The Council (Darkness #5) (7 page)

“Tough shit—that broad stunk like sewage. No way was the Boss messing around with that.” Jonas started back toward Tim’s room.

Stefan refocused on the beauty in the middle of the hall. She’d just displayed a raw power and control probably only one or two others in this whole complex could boast. She was young, inexperienced, and naïve, but she was a powerhouse and now she was starting to show it.

How could she ever think he’d be happy with another? She was the only one for him—his match in every way.

“Shall we take this behind closed doors?” Stefan asked quietly.

“Where were you?” Sasha’s lip trembled before her eyebrows dipped low. Soul-crushing pain throbbed through the link, riding echoes of anxiety that said she really had thought he was dead.

“What were you going to do, storm the place?” Stefan asked softly, stepping toward her. Wanting to touch her so bad his hands were shaking. Because he knew she would’ve. She would’ve killed everyone she saw to avenge him.

“I’m not telling you your business, Boss, but I wouldn’t poke the unhinged female…”

“Say unbalanced or unhinged one more time, you jackass!” Ann roared. “One more time. I dare you.”

Charles flinched away from her glare.

“
Move,
” Jonas said, ushering everyone into Tim’s room.

Ann’s finger flashed out. She pushed it into Jonas’ face. “Do not drag me anywhere.” She turned to face Sasha. Softly, she said, “Are you okay? Do you want me to stay?”

“No, you can go,” Sasha said quietly, a tear overflowing.

Ann wiped the tear away before hugging her friend. With a last look at Stefan promising intense pain, she turned back and followed Charles into the room. Jonas followed her in.

Stefan waited for the hallway to clear before he said, “I stopped with that woman because she had that smell thing you do. A scent to her arousal.” He shook his head, stepping right up to her. “Only that. I didn’t want to rough her up because she is a human female—I know that you are opposed to that. I was coming to see you. I just got back. You can ask around—news of my efforts will have been heard by now.”

Sasha held her ground, shaking and rigid. Another tear dribbled down her cheek. “What happened to you?”

He brushed the wetness from her face. “The challenges have begun. Same as with you.”

“And you cut me off, why?” she whispered, moisture catching in her long black lashes.

“Because I didn’t want you to feel my pain, or my… brutality.”

Her hands came up slowly, aiming for his chest. Wanting to touch him as badly as he did her. He leaned into her, right before a blur of a fist rocketed into his lat.

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me, you jerk!” she yelled at him, punching him again. “I was worried sick!”

She shook out her fist. “Ow.”

He brought her in to his chest. “Sorry. I’m sorry—Dominicous told me how to muffle the link right before the challenges came. Well, the first might not have been a challenge, but let’s go inside. The walls have ears.”

“No, they just have unoriginal idiots who don’t know what to do with themselves now that I know how to undo their spell. Turns out, Toa is a pretty good teacher. Did you know he was head-hunted once, too? They wanted him for that Clutch. The guy isn’t as powerful as some, but he’s way better at actually handling the magic.”

Stefan swept her up into his arms and carried her back to their room. He settled her softly onto the couch and sat next to her. He pulled her body against him.

“Did she smell better than me, is that why?” Sasha asked quietly.

“No.” He ran his fingertips down her face. “She smelled like decay. Not completely, but… I don’t quite understand it. Others smell you and suck in a deep breath. Your arousal smells just as good to others as to me. So I should’ve smelled something equally as good from that female, but…”

“So you stopped to analyze.”

He smiled. “Yes.”

A relieved smile flickered across her face. She leaned her head against his chest. “This place is weird. I know I won’t lose you to it, but at the same time, it’s all your kind, and none of my kind.”

“The female in the hall was human…”

“No.” She put a hand on her chest. “
My
kind. Humans with self-respect.”

“Ah.”

“The pheromones must’ve worn off on most of them by now. So why stick around? They don’t seem afraid—someone offered to be Charles’ pet. She
offered
to be his pet. What the hell?”

“I was offered blood as a hello. Something is off here. That female was getting something from it, though. She said I could have her for a favor. Why would the humans be in demand for sex above our own kind, though? What’s the difference?”

“She had the smell, though, you said. Maybe it’s that.”

Stefan pulled her closer. “I don’t know. The more I know of this place, the more twisted it seems.”

“Maybe Regional isn’t the best of ideas.”

“I was thinking the same thing.”

Sasha bent and softly touched his lips with hers. Electricity singed through their lips and swelled in the link. She deepened the kiss as her hands felt down his chest. Her hips moved against his hard bulge, a soft moan starting deep in her throat. “Take me, Stefan.”

His hands traced her chest, rubbing a hard nipple through her shirt. Right before he took off the shirt. Her bra came off shortly after, his mouth sucking in that nipple until her head fell back.

“Can you take blood?” she asked softly, her hips rocking just right.

“I can take yours, but you better not take mine. My strength is in question, your magic is.” His voice hoarse, his fingers worked at her pants, having them unbuttoned in a flash, then standing her up to take them off. He pushed his pants down. His erection bobbed up, craving her. Wanting to push into her so deeply, so thoroughly, it was all he could think about. She stripped his shirt, kissing down his chest and softly biting one of his nipples.

“They’ll come at you pretty hard, huh?” she asked softly, her body slowing.

“No harder than they’ll come at you. But we have Dominicous and Toa, who’ve been through this before. And we have Charles and Jonas, who we never have to worry about switching sides or loyalty. And I have four other guys that love to fight dirty. Plus, and I hate to admit this, we have a bunch of jumpy shape-shifters ready to make their point. They don’t even know which point they want to make, but they know they want to make one.”

She laughed, rocking her hips forward in a long draw, dragging her slick sex against his manhood. At the top, she angled, and sat down slowly.

Stefan’s thoughts disappeared. Lights and colors danced in his vision. Her hot sex wrapped around him dizzyingly, so tight. She pulled up, squeezing him, the friction making his eyes flutter. Then back down. His hands squeezed her butt cheeks, his legs trembled and his body shivered.

Then he couldn’t help himself. The need for her all day, the pressure on them both, the uncertainty—

He lifted her off him and threw her onto the couch. He covered her body a second later, thrusting into her with an animalistic need.

“Umm, yes…” Her eyes drifted shut as her legs squeezed his body close.

He drove into her, hard and fast, desperate. He clutched her shoulders, striving to get to the center of her to anchor himself. His lips met hers, deep and passionate. Their tongues matched the thrusts of their bodies.

Her hips swung up to him. His groin pushed down into her. Nails scratched up his back as she bared her soft, vulnerable neck to him. Unlike that other woman, this neck was pure. His.

He opened a cut and took a long pull. Sweet and spicy, she coated his tongue and filled his senses, the magic in her singing as it merged with his. Her ragged sigh made his balls tighten, right before her insides spasmed in a cock-crushing climax.

“Oh,” he moaned, clenching his fists and holding back with everything he had so that he could keep going.

As she settled back into the couch, a small smile curving her lips, he started again. Slowly at first, so as to keep a tiny bit of control, and then faster. The friction had his teeth grinding and his body flexing. Plunging into her, deeply. His balls tightened up. His tip started to tingle.

“Hmmm,
YES!
” Her eyes fluttered. Her body trembled. Her sex tightened around him as she orgasmed. He exploded into her a moment later, emptying completely before collapsing on top of her.

Her arms came around him, as did her legs, holding him close.

“You and me,” she said softly, snuggling her face into his neck. “We’ll beat this together.”

“And if I left to give you a better chance?”

She laughed into his skin. “I’d blow up a lot more than a door to track you down and haul you back.”

A few days passed in much the same way. Stefan had at least two challenges a day, and for the first few, he didn’t get a scratch. He said they lasted a few minutes each and he walked away from unconscious, or quivering, men and women. The challenges got worse, though, as news spread. At the end of the fourth day, he always had one or two of his men with him, and still he had to heal with ice packs and compresses, the bruises and battering starting to leave their mark. Still, he was kicking ass and making a name for himself. No one had seen the like since… well, since Dominicous.

I didn’t fare so well. I was going up against better magic workers with lots more experience. News had spread of me, too. People were in awe of my tricks and fluctuations in magic. To them I was largely unpredictable with spells created by a master—I’d had no idea how revered Toa was. The mages started working in teams, coming at me with everything they had. This meant that Charles and Jonas could fight as well, but they weren’t on par with their magic. Our strategy then became me covering my two bodyguards while they barreled through and physically assaulted the challengers. Since Charles was starting to be just as savage as Jonas, and I was great at distraction, we kept winning.

The battles kept getting harder.

Jonas thought I was being tested. Pushing my limits. And I probably was, but there was nothing I could do about it. They were cataloguing all my weaknesses while I wouldn’t even know who I was fighting the next day.

The start of the fifth day had Stefan standing by the door, a bruise on the side of his handsome face, staring down at me as I put on my runners. “I need to take Jonas today. Dominicous thinks it’s going to get fierce.”

I glanced up, trying to hide the worry. “Whatever you need.”

“He’s the best fighter in my clan besides myself and Jameson. And he’s exactly what this place craves—unleashed brutality. Together we can cover more ground than the other guys I brought. They’re good, but they’re not Jonas good.”

I stood and ran my hands up his hard chest. “Of course, Stefan. I’ll be fine. Plus, the last challenge was only one person. I think the mages want to stick to magic and they know Jonas and Charles won’t.”

“I’ve talked to Tim. He’s going to keep guys with you. And you’ll still get Charles, and I’ll send Jessie.”

I nodded and kissed him, savoring his taste. He clung onto me for a second, trying to steal my warmth, before he backed off. “Stay safe, you hear me? If you have to run, fine. If someone comes to tie you up, or secure you, kill them. Don’t hesitate.”

A burst of fear blossomed inside me. “Why would they tie me up?”

“Because something they do here is tether mages via a blood link. Toa had it happen when he was here the first time. They pinned him down for three days, out of sight of Dominicous, and forced a blood link on him.”

My fingers clutched onto Stefan’s arms. “How is that possible? There aren’t rules against that? That sounds an awful lot like rape.”

“It is like rape. It’s the same thing—forcing control of a very intimate situation. It’s banned, of course, but laws are only as strong as the enforcers. They thought they could control Toa—lure him away from Dominicous. He didn’t take it well, as you can imagine…”

I rested my head against Stefan’s chest. I closed my eyes as I listened to his steady heartbeat. “He’s worried it’ll happen to me.”

“We all are.”

“What happened to the guy that held the link?”

“Dominicous beheaded him and tossed his head onto the table in front of the Council. Dominicous had a backer the next day.”

I shivered. Stefan caught my chin in his fingers, tilting my face up to him. “Say you’ll watch yourself. You will always check your surroundings, and you’ll always have someone with you. And say you’ll run like a coward if the odds aren’t in your favor.”

I scoffed. “Run where? Outside?”

“Run to me, Sasha,” Stefan said quietly. His deep black eyes reached all the way to my soul. “Run directly to me.”

I nodded slowly, terrified of the gravity of this situation. I didn’t want to be here anymore. I didn’t want any part of this. If push came to shove, and it meant something happening to either of us, I’d be happy to toss away my magic and never look back.

Stefan felt all that through the link, of course. A sad smile drifted across his lips. “We’ll make it through this, baby. We both have a lot of supporters. A lot of people have given each of us nods of welcome. Dominicous and Toa are working hard to source out all the political angles. Stay safe. I’ll see you as soon as I can.”

I blew out a breath. “Think they’d be mad if I grew a plant through a wall of this establishment? Bet they haven’t seen that before. Maybe the repairs would slow them down.”

Stefan stopped with his hand on the door. He turned back to me, contemplative. “Remember those purple insects that work their way back to you and bite like a bitch?”

I smiled. The ol’
spells trying to kill me
trick. “Shoot them behind my attacker and just wait.”

He winked. “Keep ’em guessing. And don’t forget about the dinosaur one. That’ll freak a few people out. Just memorize the room before you set it off. Using Toa’s arsenal is excellent, but the more experienced mages won’t be thrown off-kilter with those. You need to go back to some strictly
Sasha
spells.”

My brain whirled with all the failed spells I’d created before Toa came on scene. I could definitely use more than one. It was time to take a trip down memory lane.

***

“Why’d we get stuck with
that
guy?” Charles flipped a thumb over his shoulder at Jessie, following behind us with a stern expression and darting eyes. “He’s got no sense of humor.”

“And Jonas does?” I led the way to breakfast. I’d stayed in my room for five minutes after Stefan left, really not wanting to step out the door. Charles and Jessie waited patiently, not asking why I needed the extra time. It was pretty much commonsense.

“This guy’s not irate, either, though. There’s really no point to him at all. He’d bore a plant.”

I stifled a chuckle as I turned a corner. I held my breath as I noticed three people up ahead. Two were talking, a male and female. The third stood by idly. He was a human male.

“They aren’t challengers,” Charles muttered, falling back a little.

The male and female glanced up and saw us. I received a scowl from both before they meandered off to the right through an arched doorway. They must’ve been heading to breakfast as well. The human had glanced up, too, and upon seeing me, smiled. He was a middle-aged man with a thick mustache and groomed hair. His stance and smile were pleasant and inviting.

He noticed my followers. “Oh. My goodness! You must be the black mage I hear so much about. A human to boot! Fantastic!” He stepped toward me, prompting me to stop and chat.

“How’d you know?” I glanced around anxiously. “Look, let’s walk toward breakfast. I really shouldn’t loiter around the hall. ”

He slapped his palm to his forehead. His comb-over quivered. “Of course. Please, we’ll go together.”

A couple steps in and I couldn’t help but just kind of put it out there. “You seem normal. All the other humans seem a little… kinda… off.”

He nodded in a knowing way. “I’m pet to a lovely female in charge of a homestead in Arizona. We only visit the Council once a year at most. Humans in here… Well, I’ll be bold. They get a little warped. Always inside, always in blood circles, always trying to blood-let themselves to the most powerful.” He shook his head sadly. “Wrong way to do it.”

“Sorry—” I held up my hand as we entered the safety of the cafeteria. “Blood circles?”

He quirked an eyebrow. “You sure don’t know much about this way of life, huh?”

Seeing a look that obviously answered his question, he smiled good-naturedly, stalling near the line for food. His glance took in Charles and Jessie before settling on me. “Do you go first, or do they? I’ve never met a human so high in the trade.”

“I usually go first. Unless I offer Charles to go. He accepts because he’s a child with no manners.”

“I accept because you are a woman; I hear you roar. I want to treat you equally.” Charles pushed me toward the line. “Also, you take too long and I’m usually hungry. Let’s get crackin’. I could eat this whole place.”

Remembering my own manners, I stuck out my hand to the man. “Sasha.”

He shook it, letting me enter the line first. “Harry. So, yes, let’s get you caught up. It’s always nice to meet someone of my own speed. I will absolutely have to introduce you to my mistress. She’ll be thrilled a human has been able to breach the negative stereotype.”

“Right, so let’s just get something out of the way. You’re totally fine being a pet? That doesn’t bother you at all?”

He laughed, apparently tickled by this question. “The title is derogatory, yes. But that’s the title these people know. Most don’t mean it that way. I am basically a boyfriend with an open relationship. I am a trophy wife to a billionaire. I am a lover to a beautiful woman. The term used to describe all these things could be derogatory. But we have an understanding, and we share mutual respect.”

“But… you would let her kind go first?”

He picked up a shiny, white plate. “In this place, absolutely. Not to defer would cause offense, and I would receive challenges. At home… it depends. Generally I let ladies go first, and some of the more alpha males. After that, it’s just good manners—either I gesture someone on, or they do likewise to me.”

“Next question: were you lured with pheromones?”

“The mistress—Tessa—doesn’t condone that practice. Humans wandering around without memories, their personalities changing—it just calls too much attention.”

“But nothing about it being unethical.”

Harry shrugged. “That’s a nonissue since they don’t use the pheromones sexually, or in any way not specifically to protect the homestead. They try not to interact with humans when at all possible.”

I picked up my own white plate, and then handed it to Charles so he wouldn’t reach over me with his big arm and knock me to the side. It wouldn’t be the first time. “So how’d you get hooked up with her?”

Harry smiled. “I approached her.” Seeing my shocked look, he continued as he scooped a steak onto his plate. “You’re wondering how I could see them. Well, I had researched their kind pretty fully by that point. Follow the vampire myth thoroughly enough, and deep enough, and you find trails. Spend three years hunting trails, and eventually you find what you’re looking for. I’d approached her a few times, and woke up with no memory of it after. But when I went back to my research, the block they put in my head winked out. Finally she let me talk to her.”

“So you’re chasing the myth and fell in love?”

He led me to a table after we had full plates. “I haven’t fallen in love. This is a mutual respect situation where we both benefit. I get my life prolonged, I get to learn a little magic—though I’m not picking it up that well—and she gets a blood source at her beck and call. I only take from her once in a selected number of months, so we don’t have a blood link. My blood has lots of power, so she says, but I just can’t access it. Since she doesn’t need me to, it’s a partnership until one of us grows tired of it and moves on.”

“What do you mean, it prolongs your life?”

His eyes widened in shock. “Did you not know? Wow, what a rare find. You are truly new to this whole scene, hmm?”

“Very, yes. As in, half a year or something.”

“Oh my, well, yes. Heavens.” He chuckled as he cut into an egg. “Well, yes, accessing magic and ingesting their blood prolongs life. It’s probably why this group of people last so long. Share blood with someone of high power ranking and it’s that much longer still.”

“Did you know that?” Charles asked Jessie. Jessie ignored him.

“Do you share blood with any of these males?” Harry continued.

“My, um, yes. I do. I’m not his pet—we have a mutual, um, thing.”

“They’ll be mated as soon as my clan accepts her as leader,” Charles butted in, a thick chunk of meat rolling around in his mouth.

“Oh, wow. Love, then. Wonderful.” Harry smiled at me in congratulations. “A very loyal people. Very good to the females—much better than humans. If you can stand all the dominance games, they are a treat.”