Page 4 of Before the Bond Breaks
Candra and Nicky were waiting for us at the medical center in the basement of the Valen Protection Agency building when we stepped out of the portal. The main area was much like the waiting room of a hospital but much more comfortable, with oversized chairs and a couple of couches. On the right was a hallway that led to patient rooms. On the left were two operating rooms, which was where I carried Jess. Winter would have to examine the body and determine the cause of death.
I laid her on the bed in the center of the room, and my sisters gathered around.
“She’s been drained of her magic and blood, and she smells like shifters.” Candra jerked her gaze to mine with her lips pressed together in a thin line. Tears rimmed her eyes, and her fury filled the room. “They did this to her.”
“We don’t know that.”
The ‘they’ Candra was talking about were the shifters. I didn’t believe that Talon’s clan would do anything to harm us. Eventhough they may be pissed at us for staying away for too long. However, it was possible that one or more of Talon’s clanmates had gone feral.
Candra growled, fisting her hands. “We won’t know for sure until we confront them.”
“We will, but we won’t go in swords drawn.” I put power into that statement. Candra could be a hothead when her emotions were high, like they were at the moment. But she was a fair warrior. She also had the ability to detect when others were lying.
“Shifters didn’t kill her. Someone more powerful than a shifter did this.” Winter’s usual softness changed instantly into the warrior she was. “There is another magical signature on her. It’s familiar, but I can’t place it.”
Winter wouldn’t rest until she figured out who or what the magical signature belonged to.
“Can you tell if she saved information for us?” Valkyries could store information in the form of memories in a magically hidden place within our minds. If Jessica saved what she learned while in captivity, we’d be able to retrace her steps and find out who killed her and why they took her magic.
Closing her eyes, Winter placed a hand on Jessica’s forehead. After a few seconds, Winter opened her eyes and met mine. “She did. The extraction of the memories could take a while because she buried them deep.”
I gave her a sharp nod. “Let me know when you have them extracted.”
Glancing at Jessica’s body on the examining table, I made a silent vow to my fallen sister.We will avenge you, Sister.
2
TALON
We’ve got a problem.Where are you?
The sharp edge of my brother and second in command’s voice in my head fueled the sense of dread I woke up with that morning.
Something was coming. The air was charged with energy that felt wrong. I couldn’t tell exactly why the leyline magic that ran underneath Briar Glen and the surrounding small towns in the Blue Ridge Mountains had changed. It was almost as if someone had tampered with them, using them for something unnatural.
Not in my town.
The shift in the magic had my wolf pacing and snarling inside me. The beast wanted to go out to investigate the situation. I couldn’t let him out until I knew for sure what was going on. Especially now that our mate had returned to us. The damned animal would go straight to her. I wasn’t sure what he’d do when he got to her. The wolf was as hurt and pissed at her as the man was. Even though she had her reasons for leaving us over two centuries ago.
I understood those reasons, honored them because she was the Prime heir. When her mother was killed, Maze became duty-bound to track the killer and avenge the Prime’s murder. As the new Valkyrie leader, Maze would vow to eliminate the threat to all of us. Including the humans we lived with.
My brothers, enforcers, and I had been searching for the bastard who killed the Prime since Freya sent us here about fifty years ago. We discovered our worst nightmare had come true. Balder Eldridge was in fact here on Midgard, and he was creating an army. We weren’t sure how he was doing it or what his endgame was, but I was set on shutting his whole operation down.
After pulling into the parking lot behind my high-end nightclub and restaurant, The Steele Claw, I parked my truck in my usual spot next to the back door. Jenson stared at me from where he stood in the open doorway. His brows were drawn, causing angry lines to form on his forehead. There was no telling what pissed my brother off.
The Steele Claw was my brainchild. I needed a long-term project to focus on, otherwise, I’d go insane thinking about the mate who left me. Yes, I knew she had her reasons.
My brothers had gone in with me to build the nightclub into the hottest spot in Virginia. While I oversaw all major business operations, Jenson was head of security and handled the logistics of the business. Our younger brother, Larc, was more of a silent partner because he didn’t deal well with large groups of people for more than a handful of minutes.
Two of my enforcers also work for me. Shaw Grizz worked security under Jenson, and Quil Leonard worked the bar four nights a week.
I got out of my truck and nodded to Jenson. He was dressed in his usual black slacks and button-down with the top three buttons undone and his sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms. His shoulder-length black hair hung loose, framing his face.
“What’s up?” I stopped in front of him, watching him scan the area before locking gazes with me.
“We’ll talk in your office.” He slipped through the back door, and I followed.
Stepping into the club, I was hit with the scents of lust, booze, and whatever herbal mixture Jenson created to pump into the A.C. vents. It helped in keeping the peace with all the different magical beings being in one place. We had a strict no-violence rule inside the club.
