When Darkness Reigns

  WHEN DARKNESS REIGNS

  ALEXA O’BRIEN HUNTRESS BOOK 16

  TRINA M. LEE

  WHEN DARKNESS REIGNS

  Copyright 2019 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.

  Published in Canada

  Editor

  B. Leigh Hogan

  Proofreader

  Denise Fortowsky

  Cover Artist

  Marvin Lee Cover Design

  Published by

  Trina M. Lee

  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

  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

  Epilogue

  CHAPTER ONE

  The pressure in my head kicked up a notch when Gabriel walked through the door. Running on pure terror and adrenaline, I waited nervously for everyone I cared about to arrive. This sick sensation wouldn’t leave me until they were all here.

  Willow and Jenner watched me pace in front of the red sofa set in the cozy seating area of The Wicked Kiss. I pretended not to notice when Jenner raised a brow and Willow merely shrugged and shook his head in response. Lilah had made her move, and I wouldn’t be able to calm down until I knew the rest of my people were safe. Which is why I was gathering everyone.

  Except that they weren’t safe. Not as long as Lilah was out there. She already had Ebyn. He might not have been a lover or close friend, but he was still mine to protect, and I had failed him.

  Black hair spilling over the shoulders of his long leather trench coat, Gabriel slipped through the crowd toward me. Like every vampire in our bloodline, he drew attention without trying, including mine. A power as old as time dwelled within him. Wise beyond his twenty years, Gabriel had proven himself to be a valuable asset to our group. I couldn’t even look at him without feeling guilty as hell. For so long I’d believed the false words of a bitter old recluse who couldn’t forgive the loss of his favorite progeny. I owed Gabriel big time, and he was too damn nice to say so.

  “How bad is it?” he asked, and I was both horrified and relieved that he didn’t already know something that I didn’t.

  “Does that mean you haven’t seen anything to do with Lilah?” My gaze darted to the couch where my shoulder bag sat with the tip of Ebyn’s ear inside. The psychotic demon queen had promised more of him would follow.

  “Nothing.” Gabriel’s slow headshake was followed by an uneasy frown. He’d had his own taste of Lilah, having been her hostage himself. “What happened?”

  Because he hadn’t been around when Lilah’s package had been delivered, I quickly caught him up to speed. Not one for overt shows of emotion, Gabriel’s expression barely changed. His eyes, however, gave away the sudden racing of his thoughts.

  “I can try a locator spell,” he offered. “Is everyone else accounted for?”

  Wrapping my arms around myself, I shivered with a sudden chill. But it was on the inside. Unreachable. “As long as everyone makes it here in one piece, then yeah.”

  From his place on the easy chair adjacent to the couch, Jenner watched me fidget. “Alexa, why don’t you sit down and try to relax while we wait? You’re starting to give off this deliciously fearful vibe.”

  I did a double take, first at Jenner who regarded me with predatory intrigue. Then at Willow who perched on the arm of the couch, stiff as a statue. Uncomfortable as fuck. Gabriel, however, merely regarded me with quiet contemplation that revealed nothing.

  “Sorry, guys. Didn’t mean to vibe all over you.” I laughed, but it was forced and without mirth.

  With a flirtatious grin Jenner patted his lap in invitation. “If you want help relieving the tension, just say the word. I’m at your service.”

  I reached out and ruffled his bleached-blond hair before giving his head a playful shove. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  We’d just gotten back from Las Vegas, but Jenner had settled in surprisingly fast. Once he’d accepted that this was home now, the sadness that had plagued him as we boarded the plane to leave Sin City had faded. I didn’t doubt that it still lingered on the inside and maybe in some way always would. I suspected that perhaps Jenner had started to make his peace with this change of venue before we ever went to Vegas.

  Grabbing my bag, I pulled the envelope out and passed it to Gabriel. “I’ll need it back so Shaz’s wolves can give it a sniff, but this is the piece of Ebyn that Lilah sent me. Do you need anything else?”

  Gabriel’s attention fell to my jugular. The heat in his stare shook me as I sensed the hunger within him. “No, I’m good. For now.”

  He slipped away to the back, headed to my office to work the spell in privacy. Of course I hoped he would have some success, but I also sincerely doubted it. Not because I doubted Gabriel’s abilities by any means but because Lilah was a demon queen and she always tended to be a step ahead. How the hell could any of us keep up with that?

  For the first time in a long while now, I found myself longing painfully for Kale. I tried not to let myself think about him much. He’d found the peace he always wanted, and I couldn’t have asked for anything better for him. But I was still here without him, and that forced me to realize how much reassurance I had found in him. Now that it was gone, an unfillable void had been left behind.

  A cool breeze swept my insides, and I turned toward the front entry with eager expectation. Arys and Shaz walked in, and one of my biggest fears was immediately laid to rest. Lilah had expressed her regret at being unable to find and kill Shaz when she killed Zak and Zoey. I expected her to go for him now.

  “Thank God you’re here.” I threw myself into my white wolf’s arms. The familiar scent of his wolf and the steady beat of his heart brought me a comfort that could only come from pack. “We can’t let her anywhere near you.”

  Shaz’s arms went around me, and he held me close, burying his nose in my hair. He stiffened for just a second, and I knew he smelled Falon on me. “Lex, it’s ok. I’m here. Don’t worry about me. Focus on what’s most important right now. Find out what she wants and make sure she doesn’t get it.” Calm and ready to act, not a trace of fear came off him.

  I wished I could be so confident.

  Arys waited for my affectionate concern to come his way but what he got instead was my finger in his face. “I have a bone to pick with you. Once we make sure everyone is safe, you’re going to tell me about the crap you pulled on Falon tonight.” I held his gaze to convey that I wasn’t kidding. When he merely grinned, a slow, seductive curve of his lips that revealed fang
s, I melted completely. Pulling him in for a steamy liplock, I murmured against his lips, “I mean it, Arys. We’re going to have words.”

  “We’re going to have a lot more than that,” he promised, sliding both hands over my ass to pull me firmly against him.

  I let myself enjoy it for a moment before pushing away. It was far too easy to fall into him and everything he promised. I needed a clear head for whatever lay ahead.

  Gradually everyone else filed in, and another chunk of my anxiety eased with each one of them. Jez and Smudge arrived shortly before Juliet and Briggs. While I waited on Falon to return from putting whatever wards and protection he could on our homes, I brought everyone up to speed on the latest.

  Briggs snapped into analytical federal agent mode. “Why wouldn’t she have come to claim the empire she lost? You’d think she’d have done that by now.” Still he couldn’t keep himself from sneaking glances at my throat. It had been almost a week since he’d taken my blood. The need had to be crawling about inside him like insects beneath his skin.

  He seemed oblivious to the level of awkwardness emanating from Juliet who couldn’t seem to decide where to look. Any glimpse of Jenner or Arys increased her discomfort. Most likely because she wanted both of them and hated herself for it. To be fair, Arys had forced her craving, but she seemed to have a genuine attraction to Jenner. And she was in love with the treacherous federal agent I’d turned. Quite the predicament I’d say.

  “Your guess is as good as mine.” I’d been asking myself that question all night. If Lilah had regained control of the kingdom she wanted so badly, we would all know it by now. So what was stopping her?

  “Maybe she can’t get into it,” Juliet supplied. “You destroyed the key, right? Maybe she’s locked out.”

  Arms crossed, dressed in black jeans and a leather jacket, she maintained her tough exterior so well I could almost forget that she was the same girl who’d cried when I pulled off her Barbie’s head. Too bad she couldn’t control the occasional jump in her pulse or the wisps of attraction and desire that escaped her. She sure did try though.

  “Yeah, I did. A key she created herself.” Pondering Juliet’s theory, I wondered if it was possible. “I don’t know much about demon magic, but it might explain why she’s so desperate to find Shya. Maybe she needs him.”

  Nothing about that theory felt good to me. I was afraid it might be true.

  “They were also lovers at one time,” Jez pointed out. “She may want Shya for that too.”

  We had no way of knowing for sure. Not until Lilah wanted us to know. All we could do was theorize, which wouldn’t help Ebyn. We needed to mobilize and find him.

  “Isn’t she with Salem now? Why would she want to spring an old lover?” Brow furrowed, Juliet puzzled over Lilah’s history.

  My sister was going on twenty-five, the same age as Shaz. Like many of us here, she’d had to grow up fast when thrust into this world she’d never imagined existed. Yet I was reminded of how sheltered she’d been with the FPA.

  “She’s bound to Salem, but that doesn’t mean he’s the only one she loves,” I said, careful with my wording. “Sometimes you love more than one person.”

  Shaz and I exchanged a look then, and after all this time, we understood one another perfectly on this. Falling for Arys had changed him. His jade gaze shifted to the vampire, then back to me. He quirked a brow and winked.

  Juliet didn’t miss any of this. “I’ve noticed.”

  Nice little sisterly jibe there. I let it roll off my back. Her discomfort wasn’t my problem.

  Arys didn’t miss a chance to get in a jab of his own. He nailed her with a wickedly suggestive stare. “Like what you see, little wolf?”

  I jabbed him in the ribs with my elbow, but he didn’t care. He took it as an invitation to slide an arm around my waist and pull me closer. That was Arys. Ever the antagonist.

  As expected, Juliet recoiled at his audacious remark. Her cheeks reddened as she spat, “You’re repulsive.”

  “Then why are you thinking about what it would be like to fuck me?” Arys continued, a sensual lure seeping from him like he just couldn’t help it.

  “Oh my God,” Juliet muttered.

  In the same breath Briggs barked, “What the fuck, O’Brien?”

  The two of them stood slightly away from the circle of furniture we gathered around, refusing to sit down or come too close to any of us. They were each uncomfortable for their own reasons, me and Arys, respectively.

  “Arys, stop,” I admonished, sliding him a no-nonsense glare. “It’s important that we can all feel safe with each other while Lilah and Salem are on the move. All of us. No messing around.”

  The hand he had splayed at my waist tightened its hold. Leaning in to press his lips to my temple, Arys murmured, “Anything you say, my queen.”

  Yeah, that wasn’t authentic, but I’d call him on it later, when I ripped him a new one about the stunt he pulled with Falon. My dark vampire was a devious man. I still hated how much I loved it. We would always be each other’s greatest strength and greatest weakness, simultaneously. Everything about that wicked smile weakened me.

  When Gabriel emerged from my office, I knew the answer was no. Not because I could read his expressionless face but because Lilah would never let it be so easy.

  “Sorry, Alexa,” Gabriel said with a shrug that barely moved his shoulders. He handed me the envelope containing Ebyn’s ear tip. “Wherever she’s keeping him, she’s made sure it’s not easily traced.”

  “I kind of figured as much. Thanks for trying.” I turned to address the gathered group. Only Falon was missing. If he didn’t return soon—no, not going down that primrose pathway. “Jez and Smudge, you two take Briggs and Juliet to go check out every address you had for Ebyn from your P.I. days. Arys and I will take Shaz and Falon to the FPA building. I want to check on the entity there.”

  Popping by for a creepy mental chat with the entity of Lilah’s locked-away empire didn’t appeal much to me. But I needed to know it was still contained.

  “What about us?” Jenner asked, waving a hand to indicate Willow and Gabriel as well as himself.

  “I need the three of you to stay here. Keep an eye on the place.” Gnawing my lip thoughtfully, I looked to Gabriel. “If there’s anything you can do, a spell of any kind that will harm or weaken a demon, have it ready. Just in case.”

  Brow wrinkled in thought, he considered my request with a tight nod. “I’ll see what I can whip up.”

  If anyone had a problem with my plan, they all knew better than to say so without putting a better idea on the table. All we could do was turn stones and hope we found something.

  “Speaking of Falon,” Arys piped up, unable to withhold his sly commentary for long. “Where is he anyway?”

  I opened my mouth to respond.

  Falon appeared with the sound of wings, though they remained invisible in the presence of humans. “Where I usually am these days. Running around doing all I can to keep your ass safe. Not that I have any reason to after our conversation earlier.” Too late he realized he’d given the vampire an opening.

  Arys jumped all over it. “I’d say it’s gratitude you’re looking for, but you made it pretty clear that we don’t owe each other shit.” My dark half bit back a chuckle as he let that one slip. He liked to push buttons, and Falon could so easily be goaded into a war of arrogant snark.

  I wanted to pull them both aside and get to the bottom of this shit between them. More pressing matters meant that it would have to wait. They each received a scowl that neither of them took seriously enough.

  “We’ll meet back here,” I addressed the group. “Be safe out there.” Wishing there was more I could say and more that we could do, I turned to lead the way.

  I had an evil entity to visit. Every time I drove up to the old hospital the FPA called home, the bitter chill of that evil sat up and took notice.

  And I noticed it too. Before I’d even stepped foot out of the car, it
knew I’d arrived.

  But I also noticed the row of vehicles parked behind the building. All blacked-out cars and SUVs with tinted windows. It appeared the Feds were manning up again. They’d lost so many agents in my city, I wondered what they’d had to promise this batch to get them to give it a go.

  Falon waited on the sidewalk next to the building. He’d refused to travel by car with us, which was probably for the best. I wasn’t in the mood to force Arys and him to play nice.

  “If Lilah has been here, she hasn’t been able to gain access.” Falon nodded toward the property but made no effort to step onto it.

  That brought me some relief. “Ok, good. Or maybe not so good. I don’t know yet.”

  I very much did not want to step foot on the property either. However, getting up close and personal with the entity was the only way to find out if it knew anything. Not that I expected to have a coherent conversation with it.

  Pointing at both Arys and Falon, I warned, “You two stay on the sidewalk. And keep your mouths shut if you can’t be civil.” Sliding my hand into Shaz’s, I pulled him along with me. “We shouldn’t need to be here long, but if this thing gets inside my head, you have to drag me back to the street. Or knock me out. Whatever it takes.”

  “You have far more control than you give yourself credit for.” Shaz gently stroked his thumb over the back of my hand. “This thing can’t touch you.”

  “Oh, I don’t know about that.” Steeling myself for the entity’s slimy voice to slither through my head, I stepped onto the unholy ground.

  Death and decay hung in the atmosphere. It left a bad taste on the back of my tongue. Mentally I pushed back against it, trying to keep it from triggering my bloodlust.

  ‘You always come back. Here to die once again, lost wolf? Or to finally claim your throne?’ The entity’s voice was expected and yet that made it no less terrifying.

  Little did it know how much relief it had brought me with those taunting words. If the entity still wanted me to claim it, to give it a queen, then Lilah either hadn’t been here or she couldn’t claim it. At least I didn’t think it had the guile for a ruse.