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  CODA

  ALEXA O’BRIEN HUNTRESS BOOK 13

  TRINA M. LEE

  CODA

  Copyright 2018 by Trina M. Lee

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

  Manufactured in Canada

  Editor

  B. Leigh Hogan

  Cover Artist

  Robin Ludwig Design Inc.

  Published by

  Dark Mountain Books

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  DEFINITION

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  EPILOGUE

  Definition:

  In music, a coda [ˈkoːda] (Italian for “tail”, plural code) is a passage that brings a piece (or a movement) to an end…That closing adjunct of any movement, or piece, specially intended to enforce a feeling of completeness and finality. –Wikipedia

  CHAPTER ONE

  The glow of the firelight danced in Nova’s eyes. I stared at the reflection of the flames in his black pupils. As close as we were, I noticed for the first time the slight diamond shape to them.

  We stood beneath a great weeping willow tree in the backyard of the church used by demons as their Black Market for dark-side wares. I’d been hemming and hawing over paying the market a visit for several nights now. I just didn’t know who else to go to.

  Weeks had passed since Kale came home. The next full moon was right around the corner, just days away. Though I didn’t speak a word of it to anyone, I was desperate to find another way to break Shya’s curse. Something, anything that didn’t involve the death of someone I loved.

  “You know I give nothing without getting,” Nova said, delight in his blood-red orbs.

  “Yeah, I’m aware.” I twirled a finger and rolled my eyes, showing exactly what I thought of Nova and his ridiculousness.

  Demons never gave for free. I got that. But Nova would demand payment for telling someone the time if he could get away with it.

  “I’ve started collecting in advance. Too many times now I’ve been burned. So, you give and then you get.” Stone cold serious, Nova didn’t leave a lot of room for negotiation.

  I had my doubts that Nova could do anything to help. I knew better than to expect miracles from a demon. However, he was the only demon I knew personally with significant power and possibly information. Having him take a closer look at my curse justified the cost, within reason.

  “And what exactly am I giving?” I raised a brow, daring him to push too far. “Be reasonable.”

  Nobody knew I was there. Nova and I were both members of The Circle of the Veil, a secret society of sorts, dedicated to keeping supernatural activity hidden from the human world. We often met to discuss business. Although not here, at the market of insanity.

  For weeks I’d suppressed my true feelings about Kale’s return and what that meant. The inner agony had me screaming inside my head on a nightly basis, my pain trapped inside because I couldn’t show it without risking the last of my very precarious shreds of sanity.

  This burden was mine and mine alone.

  Each passing night the panic-inducing sense of desperation grew. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing Kale. Of having to be the one to end him. The thought made me sick.

  “I’ll go easy on you. This time.” Nova’s smirk flashed with pure evil. “Give me a taste. That’s all I ask.”

  “Let’s define what you mean by a taste.” Clarification was an absolute must with demons. Too easy, they twisted things to their favor.

  Nova regarded me with a hungry gaze. Running his tongue lasciviously over his bottom lip, he seemed to be playing out several fantasies in his head. Finally he said, “Your choice. A taste of your intoxicating power. Fuck, I can practically smell it. Or a taste of that magic between your legs. Either way, I’m sure you’ll taste about as close to heaven as I’ll ever get.”

  An incubus demon, Nova virtually oozed sex. However, I wasn’t interested in taking a demon lover. That was danger in its purest form. Not happening.

  “Aren’t you concerned that I’ll enslave you?” I mocked with a hint of a laugh. “Make you my bitch or something like that.”

  Nova himself had warned me that I tread in deadly territory by having somehow claimed Falon. Despite my insistence that I hadn’t intentionally done a damn thing, Nova had threatened me with punishment from The Circle if it proved true. Idiot.

  “Falon is weak. Easily manipulated, obviously. I won’t fall victim to you.” Cocky and far too self-assured, Nova chuckled.

  I hoped for both our sakes that he was right. That Falon was a rare case. Yet a tiny part of me hesitated. What if something happened to bind the demon to me? Talk about a new kind of hell. But no, I didn’t believe it possible either. I didn’t know how, I just knew the situation with Falon was different.

  “My power then,” I said with no hesitation. “A taste. But that’s it. No feasting.”

  Nova didn’t hide his disappointment. I’d turned him down several times, and he still didn’t seem to know how to take it. “You rob yourself, Alexa. The things I could do to you, the places I could take you… Such a shame.”

  “Don’t waste your breath. It’s not going to happen. Can we get on with it? I have places to be.” Staying firm and focussed I held Nova’s gaze, bracing myself in case he tried to enthrall me. I’d learned I had to be tough with him or he’d run all over me.

  Annoyed, he stuck out a hand. Tentatively I placed mine in his. He shoved it away and reached for my other hand, the one that bore Shya’s mark in the palm. Oops.

  Lacing our fingers together, Nova grasped at my power. The succubus force nestled in my core recognized the beckoning call of another. It responded to his invitation with far more gusto than I’d have preferred.

  I stiffened. Forcing my brain and body to stay on separate pages wasn’t easy. In fact, it was a battle. Once he called that part of me forth, I couldn’t help but become hyperaware of him. Of that erotic flavor he exuded so readily.

  Nova drew on my energy, pulling it to him so he could bask in the heady rush. He made a low sound of intrigue and leaned in close. I braced myself when he pressed his face to my hair and breathed in my scent. The touch of his mouth on my ear had me tensing, ready to throw him on his ass.

  “Relax, Alexa,” he murmured, breath tickling my neck. “I’m not going to cross your clearly drawn lines.”

  A throb started in my groin. The effects of his vast power. An illusion, because I didn’t really want him. Only to roll about in his power. So quickly I’d entered the danger zone.

  He drew a little harder on me, taking a deep breath as he did so. Then he released it slowly, like a long, luxurious sigh. I felt myself slipping under his thrall as it flowed over me, like a wave that knocked me down and threatened to carry me out to sea.

  Just when I’d reached the point of losing myself and having to fight my way out, he dropped the thrall and released his hold on my energy.

  He held tight to my hand though. Turning it over, he traced a finger over the lines in my palm. “Even better than I thought it would be. My invitation still stands. For you and Arys. If you ever change your minds about that.”

  Nova had poked and prodded at me in the past, but never had he gotten the chance to take a real tour of my power. It had just encouraged his lustful fantasies. Great.

  I remained quiet while he searched the mark in my palm. It warmed at Nova’s exploratory touch. Then it began to burn.

  I tried to jerk away, but he held tight to my wrist. “Nova, what the fuck?”

  “Be still.” He stared into my hand, seeing something within Shya’s mark that I couldn’t see. Suddenly he released me.

  I jerked my hand close, studying the skin for signs of injury. Nothing. The heat faded. Friggin’ demon magic.

  “It’s solid,” Nova proclaimed without looking the least bit sympathetic. “I’m willing to bet Shya formed this curse in advance, saving it for a time when he might need it. It’s flawless. Unbreakable except by whatever key he created to fit that lock.”

  “Sacrifice,” I muttered. “How do I know he told the truth about how the curse can be broken? It could be a lie. I’ll do it and end up right back in there with him anyway.”

  A horrible theory. Demons were known li
ars. The only truth they enjoyed speaking was that which would break hearts and destroy spirits. So it was probably true after all.

  Shifting away from me like he found my swell of emotion offensive, Nova shrugged. “I’m sure it’s true. The fun of forming a curse is making the key to breaking it more torturous than the curse itself. So either way, you lose.”

  “Yeah, that sounds like Shya.” I rubbed a thumb over the curse mark. The hardest part of this was that I’d gladly return every full moon to take the mental and physical abuse that Shya bestowed upon me. Anything to keep Kale alive.

  But he wasn’t really living. For so long he’d faced each night like one recurring bad dream that he never woke from.

  “There’s nothing I can do.” Spreading his hands in apology, Nova continued to edge away from me. He’d taken what he wanted from this exchange and given me as much as he’d agreed to. Our transaction was over.

  “I know.” Turning away, I sidestepped a demon and his human lover in the throes of macabre passion next to the fire. So deeply looking inward that I barely saw them, I exited the churchyard.

  Nova had confirmed what I’d already known. Nothing would free me from Shya except the death of someone I loved. So naturally it should be the one person I was never supposed to love.

  A frustrated shout burst out when I sat alone in my car. I wanted to hit things, but destroying my car wouldn’t help. Head in my hands, I slumped over the steering wheel and willed tears to come. To cleanse me of this pain.

  But the tears would not come. And the pain remained.

  CHAPTER TWO

  “Good timing,” Justin greeted me when I arrived at The Wicked Kiss. The hulking doorman jerked a thumb toward the packed interior. “Your sister is here, and she’s about one lippy comment away from finding out why nobody fucks with Arys.”

  Aw, hell no.

  I darted inside with a surge of panic. Couldn’t even leave this place unattended for an hour. Or maybe it was Arys that couldn’t be left unsupervised. That man would put the final nail in the coffin of my sanity one day.

  Since I’d made Willow human to stop him from unleashing a purge upon the city, Arys and I had been without a keystone. The magical binding had connected us, keeping us from being so easily unbalanced. Willow had selected Shaz. Now it was nobody. Every night became another crash course in what the dark side of my twin flame really was.

  I spotted them in the quieter side of the building, opposite the stage. The bar sat right in the middle of the room, acting as somewhat of a divider. My dark vampire and my sister stood beside a bright red sofa arguing.

  Juliet had brought just one agent with her. Either they had yet to send more recruits to the city, or else she’d made the smart move of keeping her agents away from my nightclub, as I’d asked.

  Arms crossed, hip cocked, Juliet glowered at Arys. Her lips moved, but I wasn’t close enough to hear what she said. Arys’s expression of predatory delight and blatant resentment gave me chills. Weaving through the tables to where they faced off, I resisted the urge to break into a run. Instead I forced myself to amble as I drew closer.

  “What’s going on, guys?” I asked. “Doesn’t look too friendly.”

  Arys turned to me with wolf eyes, a warning sign for sure. That had been occurring more frequently when he lost his temper. “Your sister has gotten it into her head that she’s welcome here.”

  “And this idiot seems to think your vampires get a free pass to run amok through the goddamn city,” Juliet snarled. She didn’t take her eyes off him. Smart.

  Anyone who valued their life would never turn their back on Arys. Especially if they had werewolf blood pumping through their veins. Myself included. He’d never been predictable, but lately I trusted him even less. Which sucked because it didn’t change the fire that ignited every time I looked at him.

  “Our vampires are no concern of yours.” A little haughty, Arys leaned menacingly into her space. “There’s only one vampire you should be worried about.”

  Instead of pushing between my sister and my lover, I kept my distance. Back enough to avoid crowding, I braced myself to smack either one down if I must. Gabriel’s premonition gave the situation a heightened element of danger.

  “What happened?” I asked, certain I didn’t want to hear it. Though I glanced at Juliet, I kept Arys within my peripheral view.

  She held his gaze for a moment longer before turning to me. “I’ve sent agents out to three different strip clubs this week, Alexa. Are you aware that Kale and Jenner are feeding on the dancers and leaving a mess for someone else to clean up?”

  Strip clubs, Jenner’s MO for sure. I knew I shouldn’t have let him back into my city.

  “How many dead?” No wonder Arys was so defensive. He’d done the same thing himself with Jenner several months back.

  “Just one, surprisingly.” She continued, her tone snide, “The others…left bloody and unconscious. Where they could be found by any random person. Isn’t this the kind of thing your Circle frowns upon?” Evidently she was still pissed that I’d kind of blackmailed her not so long ago.

  I glanced at Arys who glared darkly at each of us. “Yes, it is. I didn’t know. Honestly, I’m not sure how they slipped by Smudge. She usually hears about this shit.”

  “Maybe she just doesn’t care,” Arys offered, oh so helpfully.

  If anything she likely had her hands full of leopard. Or maybe Smudge had left this one to me.

  “I thought you made nice with those two in Vegas.” I nudged Juliet in a new direction. “Why are you busting their balls now?”

  Her face darkened with the shadows of fury. “They helped me out. And even though you want to throw that in my face and use it to control me, I am cutting them a break by coming here instead of tracking them.”

  “Well, thank you. I’ll talk to them. Can’t promise much else.” I was a little irritated that those morons had gone and done something so amateur and arrogant.

  “Promise to deal with it.” A half shoulder shrug and a hair toss. Little sister was feeling like a badass tonight. “They’re your vampires. Therefore, your responsibility. I’m sure you can stop their behavior. You are their queen, right?” Juliet brought her sarcasm game hard tonight. She even threw in the infuriating eye roll that every younger sibling ever on the planet is born programed to do.

  My nerves fired off warning alerts. She’d started to tick me off. Still I worked to retain a sense of calm. Cool. Evenly I said, “I’ll be sure to punish them in the royal dungeon and walk them shamefully through the kingdom for all to bear witness.”

  We stared at each other, likely both playing out scenarios of bitch slapping the other.

  Arys snickered. The wickedness in that sound called to my dark side.

  “That’s really mature, Lexi. Nice to see how much of a shit you give. And you want us to work together?” Juliet snorted and shook her brown curls.

  Unable to stay quiet, Arys eased closer to her and growled, “You underestimate how much love and respect Alexa still has for you. If we did it my way, we’d simply go in and take over the FPA building.”

  Close enough to touch her, Arys openly inhaled her wolfy scent, a slow but obvious intake of breath. He made a show of savoring it, rolling it around in his mind before slowly letting it out. If he wanted her, he’d be on her before either Juliet or I could react.

  Juliet was smart enough to be wary. Still it didn’t stop her from sassing him further. “You know, Arys, you hear an awful lot of talk about the queen bee. You don’t hear much talk about a king bee. Without Alexa, you’re nothing.”

  I moved a split second before Arys did. Because I knew him. He lived inside me. I felt him go for her before he actually did.

  Knocking Juliet aside I braced for the hit as Arys crashed into me. A spark burst between us as our yin-yang energies collided. He jerked to a halt, fangs bared. He didn’t press forward, but he didn’t back off either.

  “Get that bitch out of here,” he seethed, eyes wild. Inside them I saw the raw desire to spill Juliet’s blood.

  With both hands on his chest, I shoved him back. “Take a walk, Arys. Somewhere that isn’t within breathing distance of my sister.”

  At first he resisted. Glaring hard, he studied me, sizing me up. Asking himself if he was ready for that final showdown the fates had promised us. Ultimately he decided that, no, he wasn’t. Not yet.