Mystik Warrior: (Dark Warrior Alliance Book 2) (18 page)

A sparkle caught his vision and he turned to see none other than his captor, in the flesh. Fear and dread consumed him. He wanted to run and disappear, but was cemented to the sand. This female had captured and tortured him, and the sight of her made him feel vulnerable all over again. He reminded himself that this time he wasn’t without powers of his own.

“Jace, my love. How have you been?” She purred as she sauntered to his side, flanked by her goonies. Bile rose for an altogether different and valid reason.

For a brief moment he was transported back in time, and he was once again that helpless lad. He felt a pull to this vile creature, but had to fight it. Thoughts of Cailyn grounded him and gave him confidence. “You are brave to approach me. I’m not that weak, pliable youth anymore,” he ground out through gritted teeth, refusing let her see him as weak.

She ran red fingernails across his chest, making him shudder. Cailyn’s soul began clamoring and clawing to fight against Lady Angelica. “You are mine, Jace. Don’t fight it. Open up, allow me in,” she tried to coax.

He felt a foreign vibration that he would have missed if not for his mate’s suspicion. The problem was, he didn’t understand what it was, or how to fight it. “I’m not yours. I belong to my mate, and she, thankfully, is nothing like you.”

Surprise and anger flared and she dug her fingernails into his flesh. He missed her muttered words but felt her power enter his being. She tried to distract him as it fought for purchase. “Nonsense, you are mine. Your heart knows it is so.”

“No, I’m not. What do you want?” Sweat beaded his brow as he fought with all his strength and called his staff to him. He was going to be prepared for whatever this female may try. He allowed her to feel a fraction of his power.

A smile spread across her face and her nails eased. “I know the Grimoire is back. I felt its magic return. All of sorcerer kind did. This time, the power will be ours to share, and you are going to call it for me. Let’s go, I have a boat waiting to take us to my home, where you will do as I ask.”

Panic threatened, but that was not going to happen. She began walking away and his feet took a few tentative steps. He chanted spells to immobilize his feet to no avail. As he uttered a spell of protection around himself, Cailyn’s soul surged and added strength to his incantation, allowing it to fall into place. “Not this time, Angelica.”

Shocked, she whirled and glared at him. She threw several spells at him, which he was able to deflect. “I will win this, Jace. I made you who you are. Your body refuses to accept any but me.”

“My mate has changed me and I will find a way to beat you.” The truth of his words added strength. Cailyn gave him strength and courage to fight this. He was made for her, and she was made for him. He would find a way for them to be together.

“Watch out for your little mate. She is mortal, after all,” Angelica cackled.

Jace shouted his rage and withdrew one of his
sgian dubhs
from his boot
.
No one threatened his mate. As he readied to throw it into her black heart, she vanished in a puff of black smoke.

Cailyn laid her head back on the lime-green float as her sister and Jessie talked with Breslin. After Jace left, she had been more confused than ever. She felt as if she had lost control. Not once, but twice she was caught up in an erotic storm that wouldn’t be denied.

She’d had sex with Jace, despite her continuing turmoil. If she were being completely honest with herself, she was closer to that decision than she let on. There was a driving force to Jace that she was helpless to deny, and it had ridden her constantly from the moment she had first seen him. Every second she spent with Jace, she fell a little more in love with him, with their connection deepening.

The heaviness in her heart gave her one of the answers she needed. She had to let John go, regardless of the outcome with Jace. It wasn’t fair to John to give him false hope, especially since she knew things could never be the same between them after she’d had a taste of Jace. She wanted to grab Jessie and go tell John, but she remembered the folly in her previous impetuous actions.

She wasn’t a stupid woman, and wouldn’t take such risk again. It was clear that without the direct protection of the Dark Warriors, the archdemons and their minions had the power to reach her. The fact that the skirm were being instructed to kidnap women was frightening enough on its own.

She resolved to try and communicate by phone, but had been unsuccessful in reaching John either at his hotel or on his cell. He hadn’t checked out of the hotel, so she knew he was still in town. Apparently he was angry with her, not that she blamed him. He was a kind, caring man who deserved better. She sighed. She did love him, but this was for the best.

There was no denying her connection to Jace. When they were making love for the first time, she felt something click into place, and that bond had only strengthened the second time. The piece of his soul she carried had become more active every moment they were together.

Recalling the look on his face when he told her about what he suffered broke her heart. He had experienced unbearable torture and sexual abuse that would have killed anyone else. She saw that he had come out of it with a beauty and strength that he couldn’t see. He was loyal to his friends and gave of himself tirelessly. He approached challenges with confidence and determination, despite the defeat he carried in his heart. But he saw none of it.

She wanted to help him work through his pain, and discover what was causing his reaction to arousal. Of one thing she was certain, there was something prohibiting him from being intimate with any woman, and it wasn’t because he had been abused.

The picture of tiny yellow flip-flops waving in her face brought her out of her brooding. Elsie drug her to the pool for some fun after she had left Jace’s room and was holding out a cup decorated with flip-flops.

“Here, this will take your mind off things. You are looking far too serious on that float, Cai.”

She laughed at her sister’s teasing attempt to lighten the mood and grabbed the drink. “What is it?”

Elsie propped her hand on her hip and cocked her head to the side. “A Monsterita, of course. There is nothing better.”

Jessie swam to their side and joined the conversation. “The one thing I miss the most, aside from being able to talk and not cut my lip, is not being able to get shit-faced. I barely manage a buzz now. Lord knows, I have many reasons to want to escape reality, but am I allowed to? No.”

Cailyn had been so caught up in her own drama that she had forgotten about her best friend, even though she had vowed to help adjust to her new life. She was turning out to be a crappy friend. She rolled off the float and gathered Jessie into her arms. “I’m sorry, Jess. I have been so caught up in my own issues that I’ve forgotten about you. I’d give anything to get drunk with you right now, if it’s any consolation.”

“Thank you. So what has you drinking?” Jessie asked, pulling away.

“I don’t want to talk about that. What have the scientists said?” Cailyn asked as she watched her friend drain the huge cup in record time.

Jessie smiled at her. “After donating gallons of blood for testing and doing every scan ever invented, and then some, they’ve determined that the changes to my blood, specifically my DNA, are slowing and near completion. Oh, and it looks like I will be able to continue to eat food. I can’t say how happy I am to still enjoy my burgers and fries rather than living off of blood alone.”

Cailyn was curious how her friend liked blood. Personally, the thought made her sick to her stomach. “But, you do have to drink blood, right? How is it? Do you like the taste? Elsie insists it’s wonderful, but she’s only sucked on Zander’s neck, so her opinion doesn’t count.” She laughed as Elsie shoved her. As she flew across the pool and went under, she got a first-hand demonstration of how strong her sister had become. It was a reminder that she was surrounded by super-fast, super-strong beings. She came up sputtering and laughter filled the cavernous room.

“Sorry, sis. I forget my own strength,” Elsie apologized sheepishly.

“I bet it’s easy to forget when you were a human not too long ago,” Jessie observed. “Blood is like drinking milk. I enjoy the taste and am relieved that I’m not driven by a bloodlust that causes me to kill people. I couldn’t live like that. I do have to have human blood, though. Supernatural blood makes me queasy.”

“I remember seeing the bloodlust when that skirm attacked me. I saw my death in his eyes. That would be awful to try and live with,” Elsie shared.

“Yeah, I’ll just be happy when my head stops spinning and things settle down. I’ve had the world’s worst migraine for days now,” Jessie replied, swimming to the side of the pool.

“Have the scientists been able to do anything about it?” Cailyn asked, getting back on the float.

Jessie put her empty cup down. “Orlando, I need another drink,” Jessie called out before she turned back to Cailyn. “No, I’m not immune to everything, only human diseases. I have been feeling this immense pressure in my head that at first I thought was because of the changes in my vision. Apparently, it is the demon trying to gain control over my mind. As if,” her friend snorted and handed her cup over to Orlando for refill. “Anyway, he’s not able to control or influence me. They aren’t sure why, but have theories about my female hormones or something.”

Breslin rose from her lounge chair and joined them. “It has nothing to do with hormones. Females are stronger and smarter than males, no matter the species.” Orlando returned, followed by Angus carrying a tray with four cups. “My point is proven,” Breslin said as she pointed to Orlando and they all burst into laughter.

“Now I understand why you keep rebuffing me. Your eyes aren’t working properly. We need to fix that, sweet cakes,” Rhys said as he swam up behind Jessie and wrapped his arms around her exposed middle. Jessie wiggled out of his grasp and suddenly grabbed her top, gasping.

“Fucking Rhys,” Jessie shrieked. Cailyn noticed one end of the string in Rhys’ hand and realized he had to have used his telekinetic power to untie Jessie’s suit. She couldn’t help but laugh.

“Don’t be shy, gorgeous. I only want to play a little,” Rhys wheedled.

“Not in a million years, playboy,” Jessie mumbled and rolled her eyes, but accepted his attentions with good humor. Cailyn was relieved to see that the most notorious man-whore of the compound didn’t offend Jessie. Her friend didn’t take promiscuity lightly, and Rhys didn’t know the meaning of monogamy, which wasn’t surprising given that he was a human-sex-demon-hybrid who needed constant sex to keep his beast at bay.

“You’ll come to me eventually, sweet. Until then…” Rhys swam away on his back, giving a view of his large erection. Cailyn was convinced the guy walked around with a constant hard-on.

Elsie ignored the byplay completely and brought the conversation back around. “What’s wrong with your eyesight?”

“Ever since I woke up I have been seeing things in infrared, like I’m looking through heat vision goggles or something. The Dark Warriors are brighter than everyone else. No one can explain it, but it’s not the cause of the pressure. As I learned to turn off the infrared, the pressure didn’t dissipate, and that’s when I noticed compulsions. Thankfully, they have always been elusive and easily ignored, and are reducing in number and strength every day.”

“I hate that your life is like this now. I feel like I ruined your life,” Cailyn voiced to her friend.

“You didn’t ruin my life, it was the damned demon. All that matters is that I’m alive and have a future ahead of me. It will be a very long future, but a future, nonetheless. We both could have died that night. The one thing I am grateful for is that the scientists have reassured me that I am still fertile, unlike my male counterparts. So, our babies can still grow up together like we always talked about.”

Cailyn laughed, recalling the many conversations they’d had as teenagers about that topic. They’d had many theories about whom they’d end up with, and who the father of their babies would be. She’d always wanted a guy with jet black hair and dark, smoldering eyes, which was funny because she’d never dated anyone with those features. All of her boyfriends had some shade of blonde hair and blue eyes. Knowing that she was Jace’s Fated Mate made her wonder how much their Goddess had influenced her throughout her life. It seemed too much of a coincidence.

She considered what her life would be like. Her sister and best friend were immortal, and could potentially live centuries, while she would grow old and die if she stayed with John. The thought didn’t sit well with her. She didn’t know if she would be able to keep Jessie and Elsie in her life under those circumstances. On the other hand, if she mated Jace, she could be immortal too, and have magical babies with the man she loved, and have her sister and best friend for eternity. A frightening thought occurred to her. “What will your babies be, I wonder?” she asked Jessie.

“Unfortunately, no one knows. But, I fervently hope they aren’t born with fangs, cause I won’t be breast feeding otherwise,” Jessie observed. The sober expression told her that her friend was worried about the genes she would be passing on to any children she may have.

“Yikes, I hadn’t thought of that. Are vampire babies born with fangs, Bre? If so, I may need to rethink nursing, too. I love my mate’s fangs in me but…” Elsie trailed off as she met Zander’s heated gaze where he sat talking to Santiago and Gerrick on the lounge chairs.

“Nay,
bairns
are no’ born with fangs. Like all striplings, they get their fangs when they get their teeth. Their parents provide the small amount of blood they will need until the come into their powers when they reach maturity,” Breslin answered. Cailyn remembered what her sister had told her about all supernatural children being called striplings until they reached maturity at roughly the age of twenty-five. Breslin had been the one exception they knew of in the realm when she came into her power at the age of three.

“Are you guys already trying to have a baby?” Cailyn asked her sister not sure why the idea shocked her.

“Not intentionally, no. With supernaturals, the conception rate is naturally low, and there is no contraception that works on us. So it’s all left up to the Goddess. And, you should know birth control doesn’t work for you with Jace.”

“What? How in the hell is that possible?” Cailyn managed after several shocked moments. She hadn’t used protection with Jace, but then, if her sister was right, there would have been no point anyway. Elsie said conception was rare, there was no way she was pregnant, and no reason to panic.

“Divine intervention,” Jace answered as he slowly stepped out of the shadows.

Her head swiveled and she was locked with glowing amethyst orbs. She knew what that meant, that he wanted her. The mere thought that this perfect male specimen wanted her made her blood boil, and had heat building between her thighs. An epiphany struck her. Jace had been made for her and carried part of her soul. How could she deny what was so clearly between them? But, how could she be with him when another man held space in her heart?

*****

“What do you mean? How can your Goddess make the pill I take useless?”

Jace couldn’t help but smile at his mate’s confusion. The sight of her made him yearn to complete the mating. Everything about her was alluring; in fact, his heart had yet to settle into a normal rhythm. When he had entered the house looking for her, he feared that she had left the house again. The sound of laughter and voices had taken him to the pool.

The sight of her in a skimpy black bikini had him rock hard in an instant. Her plush globes were overflowing out of the top, and if she shifted just right she would expose herself. She was the sexiest female ever born, and he wanted to take her to his room and pull the triangles away from her flesh so he could feast on her breasts again. His instinct was clamoring for him to claim her and finally complete the mating. She was an addiction he would never overcome, and didn’t want to.

His encounter with Angelica had reinforced the fact that he wanted Cailyn, and he was resolved to try and find a way to be the mate she deserved. Cailyn had been right. There must be a spell forcing him to reject all intimacy, and he was determined to discover what had happened to him, and reverse it. Once that happened, he had every intention of claiming her fully. Cailyn was his mate, and he refused to live without her. He may not be an ideal mate right now, but he had centuries to become the male she needed and deserved.