A Reaper's Love (WindWorld) (19 page)

“Ain’t that sweet? Our little boy is
growing up, Pa,” Sorn said with a nudge to Cree.

“‘Bout gods-be-damned time,” Cree said with
a grunt.

“Don’t do it!”
Coulter bellowed as Hesar began to insert his fingers into
Coulter’s back. “
I’m warning you. Don’t you fucking do it!”

Hesar rolled his eyes at the command but
once the healer’s fingertips were inside the Gravelord, the hellion
attacked—clamping down with brutal, vicious force to shear off the four fingers
to the first joint. Shrieking in agony, Hesar snatched his hand out and
stumbled back, his free hand clutching the wounded one.

Cree had been standing at the foot of the
gurneys with his arms folded over his broad chest. When the hellion struck and
Hesar let out that piercing screech he straightened up, amber eyes turning
scarlet red.

The hellion poked its triangular head from
the incision in Coulter’s back and hissed, a noxious slime jetting from its
slit of a mouth. Its red eyes swung from Cree to Sorn in challenged.

“You fucking little shit,” Cree said. He
shot the assistants—who had backed away in horror—a quelling look. “Give me
some forceps. Now!”

The male assistant spun around and snatched
open an instrument drawer. He pulled out a pair of forceps in sterilized wrap
and tossed them to Cree—obviously not wanting to get any closer to the gurney.

“Look at me!” Taylor yelled and the hellion
twisted its upper body around. The moment it saw Taylor, it froze.

Coulter was struggling violently against
the iron shackles and cursing in a language no one understood. He was foaming
at the mouth with fury and his eyes were bulging. Cree ignored him as he
advanced on the table, tearing the wrap from the forceps as he went.

“You know me,” Taylor said. He was staring
into the hate-filled eyes of the beastlet.

“The hellion is mine!” Coulter shouted.

“You know me,” Taylor repeated, ignoring
the man thrashing on the gurney and cursing him.

The hellion’s upper body wavered like that
of a cobra being charmed by a flute. It hissed at Cree, rows of serrated teeth
lining the maw of its mouth.

“Don’t you fucking hiss at me, you piece of
green slime,” the Alpha Prime snapped. He clicked the forceps like a pair of
pruning shears. “I’ll fucking take your head off!”

A stream of acid slime shot out of the hellion’s
mouth and barely missed Cree.

“
Stop it
!” Taylor yelled.

The creature froze again and swung its
angry glower to Taylor.

“You belong inside me,” Taylor said. “You
were born inside
me
!”

“It is mine!” Coulter snarled.

“You belong inside me,” Taylor repeated,
holding the beastlet’s complete attention. “Let the Reaper extract you and
return you to your rightful place.”

At the title Taylor gave the man standing
beside the gurney, the creature swung its ugly head around once again to stare
at Cree. It drew its head back as though it would strike.

“He is an Alpha Prime,” Taylor said. “Show
him the respect he is due.”

“I am a Gravelord!” Coulter bellowed. “It
is me you need to listen to!”

Swaying back and forth once again, the
hellion continued to observe Cree.

“
Wolf
,” it said with a sneer.

“Aye,” Cree agreed. He never took his eyes
from the creature.

Taylor started to speak to the hellion
again but the room suddenly seemed to be sucked clear of all sound. Those
within it ceased to move. They stood where they were, like statues. Only he
could move, but when he tried to get up, a firm hand was laid to the middle of
his back.

“Lie still,” the female voice said. He
didn’t recognize the sultry tone but as soon as She moved into his line of
sight, he knew She was the goddess of the Panthera.

In the vacuum of soundlessness and complete
stillness, She moved to Coulter’s gurney, wrapped Her slender fingers around
the frozen beastlet and tugged it clear of the Gravelord’s back. She turned and
placed its cold body into the incision in Taylor’s back then swept Her hand
over his flesh to close the wound.

“You’ve suffered enough, My son,” She said.
“There was no reason for you to feel the pain of the hellion’s return to you.”

He looked up into Her beautiful face and
felt his cock stiffen instantly. Her eyes were glowing. Her red lips were moist
and he longed to sweep his tongue over them.

“Sleep,” She said as She laid a cool hand
on his brow.

The Panthera’s eyes closed instantly and
Bastet smiled, running Her fingers down his handsome face. She could see why
the Triune found this one so mouthwatering. Had he not been one of Her
children—albeit from many years in the future—She would have taken him to Her
in wild abandon.

As it was, She sighed as a mother proud of
Her child and turned to the hellion in the jar. With distaste, She reached
inside, retrieved it then all but tossed it onto Coulter’s back, making a very
feminine eeww sound as She did. Using the tip of Her finger, She pushed the
inanimate beastlet into the wound then closed the incision. When She was done,
She stared down at Dixon Coulter and nodded.

“You, I could take many times over,” She
said. “But I doubt Morrigunia would approve.”

“
I would not
,” came the instant
thought all the men heard.

“Still, he is not Yours,” Bastet reminded
Her counterpart.

“
Neither is he Yours
,” Morrigunia
sent to her. “
Leave the boy be
.”

“I’ll bide My time for now,” the
an
Éigiptian
goddess said. In a flash of green mist, She was gone.

* * * * *

Laci did not sense the lovely woman who
came at her out of the shadows. She did not feel the light touch on her brow.
The only sensation she experienced was a mild rush of wind flowing over her as
she sat on the roof in a light mist of rain that coated her lashes and hair,
dampened her sundress.

She did not hear the soothing voice that
bid her forget nor see the gentle smile that was bestowed upon her. All she
knew was that she needed to go downstairs to her life-mate. He needed her.

She needed him.

“You will work with the Gravelord, but
there will be no feelings beyond loyalty and camaraderie extended from you to
him. Your love is with your life-mate as it should be and is.”

The face of the man she would now be
Extension to passed across her mind’s eye. She liked him. She respected him and
they would make good partners.

But she loved Taylor Reynaud with every
fiber of her being.

“All memories of the Gravelord’s attempts
to seduce you are now gone from your memory. He will have no sway over you ever
again.”

A deep calm settled over Laci and she
smiled.

Coulter sat very quietly, staring at the
polished tabletop. The Hesar brothers sat across from him in the conference
room. All three men were staring at him, waiting for him to speak. They were
there to interrogate him, to learn what he had planned.

“You have nothing to say?” Alexandru
inquired.

“What would you have me say?” Coulter
asked. His back was healed and the hellion that resided inside him now was
still. It had yet to speak to him which was just as well. He wasn’t ready. In a
way, he hoped this one would remain silent.

“Is it your intention to continue with your
decision to become the Alpha here?” Constantine asked.

“Nothing has changed in that regard,”
Coulter said softly. “I will do my job to the best of my ability, using the
powers that were given to me.”

“Powers that are no longer as potent,”
Constantine said.

The Gravelord looked up, eyes glittering.
“You would do well not to believe that, Lord Constantine,” he said.

“Supervisor,” Constantine corrected
harshly. “You would do well to remember.”

“Duly noted,” Coulter said.

“Are you saying your powers have not
diminished with the removal of the Panthera hellion?” Alexandru queried.

“My powers did not spring from the hellion,
Supervisor
,” he said, stressing the title as he swung his attention to
Alexandru. “They were latent within me. The hellion merely brought them forward
and gave me the ability to shift. Having it taken from me changes nothing save
ridding me of the evil of its voice.” He cocked his head to one side. “Is it
whispering that evil in Reynaud’s ear now? If so, I hope you have an exorcist
on staff. Reynaud will be in need of his services.”

“Her services,” Hesar snapped, his glower
steady on Coulter. He was cradling his bandaged hand against his chest. Since
he was not a Superlord his healing would take time.

“I am sorry for what happened to you, Dr.
Hesar, but I did warn you,” Coulter said. “You didn’t listen.”

“To answer your question, we believe the
goddess cleansed the hellion before She transferred it from you to Reynaud. Her
mere touch might well have ridden it of all foulness. There have been no
illicit mutterings from the beastlet,” Alexandru stated.

“That’s great for him,” Coulter mumbled.

“And the hellion given to you?” Constantine
asked. “Has it begun conversing with you?”

Coulter leaned back in his chair with his
wrists braced on the chair arms. “Nope,” he said. “Wouldn’t hurt my feelings
any if it kept its mouth shut.”

“It won’t,” Alexandru told him. “It will
speak when it needs to.”

“Do you have an assignment for me?” Coulter
asked, his tone weary.

“We do,” Constantine said. “But first we
need to ascertain—”

“Whether I can work with Laci Albright
without throwing myself on her and raping her,” Coulter said. “I assure you I
can.”

“She remembers nothing of her time with you
in Greece,” Neal Hesar told him. “All trace of what you tried to do to her
there is gone.”

Coulter flinched.

He had known the moment Laci’s memories had
been wiped. From that moment until he had walked into the conference room he
had not spoken a single word. Docilely, he had allowed them to lead him to a
con cell where he Transitioned into a wolf this time and stayed in that form
for three days before reemerging as a silent, withdrawn warrior. He had spent
three days mourning the loss of the woman he loved so dearly. He now knew that
he had never lain with her, never taken her body to his and it was another loss
that hurt almost as bad as knowing Laci would never be his life-mate.

In the cell down from his own, he had heard
Reynaud Converting to his jaguar form but found he could not dredge up any
hatred for the Reaper. Reynaud had the rights to Laci’s body and soul but he
also had her undying love. At least one of them could make her happy.

When he passed Reynaud’s cell on the way to
being escorted to the conference room, the black jaguar had growled, bared his
teeth at him.

“You won,” he told the Reaper.

Reynaud had charged the door—hitting it
with brutal force—and as far as Coulter knew the man was still being held in
the containment area.

“Regarding Albright, if you try to
influence her—” Constantine began.

“I won’t,” Coulter said. He put his right
palm over his heart. “On my honor, I swear to you I will leave her be.”

“You took what you knew did not belong to
you,” the Supervisor of the Exchange said. “You abused your powers to enchant
and attempt to corrupt her. You tried to sully a fellow Reaper’s life-mate.”
When Coulter opened his mouth to protest, Constantine held up his hand. “You
knew damn well she wasn’t yours and don’t try to convince us it was the hellion
prodding you. You are strong enough, powerful enough to have resisted the
urgings of the beastlet. You chose to compromise Albright.”

“Because I wanted her,” Coulter defended
his actions. “I
needed
her.” He leveled his gaze on the older man.
“Perhaps you can’t understand that but it was desire so powerful I could not
fight it.”

“That’s bullshit,” Alexandru said.

Coulter threw his hand up. “Believe what
you will.”

There was a firm knock at the door and
Constantine bid the visitor enter. Jonas Cobb appeared when the portal opened.

“She is here, milords,” he announced.

“Bid her wait a moment,” Alexandru said.
“We are not yet finished with the Alpha.”

“Whoopee,” Coulter said under his breath.

Cobb quietly closed the door and could be
heard speaking to Laci.

“You say you can work with Albright without
trying to force her to your will,” Constantine said. “What of Reynaud?”

Coulter’s lips twitched. “I won’t force
him
to my bed, either.”

Alexandru slammed his fist down on the
table. “There is nothing comical about this, Reaper!” he shouted.

“My apologies,” Coulter replied, chastened.
“If you are asking if I can work with him in whatever capacity he now holds, I
can.”

“You won’t be working with him in
any
capacity,” Constantine said. “We intend to keep the two of you as far apart as
possible.”

“The man wants you dead,” Neal Hesar said.

“I’ll leave him be if he leaves me be,”
Coulter told them. “I do realize he was the wronged one here.”

“No, Albright was,” Constantine snapped.
“Reynaud was residual fallout.”

“You start anything with him and you will
be taken to Tearmann to spend the rest of your miserable existence,” Alexandru
warned him.

“And if he starts something with me?”
Coulter countered. “Do I just let him beat the shit out of me and not defend
myself? Stand there placidly while he tries to eviscerate me?”

“You deserve it,” Hesar muttered.

“We will be speaking with Reynaud,”
Constantine replied. “There is a cell at Tearmann with his name on it too if he
acts up.”

“And we will make that clear to him,”
Alexandru said.

“It would have been good for you to have
Reaper backup on your assignments but none of them want to work with you,”
Hesar said. “Can’t imagine why.”

“I don’t need backup,” Coulter told him.

“Albright might,” Constantine said.

“I can take care of my Extension,” Coulter
vowed.

“For as long as you have her, you’d
better,” Alexandru warned.

Coulter’s head snapped around. “What does
that mean?”

“She is Taylor Reynaud’s bonded life-mate.
She is first and foremost his Extension and though he will no longer be working
in the field, there will be times when their connection—as strong as any I’ve
ever come across—can be utilized by the Company,” Constantine said. “Once the
goddess has brought your life-mate to Terra—”

“What the hell are you talking about?”
Coulter said, his eyes wide. “What life-mate?”

“The life-mate of the Reaper whose hellion
now resides in your body,” Alexandru replied. “She will become your Extension.”

“Oh hell no! I don’t want another woman!”
Coulter said, shooting to his feet, his chair crashing to the floor behind him.
“You might have taken Laci from me but I will always be mated to her in my
soul. I will never love another woman. I could never love another woman!”

“Sit down,” Alexandru said in a voice as
quiet as it was cold.

Coulter stood there trembling, his fists
opening and closing. A red haze had formed over his vision and he felt the
hellion inside him stirring. His fangs descended to puncture his bottom lip but
he dared not open his mouth to show the aggression the sight of them would
generate in the Shadowlords and their human brother.

“Don’t make me repeat that order, Reaper,”
the Supervisor of Tearmann said in a menacing tone.

Turning, Coulter bent over to set his chair
back on its legs. He sat down, his chest rising and falling rapidly as fury
raced through his system.

“Did you think we would allow you to keep
her, Coulter?” Constantine inquired.

“She is my—”

“She is nothing to you,” Alexandru said
cruelly. “Nothing whatsoever. She belongs to Reynaud and there is not a damn
thing you can do about it.”

“Before we call her in here to discuss the
assignment, you’d better make sure you understand that,” Constantine said. “You
pledged not to use your powers to influence her. If you can’t honor that
promise, you will be dismissed as Alpha.”

“And will accompany me to Tearmann,”
Alexandru added.

“Your choice,” Hesar said with a snide
grin. “That’s the only way you are going to be allowed to work with her.”

“You’ll be watched like a hawk, Coulter.
The moment you go back on your word, overstep your bounds, you are in
Tearmann,” Constantine stated.

“Where you will stay,” Hesar injected.

Coulter slumped in his chair. All he had
ever wanted to do was protect his country, to make sure the devastating war
everyone knew would eventually overtake them was put off for as long as
possible. To either rid the world of terrorists and extremists, fanatics and
fundamentalists or at least contain them had been his personal mission when he
had joined the SEALs. Until he had been captured by Hassan he had no idea some
of those zealots were using psychic and paranormal powers to advance their
agendas. Using his own powers against them to destroy their evil was now his
only purpose in life.

“I have a lot to give to our world,” he
said almost in a whisper. “If it means living my life in misery to protect
those who cannot protect themselves, so be it.”

“You are sure?” Alexandru pressed.

Coulter nodded then lowered his head,
closed his eyes. “I’m sure.”

Silence hung in the room for a moment then
Constantine got up from his chair and walked to the door. He opened it and
stepped back.

“You can come in now, Albright,” he said.

* * * * *

Laci glanced up at Coulter as they walked.
“Are you okay, Dixon?” she asked. He was quiet and had barely looked at her
back in the conference room.

“I’m fine,” he mumbled. “Just going over
the mission in my mind.”

“Sounds easy enough,” she said. “But I’ve
learned nothing is quite what it seems when you’re dealing with religious
radicals.”

“Religion has nothing to do with this,
love,” he said then winced at the use of the familiarity. He rushed on, hoping
she hadn’t noticed. “Their agenda is to make money from these so-called
protests. They need to be stopped and using a demon against them seems like as
good a way as any.”

She smiled. “They’re always going on with
the hellfire-and-brimstone crap, showing them the real thing should be an eye
opener for them.”

He nodded his agreement. “Wheels up in
thirty,” he said as they reached the corridor that led to the monorail
platform. “Should give you time to pack.”

“See you up top then,” she replied.

“You’re not going to your apartment?” he
asked, stopping as she headed in the opposite direction.

“I’m going to see Tay to tell him goodbye,”
she told him. “He’s out of Conversion.”

Grinding his teeth, Coulter watched her
walking to the elevator that would take her down to the containment level.

“Are you enjoying hurting me?” he asked for
he could feel one of the deities close by.

“
Immensely
,” She said and he
realized it was the Triune Goddess plaguing him.

“Because I dared to want to be loved,” he
said bitterly.

“
No, because you attempted to force her
to love you,”
She replied.
“How’d that work out for you, Gravelord
?”
She made the title sound dirty.

“The way You planned I imagine,” he
replied, a muscle grinding in his cheek.

“Perceptive man,”
She said with a laugh
. “But not to worry. I have a life-mate for
you.”

“I don’t want—”

“It matters not what you want,”
She interrupted.

“No doubt she’ll be as mean as a
rattlesnake,” he groused.

“You have no idea what mean is,”
She told him.
“Yet.”

The sound of Her tinkling laughter followed
him into the monorail car. He snagged one of the poles as the car started
forward and wondered just how bad things were going to get for him.

And if they would ever get any better.

* * * * *

Taylor grabbed her around the waist and
lifted her, swung her around before letting her slide down his body. His cock
was hard and thick and aching, the tip already wetting the loose-fitting black
pajama bottoms they’d given him before he exited the con cell.

She hiked up her skirt, pulled on his neck
to bring her legs around his waist and wrapped him fiercely between her thighs.
“I missed you,” she told him. “I need you, Tater.”

“I don’t think I can wait,” he said.
Swooping down, he claimed her lips almost savagely, his tongue thrusting deep
into her mouth. There was a storage room just off the corridor and he headed
for it. With one arm clamped tightly around her body, he used the other to open
the storage room door. Stumbling inside with her, he kicked the door shut with
his bare foot.