Corrupt Cravings (30 page)

She said he would be hers. That word, mine, had poured from her lips with the type of ownership only the most confident person would dare use.
Mine.
Samael could literally hear her say it in his head, but it wasn’t coming from his mind. No. It was coming from her lips as he pumped into her faster.
You’re mine.

“Fuck.” Samael let the word drag out of his mouth as cum shot from his cock. With every sensitive jerk forward, her claim branded his mind even further. As the last
mine
echoed in his head, he knew things were never going to be the same.

* * * *

Ambrose paced around the room anxiously. Falling asleep had nearly been impossible for any of them. But it eventually had come, and now it was morning. In his opinion, they all looked like they could use a few more hours of resting.

Out of Jason, Dominic, and Donavon, Ambrose was the one taking the news of the angels the best. While Marcella nodded and posted more images on the walls of the new room she considered her headquarters, the men did different things to keep themselves busy.

Jason sat in one of the chairs surrounding the large oak table, sharpening what looked to be some type of curved knife. The fact that diamonds covered the handle with Marcella’s symbol was something the collector made appear himself.

Donavon and Aaron weren’t any better off. They repeatedly kept themselves busy by cleaning their guns. The damn things weren’t going to shoot any better than what they would have fifteen minutes ago, but Ambrose wasn’t going to say anything. The two looked so tense they appeared breakable.

As for the demon, he studied each image Marcella posted with such interest that it appeared Dominic was trying to figure out the answer to some puzzle that had yet to be solved. Hell, to Ambrose, the pictures didn’t make any sense.

“All right.”

Marcella’s voice brought everyone’s attention to her. She quickly walked to the very first picture she had made appear on the wall. It was nothing but a bird’s eye view of what looked to be some type of location.

“This right here is Luis’s land. I did some research on the internet and got the perfect view. Now, I figure we’ll go in groups. The last thing we want is an all-out war, but I guarantee the alpha isn’t going to let this go until we take care of it. Maybe we can talk him into letting Aaron and Donavon go freely, but don’t count on it. Things are bound to get ugly.”

Donavon stood from the table slowly. “Marcella, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you’re not going.”

The moment Ambrose watched her raise her hands to her hips, he wanted to laugh. The wolf had a lot to learn about their queen.

“Is that so?” she asked softly.

Donavon looked at the men at the table. Dominic’s head was down, but the smile couldn’t be mistaken. Aaron’s face was red, almost as if he were embarrassed. When Donavon looked at Ambrose, all the vampire could do was shake his head.

“Sit down, Donavon. She’s our queen. Even though I don’t like it, we don’t have much of a say.” Dominic’s command left the wolf seething. His large hand pounded into the table as he said a curse under his breath and obeyed.

“Like I was saying,” Marcella continued. “If we separate in groups, we should have the advantage.” Marcella turned to Donavon. “How many pack members would you say live on location?”

“Only about seventeen. Some sleep out in the barn. There’s a bunkhouse there.”

“Okay.” Marcella took a deep breath. “How many are in the pack total?”

Donavon’s eyes grew round. “I’m not sure. Shit, thousands, I’m sure. Luis controls everything south of Victoria, so basically all of South Texas. The bigger cities, Houston, Dallas, Austin, and so on have their own alphas, but that’s about it. The system wasn’t set up very well and improvements have been neglected.”

“You shouldn’t have any problems getting that in order.” Marcella walked over to table. “Donavon, how do you feel about being the alpha to all the shifters we’re going to acquire?”

“Wait a minute.” He stood back up and took a step back. “What do you mean acquire?”

Her voice dropped. “We need as many as we can get. That number could reach infinite proportions.”

Ambrose came closer at her words. He knew this was going to get big, but it was one thing to imagine, and another to hear the beginnings of the plans to make it happen.

“You say shifters, not wolves.” Donavon’s face looked confused as the man ran his fingers through his blond hair.

Marcella nodded. “That’s right. I plan on bringing in every kind I can, wolves, lions, tigers, whatever there is. I’m not sure because I haven’t really been told, but I need a leader, and you’re it.”

“I’m not saying I won’t, but what about Jason? He’s a dragon and a collector. Shouldn’t that give him leverage over my position?”

Marcella’s eyes cut to Jason, and Ambrose felt his stomach drop. The look she had in her gaze only said one thing, she had other plans for him.

“Jason.” She cleared her throat after a few seconds. “When the time comes, which will be soon, Jason will be in charge of more than just one species.”

“Like what?” The collector placed his knife down and put his elbows on the table.

“I need you to take charge of fey and immortals.”

“Whoa! Immortals in the house? No way.” Dominic shook his head back and forth. “That is asking for trouble, Marcella.”

“Why?”

“Wait till you meet one. You won’t be asking why then. They’re too
good
.”

“You’re kidding me!” Marcella laughed. “That’s why you don’t want one here? Jesus, Dominic, I thought it was something the complete opposite. There is nothing wrong with good.”

“Oh, yes there is,” Dom said, tilting his head. “Hello, demon here. They’re not going to take to that kindly. Trust me. Some races can be prejudiced. It doesn’t matter how good I try to be, they’ll stereotype me and probably try to kill me in my sleep. Then I’d end up killing them, and a damn war would start inside of the war we’re planning for.”

Ambrose tried not to laugh as Marcella rolled her eyes. “Well, we’re going to have to do something with them. Maybe I’ll put the immortals in another wing or something. We’ll figure it out when the time comes. Right now, though, we need to focus on this fight with Luis.”

Dominic raised his hand to stop her before she continued. “You never said what I was going to be doing.”

For the briefest moment, Marcella looked right at Ambrose. He could feel his heart accelerate at what he saw behind her eyes. Shit, he’d taken so much blood lately all he had to do was look into her gaze and he could literally see what she was thinking.

“You have armies in hell.” She took a shuttering breath. “I want them.”

Jason almost fell backward out of his chair. Dominic stood, shaking his head at the same time.

“You want me to turn my thirty-six armies on the one person they fear the most?”

Marcella again jerked her gaze to Ambrose, and he felt his legs grow weak at her vision. When she cut her eyes to Dominic, he watched her grip her shaking hands nervously over her stomach. “No. I want you to turn them all, every last demon.”

Thick silence clouded the room. Ambrose couldn’t breathe as emotions flared wildly. No one seemed to know what to say. All Dominic did was nod his head and sink into his chair. The guy looked in a trance as he stared across the room. Hell, what a job.

“I don’t expect them all to come, Dom.” She kneeled in front of him, her hands resting on his thighs. “Just do what you can. You could never disappoint me, so erase that thought right out of your head. I know you too well.”

His large arms gathered her to his chest. “You do know me well. I will get as many as I can.”

“Not yet,” she said quickly. “The demons are last. They’ll turn the easiest. We don’t need to be betrayed before we even get a start on what we want. In the meantime, you can help me with your favorite creatures, witches.”

“Wiccans,” he corrected.

Ambrose had seen the scene in Marcella’s memory of her argument with Dominic. He called them witches, while Marcella felt the word wasn’t right. She preferred Wiccans. It was the day she learned how to control the elements. It was also the day Jason made her face her family’s death.

The queen laughed and kissed Dominic’s mouth. Coming to her feet, she walked back to the map on the wall. “So, like I was saying, we pair in groups. Ambrose, you have the most important part.”

As she went into details, Ambrose’s smile grew bigger with every word. Oh, yes, this is exactly what he’d been waiting for. The power that surged through him was stronger than any adrenaline rush he could ever have. It was time to show everyone exactly what he was capable of.

* * * *

Nemmy was on his fourth soda, and he’d only been awake for an hour. After leaving Marcella, the night had dragged on endlessly. Finally making himself go to sleep took even longer. Whether it was the fact that he was pumped up to see her or the caffeine rush he was feeling, he wasn’t sure, but damn if he wasn’t ready to let his wings loose and fly over there in record time.

Alive. He couldn’t believe it. What were the chances?

Samael had said Marcella had asked to come back. Yeah. Right. He wasn’t stupid. That demon master had brought her back out of pure greed. But, oh well. Samael’s loss, and his gain. This time, he’d make sure he didn’t fail in his quest. He was so close last time. If she wouldn’t have been killed, he’d no doubt have archangel status. Fucking devil. The damn man always somehow interfered with Nemmy’s plans. If he were conceited, he’d think the man was gunning for him intentionally, but no, evil probably didn’t even know he existed.

Checking the rounds in his gun, Nemmy placed it at his lower back, tucked nicely into his jeans. Marcella’s men might pose a problem, but they weren’t anything he couldn’t take care of himself. Too bad he didn’t pay more attention last night. He sure as hell didn’t remember anything about them. They’d been so quiet lingering in the background that all his attention went to the beautiful collector who was in front of him.

“You ready?”

Caspius appeared in front of him. The guy had a knack for showing up out of nowhere. Standing, Nemmy pulled down the black button-up shirt. Black. He never wore black. What had made him decide to today was beyond him. Hell, he hardly even remembered getting dressed.

“Hey, you okay? I asked if you were ready.” Pink eyes narrowed in his direction.

“Yeah, but remember what I told you. No fighting. We can’t blow this.”

Caspius smiled. “I’ll be on my best behavior. I haven’t forgotten about that little plan of yours. It might go against everything we represent, but I’m down.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

Nemmy let himself dematerialize and appear in front of the small house’s front door. Caspius quickly joined him. The sun was shining brightly, sparking across the little pond by the front door. Looking down, the angel couldn’t help but laugh at the little fish swimming around. What a projection. Nice. Well, it was time to get this show on the road.

* * * *

Marcella stared around the sitting room. Samael had appeared, and all her men were sitting quietly, scattered throughout the large space. Multiple couches and chaises were sporadically placed over white carpet. The light blue, paneled walls had thrown her off at first since she was used to seeing stone, but it reminded her of the sky, so she kind of liked it.

She’d run across this room last night while looking for her headquarters. It looked to be the perfect spot to hold her meeting with the angels. Bright and shiny, just like you’d imagine anything good to be. What she would have preferred at the moment was red walls with black carpet. Just picturing the angels coming into a room like that made her want to laugh. Something told her they wouldn’t like all those dark colors. The shock factor would be great, but she was sure that was just the evil in her trying to take over. Seriously, what normal person would want to watch an angel feel uncomfortable? None. She was definitely more wicked than people thought, which wasn’t a good thing.