Darkest Temptation

  And then all eyes fell to me.

  As if I was supposed to say something.

  “What?” I whispered.

  “Blood.” Alex pointed at my t-shirt. “Curious.” He searched the room. “Who exactly did you feed on at the grocery store? Some poor soccer mom trying to get last-minute dinner? A college student buying Top Ramen? A child?”

  The more he spoke the worse I felt. The rage on his face wasn’t for show.

  “Me,” Mason said, jerking everyone’s attention to him. “She fed on me… but not before I fed on her.”

  MASON

  I regretted the words as soon as they’d left my mouth. Hell, I’d even regretted them as I was saying them. Still didn’t stop me from acting like an ass or stop everyone else from staring at me like I’d just grown an extra fang and tried to bite off Alex’s head.

  “What?” I shrugged, trying to appear calm when there was a tumultuous storm of emotion raging inside, fighting for dominance, pulsing with every pump of Serenity’s blood. My mouth watered for her blood, for her taste. Could she tell? Could my family? Was it possible to see the need so etched within my soul that I was having a hard time concentrating?

  I wanted to take her again and again.

  My wolf wanted its mate.

  Whatever vampire part of me just wanted blood.

  And the other?

  Well, that was the part I was afraid would awaken if I took more blood, if I actually had sex with Serenity — if the mating process was followed through to the end.

  I’d already bitten her.

  Twice.

  If I was a vampire, we’d be well on our way to being mated; then again, she wasn’t human — ergo, she wouldn’t die without my blood.

  And yet, I could see the thirst in her eyes when she’d suddenly glanced at my neck with such longing I wanted to fall to my knees and beg her to suck me dry.

  “You—” Ethan jabbed a finger in my direction then frowned. “—not only let her feed off you, but… you fed…” He seemed to struggle with getting the word fed out. “…off her?”

  “Monster. Monster. Monster.” A voice inside me chanted.

  It was wrong.

  Something was wrong with me.

  I gave a jerky nod.

  “Was this before or after you guys did it in the produce aisle?” Alex asked in a bored tone.

  I shot him a glare. “We didn’t do it next to the produce.”

  “Oh, so the cereal then?” he asked.

  “Alex!” Cassius’ booming voice shook the house; his eyes darted to me. “The only way for you to have any breath of vampire DNA in your body would be if it was mixed with an angel’s.”

  I gulped.

  And then my mind raged as dark laughter filled my head.

  An angel.

  A fallen.

  “Gadreel,” a voice had whispered.

  The room chilled as Stephanie entered. She looked between me and Cassius and then stopped. Her chest heaved with exertion as Cassius started speaking in an angelic tongue my wolf didn’t — couldn’t — understand.

  And then…

  My mouth tried to move.

  I restrained myself. Barely.

  “Allow it,” Cassius said in a thick voice.

  “No!” I roared.

  Cassius gripped my throat. “You will never be free of this unless you face it.”

  “And if I never face it?”

  “Then it will destroy you from the inside out.” Cassius released me. “I never thought you were a coward.”

  Red filled my line of vision as I lunged for him.

  He swatted me out of the way as if I was a fly buzzing around his head. I went sailing into the stainless-steel fridge and slumped against the ground.

  “Mate,” Cassius said in a voice that dared me to argue. “Am I your king, Mason?”

  And there it was.

  The room fell silent.

  Shame washed over me.

  Had it been so long ago? When I’d been revered as a king? As a leader over all the wolves? I’d led them through battles, through centuries of war, and there I was, on the kitchen floor, weak.

  Defeated.

  Starving.

  Pathetic.

  “Are you saying that someone mixed vampire blood with angel blood, and somehow got it into him?” Serenity asked in a small voice.

  “It would appear so.” Cassius shook his head. “I would have to go back in order to see…”

  “Field trip.” Alex rubbed his hands together.

  Used to his antics, Cassius nodded and then held his hands out.

  Serenity gaped at all of us.

  I stood and pulled her to my side as Cassius pressed a hand to my head. The room stilled.

  And we were falling.

  My family.

  Me.

  Everyone in the room who had touched his wing.

  When my eyes opened…

  I wasn’t in the kitchen anymore.

  I was in my old home.

  The one I’d been sent from.

  I was in my castle in Scotland.

  It was covered in blood.

  MASON

  Shouting commenced as the doors to the stone castle shoved forward with great force. Standing there were two hooded figures, both of them imposing. Both of them… evil.

  Everything about them felt wrong.

  It felt… other.

  My mom approached them, blood on her hands, her face pinched with worry and fear. My father stood behind her, his hand on her back.

  “We can’t…” My mom covered her face with her hands. “We fight amongst ourselves as much as we fight amongst the other immortals. They challenge us as king and queen. Every few years, we lose more and more of our armies. Our son has a sickness, one he was born with. It keeps him bound to his bed. My husband needs an Alpha to step in.”

  The hooded figure took a deep breath then rumbled in a low voice, “So, you’ve sought my help?”

  My mom nodded. “I’ve heard what you can do.”

  The hood dropped from his face.

  I swore as black hair fell around carved cheekbones, and one single strip of red placed in the front framed his angelic face. “Have you now?”

  The person next to him laughed darkly.

  Father held out his hand. “We have money, resources—”

  “A favor.” Bannick grinned menacingly. “All I ask is for a favor. I swear to you, you won’t even be alive to follow it through.”

  Anxiety washed over me as my father held out his hand and shook Bannick’s. “A favor. You have my word.”

  “I know.” His grin was cruel, and then very slowly he tilted his head, closed his eyes, and breathed in before jerking his attention directly at me and whispering it again. “I know.”

  I backed away.

  I could feel his stare through every inch of skin, bone, muscle.

  “What you’re doing…” Bannick slowly turned his attention back to my father. “…it is… not accepted.” He pointed up to the ceiling. “It may get you killed, or your son, but if it works — war will stop. You’ll have someone too strong, too powerful to challenge. An Alpha who is a hybrid like the world has never seen.” He opened his mouth as if to say more then shut it. “Come, Gadreel. We’ll need to hunt.”

  Father nodded. “I’ll help.”

  Bannick outright laughed. “We can catch a silly vampire. It’s getting them to agree that’s the problem. But we have our ways… Everyone has a price, and I’m thinking I know just the vampire who’s willing to do just about anything to have a child.”

  Time moved ahead of us in rapid succession as my body chilled. I reached for Serenity’s hand only to discover she wasn’t there.

  I did a slow circle.

  Completely alone, except for Cassius. He gave me a sad look. “It’s not fair.”

  “What isn’t?”

  “To allow others in on our innermost fears, our thoughts.” He put a hand on my shoulder. “I sent them back to t
he present. Let’s see what they bargained for with the devil.”

  In the next scene I heard screaming first.

  So much screaming.

  It was my mother. She was hovering over me. “There’s too much blood!”

  “Not enough blood,” Bannick said in a bored tone. “He needs to be bit a few more times.”

  The vampire glanced at my mother with green cool eyes and then continued attacking my small body.

  I screamed at the top of my lungs as he took more blood.

  “Stop.” Bannick held out his hand. “Gadreel, come here, won’t you?”

  Gadreel stepped forward and then moved to his knees.

  Bannick held a silver dagger in front of him. “If you ever fall, my brother, know that you will still exist in the next life stronger than before.”

  Gadreel peeled back his hood.

  I wanted to turn away.

  I wanted to run.

  His eyes were ice blue.

  His face matched mine exactly.

  His hair was black with streaks of red, but other than that, he was an identical twin.

  He smirked like he could see me.

  I gripped the wall with my hands, clawed at it to keep from collapsing, and then Bannick shoved the blade into Gadreel’s heart as silver blood spewed from the gaping hole onto the sharp weapon.

  He held out the blade to my body and slowly dripped silver blood onto each bite wound, allowing the vampire to seal the blood in.

  My small body convulsed as I moaned in despair.

  It hurt.

  Like being reborn.

  Fire in my blood.

  Ice in my brain.

  A headache that refused to go away.

  And a pulsing in my gums that begged me to ask for more.

  Kill for more.

  So confused.

  My dark eyes darted toward my parents. The trust was broken. Gone. In its place only fear.

  Fear that I’d somehow not been good enough. Strong enough.

  And they’d do something so abysmal in order to make me…

  Better.

  Maither turned away and cried into my dad’s chest as he gave one final nod to Bannick.

  His blade slid into my chest with precision.

  Piercing my heart.

  “Break the heart. Knit the blood. Feed the soul,” Bannick whispered in an ancient tongue. “Your true identity will be forever hidden until her.”

  The blade left my skin.

  I didn’t bleed.

  Every single bite healed immediately.

  I sat up straight. I looked murderous.

  I went to grab the boy, the small boy who looked ready to kill the world, but Cassius held me back.

  A crack of lightning lit up the room.

  Followed by thunder.

  Gadreel stood. “Looks like we pissed him off again.”

  “It’s what we do best.” Bannick shrugged. “At least then, we have his attention. We’ve been ignored too long. No more, brother. I’ve got plans for us. Big plans.” Within seconds, they were gone.

  The vampire finally turned toward us.

  He looked familiar.

  He gave his head a shake and then whispered in the air, “My want has blinded me.”

  Within minutes, another vampire walked in with a small child. “She’s beautiful! The angels have stayed true to their promise!”

  The girl immediately started to cry.

  “What should we name her?” The male vampire held out his arms.

  My mother chimed in. “Death. Name her death. For there is only death here.” She collapsed against my father.

  “She has only fainted,” he explained, “and your daughter is beautiful. Name her something that means peace.”

  The vampires nodded.

  Seconds later, Sariel the archangel appeared.

  And nothing was ever the same again.

  Cassius gripped my shoulder. “There is nothing left to see that we don’t know.”

  SERENITY

  One minute I’d been in Scotland. The next I was back in the kitchen with Hope, Alex, Genesis, Stephanie, and Ethan. The twins were quietly sleeping upstairs, and the house creaked with awareness as if it knew magic had just occurred and wanted to tell the world its secrets.

  Our secrets.

  Another groan, and the house was silent again as wind whipped the trees in the yard, banging branches against the side of the house as a scratching noise kept my eyes locked on the sliding glass door leading to the expansive backyard.

  “How safe are we here?” I wondered aloud.

  Alex actually had the nerve to laugh and then immediately stopped when Hope smacked him on the chest. “Sweetheart, we’re immortal. If any human—”

  “Not from the humans.” I felt the need to point out. “What about other immortals?”

  Ethan frowned. “We have few enemies. We lead peaceful lives. The real enemy is the evil that was released a few months ago. Balance must always be restored, and the scale has been tipped in their favor.”

  “How so… exactly?” I asked.

  “Bannick—” Ethan explained. “You saw him in the dream before Cassius kicked us out. He’s thankfully chained in the abyss, but that doesn’t mean his brothers aren’t walking the earth, waiting for time to strike. They can’t help it.”

  “What do you mean they can’t help it?”

  Ethan’s eyes darted to Alex before answering. “Say you were born perfect, only exposed to one thing your entire life. You know of evil, but it never touches you. You know hunger, but have never felt it in your gut. You know pain, but have only ever been on the end that gives it. You’ve never truly suffered.” He ran a hand through his long jet-black hair. “Then suddenly, you’re thrown into a world that knows only pain, violence, war. The angelic heart is an interesting thing. It was only made for one purpose — to join with The Creator. When that joining was lost, when the twelve fell from the mountain, it severed that link. Tell me, if you were suddenly thrust into this world without half of your soul, would you not do anything to get it back?”

  I suddenly had the need to sit. My legs hit the back of the chair as I plopped down. “So, they aren’t evil? They’re just willing to do anything to get back to their original state?”

  “Pretty much,” Alex chimed in. “And the last thing we need is more fallen angels creating Dark Ones like Cassius — and Stephanie.” He grinned at her, “No offense.”

  She rolled her eyes. “We can’t have them exposing themselves to the humans, and they are desperate enough to do just that. Each of them have gifts, talents that if used for evil could bring along the apocalypse swiftly and violently.” She looked away as the room dropped twenty degrees, ice particles suddenly appearing in front of my face. “They would kill every human on this planet, if it meant the link would be returned.”

  “Every human?” I repeated. “Even immortals?”

  “Well, they could try.” Alex winked, but his speech missed his normal sarcasm. Instead, fear appeared in his eyes as he very covertly pulled Hope into his arms and pressed his hands against her flat stomach.

  My eyebrows shot up.

  He gave me a single nod and then looked away like he too would kill every single human in the world — to protect his own.

  A crack of thunder shook the house.

  And suddenly, Mason was walking in like he’d just taken a stroll outside in nothing but low-slung jeans and enough muscle to enter a body-building competition.

  Cassius followed, his purple wings tucked behind his back, his expression grim as he took in the scene around us.

  “So, good news then?” Alex joked.

  Cassius reached for Stephanie’s hand and kissed it before turning his attention to me. “Swear to me.”

  “What?”

  His eyes blazed white. “Swear to me.”

  Mason moved toward us, but Cassius held his hand up as the room stilled, as if everyone was stuck in time except me and Cassius.

  Hi
s wings spread out, making it impossible for me to escape. They rippled as a wind drifted through the house. Cassius reached for my face and cupped my chin with his right hand, the feathers on that wing shuddering like the touch was comforting. As if they were purring with each caress of his thumb. “Swear to me you won’t look away.”

  “Look away from what?” I whispered.

  “Him,” he said quickly. “Where your eyes go, your feet will follow.”

  It sounded so familiar, that saying.

  I frowned.

  And then the room was back to normal. Mason charged toward me, shoving Cassius out of the way with such force the angel slammed into a wall.

  “Oh, shit.” Alex snorted out a laugh. “You been eating Wheaties or what?”

  Mason’s expression went from anger to horror. “Cassius, I’m sorry I don’t—”

  He cursed and ran up the stairs before Cassius could even say anything.

  “I’ll go.” Hope kissed Alex on the cheek and ran after Mason.

  Jealousy pierced my heart. It was wrong. I knew she was mated to Alex, but it didn’t make it any easier to watch her go after Mason.

  Alex sauntered over to me in that sexy way he had no control over and then sat down in the empty chair and stared me down. “So, you wanna bake cookies or something?”

  “What?” I narrowed my eyes.

  He jerked his head toward the stairway. “I bet he’d love warm cookies. He’s more beast than man anyway — and if he doesn’t like the snack, you can always offer your neck again. Seemed to work well the first time.” His grin was dazzling. “I’ll help, and you can tell me all about how hard it was growing up a sad, powerless vampire.”

  “How does she even live with you?” I wondered aloud, much to Genesis’ and Ethan’s amusement.

  Alex grunted. “She wants me for my body, but can you really blame her?” His eyes changed color as his hair turned an orange blue.

  “Cut it out, Alex.” Ethan shoved him to the side. “You don’t want to kill her. I’ll grab the chocolate chips.”

  It wasn’t the life I could have ever possibly imagined for myself. Making chocolate chip cookies with two of the most powerful immortals in existence while an archangel watched, his face a mask of worry. I almost missed the look he gave Genesis, the slow shake of his head, and the way her eyes filled with fear as if he’d just given her a warning only she would understand.