Tempted by Darkness (5 page)

During a discussion while traveling to meet
with the Council, Ruby had explained, that in fact, it was Kit’s
inability to moderate the energy she attracted that was one of the
Council’s chief concerns. They feared she could easily fall prey to
the lure of dark magic partly because of it would appear that she
was more in control, at least in the beginning. Kit had felt it was
an unjust argument because strong emotions would fuel reactions in
anyone. But her granny had disagreed, shaking her head and
explaining, “That’s just it, Kit, power must equate to
responsibility
and
control at all times, or its use is
always going to be questioned.” Kit hadn’t fully understood the
truth of that statement until this moment, but even then she didn’t
have long to consider all the implications because Devin’s voice
filled her mind.

‘
The queen’s blood runs true in your
veins, meet me tomorrow where she lies cold and still. Bring Braden
but no one else or your sharp-tongued friend loses what little
favor still remains. Tomorrow. Sunset.’

Trevlon Wolf paced the length of the luxury
suite, cell phone in hand listening to his brother list all the
reasons their mate should not be allowed to meet with Devin alone.
Jameson hadn’t mentioned one assertion Trev hadn’t already used in
his numerous discussions with Kit—and not one of the very
persuasive arguments had met with even a sliver of success. But
right now Trev’s problem was calming his brother down enough to
actually find a workable solution to the problem.
Honestly,
sometimes I’m not sure which of us is the most stubborn.
“I
heard that, and it’s our mate. I’m right, so it’s simply tenacity.
Kit is wrong, so she is being stubborn.”

“Yeah, well thanks for clearing that up, but
playing semantics games isn’t going to solve this problem, now is
it?”
Fuck it
, nothing he’d said had seemed to make any
difference to her. Trev knew his brother could use his compelling
voice to demand her compliance, but neither of them relished that
idea. There were a lot of reasons they were both reluctant to go to
that extreme, it was a perk of being the pack Alpha that Jameson
used rarely. Once a command was spoken with the compelling voice,
there was absolutely no question—it would be followed, but the
recipient often resented their free will being bypassed, and both
Jameson and Trevlon understood the inherent problems that
caused.

He could hear his twin’s sigh of frustration
and knew from experience Jameson was running his free hand through
his dark hair. They were not only identical twins, but also
virtually mirror images of one another, and more often than not,
they felt one another’s emotions. They had always looked so much
alike there were actually only a couple of people who had never
mistaken them one for the other. Kit hadn’t understood how anyone
could
confuse them—and that meant more to both he and
Jameson than it probably should.

“I don’t want to compel her. She’ll resent it
and I’m not sure I’d blame her. The message we’d be sending to not
only our mate, but to our entire pack, would be that we don’t trust
her to do what we know she is here to do. Damn, this is exactly the
sort of thing that defines her destiny. How can we deny her this?”
Jameson’s voice was heavy with regret and worry, and Trev fully
understood Jameson’s dilemma. Even though they were both considered
pack Alphas, as the first-born, Jameson was the more senior leader
and he always tried to shoulder the worst of the burden alone.

As they ended the call, Trev turned to see
Kit standing in the doorway, her eyes shining with unshed tears. He
held his arms open and she stepped quickly into his embrace. “Talk
to me, baby.”

“It’s you…well, both of you. Your faith in me
fills my heart with gratitude. I know that it’s killing you to let
me do this—but you’re not going to stop me because it’s what I
need
to do. I know I haven’t known Angie as long as you have
and we are not blood relatives. But she is still my family in all
the ways that matter—and she needs my help.” Trev was humbled by
his sweet mate’s words, even though he was worried she was giving
he and Jameson far too much credit. Rather than saying anything
that might cause her further upset, he simply held her. She
certainly didn’t need any added distraction before leaving to meet
Devin.

Kit and Braden rode in silence to the open
field where Aradia was said to have been buried. There was no
marker per the Queen of Witches request, she’d known her gravesite
would become a contentious memorial and she’d been adamantly
opposed to that idea. Fearing future persecution of those who would
follow, the wise witch had demanded the exact location of her grave
never be revealed. From everything Kit had read about the woman
considered the Queen of Witches, she’d been a firm believer in
living for the future rather than in the past. Every witch’s Book
of Shadows contained bits of wisdom attributed to Aradia that had
been passed down generation to generation for countless centuries.
Kit’s favorite was the reminder to never be humbled so much that
you stumbled over our own past.

As they exited the small rental car, Braden
looked over at her and winked, “Remember, individually we are good,
but together we are superheroes. And Granny Good Witch promised me
a cape when we get Angie back.” When she cast him a sidelong
glance, he chuckled, “What? I know I can’t fly with a cape, but it
will be fun to mess with the kids back at the estate.” She shook
her head, in so many ways he was an adult, but there were still
moments when the childhood he’d missed bubbled to the surface.
Everyone at the estate relished those moments because to their
minds it meant he was healing and maturing into the powerful wizard
he was destined to become.

Braden’s childhood had been cut far too short
because he’d been the focus of Damian’s obsession from the time the
dark wizard learned the child was his grandson. Braden’s father had
run away with him after the young boy’s mother was killed. For
years, father and son had barely managed to stay one-step ahead of
the man obsessed with the young boy, but their luck had finally run
out and Braden lost his father, too.

As the sun started to sink beneath the
horizon, a brilliant ball of orange light shimmered several feet in
front of where Kit and Braden stood waiting. For several seconds
the light simply hovered and spun slowly around and Kit wondered if
it was ensuring they’d come alone. When Devin finally emerged as an
ill-defined mist, he scanned the area before focusing on the two of
them. Just as Kit opened her mouth to demand he give them proof
Angie was still alive, she appeared next to him.

“What the hell is that?” Braden started to
step forward as he spoke but Kit placed her hand on his shoulder to
hold him back. Devin’s posture had shifted immediately and Kit was
worried about the young man’s safety. Even though Angie appeared to
be trapped in some sort of glass bubble, she appeared to be
unharmed. Braden turned back to Devin and took a menacing step
forward before Kit pulled him back once again. “Can she hear us?”
Just then they saw Angie waving her arms and she looked as though
she was shouting but they couldn’t hear anything. “Well, guess that
answers that question. Hey, how long can she stay in there without
fresh air?” Kit wanted to roll her eyes, leave it to Braden to
shift so quickly to logical and scientific observations. Good
Goddess it was certainly easy to see he and Angie were related. Kit
was far more worried that none of them were going to live long
enough for oxygen to ever be an issue.

“Don’t worry about the bubble. It is
soundproof, but she will not come to any harm being in there. She
had been treated well as I’m sure she will tell you, assuming you
are willing to negotiate with me.” Kit’s interest was piqued
because Devin had emphasized the word
me
and she found it
odd that he’d make that distinction.

‘
What do you make of this, Kit? Why did he
say we are negotiating with him? Do you think we were right the
last time when we sensed his reluctance to be his brother’s
lackey?’

Kit appreciated the telepathic link she and
Braden had established. They’d spent many hours practicing the
silent method of communication and she was grateful they shared a
way to speak without being heard. ‘
I was just thinking the same
thing. Let’s see where this takes us, shall we?’

Returning her focus to Devin, Kit demanded,
“Tell us what you want. Why would you want to kidnap Angie? And who
was responsible?” Devin rolled his eyes at her questions and it
quickly became clear to Kit that Devin wasn’t particularly
interested in discussing the details.

“I can’t tell you everything—at least not
yet, but you already know that. And I’m sure you have already
figured out that my brother wants to trade the good doctor for his
grandson.” When she opened her mouth to speak he held up his hand
in a silent gesture silencing her. “I already know that isn’t going
to happen and in truth I’d be somewhat disappointed in you if you
agreed to such an exchange. Remember, I said your negotiations are
with me, not my brother.” For the first time in days, Kit felt some
of the tension leave her body as the possibility that they might
get Angie back without extreme violence loomed before her.

During the next half hour, Devin paced so
quickly along a line in front of them that he literally wore a path
in the grass beneath his feet. There were times as he spoke that
Kit wondered if he was still speaking to them or he’d simply become
lost in his own thoughts. Devin outlined his brother’s plan to take
over the Supreme Council after he was freed from behind the sealed
portal—and realizing how close Damian was to making it happened
scared Kit more than she wanted to admit.

“Kit, the magic you used the night you sent
Damian behind the seal was dark, very dark. And the remarkable
thing is you were completely untrained. I know the powers that be
are telling you they don’t know how you managed it, but that isn’t
exactly true. They know it was dark magic, what they don’t know is
how you learned it. Whether it’s innate knowledge or simply natural
ability, then they have a really big problem on their hands.”

“Explain why they consider it their problem.”
As much as Kit wanted to deny his words, she honestly wasn’t sure
she could. Something about his observation resonated in her soul as
the truth though. She didn’t like it, but she’d never been one to
deny reality even if it didn’t fit well with the way she wanted to
see herself. Her passionate response to Jameson’s dominance that
first night at the club was a perfect example. As much as she had
wanted to be outraged by his high-handed behavior, she hadn’t been
able to deny her body’s intense response to his dominance.