Hakan Severin (21 page)
Fane’s hand absently touched the center of his chest where he’d once felt the constant connection to Callie. They’d transferred the bond last week, but he still felt the strange void that was wearing on his nerves.
He needed a distraction.
The thought had barely passed through is mind when a shadow fell over him and he glanced up to discover a tall, lean man with copper-tinted skin and ebony eyes. Wolfe, the current Tagos (leader of all Sentinels) had a proud, hawkish nose, with heavy brows and prominent cheekbones gave him the appearance of an ancient Egyptian deity.
It was a face that spoke of power and fierce masculinity. The sort of face that intimidated men and made women wonder if he was as dangerous as he looked.
He was.
Just as arresting was the shoulder-length black hair that had a startling streak of gray that started at his right temple. There were whispers that when Wolfe was a babe he’d been touched by the devil.
Something Fane fully believed.
Swallowing a curse, Fane tossed aside his sweaty towel. Damn. This wasn’t the distraction he’d been wanting.
Wolfe was dressed in jeans and a loose cotton shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He had his arms folded over his chest and was studying Fane with an expression that warned he wasn’t pleased.
Around them the gym went silent as the other Sentinels pretended they weren’t straining to overhear the potential confrontation.
“I heard through the grapevine you’ve taken a position as a trainer,” he said. That was Wolfe. Always straight to the point.
Fane scowled. It’d been less than twenty four hours since he’d made the decision to seek a position as trainer in a monastery half way around the world. How the hell had word spread so fast?
“The grapevine should mind its own business.”
The ebony eyes narrowed. “And I shouldn’t have to listen to gossip to learn when one of my Sentinels is leaving Valhalla.”
Fane met his Tagos glare for glare. “I have no direct duties here, at least not anymore. I’m allowed to return to the monastery without clearing it with you.”
The air heated. Sentinels’ body temperature ran hotter than humans, and when their emotions were provoked they could actually warm the air around them.
“Don’t be an ass. This isn’t about duties, I’m worried about you.”
Oh hell.
This was exactly what Fane didn’t want.
He’d rather be shot in the head than have someone fussing over him.
“There’s nothing to worry about. You know that I was a trainer for years before coming to Valhalla. I’m simply returning to my brothers in Tibet.”
“You’ve just endured the removal of a long-standing bond. A traumatic experience for any guardian,” the older man ruthlessly pressed. “And
we’re
your brothers, you thankless son-of-a-bitch.”
Fane gave an impatient shake of his head. Wolfe was a hunter Sentinel, not a guardian, which meant he could never understand the truth of the bond.
“I know what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong.”
Wolfe slowly arched a brow. There weren’t many who had the hutzpah to stand up to him.
“What am I thinking?”
“Callie and I never had a sexual relationship.”
“Did you want one?”
“No,” Fane growled. “Jesus Christ. She was like a sister to me. She still is.”
The dark gaze never wavered. “And it doesn’t bother her that she’s with Duncan?”
“Not so long as he treats her right.” Fane allowed a humorless smile to touch his lips. “If he doesn’t...I’ll rip out his heart with my bare hands.”
Wolfe nodded. They both understood it wasn’t an empty threat.
“Good,” the Tagos said. “But that wasn’t my concern.”
Fane surged to his feet, his tattoos deepening in response to his rising temper. It was barely past noon, but it’d already been a long day.
“Does this conversation have an end in sight?”
Wolfe stood his ground.
No shocker.
The man
always
stood his ground.
“The past decade has been dedicated to protecting Callie. Now you’re going to a have void where the bond used to be. It’s going to make you...” He paused, as if sorting through his brain for the right word. “Twitchy.”
“Twitchy?”
Wolfe shrugged. “I was going to say as mean as a rabid pit bull, but that would be an insult to the pit bull.”
There was a snicker from the front of the room. Fane sent a glare that instantly had the younger Sentinel scurrying from the gym.
He returned his attention to his leader, his gaze narrowed. “And fuck you too.”
“I’m serious, Fane.” Wolfe insisted, standing with the calm of a born predator who could explode into violence in the blink of an eye. “You need to take time to adjust.”
Fane grimaced. “Don’t tell me your door is always open so we can chat about our feelings?”
“Hell, no.” Wolfe shuddered. “But I’m always available if you need a partner who isn’t terrified to spar with you.”
“Ah, so you’re offering to kick my ass?”
A hint of a smile softened Wolfe’s austere features. “And to offer you a place at Valhalla. I’m in constant need of good warriors.” The smile faded. “Especially after our battle with the necromancer. We lost too many.”
Fane ground his teeth at the sharp stab of loss that pierced his heart. During the battle against the necromancer they’d lost far too many Sentinels. Many of them brothers that Fane had served with for decades.
And while the threat of death was a constant companion for warriors, they rarely lost so many at one time.
It had left them dangerously weakened.
“All the more reason for me to train the next generation,” he pointed out.
Wolfe refused to budge. Stubborn bastard.
“Someone else can handle the training. These are dangerous times. I need experienced warriors.”
Smart enough to avoid ramming his head into a brick wall, Fane instead changed the conversation.
“Did you find any information on the Brotherhood?”
Wolfe muttered a curse at the mention of the secret society of humans who had been discovered three months ago. Like many norms they held a profound hatred toward ‘mutants’, but they were far more organized than most. And more troubling, they possessed a dangerous ability to sense high-bloods merely by being in their presence.
They were a new, unexpected complication.
The zealots might be nothing more than a pain in the ass. Or they might be...genocidal.
“Nothing useful,” Wolfe admitted, his tone revealing his barely leashed desire to pound the truth out of the bastards.
“I can do some digging at the monastery if you want,” Fane offered. “Their library is the most extensive in the world. If there’s information on the secret society, it will be there.”
“Actually I have Arel working on gathering intel.”
Wolfe nodded his head toward a young hunter Sentinel who was running on a treadmill. The overhead lights picked up the honey highlights in Arel’s light brown hair and turned his eyes to molten gold. He looked like an angel unless you took time to notice the honed muscles and the merciless strength that simmered deep in the gold eyes.
He also had the kind of charm that made women buzz around him like besotted bees.
Including one woman in particular for a short period of time.
His hands unconsciously clenched.
“Arel?” he ground out.
Wolfe made a sad attempt at looking innocent. “Is that a problem?”
“He’s young.” Fane forced his hands to relax, his expression stoic. He’d lost his right to make a claim on any woman years before. “And he has no magic,” he continued.
Wolfe deliberately allowed his gaze to roam over Fane’s distinctive tattoos. “Which means he has a shot at infiltrating the group if we decide they’re going to be a danger in the future. Something that would be impossible for most of us.”
Fane couldn’t argue.
Although guardian Sentinels had the benefit of magic, as well as the protection of their tattooing to avoid spells and psychic attacks, they did tend to stand out in a crowd.
Understatement of the year.
Arel, on the other hand, looked like a kid fresh out of college.
“It’s risky,” Fane at last muttered. “We don’t know how powerful this Brotherhood is.”
Wolfe lifted a shoulder. “He’s a Sentinel.”
“True.” Fane tried to dismiss the problem from his mind. Soon enough he would be in the seclusion of the monastery and the dangers of the world would no longer be his concern. Right? “It sounds like you have it covered. I’ll send you more warriors when they’ve completed their training.”
“Dammit, Fane...” Wolfe bit off his words as the atmosphere in the gym abruptly changed.
Both men turned to discover what had happened.
Or rather...who...had happened.
“Shit,” Fane breathed, a familiar ache settling in the center of his chest at the sight of the beautiful female who sashayed into the room.
Serra Vetrov had the habit of changing the atmosphere in rooms since she’d left the nursery.
Hell, he’d seen men walk into walls and cars drive off the road when she strolled past.
An elegantly tall woman with long, glossy black hair that contrasted with her pale, ivory skin, she had lush curves that she emphasized with her tight leather pants and matching vest that was cut to reveal a jaw-dropping amount of her generous breasts.
Her features were delicately carved. Her pale green eyes were thickly lashed, her nose narrow and her lips so sensually full they gave the impression of a sex kitten.
Although anyone foolish enough to underestimate her, was in for an unpleasant surprise.
Reviews:
“Ivy creates such vivid and complex characters, their emotional struggles feel real even though their exploits are supernatural. A true gift to the genre.” —RT Book Reviews Top Pick!
“Delivers plenty of atmosphere and hot-blooded seduction.” —Publishers Weekly
"Oh, so hot and wonderfully dangerous." - Gena Showalter, New York Times bestselling author
Alexandra Ivy
is a
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author of the Guardians of Eternity series, as well as the Sentinels and Bayou Heat that she writes with Laura Wright. After majoring in theatre she decided she prefers to bring her characters to life on paper rather than stage. She lives in Missouri with her family. Visit her website at alexandraivy.com.
Guardians of Eternity
Hunt the Darkness
May 28, 2014
978-1420125153
Barnes and Noble:
http://bit.ly/1dxG9wz
Darkness Avenged
June 4, 2013, Zebra
ISBN 978-1420111385
Barnes and Noble:
http://bit.ly/1mh9GBY
Levet
March 26, 2013
Barnes and Noble:
http://amzn.to/1pQ9f5G
Fear the Darkness
September 1,2012, Zebra
ISBN 978-1420111378
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http://bit.ly/1sbUeIi
Bound by Darkness
December 6,2011, Zebra
ISBN 978-1420111361
Barnes and Noble:
http://bit.ly/1t7J0ZM
Devoured by Darkness
November 2010, Zebra Paranormal
ISBN 978-1420111354
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http://bit.ly/TVlbEm
Beyond the Darkness
April 2010, Zebra Paranormal
ISBN 978-1420102987
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http://bit.ly/1qXTdDG
Darkness Unleashed
November 2009, Zebra Paranormal
ISBN 978-1420102970
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Darkness Everlasting
May 2008, Zebra Paranormal
ISBN 978-0-8217-7939-2
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http://bit.ly/1xw3ZUI
Embrace the Darkness
November 2007, Zebra Paranormal
ISBN-10: 0821779370
ISBN-13: 978-0821779378
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http://bit.ly/1j8qRqz
When Darkness Comes
January 2007, Zebra Paranormal
ISBN 0-8217-7935-4
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http://bit.ly/1kbospL
SENTINELS:
Born in Blood
Book #1 Sentinel series
December 31, 2013
ISBN 978-1420125146
Barnes and Noble:
http://bit.ly/1kxMHS4
Blood Assassin
Book #2 Sentinel series
January 6, 2015
ISBN 978-1-4201-2516-0
Barnes and Noble:
http://bit.ly/1mU9R2a
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author, Laura Wright is passionate about romantic fiction. Though she has spent most of her life immersed in acting, singing and competitive ballroom dancing, when she found the world of writing and books and endless cups of coffee she knew she was home. Laura is the author of the bestselling Mark of the Vampire series and the USA Today bestselling series, Bayou Heat, which she co-authors with Alexandra Ivy.
Laura lives in Los Angeles with her husband, two young children and three loveable dogs.
Mark of the Vampire
Book 1: Eternal Hunger
978-0451231499
Book 2: Eternal Kiss
