Authors: Shannan Albright
“Then I will
take the two of you,”
Ja’mel
stated with all the
regal arrogance of a high prince, as if jumping three people out of there would
be no problem.
“Bullshit, I
know how hard it is,” Zeke began.
Ja’mel
didn’t give him
time to finish. With a sound of disgust he laid a palm on her and Zeke’s
shoulders. “Must I always be questioned? When I say I can do something I can do
it. It is so …
irritating
. Now, are
we ready?”
Zeke barely
nodded his head when the world blurred around him.
Chapter Twenty
Laris
gasped, and
Zeke whistled low as they took in the rustic, but spacious cabin
Ja’mel
jumped them to. Set in the middle of the woods no
one would look twice at the weather-beaten logs making up the outer building.
Inside was quite another matter entirely. She scanned the room done in hues of
greens and browns, taking in the few pieces of furniture of pine and oak. Only
the basic couch, two chairs and an oblong coffee table, the bare floor adorned
with one plush throw rug. Overhead lights hung in brass lamps from the high
arched ceiling and a set of stairs to the left curved up to the second story.
Ja’mel
pointed
directions to the two of them. “Up those stairs is the bedroom and bath, and
through those doors on the right is the kitchen and another bathroom. You need
to sit tight until Amari’s little concoction wears off.” Zeke grabbed the phone
Ja’mel
tossed his way. “This is an untraceable phone.
Call Marcus,
make
your plans, and then destroy the
phone.”
Laris
shook her head.
“I thought you never left
Lamuria
, and here you have
this?” Her arms swept the room around her. No trace of accusation carried in
her words, only a stunned bemusement.
Ja’mel’s
body
tensed,
features hard as granite. “After our parents’
untimely death I accidently came across Amari in the meditation alcove in the
woods by our home. She was speaking to someone I could only get a glimpse of, a
slender shadow as it kept to the trees.”
Dread twisted in
her stomach, as she was torn between needing to know and running as far as she
could from the truth. “Tell me.” It was a soft command. She needed to know the
extent of their aunt’s treachery.
She felt Zeke
move up behind her, his arms wrapping around her, offering her safety as he
pressed her back against his hard body. For the first time she could remember
she didn’t feel so alone, so … adrift. Zeke gave her this, an anchor to steady
her in the raging storm.
“I only heard a
few words, but enough to know she was behind the deaths of her mate and our
parents. She said her
half-sister
would not be a threat any longer and she would take care of us if the need
arose.”
Laris’s
head spun.
Half-sister?
“If
she is only half
Mer
, what is the other half, and
what did our parents know to be such a threat to her?”
Ja’mel
shook his head,
black eyes filled with cold determination. “I have yet to find out. I slipped
away before they sensed my presence, but from that moment on I watched her. She
would leave
Lamuria
several times a year, and I’d
follow her keeping my distance as she blended with humans, acting like them. I
never found out any more about her shadowy visitor. When the uprising happened
I was in the middle of a skirmish with the
selkies
and mermen. A ploy, I know now, set up to keep me occupied while she
orchestrated the entire bloody event. Still, I had no proof to take to the
council, only my suspicions.”
Now she
understood why her brother had changed so dramatically from the open and
friendly boy she adored to the secretive broody male standing before her. “Why
didn’t you confide in me? I watched as the brother I loved changed before my
eyes. You built a wall I could never scale to keep me out. Why?”
The smile
twisting his lips was bitter. “You idolized Amari. What would have happened if
I told you my suspicions then?”
Her vision
wavered as tears gathered in her eyes, pain slicing into her heart. “You are my
brother. I would have been shocked, but I would have believed you.”
“I couldn’t take
the chance. Then both of our lives would have been in jeopardy, and I wanted
you safe. You were never good at being a warrior. The idea of taking a life
horrified you. I refused to put you into a position where you had to fight for
your life. Your talent as a diplomat was always your true calling. You fight
with words as I do with swords and very effectively.”
She broke from
Zeke’s embrace to throw herself into her brother’s arms on a sob. “All these
years you kept this a secret, alone with no one to share your burden. I don’t
know if I should hit you or thank you.”
He patted her
head stroking her hair as he often did when she was little and needed soothing.
“I prefer a thank you.” He chuckled, a low rumble against her ear pressed to
his chest. “You may not be made for war, but you still can hit with the best of
them.”
She broke the
hug stepping back into Zeke’s arms as a grin twitched at the corners of her
lips, her heart swelling with happiness at her brother’s words. “What do we do
now?”
Like a candle
being snuffed out her brother’s eyes hardened, his jaw tight. “Now we plan.
Amari will die by
my
hand.” His gaze
leveled on Zeke with a glint of challenge.
“You will have
no complaint from me or the Enforcers. All I want is to keep
Laris
safe. I couldn’t care less
who
eliminates the threat, as long as it is done.”
The tension in
Ja’mel
eased as he gave a slight nod. “We have two days to
come up with our plan. By that time you should be able to jump with no
aftereffects. Call your leader and set up a conference call.”
Zeke released
her to punch in some numbers on the cell. Marcus’s gruff bark greeted him
before the first ring finished. “I’m fine, and listen. I’m putting you on
speaker.”
“What the hell
is going on? Where are
you,
and what happened to
Laris
?” Marcus demanded.
Zeke winced
slightly at the anxiety in his leader’s tone. “I’m here with both
Laris
and her brother,
Ja’mel
.
Can you get the others in on this call?”
“One
moment.”
They could hear Marcus call the Enforcers to the war room from the intercom
Zeke had recently installed. A few more moments ticked by before voices carried
over the
phone,
and Marcus’s voice rose above the
others. “We’re here. What’s happening?”
Zeke filled them
in on everything from Amari’s attack, his temporary inability to jump, Cody’s
feral state, and ending with
Ja’mel
and
Laris’s
rescue. A long, tense silence filled the air as
Zeke finished.
“Cody turned
feral?” Christophe’s voice shook with rage.
“He’d been
repeatedly tortured to the brink of death, and healed with dead blood. I’m
sorry, Christophe, but he has to be destroyed. I would have done it had I been
able.”
In the
background she could hear
Tambra’s
faint sobs, and
Laris’s
heart ached for the woman. It was common knowledge
that the ex-cops were partners and friends long before either one knew anything
about dark breeds.
Marcus cleared
his throat, emotion thick as molasses with each word uttered. “The summit is
less than forty-eight hours away. Somehow we need to prepare for the feral
battle they are orchestrating and grab Cody. I don’t want him killed. We have
to try to bring him back. Even if the chances are against it we will try
everything in our power. You have my word, Christophe.”
“Knowing Amari
she is staging this battle to be covered by the human news crews, as a point to
show the world how unstable and dangerous the dark breeds can be. If she
manages to convince the humans of this you will be discredited, and every dark
breed will be hunted into extinction,”
Laris
cut in.
Ja’mel’s
gaze flew to
her.
“No, not entirely.
Yes, she wants to end the
Enforcers. They are the only thing standing in her way of taking up the mantle
of leadership. Her main objective is to rule over humans and dark breeds alike.
We cannot let this happen.”
“I agree.”
Marcus sighed heavily. “The question is how do we prevent this from happening?”
“Meet with your
Enforcers and put together a strategy while Zeke’s body purges Amari’s little
concoction. In the morning he should be back to fighting form. If you have need
of us just call this number. If not, we will see you tomorrow morning.”
With a final
goodbye Zeke disconnected the call, handing the phone back to
Ja’mel
, who placed it on the end table. “I will leave you
for the evening. Be ready to go in the morning at eight.”
Ja’mel
flashed
her a
tender smile, and her heart constricted as memories of
the young boy came rushing in. Oh, how she’d missed him. On impulse she gave
him another fierce hug, letting the tears fall freely down her cheeks.
“Make the most
of this respite, sister mine, and enjoy your mate,”
Ja’mel
whispered to her before stepping back and disappearing.
****
Zeke watched as
a slow smile lifted the corners of
Laris’s
luscious
lips, those dove grey eyes darkening with hunger, a hunger his body rose to
match. He watched mesmerized as she walked toward him, her hips swaying, her
scent swirling around him as she drew near. Grasping his hand she led him up
the stairs and into the bedroom without a sound. By the time they reached the
bed his erection pressed painfully against his zipper. The need to have her
rushed through his blood on a rising tide of lust, threatening to sweep away
his control.
“Strip for me.”
Her command was soft and husky.-It took only a matter of moments for him to
discard his jeans to stand nude and ready. Her gaze stroked over him bringing a
shudder of pleasure to whip through him.
“Your
turn.”
He challenged her in a hoarse voice, need driving him to the breaking point.
She removed her
own clothes in even less time,
then
turned to show him
her gorgeous round, firm ass. He always had a thing for a nice backside, and
hers was the best he’d ever beheld. Her smooth back narrowed into a small
waist, flaring to rounded hips and long toned legs. He could easily visualize
those legs wrapped tight around him as he sank deep into her. Goddess, the
woman was beautiful, and
his
. A
fierce possessiveness rose up in him as he watched her recline on the bed all
soft curves and dark satin skin. Her breasts were high and firm tipped with
dark nipples that his mouth watered to taste again.
Her hand rose to
beckon him closer, and he needed no prompting to join her. Climbing beside her
he stretched out, his fingers stroking her cheek in a soft caress. “You are the
most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” His tone held a hushed quality of
reverence, his gaze
so
hungry as he swept over her
body.
“You make me
feel beautiful, powerful, and cherished.” Her words came in a soft hesitant
rush of air.
He leaned over
her and captured her lips in a demanding kiss, her arousal mingling with her
sweet scent of orchids, wrapping around him and building his desire for her
higher. He growled low in his chest as his tongue tangled with hers, their lips
fusing. She met his hunger with her own, bringing his blood to a boil, and his
cock throbbed almost painfully with the need to be buried deep within her
tight, warm sex.
He broke the
kiss, breath quickening, and gazed down into her eyes. His heart cracked open
at the tenderness he found there. Feathering light kisses over her cheeks, eyes
and down her jaw, he continued down her neck, nipping and licking his way to
her breasts. Taking one into his mouth he took the hard nub between his teeth
and lightly bit. She moaned, her back arching into him, pushing her breast
higher for his ministrations. Releasing that one he gave the other equal time,
making her thrash her head from side to side as he let his attention move down
her body.
He parted her
slick folds with a finger plunging deep into her. Her whimper was music to him,
and her fingers gripped at his hair as her legs parted further allowing him
better access. His mouth found her sex and lapped while thrusting into her.
When he added a second finger her hips rose to meet his thrusts, her breaths
coming in short harsh pants as he nipped and licked at her clit, watching her
intently as she came apart on a shudder, his name on her lips.
Unable to wait a
moment longer he rose over her, the head of his cock gliding between the wet
folds of her entrance, and thrust deep. He groaned at the feel of her sex
clamping down on him. His gaze locked on hers, and the emotion shining in her
eyes brought the remaining barriers crumbling down. He stilled, and his breath
caught. His words came on a harsh gasp. “I love you,
Lari
.”