As Darkness Falls Ss

BERKLEY SENSATION,

SIGNET ECLIPSE,

& SIGNET SELECT

AS DARKNESS FALLS SS

COMPLIMENTARY PARANORMAL ROMANCE SAMPLER

SIGNET SELECT

160210_AsDarkness_FM_pi-iv.indd 1 2/22/12 9:02 PM Published by Berkley and NAL Books, divisions of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) • Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England • Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) • Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) • Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi— 110 017, India • Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) • Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

Excerpt from Alpha Instinct © Katie Reus, 2012

Excerpt from Dire Needs © Stephanie Tyler, 2012

Excerpt from Wicked Edge © Nina Bangs, 2012

Excerpt from Chaos Burning © Lauren Dane, 2012

Excerpt from Darkness Devours © Keri Arthur, 2012

Excerpt from Liquid Lies © Hanna Martine, 2012

First published by Berkley and NAL Books, divisions of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

First Printing, 2012 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

BERKLEY and NAL are registered trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Printed in the United States of America

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE 18p Comp: Please use the version This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s that is closest to the text measure, imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. 18p6 without going wider than the text measure. (The designer may spec The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content. If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware 19p a narrower measure if the cr is setting that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher and narrower than the text.) neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.” 19p6 The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. 20p

20p6

21p

21p6

22p 160210_AsDarkness_FM_pi-iv.indd 2 2/22/12 9:02 PM

AS DARKNESS FALLS

ALPHA INSTINCT 1 by Katie Reus

DIRE NEEDS 35 by Stephanie Tyler

WICKED EDGE 67 by Nina Bangs

CHAOS BURNING 87 by Lauren Dane

DARKNESS DEVOURS 103 by Keri Arthur

LIQUID LIES 129 by Hanna Martine SS

SIGNET SELECT Signet Select, Signet Eclipse, and Berkley Sensation Penguin Group (USA) Companies

160210_AsDarkness_FM_pi-iv.indd 3 2/22/12 9:02 PM ALPHA INSTINCT

A Moon Shifter Novel by Katie Reus

Available now in paperback from Signet Eclipse

Ana Cordona has been a strong leader for the lupine shifters who survived after all the males and most of the females in her pack were mysteriously poisoned. As tough as she is, with no Alpha male, the pack is vulnerable to the devious shifter Sean Taggart, who wants to claim both their ranch and Ana as his own. When Connor Armstrong comes back into her life, promising protection, it’s almost enough to make Ana forget how he walked out on her before— and reluctantly accept his offer to mate. The minute Connor sees Ana again, a raw hunger re- awakens. He must have her for his bondmate— his wolf cries out for it. But his human side knows he must proceed with caution because of their complicated past. If he is to truly have her, body and soul, he must go beyond his burning desire and win back her heart. Whatever it takes, he is determined not to leave her side again. But Taggart and his rival pack are not their only ene- mies. A human element in town is targeting shifters. Their N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 1 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM plan threatens not only Ana and Connor’s future, but the lives of the entire pack . . .

“[A] perfect blend of shifter, suspense and sexiness . . . a winner.” —Caridad Piñeiro, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost

“A wild, hot ride . . . The story grabs you and doesn’t let go.” —Cynthia Eden, author of Deadly Heat

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 2 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM CHAPTER 1

Analena Cordona shoved her hands into the pockets of her thick, quilted down jacket. Not because she was cold, but because for the second time in the past ten minutes she was questioning her decision to meet Sean Taggart without an escort. It was likely stupid— scratch that; defi nitely stupid— but she couldn’t drag one of her sisters or cousins along to meet with him. Taggart was one of the most devious shifters she’d ever met, and she couldn’t risk her pack getting hurt. Despite her effort to appear casual, an unwanted shiver skittered down her spine. If need be, she was ready to run at a moment’s notice. The wind howled mercilessly through the trees of Fontana Mountain and when it shifted south she caught Taggart’s distinctive, foul scent. He was close. Watching her, no doubt. Pervy bastard. “I know you’re there, Sean. Come out now so we can get this over with.” She was thankful her voice didn’t shake. To her surprise, a hulking brown- and- white wolf emerged from a cluster of trees. What the hell? They’d agreed to come in human form. Glancing around, she saw he hadn’t brought N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 3 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 4 KATIE REUS

anyone else. That tamed her nerves a little but not much. He was still older and stronger and a lot more ruthless. Even though she tried to mask it, he had to smell her fear. “What are you doing?” she snapped, hoping her anger would cover her alarm. When the animal stood a few feet in front of her, he changed to his human form. Ana looked away but could hear his bones break, shift and realign. Many shifters didn’t mind others watching them change, but to her it was such a private, painful thing, she didn’t do it in front of just anyone. She turned back to face him and immediately wanted to wipe the smirk off his face. Of course he’d be arrogant enough to stand naked in front of her when they were supposed to be having a serious meeting. She attempted to keep the loathing out of her voice. “I thought we agreed to come in human form.” He shrugged and had the nerve to grab himself. “I wanted the exercise. Besides, you should get to see what’s going to be yours soon.” Mine? Gross. Bile rose in her throat, but she pushed it down. Sure, the man had a nice body, but what lay underneath that exterior scared her. She’d seen the way he treated the women of his pack. He was mean just for the sake of being mean. As Alpha, he should set a better example, but no one had stood up to him yet. “Excuse me?” “That’s why you wanted to meet, isn’t it? To proposition me?” “Not exactly.” She cleared her throat and looked around. A light layer of snow had fallen over the normally grassy incline. Other than the wind and rustling trees, she was suddenly aware of how alone she really was. She was at least two N miles from her family’s ranch. “We’ve had a few attacks over

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 4 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM ALPHA INSTINCT 5

the past couple weeks. Some of our cattle have gone missing and I’ve found a few mutilated cows. And just this morning I found one of my sister’s horses dead.” The increasing vandalism against her pack’s ranch was a message. Taggart wanted to unite his pack with hers and would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. She was surprised he hadn’t done worse. “And you think my pack had something to do with it?” His voice was monotone. She noticed he didn’t deny it. “I didn’t say that. I don’t know many humans who venture into our territory, so I just wanted to let you know about it.” He crossed his arms over his bare chest and she forced herself to keep her eyes on his face. It pissed her off that he just stood there naked. He must have known it would make her uncomfortable. “Fine. I’ll keep an eye out, but we haven’t had any problems. If you had better security, I doubt you would either.” His voice was taunting. “We’re doing fi ne.” But they weren’t. Not really. Finan- cially they were on solid ground, but with all the males of their pack dead, it was only a matter of time before another pack would think they could move in to their territory and force them to assimilate. They might live peacefully among the humans now, but they still had their own laws to worry about. Their black- and- white laws were a lot more primal. As unguarded, unprotected females, they were more or less fair game. It might be bullshit, but there wasn’t much she could do about it unless she wanted to take on the Northern Amer- ican Council. They wouldn’t allow a she- wolf to remain Alpha without proving herself. As with males, a true Alpha— regardless of gender— had to prove she was strong enough to N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 5 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 6 KATIE REUS

protect her pack from anything. If it came down to an actual fi ght, she couldn’t take on Taggart and she knew it. No doubt he did too. And she hated that. Pack law was so different from human rules, and while her animal side acknowledged and understood it, her human side fought against the archaic rules of the Council. Sometimes she worried the eight council members headquartered in Chicago were too out of touch with the changing needs of their kind. He took a step forward and traced a fi nger down her cheekbone. Alarm fl uttered through her. On instinct, she slapped his hand away. “Don’t touch me.” His dark eyes fl ashed in anger, and instead of moving away he grabbed her by the back of her neck and tugged her against him. She started to fi ght but contained her rage. Her inner wolf told her he wanted her to struggle. She needed to play this right. Among shifters violence against any females was rare, but Taggart was a bastard and nothing he did would surprise Ana. She didn’t know much about his parents, but she’d heard his father had been absolutely archaic in his rules with his pack, and it was obvious the apple hadn’t fallen far from the tree. “Soon enough you’ll come crawling on your knees, begging to be my mate,” he growled in her ear. I’d rather die fi rst. “Let. Me. Go.” “I think I’m going to have a little fun fi rst.” The menacing note in his voice sent up warning bells. The Cordona women might be small but they were light- ning fast. In her shifted form she knew she could outrun him, but she’d have to get away from him fi rst. He grabbed the zipper on her jacket and snapped it down. Adrenaline pumped through her when she realized what he intended. N She kicked at him. He defl ected the blow with his thigh.

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 6 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM ALPHA INSTINCT 7

His grip on her tightened for a split second, and then suddenly she was free. Taking her off guard, he shoved at her chest. She hit the ground with a thud. Shift. Run. Escape. Thoughts of survival overtook her. She rolled over and prepared to go through the change when he dove on top of her, pinning her to the ground. Her throat tightened as she struggled against him. “Get off of her!” A loud, dominating male voice roared through the woods, reverberating off the trees. Taggart shifted his weight, and she didn’t waste the opportunity. Scrambling away, she put a few yards between them. If he made one wrong move, she was going to shift and take off. Her canines were already extending. They pressed painfully against her gums. Her inner wolf begged to be unleashed. The need to survive was taking over most of her reason- ing, and the only thing keeping her from shifting was sheer willpower. She wasn’t sure where the voice had come from, but she recognized it as sure as she knew her own name. Unless the wind was playing cruel tricks on her. She hadn’t heard that soothing voice in about fi fty years. Her mouth dropped open when two men she knew and eight wolves she didn’t recognize appeared from the thickest part of the trees lining their meeting place. By the large size of the wolves it was obvious they were all part of the warrior class. Where alphas were dominant in disposition, warriors were all that and more. By nature, warriors were born fi ghters. It was something ingrained deep inside them, and Ana had always thought N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 7 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 8 KATIE REUS

they were a bit more in touch with their inner animal than other shifters. Warriors could be intimidating, but she’d always respected them. They wanted to protect and take care of alphas and betas alike, not only because it was the pack way, but because the need to protect those weaker was in their blood. Taggart turned and glared at her. “You think you’re so smart, you little bitch. This isn’t over.” He shifted into wolf form with the speed only an Alpha could manage and darted past her in the direction opposite the newcomers. As she stared at the two men who’d once been her best friends, she wasn’t sure what was going on or why they were there. She truly didn’t care. All thoughts of running away dissipated. Connor and Liam Armstrong strode toward her, of course dressed in all black. Some things hadn’t changed. Before she could contemplate whether it was a good idea or not, she launched herself at Liam, but only because he was closest. She wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug. “I can’t believe you’re here.” He returned her hug in equal measure. “Good to see you too, little wolf.” Chuckling, he fi nally put her down, and she paused for just a moment before wrapping her arms around Connor. Once upon a time she’d thought she and Connor might be more than friends. Until the day he’d left her without an explanation. Even though he’d taken a little piece of her heart all those years ago, she was still grateful he was with her now. At fi rst he stiffened under her hold. She started to pull back when he murmured something foreign in her hair— Gaelic, maybe. She couldn’t understand his words, but that N deep voice of his sent a warm ribbon of awareness curling

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 8 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM ALPHA INSTINCT 9

through her. She prayed he couldn’t smell her desire. When he put her on her feet, she was speechless as she stared into his bright green eyes. He still had the ability to take her breath away without even trying. “Did that bastard hurt you?” His words were almost devoid of emotion, but the fl ash of anger in his eyes gave him away. His green eyes started to turn almost black as the animal in him prepared to take over. Though she was tempted to say yes, she shook her head and ran a light hand down his arm. The last thing she wanted was for Connor to go after Taggart. If he did, she’d bring down the wrath of Taggart’s entire pack. Considering the Cordonas had no Alpha or male protectors at the moment, she’d be signing death warrants for all her packmates. No matter how much she hated Taggart, she couldn’t risk the fallout. She didn’t know why Connor was there, but he was a nomad and once he left she’d be stuck defending her pack until she could come to an arrangement with the Council. And that was a headache she didn’t want to dwell on now. “I’m fi ne . . . thanks to you.” “I should hunt him down.” This time he didn’t bother hiding the rage in his voice. Connor sounded as if he had gravel in his throat as he took a menacing step past her. She grabbed him and squeezed. “Please don’t. It’s not worth it.” His muscles fl exed under her touch and his breathing was slightly erratic, but at least he stilled. Looking behind them, she eyed the foreign wolves, then looked back at Connor and Liam. “What are you doing here? And who are they?” The two men exchanged a guarded look before Connor spoke. “We heard about your pack.” N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 9 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 10 KATIE REUS

Suddenly wary, she took a step back. “What exactly have you heard?” “That your father and your . . . mate”—he seemed to choke on the word—“were killed two months ago.” Ana had never offi cially taken a mate, but she didn’t voice that aloud. There was no reason Connor needed to know. “My father and all the males of our pack were poisoned. And all the pregnant females too. My mother wasn’t pregnant, but she died anyway.” Of a broken heart, Ana was certain. It was as if her mother had just given up the will to live once her mate was gone. Even saying that out loud hurt more than Ana could describe, but she pushed past the pain. As current leader of the Cordona pack, she didn’t have time for self- pity. “How and by whom?” he demanded. “I don’t have answers to either of those.” Not that she hadn’t tried her damndest to fi nd out who’d killed them. One day all of the males and the pregnant females in her pack had gotten sick, and days later they’d all been dead. Her father, two uncles and their pregnant mates, seven male cousins and their pregnant mates, and Ana’s own intended mate. And then her mother was gone too. Twenty- one members of their pack gone. Just like that. It had happened so fast. They hadn’t realized what was going on at fi rst and by the time they did, it had been too late. “What did our Council say?” She snorted softly. “They’re supposed to send someone down to investigate the poisonings, but we’re apparently not very high on the food chain. Probably because we don’t have a lot of political pull now that we’re just a bunch of females.” She didn’t bother to hide the bitterness in her voice. She’d also been holding off on contacting the Council about Taggart’s N vandalism. The Council would just view it as weakness and

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 1010 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM ALPHA INSTINCT 11

as proof she couldn’t run her own pack. If they found out he’d tried to attack her tonight they would no doubt swiftly and harshly punish Taggart, but the entire situation was a catch-22. Their help would come at a price that would likely mean immediate assimilation with another pack not of her choosing. Connor stared at her but didn’t say anything. Silence de- scended over them, and she wished she’d kept her big mouth shut. She hadn’t seen him in a long time and didn’t need to announce her pack’s issues to him. Not to mention that she had a hundred questions— like why he was on her land— but wasn’t sure where to start. “You cut your hair,” Connor said, breaking the awkward moment. Self- consciously she raked her fi ngers through the shorter tresses. Her dark hair barely touched her shoulders now. The last time she’d seen him her hair had been at least a foot longer. She’d also worn bell- bottoms, tie- dyed shirts and tried to emulate Brigitte Bardot. Times had changed and so had she. She shrugged. “It’s been half a century. What did you expect?” He reached out and fi ngered it. “I like it.” When his callused fi ngers trailed over her cheek, her breath caught in her throat. Despite her desire to remain immune to him, she could feel her cheeks heat up at the statement. It wasn’t even a compliment. Not really. But her traitorous libido didn’t seem to care. It roared to life at those words. After years of being dormant, that’s all it took for her hormones to wake up. Three stupid words. His hair was shorter now too. And so was Liam’s. Both of them looked liked they’d stepped off the cover of Soldier of N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 1111 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 12 KATIE REUS

Fortune. They wore black cargo pants and black, long- sleeved shirts and had military- style crops. But she didn’t comment. She didn’t want to stand around talking about how much they’d all changed. She needed to get back to her pack. “You said you heard about my pack, but are you just passing through?” Again they exchanged a look. “Not exactly.” She frowned at the nonanswer. “Listen, I need to get back. Do you have a place to stay tonight?” They both shrugged noncommittally. She bit back a sigh. She’d forgotten how infuriating they could be. “I’m assuming those wolves are with you and that they’re trustworthy. I’ve got two empty cabins that should be big enough to accommodate all of you. A couple of you will have to share rooms, but it’s a place to sleep.” There were more than enough beds and bathrooms for ten wolves. Back when she’d known them they’d been lone wolves, so it surprised her they had their own pack now. Connor was defi nitely an Alpha but he’d never seemed interested in a for- mal leadership role. And leading a group of shifters was a big responsibility. As she assessed the shifters she realized the smaller wolf hiding behind one of the bigger wolves near the back was female. “The female can stay at my place unless she’s mated. . . .” Her voice trailed off as the reality sank in that Connor could be mated. Hell, he probably was. What sane, single she- wolf wouldn’t scoop him up? Still, she didn’t scent anyone on him, so maybe not. I hope not. She gritted her teeth at the thought. She didn’t care. If she kept repeating it, maybe she’d believe it. This time Liam spoke. “Thank you for the offer. Erin’s unmated, and I think it would do her good to have some N female company. She’s had a rough year.”

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 1212 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM ALPHA INSTINCT 13

Ana noticed that both Connor and Liam shifted uncom- fortably, so she didn’t pursue the topic. She motioned back toward the riding trail that led to her ranch. “I walked here, so if you’re ready, we can head back now.” Connor nodded and motioned toward the wolves. They paired up in twos and fell in line behind them. Maybe it shouldn’t have surprised her that Connor was now Alpha of his own pack. He was a natural- born leader. Broad shouldered and standing over six feet tall, he was almost a foot taller than her. Of course, most people were taller than her. She stole peeks at him as they headed down the trail. Even though it was shorter, his hair was still a dark chocolate brown. He was 110 in human years, but he only looked to be about thirty years old. He wouldn’t have any signs of gray hair for a few hundred years to come. There was a sharper, deadlier edge to him that she didn’t remember, but he was still handsome. In a rugged sort of way. And he still had the ability to make her stomach do fl ip- fl ops by simply looking at her. She might be irrationally pleased to see him, but a part of her was terrifi ed over the reason he’d come. It was silly to think he’d hurt her, but what if he wanted to take over her pack? Her family’s land? Or claim one of her sisters as a mate? That was probably the one thing she didn’t think her heart could handle. The thought of him with someone else— someone close to her— made her ache. Worrying about that wouldn’t do her any good now. Soon enough she’d have her answers.

Connor sat on one of Analena’s couches and tried to contain the sexual energy humming through him. So many years had N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 1313 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 14 KATIE REUS

passed and he thought he’d been ready to see her again. All it had taken was one look into those espresso- colored eyes and he’d felt himself falling. Fast and hard. “Chill, brother. You’re gonna freak her out if she gets a whiff of that lust.” Liam stood by the fi replace with his arms over his chest. He leaned casually against the mantle but he looked tense. He knew his brother was right, but it was hard to think around her. Pack Alphas talked among one another, and when he’d heard what had happened to the males of her pack he’d known it was time to come back. He’d stayed away long enough, and he’d be damned if he let some other mutt claim what was his. The sound of footsteps descending the stairs alerted them. Before she even entered the room, he knew it was Ana. Her scent was so distinctive he’d be able to pick her out of a crowded auditorium. Raspberries and sunshine. That’s what he thought of every time she was near. He automatically stood when she entered the room. Now that she’d taken off that puffy jacket, he could see what he’d been fantasizing about for decades. She was still petite and fragile- looking, but he knew otherwise. The sleeves of her long T-shirt were pushed back, showing lean arms, and her form- fi tting jeans did little to hide those tight, muscular legs. The soft curves of her breasts interested him much more. Liam loudly cleared his throat, jerking him back to reality. He looked at his brother, then at Ana, who hovered by the love seat opposite the couch he’d been sitting on. Instantly he sat back down, and she did the same. “How’s Erin?” The she- wolf he’d picked up months ago was skittish as hell and he couldn’t help but worry about her. N They all did.

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 1414 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM ALPHA INSTINCT 15

Ana’s expression darkened. “I think she’s okay. We put her in one of the guest rooms upstairs, but I think Carmen is going to stay the night with her. It’s a strange place to her and I don’t think she wants to sleep alone.” Connor nodded. “Yeah, when we found her, she’d been . . .” “Brutalized?” He nodded. She clasped her hands tightly in her lap. “Do you know who hurt her?” He shook his head. If he’d known, whoever had hurt her would be dead. He wouldn’t have bothered going to the Coun- cil to bring them up on charges. “She won’t talk about it.” She looked pointedly between him and his brother. “Where are your other . . . friends? I thought you said you wanted to talk.” “We do, but we thought you’d feel more comfortable dis- cussing some things in private. Did you want to invite Car- men and Noël downstairs?” She shook her head again. “No. My sisters trust me to make any decisions concerning our pack. I’m tired and a little cranky, so let’s just get down to business. Why are you guys here?” “You need protection.” He and Liam had discussed things earlier, but now that he was actually sitting in front of her, he wondered how well his proposition would go over. Her dark eyebrows rose. “Oh, really?” “There are no males left in your pack and you are not an Alpha.” She might be an alpha in nature but she didn’t have the cutthroat qualities it took to lead a pack. It was one of the things he loved about her. She had a steel backbone but was still soft and empathetic, sometimes letting her heart rule her decisions. Or at least that’s how he remembered her. “And if N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 1515 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 16 KATIE REUS

Taggart’s attempted attack on you tonight was any indica- tion, I’d wager he’s been trying to unite his pack with yours for a while. Am I wrong?” She shrugged noncommittally. “It’s only a matter of time before someone else comes sniffi ng around looking to claim control of the Cordona women.” He paused, hoping she’d say something. She knew the Council’s rules as well as he did, and he didn’t want to spell it out to her. Once a pack was offi cially formed the Alpha in charge was basically supposed to self- govern and deal with internal problems alone. Now that Ana’s Alpha was dead, they were still considered a pack, but they couldn’t continue much longer without an offi cial leader. “And you’d like to take on the role of our protectors? Out of the goodness of your heart?” Mistrust crept into those dark eyes, and his gut clenched. “Over the years Liam and I have . . . done well for ourselves. We’ve formed our own pack— one recognized by the Council— and we’re looking to settle down somewhere. Put down roots. All of our packmates are of the warrior class. We have a lot to bring to the table.” Years ago he’d had nothing to offer her. At least now he was more than a lone mongrel with no pack and no real money, trying to win her heart. “What do you want in exchange for your protection?” “A place to live and work peacefully.” “What about the males of your pack? I don’t know anything about them. Are they trustworthy?” He understood what she was asking even though she didn’t spell it out. “I respect man’s laws and the Council’s laws. No female will be forced into any union they don’t want.” N She relaxed against the couch and absently tapped her

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 1616 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM ALPHA INSTINCT 17

fi nger against the armrest. “I’ll need time to think about this.” “There is one more thing. If we do this, you’ll no longer be known as the Cordona pack. We will all unite as the Arm- strong pack.” Her head tipped slightly to the side and her luscious mouth pulled into a thin line. “Like you said, if we do this— and that’s a big if— we’ll be called the Armstrong- Cordona pack.” It wasn’t a question. He looked at his brother, who grinned slightly and nodded. Connor had known she wouldn’t acquiesce that easily. Something deep inside him had always told him he’d run his own pack one day. Now he understood it was his inner wolf, his Alpha begging to get out. While he might not have liked her old man, the name Cordona was still hers, and linking their names wasn’t exactly a hardship. If it got her to accept his protection, he’d do it. “Fine. I also have another stipula- tion. If and when we combine, I take the mate of my choosing. Immediately.” Ana’s dark eyes fl ashed with something he couldn’t put his fi nger on, but then it was gone. “I’m surprised you’re not mated by now. No one will be forced, but my sisters and cousins have all grown into beautiful women. I don’t think you’ll have any problem convincing—” “Ana, I don’t think you understand what I’m saying. You are mine.” He hated thinking that she’d been mated to another wolf, but at least they hadn’t been bondmates. If they had been, she’d still carry his mark and possibly his scent. Sometimes even death couldn’t wipe away a bondmate’s scent. Though her mate was now dead, Connor wanted to bury whoever he was all over again. No one else would ever touch what was his. N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 1717 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 18 KATIE REUS

Her head snapped back up. He wanted to kick himself at the way he’d spoken to her, but he couldn’t take back the words now. She was his. It was about damn time she fi gured that out. “I don’t understand. You want to mate with me?” The question came out breathy and seductive as hell. And laced with shock. He couldn’t ignore the not-so-subtle wave that rolled off her. Even Liam raised his eyebrows at his bluntness and found a spot on the coffee table to stare at. Connor ignored his brother. He had to refrain from growl- ing as he stared at Ana. “I want you as my bondmate.” That got her attention. Her spine went ramrod straight. Plenty of shifters mated but they didn’t all bond. Mated shifters could leave if they wanted to, much like how humans divorced one another. Bonding united their kind for life. Even if one of them wanted to leave, they’d be marked and another wolf wouldn’t touch either one of them. It was a big decision and one he knew she wouldn’t make lightly. But when he took her as his mate he wanted her completely. “Bondmate?” The word sounded almost angry. He abruptly stood. “I don’t expect your answer right away. We’ll let ourselves out, but we’ll be back in the morning to introduce everyone.” Frowning, she nodded. Once they were outside, Liam punched his arm. And not softly. He glared at him. “What are you, twelve?” he muttered. “What the hell was that?” his brother growled. Connor shrugged and ignored the heated look his brother shot him. “I laid out the stipulations.” N “That was not part of the plan. You were supposed to give

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 1818 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM ALPHA INSTINCT 19

her a chance to warm up to the idea of mating with you. Then you were going to ask that she bond. Not demand it. Damn it, Connor. You’re such a fucking Neanderthal.” He clenched his jaw. It probably wasn’t the best decision he’d ever made, but as far as he was concerned his brother was lucky he’d shown as much control as he had. Ana and her family had rejected him once, but things had fi nally come full circle. It might be selfi sh to demand her submission now when she was at her weakest, but he couldn’t walk away from her. Not again. “What’s done is done. Let’s go check on the men.” His brother muttered something about him being a stubborn asshole, but continued walking with him. The memory of Ana’s sweet scent and the shock in her wide brown eyes rolled over him. He should have eased her into things, but walking away right now was taking all the restraint he pos- sessed. The wolf inside him wanted to take her hard and rough, then soft and gentle. For hours. Until neither of them could walk or think straight. The houses and cabins surrounding the ranch fanned out in a circle around the main house. They were far enough apart that the pack members had some privacy, but close enough that they could alert one another if there was trouble. It was like a little village. Liam nudged him and nodded toward one of the distant fi elds. “Hey, what—” They both paused as an orange ball lit up the sky. “Fire!”

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 1919 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM CHAPTER 2

Connor’s heart pounded an erratic tattoo against his chest as he raced back for the main house. He banged on the front door, then opened it. From the entryway Analena glared at him. “What the—” “Fire. In the west fi eld. Not close to the buildings, but that could change.” Wordlessly she turned and fl ed up the stairs. Seconds later she came barreling back down with her two sisters, Noel and Carmen. Erin wasn’t too far behind. “What precautions do you have set up?” he asked as they jogged toward the barn housing the horses. “I’ve got a stockade of fi re extinguishers and blankets in the barn. If the fi re gets out of control, we’ve got vehicles prepared to transport the animals.” “Good. I’m going to get Liam.” Nodding, she didn’t break stride as she headed for the barn. He’d sent his brother to round up the rest of his pack. At least the wind had shown mercy on them and died down. N Despite the slightly damp ground, he’d noticed how thick her

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 2020 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM ALPHA INSTINCT 21

pasture was. The recently wet weather had probably pre- vented her from doing contained burns earlier in the year. A fi re could still lap up this foliage. And fast. One shift in the wind and the now small fi re could spread out of control all the way to the mountains. He couldn’t let that happen. He’d come here to take care of her, and that was what he was going to do. As he neared the cabins on the south end of the circle, Liam and his seven men streamed out, half- dressed. “They’ve got fi re extinguishers in the barn. Grab a couple each.” He turned on his heel after shouting the order. His guys wouldn’t need to be told twice. He risked a quick glance in the direction of the fi eld as he sprinted toward the barn. Flames painted the fi eld in a bath of orange and yellow, but it didn’t look out of control yet. When he raced inside, he found Carmen and Noel passing extinguishers to their packmates. Wordlessly each female took one and raced out the other end of the building. They were like a well- oiled machine. “Give me two and give my guys two,” he said as Carmen handed him one. Ana wasn’t anywhere to be seen, so he guessed she was already at the fi re. Panic bubbled inside him but he forced it back down. This fi re wasn’t an accident. If he had to guess, he’d say that bastard Taggart had set it. Maybe in an attempt to scare him off, or maybe as punishment for Ana. He didn’t know and he didn’t care. This type of shit wasn’t going to happen under his watch. Whoever had set it better pray they weren’t still hanging around. If he scented anyone who didn’t belong, they were going to pay tonight. His boots pounded over the grass. As he neared the fi re, his N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 2121 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 22 KATIE REUS

spirits lifted a fraction. The women had formed a giant half circle and started dousing the blaze. It had grown to the size of a small swimming pool, but it was fairly well contained. As he raced around to the other side and unleashed a stream of white foam from an extinguisher, he realized Ana wasn’t there. He couldn’t see in the pitch- black, but thanks to his extrasensory abilities he could see better than humans. Though he didn’t want to leave, he set the extinguisher down and hurried away from the fi re when he spotted Ana racing across the dark fi eld. Still in her human form, she was full- out sprinting toward the fence line. That’s when he scented it. Someone who didn’t belong. Defi nitely male. And he was close. Danger. Something deep and primal inside Connor fl ared to life. Protect Ana. The two words sounded in his head like a gong. He had to protect his mate. At this point semantics didn’t matter. She might not be mated to him, but his inner wolf would protect her at all costs. His canines started to lengthen but he willed himself not to shift forms. Not until he understood the situation. “Ana!” he called her name as he ran after her. She glanced over her shoulder at him but barely paused. Now he was thirty yards from her. Panic surged through him. What the hell was she doing? Didn’t she smell the threat? As he covered the distance between them he spotted a pair of glowing amber eyes in the forest. The animal hovered just inside the tree line to the east. It was far enough away that it couldn’t attack Ana, but he didn’t care. A feral growl tore from his throat. The sound was foreign N even to him.

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 2222 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM ALPHA INSTINCT 23

Twenty yards and closing. “Damn it, Ana! Stop!” To his surprise she jerked to a halt. Because of his command? He wasn’t sure. As he came up to her, she didn’t turn to look at him. “What the hell are you doing, woman?” he barked. “Adalita,” she said softly, still not glancing at him. “What?” “There.” She nodded to the west, right by the tree line, but didn’t make any sudden movements. A brown horse whinnied and kept trotting back and forth nervously. Connor had been so focused on Ana and the threat that he hadn’t noticed the other animal. “She’s my horse and she was locked up earlier,” Ana continued. The nervous, almost pained note in her voice told him a lot. She truly cared about this animal. “Stay here,” he murmured, and headed toward it. “No.” She grasped his upper arm tightly. “She might run from you.” “Trust me, okay?” He looked into her dark eyes. She opened her mouth once as if to argue but nodded. It was a small act but it touched him that she was putting her trust in him. “I saw a wolf to the east of us. It’s probably one of Taggart’s and I think it’s gone, but don’t go anywhere.” Without waiting for a response he strode toward Ana’s horse. Keeping his movements steady but casual, he quickly breached the distance. Adalita pounded her hoof against the ground twice, as if ready to charge, but the closer he got, the calmer she became. Animals had an innate sense of survival. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her. By now she was obviously used to the scent N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 2323 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 24 KATIE REUS

of lupine shifters. Connor murmured soothing sounds until he stood directly in front of her. He reached out his palm and let her smell him. When she didn’t bolt, he gently petted her, then loosely grabbed her mane. Without bothering to get on her back he hurried the horse back toward Ana, who hadn’t moved. “Thank you. I—” “Ride her back to the barn.” “What?” “I don’t know if Taggart or his wolves are still in the woods. Now ride.” He could barely think straight, knowing danger lurked so close to them. To her. She wanted to argue. He could see it in the stubborn set of her jaw, but she did as he said. Part of him knew he needed to stop with the demands, but he didn’t want to waste time worrying about being polite when all he cared about was getting her to safety. As Ana rode back to the barn, he ran toward the fi re. Flames still licked into the sky, but the extinguishers did their job. After what felt like an eternity they managed to douse the fl ames. Tonight could have gone a lot different if not for Ana’s preparedness. He couldn’t help but be impressed by how quickly she and all the women had acted. Even if he hadn’t been there the Cordona women would have had no problem taking care of the fi re. Of course, it never should have happened in the fi rst place. The dwindling smoke curled into the cold night air, wrapping around all of them. The chemical scent of accelerant was unmistakable. Whoever had set this hadn’t tried to cover it. Even a human could smell the kerosene permeating the air. N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 2424 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM ALPHA INSTINCT 25

He stiffened as Ana circled around her packmates, heading straight for him. His heart beat faster and he had to contain the lust fl ow- ing through him. He didn’t want to scare her even more. She stopped a foot away from him. Her dark eyes were expressionless. “I’ll do it.” “What?” He frowned, unsure what she referred to. “I’ll mate with you on a temporary basis. If it’ll save my pack I’ll do almost anything. I just can’t agree to be your bondmate. I’m sorry, Connor. We haven’t seen each other in decades, and I—” She shook her head and her voice broke on the last word. Her normally silvery voice was distant, remote, and it clawed at his insides. Not exactly what he’d wanted to hear. And it was his own damn fault. He should have romanced her, courted her, like she deserved. Taken things slow. Told her how he really felt about her and why he’d left all those years ago. Instead he’d barged in like a jackass and made demands. After what had happened she’d probably agree to mate with just about anyone who wasn’t Taggart, to save her pack. Shame burned through him like swift, hot lava at the way he’d pushed her into that proverbial corner, but he couldn’t take back what he’d said. Demanded. If he was honest with himself, he didn’t know that he wanted to. Part of him— a very selfi sh part— knew that if he pushed her now he could probably get her to agree to be his bondmate. But the human part that deeply cared for her won out and he kept his mouth shut. Despite his better judgment, he slipped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. She didn’t look at him, but kept her face against his chest. She felt so fragile in his embrace. It killed him to think she’d been by herself the past N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 2525 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 26 KATIE REUS

couple months, taking care of her pack without any help. And he couldn’t understand why she hadn’t contacted him. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled her fresh scent. This close to her, it overpowered the smoke. “Ana, are you sure? I . . .” I’ll protect you anyway. The words were on the tip of his tongue. He shouldn’t have made those demands, but he couldn’t squeeze out the words. He was a selfi sh bastard. He’d wanted her for so long, the need nearly smothered him sometimes. Instead, he wrapped his other arm around her and pulled her into a tight hug. She stiffened for an instant before slipping her arms around his waist and returning his embrace. That small gesture of surrender turned him inside out. Her fi ngers dug into his back with surprising intensity, and he wondered how long it had been since she’d let someone hold her. The mere thought of someone else comforting her sent another dagger through his chest. After a long moment, she looked up at him. There was a fl icker of something in her dark eyes that he didn’t recognize. Wasn’t sure he wanted to. Finally she spoke and her voice was soft. “I’m sure. I’ll be proud to call you my mate.” Something foreign pushed up inside him. He was a mongrel who’d been roaming the globe since his parents died more than a century ago. After his father had shamed their family by not protecting what was his, he and Liam had been thrust out into the world on their own and with nothing. She shouldn’t be proud, especially when she deserved better. Hell, she was probably saying what she thought he wanted to hear. Swallowing hard, he reluctantly released her. “I’ll make the announcement in the morning. Have your she- wolves meet in the barn at seven.” N She dipped her head in acknowledgment and stepped out

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 2626 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM ALPHA INSTINCT 27

of his embrace. As he looked around the quiet circle of wolves, he realized kerosene and smoke weren’t the only things he smelled. Desire and hunger rolled off most of his pack. As long as it wasn’t directed at Ana, he didn’t care. He might be their Alpha, but they’d all agreed to come here after a vote. His guys had all been loners for decades until he and his brother had convinced each of them to form a new pack. A stronger pack. Settling here and taking mates was the best thing for all of them if they wanted to fl ourish.

Teresa, Ana’s cousin, stretched out on Ana’s bed and put her hands behind her head. “You think Carmen and Noel can hear us?” Ana rolled her eyes as she pictured her two sisters as she’d left them, drinking wine and munching on salty popcorn. “No. They’re downstairs, watching one of those stupid reality shows.” Her cousin grinned. “They’re worse than my sisters— but that’s not what you want to talk about. Since you and I both know we could have handled that fi re on our own, I can’t believe you actually agreed to mate with Connor Armstrong.” Ana scowled at her as she paced at the end of the bed. “This isn’t about the damn fi re and you know it. Things have been escalating, so what choice do I have?” “We could contact the Council and tell them about Tag- gart’s harassment.” There was no fi re behind Teresa’s words and Ana knew why. “Great idea. And then what? They’ll send an investigator down here and likely fi nd him guilty. I’m sure there’s at least one female in his pack willing to testify against him, in addition to me.” N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 2727 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 28 KATIE REUS

Teresa raised both her eyebrows. “Those females are so weak and brainwashed, I doubt it.” “Whatever. Speaking hypothetically, say he’s punished— and probably executed. You know what will happen after that. The enforcer will clean up his mess, but instead of being free we’re the ones who will get the shaft. Not right away, but eventually it will happen unless one of us mates with an Alpha.” Some days she hated pack law so much she wanted to run screaming to the humans to intervene, but she knew that would cause more trouble. Humans didn’t understand anything about their laws and would just make everything worse. And the Council wouldn’t allow her to remain in control indefi nitely if she came running to them with every little problem. Even if Taggart was out of the way, she knew another pack would come sniffi ng around, wanting to take their land under the guise of protection. Most Alphas would take no for an answer and leave her alone. But all it would take was one land- hungry Alpha challenging her for control of the Cordona pack, and there would be no one to stand up for her family. She could appeal to the Council if they didn’t want to assimilate with that pack, but they’d have to make a choice on who they wanted as their leader. Or they could just sell their land. Without valuable property, neither she nor her pack would be of any interest to other packs. Absolutely archaic and total bullshit, but that’s just the way it was. And while she hated some of the laws, she loved the others. Hav- ing the protection of a strong pack meant sleeping soundly at night and not worrying about survival. Their rules dated back thousands of years and though one day they might change, it wouldn’t be now. Hell, their own North American Council had been around only forty years, and that semi- N unifi cation was a pretty big, civilized step for their kind.

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 2828 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM ALPHA INSTINCT 29

They’d been created to keep communication open between packs and to protect packs in positions such as hers. Without them she’d have had no one to turn to in this kind of situation. “I know,” Teresa muttered. “It’s just . . . I don’t like the thought of you sacrifi cing yourself to be Connor’s mate.” To her horror, Ana’s cheeks heated up. Her traitorous body fl ared to life at the thought of mating with him. Her breasts were suddenly heavy as she pictured what he could do with those strong, callused hands. The mere thought of him rubbing his palms over her breasts and . . . “Woman, I don’t even want to know what you’re thinking about.” Teresa sat up and brought her knees to her chest, a wicked grin on her face. Ana cleared her throat and tried to get her lust under control. Now was so not the time for this. And the mating would be only temporary. Her pack needed an Alpha until she could fi gure out what else she could do. She couldn’t keep warding off Taggart forever, and soon someone could truly get hurt because of him. If anything happened to one of her sisters— or any of her pack— she’d never forgive herself if she thought she could have done something about it. “Connor’s offer is a good one. At least we know him and his brother, and if the Council has offi cially recognized them it means they have the fi nancial wherewithal to support all of us.” “Yeah, I guess.” Teresa pushed off the bed and stood. “Sleep on it and we’ll tell your sisters in the morning, unless you change your mind by then.” She gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving. After she’d gone, Ana stripped out of her clothes and fell onto her bed. Sleep on it. Good advice, but it wasn’t going to happen. Not with Connor in the same vicinity. Every time N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 2929 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 30 KATIE REUS

she closed her eyes all she could picture was that ruggedly handsome face, his broad shoulders, strong arms . . . Groan- ing, she turned over and screamed into her pillow. It was going to be an annoyingly long night.

Lounging casually on the bench outside the Native American gift shop, Chuck took a long drag of his cigarette. He savored the smell and taste of tobacco. Darkness had fallen early, but downtown Fontana, North Carolina, was lit up like a fucking Christmas tree. Literally. Twinkle lights were strung up around most of the light poles in the historic downtown. Everything about Fontana was quaint, picturesque. Boring. Nestled between the Beech Mountain and Sugar Mountain ski resorts, it was almost identical to the other mountain towns. Christmas was almost two months away but store- fronts already had holiday scenes in the windows, and joyful, annoying music blared most of the day. The place was too damn peaceful, too cheerful. It was like the people didn’t realize a revolution was coming. What would it take for them to get it? When the streets were decorated with blood and bodies they would. Then it would be too late. Two different packs of fucking shifter animals lived right on the outskirts of town and people didn’t care. Most were even friendly to them. It was insane. Even more insane than all the interracial couples he saw lately. That shit just seemed to fl ood television and movies. Tainting the pure white blood- line of their ancestors with fi lth. People were so immune to it that nothing fazed them anymore. So why should a group of freaks who could turn into animals be any different? Amer- N ica had turned into the land of pussies.

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 3030 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM ALPHA INSTINCT 31

He took another drag of his cig and glanced away when a young white couple strolled by, walking a yappy little dog. The dog was a waste of space, but at least they were dating their own race. All the stores were closing, so most people were down a few blocks where the restaurants were, but he didn’t want to chance getting noticed. Chuck knew he looked casual enough. Wearing jeans and a dark blue hoodie thick enough to block him from the icy wind, he fi t in perfectly. And the gloves he wore weren’t out of place. It was too cold not to be wearing them. His phone buzzed in his pocket. When he saw the number he rolled his eyes. This jackass was constantly checking up on him. Chuck could barely stand to look at Adler and his nasty burned face, but the older man was technically his boss. He wasn’t a high- ranking leader in the Antiparanormal League but he was still one of their local leaders. And if Chuck was honest, the man scared the shit out of him sometimes. He answered the throwaway phone on the third ring, knowing the delay would annoy Adler. “Yeah?” “Is it done?” “No. The bitch is still closing up shop.” “Don’t kill her!” Adler’s gravelly voice was condescending. Chuck gritted his teeth. He already knew that. But because Adler’s boss was breathing down his neck to grab this woman meant Chuck had to take fl ack from Adler. “I know. I don’t need a fucking babysitter. I told you I could handle this and I can. It’s just one old woman.” “This is your fi rst assignment. Don’t get too cocky.” But it wasn’t. Not by a long shot, he thought with a grin. Just his fi rst with the APL. “If you have so many doubts why didn’t you do this yourself?” Chuck asked the question even though he already knew the answer. With his scarred face it N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 3131 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 32 KATIE REUS

was diffi cult for Adler to blend in anywhere. People would remember him. That’s why Chuck had been sent. “Remember who you’re talking to, son.” The deadly edge to Adler’s voice sent an unexpected chill up his spine. Chuck cursed his fear and he cursed the man on the other end of the line for instilling it in him. He’d seen what Adler did to people who failed him— and to women in general. The man was a misogynist of the worst kind. He didn’t even like white women. Something Chuck didn’t understand. Women were great, all softness and femininity, as long as they were white. Adler didn’t seem to think so, though. He hated them all. Fucking idiot. And he wanted to tell him how to do his job? He cleared his throat. “No disrespect, sir. I’ll call you when I have her.” As they disconnected, the lights to the store dimmed. Finally. How long did it take to close up her pathetic little shop? He glanced to the left and right. There weren’t any locals or tourists strolling by. Tourists didn’t venture into town after dark anyway. They usually spent most of their time at the big ski lodge a few miles down the road. The Indian woman, or Native American or whatever they called themselves now, fl icked a quick glance in his direction as she stepped outside and locked her door. Her long, dark braid hung down her back. His free hand balled into a fi st. With hair like that it would be easy to restrain her if she tried to run. Holding her purse tightly against her side, she hurried down the sidewalk in the direction opposite the restaurants. He’d been watching her for a couple days, so he knew where she usually parked. N Tossing away his cigarette, he stood and kept pace a few

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 3232 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM ALPHA INSTINCT 33

yards behind her. His rubber- soled shoes were silent against the icy sidewalk. They’d salted the ground earlier, so it was easy to keep up. His heart pounded against his ribs as he closed in on her. Withdrawing his KA-BAR, he drew in a quiet, cold breath. He was so close he could reach out and touch her. The old woman didn’t even know he was there. A powerful wave of adrenaline hummed through him. This must be what those aberrations felt like when they hunted someone. Powerful. It felt good, fi lling him with an almost superhuman strength. Being the hunter was so much better than being the prey. As she neared the end of the string of shops she started to turn toward him. They weren’t going to kill her— at fi rst— but he couldn’t risk her seeing him. Lunging, he slammed her face- fi rst against the brick wall. Pressing his knife into her neck, he didn’t say a word. He loathed being this close to her but he didn’t have a choice. To his surprise she didn’t cower in fear. Flailing and struggling against his hold, she screamed. Loud and long. The piercing sound burned his ears. “Hey!” A hostile male voice from behind him startled him into action. Shit! Grabbing the back of her head, he slammed it into the wall. Adler wanted her alive, but she wouldn’t shut up. This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. She was old and he had a knife. She cried out again so he slammed her again. This time she crumpled. “I’m calling the police!” This time the male voice was louder, closer. He didn’t turn around because he didn’t want anyone to see his face. As the woman slumped to the ground he grabbed her N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 3333 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 34 KATIE REUS

deposit bag and sprinted down the street. Since he’d been noticed, he needed this to look like a robbery, nothing more. Adler would defi nitely kill him if anything got traced back to the APL. The police reacted fairly fast in this small town, so he had to hurry. As he neared the end of the block he took a sharp left, then stripped off his hoodie and tossed it into some bushes. His long- sleeved orange shirt was a far cry from the dark sweater. Only now did he risk a glance behind him. No one had followed him, but he kept running. He’d parked his car a few blocks over and he needed to make it there fast. Adler was going to be pissed that he’d failed. That thought alone caused another surge of panic to hum through him. Chuck had done a lot worse to stronger people. Why the hell had he gotten so cocky just because she was old? He’d been so focused on grabbing her that everything else around him had funneled out. That wouldn’t happen again. No matter what, he was going to get his target in the end. He always did.

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 3434 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM DIRE NEEDS

A Novel of the Eternal Wolf Clan by Stephanie Tyler

Available now in paperback from Signet Eclipse

Feared by humans, envied by werewolves, the Dire Wolves are immortal shifters, obeying no laws but their own bes- tial natures. Once there were many, but now only six remain, a dangerous wolf pack forever on the hunt . . .

Rifter leads the pack, embracing the lifestyle and ethics of an outlaw biker even as he battles an ancient enemy who has become a new, powerful force. But with his Brother Wolf raging inside him, howling to be unleashed, he needs to satisfy his hungers. And when he meets a drop- dead gorgeous blonde drinking alone in a bar that caters to both human and nonhumans, Rifter’s primal instinct is to claim her. Gwen has her own desires, long unfulfi lled. She hopes a passionate night with the leather- clad, Harley- riding biker will ease her suffering. The seizures that have racked her body her entire life are incurable— and they’re killing her. But none of that will matter if Rifter can’t stop the N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 3535 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM growing threat to them all— trappers who are determined to enslave humankind and use the Dire Wolves as part of their nefarious plan.

“ Fast- paced, dark, and wickedly edgy.” —Larissa Ione, New York Times bestselling author of Immortal Rider

“A unique, fresh spin on shape shifter romance.” —Maya Banks, New York Times bestselling author of Whispers in the Dark

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 3636 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM Horatio: O day and night, but this is wondrous strange! Hamlet: And therefore as a stranger give it welcome. There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

—WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, HAMLET

For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.

—RUDYARD KIPLING, THE JUNGLE BOOK

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 3737 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 3838 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM CHAPTER 1

Rifter needed a woman, Brother Wolf needed to run wild, and their appetites for sex and destruction mingled, rose with a hot howl as Rifter’s Harley roared through the winter night. Both knew which appetite would have to be sated fi rst— the fucking; then the running. Rifter and his wolf were usually on the same page in that regard. Tonight was no different, and he slammed his Harley to a stop in front of Bite, one of the many bars along the strip, because he smelled danger. He stomped inside, ignoring the way the room stilled and everyone turned to watch him. After hundreds of years, that shit got old, and he was well aware of what he looked like. He was also well aware that no one in this room would want to be him, if given the chance. He could only pray no one ever would be put in that position again. No, he was already part of a pack of the last six living Dire wolves, who cursed their immortality and wore their ferocity on their sleeves because they literally had nothing to lose. Created by Hati, son of a Norse god, and watched over by a mystical clan of Elders, Rifter was six feet eight inches of N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 3939 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 40 STEPHANIE TYLER

raw muscle and more than seven feet, three hundred pounds when he was Brother Wolf, which explained the pain of the transition.. Brother Wolf was part of him— when he was driving the ship, Rifter could request things, and vice versa, but they were both equal in power. It was the only way they could inhabit one body. He had a great deal of respect for his wolf, knew what Brother needed and when he needed it. Brother did the same for him. If one of them died, the other would too. We should be that lucky, he thought, and Brother howled in response inside his head, reminding him of why they’d come here in the fi rst place. Brother Wolf’s biggest goal— beyond chasing moons— was to become Father Wolf. That could happen only by mating, and that shit was not happening anytime soon. Rifter’s main goal was to die, but again, he’d be waiting on that one forever. One of the female Weres, laced into a black bustier, caught up to him when he was halfway to the bar and rubbed her body against his. “Where’ve you been, Rift?” she purred. “Prison,” he said as he pushed past her, semidisgusted that his response seemed to turn her on. Prison couldn’t hold Rifter and Brother Wolf, and God knew humans had tried more than once over the last centuries. He took in the human motorcycle gang and the pack of wolves who’d started their own version of Hells Angels, only far more deadly, and then his nose led him to the young woman sitting alone at the bar. She was doing shots and swaying to the music, and she’d caught the bikers’ attention— human and wolf— neither of which was a good thing. N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 4040 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM DIRE NEEDS 41

He knew immediately from the rumblings that she’d been here too long. Typically, the wolves stayed among their own, but lately, they’d been mixing it up with the locals, and that wasn’t going over all that well with the weretrappers. This bar was owned and operated by a Were— but catered to humans as well. The thing was, most humans beyond the weretrappers didn’t believe that Weres existed at all, and the Weres and the Dires had been able to pass as full human for as long as they could remember. He could deal with a fi ght to get his blood going. But fi rst things fi rst. He moved next to her, watched her turn to him, look up at him. Her eyes widened— appreciation rather than fear, and yeah, what the hell? “You’re not in a good place,” he growled over the music. “I’ve got a seat at the bar— that’s the best place,” she told him, not slurring her words yet, but by the way she was motioning to the bartender, she’d fi nd herself doing so soon enough. She was human and he was drawn to her. Making sure she’s safe. Right, because he was a goddamned Boy Scout. He didn’t give a shit about humans— those who knew about the existence of Weres were either terrifi ed, or idiot groupies, or hunting his kind. The wider the berth, the safer for all involved. But there was something that yanked him to her, a zing right to his cock that had him by her side, watching her lick the salt from her hand, down the tequila and suck on the lemon while staring at him with green eyes that were far from innocent. “I’m Gwen,” she said, her voice all hot and smoky sound- N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 4141 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 42 STEPHANIE TYLER

ing even though there wasn’t a cigarette in sight. She leaned back and stared at him again and let a smile tug one corner of her lips. “Rifter.” He knew she wanted to comment on the name, but she didn’t. Instead, she reached out and played with a zipper on his black leather jacket, then let a long fi nger roam over the soft, smooth fabric. He could picture the black against her creamy skin. “I want to wear this,” she murmured. “Later. Naked,” he told her and she stared at him, her neck graceful, her body more so, and she looked like some kind of aristocrat, like she should be in a ballroom instead of here. But she was here. There would be no female Weres for him tonight, even though more were already circling. He picked up on the low growls, because Dires never went for humans. Everyone was confused, and he was president of the club. He expected this to be all over fucking Facebook within the hour. “I want to take you home,” he emphasized, in case the naked part hadn’t been enough of a clue. Have to. Need to. Fuck, he felt like dropping to his knees and howling and it had nothing to do with the full moon. She tilted her head and continued to study him. “I’m not into anything beyond sex.” Blunt for sure, but he had to make that clear. A small smile played on her lips. “Don’t worry— I won’t be around long enough to stalk your tall ass.” “You’re moving?” “Dying.” Rifter froze and she shrugged. “You’re not going to let a little thing like that stop you from coming home with N me, right?”

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 4242 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM DIRE NEEDS 43

“You’re joking.” “No, I don’t joke about death. Well, that’s not true— I’m a doctor— we have to. Gallows humor keeps us from getting too emotional.” “You’re dying and so you’ve decided to pick up strange men in dangerous bars.” “It’s like one of those bad game- show questions— if you found out you only had a short time left to live, what would you do?” She laughed but there was little humor behind it. “I have no idea what I want to do, besides not die.” She looked healthy to him— healthy and beautiful, with long blond hair, wearing leather, and she did fi t in here, in a weird way. And Christ, he could think of nothing more he wanted to do than die. I-fucking-ronic, as Vice would say. “How long do you have?” “At least through the night. And it’s not catching,” she added as an afterthought. “Are you worth it?” He didn’t know how the hell to answer that. So he did so truthfully. “Hell yes.” “Then let’s go.” Rifter checked to see if Vice was hanging around, because women sometimes acted this way with his packmate, who was a walking ball of sin. But no, Vice was nowhere in sight and everyone was antsy. Goddamned full fucking moon. Like a bitch with a whip. He didn’t bother to fi ght the urge to pick her up, and he slung her over his shoulder, caveman- style, grabbing her jacket off the back of her chair. He heard her startled, soft gasp, but she didn’t protest as he walked out with her, daring any of the wolves to follow him. They all knew what he was— they may not like him, but they sure as hell knew to respect his power. N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 4343 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 44 STEPHANIE TYLER

When he got to his bike, he set her down and handed her the coat. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders, her black tank top had ridden up a little along her belly and her cheeks fl ushed from the cold. “Thanks for the ride.” “That was nothing.” She refused the helmet he offered, instead wrapping her arms around as much of his waist as she could, and off they went. Normally, he didn’t give a shit about the icy roads, but his passenger wasn’t as indestructible as he was. Though he gave the bike lots of gas, he didn’t get stupid on icy corners and snowy shoulders. After a while, she was no longer holding on and had put her hands in the air, yelling into the wind. He went faster because it seemed to excite her. When he stopped in front of her house, a pretty little Vic- torian in the middle of nowhere, she hopped off and he followed her as she walked up the path. Before she could get to the door, he took her arm and pulled her close and brought his mouth down on hers before he could stop himself. She tasted like sugar and cranberries— tart and sweet— and he wanted more. Wanted it all, and Brother Wolf seemed to agree, as he was ignoring the running in favor of letting Rifter take his time. When he pulled back, her lips were swollen and she was breathing hard and he was glad about that. “Every guy in that bar wanted to take you home tonight. Why me?” Her eyes fl icked over him coolly. “You were the biggest.” He couldn’t tell if she was joking.

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 4444 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM CHAPTER 2

Gwen wasn’t. He was huge. Really freaking huge— built like a brick shithouse, long, shaggy blond hair, hard jaw, cut cheekbones and those eyes— holy hell, they were gorgeous. Gray and blue and black and brown, all speckled like a kalei- doscope that could pull her really far in. She’d more than noticed him when he’d walked in— no, she’d felt him. Rifter. Even the name tugged at her. He wouldn’t be gentle, and she was so tired of being treated carefully. She just needed to get through the next few hours without a seizure. “Just give me a few minutes, okay?” she asked, and he nodded, his gaze raking over her as he stripped off his leather jacket and threw it across her couch. Looked between it and her, and my God, she already felt naked. He made her already small house seem like it was made for dolls, but somehow, she’d fi t against him surprisingly well, despite the height difference. Her lips felt well kissed and her body strummed in anticipation of more. “Just a minute,” she repeated and backed out of the room N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 4545 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 46 STEPHANIE TYLER

before she stripped down and jumped him. A little tequila and all her carefully held self- control obviously had disinte- grated. In the privacy of her bedroom, she downed a couple of extra pills, the newest in a long line prescribed by the neuro, but they wouldn’t work. None of them ever worked for long, which was why she’d had to choose between med school and having a life. Well, more so than the average med student, because the damned seizures got in the way of everything and the meds made her stupid or silly or sleepy. She was tempted to throw them away, but then function- ing would be gone. She was already living with a death sentence, so why make it harder? God, the morning’s neuro appointment couldn’t have been any worse. She’d demanded the truth and she’d gotten it. “The seizures will kill you,” he’d said. “You’re close to OD’ing on the meds and they’re not helping. The activity is everywhere. I’ve never seen anything like it.” The MRI fi lm left little doubt: The length and increasing severity of each episode debilitated her— inside her brain was the perfect storm of electrical impulses. “Feel free to use my case as a write-up,” she’d told him, and the doctor’s mouth had twisted in empathy and pain. He’d been frank but not unsympathetic. She’d gone straight to the bar from the consult. Tomorrow, she’d go back to work for a twenty- four- hour shift because what else was she supposed to do? Stay in bed with this man for the next few weeks? She peeked out at Rifter, the breadth of his back taking her breath away. The leather jacket lay on her couch and she shivered, thinking about the way she’d be wearing it. N There were defi nitely worse ways to go.

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 4646 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM DIRE NEEDS 47

He was looking out the window, no doubt because there was nothing else to look at, unless he liked medical text- books. For the fi rst time, she saw her place through someone else’s eyes and realized how stark it was. The house was white walls, bare fl oors. Rented. Even the furniture wasn’t hers. The linens were bought on the cheap— without much thought, at the closest store when they’d had a sale. Everything was disposable because she never wanted to get that attached to anything— or even anyone, something she admitted to herself only in moments of extreme honesty— again. She didn’t want roommates— didn’t want to live in a dorm or an apartment with people. In the past years, being around them had made her feel crowded, like she wanted to jump out of her own skin. No, the only thing that had given her peace over the past years had been her daily runs. Sometimes she went twice, if only to feel the freedom of the wind on her face, the road before her open, her feet fl ying across the ground. She wondered what would happen if she simply continued running without looking back, running until she literally dropped. She’d lost so much and now she was literally losing time, sand through an hourglass that slipped through her hands no matter how tightly she fi sted it. And her house mocked her now, a blank slate, much like her life. She’d thrown herself into medicine, wanting a way to make people feel better in the way no doctor had ever really been able to help her. At fi rst, the seizures hadn’t been an issue. They’d been well controlled, almost suppressed while she was growing up, but when she’d hit twenty- one, they exploded, and four years later they were daily occurrences. She’d been so good— slept as much as she could, ate well, exercised. N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 4747 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 48 STEPHANIE TYLER

Being good was so overrated. No one ever looked back on their lives and thought, Well, at least I was good. She’d bet even Mother Teresa had regrets about that. And so, when she’d gone to the bar tonight, she’d been looking to feed those long- buried instincts, her nerve endings tingling as she’d downed the tequila, as if her body was thank- ing her for fi nally allowing it some enjoyment. How long had it been for her? Felt like forever since she’d had to choose between medicine and men. She couldn’t believe she was still a goddamned virgin. She’d made her bed and now she was so ready to undo it and experience it all. Funny thing— she didn’t feel like a virgin. It was like her body knew what it needed, and now that she was fi nally giving in to that baser set of pleasures, it would guide her with touchstones every step of the way, starting with the man she’d brought home. And so she went back out to Rifter. “Can I get you anything?” “You.” He tugged her to him without further preamble. She liked that— having spent her life dealing with logic and science, and with her disease these last years, it was wonder- ful simply to give in. Tonight she’d worn black leather pants, boots and a tight black top and had felt more like herself than she had in a long time. But now she just wanted skin to skin— needed to strip all the clothes off and roll around with this man. She reached up to twine her hands in his hair, pulling his face to hers for a kiss. He tasted better than any drug or drink— instant intoxi- cation. N His hands skimmed her body, cupped her breasts and

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 4848 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM DIRE NEEDS 49

then lifted her shirt and broke the kiss to pull it off her. It fl ew over her head with a soft breeze as his hands cupped her ass, his arousal thick against her belly. “Beautiful.” His voice was husky, and for a minute she was sure she couldn’t breathe, because he looked at her with such hunger . . . she’d never felt more wanted in her entire life. She tilted her head up, sure he would kiss her again, or touch her breasts, take her pants off before she got more fran- tic, but he didn’t. Instead, he tilted his head, but only to look at her strangely. Narrowed his eyes and moved his hands from her ass to her waist, as if holding her up. “I understand if you’re freaked. But I’m not going to die in bed with you. At least I don’t think so,” she muttered. “Death doesn’t scare me.” “I suspect not much does.” He nodded his agreement but he still didn’t move. It took her another thirty seconds to understand why, and by then it was far too late to stop anything.

Brother Wolf caught the scent fi rst— the bitter, cloying tang of trouble— and then Rifter smelled it as well. It was the odor of a shift from human to wolf form. But the shift wasn’t his, and Rifter went on full alert, a low growl rumbling up from his chest. He tensed, prepared to bolt outside to fi nd whatever stray wolf was prowling nearby, but a heartbeat later, Gwen collapsed in his arms and the scent dissipated. Brother Wolf howled, wanted to pace restlessly, and it was then that Rifter understood. Seizure. Shit, in all his years, had he really never been N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 4949 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 50 STEPHANIE TYLER

around a seizing human before to notice that a seizure smelled like a wolf shift? Quickly, he lowered her to the bed, kept her on her side facing him and watched her body struggle, fi ghting with itself for control. Gwen would hate him for witness- ing this, but he couldn’t leave her. And goddamn, that bothered the shit out of him, since he’d known this human for less than an hour. He looked toward the night table, checked the drawer as he kept a hand on her and rifl ed through the pill bottles, wondering if any of these might help. But Brother Wolf was calming down a little now, and Rifter hoped that was a good sign. She was still helpless— she probably hated that most of all. The only thing he could do to comfort her was sometimes not a comfort at all. He had the ability to dreamwalk, which made him a sort of human dream catcher by default. He could hold someone’s nightmare at bay or help them through it by absorbing the fear and pain. His curse alternately freaked and pissed off the Dires, and the Weres who knew about it. But his pull was strong and there wasn’t a whole hell of a lot his family of Dires could do about it when he would involuntarily walk through their dreams in order to capture their nightmares. The pack hated being so vulnerable to him, hated that he was forced to carry all their fears, but that had been his ability since he’d been born. He’d learned to deal with the bur- dens he carried and the fallout that came with them. As a child, he’d been confused by the ability, but as he got older, his mother explained, It’s a blessing. It was only before his Running that he’d been told that he’d actually been cursed with the ability, not born with it, and that he’d never be free N of it.

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 5050 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM DIRE NEEDS 51

Still, it helped him to keep track of what was happening in his pack. While Jinx didn’t love it, he was used to it— his own born ability of being able to talk to ghosts and helping them pass over into the spirit world meant someone was always fucking with his mind, and he would typically tell Rifter to just get the fuck out. Vice was usually too busy indulging in one of his vices to give a shit what Rifter did. The man was born with seven deadly sins rolled into one sinful-as-hell body that women and men— both human and wolf— couldn’t get enough of. And although he couldn’t be separated from the sins that ruled his life, his ability let him use those extremes to help others fi nd their balance. Stray’s dreams were almost completely quiet— centered more on hiding and being caught— and Rifter often wondered if he had the power to block Rifter from them, but he never asked. No, Stray was jumpy enough, having been found fi fty years earlier in some back alley. He’d been separated from the pack after what the Elders called the Extinction, when they had smote all living Dire wolves except for them during the Viking Age Extinction, and ended up nearly losing his mind from lack of pack company. These days, he spent most of his time hanging at the house, listing to old- school eighties metal and keeping up with the latest technology. But man, Rifter would let Stray have his back during a fi ght any damned time. If the man had an ability beyond being an immortal Dire, he hadn’t let anyone in on it, although Rifter had his suspi- cions. And then there was Rogue— Jinx’s twin, who could contact spirits. Rogue, who’d been captured months earlier by N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 5151 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 52 STEPHANIE TYLER

the weretrappers, a group not unlike homegrown terrorists who wanted to experiment on Weres and Dires. Lately, there were rumors that the trappers planned to clone the Weres for some kind of superarmy to use for their own purposes. The weretrappers were humans, but they’d made a deal with the witches— one of whom was Rifter’s former best friend, Seb, and now the trappers had some powerful spells on their side. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Rifter and the other Dires were charged with keeping the rest of the humans safe from the evil that could entail. But he didn’t want to think about Seb right now. Not when Rifter could close his eyes and still hear Rogue’s howls in the night. They’d gotten him back, but not until terrible things had been done to him. Rifter knew from personal experience what kinds of horrors the man and his wolf had endured. He’d been with Rogue that night six months earlier. Both had been captured and taken to separate cells. It took Rifter three weeks to escape and take Rogue with him. By that time, the man was a shell of his former self. Now Rogue remained in the attic of the house, as comfortable as they could make an immortal in a coma. Whether he would come out of it— and how he would be when he did— remained to be seen. Rogue’s mind was a terrifying blank, and Rifter couldn’t get inside, no matter how hard he tried. And then there was the one they rarely spoke of: Harm— aka Harmony— the Dire who could calm the masses or incite riots with his singing, who’d gone out on his own thousands of years earlier and most recently made a name for himself as N the unpredictable superstar singer of a rock band and who

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 5252 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM DIRE NEEDS 53

now lived as a recluse. Rifter would rip his fucking head off if he ever found the man— rip it off every day for the rest of his miserable life for the danger he’d put all of them in. Along with the six of them were the Weres they’d let into their Dire pack, mainly those who’d gone rogue from their own packs because they were too mean or rowdy or didn’t follow direction well . . . or they were still moon crazed, like the young twins Jinx had taken under his wing. They listened to the Dires. Had their backs. The Weres weren’t nearly as strong as the Dires, but they were formida- ble powers in their own right. And oh yeah, no female Dires, because there were none. The Extinction that occurred in the eleventh century, toward the end of the Viking Age had taken care of that, left the remaining male Dires with immortality and a shitload of gifts they did not want. The female Weres they hung with as part of their group were cool, and they could handle the Dires moderately well, sexually and otherwise, if they weren’t newly shifted. It took a hell of a lot for a Dire to be with a human. Rifter couldn’t remember the last time he’d let that happen but suspected it was right after he’d shifted for the fi rst time, the moon craze making him goddamned insane with lust and hunger, and Brother Wolf hadn’t had any measure of control either. Slowly, the two of them pulled back, got some form of mea- sured control and agreed to keep their shit together. Brother Wolf tugged— rightfully so, because Rifter was encroaching on his time— but he couldn’t leave Gwen now. She was still twitching, a restless combination of sleep and unconsciousness, and nowhere near peaceful. He remained fi rmly rooted in reality, not attempting to enter her dreams like he itched to. N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 5353 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 54 STEPHANIE TYLER

The dreamwalking had become worse in the months leading up to his capture. Since Rogue’s coma, it had only gone downhill. Rifter had always been able to control it, but lately, his own dreams had been stranger. He’d wake up speaking the old language, unable to remember where he’d been. The dreams were draining him. He wasn’t scared of anything, but they freaked him the fuck out. Jinx did what he could to help keep the dreams at bay, which included the use of Native American dream catchers, while Rifter actively tried not to sleep. Much. And even though he’d promised Jinx and the others that he wouldn’t do this because they couldn’t be sure the new dreams weren’t the insidious work of Seb and his witches, Rifter pulled off the dream- catcher necklace and put it around Gwen’s neck instead. Then he prepared to put himself in a danger he’d sworn not to. He closed his eyes, her hand in his large one, her skin soft and smooth and cool, and goddamn, it would feel good on his cock. But this wasn’t about him, and he had nothing but time, so he could afford to be magnanimous. He settled into a light sleep. The push into her subcon- scious wasn’t effortless, which was strange, because in her state, there should have been no resistance. But very few could resist him for long, especially humans. Finally he broke through and began the dreamwalk— a combination of actually walking through the person’s dreams and then infl uencing said dreams. A handy skill. Inside Gwen’s dreams, he got sucked into a swirling mass of terror and confusion and . . . hope. Strangely enough, there was more of that than anything. Rifter didn’t know how the hell it all worked, but some- N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 5454 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM DIRE NEEDS 55

how, with the dreamwalk, he was both by Gwen’s side physically while his dream self walked with Gwen inside her mind. In that dream state— suspended from the reality of her world— he took her away from the pain and fear and put his leather jacket on her, over her bra and underwear, even though she wouldn’t really feel the cold, and holy Mother of God, she looked fi ne. He almost stayed on the bed next to her, but instead, he put her back on his bike . . . and because they were in the dream, he rode faster than he ever would with her in real life. She laughed, her hands in the air the way they’d been before, and the vibrations rang through both like a fever. But Brother Wolf’s needs were becoming increasingly hard to ignore, what with the white round bitch hanging in the sky, and he needed to run. Had no choice but to take Gwen with him. Rifter’s skin tightened, and he didn’t fi ght the change from man to beast. He reveled in it. Letting the wolf take over was sometimes the easiest thing in the world . . . would be so damned easy to let him take over full- time. And so he was now Brother Wolf both in Gwen’s bedroom and in her dream, and Brother Wolf complied by keeping his paw on Gwen’s hand to not break Rifter’s way into her dream. In the dream, though, Brother Wolf was free, and he stopped and howled, and Gwen was watching warily. He smelled the fear on her skin, watched her face pale and her mouth gape in a frightened O, because, yeah, Brother Wolf was a big, scary- looking motherfucker, although a hell of a looker too. He shook his head and the fur around his neck shifted, and then he bared his neck and howled, his way of telling Gwen she was safe, although she wouldn’t know that. N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 5555 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 56 STEPHANIE TYLER

And obviously she didn’t because just then she backed up and began to run from him. He caught up to her and for a while they ran side by side, until he stopped smelling her fear . . . until he saw the smile on her face. Brother Wolf dusted up the leaves from the ground, and they swirled around their feet, crunching in the night. And when Brother Wolf sat, she even reached out— hesitantly— and patted his back. He gave a contented whimper in response. Bastard. It was after one in the morning when Brother Wolf con- ceded. Rifter stood naked in front of her as she lay on the forest ground on a blanket of old leaves untouched by the snow, thanks to the thick covering of trees. She could see pinpricks of moonlight coming from above, her body sated from the run. As she gazed at him as if he was the best thing she’d ever seen, it made him feel like beating his chest. Father Wolf, Brother Wolf whispered in his ear. His cock jutted out toward her, and in response she reached to unhook her bra and stripped it and her underwear and lay on the soft ground naked under the moonlight, waiting for him. In the dream state, he was supposed to lead her through a higher reality, a place she couldn’t get to herself. He wasn’t supposed to gain pleasure from it, but he couldn’t help himself, not when her nipples tightened into perfect buds the color of ripe berries, her breasts a little more than a handful. A perfect blond triangle between her legs. She had a runner’s body— lithe, long, fi nely muscled, and his hand dipped between her thighs, a fi nger exploring the wet heat. She would feel this to her core. Her hips already began to rock against his hand in response to his touch, her N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 5656 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM DIRE NEEDS 57

fi ngers moved across her belly and her body thrashed, this time for pure pleasure. He couldn’t remember wanting a woman this much. He wouldn’t take her like this, felt badly about doing this to her, but judging by the length of her orgasm, she needed it. She’d remember none of this— if she had a vague memory, she’d think it was a hot dream. He’d remember everything and it would haunt him for a hell of a long time.

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 5757 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM CHAPTER 3

Vice slammed into the bar, intent on fi nding the assholes who called themselves the outlaws and decided they could take over this town and fuck up the wolf thing. Stray was by his side, primed and ready for a beat- down. Separately, they were terror— together, fearsome, shit- kicking Dire wolves whose existence was a mix of myth and truth. The full moon tugged at them, a terrible, awesome pull, and they were more than ready to shift. Overdue. But the call had come in less then twenty minutes earlier, one of the local Were bartenders telling them about rumors of a fi ght brewing between two different werepacks. The weretrappers were circling, and it was up to the Dires, the fucking police of the Were world by default, to stop the trappers without getting themselves captured. The Dires, especially Vice and Stray, had been hunting down the outlaw wolf pack for days. The Dires tried not to get too involved in the werepack wars, but when Linus, the king alpha of the New York City pack, called them back from Europe six months earlier, the Dires willingly came to help N advise Linus and, if necessary, help quell the rebellion.

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 5858 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM DIRE NEEDS 59

Of course, that’s when Rifter and Rogue ran into their own trouble with the weretrappers. Linus had been able to quiet things down since the Dires returned, but obviously not enough. The king had been mur- dered by his own once loyal wolves days earlier, and now chaos ensued. Manhattan was in an uproar and Linus’s son was missing, rumored to have died at the hands of the same outlaw wolves. But as far as Vice could see, there were no outlaws in the bar and everyone appeared to be at peace. Well good for fucking them. “There are twenty weretrappers out back,” Stray reported as he stopped to smell the air, then muttered, “Suicide mission.” “I wish,” Vice muttered, stomping ahead. “Just gonna hurt like hell, and in the end, we’ll all still be alive.” “We’ve been wanted since what feels like the dawn of time— you’d think we’d be used to it by now,” Stray grumbled. Vice’s eyes glowed. “Let me take care of them once and for all.” “Rifter’ll kill you— just do what we came to do and let’s get the hell out.” Stray was never any goddamned fun. Then again, neither were the weretrappers, who were humans, armed to the hilt with all kinds of silver shit, which was deadly in large quantities to regular Weres but could do nothing but cause extreme pain to the Dires. They could fi ght through the pain— and would— but it would be far easier to avoid contact with the stuff to begin with. The weretrappers targeted all wolves— especially the Dires lately— not to kill them, but to hold them for experi- mentation. The horrors they infl icted on wolves, the majority N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 5959 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 60 STEPHANIE TYLER

of whom stayed as far away from humans as they possibly could, were unspeakable. Vice had seen some of them fi rsthand on both Rifter’s and Rogue’s bodies, and his gut twisted at the thought of what they’d gone through. He just wanted Rogue to wake up, no matter what state he was in. Slept on the fl oor next to the man just in case. So it was for Rogue that Vice was on the rampage, out to destroy as many weretrappers as he could without getting himself caught or drawing too much human attention to the packs. Howlers was packed to the damned rafters, just the way he liked it, with wine and women and various other vices that would for sure lead a man astray. Vice really liked astray, so much so that his entire life had been molded around it. The music slammed through him— the smells of Were and sex and smoke and whiskey washed through his senses. When Stray turned back to him, his eyes had already changed. Vice knew his had too. It was controllable, but here, where there was no need to control, he let something be goddamned easy. And when a stripper— Were— slid by him, tits against his chest, and he smelled her want, immediate and strong, he wanted nothing more than to pick her up, carry her to the back as she wrapped around him, telling him he’d be so amazingly good. He would be too. Fact of life and breeding and many, many years of practice. But Stray the killjoy simply shook his head, reminding Vice they were just cutting through the bar and not supposed to be enjoying themselves. But hell, turning it off was never that simple. N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 6060 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM DIRE NEEDS 61

Misconduct, misbehaving and sin— yeah, those were a few of his favorite fucking things . . . Vice made it his life’s work that all the people he’d come in contact with found their favorites too, because what the hell was more fun than that? He was born to lead people astray, take them off the beaten path, travel the road not taken. Den of iniquity was tattooed across his back because his entire being was one, along with the words mayhem and deviant. They didn’t stop the women— and the men— from wanting him. The wolves all knew better and gave him a wide-as-hell berth. They didn’t want to be pulled into his world of sin, and Vice knew it was better they weren’t all in the damned gutter with him. “According to Facebook, Rifter left the bar with a human.” Stray was checking his iPhone as they pushed through the crowds. “Twitter confi rms.” “I fucking hate social media.” Vice lit another rolled cigarette, the wafting of the special amber smoke hovering around both of them like a heavy embrace. “No one can just fuck in private anymore.” “Rifter went home with a human and that’s what you’re worried about?” “Ah, Stray, come on. Probably just a rumor.” He stared up at the full moon, the pull that much stronger because of this time of year. Mating season made them all edgy and way too unfulfi lled, even after hours of mind- blowing sex. They couldn’t get everything they needed, and neither could their wolves, and that made for some very unhappy dual- natured creatures. If Rifter had taken a human home, she was in big god- N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 6161 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 62 STEPHANIE TYLER

damned trouble. That made Vice smile. “Let’s get this shit over with.” He looked through the small window on the heavy back door and saw the open, tree- covered fi eld behind the bar. When he opened it, the smell of snow— and human— would be unmistakable. “They’re out there.” “Shift?” Stray asked, sniffed the air himself, and, yes, that was certainly the best option. Much easier to let their wolves run wild and leave their human faces a complete mystery. They eased out the side door so as not to be spotted, and in the small alleyway, they stripped, left their clothes behind as they let the change take over their bodies. There was the familiar creak of bones and stretch of skin as Vice allowed his Brother Wolf to take over, pushing him to all fours as he shifted from man to beast. It wasn’t pleasant, to say the least, but as his old Marine sergeant used to say, Pain is just weakness leaving the body. Vice really liked the Marines. And when the shift was complete, their wolves were far bigger than most Weres and regular wolves. When you looked at a Dire in any form, you knew you were looking at something that wasn’t entirely of this world. It was the height, the build, but especially the eyes— Vice knew his looked silver when he changed, and they were nearly silver in human form. Time to kick some ass. But as their Brother Wolves bounded for the hills, their wolf vision sharper now, their huge paws punching silently through the snow, something other than the cold made their hackles rise. The scent of death hit Vice hard. Human. Lots of blood. His mouth watered, his lips peeling back from sharp teeth, but no, eating humans was not cool. N They both slowed to a trot, crouching in the underbrush,

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 6262 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM DIRE NEEDS 63

which caught on Vice’s pure white fur— and yes, he understood the irony of that color being on him— and left burrs in Stray’s shaggy black coat. Vice’s sensitive ears twitched as he listened for movement, and when he heard nothing but the icy wind cutting through the pines, he rose slowly to his seven- foot height on two strong legs, and Stray joined him. At the sight ahead, neither wolf could stop from howling des- olately into the night— a cry of both victory and frustration, because they knew they had to shift to human form now, even though the moon’s hold was fi erce. And they did, the change back just as painful as the wolf retreated and the man returned, Vice fi nding himself still on all fours, shaking his head to stop the ringing that always remained for a minute or so after the change. Finally, he got off his knees and stood next to Stray. “This was a trap . . . and it wasn’t for us,” Stray said. The men stood there naked, surveying the carnage. The weretrappers were dead— twenty humans, scattered along the ground— and there was an eerie silence along with the metallic scent of blood drifting through the air. “Gotta bury them.” “Before anyone sees,” Stray fi nished his thoughts. “Call the twins.” But Stray was already doing so, calling forth the young Weres who’d gotten kicked out of their own pack for being moon crazed. Jinx had taken them under his wing, and sub- sequently they’d moved into the Dire house. They’d gained some semblance of control, but they were still both like lanky teenagers, their wolves barely contained. Within minutes the young Weres came bounding up, identical to each other in both human and wolf form except for the color of their eyes— Cyd’s green and Cain’s amber, closer N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 6363 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 64 STEPHANIE TYLER

to yellow than brown, their dark hair short and messy, dressed like they’d walked out of Abercrombie & Fitch. Tonight, they were thankfully still in human form, although they were restless. These young Weres would have a hard time keeping it together unshifted with the scent of violence so pungent. For Weres, the scent of blood was enough to drive them to shift, thanks to their prey instinct. “Jinx is coming . . . whoa, what did you do?” Cain asked, staring up at the full moon like she was calling to him— which, of course, she was, while his brother, Cyd, remained characteristically silent and just went to work hauling the bodies into the woods. “Defi nitely the work of a wolf,” Vice said as he studied a body and then pulled up short because he smelled . . . a Dire, and it wasn’t Stray. No fucking way. “Is the outlaw pack stupid enough to do this out in the open?” “None that I’ve heard of,” Stray said, and then they both stopped short when they heard a rustle behind them. One of the bodies was moving, the man attempting to get up. “He’s mine.” The smell of the unknown Dire got stronger, and Vice could still feel Brother Wolf’s incisors, and he bared them viciously as he went over to the man who’d just shifted from wolf, prepared to do lots of harm. But when he caught sight of the face, everything changed, and he wasn’t sure it was for the better. Harm. All the Dires had been hunting this particular Dire wolf for years— and for good damned reason. Harm mumbled something. The silver had done a number on his ass and they’d have to get him back to the house before they could get anything resembling an explanation as to why N he’d taken on the weretrappers himself— why he’d led them

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 6464 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM DIRE NEEDS 65

into this homemade trap to begin with . . . why he’d let his fellow wolves down. Harm was the reason Rogue had gotten captured. Stray was next to Vice, a blur, half changed and howling, and Vice had never seen him so worked up, not while awake, anyway. The nightmares did a number on him, but Vice and the others were always quick to wake him, mainly to stop his screaming. Vice heard his own Brother Wolf growl and knew he was in real danger of losing it, found his hand wrapped around the back of Harm’s neck as he brought his face forward to rip out his goddamned throat . . . “He’s mine.” It was Jinx, yanking Vice out of the way and baring his own teeth to Harm as the man struggled to stay on his feet. “When you’re healed, brother, we’re going to fi ght and you’re going to be the fi rst fucking Dire wolf to die and stay dead. And that’s a motherfucking promise.”

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 6565 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 6666 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM WICKED EDGE

A Castle of Dark Dreams Novel by Nina Bangs

Available now in paperback from Berkley Sensation

As an angel, Passion prides herself on perfection. But some mischievous part of her always goes against the godly grain. After one too many attempts to enliven the heavenly halls, she’s sent to earth to tame her naughty nature. While human, she has to bring goodness and light to the most sinful of places, the Castle of Dark Dreams. Once there, she fi nds herself in the role of a virgin used as bait to trap a marauding demon. Passion thinks the game is harmless until she sees the man playing the demon. His name is Edge, and Passion senses darkness in him beyond any she’s ever dreamed. Edge may play a demon, but he is something much worse. His past is littered with pain and destruction and that’s the way he likes it. Now he must prove to himself and others that he is what he’s always been: cold and emotionless. But as danger threatens and his need for Pas- sion heats up, he fi nds himself balanced on love’s wicked edge. N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 6767 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM “Nina Bangs delivers!” —#1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan

“Sinfully delicious.” —Christina Dodd

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 6868 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM PROLOGUE

He’d needed this down time away from the Castle of Dark Dreams. Two weeks to just kick back, waste a few losers, and relax with a drink. He leaned against the oak’s trunk and savored his scotch and water as he watched the dumbass crouched beside the reservoir. Edge had followed the guy’s progress from the moment he’d come up with the idea to poison the city’s water supply until now. Homegrown terrorists, had to love them. Not that Edge didn’t sort of admire the guy. He’d whipped up a poison no amount of testing would detect until it was too late. The death toll could reach into the millions. Now the formula would die with him. Too bad. Another great sci- entifi c mind pissed away by an idiot. There was a time when Edge would’ve applauded that kind of grand gesture. But then the Big Boss had reined him in, forced him to change his methods. Edge downed the rest of his drink. Let’s hear it for the good old days. Nowadays he was reduced to one kill at a time. Hey, you took your fun where you could. Edge narrowed his gaze as the man . . . No, as Mark— N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 6969 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 70 NINA BANGS

didn’t want to ever depersonalize his victims— pulled vials of the poison from his backpack and set them on the ground. Now was the time to act. Edge chose an image from his mind, focused on the reservoir, and changed thought to reality. A giant squid rose from the water’s depths, big enough to swallow Chicago if Chicago had been on the menu. It wasn’t, so the squid settled for Mark. One massive tentacle reached out to wrap around his body. It lifted the man into the air and then dragged him beneath the water. The squid disappeared, leaving only a few ripples on the surface. Mark’s body would be found, a victim of drowning. But they’d never fi nd the squid. It was once more only an image in Edge’s mind. Edge shook his head. He’d made it happen too fast. Mark didn’t even have a chance to scream. He’d just stood there bug- eyed. What fun was that? But at least the guy died in a unique and interesting way. See, death didn’t have to be boring. Edge wandered down to collect the vials. He stashed them in Mark’s backpack. He’d dispose of them later. Then he headed back to his car. That was his last kill for now. Vacation over. Time to return to his crappy role- playing- slash- managerial job. He took a last look at the reservoir before driving away. How did he really feel about Mark’s death and all the ones that had come before his? The truth? Edge closed his eyes. He felt freaking tired.

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 7070 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM CHAPTER 1

“How ugly and horrible are they? Do they coat your skin with slime? Does their stench make you nauseous? Do you feel like you’re walking into the bowels of hell?” Passion sighed. Of all the heavenly contacts they could’ve assigned to her, why Hope? Once a day she’d have to listen to this idiocy in her head. She could picture Hope sitting in her little cubicle surrounded by the neutral colors Archangel Ted loved. Ted, along with everything else in heaven, was bland and boring. Okay, so Passion could include herself in the bland and boring category. She accepted the reality of her existence. But she’d looked into enough human minds to know their vision of heaven was a fantasy. Humans. Sure, they could get sick and die. Fine, so they suffered heartbreak and other emotional traumas. But from Passion’s viewpoint, things were a lot more exciting on the mortal plane. Could anyone blame her for trying to spice up her own world? Guess that was a resounding yes. She supposed the fi nal straw for Ted was when she talked the other angels in her department into painting their cubi- N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 7171 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 72 NINA BANGS

cles lime green. In her opinion, Ted had some serious control issues. So here she was, on the outside looking in. And you have only yourself to blame. If Passion had been a better angel, she wouldn’t have drawn this punishment— a still-to-be-determined amount of time spent living on earth as a human. No powers, no friends, forced to check in once a day with Hope- the- heavenly- drama- queen. The only good thing? The Council of Justice had at least given her some privacy. Hope couldn’t read her thoughts; she could only hear what Passion spoke out loud. “They’re . . .” Way too beautiful. Evil should appear in shades of muddy brown or black. But no, just look at them. The Seven Deadly Sins shimmered and fl owed around the Castle of Dark Dreams in vibrant jewel tones. Totally gorgeous. Totally tempting. Oops. Wrong reaction. “They’re . . . awful, disgusting, but sort of exciting.” Hmm, maybe she should explain that last word just in case Hope got the wrong impression. “I mean, it’s exciting to think about all the peace, harmony, and massive heavenly vibes I’m going to bring to this place.” There, that was better. Didn’t want anyone taking away the only thing she had left, her ability to see the colors of sin. “Oh.” Hope sounded disappointed. “Well, keep in touch.” She broke the connection. “Absolutely.” Passion knew her smile wasn’t kind. Note to self: work on sweet and sincere smile. Hope and the other angels had gotten used to her supplying their daily entertainment. Too bad. Passion wouldn’t be there to amuse them for a while because she’d be busy earning her way back into heaven. She had to be the perfect angel. Sure, she’d always longed N for more . . . variety in her existence, but she sure hadn’t

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 7272 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM WICKED EDGE 73

planned on getting that variety as a powerless and frighteningly vulnerable mortal. She could actually die, like in never- coming- back die. She shuddered. Passion crossed the drawbridge, avoiding glancing down at the moat’s black water in favor of staring up at the castle— a keep with four square towers complete with a curtain wall. The whole thing gleamed white, a color symbolizing goodness and light. Fake. Goodness and light didn’t live here. She’d take care of that by the time she left. She narrowed her eyes as she strode through the open gate and across the courtyard, headed for the doors leading into the great hall. Spotlights lit up the night around the castle. No threatening shadows warned the innocent about what waited inside. Righteous anger drove her as she reached for the door. She’d smite the wicked and save all those poor souls inside who . . . She paused. No powers, so no smiting. Damn. Passion closed her eyes. No cursing. Ted hated cursing. So many things to remember. But she could do this. Opening her eyes, she pulled the door open and stepped inside. Someone spoke. “Ah, another person who didn’t bother to check the schedule and has chosen instead to annoy the hell out of me by showing up at the last moment.” Dramatic sigh. “But I live to serve, so I’ll probably be able to stick you in somewhere. All the choice parts are gone. How do you feel about playing the lowly maiden who serves the queen? Not a virgin. The virgin part was taken by a woman who obviously has only a faint memory of that particular condition.” “Virgin?” Startled, she looked at the speaker. A wizard? A short one. Gold- trimmed blue robe, tall conical hat that added at least a foot, and all of it decorated with gold suns, moons, and stars. He’d topped everything off with a long, pointy gray beard that matched his narrowed gray eyes. N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 7373 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 74 NINA BANGS

“Yes. The part is gone.” The wizard looked down his nose at her, which was tough to do when she was taller than he was. “If it’s any comfort, you’d fi t the part better. Pale hair, pale skin, pale eyes, and uninspired pale clothing. You, my dear, are the defi nition of unawakened. Avoid Sparkle Star- dust at all cost. Now, do you want the lowly maiden part?” “No.” What was he talking about? She glanced around. People in medieval- type costumes wandered the large hall. Too bad the Council of Justice had kicked her down here without full disclosure. All they’d said was that the castle needed help. This place was her ticket back home. “You look confused.” The wizard glanced at his watch. “As much as I’d love to waste more time explaining the obvious, I have a fantasy to direct. Feel free to gawk. If you care to wait until this fantasy concludes, you may buy a ticket to the next one over there.” He pointed to a small table by the door with a tickets sign taped to the front of it. “And you might want to read that.” He gestured toward a sign on the wall above the ticket table. Bemused, she watched him turn to walk away. Violet, the color of pride, swirled around him. No kidding. Too bad there wasn’t a color for bad- tempered old farts. She took a deep breath. Get rid of unkind thoughts. Passion didn’t know how other angels did it. They wore their perfection like a pair of comfortable old shoes. Her shoes pinched her toes and left blisters on her heels. She constantly wanted to kick them off. Well, she’d kicked them off a few times too many. She looked at the sign. Fine, so she was in an adult theme park called Live the Fantasy. The Castle of Dark Dreams was one of the park’s attractions. It was a hotel as well as a place N where nightly fantasies were played out. The fi rst fantasy

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 7474 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM WICKED EDGE 75

began at seven p. m. That would be right about now. She should get out of here and fi nd the registration desk for the hotel part of the castle, but she couldn’t resist taking a peek at the fantasy. A long table with people in costumes seated around it rested on a raised platform at one end of the great hall. Pas- sion assumed the major parts like the queen were played by the castle staff. They’d guide the fantasy. The public could buy tickets to play lesser parts. Made sense. It only took moments for the fantasy to capture her. What could she say, heaven didn’t get cable, and she was easily amused. Mesmerized, she followed the tale. A demon was killing the castle’s people. The queen’s greatest hunters couldn’t catch him. So the virgin offered to sacrifi ce herself for the good of all. She’d lure him into their clutches with her vir- ginal beauty and purity. Hah. Passion was seeing lots of blue swirling around Ms. Untouched. Lust. Passion couldn’t read her mind, but she’d bet there weren’t a lot of chaste thoughts bouncing around in that head. The wizard had been right about the virgin. If the demon was smart, he’d run like crazy. She’d eat him alive. Of course, the dumb demon fell for the trick. She heard the virgin’s not- overly- convincing screams coming from one of the darkened hallways along with the demon’s snarls and the shouts of the hunters. A few minutes later the virgin led the parade back into the great hall followed by the trium- phant hunters surrounding the cage of the captured demon. The queen called the virgin and her hunters forward to praise them, and Passion got her fi rst look at the demon. A voluminous cape and hood covered him from head to toe. All she could see of him were his hands clenched around N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 7575 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 76 NINA BANGS

the cage’s bars. Well, that was disappointing. She was all ready to be awed by the pure evil carved into his face, the demonic gleam in his eyes. Passion felt cheated. Then he turned his head toward her. She sucked in her breath. Wow, just wow. The hood shadowed his face, but that didn’t lessen the impact. Nothing said savage predator like strong slashing brows, a full mobile mouth drawn into a snarl, and amber eyes that shone with every wickedness she’d ever imagined and some she hadn’t dared. And he’d fi xed his gaze on her. Passion looked away fi rst. She realized her hands were shaking as she pushed a strand of hair from her face. Time to get out of here. But even as she started to move toward the door, Passion realized something. She’d been so focused on his eyes that she’d barely noticed the color swirling around him. Oh, no. It spread horror in a slick coat of ice over her soul. Black. Not one of the Deadly Sins. This went beyond those. It was rage, greed, and all the others taken to the fi nal act. Death. This man was beyond redemption. She shuddered. What could she do to yank the castle from the brink with him dragging it down? Passion didn’t know. She pushed the door open but couldn’t resist one look back. A thin band of blue had joined the black. Lust. Males thought about sex a lot. She wondered if he had a specifi c target for all that hunger, or if it was simply his normal state of being. Passion had no experience with lust. Didn’t want any experience. She sighed. Yeah, lying was a sin too. Once outside, she drew in a deep breath of clean night air. She’d escaped. And that’s exactly how she felt even though he was the one in the cage. She’d have to toughen up if she wanted to do any good here. N But she would need some time to get used to everything.

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 7676 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM WICKED EDGE 77

The only experience she had of the mortal plane was what she’d seen and heard in the minds of the souls she’d visited. Even though she’d been focused on easing their worries and nudging them down the path of goodness and light, she’d absorbed enough knowledge to blend in. Blending wasn’t the problem, though. Heaven didn’t gen- erate much emotion, nothing even close to what she’d felt as she stared at the demon. She’d better get a handle on her feelings fast. Ted always said that logic was what made angels superior beings, and that humans were beneath them because they were slaves to their emotions. So, no more out-of-control emotions. Passion scanned the courtyard. People who must be arriving for the next fantasy stepped around her to reach the door. She moved out of their way. She was sure if she went back into the great hall she could fi nd a door leading to the hotel lobby. Did she want to do that? And take the chance of lock- ing eyes with the demon again? She walked around the outside of the castle. And as she walked, she worked on her story. No luggage because the airline had lost it all. Passion was glad that at least the Coun- cil had given her a credit card and some cash. She’d have to go shopping tomorrow. Maybe buy some clothes in brighter colors. Not that she was letting the fake wizard get to her. What she looked like didn’t matter as long as she did her job. She thought again about the demon with his amber eyes and his lust and . . . Maybe she’d buy herself a few sexy things. She had to fi t in here, not draw attention to herself. And she couldn’t change evil if she couldn’t get near it. Those who embraced all that was wicked would be more willing to accept her message if she dressed like them. Not that she’d enjoy dressing like a slut. Hello, your conscience here. Run N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 7777 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 78 NINA BANGS

that thought past me again. Okay, so maybe she’d enjoy it a little. There were times when Passion despaired of ever living up to heavenly standards.

Edge went up in fl ames for about the fi ve hundredth time this year, or at least it felt that way. As the fake fl ames rose around him, he thought about the woman. He’d felt her stare, different from the others in the hall— tentative, intrigued, with no sexual response at all. Amazing. Edge had no illusions about his effect on women. They might not know what he was, but they all reacted to the power they sensed. They always claimed his face or body or— God forbid— his mind attracted them, but it went beyond that. No matter what humans wanted to believe about themselves, the promise of violence drew them. Just look at the top- rated TV shows. Lots of blood and death. Not that he was complaining. The women never stayed long, though. Eventually their primal instincts kicked in, the ones that recognized him as a predator. And they ran. Smart ladies. The fl ames roared around him, hiding him from the cele- brating queen, virgin, and assorted other idiots. With a casual fl ick of power, he dematerialized. He reappeared in the dressing room. Stripping off his cape and hood, he returned to thinking about the woman. Color- less, but with the promise of beauty if someone took the time to nurture it— tall and slender with long, pale blond hair that would fl ow over his body like cool spring water. And she’d gazed at him from light green eyes that hid nothing. Those incredible eyes said that he was the most amazing thing she’d ever seen. How could any man resist that message? N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 7878 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM WICKED EDGE 79

She wasn’t taking part in a fantasy. Was she staying at the hotel? He hoped she wasn’t just making the rounds of the park’s attractions and then going home. Time to talk with Holgarth. Edge found the wizard being his usual snarky self with customers waiting for the next fantasy to begin. “Have a minute, Holgarth?” The wizard turned to glare at him. Edge didn’t miss the customers’ relieved expressions. “Why wouldn’t I have a minute? I have nothing to do but make sure the lifeblood of this castle, its fantasies, keeps running like the well- oiled machine I’ve made it after years of endless toil, sacrifi ce, and—” “Oh, shit.” Edge started to turn away. “But I suppose a minute won’t disturb my schedule too much. What do you need?” Edge thought about the giant squid, even now peeking over the edge of his consciousness. Nah. If he offed the wizard, they’d try to kick him out of the castle, and he wasn’t ready to leave. Bad stuff would happen. “There was a woman watching the fantasy. Tall, long blond hair—” “I offered her the part of the lowly maiden, but she wasn’t interested.” Holgarth’s expression turned sly. “It was too far beneath her, I think. She’s more than she appears.” “Explain.” Edge never underestimated the wizard’s shrewd- ness. “Just a feeling.” He shrugged. “She seemed confused by everything that was going on, but I sensed a purpose in her. I don’t think she was a casual visitor to the castle.” Holgarth looked thoughtful. “There was something about the way she N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 7979 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 80 NINA BANGS

looked at you, as though she’d never seen anything like you in her life.” The tiny twitch of his lips was his version of a wide grin. “And of course she hadn’t.” “Did she say where she was going?” “No.” Holgarth was already turning back to his cowed customers. “You’ve had your minute. I now have to choose the shining hero who will slay the dragon in the next fantasy.” He swept his possible hero candidates with a contemp- tuous stare. “Where is St. George, or even Harry Potter when you need them?” Edge snorted his disgust at Holgarth’s lack of helpful information and headed for the door leading to the hotel lobby. Once in the lobby, he glanced around. She wasn’t there, so he walked to the registration desk. “Who checked in today?” This was a long shot. If she was a guest, she could’ve checked in days ago. The only thing he had going for him was the size of the hotel. The castle didn’t have as many rooms as a normal hotel, so there wouldn’t be that many guests arriving on any given day. But she might not even be staying in the hotel, in which case he was screwed. And when did she become so important? Not important, just an interesting side trip. He needed something to break up his routine, and women didn’t usually catch his interest. It had been so many years . . . He shook the thought away to concentrate on Bill’s answer. “Only a few new guests. A middle- aged couple, a guy here for the fi shing tournament, and a woman who checked in a little while ago.” “The woman. How old?” “Twenties, long blond hair—” “What room?” The hunter in him stirred. N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 8080 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM WICKED EDGE 81

“ One- ten. No luggage. She said the airline lost her bags.” “Name?” The clerk grinned. “Passion McBride.” Edge returned his grin before moving away. More and more fascinating. Who named their kid Passion? No luggage. He checked his watch. Still early enough for her to be up. He stopped in the lobby store that carried clothing and bought a few things. Then he headed for the elevator, faster but not as authentic as the winding stone staircase in the great hall. Once in front of her door, he knocked and waited. She opened the door and began speaking before she even looked at him. “I didn’t call for . . .” Then she saw him. Edge watched her eyes widen and her lips part as she stared. Shock became her. She looked beautiful, vulnerable, and tempting all at once. If he leaned forward and put his mouth over those full lips, she’d really have something to be stunned about. He controlled himself. First he’d slip into her mind to see if there was anything he needed to know. But as he reached for her thoughts, he slammed into a solid wall of no. What the . . . ? Humans couldn’t deny him, even when they tried. And she was human. Edge narrowed his gaze on her face. Nothing in her expression hinted she was actively trying to keep him out. Strange. “You’re . . .” She spoke the word on a soft exhalation of wonder and maybe a little fear. “Not a demon.” I’m much, much worse. He smiled his most reassuring smile. She didn’t look reassured. “I know that.” Her gaze dropped to the bag he held. N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 8181 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 82 NINA BANGS

“I’m Edge. I help manage the Castle of Dark Dreams when I’m not bringing death and destruction to the locals.” Truer than she’d ever know. “Oh.” She looked surprised. “When I checked in at the registration desk, Bill told me you’d lost your luggage. We always want our guests to have a comfortable stay, so I picked up a few things you might need tonight.” He held out the bag. “Thank you.” She smiled as she accepted his offering. There were smiles, and then there were smiles. Edge had seen some of the best over thousands of years— sexy, innocent, calculating, and his very favorite, the you’ll-die- happy ones. Passion McBride’s smile was the best. It was innocence wedded to knowing, sensuality wrapped in unlimited possi- bilities. He wanted everything that went with that smile. Just for a night. Because that’s how long his interest usually lasted. Besides, the few times he had hung around for more than a night, things had ended badly. He’d learned his lesson. She glanced into the bag. “A nightgown, robe, slippers, and toiletries. You’re a lifesaver.” When she looked up, her smile had warmed and some of the shock had left her eyes. But not all of it. “I have about an hour before I do my second fantasy. I’m hungry. Bet you are too. Let’s go down to the restaurant, and I’ll buy us dinner.” He tried to look nonthreatening, a lot tougher than looking demonic. Now would be when she’d say she was married, or that she didn’t go anywhere with men who scared her witless. Because he was frightening her. He could see the fear resting right beneath the shock. Interesting. Women never sensed his N threat until further into a relationship. Not that a marriage

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 8282 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM WICKED EDGE 83

or her terror meant anything to him. Nothing much had mattered to him for a very long time. “Why?” Her question was straightforward. He studied her before answering. No guile in her eyes. She wasn’t fi shing for a compliment. Edge thought about lying, but for whatever reason told her the truth. “You interested me when I saw you watching the fantasy. There was something different about you. I like different.” She looked horrifi ed. “No, I’m not different. I’m just like everyone else. Do you really think I look different?” Okay, this was weird. “Hey, if you say you’re ordinary, then you’re ordinary. I’d still like to buy you dinner.” She seemed to relax a little. “I guess I could eat something.” She nodded. “I’m Passion. You can tell me about your job at the castle over dinner.” He’d rather impress her with his real job, but he had a feeling her “ordinary” human mind would explode from that particular disclosure. He didn’t want to lose her that quickly. A few minutes later, they were seated in the restaurant. He waited impatiently while the waitress took their orders before asking his fi rst question. “So what brings you to Galveston and the Castle of Dark Dreams?” She glanced past him out the window with its view of the Gulf of Mexico. “I’ve had lots of stress in my life lately. I wanted to spend a few weeks relaxing someplace with a water view. And castles fascinate me. So this is perfect.” She offered him a quick smile before looking away again. A lie. She really needed to work on her technique. Avoid- ing eye contact was a dead giveaway. He was immediately intrigued again. Why would she want to keep her real reason for being here secret? Cheating on her husband? Somehow he didn’t think so. N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 8383 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 84 NINA BANGS

As though she knew what he was thinking, she looked directly at him. “My turn to ask a question. Why have you allowed darkness to take you?”

Uh-oh. Passion watched Edge’s gaze sharpen. Her question had just popped out. She was too impulsive. Thoughts became words with no waiting period between them. Not smart in a place where evil walked. She was human, and she could die. As for the evil . . . Passion knew it stared across the table at her. She didn’t need any color coding to tell her that. It was there in the wicked slant of his lips and the layered secrets hidden in those amber eyes. And it fascinated her more than was safe if she ever intended to return home. “Why would you think darkness has taken me?” He leaned forward, and a few strands of his tawny hair fell across his eye. Impatiently, he raked them back with fi ngers that seemed too long and elegant to belong to a man as dangerous as she suspected he was. All the better to wrap around your neck. His smile mocked even the idea that he was wicked, but his eyes looked wary. And that wasn’t good. Passion needed everyone in the castle to see her as clueless and nonthreatening. “Nothing, really. Just a feeling. I guess seeing you as a demon affected me more than I realized.” She shrugged. “But feelings don’t mean much, do they?” He seemed to relax. “Glad you don’t take them too seri- ously, because I’m a pretty laid- back and happy guy. A good guy.” Right. He was also a big fat liar. She could sense the ten- N sion and need for violence surging just below the surface.

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 8484 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM WICKED EDGE 85

What was he? Because he sure wasn’t human. She might be missing her usual powers, but her instincts never failed her. Everything about him was just more. He wore a touch- and- you-will -get- burned warning any woman would recognize. The blond strands in his hair shone beneath the restaurant’s dim lighting. Thick, and looking so soft she wanted to reach out and . . . No, defi nitely wasn’t going there. Anyway, his hair almost brushed his shoulders and framed a face that hadn’t lost any of its savage beauty since she fi rst saw it. And his eyes shouted other. She sensed too many years fi lled with too many experiences for any human lifetime. She would’ve gone on to catalogue the high points of his body, but the tattoo on one powerful bicep snagged her attention. The sleeve of his T-shirt revealed half of what looked like . . . “Is that the grim reaper on your arm?” Edge pulled up his sleeve so she could see the whole thing. “I like the symbolism— hooded, scary guy coming to cut your life short with that crazy scythe. I know most images of him show a skull inside the hood. But I like this better. You can’t see a face, just a black hole. The unknown terrifi es people. What do you think? Would you want to stare into death’s eyes?” He seemed serious. “Not particularly.” Weird question. She’d swear he looked disappointed by her answer. Probably liked adventurous women, the ones who jumped out of planes or climbed mountains. Too bad she couldn’t tell him exactly how adventurous she was.

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 8585 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 8686 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM CHAOS BURNING

A Bound by Magick Novel by Lauren Dane

A June 2012 paperback from Berkley Sensation

The life of Lark Jaansen, hunter in Clan Gennessee, has been shaped by violence and unrest— and it defi nes her future. Well- trained and resilient, she’s met her militaristic match in Simon Leviathan, a warrior not of this world. Locked in mutual admiration, and a desire so hot it burns, Lark and Simon have something else in common: they love the dark. And as a shadow is cast over their world, they’re each coming into their own. A mysterious war has been waged among the Others. As witches and humans turn against each other, as faes retreat in fear, and as vampires rise, Lark and Simon dis- cover that an unseen force is behind it. A single, hungry entity older than recorded history has returned to gorge on the magick of its victims. It is the Magister, nothing less than the end of time. Finding it is Lark and Simon’s fi rst hope. Surviving it is their last.

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 8787 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM “A witchy new series.” —New York Times bestselling author Lara Adrian

“Dane always delivers a steamy, exciting ride.” —New York Times bestselling author Larissa Ione

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 8888 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM CHAPTER 1

Lark shouldered her duffel and headed down the Jetway, hoping to avoid the cute and nice- smelling hipster college student who’d been trying to pick her up since they took off. She really should have undone the spell she used to hide the bloom of purple, green, and yellow that bruised up her neck and onto her jaw. That sort of thing tended to lead women to take her aside to ask in concerned tones if someone was hurting her at home. The answer was yes, of course, just not the way they thought. As it was against the rules to tell them a feral werewolf jumped her in MacArthur Park two days before, it was best left hidden to most eyes and avoid scenes with well- meaning humans. It was nice to know people didn’t just turn a blind eye when they thought someone was being beaten up at home and it was a good reminder to use the obscura spell to hide evidence of her unconventional life. By the time she caught sight of the escalators down to bag- gage claim, he’d caught up with her because he was all legs. “Hey, do you need a ride or anything?” N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 8989 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 90 LAUREN DANE

“No, thanks. Someone’s meeting me here.” “Do you want to get together? You know, while you’re in town?” If she was just a regular old human woman, she’d be all over this cutie pie like icing on cake. She’d broken up with someone two months before and it’d been a dry spell since. But she wasn’t regular anything and she’d only break him. It was inevitable with humans, which is why she never allowed herself to partake in anything they had to offer. Her life was fi lled with weapons and other not- human beings with weapons, or those she had to use her weapons on. They never understood it, the life she led. She had to hide her true nature from human men, and that was never a good way to have a relationship. “I appreciate the offer. But I’m here for work and my time is pretty much booked until I go back home.” He frowned, apparently unused to his charms failing. “Oh. Well.” He continued to walk alongside her as they approached their carousel. And that’s when she saw the giant, beautiful man holding the sign with her name on it and she forgot tall college boy even existed. Mentally, she wiped her brow and fanned her face. So masculine the heat and power of him radiated outward. His hair was thick and dark, cut perfectly. A tousle that made her instantly think about what he’d look like right after a long, slow kiss. His facial hair only drew the attention to that mouth. Full, gorgeous lips that were currently drawn into a wary, yet casual line as he scanned the area. Denim covered unmistakably powerful thighs and long legs right down to a pair of boots she had no doubt were handmade by someone somewhere. N Lark had always tended toward men who were of the cute,

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 9090 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM CHAOS BURNING 91

college- hipster type currently walking at her side. Scruffy beards, lanky, sexy glasses. The kind of man who not only wore scarves but looked totally adorable in them. Sign guy was not one of those men. At all. He was one of those capital-M Men. Huge. Broad shoulders and narrow waist. The kind she enjoyed working with because they were smart, strong, nearly fearless, independent and yet controlled. And without a doubt totally and utterly fuckable. She imagined though, a man like him would be a hell of a lot of work to have a relationship with. His eyes were dark, fringed by thick lashes. Those were fuck me eyes. Though, she noted, he looked around the room just like she did. An Other. Her heart kicked and her attention honed on him in a new way. “Well, have a great quarter. Nice chatting with you.” She said it offhand as she wandered toward Sign Guy. She paused, cocking her head and opening up her othersight— the second sight she’d been trained to use since she could walk. Othersight was a way of viewing the world all around her through her magick, allowing her to see another layer of existence layered against what most people saw every day. Energy had a signature and every living thing had pattern unique to them, but within that were other indicators such as their make up— human, vampire, witch, whatever— and this one was a shifter. No, not quite. The same, but slightly different. Not Fae, though his magickal signature was similar. His nostrils fl ared, as if he sensed her magick. And then he focused his attention on her as she approached. Like a predator, he went very still and there was no mistaking the way he took in every detail. “I’m Lark.” Still fascinated, she held her hand out for him to shake. N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 9191 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 92 LAUREN DANE

He smiled, a slow, sexy smile designed to part women from their underpants. The hand that took hers easily engulfed her fi ngers. “Simon Leviathan. Meriel sent me.” Lark nodded. “She said she was sending a friend of the Clan. Thanks. I appreciate the ride.” Her suitcase hit the con- veyor belt. “Can I leave this with you while I grab my bag?” “Which one is it?” He took the bag she’d been holding. “The red one.” But before she could move, he’d already taken three steps to the carousel and had grabbed her bag. “That all?” “Yes, thanks. I can get those.” She reached for the duffel but he just sent her a raised eyebrow and turned slightly to continue holding the bag. “I’m sure you can.” He squeezed her upper arm with his free hand and then paused. “I’m really sure now. But I can hold them just as easily. We need to go upstairs to head to the parking garage.” And then he sort of ushered her exactly where she wanted to go. She was still mildly annoyed at how he just sort of took over. And yet interested enough that she let him get away with it. She ruminated on that as she snapped her seat belt. While she remembered, she sent a quick text to Meriel letting her know Simon had met her and was taking her to her hotel. He slid in on the driver’s side and though the car was pretty large— she hadn’t been surprised by the big, black Cadillac— he seemed to fi ll every inch. Tinted windows. Swank interior. Smelled good too. Him and the car. He paused before he turned the engine over. He didn’t N glance at her, he examined her. “You look tired. Would you

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 9292 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM CHAOS BURNING 93

like to go to Meriel’s? Or straight to sleep? I know you’ve got the meeting with Clan Owen’s governance council tomorrow.” Surprising how easily she found herself responding to him. A near stranger, she’d heard Meriel refer to Simon, knew he co-owned a nightclub with Meriel’s man, Dominic. That Mer- iel had sent him to pick Lark up told her that he was to be trusted, even if her gut hadn’t already told her the same thing. “It’s already nine. I’ve gone over my presentation several times.” Including once with her sister and father, and really she couldn’t think of anything she wanted to talk about less right then than mages and death magic. “I’ve eaten and slept this stuff for the last few months. I’m as prepared as I’m going to be. I think.” “Are you hungry?” “Um. I fi gured I’d get room service when I got the hotel.” She’d been in such a hurry after her last meeting with her sister, Helena, she’d missed dinner though she did eat a giant bag of M& M’s on the plane. “Do you like steak or are you a vegetarian?” He said vegetarian as if it were a suspect class. “I like steak. Vegetables too.” He hmmed but it was laced with suspicion. “You’ll be staying in Meriel and Dominic’s old apartment.” “I don’t want to intrude on them.” She liked Meriel but that didn’t mean she wanted to stay with her. A hotel meant she could walk around in her underwear and eat ice cream from the carton. Being around people took work. She had to be nice and polite and make small talk if she stayed with people. “They don’t live there. They recently bought a house and had two months left on the lease.” Well, that was nice actually. An apartment meant she’d have a kitchen and some room. Of course that meant she’d N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 9393 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 94 LAUREN DANE

have to go grocery shopping. Though if she knew Meriel as well as she thought, that fridge was most likely well stocked already. “Good to know. Thanks for the ride. You’re not a shifter.” He continued to look at the road but one of his brows rose. “I’m sorry. I have a hard time telling the difference between blunt and rude.” His mouth twitched. “I’m Lycian.” She leaned closer and breathed him in, so excited she forgot it was rude to get up in someone’s business and start sniff- ing. “Oh! I’ve never met anyone from the other side of the Veil but a Fae warrior.” Simon had no idea what to make of this woman. His wolf liked the way she smelled. Sharp like he did. Like a warrior did. But she had blue streaks in her hair. Hair she most likely cut herself. Maybe not even in front of a mirror. She most likely listened to bands no one ever heard of and went to shows in clubs with sticky fl oors. Clearly she liked shopping in thrift stores and probably had gloves that were once someone’s sweater. The smudge of her energy was bright and clear blue. Blue like her eyes. Earnest eyes, but the shadow of a warrior lived there. Even as she rattled on at random, her gaze roamed, keeping track of where they were and who was near. “How long have you been here? And by the way, if I, you know, fall over the line into rude, please just poke me and say so. That’s what my family does.” “I’ve been here for ten of your years.” “I bet your house has very clean lines. Nothing fussy. You don’t have knickknacks and I bet you fold your shorts.” N “I don’t follow.”

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 9494 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM CHAOS BURNING 95

She sighed. “You’re a very spare guy. I mean you don’t have any fuss about you. You don’t use four words when three will do. It’s an admirable trait. One I do not possess. I bet you don’t leave your clothes on your bedroom fl oor or have stacks of magazines anywhere.” He paused as he processed her stream of words. It’d been a while since he’d met anyone as interesting as this one. Plus she was small and most likely hungry. He wanted to feed her. And maybe show her his house since she thought he lived in a monk’s cell or something like that. “Tell you what. I’ll make you a steak at my house. You can see for yourself.” He caught her grin. There was an odd sound and they both looked around. And then she cursed and dug into her coat pocket. Hubba hubba, hubba hubba. That’s what it kept saying. “Clever. Oh yes, I’ll totally take you back now. What do you want?” Much like a shifter, he had excellent hearing so the other end of the call was audible. “Why you gotta give me such a hard time?” “I’m working. And hanging up now.” “I forgot to tell you. I put a new grip on your Sig. I think the balance should be better. And you should take me back.” “Thanks for the tip on the Sig.” She disconnected. “What did he do?” She laughed. “You assume he’s the one who messed up.” “If it had been you, he wouldn’t be the one begging to be taken back.” He had enough experience with such events. Enough that he’d ceased having anything more than fl ings. “I’ll tell you, but only if you have some vodka at your house to go with the steak.” N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 9595 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 96 LAUREN DANE

“I have whiskey and some tequila. Will that do? I own a bar, it’s not as if I can’t stop to get vodka.” “You’re very accommodating for a guy who just met me less than an hour ago.” He liked taking care of people. And he was intrigued by Lark Jaansen and her colorful contradictions. She pleased his senses. In an entirely platonic way, of course. He sure as hell wasn’t going to be nailing her, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t interesting to man and wolf. “You’re one of Meriel’s. She’s the woman of a man who is like my own brother.” He was raised to honor family and your connections to people. She was important to his family and so she was someone he would protect. He got off the freeway. “Whiskey is fi ne. Or tequila. Thank you.” His phone rang this time and when he answered, Meriel’s voice sounded over the speaker. “Is Lark with you?” “Yes, of course.” He turned his attention to Lark as he took the steep turn on the drive up to his house. “I thought you said you called Meriel?” “I texted her to say I had arrived and was with you.” “Texting is not calling.” Meriel’s voice underlined this point. He hoped Meriel wouldn’t hear the smile in his voice. “She’s here with me. I’m going to feed her. She’s a little thin. And give her a drink. I’ll be sure she gets back safely. Tomorrow all you witchy types will have your war talks and all that jazz. Let the girl have a good steak and a decent night’s sleep.” “Gage is going to pick you up fi rst thing. We’ll get you a car as well. Our old place is warded up tight. No worries at N all on that front. No one will breach your security there.”

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 9696 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM CHAOS BURNING 97

“Good to know about the warding. I expected nothing less. As for Gage, yes, I spoke with him before I left L.A. I’m good. I promise I can take care of myself, Meriel. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon. Appreciate the use of your place, by the way.” “We’re climbing the hill to my place. Cell service is going to get sketchy. Talk to you later.” He hung up and Lark laughed again. “World- class skills, Meriel Owen. I’ve yet to meet a can- nier witch when it comes to politics. She constantly pisses people off and yet they always listen to her. Take her seri- ously. Clearly you’re like she is. Just because I’ve never met a Lycian before doesn’t mean I can’t see you’re clearly a superior specimen. I mean, top of the food chain in Lycian speak or whatever. Why aren’t you back home ruling the pack?” The blunt thing was refreshing. Witches weren’t usually so plainspoken. He liked it. “I’m the third son. My oldest brother already leads the pack in my father’s name. My next youngest brother is his right- hand man.” “Ah, so like you have the heir, and then the spare and what about you?” “There are corollaries. I’ve got eleven brothers and four sisters. We each fi nd our place and path. Mine led me here.” She leaned forward, gripping the dashboard, getting her fi ngerprints everywhere he was sure. “Holy crap. Simon, is that your house?” Pride warmed him as she gawked at the grounds and the edifi ce of the house through the windshield. “They’ve been building it for a year. Just fi nished everything a month ago.” “You could totally play basketball in here.” She got out once he’d closed the garage door. “I have a basketball court. Do you play?” He motioned N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 9797 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 98 LAUREN DANE

toward the doors that led to the breezeway between the house and garage. “Of course you do. My weapons are in my suitcase. I shouldn’t leave them out here. They’re kitted for taking down things far worse than a deer.” The wolf inside him responded with pleasure. “We can talk weapons while I get the steaks started.” He grabbed her bags from the trunk. “Come on.” He indicated the door to the breezeway. “Rest assured that this ground is safe.” He bowed his head and she realized he meant it. He took it as a matter of pride and responsibility that anyone on his land would receive safe passage. It was old- school honor. “Thank you. This place is amazing. I hope you won’t be offended if I said I’d like to be outside for a little while. Would you mind?” She’d spent a few hours in a plane and in cars and she wanted to clear all that from her system and get her magick centered again. “Not at all. Let’s drop this in the house and I’ll take you to the gardens.” As she let him lead her to the main house, she couldn’t help but admire everything she saw. The house sat on a large lot with a view from every window. He took her to the heart of his house and she felt the deep well of his connection to the land beneath them. It was so clear, this harmony between Simon and the earth, it seemed to sing through the air at times. He put her bags down in an entry. “She likes you here.” Lark followed her senses through his house, looking up at the soaring ceilings and walls of glass. It was just as clean and elegant as she’d imagined it would be. N But with a surprising warmth and masculinity.

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 9898 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM CHAOS BURNING 99

“The earth I mean. Just in case you were following along at home.” She liked the confusion on his face, followed by understanding that she was referring to her earlier comment about the earth liking him. “Meriel says this too. It’s reassuring to hear it from another person I suppose. Welcome to my home, Lark Jaan- sen.” He bowed, courtly. “Thank you for having me here. This is beautiful.” She turned in a circle when he took her to his living space. “I was right.” She smiled at him. “Should I be fl attered?” He fl ipped a switch and the walls of windows opened up to a deck with a view that had her moving outside before she’d known to do it. “Yes. It’s not serial- killer- scary neat. It’s clean and simple. You’ve created a place where nature is totally inherent to the overall design of the house.” Three levels of decking and entertainment areas sprawled down the slope of the land. “I wanted to occupy the land and still respect the shape and sense of wildness.” He’d certainly succeeded. Her breath caught as she stepped from her shoes and pulled her socks off. The intensity of connection to the well of magick at her feet shocked through her system. The font clicked into place as it accepted her, as the land at her feet recognized her as Owen through her connection to Gennessee. Their foremothers were the same and their magick still fl owed strong here. She breathed in deep, simply letting the energy hum through her system, fi lling her up and washing away the exhaustion and agitation of the day. “This is stunning, Simon. Truly.” She continued to meander and he steered her around one path and directed her back up toward the house. N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 9999 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 100 LAUREN DANE

“You’re not wearing shoes, that path is for shoes and I don’t want you to get hurt. Would you like a drink? If you’re ready to go inside?” “Yes, thank you.” She looked out over the mountainside and to the world below. “Such a riot of nature here. Every time I visit, it strikes me, the thin veil between nature and humanity. So much natural beauty here and yet just ten minutes down this mountain and you’re back into the buttoned-up control of a city. At home it’s different. My magick isn’t stronger or weaker really, it’s just that the ways I access my magick are different. So much light, the salt of the ocean, the energy of all that humanity hums through the concrete.” She followed him back inside and toward the large, open kitchen that shared the heart of the house. “And here it’s as if I breathe the magick in through my pores.” Simon watched her through his careful, assessing eyes and it felt as if she passed muster when he nodded. “Would you permit me to choose the drink?” She shrugged. “Sure, why not?” He went to a bar and studied it for long moments before he pulled a bottle out. She leaned against the counter and watched as he pulled two black stones from the freezer and put them in glasses. He poured the amber liquid— scotch, she could scent the oak of it— over the stones and then once again with the second glass. “One of my brothers has a boutique whiskey distillery. Try.” She breathed the scent of the whiskey in before she took a sip. The smoke of it danced across her tongue. He didn’t pester her to ask what she thought. Instead he moved to the sink to roll up his sleeves and wash his hands. “I like it. I’m not normally a whiskey drinker. But for this N I’d make an exception. Can I help?”

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 100100 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM CHAOS BURNING 101

He paused to look her over. “There are tomatoes over there on the counter. Fresh mozzarella in the fridge.” She moved to wash her hands the way she’d seen him do it. “Do you have balsamic and olive oil?” He snorted at her audacity. “Do I look like a man who wouldn’t have olive oil and balsamic?” “I’m not sure most men do. Though it’s pretty cute you assume that.” She shrugged and sipped the whiskey again. “I notice you’re less terse. Is it the whiskey?” He laughed, putting the steaks on the grill on his center island as she cored and seeded tomatoes. “I’ll let you know after the next glass. For now, tell me about the bruise on your neck.” Surprised, she reached up to touch. “You can see it?” “I assume you used some sort of glamour on it? To hide it from humans?” “People always think I have a boyfriend with big fi sts and it’s not like I can tell them a rogue werewolf tried to twist my head off or whatever. But you can see it?” “Glamour spells don’t work on me.” “Handy. Though I suppose I’ll have to keep that in mind. I’m pretty good at glamours. Good thing I’m so charming otherwise.” He struggled against a smile and she realized it was sort of fun to poke at his careful reserve. “I’ll keep that in mind. As for it being handy? Sometimes, yes. What happened to that werewolf?” She shrugged as she washed some basil to go with the tomatoes she’d just sliced. “He’s no longer a problem.” “Is that an issue? Rogue wolves? And if so, why doesn’t the local pack take care of it?” “It’s a big problem this year. The population of feral N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 101101 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 102 LAUREN DANE

wolves has tripled. Things have gotten worse in many ways over the last year or two. The local pack is pretty good, though they prefer to pretend rogue wolves aren’t an issue. Since they can infect others and seem to do it without a lot of thought or care, I happen to disagree. Annoying that I have to play police to a wolf issue. But it helps me if I’m having a bad day. It’s always a good work out to kick some shifter ass.” He seemed to think that was hilarious and she gave him a raised brow as she sliced the basil into ribbons. “Sorry. I’m not mocking. I’m just imagining what the Alpha must think of you.” She shrugged. “It’s not the Alpha so much as their Enforcer, who frowns on it. Though you all do like to frown. Still, she knows it’s a problem and in the end, we’ve achieved some level of détente. I get to be the scary monster out to kill them if they get out of line. It’s sort of fun to be the boogeyman.” He nodded, moving about with that grace she’d always associated with shifters. “If they won’t take care of it, you have to. Of all Others, shifters should know this.” “I know it’s not as crazy here. I’ve been reminded a hundred times that Seattle is so much calmer. Truth be told, I’m sort of excited.” “It used to be true, yes. Peaceful territory. Clan Owen has been in charge for a long time. But lately . . . well, lately things haven’t been so calm and quiet. You might have to show them how to throw some more punches.” “I’m good at that too.” He looked her up and down. “I can believe that. Now, tell me about the ex.”

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 102102 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM DARKNESS DEVOURS

A Dark Angels Novel by Keri Arthur

A July 2012 Signet Select Paperback

New York Times bestselling author Keri Arthur has been hailed for her “smart, sexy”* urban fantasy novels.

Now she continues her Dark Angels series, set in the realm of danger and desire known as the Guardian World. . . .

Half- werewolf, half- Aedh Risa Jones can enter the realm between life and death, and she can see the Reapers who collect the souls of the dead. Now she is using her gifts— and the investigative know- how of a man who broke her heart— to fi nd a cabal searching for the power to control time, reality, and fate. This is in addition to her work for the Vampire Council, half of whom want her dead. But for the time being the Council needs her alive. Someone is killing blood whore– addicted vampires, and Risa must fi nd the guilty party. If she succeeds, she may N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 103103 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM fi nally convince the Council to lift the execution order on her life. But before she succeeds, she must fi rst survive. . . .

“Keri Arthur’s imagination and energy infuse everything she writes with zest.” —Charlaine Harris

*Kim Harrison

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 104104 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM CHAPTER 1

We do what we have to do—we track these people down by whatever means necessary. The words weren’t mine, but they ran through my brain nevertheless, going around and around, chased by echoes of pain and heartbreak as I stood on the footpath and stared up at the multi- story building in Southbank. I’d never been inside but I’d driven past it many a time. And, more than once, I’d stopped here at the curbside, shar- ing a lingering kiss, reluctant to let what we’d experienced the night before come to an end. I’d been so in love. Stupidly, foolishly in love. And it had all been a lie. Not on my part, but his. Jak Talbott— the werewolf I thought I’d spend the rest of my life with— had wanted nothing more than a good story. And he’d got that, mixing lies with reality so deftly it was hard to pick them apart. Mom had sued both him and the paper over the story, but in the end, had settled out of court rather than have her name— and possibly mine— dragged endlessly through the gossip mags while the court case was ongoing. But mud tends to stick, even if it isn’t true, and she N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 105105 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 106 KERI ARTHUR

lost several lucrative TV spots because of it. Not that that had particularly worried her. She’d been more concerned about the effect of Jak’s actions on me. And my reaction had been fairly intense. Even now, two years later, I avoided anything resembling a deep or lasting relationship, preferring the fun but emotionally sterile liaison with my Aedh lover, Lucian. Meeting Jak Talbott again was the last thing I ever wanted to do. I crossed my arms and rubbed them lightly. The midday sun held plenty of warmth, but it didn’t chase the chill away from my fl esh. We do what we have to do—we track these people down by whatever means necessary. Fine words, but did I have the courage to actually follow them through? After standing here in front of this building for the last fi ve minutes, I wasn’t so sure that I did. I glanced at my watch and saw it was a few minutes past twelve. If I was going to run, I’d better do it now . . . Awareness tingled across my senses and I looked up the steps to the building’s entrance— straight into the intense black gaze of Jak Talbott. I can’t do this, I thought, as all the old pain and hurt rose, threatening to drown me all over again. I just can’t. But even as that thought crossed my mind, the inherently stubborn part of my nature rose. I straightened my spine. Clenched my fi sts. I could do this. I needed to do this. Not only for the sake of my heart and any future relation- ships I might have, but also because saving the world from the hordes of hell might well depend on what happened here with Jak. N I watched him walk towards me, his strides long and lithe,

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 106106 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM DARKNESS DEVOURS 107

graceful in an almost feline sort of way. He wasn’t a classi- cally handsome man, but his rough hewn features were easy on the eye and his body was well toned without being too muscular. His hair, like his skin, was a rich black, although these days there seemed to be a fair amount of silver glinting through the shaggy thickness of it. He stopped several feet in front of me, his gaze briefl y skimming me before resting on the fi sts clenched by my side. “I hope you’re not going to aim those at me, Risa.” “You’ve already had one good story out of my family,” I said, amazed my voice actually sounded civil. “I’m not about to give you another one.” “Really?” His gaze rose to mine, the black depths wary, watchful. “Then what do you want?” “Coffee.” Although in all honesty, several large bottles of alcohol— the stronger the better— would probably have been more suitable right then. I might have the constitution of a werewolf, which meant it was damnably hard for me to get drunk, but several bottles would at least soften the haunting sense of loss. Jak raised an eyebrow, but waved a hand to the small café not far up the road. “They make fairly good coffee.” “Then let’s go.” I strode forward, the heels of my sandals clicking on the concrete, a tattoo of sound as fast as my heart. He walked beside me, his familiar, wood- smoke scent washing over me, raising memories of lazy evenings spent in front of the old log fi re in his house, our bodies entwined . . . Damn it, he used you, I reminded myself fi ercely. Remem- ber that, and only that. The automatic fl y- screen door swished open as we neared the café. Inside was cool and shadowed, the air a mix of rich N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 107107 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 108 KERI ARTHUR

coffee, fried food, and sweaty humanity. The air conditioning obviously wasn’t doing a great job at this end of the room. I wove through the tables, heading for one near the rear of the room, close to the overhead vent. The rush of cold air had goose bumps racing across my bare arms, but at least it was free of the more unpleasant smells in the room. “So,” Jak said, pulling out a chair and sitting down opposite me. “What is this all about?” Instead of immediately answering, I asked, “What would you like to drink?” His smile held a wry edge. “Forgotten already?” “It’s been a few years, Jak. People and tastes change.” And I wish my tastes had changed. Wished I could honestly say I no longer found him so damnably attractive. “I haven’t changed. Not when it comes to coffee, anyway.” Meaning he’d changed in other ways? Somehow, I doubted it. I punched in an order of coffee and cake for us both, then swiped my credit card through the slot to pay for it. Then I faced him again. “I want a favor.” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “I would have thought I’d be the last person on earth you’d ask a favor of.” “You are,” I snapped, then mentally clawed back the escaping anger. “But you’re the only reporter I know, and you happen to specialize in paranormal and occult news and investigations.” “I do.” He studied me for several minutes, his gaze still wary. As if he’d been the injured party in the whole sordid mess. “And what do I get in return for granting this favor?” “A story that could blow anything else you’ve written out of the water.” N Excitement fl ared briefl y in his dark eyes before he man-

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 108108 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM DARKNESS DEVOURS 109

aged to control it. But I’d expected nothing less. For a man like Jak, the story was all. “Does this favor involve doing anything illegal?” “I doubt it.” I paused, but couldn’t help adding, “Although we both know that wouldn’t exactly faze you.” Amusement teased his lips and an ache stuttered through my heart. Not over him. Not by a long shot. Or rather, not over the memory of what we’d once shared. Even the hurt of his deception couldn’t erase all that had once been good. And that sucked. “You and I both know the childhood your mother pre- sented to the world was a lie,” he said evenly. “I had sworn statements that proved it, and your mother never did refute them.” I gave him a somewhat bitter smile. “The people who mattered knew the truth about my mother’s past. No one else needed to. Not then, not now.” “What about the public she was defrauding?” A waitress approached with our coffees and cakes. I gave her a smile of thanks, waiting until she left before saying, “My mother’s psychic powers were real, and they helped a lot of people. Shame you didn’t do a story about that rather than besmirching her name.” He shrugged and reached for his coffee. “I don’t do good news stories. I prefer the dark and dirty underbelly of things.” “Which is exactly why I’m here.” I wrapped my hands around my coffee and hoped like hell I was making the right decision to confi de in him. But even if I wasn’t, I still had to chance it. It wasn’t like we had a whole lot of options right now. “How much do you know about witchcraft and ley lines?” He frowned. “I know some people think the lines and their N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 109109 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 110 KERI ARTHUR

intersections resonate a special psychic or mystical energy, but the jury is out as to whether there’s any truth in it or not.” “What if I told you they’re not only more powerful than you could ever imagine, but there’s a major ley- line intersection here in Melbourne.” “I’d have to say, so?” “So, a consortium has used extreme force in an effort to gain control of the area around that intersection.” His gaze searched mine for a moment. “Why say ‘has used’ rather than ‘are using.’ No one is interested in old news.” “It’s not old news if only two of the three men have been captured. The Directorate is pushing resources behind the hunt for the third man, but so far they have been unable to locate him. The man is a ghost, existing only on paper.” Of course, the Directorate— or Directorate of Other Races as it was offi cially known— also had bigger problems on their hands. They were, after all, responsible for going after all nonhumans who crossed the line and killed. He studied me for a moment, one fi nger tapping the table lightly. A sure sign I’d snagged his interest. “For the Director- ate to be pushing all resources behind such a hunt, these men had to have done something pretty bad.” “They raised a soul stealer and set it after the relatives or friends of anyone who wouldn’t sell them the properties that surrounded the intersection. One of those who died was a little girl.” A little girl whose soul would never move on, never be reborn. Hers was a life lost to the world forever. “You always were a sucker when it came to children.” His voice hinted at the warmth of old. “Is that what this is about? Revenge for a little girl?” N “Both the thing responsible for the little girl’s death and

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 110110 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM DARKNESS DEVOURS 111

the witch who raised it have been dealt with.” And both of them were dead, sent to the fi ery realms of hell itself— although who actually knew if hell was fi ery. “This is about fi nding the third member of that consortium.” He sipped his coffee for several moments, his expression giving little away. But I knew from past experience that behind the neutral expression there was a clever mind working full tilt, chewing over information, working out possible angles. “Why does this consortium controlling the intersection worry you so much? You’re not a witch. You aren’t even as psychically powerful as your mother.” “I have different gifts from my mom, but that doesn’t make them any less powerful.” Although admittedly, being able to walk the grey fi elds— the unseen lands that divide this world from the next— talk to souls, and see the reapers who guided the souls on to the next life weren’t exactly the most useable psychic gifts in a normal, everyday life. But my life of late was as far from normal and everyday as you could get. And they were far from the only gifts I had. Jak raised an eyebrow. “Meaning you can use the ley lines?” “I can’t even see them.” “So why is it so important to you that the consortium is stopped?” I picked up a spoon and scooped up some chocolate cake. It was a little dry, but I needed the sugary energy right then. The air conditioning might be blasting every other scent away, but it didn’t seem to be doing a whole lot to erase his. And every intake of breath had the past stirring within me. “These people attacked friends of mine. I want to fi nd them.” N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 111111 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 112 KERI ARTHUR

His gaze scanned mine again and a smile tugged his lips. “The truth, but not the whole truth.” I acknowledged that with a slight nod. “But the whole truth is a little out there.” “I’m a reporter who investigates all things paranormal and occult, remember?” Sarcasm edged his voice. “You’d be surprised at just how ‘out there’ I’m willing to go.” I was betting even he wouldn’t believe the real truth— that the intersection might well be tied up in a desperate scramble by at least four different parties to fi nd the keys that would unlock the portals of heaven and hell. That one of those keys had not only been recently found, but used to open the fi rst of the portals that protected our world from the hordes of hell. I’d held that key in my hand. Held it, and lost it. I didn’t want that to happen with the next key, and that meant fi nding out as much as we could about all the players involved in this race. Which meant digging up as much information about John Nadler— the consortium’s elusive third man— as we could get. But computers could only go so far. Sometimes the only way to fi nd anything useful was to hit the streets. But the sort of people who’d hold the information we needed weren’t likely to talk to someone like me, even if I could fi nd them. But they’d talk to Jak. They always had. He had a talent for putting you at ease. Or at least he did when he wasn’t sitting opposite the woman whose heart he’d shattered. “An intersection as powerful as this one,” I said, “can be used to manipulate time, reality, or fate. If someone succeeds in controlling such a intersection, he could wreak havoc on N the very fabric of our world.”

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 112112 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM DARKNESS DEVOURS 113

He briefl y looked surprised. “The intersection is really that powerful?” “Yes.” “Well then, I guess fi nding the third man is something of a priority.” He leaned forward a little. “But why are you involved? And why come to me? Why not just leave it all to the Directorate? It seems to be more their line of business than yours or mine.” “I’d leave it to the Directorate if I could, but that’s not an option.” “Leading me to the next obvious question— why not?” “Because I’m being blackmailed into the hunt.” Which was the truth, just one that didn’t actually apply to the intersection. Amusement fl irted briefl y with his mouth and something deep inside me twisted. It was a stupid and illogical response, and it made me want to scream at my inability to just forget what might have been. “Did someone dig up some more dirty laundry on you or your family?” he said. His article had been more than dirty laundry— he’d accused her of lying about her past. Which she had, but not for the reasons he’d suggested. There was no nefarious crimes or shady dealings, just her creation in a madman’s laboratory— a fact she kept well guarded, and for good reason. Her extraordinary abilities had caused many to treat her as a freak— it would have been far worse if they’d learned the true nature of her birth. “No, they didn’t. They’re threatening my friends.” That the man behind the threats was both an Aedh— who were creatures of light and shadows, an energy so fi erce their mere presence burned the very air around them— and my father was something I wasn’t about to explain. N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 113113 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 114 KERI ARTHUR

Jak frowned. “If that’s the case, involving the Directorate seems even more logical.” “They are involved, but their investigation is going nowhere and they can’t protect my friends forever.” They weren’t even trying, in fact, simply because they didn’t know about the threats. There was no point telling them when they could never, ever protect us from the force that was my father. “So why do you think I’ll succeed where the Directorate is failing?” Jak asked. “Because you not only have a knack for getting people to talk to you, you seem able to uncover those who would rather remain hidden.” The half smile appeared again. “That was almost a compliment.” “It’s the truth,” I said fl atly. “Nothing more, nothing less.” “Huh.” He fi nished his coffee then leaned back in his chair again. “How do you expect me to fi nd someone the Directorate— with all its resources— can not? They have some of the strongest telepaths in Melbourne in their employ. What could I get that they can’t?” “They’re tackling the situation from a criminal angle. I have people tackling it from a computer angle. What we need is someone on the street.” I paused, and my smile held only the slightest trace of bitterness. “And we both know just how much you love digging the dirt in the street.” “You should do that more often,” he said. “It suits you.” I stared at him for a heartbeat, totally confused. “Do what?” “Smile.” Something twisted inside again. Old pain, old love, churn- N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 114114 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM DARKNESS DEVOURS 115

ing together, one fi ghting the other. Bastard, I thought. It was hard enough fi ghting the memories without him muddying the water by throwing compliments. “I may want your help, Jak, but I don’t want anything else from you. I don’t like the way you treat your lovers.” He shrugged. “It was only a comment, not a fl irtation.” “Well, keep such comments to yourself. I don’t need them. I just need your help.” “Which I can’t give if I don’t actually have a starting point— other than the name of a man no one can fi nd.” I reached down into my purse and pulled out my phone. “You still have the same number?” When he nodded, I attached a fi le and sent it to him. His phone beeped from the depths of his pockets. “That’s all the information we have, both on the consortium and the three men.” “What about the people they were threatening?” “Also there.” I hesitated. “If you talk to Fay and Steven Kingston— the parents of the little girl— don’t mention the soul stealer. They don’t know the truth about their daughter’s death. They don’t know the threats and Hanna’s death are connected.” “Really?” His gaze seemed to intensify, as if he were trying to get inside my head. Which he had no chance of thanks to the super strong nano microcells that had been inserted into my earlobe and heel. Nanowires— the predecessor of the microcells— were powered by body heat, but for the wires to be active, both ends had to be connected so that a circuit was formed. Microcells were also powered by body heat, but they were contradictory forces that didn’t need a physical connection. Once fully activated, the push- pull of their interaction N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 115115 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 116 KERI ARTHUR

provided a shield that was ten times stronger than any wire yet created. With them in place, no one was getting inside my head. Well, almost no one. The reaper who’d been assigned by the powers above him— powers he refused to name— to follow me around seemed to have no problem, and neither did Lucian— although at least Lucian was hit and miss when it came to knowing what was going on in my mind. The one test the microcells hadn’t yet passed was Made- line Hunter, who was not only one of the strongest vampire telepaths around and the woman in charge of the Director- ate, but also— technically— my boss. Which wasn’t a situation I was happy about, but then, that’s what I got for agreeing to work for the high vampire council. Of course, working for them and actually helping them fi nd the keys— which they wanted not only to maintain power, but to use hell itself as some sort of prison— were two entirely different things. But it was a precarious balancing act, simply because half of the high council thought it would be better to kill me than use me. All that stood between me and them was Hunter herself. Which meant, like it or not, I’d do what I had to do to keep her happy. Jak blinked, suggesting he’d given up attempting to squir- rel into my thoughts. “So why didn’t you tell them the truth about their daughter’s death?” “It was bad enough that their little girl died. They didn’t need to know that it wasn’t just her fl esh that had passed.” I eyed him warily. “And if you tell them, I shall beat you to a pulp.” He laughed softly. The sound shivered down my spine, warm and tingly. “You’ve gotten a little aggressive since we parted. Hope it’s not my fault.” N I snorted. “Don’t give yourself any credit, Jak. I’ve had far

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 116116 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM DARKNESS DEVOURS 117

worse traumas in my life than you using me to get a story on my mother.” And given she’d been torn apart by an unknown assailant, that was the understatement of the year, to say the least. Jak didn’t say the obvious— sorry about your mother’s death— and I was glad. I might just have given in to the temp- tation to hit him if he had. “So, I track down any and all information about this consortium and the man no one else can fi nd, then what?” “You give me progress reports, and you let me see everything you have before you print said story.” “Since this story looms so large on the Directorate’s radar, will I actually be allowed to print it?” “They can’t stop it if they don’t know about it,” I said. “All you need to do is keep your nose down.” “Yeah, that’s going to be easy given what I’m investigat- ing.” His gaze moved down again, narrowing slightly when it came to rest on my left arm. “Interesting tat.” “Yeah,” I said dismissively, not even glancing down at the wingless lilac dragon that twined its way up my arm from my fi ngertips. I certainly wasn’t about to explain that it wasn’t actually a tattoo, but something far more deadly— a Dušan, a spirit guardian that came to life on the grey fi elds to protect me. “Have we got a deal?” He shrugged. “Maybe. Let me dig around a little, just to see if there really is a worthwhile story in all this.” “Just don’t take too long to decide, because we haven’t got a whole lot of time left.” He nodded, fi nished his coffee in one long gulp, then rose. “I’ll let you know, one way or another, by tomorrow.” He walked out. I tried to resist the urge to watch, but my gaze still fl icked that way. The man sure could move nicely . . . N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 117117 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 118 KERI ARTHUR

something fl uttered at the outer reaches of my vision. It was almost ghostlike, a wisp of silver that was quickly shredded by the sunlight streaming in through the window. I frowned, scanning the front of the shop, intuition tingling. Whatever it was, it didn’t reappear. Jak left the café and the door whooshed shut behind him. I sighed in relief and ordered a second cup of coffee. My damn hands were shaking so bad it took several attempts to swipe the credit card through. “You should not have met him if his presence effects you so.” The words came out of the emptiness behind Jak’s chair even as the heat of Azriel’s presence caressed my skin. Reap- ers, like the Aedh, were beings of energy rather than true fl esh and blood, but they could attain that form if they wished to. Which is how I’d come about. My father had spent one night in fl esh form with my mother and, in the process, had given life to me— a half- breed mix of werewolf and Aedh who was lucky enough to get most of the best bits of each and few of the downsides. “You’re the one that said we had to do everything possible to stop the remaining portals being opened. No matter what I might think or feel about Jak, he is good at digging up forgotten information.” I stabbed my spoon into my cake, scooping some up. “If it’s out there to be found, he’ll fi nd it.” Azriel formed substance on the other side of the table and sat down in Jak’s recently vacated chair. While reapers were basically shapeshifters, able to take on any form that would comfort the dying on their fi nal journey, they did possess one ‘true’ shape. Usually I just saw whatever form they used to N claim the soul they were meant to escort, but for some weird

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 118118 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM DARKNESS DEVOURS 119

reason, I always saw Azriel’s real form rather than the shape he decided to take on. Even he had no idea why this happened— or if he did, he wasn’t telling me. Which wasn’t exactly a bad thing given his real form was rather stunning. His face was chiseled, almost classical in its beauty and yet possessing the hard edge of a man who’d won more than his fair share of battles. He was shirtless, his skin a warm, suntanned brown and his abs well defi ned. The worn leather strap that held his sword in place seemed to emphasize the width of his shoulders, just as the dark jeans that clung to his legs hinted at the lean strength of them. Styl- ized black tats that resembled the left half of a wing swept around his ribs from underneath his arm, the tips brushing across the left side of his neck. Only it wasn’t a tat. It was a Dušan— a darker, more styl- ized brother to the one that now resided on my left arm. Azriel’s gaze met mine, and his blue eyes— one as vivid and as bright as a sapphire, the other the color of a storm held sea— hinted at sympathy. “Couldn’t you have just asked him all this on the phone?” I grimaced. “Jak’s the sort of person who prefers face to face meetings.” “Because of his gifts.” “Yes.” I gave the waitress another smile of thanks as she delivered my second cup of coffee. She didn’t even blink at the half- naked sword carrying man sitting opposite me. But that wasn’t entirely surprising. The same ability that allowed reapers to see what form a soul would most likely accept in their guide allowed Azriel to take on an outer skin that would raise no eyebrows, no matter where he was. The waitress probably saw him as just another man in a suit. “Actually,” he said, “she still thinks Jak sits at the table.” N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 119119 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 120 KERI ARTHUR

“Well, I’m glad he isn’t,” I muttered around a mouthful of cake. “Odd words, since your thoughts suggest otherwise.” “As you have previously noted, human thoughts are not always rational.” “But you are not human.” “And right now, I’m not exactly rational.” I fi nished the last of my cake, then pushed the plate away and reached for Jak’s. Never let it be said that I let a chocolate cake go to waste, even if it wasn’t the best I’d ever tasted. “So, what’s next?” He shrugged. “Until your father contacts us with details of the next key’s location, we are basically at a stand still.” “Well, if he wasn’t the one who stole the key from us, maybe he won’t.” And if he wasn’t the one who’d stolen it, then I was more than happy for him to remain far, far away. If only because I’d seen him angry— and, part werewolf or not, the bruises had taken days to fade. “Maybe he’ll consider us too great a risk to use again.” He raised an eyebrow. “Do you honestly believe that?” He knew I didn’t. He could read every thought after all. I threw the spoon onto the plate, but it bounced and clattered over the edge of the table. Azriel caught it casually in one hand and gave it back to me. “Finish the cake,” he said softly. “You need the sustenance.” I scowled at him. “Stop mothering me. Besides, cake isn’t sustenance.” “It is impossible for me to mother you when I am male,” he replied evenly, but there was a hint of humor glinting in the depths of his eyes, and, as usual, it did strange things to N my pulse rate— which only emphasized just how irrational I

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 120120 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM DARKNESS DEVOURS 121

really was. He added, “And is not chocolate one of the fi ve essential food groups?” I rolled my eyes. “You, reaper, need to stop believing everything you read in my thoughts.” He merely raised an eyebrow. “If it is not essential, why do you have it so often?” I studied him for a moment, wondering if he was still teasing me or not. “Because it’s like love and sex— it’s just something a woman has to have.” I paused, but couldn’t resist asking, “What about you? Is there anything in your life that you’d consider essential?” “Valdis,” he said immediately. “Valdis is your sword.” A demon forged sword with a whole lot of power and a voice and mind of her own, granted, but still a sword. I had a similar one sitting at my back, only Amaya was shadow- wreathed, and no one would ever see her— not until her black blade pierced their fl esh, anyway. “Swords don’t count.” “Then it would be duty,” he said evenly. I snorted. “It’s a sad statement about the reaper community that duty is considered a far higher priority than love and laughter.” “It is natural our priorities are different considering our beings are completely different in design.” I frowned. “Aren’t you even curious as to why we humans consider love, sex, and chocolate so vital to our existence?” “No.” He paused. “Which does not preclude the possibil- ity that I have experienced at least one of those options.” “I wasn’t talking about the reaper version of love and sex.” “Neither was I,” he said, amusement teasing his lips. I stared at him for several seconds, completely dumb- struck. No, he surely couldn’t mean . . . N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 121121 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 122 KERI ARTHUR

He’d shown no interest in eating in the time I’d known him, so I had to think chocolate was out. And it was hard to imagine him falling in love with a human given his often harsh opinions of humanity as a whole. But that only left sex and I really couldn’t imagine . . . “Why not?” he asked softly. “If I can fi nd death in this form, why would you think me incapable of fi nding other emotions?” “Death isn’t an emotion. Neither is sex.” I said this in total disbelief. I was still trying to get my head around the fact that Azriel had had sex. In human form. “On the contrary, death is a time of great sadness. And does not sex bring joy and completeness?” “Yeah, for us. You’re not us.” “Why can you believe it possible for the Aedh to enjoy the benefi ts of fl esh, but not a reaper?” The Aedh he was referring to was Lucian. Despite all the help Lucian had given to us recently, Azriel both disliked and distrusted him, to the point where he refused to call him by name— even if he was in the same room as him. “I believe it because I’ve seen the joy Lucian gets out of sex. Besides, reapers are soul guides and it seems to me that you all treat that role with great respect and uttermost devo- tion. I would have thought fraternizing with us would be banned.” Hell, there seemed to be rules forbidding almost everything else in the reaper world. “Ah, but it is,” he said, and there was an almost bitter twist in his brief smile. I blinked. “Okay, now you’re just confusing me.” He studied me for a few minutes, his gaze more intense than usual, as if he were judging me. Which was odd, because N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 122122 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM DARKNESS DEVOURS 123

he was connected to my Chi and probably knew me better than I knew myself. “You remember I mentioned the friend that died?” “Yes.” “He was sent to retrieve a soul, but found a trap instead. Ten more reapers found their deaths before I tracked down the person responsible.” Azriel paused, and regret touched the air. But over what it had cost him, I thought, not what he’d done. “I was not Mijai at the time, but I did what I had to do to uncover the killer.” Which was what he’d advised me to do not so long ago, and the only reason I’d come here to see Jak today. “And doing what you had to do involved sex with a human?” “Yes. Seducing the killer’s former mistress was the only way I could uncover his location.” I raised my eyebrows. “Why couldn’t you have simply read her mind, or even waited until he came to see her again?” “As I said, she was his former mistress. Apparently he stopped seeing her just before the killings began. And though it is extremely rare, there are minds reapers cannot read— that is why you sometimes see the classic grey shroud form of reaper.” He shrugged. “Violence was out— I would not des- ecrate my position as a soul guide that badly— so my only option was seduction. It took two weeks to gain her trust and get the information. That time was . . . enlightening.” I bet. “So you became a Mijai because you seduced a woman?” “And scattered the soul of my friend’s killer to the four winds, never to be reborn.” Holy shit . . . he really had got his vengeance. “How the hell are you even still alive?” N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 123123 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 124 KERI ARTHUR

I mightn’t know a whole lot about the reaper world, but I did know that sort of action was out of bounds unless it was ordered by whoever was in charge of the Mijai. Or dark angels, as they sometimes called themselves. “It was a close decision,” he said softly. “And I am still paying for my actions, even as a Mijai.” “So, you becoming a Mijai, and then being assigned to follow me is part of that punishment?” “Yes.” No wonder he’d been so hostile at the beginning of all this. “So when this assignment is over, will you be forgiven?” “I doubt it. My sin was great. My penance will be a long one.” I eyed him for a moment, suspecting there was more to his punishment than what he was admitting, then said, “And you don’t care, do you?” “I care that I will never again be a guide. Beyond that, no.” Because he’d avenged his friend. And to think I’d once thought this reaper wasn’t capable of emotion. I lifted my cup, then paused, the coffee washing warmth across my lips. There was another odd glimmer in the shadows behind Azriel. It defi nitely wasn’t smoke from the deep- fryers or anything like that, because it was stationary under the vents. Steam would have been sucked out. What? His voice slipped into my mind as smoothly as dark silk. I think we have company. Where? He didn’t move, but blue fi re began to fl icker across Valdis’s sharp edges, a sure sign that sword and master were ready for action. It’s behind you. N His eyes narrowed a little, and power slithered through

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 124124 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM DARKNESS DEVOURS 125

the air. His, not whatever it was behind him. It is neither a ghost nor a day walker—although there is one in the room. I raised my eyebrows. Day walker? The spirit of one who has left his living body to roam this world. Ah. An astral traveler. So what about those shimmers of silver I keep seeing? Those, he said, his mind voice fl at. Are Ania. I had no idea what that was— other than the fact it wasn’t of this world— but right now, there was a more important question. Why didn’t you sense them before me? He hesitated. My concentration was wholly on you rather than our surrounds. It is a mistake I shall endeavor not to repeat. Given all the mistakes I’d made over the last few weeks, I could hardly grumble at his one brief lapse in concentration— and it was oddly gratifying that I was the cause of it. I frowned at the shimmer still standing in the shadows behind him. What is an Ania? The ancient Greeks gave them the name—it means, literally, the female personifi cation of trouble. Which doesn’t exactly tell me what they are. Or why they’d be here in this café closing in on us. Ania are demons. They can be summoned to perform a number of tasks, including harassment, assault, and murder. He paused. It is unusual to see them in great numbers. They are normally solitary beings. Two is hardly what I’d term great numbers. And given the size of the shimmers I’d seen, as demons went, they seemed to be on the small side. There are at least six here, and size is not an indicator of dangerousness when it comes to demons, he chided softly. N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 125125 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 126 KERI ARTHUR

Ania are rarely seen outside the dark realm. They are both hard to summon, and harder to control. So they’re not the type of demon who breaks through the portals of their own accord? No. His expression was grim as it met mine. Whoever summoned them has been able to do so simply because the strength of the portals has been weakened. Because there were now only two portals protecting us from the hordes of hell rather than three. And that was entirely my fault. It is a blame that lies on us both. Given he’d been busy protecting me, and all I’d had to do was hold on to the key, that wasn’t exactly true. But it was pointless getting into an argument over it— no amount of arguing or remorse was going to change what had happened. So the Ania are here to kill us? If killing was their intent, they would have attacked immediately. Then what the hell do they want? That I cannot say until they actually act. He hesitated. But Amaya and Valdis are well equipped to handle Ania. That I knew. Valdis practically glowed with the blue of her fi re and Amaya’s hissing rolled across the edges of my mind, fi lled with eagerness and the need to rent and tear. It wasn’t the swords I was worried about. Or Azriel. It was me. I’d proven woefully inadequate when it came to protecting myself against the more dangerous elements that kept coming at us. You are alive, Risa. Given what we have been through, that in itself speaks volumes about your ability to survive. Surviving and fi ghting were two entirely different things. N So what do we do?

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 126126 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM DARKNESS DEVOURS 127

We attack. I glanced around the café. There were at least half a dozen people eating and drinking in the café, not to mention the fi ve staff members. Not with all these people in here we won’t. He glanced at the people around us. As one, they got up and walked out. I blinked. I guess that solved one problem. But it caused an even bigger one. Because the minute the people left, the Ania attacked.

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 127127 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 128128 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM LIQUID LIES by Hanna Martine

A July 2012 paperback from Berkley Sensation

Gwen possesses the unique ability to pick up any language in an instant— a power that will globally expand the prof- itable family business. As dutiful future leader of her race of water elementals, she’ll do anything to protect her people’s secrets and bloodlines— including enter an arranged marriage. Inside, however, she yearns for the forbidden— human men. Reed is a mercenary addicted to the money and adrenaline rush of his work. After he saves Gwen’s life, he ignites her taboo desire for men without magic— and with bodies of gods. Just as things heat up, Reed discovers that Gwen is exactly who he’s been hired to kidnap. He resolves to put work before lust, yet her luscious beauty and fi ery spirit unravel him . . . But there is a terrible truth behind Gwen’s family business— and now, caught between the kinsmen she no longer trusts and an enemy bent on vengeance, the only ally she has is her abductor . . . N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 129129 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 130130 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM CHAPTER 1

Deals always went down near water. At three a. m. Gwen Carroway and the chairman of the Company waited in an idling limo on the Embarcadero. To the left, the bay curled around a sparkling San Francisco. To the right, water poured incessantly from Vaillancourt Foun- tain’s hulking mess of squared concrete tubes. Water everywhere— soothing her, whispering to her, offering her protection. She peered through the tinted windows. On the opposite side of the fountain, two male fi gures in dark suits appeared between a line of palm trees. Their steps slowed as they started across the angular half- moon of the plaza. “They’re here.” Her father, Chairman Ian Carroway, stopped poking at his phone and set it on the seat next to his thigh. “You sound a little nervous. Are you?” She sucked in air through her teeth. “Maybe a little. New client jitters, I guess. It’ll pass.” His sharp, brown eyes warmed as he patted her knee. N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 131131 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 132 HANNA MARTINE

“You’ve done this a dozen times. The Company trusts you. I trust you.” She blew out a breath and tilted her face to the jagged line of city buildings cutting into the night sky. “I know, I know. I just wish it wasn’t so out in the open.” The phone buzzed and her father reached for it again, thumbs dancing across its face, as he typed one thing and said another. “The location is for their comfort, not ours. You’ll be fi ne, kiddo.” Still “kiddo” to him, and she was closing in on thirty. When he fi nished typing he didn’t put the phone down, just held it loosely in one palm. Did he sleep with that thing? “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?” She waved him off. “Yes. I want to do this myself. But thanks.” Maybe if the Board saw how ambitious she was— how devoted and benefi cial to the Company— they would vote her into their ranks before her next birthday. And wouldn’t that be an accomplishment? Wouldn’t that prove to her people that she’d do anything for them, including committing her life to better theirs? Because of her gift, she was the only person in the Com- pany capable of making international deals, but she wanted to be so much more. She wanted to lead. She wanted to take what her father had grown and make it even stronger. Gwen patted the bulge in the pocket of her black blazer and opened the limo door. The dome light illuminated her father, who nodded confi dently and shooed her off with a grin. His belief in her gave her strength. She would not let him down. She would not let her people down. A beige Subaru slowed behind the limo, honked, then N swerved around. Gwen hopped onto the curb, suddenly and

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 132132 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM LIQUID LIES 133

frighteningly conscious of the way the limo’s interior light cast a spotlight on the important man inside. Secrecy was paramount. She slammed the door, extinguishing the light, and the limo pulled away on silent wheels, leaving her alone in the plaza. She closed her eyes and breathed, absorbing the combined sounds of the bay’s lapping waves and the roar of the fountain. Opening her eyes, she channeled her father’s panache and squared her shoulders. She walked steadily around the fountain, resisting the urge to tug at the yellow strands of her hair that swirled in the unpredictable breeze. The new client was Japanese, the Company’s fi rst from that country. The actual buyer was too important to retrieve the product himself, rich enough to send others to do his business, and obsessed with anonymity. Just like everyone else willing to pay the Company’s high price of vanity. The lead Japanese man approached Gwen with shallow steps. A lock of inky black hair bounced across his forehead and he used a palm to slick it back. Per the Company’s instructions, he clutched a cheap, nondescript briefcase. His companion, striding with purpose at his heels, stood a full head taller and weighed double. She walked among Primaries every day. She lived in their city without self- consciousness or worry that they could dif- ferentiate her from anyone else on the street. But when deals went down and the Company cracked open the door to their private little world, it was impossible for her to not feel vulnerable. Like she was opening the drawbridge and inviting the enemy inside the castle. That was the source of her nerves, she realized. She didn’t fear for her own safety or that she couldn’t close the sale. Despite monstrous confi dentiality agreements, every deal the N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 133133 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 134 HANNA MARTINE

Company made threatened to reveal more of themselves to the Primaries, and that scared her more than anything. There were reasons humans were called Primaries: they were here fi rst and there were far, far more of them. Even though the wealthiest of the Primaries craved what her people had to offer, they regarded the Company with caution and a measure of disdain. After all, Gwen’s people, the Ofarians, were special. No matter how much money the Pri- maries threw at the Company, they could never physically possess Ofarian magic. But the Company could sell it to them in a bottle. Gwen stopped near the lip of the fountain, where the tan- gle of concrete and rushing water guarded her from the inter- mittent headlights on the Embarcadero. She let the clients come to her. The smaller Japanese man walked determinedly, with a laser- like focus. His bodyguard made sweeping assess- ments of the surroundings with his eyes. Go ahead, she thought. You won’t fi nd anyone but me. The men pulled up a few feet away. The shorter man passed the briefcase to his bodyguard and retrieved a business card from his pocket. Presenting it with both hands, he bowed and spoke in quick Japanese. “I am Yoshi. Mikatani regrets being unable to come personally.” “Yoshi.” She handed him her own card in the same way and bowed deeper. Japanese spilled off her tongue, coming as easily as her native language. “We spoke on the phone.” As Yoshi straightened, he looked pointedly over her shoulder. “Your chairman could not make it?” She dipped her head. “It seems both our employers are busy. I assure you your business is safe with me.” “Gwen Carroway. Vice President International Relations.” N He smiled as he read her card aloud, though the smile was oily

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 134134 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM LIQUID LIES 135

and unforthcoming. She didn’t like him at all. When he looked up, the gush of the fountain refl ected in his night- dark eyes. “Your Japanese is excellent.” “So is my Greek. And twenty- two other languages.” Another smile, this one wider and slimier. His teeth looked like they’d been knocked out and shoved back in by a third grader. She understood very well that she was in the business of lies, but she was supposed to sell them, not buy them. She desperately wanted out from under his stare; she wanted this deal done. “Do you have the remainder of the payment?” Yoshi gestured to the briefcase. “Do you have the product?” “Of course.” The subtle lift of her shoulders, the overly casual demeanor— she’d stolen them both directly from her father. Reaching into her pocket, she withdrew a shiny, graphite- colored box the size of a cigarette pack tied with a red silk bow. The name Mendacia wrapped around the package in silvery embossed script. Yoshi’s eyes clamped onto it. He licked his lips. “Does it really work?” They’d been out in the open for a while now and the cov- etousness in his expression set her on edge. Her knees locked and she prayed he wouldn’t notice her legs shaking. Maybe she should just walk away from the deal . . . except that the Ofarians depended on her and her sales, not only for the money Mendacia brought in, but also for the jobs and security it provided. “After Mikatani- san’s foot is amputated, use this potion as directed and no one will be able to tell. His body will seem whole. To anyone watching, he will walk without a limp.” She tilted her head, another trust me gestured borrowed from Dad, N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 135135 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 136 HANNA MARTINE

the king of sales, the master of persuasion. She couldn’t resist needling Yoshi; he rubbed her wrong in so many ways. “But I have already convinced Mikatani. I don’t need to sell it to you.” Another swipe of Yoshi’s palm across his forehead. At last he ripped his gaze from the box. “No, of course not. I just fi nd it hard to believe. A potion to cure what the most advanced diabetes doctors cannot?” She jiggled the box, the bow fl opping from side to side. “Not cure. Appear to cure. To hide.” She anticipated his reaction. Expected to see disbelief cloud his expression. That usually happened with fi rst- time clients. Only Yoshi didn’t indulge. His black eyes narrowed in a way that suggested pleasure, not doubt. “Is that all it can do? Make ailing octogenarians save face in front of their investors?” Mendacia was far more than that. It was the Ofarians’ honor. Only the most gifted of her people were selected to learn the craft, and it was the hard work of those chosen ones who supported the entire race. The Primaries would never know that. They’d get what they paid for. Nothing more. “It’s glamour,” she said, taking care not to look away from Yoshi’s eyes. “It can do almost anything.” Related to the user’s personal appearance, that is. She raised the box and made an obvious glance at the briefcase. “The instructions to activate the spell are inside the box. I personally translated them and wrote out the words phonetically using Japanese pronunciation. If Mikatani- san has any questions or concerns, please call me directly.” The errant lock of hair fell over Yoshi’s forehead again. This time he didn’t shove it away. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear. I’ll take the Mendacia now.” N She extended the box, the red bow a splash of color in the

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 136136 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM LIQUID LIES 137

dimly lit, deserted plaza. Yoshi hurried forward and snatched it a little too greedily. Sweat beaded on his skin underneath the fl ap of hair. A chill raced over her. The air around them screamed in alarm. Yoshi grinned, slick and crooked. “And I’ll take you too, Gwen.” The goon behind him whipped out a gun— metal fl ashing like fi re, barrel aimed straight at her. Think, Gwen. Think. How can you turn this asshole’s hubris to our benefi t? She took too long. Griffi n burst like a kraken from Vail- lancourt Fountain. Water gushed upwards from the low pool, assuming the strong, lean shape of Griffi n’s human body. Translucent waves fl owed over the valleys of his stomach muscles. White froth cascaded over his square jaw and the hard cut of his arms. His torso darkened, solidifi ed. Water droplets skittered across his skin, soaking in. From the waist down he remained a bril- liant, shimmering waterfall balancing on the fountain’s bub- bling surface. Frightening beautiful, unmovable as rock. Time slowed as Griffi n’s furious dark eyes met Gwen’s. They spoke paragraphs in that moment. She had no time to be pissed off he’d interfered before she’d called for backup. Together they silently assessed the danger. Made plans. Then time caught up, resumed normal speed. One of Griffi n’s arms went liquid and shot out, fast as a bullet, to wrap around the stunned bodyguard and yank him forward into the fountain. Griffi n’s watery legs fl owed over the Japanese goon, holding him under the surface. His chest and shoulders heaved with channeled fury. Griffi n, Gwen’s personal protector. Griffi n, the man the Board wanted her to marry. N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 137137 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 138 HANNA MARTINE

The bodyguard thrashed face down in the shallow pool. Griffi n allowed him to break the surface and breathe. Just long enough for him to plead for his life in Japanese. Gwen didn’t translate. She transformed her own arm into a liquid whip and snapped it at the Mendacia box sagging in Yoshi’s fi ngers. Reversing the suction, she peeled it from his grasp and fl ung it back into her own hands. As her arm returned to solid, she felt the familiar, cool tingle of ebbing waters. Yoshi made a strangled, squeaking, unmanly sound in the back of this throat. His empty hands shook. She walked to the edge of the fountain where the briefcase of money fl oated. Under Yoshi’s bug- eyed stare, she plucked it from the water and spoke the Ofarian words to dissolve every molecule of water from its surface and the stacks of money inside. “Something tells me,” she swiveled back to Yoshi, “that Mikatani isn’t aware of your actions tonight.” No response. “Let me guess. You had a better offer? Thought to take me along with the Mendacia? Force me to change the command words to make it do whatever your new clients wanted?” Yoshi gulped, defeated. “You do realize that by violating our contract you’ve just single- handedly forfeited fi fty- one per- cent of Mikatani’s holdings to the Company?” Yoshi sagged as though his own body were made of water. “Please. I beg you. He’ll kill me . . .” She set the briefcase on the fountain’s lip and ran her fi n- gers along its edges. A great surge of anger and confi dence bubbled inside her. She wondered if that was what drove her father and the rest of the Board day in and day out. That feeling of secret superiority and advantage. How dare a Primary N think he could pull one over on the Company?

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 138138 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM LIQUID LIES 139

She knew what she had to do. She looked to Griffi n, whose eyes were almost as tortured as their captives’. A muscle in his jaw twitched. “Gwen,” he said through clenched teeth. “Just give the order.” Usually the Board collectively passed down the sentence. She’d been in the boardroom in the past, when they’d decided a Primary should die for knowing too much, but she’d never been the one to slam the gavel. It was Ofarian law and it was necessary, but that didn’t mean she had to enjoy it. Plus, there were two offenders. Griffi n couldn’t handle both of them at the same time and she . . . well, maybe here was where her cowardice fi nally showed its ugly face. She faced Yoshi. “I’m sure the death Mikatani will give you will include pain. Humiliation. I understand saving face is very important to your people. It’s why you’re here in the fi rst place, isn’t it?” “Please . . .” Yoshi begged. “I’m willing to give you a choice, Yoshi. I can let you go and you can try to run from your boss— which I’m sure will be impossible— or you can die right here.” She glanced at the bodyguard still gasping in the water. “If you go now, your man dies. I’ll trade your life for his. Who’s it going to be?” Yoshi, made all the more tiny by his round- shouldered fear, pointed one shaking fi nger at the goon gurgling beneath Griffi n’s liquid legs. “Him.” Then he turned and ran.

Yoshi sprinted across the plaza and disappeared into the city, his black hair and suit blending in with the shadows. The sharp beat of his loafers on pavement faded to nothing. Gwen N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 139139 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 140 HANNA MARTINE

fumbled for the signal switch clipped inside her lapel that would call the limo back. “Gwen.” Leashed panic lifted Griffi n’s voice over the rushing water. “What the hell are you doing? You let him go?” She had, hadn’t she. She stuffed the Mendacia box back in her pocket and scooped up the briefcase. “You can’t take care of them both at the same time, Griffi n.” “Don’t tell me what I am and am not capable of.” She glared in the direction where Yoshi had run. “I could say the same thing to you.” His nostrils fl ared. “I can’t take a life. I’m not trained, physically or emotionally.” No, she was corporate, through and through. “He’ll talk.” “Dad will call Mikatani the second the limo comes. Yoshi’s as good as dead.” Griffi n was still half water, towering above her. “I hope you know what you’re doing.” She did too. Leaders had to own their decisions and she’d stand by hers. The limo screeched around the bend and braked where it had dropped her off earlier. “Get in the car.” Trouble darkened his eyes and the slant of his mouth turned grim. She understood. He didn’t want her around when he drowned Yoshi’s henchman. The past fi fteen minutes settled like ice in her bones and she stumbled to the limo without remembering the walk. She fell into the seat, unclipped the signal switch and tossed it in the corner. “Kiddo? Gwennie?” Her father scooted closer. “You’re N shaking. What happened?”

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 140140 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM LIQUID LIES 141

When she removed the Mendacia box from her pocket and couldn’t read the name for the quivering of her hand, she knew it to be true. His hand squeezed her shoulder, forcing her to look at him. She swallowed hard. “Call Mikatani. Tell him to come pick up his trash.” “What do you—” The door fl ew open and in tumbled a naked Griffi n. “Go,” he yelled at the driver, then turned to scan the windows for witnesses. The limo lurched away from the curb and sailed down the Embarcadero. Her father shifted seats so Griffi n could sidle next to Gwen. She fought the urge to scramble away. She’d seen Griffi n naked once or twice before, but only during transformation. Ofarians didn’t need to be naked to change, but it took extra effort to maintain outside objects as liquid, and he’d been waiting in that fountain for a good thirty minutes before Yoshi showed up. Though she averted her gaze, she was still acutely aware of Griffi n tugging the black pants of his security uniform up his bare legs. He’d stashed his clothes next to the whiskey carafe, and when he stretched forward for his black shirt, the lean, strong muscles in his shoulders and back bunched. Any woman in the world would pant at the sight of him. Any woman except Gwen. She turned to her dad. “Call Mikatani. Let his people deal with the translation on their end. I’ll talk if I have to, just can’t promise what I’ll say. I think you’ll be better with diplo- matic relations right about now.” “What happened?” She told him, Griffi n silent beside her. Before she was even fi nished, her father had gone fi re red in the face. N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 141141 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 142 HANNA MARTINE

“Forget Mikatani,” the Chairman blurted. “We’re hunting that son of a bitch right now. Griffi n, get on it.” Griffi n opened his phone and mumbled orders to his security team. In minutes tens of plain- clothes Ofarian soldiers would be scouring the city for Yoshi. Come sunrise, SFPD would be saddled with not one, but two mysterious deaths of Japanese nationals. “And you,” her father said, “you shouldn’t have let him go.” One awful lesson learned. The Board position slipped a little farther away. She’d have to make up for that. Adrenaline seeped from her body in stuttering waves, and she sank deeper into the seat. From underneath it all fl oated the tap tap tap of her father’s fi ngers, back on his phone again. She let the rock and jerk of the limo carry her farther and farther away from what had just happened. How could she remedy this? How could she save face in front of the Board? “Sir, if I may,” came Griffi n’s quiet interjection. The Chairman nodded for him to continue, but he was looking out the window, his expression clouded. “The international deals,” Griffi n said, “they’re getting riskier.” Gwen sat up straighter, not liking at all where this conver- sation was about to go. The Chairman pinched his lips between his fi ngers and sighed. “You’re right. They are. Because foreigners aren’t scared of us yet. The Americans are because we’ve been doing business with them for almost a century. Our existence is protected here. Fear breeds secrecy.” Griffi n nodded vehemently. “And is this a new threat? Assholes like Yoshi wanting to grab Gwen? Get her to recon- N fi gure the potion? I don’t like it. Not at all.”

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 142142 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM LIQUID LIES 143

“Gwen,” her father said, “is your safety really worth this?” He turned sad eyes to her, and the emotion behind them struck a deep, bitter chord. Ofarians weren’t immune to vanity. Though her father was closing in on sixty years old, tonight he looked barely forty. She didn’t like facing him when he did Mendacia and the glamour made him look like the photo above his mantel in which she was a little girl on his knee. Seeing him young was like looking into the past, and she wanted more important things— things other than his wrinkles and softening gut— to change instead. She wanted her mom back. She wanted her sister to have been smarter, more loyal. “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” She spread her arms between the two men. “Going global was my idea. Think about everything my division has done for Ofarians in the past seven years. Because of me, we’ve tripled Mendacia production and our earnings. We have everything we could possibly need. More, even. Our people are the happiest they’ve ever been.” “Right,” the Chairman said, clamping a loving hand on her knee. “So maybe we should scale back. Be more selective in our international clientele. Try instead to expand our American base.” “I have Griffi n,” she argued. “It’s his job to keep me safe. The whole race trusts him. His security team is impene- trable.” She risked a look at her protector, but he was staring at his lap, his mouth a straight, white line. He hadn’t had much say in his role when the Board handed it to him when he was sixteen. He didn’t have much say about it now. She couldn’t help but wonder if part of the reason he was N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 143143 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 144 HANNA MARTINE

so amenable to a marriage with her was to improve his sta- tion in their society. “Please.” She held her father’s hands now. Though they looked smooth, they felt dry and wrinkled. “This is what I have. What I was born to do. I’ll do what I can to keep Men- dacia viable overseas, then campaign to be admitted to the Board. I have so many ideas, Dad . . .” He tugged his hand out. “You understand why I worry, don’t you?” “Of course I do.” “We’re on the same side, Gwennie. We both want what’s best for our people.” “And I can do things for them that no one else can. I’m the fi rst Translator born since we came here. Don’t shut me down.” She’d been hearing she was special since she hit puberty and learned Spanish accidentally over chicken fl autas and virgin strawberry margaritas in a Mexican restaurant. The Board had gone into a tizzy and the very next day she’d been assigned a protector, the same man who would eventually hand- pick and train Griffi n before retiring. “Mendacia is a gift to our race,” she went on, and her father nodded with pride. “It’s let us fi gure out how to live as Secondaries in a Primary world. Besides,” she sat back with a grin, “you know I’m dying to know how it’s made.” The Chairman wagged a playful fi nger. “When the Board votes you in, my dear. Not a moment sooner.” She couldn’t wait. “So I can scout the job in Moscow next week?” She’d already booked her and Griffi n’s fl ight, giving herself fi ve days to learn the language and study the culture and N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 144144 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM LIQUID LIES 145

potential client. This time it was an heir possibly linked to crooked money. “I want extra guys,” Griffi n said, and her father acqui- esced. As they pulled up in front of her apartment building, the limo slanted at a steep San Francisco angle, a text came through Griffi n’s phone. “Got ‘im,” he said. Wow, that was fast. “They’ll detain him at a neutral location until I get there. If you don’t mind, sir, I’d like to wait until after we’ve met with the Board.” Gwen threw a look of relief at her dad, who was watching Griffi n like a proud father-in-law to be. She lunged for the door, eager to get away. “Good night. Or good morning, rather.” She stumbled out to the sidewalk, her vision a little blurry, her legs a little shaky from the adrenaline crash. “Gwen. Wait.” Griffi n climbed out after her. He leaned back inside to apologize to the Chairman, who was already back tapping at his phone. Griffi n jogged the few steps to her, then stood with his legs planted wide, arms crossed over his chest, like he was trying to root himself to the spot. Or keep himself from touching her. “You got a gun pulled on you tonight.” His expression was as dark as his hair and clothing. “You can try to act tough, but I really need to know if you’re all right.” She blinked up at him, so ready to say Yeah, of course! Fabulous! “I will be,” she replied, because this was Griffi n and not a Board member. With him, she didn’t have to pretend. His brow creased and his eyes dipped to the sidewalk. N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 145145 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 146 HANNA MARTINE

There was more. He wasn’t moving from that spot until he’d said it, so she stayed put. “What the hell were you thinking, not calling for me? I heard everything that was happening with Yoshi. I heard how shit was going south fast. Why didn’t you?” “Because I thought I could handle it.” “Gwen . . .” “All right. Because I knew you had my back and I was trying to fi gure out what he wanted and what more he knew. If this was a bigger threat than it seemed.” She bit the inside of her cheek. There were too many emotions on Griffi n’s face— none of them bending in her favor. “Don’t do that again,” he said. “How about, don’t make a move unless I say?” Big, awkward moment. She’d never pulled rank like that before and it made his jaw clench, though he didn’t respond. At consider- able length she asked, “Are you okay? With what I had you do?” “Yeah. Fine.” It was the most she’d ever get out of him on the subject of acting executioner. His arms dropped to his sides. He wasn’t much taller than her when she wore heels, and his every movement had a careful grace, as though he planned it moments ahead of time. “Want me to walk you up?” A casual question, but his eyes begged: Please, please can I walk you up? She looked away. “It’s late. Or early, however you want to look at it.” He cupped his jaw in the crook of his hand between thumb and forefi nger and gazed down the street. They’d known each other so long that she recognized the sign of his barely controlled frustration. He said, “We haven’t hung out N at your place in a long time.”

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 146146 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM LIQUID LIES 147

Not since she’d fi rst heard the rumblings from the Board about their impending marriage match. She shrugged. “Still looks the same.” “That’s not the point and you know it. We haven’t stopped being friends, have we?” Her head dropped back on her neck, heavy as a sack of fl our. “Of course not.” It had taken a while to get to this place, to friendship. All through junior high, Griffi n had picked on her so much she’d spent a lunch or two crying in a bathroom stall. He hadn’t cared that she was a Translator or a Board member’s daughter. Then her assigned protector wanted to retire when Gwen fi nished high school; he tested every boy her age and guess who came out on top? She and Griffi n had resented the new relationship, but duty to the Ofarians rose above all. By the time they gradu- ated high school, they fell into friendship. The best kind. Until the Board shook up eleven years of closeness by wanting the only known Translator and the man sworn to protect her to procreate. They’d never say as much, but they were hoping she’d birth a child with her gift. The offi cial engagement announcement hadn’t come yet, but it would. And then they’d be married. Sleeping together. Griffi n rolled his eyes, reading her panic. “I’m not talking about sex, Gwen. I’m talking about talking.” He made perfect sense. She couldn’t throw away their relationship over a bit of discomfort. It was how the Ofarian marriage system worked. Every man and woman suffered initial panic. In this regard, she wasn’t remotely special. And this was Griffi n. Brave, beautiful Griffi n who’d always be there for her. She opened her arms. He swept across the sidewalk as silkily as if he were still N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 147147 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 148 HANNA MARTINE

in water form. They embraced hard. She couldn’t deny it; he felt like home. The cologne he’d worn forever, the lean, ath- letic build of his body, the caring circle of his arms. That moment reminded her of the fi rst time they’d hugged when she was seventeen. When the Ofarian doctors had told her family their race wasn’t immune to cancer and that her mom didn’t have long to live. “Gwen.” He drew a deep breath and blew it out, warm, into her hair. “The way I feel about you has . . . changed in the past few weeks. It may have even changed before that.” She fell perfectly still. “I have no idea what to say to that.” “You don’t love me. I know.” She stepped back, trying not to make it seem like she was pushing him away. “Of course I love you.” The wry grin he gave her restored some of their long- standing camaraderie. “But not in that way.” Primary and Secondary women lusted after this man. She’d seen it happen plenty of times. She shouldn’t have him. He deserved a woman who looked at him with heat that rivaled a Napa Valley afternoon. She picked her next words carefully. “It’ll change for me. I have no doubt in my mind. Look at all the great Ofarian marriages. Look at all the terrifi c kids and families. And look how our work is setting up such incredible futures for all of them. We’ll get there. I know it.” Maybe if she kept repeating that, she’d believe it. He raised his thick black eyebrows and took her face in his hands. For a second she thought he’d kiss her and she tensed. But he didn’t. “We will,” he said, and backed toward the limo. “Call you later?” N “Absolutely.”

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 148148 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM LIQUID LIES 149

The limo pulled away, heading for the Chairman’s manor in Pacifi c Heights. She turned for her door . . . and realized she’d left her purse, with her cell phone and apartment keys, back at the offi ce. She reached for the signal switch to call back the limo, but she’d pulled it off on the Embarcadero. In the chilly pre- dawn it was way too early to knock on her neighbor Martha’s fi rst- fl oor window and ask for her spare. The idea was to avoid attention and suspicion. Company HQ was only three blocks up and two blocks over, uphill. Even though Yoshi was in custody, Griffi n and Dad and probably the whole Board would likely have a heart attack if they knew she was out on the streets alone. She weighed her options. Sit out in the open on the front steps for another few hours, or be at HQ in ten minutes. Settled. She’d call Griffi n from her offi ce. So she walked, high heels gouging into her feet and the suit she’d been wearing for going on twenty- four hours feeling itchy and dirty. Later, after grabbing said purse from her bottom desk drawer, she called Griffi n, who apparently had fallen asleep just inside his apartment door. “Be there in two,” he slurred, sparing her a lecture. “Mind if I go around the corner to grab a coffee? Don’t think I’ll be sleeping now anyway.” A big pause. “Okay. But stay in the restaurant until I get there.” HQ was in the middle of the block, the all- night diner just south around the corner. She started for the restaurant, mouth stretched wide in a yawn and the sky beginning to pale low over the Berkeley hills. Then she wasn’t on the sidewalk anymore. Hands ripped her off her path and threw her against a N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 149149 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM 150 HANNA MARTINE

wall. Her skull rattled. Her vision winked out. A great blos- som of pain exploded on her crown and tore its way down her spine, detonating a bomb of fear. When she came to, Yoshi’s bared and crooked teeth fi lled her terrifi ed sight. He held her immobile, forearm like iron across her chest.

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 150150 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM COMING SEPTEMBER 2012 FROM Katie Reus

Primal Possession A Moon Shifter Novel

As second-in-command for his pack, lupine shifter Liam Armstrong is used to giving orders and not taking them. That all works fine until he meets red-headed, blue-eyed December McIntyre. Liam knows the human is his intended mate the moment he sees her, but December is too stubborn to accept his protection.

December, whose brother is the sheriff in town, has every reason to mistrust shifters after one killed her youngest sibling. Yet Liam has gotten under her skin in a way she hadn’t thought possible—and the desire she feels for him is white hot.

Things get even more complicated when a radical hate group targets all humans known to sympathize with paranormal beings. When December is attacked in the bookstore she owns, she reluctantly turns to the only person who can help her: Liam.

“Sexy alphas, kick ass heroines and twisted villains will keep you turning the pages in this new shifter series.” —Caridad Piñeiro, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost

Available September 4, 2012, wherever books are sold or at penguin.com N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 151151 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM Stephanie Tyler

Dire Wants A Novel of the Eternal Wolf Clan

The supernatural world is rising up against the human one. The weretrappers want to control the humans, and only the immortal Dire Wolves stand in the way of total destruction. Stray, a Dire, and his long-lost brother, Killian, emerge as the leaders of their pack. To keep themselves and the humans safe, the Dires must ﬁnd a witch as powerful as the one who has been helping the weretrappers.

They ﬁnd what they are looking for in Kate, a human who survived a horrible car accident that left her back scarred with a handprint no one else is able to see. Stray senses in Kate the powers of a witch and recruits her to help the Dires—all the while knowing that she is so powerful that they will need to kill her once she helps defeat the weretrappers.

Stray doesn’t expect the powerful connection that he feels with Kate, or his irresistible need to protect her. They cannot hide their feelings for each other, and what once was taboo now seems inevitable...

And don’t miss Dire Warning, An Eternal Wolf Clan Novella available now as an eSpecial!

“With breathtaking danger, sizzling romance, and unexpected twists these Dire Wolves are going to rock the paranormal world.” —New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Ivy

Available November 6, 2012, wherever books are sold or at N penguin.com

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 152152 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM Also Available from Nina Bangs

The Castle of Dark Dreams Novels

In an adult theme park, the Castle of Dark Dreams is home to three powerful brothers—each with a special gift for the woman bold enough to live out her secret fantasies.

ALSO AVAILABLE IN THE SERIES WICKED NIGHTS WICKED PLEASURE WICKED FANTASY

COLOR ME WICKED: A Castle of Dark Dreams Novella, available now as an eSpecial!

Available wherever books are sold or at penguin.com

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 153153 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM New York Times bestselling author Keri Arthur

Darkness Hunts A Dark Angels Novel

Risa Jones can enter the twilight realms between life and death, and can speak to the souls of the dying and the dead. She can also see the Reapers, supernatural beings who collect the souls of the dead. When a mysterious faceless man starts murdering women and draining them of their blood, Risa must use all her gifts to track him down, even when it puts her life in danger.

The killer tells Risa that his victims are infected by darkness, and that it is his destiny to kill them. But he ﬁnds Risa fascinating, and oﬀers her the chance to save his next victims, if she can decipher the clues that he leaves for her. In a race against time, Risa works with the Aedh Reaper Azriel to uncover the truth behind the murders. Slowly, the two get closer to this strange man, who may be part of an even larger and more dangerous consortium, as they become closer to each other.

Praise for Keri Arthur:

“Keri Arthur skillfully mixes her suspenseful plot with heady romance...Smart, sexy, and well-conceived.” —New York Times bestselling author Kim Harrison

Available November 6, 2012, wherever books are sold or at N penguin.com

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 154154 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 155155 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM N

1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 156156 22/22/12/22/12 8:398:39 PMPM