Dark War Chronicles Box Set One (61 page)

Kaden sighed as he pulled his car up to a parking spot near The Disappearing Act. A commotion kept him from getting too close to the bar and during daylight hours that caught his attention. More so, the cops and ambulance parked nearby were also odd.
What the fuck?
He moved through the crowd. EMTs were lifting someone onto a stretcher. Long white hair stuck to the body and something resembling a dress clung to her.
Tegan
. Rage filled him and he tried to get past the police officer at the scene.

“No one’s allowed past this line. We’re trying to get a hold of the owner of the bar and find someone who can identify her.”

He could, but Lucius would lose it if he did. He stepped back and clenched his fist. He couldn’t let her wake alone. Rushing to his car, he pulled out his phone. Once he was in the car and following the ambulance he called Lucius.

“You’re not going to believe this, but she’s back.” If she lived. Oh God, the blood on her. She had to survive. Had to.

Chapter One

Present Day

“Tegan, I’m your mate.” The man’s gaze met hers.

She studied the way his dirty blond hair fell close to his jaw and her gaze flickered up to the gray of his eyes.

Her heart pounded in her chest at his words. No. That couldn’t be right, her master would never allow her to have a mate and yet... She looked at their entwined fingers. The warmth of his hand engulfed her cold skin and she concentrated on how he felt. Perfect. With him close she could believe that she was safe, something in her screamed to believe him.

“I need my master.” She whispered, not meeting his gaze. Putting a hand up to her head, she cursed the pounding. “Please.”

The man in front of her sighed. “It’s day time, I’ll take you there tonight. Right now, I just want you to rest.”

She closed her eyes and nodded, letting go of his hand. Nothing made sense right now. She could only recall pain. She knew nothing of the man in the room with her, nor did she know why she’d been brought to a Hunters’ location.

Shivering, she pulled the blanket around her, trying to warm her body. She couldn’t fight the symptoms of blood loss and shock. They would fade eventually, but she never got used to the feelings. The bed dipped and a warm body pressed against her. “Don’t panic,” he whispered. “I just want to help. You need the warmth right now, don’t deny it.”

His voice sounded familiar, but she couldn’t place from where. Something from a long forgotten dream. His arm wrapped around her and pulled her close. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of his heart and let the rhythm lull her to sleep. The steady sound of the heartbeat beat the silence of the cell....

No, no, don’t think about it.
She told herself, but she couldn’t help but remember. Sleep pulled her under with the cell being her last thought.

The sound of a whip echoed in the room and the barbs dug into her back, with an expert move Markus pulled it away and she cried out. She could feel the blood drip down her back from the new wounds.

Disconnected from her own body, she stood watching the massacre. Cloth covered her eyes and even now, as she observed from the outside, something obscured her vision. Something that only tinted the world around her, not completely blocking the light out.

“Is this what happened before you were left on the street to die?” The man who claimed to be her mate appeared next to her. Now she knew the voice from the dreams belonged to him. All the dreams haunting her while being tortured. When she went into the land of unconsciousness, he came to her. She’d never seen his face because of the fabric.

His question caught her off guard though. She couldn’t die. Surely as her mate, if he spoke the truth, he knew that. “I don’t know.” She answered honestly. “I feel like this was so long ago and yet...it’s fresh. The pain, the memories, the wounds still cover my body.”

“We’ll figure it out.” His voice soothed her.

Promises, always promises and yet... “I don’t remember you. Lucius doesn’t allow me to look for a mate.”

“Because he denies truth.”

She studied the pained expression on his face. “He wouldn’t hide something like this from me. You must be lying.” Why? Why would this man do such a thing? “I don’t know you. I don’t even have a name to put with your face.”

“Kaden, and Tegan, I’m not lying to you. Please...”

She turned away from him and wrapped her arms around herself, going back to the scene at hand. The other her now lay face down in a pool of blood with Markus’ boot pressed into her back.

Closing her eyes, Tegan thought about all the nightmares she’d suffered and how Kaden had always been a soothing presence. “How can you appear in my dreams?”

“I’m a dream demon.” Kaden’s voice was soft, “it’s kind of my thing. Something in you called out to me, so I came.”

She swallowed. “I can only remember you in my dreams, but you seem to know me as so much more.” She turned to look at him and found him drifting away. “Kaden?” She called out, but he disappeared into the darkness. There was no response from him, but Markus’ voice rang clear from the memory playing in the background

“Why won’t you die, Tegan? Tell me?”

A stabbing pain went through her chest and she cried out.

Kaden woke when Tegan’s body arched against his and she cried out in pain. He cursed her nightmares and ran his hand through her hair and whispered to her. “It’s okay Tegan. They are just dreams, they can’t hurt you.” But he knew better. If someone like him controlled her dreams, they could cause major harm. Markus wasn’t a dream demon though, only a vampire.

One who haunted all her dreams. No wonder the woman hated to sleep. He’d risked visiting her dreams several times before she disappeared, only to check on her, but she rarely slept. Only a few hours here or there. He needed to call Lucius and let the vampire know Tegan had woken, but a glance at the clock told him the vampire would still be dead to the world.

He pulled Tegan close to him and tried to calm her. Taking a deep breath he caught her scent. Not the scent of the hospital or soap. No, the scent of Tegan, a mixture of earth and heaven. He wouldn’t be able to keep her or be this close to her for long, but for now he would hold her. For now, he could savor being close to her.

Lucius woke and something felt out of place. He looked around his room and could have sworn he caught a glimpse of Tegan in the doorway, but he knew better. But a comforting feeling in his mind told him that his human was awake. Her thoughts, though dwelling in the past, were coherent. He shot out of bed and grabbed his phone. The damn device was the only way to contact Kaden while he stayed with the Hunters.

He managed to get the thing to call the demon and waited...three rings later Kaden picked up.

“She’s awake, I’m just trying to get her to come see you.” Kaden gave a frustrated sigh.

Lucius frowned. “She’s not willing to come home?”

“Something’s off with her, Lucius. She’s not sure where home is nor does she understand why she is here. It’s like...when I first met her. She’s so skittish.”

When he first met her. Years ago...no centuries, right after Lucius took her from the Father. “Does she remember you?”

“No, which makes me wonder what else she’s forgotten. She keeps saying that she feels out of place, she doesn’t know terms for everyday items.”

Something similar happened before, when Orion brought her out of Markus’ torture, something about the trauma blocking everything out. She slowly started to remember as her mind and body were prepared to accept everything. “It’s just trauma. Bring her here. Please.” Lucius dragged a hand through his hair and hung up the phone. He would have time to feed and get ready before Kaden showed up with her. Unless they took a demon portal. He highly doubted Kaden would take Tegan through one after she’d just spent so much time with demons.

He knew why Tegan didn’t remember Kaden and she never would. So he kept telling himself and yet he made sure to keep the two far apart, yet in the same territory. He stormed out of his room and came face to face with Victoria. The immortal who came to his aid when he called his meeting a few weeks ago.

The woman smiled at him. “I could feel your anger down the hall. Need to feed?”

He didn’t bother with a verbal answer but shoved her up against the wall. The woman was all soft womanly curves and slender toned muscle where it counted. Nuzzling her neck, he took in the scent of ancient forests and dirt before striking her vein. Letting his power surround her insured the feeding would be more on the side of pleasure. With each pull of blood his strength increased and the anger in him receded until his mind cleared. He hadn’t fed much since Tegan’s disappearance and the lack of blood took a toll on him.

Pulling away from Victoria, he licked the wound to seal it. She looked at him with hooded eyes and smirked. “I normally ask for a man to buy me a drink before we get that personal.”

“I thought your words were an offer. Next time—“

“I didn’t say they weren’t. A little warning next time would be nice though.” She straightened her black dress, moving the slit to expose the side of her leg that went up to nearly her waist. “Have you heard any more on Tegan?”

“She woke today, Kaden will bring her here. I don’t want a great fanfare when she gets here. Just her and I until I can assess the damage.” The mental and physical. He rubbed his chest as a phantom pain shot through him. What had happened to her?

Victoria bowed her head. “I’ll send Mae to work at the club then. Kassity is healing, but she’s not well enough to leave the manor yet.”

The now ex-queen of Fae had attacked his panther and tried to kill her. With Kassity still on the mend, Jaxon, her mate, wouldn’t let anyone near her. Not even if Lucius demanded. “I know, but I don’t think her or Jaxon will rush to the door when Tegan gets here.”

And with Orion in the Fae world and Renee in school, that only left Coran to worry about, but of course, Coran was probably stalking around the school to make sure Renee stayed safe. Ever since her brother’s death the wolf had become twice as protective and twice as useless.

Everything was a mess.

Victoria crossed her arms. “I’ll stay out of the way, she doesn’t know me and I don’t want to freak her out.”

“Thank you.” Lucius turned to go to Tegan’s room. She wouldn’t be leaving the manor after this. Hell, she’d be lucky if she left his sight after this.

Kaden paced outside the doorway while the doctor checked over Tegan. Lucius had called already and wanted Tegan back now, but the Hunters’ doctor resisted. They wanted to run more tests, they hadn’t seen anything like Tegan before. The Hunter Kaden worked with promised that things would be kept under wraps but something had made plans change and Joey refused to tell him what.

He closed his eyes and recalled the terrified look in her red eyes. Red eyes and white hair, she fit a creature of myth in his world. A dream walker, but having been in her dreams he knew she wasn’t one. Though being one was the only thing that made sense about why Lucius kept her eyes covered.

“Her vitals are still low.” The doctor’s voice pulled Kaden out of his thoughts. “I will release her only because Master Joey is putting pressure on me.”

Thank God Joey owed him a huge favor. “Thank you, doctor, for everything. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she rests and heals when I get her home.”

Home to Lucius...Kaden would never see her again. A pain hit him in the chest. He could only hope after all this the vampire would let him see Tegan. With a sigh, he moved past the doctor and into the room. Tegan sat on the bed with her eyes closed and her fists balled up in the sheets.

“It’s me, you can open your eyes.” Kaden said gently. He forced himself not to rush to her and pull her into his arms. The urge to run his hands through her long hair came over him and he shoved his hands into his pockets. If she couldn’t remember him, if she didn’t know about him, he couldn’t let himself get attached to her.

Her eyes flickered open, her long lashes framing them. “I can go home now?”

“Yes.” He held his hand out to her. The confusion on her face nearly broke his heart. “You need a hand to keep you steady.”

She swallowed and took his hand. He didn’t like how cold her skin was against his. She should be warm and full of life. He helped her stand up and waited to make sure she steadied.

“I’m okay to walk.”

He could feel her body shaking and wanted to pick her up, but he wanted to respect her wishes. “Okay, slow steps.” He promised and walked with her.

She hissed in pain her first couple steps, but then adjusted her weight. Kaden kept a grip on her hand and supported her at her elbow while they walked out of the room and he led her to the parking lot.

Tegan’s eyes grew wide at the sight of all the cars and her body started shaking. “I...I don’t understand.”

“Tegan?” Kaden moved to face her. “Talk to me.”

She shook her head. “Take me home. Now.” Her hand tightened around his.

“We either have to drive or we have to take a demon portal.” He kept his voice even and steady to not frighten her or increase her panic.

“Demon portal.”

He frowned. After her staying with the demons, he would have sworn she wouldn’t want to travel through one. “Are you sure?”

“I need to be near Lucius now.” She wouldn’t meet his gaze and when someone walked by she closed her eyes completely.

Something was off, she’d been trying to tell him that, but he had ignored her pleas. “Okay.” With a wave of his hand he summoned a portal, a large black swirling hole, and pulled her through.

The world disappeared around them and in a dizzy rush of wind they appeared in the foyer at Lucius’ manor. The vampire wasn’t in the room, but Kaden doubted it would be long before Lucius sensed Tegan’s return.

Tegan put a hand to her stomach and her knees buckled. Kaden caught her and walked over to Lucius’ throne. “I’ve got you.” He sat her down in the chair and brushed a piece of hair out of her face. “You okay?”

“That was awful.” She muttered and closed her eyes. “I said take me home. This isn’t home.”

Kaden frowned. “This is where Lucius lives. Don’t you live with him?” Did he screw up, should he have taken her somewhere else?