Chapter 10
Ashes to Ashes
Burying Thad's ashes wasn't an easy feat, considering it was the hardest I've ever cried. It's been three days, but it still weighs heavily on my mind.
I pull out my earplugs, doing my best not to disturb the sweet night stalker who is tangled around me. We've slept twice in my cage now. My cage. Those two words were never anything I thought I'd hear, or say, or think.
My life has become one big jumbled up pile of screwed-up.
"Hey," Kane says, nuzzling my neck with his sweet face, the two of us barely fitting on the small cot. He too removes his spell-laced earplugs.
I turn over, careful not to let myself tip over the edge, and I spiral around him, soaking in all of his incredible touch. "You don't have to sleep in here with me," I murmur, ignoring Sierra's snores from across the room.
It's not easy to sleep with two snarling, roaring, furious lycans during a red moon. Thank God for earplugs.
"I'm not letting you sleep in here alone. I don't know how Deke does it."
Thinking back to the full mouth of fangs that clashed against the bars over and over, I can see how Deke lets her sleep in there alone.
"You'll change your mind whenever I go Ms. Hyde again."
Though I'm joking, the weight in my words betrays me and shows my true fear. Kane goes on, keeping his encouraging facade in place.
"Well, Ms. Hyde happens to find me irresistible. And I think it's safe to say you don't change unless provoked somehow," he says, grinning while kissing against the line of my jaw.
He's good at distracting me.
"We don't know that. It's possible I've just been too tired to wig out."
The door to the downstairs opens, and the smell of bacon, eggs, and biscuits wafts through the air, making me lick my lips.
"Hungry?" Kane asks, smiling against my cheek.
My stomach growls as if in response, and he snickers.
"You two ready to come out?" Deke asks, making his way to Sierra and Amy's cage first.
Sierra stretches, finally rousing from her sleep, but Amy is still naked and huddled in the far corner, sleeping silently. I've learned to ignore her, and since Kane has zero interest in her, I've also gotten over all hesitation I might have had about us. A lot can happen in a few days.
"Here," Deke says, tossing the keys through the air.
Using my magic, I guide them to us, and Kane snatches them out of the air. I happily climb off the terrible cot. It's not big enough for one person, so two people on it isn't ideal. But my cage was built quickly, and they didn't have enough materials on such short notice to make it any bigger.
Kane's fingers thread with mine after he unlocks the door, and we head up, chuckling when my stomach rumbles again.
Dice and Gage are arguing immortal politics when we step in. I have one thing on my mind and that's food—I swear I've never been so hungry.
Kane makes a glass of his own breakfast, bypassing the solid food. I don't even shudder anymore when he turns up the thick red liquid.
"Hungry?" Dice asks, amused as he eyes my heaping plate.
I look down, frowning when I see it loaded with enough food to give a mortal a heart attack. Before I can defend my overflowing mound, the doorbell rings, announcing an unexpected visit.
"I'll check it out," Gage says, walking out instead of vaporizing in case it's a curious human waiting in front of the glass door.
I drown out everything as I begin eating, greedily gobbling down as much as my mouth can hold at once. The look of disgust on Dice's face doesn't even slow me down. Kane snickers at my side as he joins me behind the bar, and I grimace. This really can't be attractive.
"Sorry," I mutter through a mouthful, sloppily wiping my mouth with a napkin.
"You're hungry. Don't apologize. I think it's adorable."
"That's gross," Dice grumbles, turning puce.
Kane starts to defend me, but a breeze introduces a materializing Gage.
"Need you to let someone in," he says, motioning toward the door.
He looks worried, or possibly frightened. What now?
"Who?"
"Chaz."
My eyes grow too wide for my face. Chaz? Here? Has something happened to Mom and Drackus?
"Chaz can come in," I almost whisper, feeling the barrier of the protection spell expand to offer him admittance.
He appears in the room, a trail of glittery dust flowing in around him. Bleach blond hair, soft blue eyes, and a familiar face make me smile. It's been so long since I've seen my best friend.
"A fairy?" Dice snorts, laughing loudly before I can even speak.
Chaz's eyes cut toward the sniggering incubus. "Do not call me a fairy. I'm a duster, damn it."
Dice continues to laugh, and I stifle a grin. The fey world loves to tease male dusters about what the mortals once called them. Of course, unlike pixies, fairies—um—I mean dusters, are regular height. Chaz is at least 6'1.
"Hey," I finally say, happy my words escape in an even tone.
He turns back to me, but he doesn't return my smile. Shit. Mom's in trouble.
"What happened? Where's Mom? Where's Drack—"
"They're fine," he says, keeping his voice soft as he comes over to stand across from me.
He keeps the bar between us, as though he feels safer that away. Oh no—he knows.
"What's going on?" Kane asks, suddenly growing protective when he senses my tension.
His arm snakes around my waist, drawing me closer, as his gaze grows expectant on the duster.
"Something has come up. Alyssa is involved, and I'm trying to keep the councils from finding out. Her creatures are stirring. From now on, she stays locked up at night. Otherwise, I'll have to do something I really don't want to do."
He really does know. Shit.
His stern glare, set jaw, and tight expression don't appear to be the least bit friendly. This is a warning—one he considers an extended courtesy.
"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Kane asks, well—growls.
Chaz's smirk quirks up in a sideways position, but before he can answer, Gage sighs out hard.
"You're part of the council."
"He's their lapdog," Dice snarls, sniffing the air. "I can smell his tattle-tale stench. Stupid snitches."
Chaz's glower returns to find the incubus, but before anything can be said, I answer.
"He's an enforcer for the light council," I say, turning toward Kane. "When one of us steps out of line—"
I can't even finish. To this day, I can't believe Chaz even took that position.
"So you're going to what? Try to kill her?" Dice scoffs. "Good luck. In case you haven't noticed, there are a few entities in this room that have far more power than you."
"You're not one of them," Chaz threatens.
"I am," Gage mutters, his tone low and menacing as his eyes burn a dark promise.
Chaz rolls his eyes, and Kane stands, worrying me. A night stalker as strong as Kane could shred through a duster with no problem.
"Relax. I didn't come to kill the girl I've always loved like a sister. I'm here to warn her. I wouldn't harm a hair on her head. If she doesn't stay locked up here, I'll have to take her to one of our holding houses. I really don't want to. They're fucking creepy as hell, and they're all in the middle of vortexes that allow certain fey to sneak through the planes."
He shivers dramatically, and I smile as tears fill up in my eyes. It's sad that I'm thankful my friend didn't come to threaten my life.
Kane and Gage both visibly relax, putting away their testosterone, and Dice swats at some of the glittery dust in the air.
"What prompted this visit?" Gage asks, coming to stand closer to me, while keeping his eyes focused on the blond duster.
All of the softness falls from Chaz's face, and a touch of sadness takes its place.
"Alyssa's darker side is coming out to play—and yes, I know about the prophecy. My mother told me long ago. It's never given me any concern until now."
Gage tilts his head, as does Kane, but I just stare numbly. What have I done that drew in Chaz's attention?
"How did you know she was changing?" Dice asks, tiring of the suspense.
Chaz turns his eyes on me, sighing heavily as he takes a seat.
"A rape victim and five children."
After three hours, the shock still hasn't lifted. I killed that cop. That means I turned into a lycan after I turned into a night stalker and knowingly fed on him in front of a human girl. Albeit, he was a serial rapist who deserved to be punished—but not by me, and not like that.
Then I killed that woman who was abusing those children. I turned into a widow—a frigging widow. I ballooned her, fed from her, and sent those children to Chaz to be taken care of. Even my monster half knew I could trust him, but my sane half knows that it could come at a cost.
If the light council finds out he's affiliated with a creature not allowed to exist—me—they'll punish him. Possibly condemn him to death. The dark won't get so much as a slap on the wrist. Their rules are more lax, usually.
"Chaz, you can't be here," I croak out, inwardly cringing at how pitiful I sound.
I will not fall apart. I will not cry. I have to be strong.
"Um...yeah, I can," he says casually while offering a one-shoulder shrug.
Kane lets me rest against him as he strums his fingers through my hair—an action I've come to find so soothing and comforting.
"No, you can't. The light council could—"
"Could try. Don't worry, Alyssa. I'm a big boy. As long as you stay locked up during the red moon, all will be fine."
Kane sighs out heavily. He's argued about the possibility the red moon isn't changing me, but no one will agree to let me stay out of the cage—not even me. I'm locking myself away to keep the rest of the world safe.
"How did you come across the girl the cop abused?" Zee asks.
"I had to hunt her down. It took some magic to even learn she existed, but I returned to the scene of the crime, saw the aura stain of fear behind the bushes. I knew she had seen something very terrifying. Then I had to use magic to get her to talk. She was on Alyssa's side."
"I have to be somewhere," Gage says while looking at his phone, interrupting the details I don't really want to hear. "I'll be back."
He hasn't said much to anyone today. As he walks away, Kane pulls me from the couch, wrapping his arms around me. He leads me to the kitchen, and I collapse to a barstool.
"We'll sort it out, Alyssa. Are you okay?" he asks, grimacing.
It's a terrible question, but I can't break right now. If I let the weight of what I've done fully settle, I'll crumble, crack, and be of no use to anyone.
"I'll be fine," I mumble. "We need to—"
"I'm not a fucking fairy!" Chaz blares from the living room, forcing Kane to choke on a laugh.
At least the feud Dice has struck up is a distraction from our drama.
"Fairy," Dice sings, following Chaz into the den where we are.
Chaz's face is red, almost crimson. No duster likes to be called a fairy, and Dice revels in driving someone mad.
"Call me a fairy one. More. Time," Chaz threatens, seething.
Dice smirks, a challenge in his eyes, and says, "Fair—"
His word is cut short and ends with a cat's meow. His eyes widen as a devilish grin spreads across Chaz's lips. A few flakes of glitter have gathered on Dice's lips, promising Chaz just used his duster magic.
Another meow bellows free in panic, and Dice clutches his throat, gasping as the sound continues in the place of his words.
"I like him," Kane says through his laughter, motioning toward Chaz.
Chaz smirks as he turns away from the crying cat—er, I mean Dice.
"Never thought I'd hear a night stalker say that."
I breathe out in relief, grateful for Chaz being here. With so many dark being my only allies, I was starting to wonder if any light beings were on the good side. It's a twisted world we live in.