone escaped, I was supposed to go collect them. At least that was their plans for me. All I need is a taste, and I can track them for years.”

“Thank God you never did that,” Dice says, his eyes narrowing. “Karma barely escaped with her life.”

Roslyn nods, not looking up.

“So are we killing Slade or not?” Dice asks flippantly, shifting the subject.

“Not,” Ella says emphatically, shaking her head. “We might need him if this big bad is really big and bad. Think about it; he or she were able to catch the Gemini twins before the link was severed
and
keep them for centuries. Obviously they’re powerful, and even if Slade hates us, he’ll still want revenge on whoever it is that hurt him.”

“He also wants my girl dead,” I remind her. “If it’s him or her, he’s got to die, Ell. That’s just how it is.”

“I agree with that,” Zee chimes in. “And we also need to know who we’re dealing with. Anything you can give us?”

He stares expectantly at Roslyn.

“I don’t know who’s running the show. There was a guy everyone always assumed was in charge. His name was Gavin, but he was just a puppet. They gave me his blood, too, which means he wasn’t there of his own free will.”

Everyone looks to Gage, who groans and drops his head back while putting his arm over his eyes.

“What?” Roslyn asks innocently.

“What else can you give us?” Chaz asks her, ignoring her question for the sake of Gage’s sanity.

“The blood-starved night stalkers have to be put down. They’re like a disease that festers and builds. They’ll wipe out the population in no time. Every person they change turns into the same monster they are.”

“Motherfucker,” Chaz says, getting up from his seat and pulling his phone out of his pocket. “I’m calling Drackus on this one. We’ll need his help and Dray’s too. They can hunt for them while we hunt for this… other person.”

“It’s a woman,” Dice announces. “It’s always a crazy bitch who wants to end the world with such dramatic flair. A guy just blows shit up and drops bodies until he’s killed. Only women are this cunning.”

Ella flips him off, and Roslyn glares at him. The incubus doesn’t give a damn.

“The blood-starved night stalkers will feed on anything—mortal or immortal. The blood isn’t nourishing; it just sustains them. And the hunger never goes away. The only thing they live to do is hunt and grow their numbers so they can hunt more. They have no fear. They don’t care if you’re stronger or not. They can’t understand strength, only hunger,” Roslyn continues.

“How did you find all this out?” Ella asks. “They said you were starved and locked away for two years in solitude.”

Zee elbows her, and her eyes grow wide when she realizes just how callous that sounded.

“It’s fine,” Roslyn says just as Ella starts to apologize. “I was locked up. Which is why I listened to every sound and every conversation there was whenever they dragged me out for the… cruel times. When you’re starved for contact, you soak in everything, even when they don’t realize you’re paying attention.”

That has me pulling her until she’s forced to turn and lean against me from the side. Her forehead touches my neck, and I run my fingers up and down her arm, hoping I’m doing all I can to keep her from going back to her broken mind.

“I think that’s enough talk for tonight. We already have a lot more info than what we did,” I tell the group.

“No,” Roslyn says, leaning back up. “There’s more. Whoever is running the show, they’re after something. I only caught glimpses of men in cloaks, but they were always covered in dirt, as though they spent most of their days digging. One day, I heard them mention Pine Shore. I guess it was buried somewhere in my subconscious while I was spelled, which is probably how I ended up here.

“I don’t know what they were digging for, but Gavin was pissed one day. He punched a guy out right in front of me, killed him on impact. The guy had brought something back that was apparently big news. Gavin lost it. I only saw a spark of glowing red blood in a bottle before Gavin carried it up the stairs.”

Something shatters, and my head pops up to see a pitcher has just been dropped to the floor, and Chaz’s eyes are wide. The hell?

“What?” Gage prompts.

“You’re sure that’s what you saw?” Chaz asks her, looking a little too pale to be immortal.

“Yeah. I remember it because it was so beautiful, almost weirdly seductive. I blamed it on the fact I was so hungry, that anything blood related would look amazing.”

His hands actually make a grinding noise when his fists tighten too much.

“What the hell, dude?” I prompt.

He’s younger than everyone in this room except for Ella. How could he possibly know more than the rest of us?

“It could be nothing, but I should check something out.”

“Where are you going?” Ella asks as she stands up.

“To see my mother.” He disappears before anyone can argue, and I notice the absence of gold glitter in his wake. There’s always a gold glitter trail.

Considering that’s the least of my worries, I return my attention to Roslyn.

“I think that’s enough chat for now.”

Kissing her head, I prompt her to stand up, and she laces our fingers together as Ella studies her. Why she looks so skeptical, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because she doesn’t want to believe the object of her school girl crushing deserves to die, and she’s looking for a fault in the victim he keeps terrorizing.

“So they did give you blood, and they let you out a lot?” Ella asks her, fishing for information.

“Drop it, Ell. Stop looking for redemption. He doesn’t deserve it.”

Her eyes meet mine, and I see a flicker of regret.

“I wasn’t—”

“They kept me in solitude until the last six months. I was given a collar and a leash after that, and they drug me around in wolf form. The collar was magical, able to keep me in wolf without the ability to shift back. It had the power to kill me if I disobeyed. And I was starved,” Roslyn tells her with more patience than I could show if the roles were reversed. “They only gave me drops of blood for tracking purposes. And they only gave them to me in spacious intervals. I need a few pints a week to feel satisfied.”

“But you never tracked, right?” she asks, still being a bitch.

“Ella,” I growl, and she immediately backs off.

“Sorry. I’m just trying to catch up. How do you use your witch powers so well? Reese said he trained you to fight, but he couldn’t have trained you to use that side of your powers. Considering you were raised by various humans, you shouldn’t be too good. And you’re damn good, according to what Zee told Chaz on the phone.”

Roslyn’s body relaxes, and a ghost of a smile crosses her lips. “That’s because—”

The door blows open, and Reese practically runs in, eyes searching wildly for Roslyn.

“Dad,” Roslyn says on a choked sob, and I watch something I never thought possible. I watch Reese, the biggest, baddest asshole in the world grab his daughter and hug her like she’s the most precious thing that has ever existed.

Chapter 27

ROSLYN

“We should stay near town instead of in town,” Dad says for the hundredth time.

Everyone is sick of arguing, but arguing is all he’s done since he found out I have a Gemini wanting me dead.

“We can keep her safe here,” Thad says, wrapping his arms around me from behind.

It’s all so much better now—his touch, his scent, even the sight of him is better. I can’t wait until we’re alone and he can make good on his word to—

“Shit,” Dad says, snapping me out of my inappropriate and ill-timed thoughts.

A crazy, lethal Gemini wants me dead, and my head goes to getting Thad’s fangs in me. And getting mine in him.

Stop, Roslyn!

Dad is typing something into his phone, turning his back on me for a moment. I crane my head so I can see up at Thad.

“So you’re a gatekeeper?” I ask him, and he nods in response, seeming more interested in running his hands over my body rather than answering verbally. “Does that mean you can open gates anywhere you want to any plane?”

His hand slides up my side, and his fingertips graze the side of my breast. Why do I always freaking shiver? It’s not like I’ve never been touched before.

“Depends on the gate. Some gates can be opened anywhere. Some have specific locations where the gate has to be opened. Depends on what plane you’re seeking. And some planes can only be reached through a gate. It’s really impressive to be as rare as me. You’re a lucky girl to be with such a rare fey,” he jokes, winking as the heat rises to my cheeks.

He makes me a little crazy, but I think I love it.

“Damn,” Dad says under his breath, completely oblivious to everyone around him.

Ella and Chaz are whispering in the corner, and he looks pissed. Zee and Gage look like they’re plotting murder, which is a little scary; so are they. Dice is on his phone, calling someone—hopefully Karma—a sex kitten and asking her how wet she is for him.

Ew
. Does he not know what privacy is for?

“What’s wrong?” I ask Dad as he puts his phone away finally.

“I have to get back to my pack. Blood-starved night stalkers have been found running savage in the woods behind town. A few townies have been attacked.” He stares at me a minute longer before adding, “If you’re staying here, I need to tell you something. In private.”

Before I can answer, Gage appears, his eyes trained on Dad. “I need your help with something. We need to go now, though.”

Dad curses, but he nods toward Gage before grabbing my phone. He punches something in, and then hands it back to me.

“My number is in there. Call me so I have yours. I’ll call you the second I’m free.”

He pulls me close in a hug before whispering, “Don’t say a word about…”

The last part is whispered so low that I can’t hear it, and Gage is dematerializing them from the room before I can ask what it was.

Thad’s arms slip back around me, and he moves my neck to the side.

“What’s on your mind, sweet girl?” Thad asks in a whisper, running his tongue across my neck in a way that has my inner wolf begging to come out and play.

I turn in his arms as a vixen’s grin tugs at my lips. “I was thinking about that blood play you offered.”

The hunger heats in his eyes as they flash to changer yellow, and I feel my eyes shift in response.

“Much better than sweet,” he murmurs seconds before his lips crash down on mine and he lifts me up.

My legs wrap around his waist, and suddenly we’re materializing inside the bedroom we were in earlier. His tongue teases and toys with mine, and my body continues to heat, growing hotter by the second.

Without any effort, we’re suddenly naked—feeling skin on skin. It feels so much better now. Thad breaks apart from the kiss, looking down before grinning.

He waggles his eyebrows while telling me, “Fucking love having a witch.”

A tinge of jealousy spikes, because now I’m wondering how many witches he’s been with, but he’s kissing me again suddenly, destroying any part of my mind that wants to sabotage this with pointless questions.

He growls low in his throat before shoving me against the wall, cracking it behind me, and my legs clamp down harder on his waist. The kiss becomes carnal, and I smile to myself.

I’ve only ever been with human guys, and I had to hold back. With Thad… he can take all I have to give.

The wall cracks harder, and the wolf in me wants to tear the place apart. There’s something seductive about chaotic destruction.

Thad grinds his hips against me, but it’s not enough. I want him inside me, owning me, ruling me… possessing me like no one else has ever had the power or ability to do.

The kiss becomes savage, violent. The taste of blood teases me when I cut his lip, and he groans when I suck his bottom lip into my mouth, savoring every small drop.

When I moan, he moves, adjusting his body before thrusting inside me and driving me up on the wall, causing it to crack more. A garbled cry escapes my lips, but he swallows most of it when he starts devouring me again, thrusting harder and deeper than he did before.

My nails dig into his back as his lips trail down to my neck, sucking, nipping, and finally biting. The sharp points of his fangs press deeper, and an erotic mixture of desire and need explode when he breaks the skin.

He growls as his movements grow rougher, and I cling to him harder as he drinks. Loud cracking doesn’t register until we’re falling, getting pummeled by debris as the wall collapses.

Thad lands on top of me, losing his hold on my neck, but he doesn’t stop taking me. My wolf tries to take form, and I feel her calling to his beasts, begging for more, relishing the raw, carnal need.

When my tongue rakes over my teeth, I feel the sharp points descend, and I lean up to latch onto his shoulder. The second his taste hits my mouth, I’m moaning, clawing at him harder to get closer, and his pace quickens just barely as he pounds into the cradle of my thighs.

He tastes like sex and honey, and I don’t know if I’ll ever get enough.

“Fuck,” he groans, fisting my hair as he pulls me closer, offering himself to me as he rules my body.

With a hard tug, he jerks my head away from his shoulder, and his mouth reclaims mine. More debris continues to fall, slapping against us, as the floor underneath us starts to creak. But neither of us give a damn. It’s like noise in the background, because right now, he’s all that exists. Just like I’m all that exists to him.

The floor cracks more as his rhythm grows brutal, punishing, until finally the floor collapses, giving way. Before we drop through the hole, I’m dematerializing us, and we suddenly land on the bed just as my stomach muscles tighten, warning me.

But before I can fall over the edge, he flips me over, staying inside me, while forcing me up on my hands and knees. One of his hands fists in my hair as he holds me right where he wants me, pulling my head to the side as his teeth sink back into the flesh between my neck and shoulder.

I don’t know if it’s an act of dominance, and I don’t care. I just know it’s hot as hell as he keeps me pinned in place, forcing me to feel each incredible sensation.

Thad’s hands move to my hips, and his fingers dig into my flesh, as my eyes roll back in my head and fireworks detonate behind my eyelids. I don’t just fall over the edge; I explode over it.

His name comes out in a scream that doesn’t sound human, and he fucking roars as I feel him go off inside me. My entire body feels like a noodle once it stops being completely rigid, and I lie boneless beneath him as he drops to lie on top of me.

I turn my head to the side so I can see him, but his head is facing the other way. Our breaths exchange in pants, and I try to suck enough oxygen into my lungs to slow down my heartrate before I accidentally shift.

“You two done up there? Because we could use some help cleaning up, and there’s only one witch in the fucking house right now.” Dice really knows how to embarrass a girl.

I laugh nervously, even though Thad remains busy with trying to resupply his lungs with air. We sure as hell made a mess.

“I’ll fix it,” I tell them, since Thad obviously isn’t up to responding.