Dark Alpha's Demand: A Reaper Novel (Reapers) (12 page)

“You doona belong here,” the Dragon King stated angrily.

Talin grimaced. “I didn’t mean to come.”

“Fae?” the King bellowed at hearing his Irish accent. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

Talin held up his hands. “I’m Light.”

The King shot him a hard look with his sherry—colored eyes. “I’m no’ daft. Who are you?”

“Talin,” he replied without thinking about it. The Dragon Kings weren’t likely to ever know he was a Reaper. “And you?”

The King stared before raking a hand through his short, sandy blond hair to dislodge the snow. “Roman. Now isna the time for you to be here.”

“I know. I just needed some time alone.”

“Your presence was felt the minute you went through our barrier.”

Of course. Talin had forgotten that the Dragon Kings had a magical barrier up along their sixty thousand acres. It wasn’t to keep humans out of their whisky distillery. It was to keep the Dark—or any Fae—out.

The only thing on Talin’s side was the fact that the Dark released a video to the human world showing the Dragon Kings shifting from human to dragon and back again. That brought MI5, news crews, and others looking for a peek at them.

Which meant the Kings couldn’t shift and fly as they normally would. That gave Talin a few minutes with Roman.

“I’ll leave,” Talin said.

Roman’s face hardened. “And never return.”

“The war between you and the Dark is heating up. I think you’d want the help of the Light.”

“And that’s why you’re here? Instead of your queen?”

Roman had him there. Talin smiled and held up his hands. “I’m leaving.”

He veiled himself but didn’t leave. It was just a few seconds later that more Dragon Kings appeared. At the head was none other than Constantine, King of Kings.

“Who was it?” Con demanded.

Roman shrugged, still looking around. “He said his name was Talin.”

“We should ask Rhi,” said a King with aqua ringed dark blue eyes and long, wavy, dark hair.

Con sighed. “No’ everything needs to be told to her, Rhys.”

“She’ll know,” Rhys pointed out.

Con turned on his heel, ignoring the freezing temperatures and snow. “Fine. Ask her. We need to know why this Light was here.”

Talin still wasn’t sure how he’d ended up at Dreagan. He hadn’t been thinking of the Dragon Kings. His thoughts had been on Neve.

He waited until all but Roman remained atop the mountain before Talin teleported to Inchmickery. To his shock, the others were already there.

Talin spotted Baylon, Jordyn, Kyran, and River combing through books, trying to find out where Eoghan might have been sent.

Fintan was in another room sharpening his sword while listening to the opera
Carmen
. Cael stood in his office with his back to the door and his gaze out the window.

Talin didn’t need to ask what Cael was thinking about. Eoghan and Bran. It was the two things on everyone’s minds.

He quietly walked to his chamber and opened the door. Talin stopped when he saw the bed, a bed he’d hoped to share with Neve. With each hour that passed without word from Death or Neve, Talin was coming to realize that Neve must’ve turned down the offer to become a Reaper.

Not that he could blame her. It wasn’t an easy job. The power and extra magic were amazing. The ability to remain veiled indefinitely among other attributes helped to soften the blow of what they did.

But it wasn’t something any of them could forget.

He walked to the bed and touched it. Talin allowed himself to dream of a world with Neve in it. Having that snatched out of his grasp was heartbreaking. No wonder Bran had lost his mind.

Talin was close to doing the same himself. The only thing that stopped him was Neve telling him not to do what Bran had. Neve wouldn’t want him to turn against those he considered family. He would hold it together.

Time would eventually heal his pain.

At least, he prayed it would.

He felt something behind him and whirled around. Talin’s mouth fell open when he saw Neve. Her smile was wide, her silver eyes bright with happiness.

It was the black leather armor that had him eyeing her in approval. Was there anything this woman wore that didn’t make him want to rip it off her and plunge into her body?

“Your eyes approve, but I don’t hear any words,” Neve said.

Talin took two steps and jerked her into his arms. He held her tightly. “I wasn’t sure you’d say yes.”

“I didn’t think I was a warrior. Death thinks differently,” Neve said with a chuckle.

Talin squeezed his eyes closed, happier than he’d ever been. “You’re really here?”

“I’m really here.”

“A Reaper?”

Neve nodded and slid her hands into his hair. “A Reaper. With all the responsibilities that you have.”

“Neve—” he began.

She raised a brow and gave him a stern look. “It was my decision. Erith told me exactly what I would be doing. It’s going to be hard at first, but I’m serving Death. I’m proud of that, even if I’m still hurting over how I came to be a Reaper. But,” she hurried to say when he opened his mouth. “Now I’ll get to hunt Bran along with you.”

Talin didn’t know what to say. He was both elated and sad that she was with him.

Neve stepped out of his arms. “Have your feelings for me changed?”

He jerked her back against him, shaking his head. “Never. I’m just wrapping my head around one of the leading Light Fae family members now being a Reaper.”

“My parents are gone,” she said in a soft voice. Her gaze lowered to his chest as she took a deep breath and released it. “Atris, though still alive, is also gone. I’ll bring justice to Bran for my family.”

“Aye, we will,” Talin said.

Neve grinned as she looked back at him. “I can’t wait to meet Jordyn and River.”

The door slammed shut with a thought from Talin. He held Neve against him. “We have eternity with them. I want some time with you. Alone.”

“Hmm. I like the sound of that.”

Talin’s heart was about to burst from happiness. “I . . . I . . .” He stopped and cleared his throat. Words had always come easily to him, but suddenly, now he couldn’t get them out.

Neve put her hand over his heart and gazed up at him adoringly. He was the luckiest Fae in all the realms. The proof was the woman in his arms.

“I’m an arse for not telling you of my love sooner.”

“Yes, you are,” she agreed.

He paused for a moment. “I’m going to tell you every day.”

“Yes, you are.”

Talin smiled. “And you’ll tell me every day.”

“Damn right.” Neve smiled.

Talin took a half—step back and held her hand between them. He gazed into her eyes. Nothing in their relationship had gone in sequence. Why should he start now? “From this moment through eternity I am yours.”

Her eyes widened and her lips parted as she recognized the words of the marriage ceremony of the Fae. Neve swallowed and blinked hastily. “From this moment through eternity I am yours.”

With those simple words, they were bound together as husband and wife.

She was his.

And he was hers.

Bran stared down at Searlas through the pouring rain in an alley in Dublin. The Dark was slowly dying. Part of Bran wanted to let him die for not killing Talin. Then again, the female Light Fae had ruined so much.

Bran knelt beside his lieutenant and easily healed him. He looked around the rain—soaked streets. “Find us a place. I want to know who that Light Fae was.”

“Her name is Rhi.”

His head jerked to Searlas. “How do you know her?”

“Everyone knows her.” Searlas sat up, rubbing the spot where Kyran’s sword had pierced his flesh. “She’s a Queen’s Guard. She also had an affair with a Dragon King.”

Ah. The Dragon Kings. Bran hadn’t paid them much attention before since he had bigger fish to fry—like Death. But Rhi was more powerful than he’d expected.

In fact, her power exceeded his. And that could put a wrench in his plans.

“We need to kill this Rhi.”

Searlas frowned as he got to his feet. “It’d be better to turn her to our side.”

Bran slowly stood. This was the first smart thing Searlas had said in months. “Yes, she would make a fine addition to our ranks.” And be a better lieutenant.

But Searlas didn’t need to know that part yet.

“Recruit her,” Bran ordered as he walked off into the night.

Searlas watched him. He owed everything to Bran, but he wasn’t as stupid as Bran thought. Rhi was going to be harder to kill than the Reapers, and they hadn’t had much luck in that department.

But the odds of Rhi coming to their side were next to nil. Besides, if she did, Searlas knew she would take his position. He hadn’t killed and clawed his way to the top to move aside now.

With Bran occupied with the Reapers and Death, he’d never know if or when Searlas spoke with Rhi.

Searlas turned on his heel and went in the opposite direction to look for a new place for them to live. He hoped it was filled with humans because he had a need to kill.

New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author
Donna Grant
has been praised for her “totally addictive” and “unique and sensual” stories. She’s the author of more than thirty novels spanning multiple genres of romance including the bestselling Dark King stories,
Dark Craving
,
Night’s Awakening
, and
Dawn’s Desire
. Her acclaimed Dark Warrior and Dark Sword series novels feature a thrilling combination of Druids, primeval gods, and immortal Highlanders who are dark, dangerous, and irresistible. She lives with her husband, two children, a dog, and four cats in Texas.

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