Darker (Alexa O'Brien Huntress Book 6) Read online

  Darker

  Alexa O’Brien Huntress Book Six

  By Trina M. Lee

  Darker

  Copyright 2013 by Trina M. Lee

  Smashwords Edition

  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 the United States of America

  Editor

  B. Leigh Hogan

  Cover Artist

  Michael Hart

  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.

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  To everyone with a dream. Never give up.

  Chapter One

  Sin and sacrilege. From fornication and bloodletting to death and obsessed addiction, those two words summed up the vampires’ world quite nicely. The Wicked Kiss was all of that and more. It was also the only place I felt comfortable with myself these days.

  Blood dripped into my mouth, taking me away to a place where right and wrong ceased to exist. The scent of desire accompanied the steady pulse of arousal deliciously coating the atmosphere. I drank it in, savoring the heady sensation of spiraling headlong into euphoria.

  “Bleed for me, my dear.” Arys’s throaty murmur was thick with yearning. He nuzzled the neck of the woman sprawled on the bed between us, driving her wild for him.

  I lay back, holding her bleeding wrist above me so the scarlet nectar dripped from the vampire-inflicted wounds into my mouth. The irony wasn’t lost on me. Both Arys and I were doing the very thing we’d sworn never to do, feed from the willing victims at The Wicked Kiss. I wasn’t proud of myself. In fact, I’d be downright disgusted with my actions when I came down from the high.

  If I’d been alone, I likely would have killed her. Arys kept me from doing something I’d hate myself for. As the dark power inside me grew, so did the hunger. I was still mortal, a werewolf with a twin flame connection to a vampire. However, the balance of our yin-yang bond was shifting.

  Arys believed his darkness would consume me. Two witches had warned us of the dangers of our connection. One had gone so far as to show Arys a vision of our future: my death at his hand. There were too many possibilities and not enough concrete answers. All we could do was take it one day at a time. In the meantime, I needed to sate the bloodlust, preferably without adding to my death toll.

  Our victim writhed in pleasure as we fed upon her. The club was constantly crawling with willing victims because they got as much as they gave. Arys easily stirred her longing. The right words whispered in a low, seductive tone or a carefully placed caress or two, and she was a swooning mess. Perhaps watching my lover so easily seduce another woman should have bothered me. Instead, I found it enticing.

  Watching Arys in action was mesmerizing. It stirred my hunger to life as well as my libido. He wasn’t always like this though, a careful predator manipulating his prey into bliss. The things Arys did when he wasn’t with me were far more horrific. Screaming, begging and fighting, that’s what Arys loved in a victim. There lies the essence of our differences. He was a monster who loved every minute of his curse.

  “Alexa, my love.” He beckoned me with a finger.

  I dropped the woman’s wrist and sat up. At Arys’s command, I joined him near her head, watching as he sank fangs into her throat. Blood welled up from the wounds, spilling down her neck and chest. She moaned, clinging to Arys with a desperation that bordered on fearful.

  He disentangled himself from her and turned to me with a devilish glint in his midnight blue eyes. Pulling me into his arms with a demanding aggression, he kissed me hungrily. Blood dripped from his mouth into mine, tangy and hot.

  With a low growl, I slipped a hand up into his unruly thick black hair. A crimson drop escaped the corner of my mouth to slide down my chin and neck. Arys quickly captured it with his tongue, warm and moist against my sensitive flesh.

  I quivered at the sharp sting of fangs scraping over my skin. I wanted him to take me right then and there. He would have gladly done it, too, but I wasn’t willing with a stranger present. Most certainly, I didn’t want someone watching who we were using as a food source.

  “Arys, stop,” I gasped when he buried his face in my cleavage. “We can’t do this here.”

  “Like hell we can’t.” Ignoring my protest, he sought to free me of the tight black top I wore.

  I shoved his hands away. “I can’t do this with you. In this place. I feel dirty.”

  Annoyed, I left the bed and stood awkwardly near the door. Glancing around the room, I felt suffocated by its close confines. The back rooms at The Wicked Kiss were private enough for those seeking a place for some dirty fun. However, they were no less sleazy than any cheap motel room.

  Four weeks, three days and sixteen hours. That’s how long it had been since my wolf mate had left town. Shaz Richardson, the one person that fully understood me. Or, so I’d thought. Recently there hadn’t been enough understanding between us. We both had issues that we chose to hide rather than share with one another. I’d thought his absence would get easier with the passing of time; I was wrong.

  Turning away from the sight of my vampire on the bed with a bleeding, quivering victim, I left the room to stand awkwardly in the hall instead. I’d been feeling sorry for myself lately. It was ridiculous and time to cut that nonsense out. I had also been looking over my shoulder far more often than usual since a cursed demoness tried to have me killed. Self-pity and cowering wasn’t my thing; I was ready to snap out of it.

  A scream rang out, muffled slightly by the door I’d just closed. Arys’s devious laugh followed, sending a chill down my spine. I walked away; I had to. When the bloodlust rose, I walked too close to the edge of sanity. Knowing what he was doing was as horrifying as it was alluring. I clung hard to what remained of my humanity, but every night I felt it slip further away. I could mourn it, or I could accept it. I had yet to do either.

  Making my way down the hall, back to the main entrance from the club, I found myself overwhelmed by the onslaught of metaphysical energy leaking from every occupied room. Sex, blood, violence and pleasure oozed through the atmosphere like a metaphysical gas leak. The tantalizing blend of vampire and human essence called to me, beckoning like a wanton lover.

  My pace quickened. I reached for the door that separated the nightclub from the back playground. The sound of a commotion beyond greeted me before I turned the knob. I almost collided with Josh as he rushed toward me.

  “I don’t know who you pissed off now, but we’ve got problems,” he shouted over the noise. The panicked bartender pushed by me, heading for the back exit.

  I couldn’t say that I blamed him; I’d have loved to vacate, too. As it was, the other owner of the club, Kale, had been missing for weeks so I was the only one left to deal with this shit. Once I got a good look at what exactly was going on, I wished I’d stayed in the back.

  A gang of vamp
ires were happily trashing the place. Like a bunch of delinquents, they overturned tables and smashed liquor bottles. However, it didn’t take them long to target the patrons. Total hysteria broke out as they savaged stray humans. People stampeded toward the door.

  The vampires that frequented the place as well as the few on my security staff attempted to fight back. The invaders were quickly tossed aside or dealt a deathblow that left them in piles of ash and dust.

  I leaped into the fray, dodging a flying table and fighting to avoid being trampled by the crowd that rushed against me like a powerful ocean wave. I gathered my power but couldn’t use it with so many innocent people in the crossfire. When I had a clear shot of one of the vampires, I let loose with a psi ball that threw him hard against the wall. Guiding my focus, concentrating hard, I flooded him with enough power to make his head burst.

  Sating the bloodlust had honed my senses, sharpening them to a delicate point. I was able to take out another vampire and slash the throat of a third before taking a heavy punch. I would have given just about anything to have my dagger then.

  Forged by a demon, the Dragon Claw had the ability to kill a vampire with just a nick of the blade. It didn’t even need to pierce the heart. Unfortunately, it was sitting tucked away in its velvet-lined box in the trunk of my car. Real helpful.

  I stumbled backward and fell gracelessly over one of the lounge-style couches. Before I could get to my feet, a large vampire with a meaty hand grabbed my arm and dragged me up. I didn’t hesitate, shoving power into him with my focus on his heart. Blood burst from his eyes, ears and nose seconds before he exploded in a shower of dust.

  I expected further attack, but nobody grabbed for me. The remaining vamps hung back, looking to a shadowed figure standing mostly unnoticed near the entry.

  Brook stepped into view, oblivious to the people shoving past him in their haste to escape. Some mysterious illusion hid the demon’s black wings from sight. His eyes were void of any emotion. Brook was lower on the demon hierarchy but still no one to be messed with lightly. I’d been brushing up on my demonology since Lilah had decided I was a problem that she needed to eliminate.

  “Back off blood suckers,” the demon barked. “That’s enough brainless destruction. Don’t we have something for Ms. O’Brien?”

  “Whatever it is, I’m sure I don’t want it.” What I wanted was to kick Lilah’s ass for sending him, but she had been lying low since our last encounter.

  “Why, of course you want it. It does belong to you after all.” Brook gestured to a vampire who came forward with a box big enough to hold many things. I knew I didn’t want to see what was in there.

  The vampire placed the box on the bar, never once taking his eyes from me as he backed away. I couldn’t resist. I focused on him and unleashed my energy. His head exploded first, his body quick to follow. The sense of satisfaction that followed was short lived.

  “Disposable,” Brook said with a shrug. “That’s why she sent them. We came to deliver a message. This is my queen’s territory, wolf. You’re nothing. Not even worthy of the power you have. Lilah needs something from you. She wants to make sure you know she’s going to get it.”

  With the help of Shya, a demon I truly loathed, I’d played a part in binding Lilah’s power. She was a demon cursed into the form of a vampire. I’d stripped her vampire power, leaving her vulnerable enough for Shya to bind her.

  Clearly, it had worked. She was relatively powerless, or so it would seem since she had sent another here in her place. Unfortunately, to break that curse, Lilah needed my blood. So, here we were.

  “Get out of my club.” I held Brook’s solid black gaze, refusing to be intimidated.

  “And, miss you opening your gift? Now that would just be rude of me.” He gestured to the box sitting untouched on the bar. “Lilah owes you a little payback for that damn binding stunt you pulled with Shya.”

  I considered reaching out to Arys through our mental connection, then decided against it. Things were tense, but nothing I couldn’t handle. I strode to the bar, keeping Brook in my sight. The stench hit me immediately. Death.

  I didn’t pause, didn’t so much as hesitate with his eyes upon me. I tore open the box, knowing what I’d find before I looked inside. I just didn’t know whom.

  Double take. Then another. This couldn’t be real.

  Staring up at me with vacant dead eyes and a look of frozen horror etched permanently on his face, was the severed head of my fellow pack wolf, Zak.

  Brook oozed satisfaction. “Consider this a warning. You have something she needs. All you have to do is provide it. Or, this won’t be the last wolf.”

  He took advantage of my stunned silence. Slipping away with Lilah’s remaining minions in tow, he left me there staring down at what used to be one of my wolves. Hot, angry tears filled my eyes. I clenched my teeth, gripping the side of the box with clawed fingertips.

  I’d taken enough shit from manipulative vampires and demons. The time had come to cut the puppet strings that held me. I wasn’t like them, wasn’t one of them. As a creature of the light, I intended to hold tightly to that. Lilah thought she could play me, but she didn’t know me. She had no idea what I was capable of doing. In many ways, neither did I.

  We were both going to find out.

  Chapter Two

  “Close the doors for the night. Don’t let anybody else in.” I gazed around at the mess.

  At least half a dozen bodies littered the floor. They had all been taking a risk by coming to The Wicked Kiss. Still, not one of them deserved this. Lilah had her goons kill them for no other reason than to hurt me. Same with Zak. It had worked.

  It did hurt to see that these people were dead because someone wanted to take a shot at me. Lilah needed me alive. What better way to stick it to me than to start picking off those around me?

  Justin approached with anger sparkling in his eyes. Tall, dark skinned and built like a football player, he was as mean as he looked. “They never should have made that demon bitch a vampire. I’d die before I’d play lapdog for her.”

  “That makes two of us.” I closed the box, unable to look at Zak’s remains. I regretted each of the casualties of the night, but Zak was special. He was my wolf. Mine to protect. I had failed him. I couldn’t let it happen again.

  “What’s her deal with you? Or, is that something that will get me killed if you tell me?” Justin shook his head and bent to pick up an overturned table. “Never mind. Forget I asked.”

  “She needs my blood to break her curse,” I spilled the truth. There was no sense lying. “She wanted to kill me because she felt threatened by my power. Then, she discovered that I could set her free. Now, she wants to force me into giving my blood willingly.”

  Justin glanced at me with a thoughtful frown creasing his brow. “I’ve seen what you can do. Why not just kill the bitch?”

  “I’m gonna have to. If only it was just that simple.”

  Together we tidied up the broken glass and furniture. The place was empty other than the remaining staff. My vampires waited for me to throw cash at them to have the bodies removed. I wasn’t sure we could just dump them in the river or wherever else the vamps might have in mind; we were dealing with several bodies. If the FPA caught wind of this, they’d be all over me like shit on a blanket.

  Everyone lost in the throes of wicked ecstasy in the back of the building were either clueless to what had happened here or entirely apathetic, Arys included. It didn’t sit well with me that a demon had been in here, and he’d been unaware or, worse, merely more concerned with the woman bleeding for him. Was existing night to night for the pleasures of blood and violence really so exquisite that it was worth blinding oneself to true danger?

  No sooner had I finished the thought than a cold wave crashed over me. Arys swept through the door from the hall with the grace of the undead. He exuded the amped up energy of one who had just drained his victim dry. A devilish smile lit up his features in a macabre light.


  He paused, taking in the disastrous surroundings. “What happened here? Did one of the self-neutered vamps finally lose it?”

  I turned on him with an ice-cold glare. “Brook was here. Lilah sent him. He didn’t come alone. I guess you were too busy playing to notice.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Curiosity drew him to the box sitting atop the bar. He opened it before I could respond. There was no sense of surprise. The things that shocked me were merely shrug-worthy to Arys.

  “I considered it,” I admitted, fetching a broom from behind the bar in order to sweep up the broken glass. “I figured adding you to the mix would make things worse, not better. Her goons trashed the place, killed innocent people and then left. After promising me that Zak was just the beginning. If I don’t strike a deal with her for my blood, she keeps killing my wolves.”

  Arys’s grin faded. “She’s smart to start with your wolves. She knows how deep that cuts. And, she won’t quit there. The angels built a cage for her for a reason. It’s time she goes back.”

  Broken glass clinked loudly as I swept the shattered remains of a vodka bottle into a pile. Shya hadn’t wanted to send Lilah back when we had the chance. He thought she’d break free of the cage the angels had made for her and come back for us with a vengeance. Apparently, she was getting an early start on that.

  “And, if it doesn’t hold her?” I questioned Shya’s motives in keeping Lilah here with us, but what if he were right?

  “That’s the angels’ problem.”

  Justin interrupted. “I’m going to take care of those bodies. Do you want me to do something with that as well?” I followed his pained gaze to the box containing Zak’s head.

  I swallowed hard. Shit. “No. That’s fine, thanks. I’ll deal with it.” Zak was mine. The least I could do was properly bury his head, seeing as I’d likely never see the rest of him again. “What will you do with them? There’s got to be six bodies here.”