“I’ve been patient while you let that vampire’s cunt distract you. It’s time to prove to me that my generosity hasn’t gone to waste.”
Ewan fought the urge to roll his eyes. Gregor could pretend to be magnanimous all fucking day but it wouldn’t change the fact he was a selfish fuck who didn’t give a damn about anyone but himself and his own agenda. Ewan was still angry as hell over his conversation with Sasha and ready to do a little damage in order to release the tension that had continued to build through the rest of that night and into the next day. If Gregor wanted to be on the receiving end of that rage, so be it.
“Have you done anything in the past few weeks other than plant yourself balls-deep in the enemy? I’ve been lax. Let you skip rotations, let you fight in that gods-damned arena like an animal.” The whites of Gregor’s eyes were swallowed by black and a low growl resonated in his chest. “You owe me something, Ewan. And I suggest you pay up.”
He didn’t owe Ian Gregor a gods-damned thing. Ewan stared their supposed leader down as he took a slow, deep breath. His head whipped to one side as Gregor landed a blow Ewan never saw coming. A loud pop signaled his jaw bone breaking and a flash of white hot pain shot through his face. Ewan let out a grunt as the taste of blood filled his mouth. The split in his lip healed almost instantaneously as he straightened and faced the bastard once again.
Gregor moved with frightening speed and didn’t waste a second to remind Ewan of his prowess. He landed another blow to Ewan’s face, this time giving him a nasty orbital fracture that left his right eyeball throbbing, his face sagging, and his vision blurred before the bones could mend themselves. He could’ve taken his beating and let that be the end of it but that’s not how Ewan rolled. He went after Gregor, head bowed low, and plowed into him. Gregor dug his feet into his boots, and rather than take him to the floor, Ewan pushed Gregor a good fifteen feet before slamming him into the opposite wall. The force of the impact buried Gregor in the drywall and Ewan used the opportunity to pull back his fist and throw a nasty right hook that connected squarely with Gregor’s jaw.
He might as well have struck a brick wall for all the damage it did. Gregor was incredibly resilient, the strongest of them all. Ewan hoped he hurt at least a little. Enough to know not to fuck with him. He wasn’t going to lie down and take it anymore. He’d had enough of the bullshit. Enough of vendettas. And enough of vengeance to last him several lifetimes. Ewan wanted out. And if the only way for that to happen was for him to die, then so be it.
Gregor dislodged himself from the drywall and had Ewan pinned to the floor before he even realized he was no longer standing. The air left his lungs in a violent rush and Ewan fought to replace the depleted oxygen. His straining, rasping inhales were ineffective, and Gregor’s fist that was wrapped around his throat did little to help.
“You insolent piece of trash,” Gregor spat. “You think you can look at me with open defiance and think I’ll just let it slide?” Black swallowed the whites of his eyes, and his native accent grew thicker with his anger. “I’ve had shits that gave me more trouble than you so don’t think for a second you’ve got one over on me. If you wanted to degrade yourself by dipping into the vampire’s tainted pussy, that’s your business. When your brothers find out what you’ve done, a beating is going to be the least of your problems.” Gregor leaned in close enough that is hot, rancid breath brushed Ewan’s face. “Qui cum canibus concumbunt cum pulicibus surgent.” If you lie down with dogs, you wake up with fleas. Asshole. Gregor released his hold on Ewan’s throat and in one fluid motion, jerked him up from the floor to stand. “You have five seconds to tell me something I want to hear before I tell your secrets to every warlord within earshot.”
Gods, but Gregor was a sorry motherfucker. Ewan could finally take a deep breath and filled his lungs with some much needed oxygen. His many broken bones and contusions healed and he was back at one hundred percent. Gregor he could deal with. An angry mob of his brethren hell-bent on punishing him for betrayal? Not so much. Those blindly loyal to Gregor wouldn’t hesitate to rip Ewan limb from limb. And when there was nothing left of him to dismember, they’d rip his head right off his shoulders. He had to play ball. He had no other choice. He wasn’t afraid to fight or to die. But Drew would never let him go down alone, and he refused to put his cousin in harm’s way.
“Sasha’s maker, Saeed, has a mate.” Ewan had no idea if this information would be valuable to Gregor but it was worth a shot. “Fae. Unlike anyone I’ve ever seen. She’s powerful, I could feel it.”
Gregor broke out into almost maniacal laughter and Ewan wondered if the male had finally lost his mind. “This female who thinks you are her mate, she’s part of Saeed’s coven?”
Ewan’s brow furrowed. How did Gregor know about Saeed? “Aye. There are three vampires that I know of, including Sasha. The rest are dhampirs.”
Gregor continued to laugh. “You’re utterly fucking useless!” The laughter died to eerie silence and Gregor’s lip pulled back in a menacing sneer. His eyes remained black. Onyx orbs that reflected the evil of his soul. “You would have to pick a female from the one coven I want to remain intact, wouldn’t you?”
Ewan hid his surprise beneath a mask of passivity. Not since their feud with the vampires began had Gregor ever offered a single coven respite or clemency. Saeed obviously had something to contribute to Gregor’s endgame. Either that, or someone close to him did. The fae, perhaps? She seemed the obvious choice.
“I know where the coven is located.” It was a huge gamble to offer up that kind of information, especially when Ewan had never had any intention of sharing it. But Gregor’s reaction would prove whether or not he truly wanted hands off Saeed and those under his care.
The inky black faded from Gregor’s gaze. He raked Ewan from head to toe and his cold disdain would have coaxed goose bumps to the skin of a lesser male. Ewan’s desire to protect his cousin from Gregor’s misaligned sense of brotherhood had backfired in a big way. He had nothing to offer Gregor. Nothing. And Ewan had a feeling he was about to be punished for it.
“That female you’re fucking has nothing to offer me in regards to her coven. Stop digging there. I want to know about the others. Where their covens are located. Their numbers. How many vampires fill their ranks. I want to know about Mikhail Aristov, his bitch of a mate, and the human child that lives with him. Anything else is useless and will only earn you a severe beating. Do you understand me?”
He’d have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting Sasha to open up to him about any of that. Especially after their latest fight. “I understand.” Ewan spat to his side to clear his mouth of the blood that remained from his beating. His eyes met Gregor’s and he didn’t even flinch. He refused to cow in the warlord’s presence.
“Get the fuck out of my sight.”
And with those last seven disgusted words, Ewan was effectively dismissed. He didn’t bother contemplating who’d heard their little exchange and subsequent brawl. No one would dare bring it up. Gregor’s rule was absolute. No one questioned him. Challenged him. Or otherwise spoke to him unless first spoken to. Likewise, anyone who dared to repeat a conversation had by Gregor with any of them could expect the sort of retribution Ewan had just been on the receiving end of.
He could think of a million better ways to spend an evening other than on the receiving end of Ian Gregor’s fists.
Ewan passed Drew in the hallway on the way to his apartment. Their eyes met and his cousin changed course and fell into step beside him. Not a word was spoken between them until they reached Ewan’s apartment and went inside. And even then, they were careful not to say too much.
“Jesus, you look like shit.” Ewan was so glad Drew was adept at stating the obvious. “Is that your blood all over your fucking clothes?”
Ewan turned to his cousin and cocked a brow. He wasn’t going to discuss what had just happened with Gregor. Not with him, or anyone else.
Drew cleared his throat and settled down onto a ratty old couch they’d picked up from the side of the road that had a Free cardboard sign tied to it. “Haven’t seen you around much.” He kept his tone conversational and light, but his pinched expression and drawn brows told another story. He was worried, and rightly so. And maybe even a little pissed off. Again, rightly so. But there was nothing Ewan was willing to do about it right now.
“I’ve had a lot of shit to do.” Drew had to have known that Gregor had his tighty-whities in a bunch. “Gregor’s had me busy running errands and doing recon.”
“Yeah, there’s been a lot of shit going on. Everybody’s busy. Want to go get a drink?”
“Yeah.” If Ewan was going to protect Drew, he was going to have to bump up their timetable. And that meant doing something incredibly unpleasant. “Let’s go somewhere quiet and have a drink.” Gods help him, Ewan was about to get involved with a nest of fucking demons.
* * *
“Sasha. This is a surprise. Come in.”
Sasha stepped past the threshold of the enormous mansion that housed the Forkbeard werewolf pack and Chelle Daly’s tiny coven of two. Though he seemed surprised to see her, Lucas greeted her with a bright smile and his scent remained clean. It was nice to know she was welcome here since right now, she had nowhere else to go. After Ewan stomped out of her apartment yet again, she couldn’t bear to sit there in the still silence, alone. Too much weighed on her mind and without a solution in sight to the worries that plagued her, she decided to grab an Uber and hightail it to the only place she could think to go.
“Sorry to come over without calling first.” She was actually surprised Saeed hadn’t canceled her cell by now. It wouldn’t be long before her credit cards were declined as well. Her dependence on him—and the coven—only helped to show her that the independence she thought she’d gained was nothing more than an illusion. “I need someone to talk to. Do you maybe want to grab a bite to eat or get a cup of coffee?” Might as well do it now while she still had Visa’s permission.
“Coffee?” Lucas’s good-natured laughter coaxed a wry smile to Sasha’s lips. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather have a vodka soda at a club somewhere? I know it’s not L.A., but Pasadena has some fun places to hang out at.”
Sasha cringed. Gods, she’d been so out of control the past several months. Drinking. Partying. Fucking anything that walked by her. No wonder Lucas thought she’d prefer a crowded club to a quiet coffee shop. She looked around the expansive foyer at the nouveau rustic, yet stylish furniture. Sturdy. Tasteful yet lavish. Supernatural creatures certainly knew how to amass—and spend—their wealth. Which made her wonder about her own financial status. She was hardly an indentured servant. She had her own accounts, money that Saeed as coven master, filtered to her. But leaving the coven was sort of like quitting her job. She wouldn’t know comfort like this again. She’d relegated herself to a crappy, nearly unfurnished apartment in the Valley.
“Sasha? Is everything okay?”
Gods, she’d totally zoned out. She took a deep breath and choked on the intake as the overpowering scent of werewolf hit her. Wow. “How do you handle the—”
“You get used to it.” Lucas cut her off as though he’d read her mind. Then again, she hadn’t exactly been subtle in the way she’d choked. He grinned. “It’s not that bad.”
Maybe she shouldn’t have come here. She should have gone to talk to Ani about her problems. Ani already knew her situation and wouldn’t be surprised at the way things had gone so miserably south. Ani was rough and wild and unapologetic. She knew the city’s underworld. Lucas didn’t.
“Maybe that’s why you came here, then? Because I don’t know any of the things your friend knows.”
Sasha’s jaw hung slack. She stared, disbelieving, at Lucas. He’d heard her thoughts as plainly as if she’d spoken them out loud. It was impossible …
“You know one of my secrets,” he said with a sympathetic smile. “So now you can trust me with one of yours.”
Holy shit. She’d definitely come to the right place. “I don’t have a car.” She figured it was a good idea to let him know he’d be driving tonight.
“No problem.” He grabbed a key fob from a bowl on a table near the door. “Let’s go.”
She’d yet to share a single secret with him and already Sasha felt unburdened. But that was the thing about Lucas. You only had to spend a few minutes with him to feel his calming effects. Yep, she’d certainly made the right decision. Because she really needed a dose of that calm right about now.
It wasn’t a coffee shop, but it wasn’t an overcrowded club, either. The low-key bar a few miles from the pack’s estate was the total opposite of the type of place Sasha pictured Lucas hanging out. Dark, a little run-down, a little dirty, with low, old-school country music playing in the background, and no more than two other customers to crowd the space. The bartender looked to be in his late fifties though Sasha bet he was closer to forty-eight. Hard living had no doubt creased his brow, and sagged the skin under his eyes, and prematurely grayed his hair. He had kind blue eyes that crinkled when he smiled at them and he offered up a polite greeting as she and Lucas settled into a booth near the back of the bar.
“Can I get you two anything?” The bartender didn’t bother leaving his post, but instead, shouted to them.
“I’ll take a beer,” Lucas called back. “I’m not picky. Whatever.”
The bartender nodded and turned his attention to Sasha.
“Whiskey. On the rocks. And make it a double.”
He gave Sasha a knowing look. She figured he was well versed in the art of drinking his troubles away. Like recognized like, and he’d obviously seen the dark shadow on her soul. She’d certainly seen it on his.
Lucas waited to speak until after their drinks were delivered. He took a long pull from the bottle, his fathomless blue gaze trained on Sasha. He wasn’t going to press her. Or ask questions. Instead, he waited patiently for her to gather her thoughts. She liked him. Liked his quiet, calming presence and silent strength. He’d make a worthy mate to some lucky female someday. She sipped from her glass and thought about the burn of the whiskey as it slid down her throat. Almost soothing in comparison to the dry heat of bloodlust.
“My life is completely fucked up.”
Lucas set his bottle down and gave Sasha his complete attention. “I’m sure it’s not that bad.”
She cocked a brow. Oh no? She was about to prove him wrong. This was definitely a hold-my-beer moment. “I’m tethered to a berserker, left my coven … Oh, and there’s a gang of demons trying to scare me into convincing my mate to sacrifice himself so they can make a few bucks.” She didn’t bother to add the bit about said mate being unreasonably possessive and jealous over her one-time love for her maker. Too much drama.
Lucas’s eyes went wide as he leaned back in the booth. “You’re right. Your life is completely fucked up.”
Sasha swallowed down a groan. She wanted to bang her head against the table until it knocked her the hell out and left her blissfully unconscious. “See?”
“You left out the bit about being in love with Saeed, though.” His freaky mind-reading ability really wigged Sasha out! She’d need to be careful what she let float around in her head when she was in Lucas’s company. “Not a bad idea,” he added with a wink. “You’ll get the hang of it soon enough.”
“That is seriously off the charts.” Sasha drank half of the whiskey left in her glass in a single swallow. “How are you able to do it?”
“A quirk of my transition.” Lucas drank as well and let his esoteric answer hang in the air. “I know where you’re coming from in regards to Saeed, Sasha. That’s why I brought it up. I’m not tethered but I’ve been in your situation. Sort of. It complicates those feelings that you had such confidence in.”
Exactly! She’d devoted herself to Saeed centuries ago. Had always had such undying faith in her feelings for him. Had hoped that someday, he’d return those feelings. After his transition, Saeed had become even more distant. Sasha had failed to tether him and it was like someone had pulled the rug out from under her. And to add insult to injury, she’d found her soul secured to a mortal enemy. How could she possibly trust her feelings ever again when they’d betrayed her for so long?
“I can’t help you not love Saeed,” Lucas said. “Just like I can’t help you detangle yourself from the berserker. The tether is absolute.” A truth repeated among their kind. Sasha was beginning to think it was vampire kind’s slogan. “But I can try to help with your other problems. Let’s start with the issue with the demons and work our way backward. Who exactly are they, and what exactly do they want?”
She was so glad Bria had thought it a good idea to introduce her to Lucas. She’d been tentative at first. His innocence, inexperience, his nice-guy persona. But Sasha should have known better than anyone that looks could be deceiving and that Lucas showed those around him only what he wanted them to see. There was more to the handsome young vampire than met the eye. He had depth. And secrets of his own. Sasha was glad to call him a friend and thankful to have him in her corner.
“Have you ever been burned by hellfire, Lucas?” She swallowed the rest of her whiskey as she gathered her thoughts. “It hurts like a motherfucker.”
Gods, she hoped he could help her find a way out of this mess. If not, she and Ewan both might meet their ends before their respective families had a chance to punish them for their betrayals.
“Calm down,” Lucas said. “No one’s punishing anyone. At least, not on your end.”
It was true that if she was punished at all by Saeed it would be a relative slap on the wrist compared to what Ewan could expect. The leader of his clan was the most feared and remorseless warlord in supernatural history. She worried for Ewan. He was so strong. So confident. But everything and everyone had its breaking point.
Including Ewan Brún.