Infinity Unleashed (2 page)

“Unfortunately, no.” He stared into space. “We must wait for the next Blue Moon, which is set to occur in a couple of days. That’s when the High Council will allow me to claim you.” He looked at me angrily. “I think it’s a mistake to wait, especially with Boulder and Torch suddenly becoming a part of the equation.”

My pulse raced at the mention of Boulder.

He grabbed the back of my neck, squeezing it dominantly. My mind and body rebelled against his touch, but the burning of Rejuvenator coursing through my veins paralyzed me.

“You may have killed Torch, but Boulder will find me and kick your tiger ass.” I did my best to fake bravado.

He smiled icily. “He won’t. Attacking my pride would be an act of war, not only against the tiger-shifters, but also against the High Council. No one fucks with the Council’s”—he looked at me pointedly—“property.”

“What is this Council?”

He sighed impatiently. “The High Council governs all Others.”

I just stared. “And? What does that have to do with anything?”

He shook his head impatiently before continuing. “Glen Thorburn, the leader of the Council, needed warriors when he disbanded the Valkyries. Tiger-shifters saw a job opening and swore an allegiance to him for the rest of our lives. We are now his warriors to use as he wills. In exchange, we are under his protection and untouchable by the Others.” He looked at me lustfully. “And not even the promise of that liquid gold between your legs will make Boulder risk their wrath.”

I snapped my teeth with a soft growl. “Jealous he has a chance in hell of breaking my virginity seal?”

“You belong to me.” His eyes went wild. Damn near feral. “I will kill you before I let him have you.”

This was fucking scary. I knew without a doubt that he was crazy enough to do it.

“Boulder will find me,” I whispered. I didn’t know how, but I felt it deep in my soul. He would find me.

“I love you, Infinity.” He grabbed a strand of my hair, running it through his fingers. “Why isn’t that enough?”

My vision swam and stomach heaved.

“How don’t you understand how crazy you sound? You don’t love me, Mason. You love what you think that I can give you. Power.”

I forced back the flood of tears that threatened to fall. I couldn’t ignore the truth of the matter. That’s what most men wanted from me. What I could give them. Now with this Valkyrie bullshit, I was like a dog chew toy that everyone wanted. A trophy coveted by the scum of the earth.

My thoughts abruptly flashed again to Boulder and the instant connection between us. He saw through my tough walls, pulling them completely down. He was different. I didn’t know how or why, but I felt it, and this made me very uncomfortable.

Mason interrupted my thoughts with his arrogant retort. “You will learn our ways. I’ll show you how to be my perfect mate and Alpha-fem to our pride.” There was a sadistic hunger in his gaze as it slid over my curvy body. “Most importantly, how to satisfy me in bed.”

He made my skin crawl. I pushed down the bile that threatened to erupt.

“Not going to happen,” I rasped over my dry throat.

“We’ll see.” He leaned forward, his fingers grazing my brass-winged charm.

My body froze as static electricity slid through the charm, zapping his fingers so hard that I felt the sting dance across my chest.

He pulled back his fingers angrily. “You
will
give yourself to me, Infinity. This is not negotiable,” he gritted out.

There was no rationalizing with him, which was frustrating and scary as hell. I knew he would do whatever he needed to break me. I swallowed nervously when I felt myself slipping into a lull as the drug fought to take over.

My toes curled into my boots from the sheer effort it took to stay focused.

Mason laughed. “Stop fighting it. We’ll be home in a couple of hours. Just rest and it all will seem like a brand new world when you awake.”

That was what I was very afraid of…

CHAPTER 2

New York… Friday

“Infinity! Wake up.” A woman’s lightly accented voice hissed into my ear.

My breath caught before a zap of energy surged through my body. Disoriented, my limbs convulsed like a fish out of water before my eyes snapped open.

The room whirled as something shoved me to my feet, pushing me forward. Before I could fight the momentum, my body slid forward, smacking me against the thick glass door marked with
Collective Laboratory
and
No unauthorized personnel beyond this point
written below in big, black, bold letters.

“You’re wasting time. You must enter.” The woman’s voice hissed.

Biting my bottom lip nervously, my head snapped around, looking for the disembodied voice that echoed around me, but the mystery woman had shrouded herself in the shadows. This was not a good sign.



“There is no way in hell I’m stepping one foot there,” I snapped.

“You will enter,” the woman demanded.

I jammed my hands on my hips. “Uh, nope, that’s most definitely not going to happen.” I tried not to fidget anxiously, but the utter silence was unnerving. “Who are you? And why are you hiding from me?”

My gaze panned around, hoping to catch a glimpse of whoever was hiding. I tried to picture what she would look like. Old? Young? Menacing? Deceivingly sweet? The ominous spirits that haunted my dreams for as long as I could remember took whatever form they thought would either intimidate or cajole me, showing me that the human shell was an optical illusion like a Halloween costume.

“Do you think you are worthy of seeing my true form?” the woman asked sharply.

Arrogant much?

“Worthy?” My eyes narrowed. “
You
summoned me here.”

A menacing growl pierced the air. Shit! This was definitely not good. Locking my knees, I ignored the urge to release the contents of my bladder from fear. Swallowing hard, I continued. “If you think I’m going to cower, you have another thing coming. If you don’t have the balls to come out of hiding, then leave me alone.”

God, what was wrong with me? Goading an invisible entity wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but somehow, I knew running away with my tail between my legs would be a thousand times worse.

Surprisingly, the female laughed, a loud husky warm sound that lessened my fear… a little.

“I can say one thing about you. You’re very brave… but not very smart though. Didn’t Kara teach you to never challenge an enemy that you can’t see?”

Automatically, I assumed a warrior stance. “Is that what you are? My enemy?”

The woman clucked her tongue. “Infinity, haven’t you learned by now that everyone is your enemy? Even those you consider friends?”

Tilting my head, I tried to detect the origin of her accent, but it sounded like a mixture of multiple dialects merged into one. “I’ve never misjudged a person in my life.”

“Never?” She laughed mockingly. “What about Mason?”

My jaw tightened. “I stopped trusting him months ago, when I realized he was scum.”

Suddenly, a soft wisp of air brushed my ear before the mysterious woman’s voice whispered into it. “Months ago? It should’ve been evident from the moment he opened his mouth.” She paused. “This proves there are major flaws in your judgement. Friends are enemies. Enemies are friends.” Her laughter buzzed my ear like an annoying fly. “But one thing will remain true for as long as I live. I am your ally, not your enemy.”

“You want me to trust you?” I scoffed. “I can’t trust someone that refuses to reveal herself.”

“And I can’t trust someone who’s too weak to take a leap of faith.”

Huffing angrily, I threw my hands up. “We’re getting nowhere with this.” I jabbed my finger toward the door. “And I’m not opening that damn door.”

She laughed mockingly. “Why don’t you pull up your big girl panties and take a little peak behind door number one.”

I gritted my teeth, not liking her condescending tone. “Like I asked, who are you? What the hell do you want?”

“You may call me Azura,” she responded with a regal air. “And as far as what I want.” The pause was pregnant. “I want you to get the hell in that room so that we can see what you need to survive, Valkyrie seer.”

I arched a brow. “Valkyrie seer?” Great, another useless title.

Azura clucked her tongue. “I see Kara chose to keep you ignorant.” She sighed loudly. “Do you think it’s a coincidence that you see the future? It’s a gift granted by the Immortals to keep you alive, a gift that my enemies on the High Council have been abusing for years.”

“Wait. Is this the same Council that Mason works for?”

“Yes, but I’m surprised he revealed the truth.”

My mouth dropped open with shock. All my life I had dreams and visions of the future and the unexplainable in between. Now, I was more than a little pissed to find out the spirits that plagued my dreams all my life were using me for information.

“Why?” I bit out.

“They seek to change their destiny and prevent their demise. Only you can help them do that.”

My heart raced with excitement. “If I can see the future, that means I can change it and save everyone I love.”

“The past cannot be changed.”

Feeling utterly deflated, I stared into space. “What use is the future without them in it?”

Azura clucked her tongue. “So bitter for someone who has the power to save the lives of so many,” she stated coolly.

I rubbed my forehead, fighting the looming migraine. “Death, pain, and destruction, that is what my visions and dreams tell me about the future,” I spat with distaste.

“And you can prevent it all. That is the beauty of your gift.”

I blinked back the tears. “There is nothing beautiful or magical about it.” My chest tightened thinking about all of the evil and darkness my visions showed in the future. All orchestrated by the evil monster lurking inside me, waiting to be unleashed. “You don’t know anything about me or this… gift,” I spat bitterly.

“I know more than you think, Infinity. I know how you struggle every day to prevent the darkness inside you from being unleashed. I know how you struggle to prevent your dark thoughts from overwhelming you. But trust me on this. All this will make more sense when you accept your balance.”

I groaned, sliding against the wall and onto the floor. Tired, I pulled my knees close to my chest. “There is no balance. I know what I am… evil. I feel it slithering inside me, begging to be released.” So many warring emotions—fear, anxiety, confusion—stirred within me.

“Words cannot explain the chaos of our world. There are things in the shadows that are best kept there, but if it were up to the Council, they would have no qualms about unleashing it on the world.”

My breath caught. “You’re talking about me,” I whispered.

“Yes, Infinity, I am talking about you, but you know this, felt it all your life.”

My body trembled with both fear and rage.

“All is not lost. There is a way to change your purpose and future. Let me show you my past so you understand what’s at stake.”

I frowned. “How are you doing this without Mason’s knowledge?”

“You’re heavily sedated from the drug in your body,” Azura replied.

I swore, “Goddammit.” I raked my fingers through my hair in frustration.

I knew something was different when I drifted into unconsciousness. I perceived the sensation that someone was there with me. I wasn’t sure if I was hallucinating, but for a split second, I caught a glimpse of a woman in the darkness.

“I’ve tried numerous times to reach out to you psychically. And each time I was blocked. Your sedation allowed me connect undetected,” Azura said.

I rubbed my head tiredly. “Exactly what are you?”

“A pureblood Druid. One of the last descendants of the Immortals’ bloodline.”

“Druids?” My eyes narrowed. “As in the direct descendants of the Olympians?”

“So Kara was truthful about at least one thing,” Azura stated flatly.

“No.” My fists clenched. “I mean yes.”

Azura growled impatiently. “Which is it, Valkyrie?”

“Both. I’m going to kill her.” I huffed, feeling like I was losing my damn mind. “She told me it was a damn fairytale.” I stared into space. “The Druids were a bedtime story she told me every night.” I pounded the floor. “Damn it! You’re the Druid princess that lost her kingdom in a day.”

“Apparently,” Azura responded dryly.

I dragged my fingers across my face. Mom had actually disguised the truth in the bedtime stories she religiously recited every night. “So you have the ability to dematerialize and materialize from place to place?”

“Yes. But technically it’s bending time, like I’m doing now.”

“And you can actually use magic?”

Azura scoffed. “There’s no such thing as magic. That’s something that humans made up to rationalize the unexplainable. All Druids were born with the ability to manipulate the elements—air, earth, fire, water, or spirit—but purebloods have the ability to manipulate all five. This is what allows me to move through time. What you call dematerializing and materializing.”

I shook my head with confusion. “Why didn’t she just tell me the truth?”

Azura laughed. “Would you have believed her if she did?”

I sighed. “Honestly? No.” I would have had her committed to the psychiatric hospital. There couldn’t be two crazies roaming around, and I was crazy enough for both of us.

“That’s what I thought.” Azura paused. “I know that you have no reason to trust me, but I mean you no harm. If you really want to see the truth, then take a leap of faith. Open your mind to my past and let me show you how to survive your future.”

It was illogical, but I knew that she was telling the truth. “God, I hope I don’t regret this shit. Okay.” I scowled. “What do I have to do?”

“Just open your mind to my world. Ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

CHAPTER 3

THE PAST

“Azura. Are you sure about this?” Hunter mumbled against her ear while caging her legs.

Azura wrapped her arms around her mate’s lean waist, sinking into his comforting aroma. “Yes. Sacrifices must be made.” Her voice held both a tinge of determination and sadness.