Dark Secrets (19 page)

“Clean Julian and chain him up in one of the bedrooms, I don’t
care which one. I’m not finished with him, but it’s no fun unless he’s awake.
We’ll let him heal up a little—force some blood into his mouth.” She looked
around the room, surveying the lot.

The vampires’ heads bowed to the floor. Eiven dipped his
gaze too and I wondered where the fuck his balls had gone. “My queen, perhaps I
should stay by your side. Ensure nothing happens to you.”

Ella growled and before I even saw her move, Eiven was on
the ground, blood dripping from his mouth. She pressed her foot to his throat,
cutting off his air supply. He gripped her ankle, as if to twist her away, but
Ella pressed harder.

“Mind yourself, wolf. I make the rules. You listen to me.
Never forget that I know your secrets. Do not think for one moment that I won’t
hesitate to turn them on you when it suits me.”

His arms fell limply to the floor and he stared up at her,
his sexual hunger making me want to shove my boot up his ass and bitch-slap
him. Ella removed her foot and crossed to me, the grin on her face one of the
most terrifying things I’d ever seen. She threaded her arm through mine and led
me from the room.

“You have something to say?” she said and laid her head on
my shoulder.

I clenched my teeth. “You said Julian freed you. Tell me
what happened.”

“He thought he could control me.” Her mood shifted and she
pulled away from me. The air around her frosted. Her features hardened. “I
changed my mind,” she said suddenly. “I’ve got somewhere to be.”

I grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop. She glared at my
hand and I slowly released my grip. “Babe, you’re covered in blood.”

She looked down at herself and drew a finger through the blood
splattering her chest and stomach. She licked her lips and shrugged. “So?”

“Ella, if anyone saw you like that, don’t you think it would
raise several questions? We’re at an advantage here. No one outside of this
mansion knows you’ve…risen to your full potential. We have the element of
surprise. Let’s go home, get cleaned up.” I cupped the weight of her breast and
thumbed the hard peak of her nipple. “Do you remember how good it was between
us before? How it felt when I fucked you? Think about how much better it will
be now that you can fully succumb to the pleasure. No rules. No emotion. Just
fucking.”

She tucked her lower lip between her teeth and peered at me
through lids that had gone half-mast with arousal. “And if I don’t want to
wait?”

“Baby…” I cupped her cheek, tightening my hold and keeping
her from closing the distance between us. “I want you all to myself. Indulge
me, I promise to make it worth your while.”

Ella stared at me for a long moment as if weighing the truth
in my words. I counted to thirty before she muttered, “Fine.”

“Let’s go then, I’ll drive.”

As we started for the door, I pulled my phone from my
pocket. One-handed, behind my back, I typed out a message I hoped read—
Ella
is alive but soulless. Blade of Souls. Find a cure. Fast.

I hit send and hoped to hell Eli had a solution by the time
we arrived.

“What are you doing?” she hissed when I slid my cell into my
back pocket.

I shrugged. “Checking to see what time it is.”

Ella’s eyes narrowed. “Liar.”

My phone chose that moment to chime out a series of annoying
chirps that signaled a new message. I clenched my teeth in annoyance, but didn’t
make any move to retrieve my phone. Ella did that for me. She reached into my
pocket, removed the cell and phazed out of reach before I could even blink.

Her gaze tracked over the screen, her lips moving as she
read silently. Dread filled the pit of my stomach and I drew in a deep breath.
Fuck. She lifted her sights to mine, the venom in hers a death sentence.

“You see, Micah,” she said quietly, the ice in her voice
belying the calmness of her tone, “if you had just let me go, I would have
simply gone after Richard. But now, now I can see I’ll need to make a pit stop.”

She opened her hand and let the phone fall to the ground
with a thud. I swallowed my apprehension. My fingers twitched. Both instinct
and training told me grabbing a weapon right about now might save my life.
Before I could make the decision one way or the other, Ella vanished.

Damn it!

I rushed forward and scooped up the phone, reading the
message.

H says there is a way to restore her, but
only
if
she hasn’t done anything that’s beyond redemption. If she has, her soul will
reject the body. Do
not
let her out of your sight. I’ll tell you the
rest when you get here. Hurry.—E

Shit. Shit. Shit.

A pit stop. The mansion where my brother and Hannah were.
Heart in my throat, stomach to my fucking knees, I ran in the direction of my
car. The pounding of my boots against the floor was almost as loud as my
thundering heart. I dialed Eli’s number to warn him, the continuous ringing
ratcheting my anxiety. Phone pressed between my ear and my shoulder, I slid
into the front seat of my car.

“Sorry,” Eli’s voice sounded through the line. I opened my
mouth to speak, my relief crushed at the realization I’d gotten his voicemail. “I
can’t take your call—”

I hung up, redialed and twisted the keys I’d never bothered
to remove from the ignition in my haste to get inside and find Ella. Ring.
Ring. Ring. I shoved the gearstick to reverse, backed up the driveway in a squeal
of tires. Voicemail picked up and I disconnected the call, working down my
contacts, Dante, Castro, Hannah.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

Every second prolonged the inevitable. I pushed the
accelerator to the floor, shifted through the gears and weaved through late-evening
traffic. Why the fuck wasn’t anyone picking up their phones? In my gut, I knew
why. I slammed my hand against the steering wheel, cracking plastic. Ella didn’t
want her soul back, would most likely do anything, kill anyone, to prevent that
from happening.

The GTO’s engine roared and I pushed it faster, the odometer
needle creeping from one hundred to one hundred ten. The car shook—a vibration
that played through me. In the end, I did the only thing I could. I prayed to a
god I wasn’t sure would have me that I made it home before it was too
late—before the woman I loved slaughtered our family and damned her soul to
hell.

I imagined Micah’s phone hit the floor at the same moment I
appeared a few feet away from where my know-it-all sister stood, her back to
me. There were no murky corners in my head, no spiraling colors from the world
around me fading and reappearing. Point. Click. Phaze.

Huddled around her, Dante, Eli and Castro stood shoulder to
shoulder in true powwow form. Heads dipped, their conflicting voices
overlapping each other, they discussed my situation with an urgency I found
laughable.

“Without a soul, she’ll have no morals. Castro, after you
mentioned the Blade of Souls to Micah, he asked me to research it. I’ve studied
the effects, looked at several different cases where this has happened. There
will be nothing to stop her from slaughtering whomever she wants.” Eli’s fierce
declaration rubbed off some of his man-whorish charm with words like “research”
and “study”.

A bead of annoyance pulsed through me. It was clear he wasn’t
going to devolve into a bitch-sniffing pack animal like Eiven. For that, he’d
die.

“Ella wouldn’t—” Hannah countered before the wolf finished
speaking, her voice quivering with tears that scented the air with salt.

I rolled my eyes. What a wishy-washy twit. She was too girly
to be considered a real threat, but she had knowledge, and knowledge was power.
She needed a reminder who the Queen Bitch was. Maybe I’d eliminate her pussy
cat and the let the pup add her to his list of conquests. Oh! Excitement
surged.
I’ll make the lion watch.

I lounged against the doorway and examined my nails,
magicking them into sharp, talon-like claws to make playtime more fun while I
waited for someone to notice me. Surely the shifters could scent my arrival,
feel the ripple in the air? No. They all had their heads firmly planted up
their asses.

Castro put in his two cents. “Make no mistake, Hannah, she
would. This version of her isn’t real. She’s just a shell. She’d just as soon
kill you as she would Micah. Richard knew this, planned for it.”

I scoffed. Isn’t real. The demon was wrong. The real Ella
had finally arrived. The fake one was dead and buried, gone with the pansy-ass
lavender swirl in the dagger strapped to my thigh.

Tired of the game, I stepped forward. The sound of my heels
on the granite floor was a very deliberate click-click when the group paused to
breathe. Not that they were going to be doing that much longer.

“If I were you, baby sister, I’d listen to the demon—he’s
the least pathetic of the bunch,” I whispered in a conspiratorial tone, as if I
were one of them.

Hannah spun toward the sound of my voice with an annoying
squeal of surprise. Her eyes widened with shock. Several things happened at
once. Eli growled, Dante reached to pull Hannah to him and the demon came at
me.

Child’s play.

Time slowed, allowing me an edge, a speed that surpassed
them all. I grabbed Hannah around the throat and jerked her from her lion’s
arms. Phazing out of reach, I evaded Castro and spun my sister so her back was
to my front. I placed one hand on her chin, the other at the side of her
head—the perfect placement to break her neck. Hannah grabbed my arm, pitifully
trying to remove my hold. How very cute. She should have learned to take care
of herself instead of depending on me to wipe her nose and cover her ass when
we were growing up.

“Let her go, Ella,” Dante demanded, the underlying growl in
his words sending a delicious shiver down my spine. I hadn’t gotten the sex I’d
wanted from my half-demon boy toy. Maybe the kitty-cat could scratch my itch.

I licked my lips and drew my gaze over the muscles straining
against his pale-blue tee. “Make me, I dare you.”

Eli took a step forward and I twisted Hannah’s head with a
chiding “tsk, tsk” until she cried out. The bones in her neck strained under my
strength, at the point of snapping. Humans, such fragile creatures.

I searched her thoughts, looking for the pesky remedy to
restore my soul, wondering who she’d told. Words and numbers streamed through
her consciousness, a jumble of fucking nonsense. Anger whipped through me and I
snarled against her ear.

“Focus, baby sister. What did you tell the halfling?”

“Ella,” Hannah whimpered in a little girl’s tone. “Let me
go.”

I laughed and tightened my hold, tempted to say fuck it and
snap her neck without the information I needed. But that wouldn’t be any fun,
would it?

“That shit isn’t going to work on me, you bitch. If you don’t
tell me what I want to know I’ll make what Lizbeth did to you look like a trip
to Disneyland. I’ll start with the pup, skin him from head to toe and make a
nice little fur jacket for you to wear. When I’m done with him, I’ll move on to
your lion. He looks like he’d survive a lot, give me hours of amusement.”

I focused on the wolf and the lion, who stared at me with a
mixture of horror and hatred—a priceless moment, really, one I’d cherish until
something better came along. Like their screams. I lashed out, sending them
both flying back to the wall. Gritting my teeth, I focused on pinning them in
place, assuring they wouldn’t get in my way. The shifters struggled against my
grasp with their lips curled in fury, their muscles bulging from the strain.
Inside them, their beasts vibrated in a clear signal they were about to shift.

Not if I could help it.

A blast of heat came at me and I switched my attention to
the demon and the fireball hurling toward my head. Fucking demons. I dropped
Hannah to the ground and phazed to Castro. The blast hit the wall and the house
trembled in fury. Glass shattered. The sweet smell of burning fabric filled my
nose as crackling flames devoured a tacky gold wall hanging.

“I didn’t like that tapestry anyway.” I brought my balled
fist across the side of his face with a satisfying crunch.

Blood rushed through my veins at the
physical-get-your-knuckles-bloody contact. I always had enjoyed a good fight.
Adrenaline surged, making me stronger and faster, filling me with power. The
rush was addicting.

Where my flesh met his, bubbling blisters spread over my
knuckles and I drew in the red-hot flash of pain—enjoying the bite. I didn’t
know the exact type of demon Castro was—Fury…something or other, that shit was
for Hannah to memorize—but the traits that curled smoke from his skin gave him
a layer of protection, preventing people from touching him without his consent.
Too bad for him I liked the flash of hurt.

I struck again and Castro—no longer off guard—brought his
arm up to block me.

“I’m going to cut off your dick, demon. Feed it to the wolf
before I cut every inch of his skin from his body. The halfling should be here
soon, maybe I’ll wait, make him watch me finish all of you off so he knows once
and for all his pansy-ass mate is gone. Forever. Right before I rip out his
heart and feast on it.”

We parried, Castro proving far more adept than I would have
given him credit for. I phazed in and out, the demon somehow anticipating where
I’d appear and blocking my blows. Annoyance surged. Red and orange fingers of
fire crawled up the walls from his missed attempts to burn me alive. Smoke
filled the air, a thick roiling mass slowly engulfing the dining room off to
the right.

Burn, baby, burn.
With my mind, I searched through
the walls and ripped out wires, not caring or knowing what cords went to what.
My goal, the fire alarm. The lights cut out, throwing the house into a pitch-black
hole. Castro growled and looked up in the darkness I had no problem seeing
through. Grinning, I feigned left and brought my palm up under his nose. Molten
blood spilled free, eating through my skin.

I spun him around and kicked, landing a solid back-cracking
hit at the base of his spine. He sprawled face first to the ground with a hiss
of pain. I went in for the kill, ready to shove my fist through his back and
rip out his heart, when he turned and shoved. I fell back, my concentration
slipping enough for the shifters to get free.

Oh, he’d pay for that.

Castro bent and cracked his forehead against mine. I reeled
back to the accompaniment of snarls and growls filling the room. From the
corner of my eye, Hannah scampered over the ground and into Dante’s arms where
he rushed to her, mindless to everything else around him.

I’d be damned if the little bitch got away.

The air behind me shifted with a roiling energy that was
more potent than the rest. I turned, already prepared for Eli. I brought my leg
out and swept him to the ground. I buried my foot against his ribs, once,
twice, three times—his grunt of pain shadowing the spine-thrilling noise of bones
cracking.

Three of the Fenrir charged into the room from where they’d
been on one of the upper levels, their gazes automatically seeking me out.
Mine. With a single, silent command, I ripped the beasts from their
skin—forcing them into a shift. Light eclipsed the room, eradicating the
darkness. I turned from the beaming rays of energy and directly into a blade.

Brimstone melted through flesh, the color a sharp contrast
to my pale skin, and cut through a few of my ribs. The pain amped up my hunger
and I vowed to make whatever I did to the demon lord hurt. I curled my lip,
ripping the knife from my side on a snarl.

“The Blade of Souls, it’s strapped to her thigh…” Eli
growled, pushing from the ground.

Fuck, he must have seen it when I’d kicked him. That, or he’d
looked up my dress. Hmm…perhaps the wolf wanted some pussy. Surely after the
string of whores he’d gone through he’d be somewhat adept at pleasure. Maybe I’d
let him service me in front of Micah and the others, then, like a female
praying mantis, rip off his head when I climaxed. The thought had merit.

Blood dripped from a gash along the crown of his head,
curving over his cheek. Even though a cloak of darkness covered the room, I had
no problem seeing. I licked my lips, deciding to save him for last. Castro
gripped my shoulder, fingers digging into skin and burning flesh.

I focused every ounce of my power on the demon. One of his
greatest strengths was his ability to project emotion. I could work with that.
I collected the hurt thrumming through the room, his and mine, morphing it into
a ball. I stared into his eyes.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he seethed through bared teeth
that indicated whatever he was trying to do—shove his emotions into me—wasn’t
working. His face was all fierce angles and smooth lines. “But I will.”

I spit in his face, my saliva splattering against his cheek.
“Fucking prick. You hurt me—you hurt this demon spawn I’ve got growing inside
me.”

Shock filled his face and very unintelligently he asked, “You’re…pregnant?”

I smirked. “Vampire Queen. Demon Son. This brat is mine to
control and no one is going to ruin that for me.”

When I could no longer contain the pain, I forced it out.

My emotions slammed into him—a corporeal web that twined
around his legs and crawled up his body. He made a deep, guttural noise of
anguish. The more he struggled, the tighter the strands got, cutting off his
circulation. I ripped his hand from my shoulder, losing several layers of skin
in the process. Shoving the knife into his thigh, I pushed him back. He fell,
dropping to his knees, his skin whitening under the onslaught of pain I pumped
into him.

I moved out of the way, giving my wolves access to the
writhing demon fighting his way free of my tangled web. Acting as a single,
well-honed beast, they attacked with a bloodthirsty ruthlessness that filled me
with pride. In a mess of limbs, fur and snarling teeth, the trio crashed to the
floor. The acrid stench of burnt hair filled the room and I watched Castro
fight to keep the Fenrir from ripping out his throat.

Eli’s voice rang out over the roar of the spreading fire. “If
you think we’re just going to let you walk away, you’re mistaken. You’re part
of us, Ella, our family. We take care of our own.”

Eli rose from the ground and I blew the wayward strands of
my hair from my face, advancing on him. I shoved my power inside him, let it
slither under his skin and grab hold of his beast. I squeezed, ensnaring the
wolf before he even knew what hit him. He cupped his throat and fell to his
knees, sputtering.

He had a different feel than the other Fenrirs, something
pure and undiluted, as if he’d gotten the traits of the feral beasts but not
the genetics that connected them to me. I paused and took a minute to consider
how great a threat he was to my power structure. I pushed my will harder,
trying to track who’d delivered the infecting blow so I’d know who to kill. The
Fenrir were mine, and I’d be damned if they staged a revolt.

Movement caught my attention. A stream of golden hair in the
darkness. Dante. He dashed for the front door, dragging Hannah with him. To my
left, my wolves yelped, a pitiful howling that grated on my nerves. Pussies. I
wondered absently if Castro would leave them alive.

Seconds from throwing myself into a phaze, I spotted the
first red dot shining on the wall. Then another and another. Several dozen of
them crawled throughout the room like feral roaches fleeing the flames.

I looked down, narrowing my eyes and touching the dot
hovering over my heart.

The front door slammed open. Dante jerked Hannah back before
the wood smacked her in the face. A squadron of men marched into the room,
their black riot gear enough to have me lifting an eyebrow in curiosity.

The Shadow Agency had arrived—how fucking cute. One after
another, soldiers filled the house and trained their weapons on me. I closed my
eyes and tasted the air, the subtle scent of fear and anticipation. Their minds
hummed, not the same way as the vampires’ had. One thing was clear—they were to
detain me for crimes against humanity.

Oh man. Unable to contain my absolute glee, I threw my head
back and laughed.