Page 37 of The Dark War

“I guess you’re right. I should have known better.” Watching my beast alpha swimming in the lake, trying to chase after me almost seven months ago, had me laughing. Muscles certainly did not float. “No, you don’t understand.” Kane hovered over my body, pushing my chest into the mattress. “I almost fucking lost it, Clara. With whatever strange stuff is going on, I need you with me. This magic, this darkness.” Kane shook his head, then planted his forehead into the crook of my neck.

“If we can forget the bloodshed of a battle right in Osirus’s palace, forget how we even got there, what makes you think that if they use enough of this magic, we would forget each other?” Terror ran through Kane. He gripped me tighter until my arms squeezed his neck.

“Kane.” I sighed, playing with his hair. Kane didn’t worry. Kane was my action alpha, he took things as they came, but something else was swirling in his mind. Giana purred, causing Torin to follow while my fingers ran down his muscular back. “Talk to me. We promised each other.” He grunted, kissing my forehead until he had me straddle him with his back to the headboard.

“Do you know of Sorceress Cyrene?” Tilting my head to the side, I tapped my lips with my finger. “Yes, something about her being the most powerful sorceress in the Earth realm. Not a lot of info about her.” Kane hummed, pulling me to his chest. The heat of my breath on his skin caused him to calm, wrapping his arms around me.

“August spoke to her.” He tightened his hold. “She said something dark is coming.” Kane began telling me the story of Charlotte and Wesley, luna and alpha of the Black Claws of Earth. My body shook, thinking how scary a demoness would be to face, and the poor luna had to deal with it on her own. Literally dealing with her own demons.

“What happens now?” Kane pulled me up by my chin, pecking my lips. His fingertips continued to roll up and down my sides. “August said she is traveling here and bringing reinforcements.”

“Huh? We have all of Bergarian, even Osirus’s army if we need it.” I flopped my hands to my side. Kane ran his fingers through his hair, tugging it. Pulling his hand to my chest, I kissed his knuckles.

“Whatever this is, if it has Cyrene thinking we need more wolves, then we need them.” My mouth hung open, now wringing my night dress. “Do you think it’s connected? These rogue witches, vampires, demons, this strong magic?”

“I do, mate, and Alaneo spoke with me privately before you came back.” Leaning closer, almost nose to nose with Kane, he pulled me in, smashing his lips to mine. The hungry desperation fueled my fire to help calm his worries. It would calm mine too. For a moment, we would be in our own heaven.

Kane pulled me away, his breath heaving, and both of his large hands engulfed my face. “The witches have been experimenting with blood,” Kane’s voice rose. “Virgin vampires, wolves, and each other to put a boost into their magic. Now they are hunting, trying to get to the dragon tribes, thinking their blood will be the strongest to use in their dark magic.” I gasped. They were in the Cerulean Moon territory, and no scout had come to warn us.

“How did we not know?” I stuttered. “How did we not know this with all the patrols that Alpha Adam makes his dragon take to take care of the tribes? The Toboki tribe is the strongest of them all!” Panicking, I tried to leave Kane’s lap. I had to tell my parents. I had to let them know what was going on.

“Adam was warned. He seems like he has it under control,” Kane urged.

“Apparently, he doesn’t,” I snapped. “This should have been reported to us straight away! Not just by Osirus, but straight from Adam. Osirus has his own kingdom to run!” Kane put both hands around my arms. Shushing me, he petted my head and put me right back on his chest.

So warm.

“I know, I know,” Kane murmured. I grumbled a few obscenities, and Kane chuckled. “I just found out about it while you were gone today. We will deal with it.” Kane’s grip tightened, not sure if it was for his comfort or mine.

“This just isn’t adding up at all,” I whispered. “Especially since—” A loud crash came from the outside. Sitting up from Kane’s lap, we both darted to the open window. The spiraled tower next to ours had Osirus and guards trying to break the outside door open. “Melina,” I whispered.

“Open the damn door!” Osirus yelled, his wings turning dark gray and his bright complexion dimmed. Raine and Dean didn’t knock; they ran into the room. “Go. The guards are asking for both of you.” Kane and I wasted no time. We ran out the door to the open walkway outside leading to Melina’s private room.

“She’s gone!” Osirus’s breath panted; his usual straight white hair was now full of tangles. His ears elongated, and large fangs sunk further from his mouth.

“We’ll find her. I’ll take the perimeter.” Kane growled. He jumped from the sixth floor of the palace, shifting into Torin in mid-air. Ripping through my night dress, Giana already had a trail for us to find. Looking over my shoulder, Osirus gave a stiff nod as I raced toward his mate’s aroma.

Chapter Twenty-one

Clara

Melina’sscentwasfaint,almost nonexistent, as I followed the tainted path. The smell intertwined with it reminded me of bleach. It was so faint; I was afraid it was an old path that Melina had taken to her bridal chambers earlier in the evening, but the entanglement of darkness I felt with each paw hitting the cold floor of the palace had me hopeful.

Osirus’s wings were hot on my tail as I rounded the corner at the top of the magnificent entrance to the palace. The clicking of my claws across the upper floor of the main foyer had me skid to a halt as I looked over the marvelous landing. A flash of strobe light memories filled my vision. Blood, wolves, bears, and witches lay on the dirtied floor.

Shaking my fur, the vision ceased; the haunting visions shaken away. “What’s wrong? Did you lose the scent?” Osirus’s frantic plea had me leaping down the stairs, jumping, soaring ten steps at a time until I reached the far corner of a hidden passageway on the opposing wall. My paws scratched the door until a nearby servant opened it as Osirus watched me run down the foul-smelling dungeons.

The cries of prisoners didn’t deter me the further I went. One fae, in particular, chuckled, his ammonia-reeking cell leaving me gagging. We reached the lowest part of the palace. Cries and tears of ripping flesh stayed muffled on the other side of the door. I howled, letting them know this was the door.

Osirus ordered the soldiers to pull me away from the rusted doors. With one gigantic kick from Osirus like a freaking SWAT team, the door was pushed inward, now seeing Melina lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Whatever spell that had been used almost completely deteriorated. Most of the blood I smelled was that of a familiar wolf.

Esteban.

The stupid wolf that tried to claim on Melina just a month and a half ago.

He laid in on the stone floor, his heart no longer beating, his claws wrapped in Melina’s blood. Shifting now would cause me to be stark naked, but luckily my mate wasn’t far behind. “Get the medical chambers ready,” Kane barked out an order, repeating what Osirus had just spoken. The guards had stood still in bewilderment how Melina was taken down to the lowest part of the palace undetected.

“It’s that magic, that dark magic,” I linked Kane. “It has to be.” Kane only mumbled under his breath, picking me up like a puppy and pulling me up the stairs behind Melina, who was being held by a frantic Osirus.

---