Dark War Chronicles Box Set One (52 page)

"You felt her then."

Lucius turned around and flung his power out to greet Kaden. He pinned the demon to the wall. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to tell you that the Blood Demon is dead." Kaden's voice strained around the invisible power pinning him to the wall. Lucius used the power to throw him across the room. It fed something inside him to see the demon suffer.

"Did you kill it?" He let his power go, trying to regain control, but only one person could rein it in. Tegan. He needed his human.

Kaden wisely stayed where he landed. "No, Orion was the one who beheaded it. I trapped it. Dani was there as well, but Hunters are useless against us."

"Us, not often that you claim you are related to anything that crawls out of the hell realm."

Kaden cleared his throat. "Orion reminded me of something today. That I am not only a demon, I am one of your best mercenaries since I don't actually belong to your territory."

"Meaning what?" Lucius threw himself into his throne and put a hand to his head. "I am not in the mood to play games, Kaden. Just say what you mean or I'm going to make you bleed." Demon blood sounded good at this point. Jaxon hadn't let him get near Kass since she'd been hurt. Damn panther was over protective. Coran's blood was getting boring and apparently Renee was out of the question, but Kaden... Lucius licked his lips at the thought of tearing the demon's throat out just for a few drops of blood.

"Meaning that I can go in and get Tegan." Kaden crossed his arms. "I can get in and out without them noticing if I time it right."

Lucius paused. "Are you sure you can do it without putting her in more danger?"

The demon hesitated and Lucius knew the answer. "I can't promise it, but if there is a chance—"

"No. They will screw up again and we'll get her."

"Again?" Kaden growled. "Lucius, what aren't you telling me?"

Lucius ran an angry hand through his hair. "I felt her, it was quick and in the Circle's territory. We have problems enough, I couldn't go get her, but it's just a matter of time before they bring her back again. They can't depend on the demons forever."

"You didn't go to her when she came back to this realm?" Kaden's anger sounded through his clipped words. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"The Circle would take me as soon as I invaded the territory and that would not help Tegan's case. Do not pretend like you understand what is going on."

"This hurts me too—"

"Get out of my sight, demon. I do not want to see or hear from you until she is returned to me. You want to risk your life and cause her more pain, then by all means, waltz into the demon realm and find her."

Lucius turned away from Kaden and rubbed his head. Kaden would get Tegan hurt worse. Clearly, the demons were keeping her for a reason. Over and over he tried to think of a reason, tried to figure out why they were causing his human pain. The pain and her absence drove him ever closer to insanity.

"Lucius?" Coran's voice replaced Kaden's.

"What?" He snapped, spinning around to face the wolf.

Coran swallowed and pushed a scared Renee behind him. Her eyes were puffy from crying and her hands were shaking. Something had happened. Something bad.

He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. What can I do for you, Coran?"

"I need you to get in contact with the territory in Philadelphia, just let whoever it is there know that Renee and I will be traveling out there for a week. Her brother has...passed away."

Lucius didn't like the sound of that. "How did he die?”

"He was slaughtered and his body was dumped." Coran pulled Renee to his side. "We'll be out there for the funeral, help get things arranged, and then we'll be back home."

Human life was precious to other humans. He didn't know much about Renee's brother, but he knew enough about Renee. He had no choice but to let them go, even if it meant Coran being gone. "Okay, I'll contact them. I'll also call on some other people to help fill the void you're leaving in my security."

"I know, but this is—"

"Important. Go." Lucius sighed. "I need to make some calls."

Danielle flipped another page in the book of history, going over notes and drawings from the 1700's. Everything she read was fascinating and she found herself wondering why the Hunters of the old world broke off and formed the modern day Hunters. The connections disappeared in the 1700’s, no longer did they keep in contact with the Hunters overseas. They could have learned a lot or retained more information, other than a tiny bit about summoning demons. Of course, that information could be dangerous.

"So you had a good night?" Joey asked, leaning over her. "Seems like you and Orion are really hitting it off."

She waved her hand at him. "You should learn to keep your thoughts to yourself. Do you know how creepy it is that you can do that?"

"You don't even know the half of it." He smirked and sat down next her. "The elder masters are all talking about how an Elite took on a demon. That's impressive. Of course, you failed to mention in your report how you had the help of another demon and a Fae. They are going to expect more of you now."

Dani shrugged and closed the book. "Really, it doesn't matter. They didn't even know there was a demon around. They are more focused on the vampires. Which led to a dangerous situation." That took her to the heart of the vampire territory.

"In which you were able to meet Luc—"

"Do not mention that. I swore to him that I wouldn't let that information get back here." She hissed.

Joey held his hands. "Okay, that's fine. Did you learn anything interesting?"

"Oh yeah, lots." She muttered and shook her head. "But I don't have time to be concerned about that. I need to figure something out in regards to the Fae and Orion."

"You think you can get his throne back for him?" Joey's eyes widened. "That is dangerous territory. More dangerous than taking on a demon. The Queen of Blood and Darkness isn't known for being kind. She's not going to willingly let him come in and take over."

Dani leaned back. "The queen has a weakness, that much I know. That is the information I was bribing him with to get his help."

"So what's the problem?"

She clicked her tongue. "I don't know if he wants the throne back and I think..."

"You're in love with him." Joey wrinkled his nose.

Dani huffed. She didn't want to use those words, but yes, she loved him and she was starting to think there was nothing she could do about it. Orion seemed to be fighting against some sort of feelings too. He'd give her loving caresses and hold her, hell they'd slept together twice, but there were times that he seemed to push her away. Like he was scared of her humanity.

Humanity.

What would he think if he knew about her being a bound human? Maybe that would help the situation. Maybe if he realized she wasn't going to be like Renee, she wasn't going to grow old. Of course, she knew he couldn't commit himself until Tegan returned.

"Tegan." Joey frowned. "I can see a clear picture in your head, but you don't know what she is."

Dani glared at him. "Seriously dude, stop that."

"Sorry, you really need to learn how to block your thoughts better." He frowned again, seemingly distracted. "That really should be standard training here." Jumping up, he flashed her a grin. "Good luck with your love life. Just remember, don't throw out the gifts life gives you...sometimes they are just what you need."

"I'll try to keep that in mind. Have a good night, Joey." She tucked the book under her arm and grabbed her coat off the back of the library chair.

He gave her a salute as he wandered up the stairs to look at the books. She went out the door and pulled out her phone. She frowned when her call went straight to Orion's cell phone. "Hey, it's me. I want to talk to you...about something important. Call me."

She stuck her phone in her pocket and headed out to the parking lot. She needed to tell him how she felt and what was going on.

Orion pulled up to the townhouse after work. He didn't really want to stay here while Coran and Renee were gone, hating how empty the house was, but he really didn't have a choice. If he went to Lucius' than he would be reminded of Tegan. He hadn't heard from Kaden yet, so he had no idea if the demon had gone after Tegan. Worse yet, Orion felt a pain in his heart when he realized that he wouldn't be waking up next to Danielle tomorrow. With it being the ass crack of dawn, there was only one thing that would take the edge off his power after work.

He needed a drink. Going to The Disappearing Act was out of the question. Mae would be ready to close it down and would put him to work. Tegan would be ashamed at how her bar was starting to go downhill without her there. He went straight to the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of vodka. One of the downfalls of being a Fae was he couldn't get drunk easily, but he could get a buzz off of this, and he was determined to enjoy it.

Sometime later, the empty bottle sat next to him. His phone had rung but it was too far away for him to really care. He doubted it was Dani and he knew it wasn't Tegan. It dinged to let him know that he had a voicemail. He didn't care. Looking at himself in the mirror, he wondered how he’d gotten to this point. He'd dropped his magic and his glamour and stared at his shredded wings in the mirror. Green and black ribbons were all that remained, hanging off the hollow bones that made up the shape of the fairy wings. He never wanted to see them, but something about being around Danielle made him realize what he was again.

A broken prince. Whose throne had been taken from him. Now he was mated and had nothing but Lucius' wrath to share with his mate. And the ability to watch her grow old. Great gifts for her.

Right.

He laid his head on his knees, letting his hair fall over his eyes. At some point in drinking he’d gotten hot and took off his jeans so that he sat there in the nude. His body had scars and they reminded him of the ones he'd seen on Dani's body. There was so much about each other that they didn't know, but he wanted her forever. He would do anything to keep her from Lucius, even if it meant leaving his territory. But he didn't have anywhere to go.

With a rush of rage he stood and slammed his fist into the full-length mirror he'd been staring at. How had he become this pathetic creature?

"Orion?"

Dani's voice caught him off guard and helped clear some of the fog. He had enough time to pull his pants back on before she came up the steps and spotted him through the open door of his room.

She licked her lips and her eyes wandered over him. The look in her eyes was clear. Mine. She wanted him. He cursed, realizing his glamour was still down. "Dani, look, I can—"

"Your wings, that's what she did to your wings?" She reached out to touch him, but he folded them together, much like a butterfly, to keep the ruins from her touch and her pity. "Orion, that woman is a monster."

He snorted. "You're telling me."

"I wanted to talk, but I see you had other plans tonight." Her eyes flickered to the bottle on the ground. "Roommates out of town? So thought you'd have a party of one?"

He loved her sarcasm when she was getting defensive. "I'm almost back to being sober, it doesn't stay in my system long." He pulled his glamour back over him and once again he appeared flawless, just like when he was on stage.

"You've been hiding yourself from me." She crossed her arms.

He pulled her into a hug. "I've been hiding from everyone. It's been years since someone saw me without my glamour."

"Do you regret that I did?" She asked.

He mocked her by clicking his tongue. "No, I don't. If anyone got to see me, I'm glad it was you."

"Why?"

"Because you, too, carry scars that you don't want people to know about. People ask questions and it brings up the past." He brushed a hand over her cheek. "My little Hunter, I'm sorry." He closed his eyes and dropped his glamour before kissing her deeply.

She parted her lips to let his teasing tongue into her mouth and they devoured each other. She pulled back. "I don't want to hide things from you anymore."

"Me either." He flattened his wings. "You may touch them, just be gentle. They still hurt some days."

She brushed her hand over the top curve of the wing and watched as it quivered under her touch. A shock went through the wing and into Orion's spine and he cried out, his back arching. Turning his head, he saw the impossible happen. The thin fabric of the wing started to knit itself back together. Orion gasped as Dani touched the other curves and the same thing happened.

Pain laced through them and took over Orion's body. He fell to his knees, gasping and clenching his eyes closed as the fire ran through his body. With a final shock, silver threaded through the green and black wings. He stayed where he was, head resting against the floor as he caught his breath.

"Oh my God, they are beautiful." Danielle swallowed and ran her hand over them again.

This time no pain came, just the soft, soothing touch of his mate. Orion lifted his head up and looked at her. "You healed them." He couldn't believe it, centuries of going around with torn wings and she'd healed them with a touch.

"What does that mean, and please don't hide the answer from me." She knelt in front of him.

He laughed, a joyful laugh. "You're my mate, Danielle. The one fate has chosen for me."

"You mean like fate has chosen Renee for Coran?" Danielle ran a hand through his hair and he gave a contented sigh.

"Yes, just like that, except this is Fae mating." He chuckled and rolled over so he could lay his head in her lap and willed his wings to disappear, the magic allowing them to be tangible and visible only when he wanted. "It means that you will never be satisfied with anyone else but me, you will crave me, and, well...only I can get you pregnant."

"And for you?" She asked, her voice shaking.

He smiled up at her. "You're the only one who will ever satisfy me...the only one who can, well..." He looked at the bulge in his pants. "Get it up."

"You joke at a time like this?" She cracked a smile. "Do you crave me too?"