Chapter 4
In her dream, Aurora ran like her life depended on it. Shadows surrounded her on all sides and they were terrifying. It felt like she was running through a maze with no exit and dead ends at every corner. The terror that filled her was becoming overwhelming and she stumbled every few steps… tired of running… always running away from the powerful ones. No matter how far or how fast she ran the darkness was getting closer.
She gasped loudly and her eyes flew open in fright. The stars twinkled above her and she suddenly realized there really was something powerful getting closer to her. Fresh from the fright of the dream and her heart still racing, Aurora quickly found her feet and stared toward the edge of the roof in fear.
Exhaustion was beginning to take its toll, she was so tired… was she so wicked that even this sanctuary would not let her rest? Feeling the doorknob poke into her back, she fumbled for it and quickly opened the door. Hoping to avoid the powerful energy coming at her, she shot inside only to slam into an unyielding body and felt another strange power flare around her.
Instincts kicked into high gear and Aurora did the first thing her survival instinct told her to do… fight. With one swift kick, she sent the powerful being sailing down the long flight of stairs to the floor far below. She turned to confront whatever was directly behind her but paused in confusion, her face losing all expression when she saw a half-naked female blocking her exit.
Tabatha saw the girl’s face go blank but the look in her eyes told her everything… the girl was scared to death and ready to fight her way out of here if she needed to. Tabatha swallowed and held her hands out, palms up toward the girl in a placating gesture.
“It’s all right,” Tabatha explained. “We only want to help you.”
Aurora narrowed her eyes on the woman. Why would someone or something that powerful want to help her?
Tabatha took a step closer to the girl and held out one of her hands. “You’re safe here,” she said softly and hoped the girl believed her. However, any progress she might have just made was gone with the breeze when Kane chose that moment to come flying back up the stairs and grab the girl in a choke hold.
Her shoulders slumped and she let out a heavy sigh, “Kane please, we scared her. Let her go.”
Kane gave Tabatha a hurt look, “Love, she just kicked my ass all the way back down to the main floor. Are you seriously telling me that you’re on her side?”
“Your fangs are showing,” Tabatha glowered at him then rolled her eyes when he had the nerve to look down and make sure his pants was zipped. She gritted her teeth to keep from smiling since she couldn’t blame him for looking… after all, the black leather pants was the only thing he was wearing and the button was still unfastened.
Aurora jerked her head around and stared up at the man holding her checking for fangs. Was he a vampire like the man she’d made love to in the subway?
Kane noticed her looking up at him and couldn’t help himself. He smiled at the girl… fangs and all.
“Kane,” Tabatha exclaimed and took a step toward them only to stop when Kane pinned her with a warning glare… accompanied by a dangerous growl. “You’re so mean,” Tabatha informed him in a huff and crossed her arms over her chest.
Seeing his fangs, Aurora’s eyes lifted to his and for a second she went shock still. She remembered seeing eyes like those before… deep amethyst eyes that seemed to look into her very soul.
Now that he had the girl’s attention, Kane slowly let the smile die knowing this wasn’t a game. If it had been Tabatha coming up those stairs instead of him, the outcome would have been the same… except this girl would now be breathing through her neck.
He let his pupils enlarge, “Now then, I’ve introduced myself. It’s only fair that you do the same.”
“Vampire,” Aurora hissed and started struggling again.
Kane sighed feeling like he was trying to hold on to a snake. “No love… that would be me. The question was what you are. You’re not human… that much is obvious. If you were a demon, you’d have been writhing in pain long before breaching the barriers surrounding our home. Now I’m going to ask you one more time… who and what are you?”
Aurora’s lips thinned as she pressed them together. She’d learned as a child to never tell what she was… though the dangerous ones usually knew what she was at first sight. This man had lied to her by playing the part of vampire. She knew he wasn’t… his soul was plain as day to her, though she had to admit there was something wrong with it.
As well as she could see his soul, Aurora could also see the darkness around the edges of it and knew there was a chance of it overtaking him if he was pushed too far.
Her heart fell when she realized she’d been right about this place… it was a sanctuary. He’d said demons couldn’t cross his barriers and this thought alone made her want desperately to stay. She stopped struggling and looked toward the girl that had tried to defend her. Could she trust them enough to tell them who she really was… she doubted it.
“I just wanted sanctuary from the demons,” Aurora said honestly… looking deep into the other woman’s eyes. “I can’t tell you what I am… I’m sorry. If he will let go of me, I will leave quietly and never return.”
Kane noticed the shadow of wings slowly crawl across his arm and for a moment didn’t know if he should let her go or hold on tighter. He glanced at Tabatha to make sure she hadn't noticed the warning.
‘Kane, she’s not going to hurt me,’ Tabatha said very loudly in his mind then softened her inner voice to a whisper, ‘please, for me… let her go.’
Loosening his grip, Kane said in a very soft voice, “I believe you won't hurt anyone nor do you want to… I frightened you, right? You are welcome here any time you need sanctuary… you will be safe inside the barrier. But if you want to camp out on our roof, then at least let me get you some warm covers and a pillow.”
Holding his breath, Kane slowly let go of the Fallen and took a step back, disappearing down the stairs. Tracing to his and Tabatha’s room, he quickly selected several blankets and two pillows from the closet. He made it back up the stairs before Tabatha had taken more than two steps closer to the Fallen.
Laying the blankets and pillows down next to the girl’s feet, he motioned for Tabatha to come with him.
Tabatha nodded keeping her expression calm, although she could have sworn she’d seen Kane’s hands shaking. She sent a fleeting glance toward the other woman as she passed her.
Aurora picked up the bedding and leaned against the wall beside the door before slowly pushing it closed behind them. She felt more drained now than she’d been to start out with but she had her sanctuary… at least for a couple more hours.
Tabatha turned on Kane ready to give him a what for, but stopped when she felt his finger touch her lips.
“Shhh,” Kane whispered near her ear, “come.”
Tabatha nodded and remained quiet as she followed Kane back down into the security office. He shut them in and they both watched the monitor seeing the woman still standing there were they’d left her. Tabatha inhaled softly when the girl lifted a hand to wipe at a tear that had made its way down her cheek.
“Poor girl… I hate to see anyone alone and frightened like that. I wonder why she’s alone… she’s beautiful.” She glanced up at Kane seeing the muscles in his jaw bounce and knew he was gritting his teeth. “Why did you suddenly have a change of heart and decide to let her stay?” Tabatha whispered as if the girl could still hear them.
Kane nodded at the monitor. “She’s right not to tell anyone what she is,” he stated as the girl leaned back against the roof door and slid down it into a sitting position. He shook his head noting the way she was still staring at the covers in her arms with teary eyes.
“She can’t be any rarer than you are,” Tabatha frowned seeing the worry in her lover’s eyes. She looked back at the monitor and felt her heart break a little as the girl hugged the blankets closer as though someone would suddenly appear and take them away.
“I think she may have crawled out of the rift with the demons,” Kane said avoiding Tabatha’s question about rareness.
He needed a moment to think of a damn good reason not to grab the phone and call Dean. She’d obviously lived among the demons for who knew how long and there was no telling how big of a toll it had taken on her. She wasn’t trusting of anyone and now that he knew the reason… he couldn’t just turn her away. He looked over at Tabatha suddenly feeling his mate’s sadness.
“Kane… do you truly love me?” Tabatha asked quietly.
Kane slowly nodded as he searched her eyes, “With everything that I am.”
Tabatha smiled softly at the sweetness of his words. “Then trust me enough to let me in. You’re not alone anymore,” she raised her hand and cupped his cheek. “You’re worried and I want to worry with you. Maybe I can even help chase your demons away.”
Kane took a deep breath. “What if I told you that girl on the roof is probably the only female of her kind on earth?” he asked, his mind still going a mile a minute. “She needs to be with her own kind… her own breed. But if I tell them about her, it will destroy what they have right now. I don’t want to be responsible for that.”
Tabatha's lips parted and she frowned thoughtfully. Bless his heart he was trying, but he wasn’t giving her much to go on. She watched his knuckles turn white where he was tightly gripping the back of the chair between him and the monitor. By this action alone, she could tell that this was weighing heavily on him.
“My first instinct was to pick up the phone and tell the men of her kind that she’s here… I want to tell them. But it’s the wrong thing to do. She’s hiding from something out there and with their help, she would be better protected,” he slung the chair away from him and it crashed into the wall startling both of them. “Damn it!”
Kane turned his amethyst eyes on Tabatha, “You would want to tell them too… and we would both be wrong to do it.”
“What would happen if we tell them?” Tabatha asked calmly still not entirely sure what he was and wasn’t telling her.
Kane inhaled deeply before trusting her enough to tell her his most secret thoughts. “The two men in question would stop loving each other and turn that love on her… but only one of them can have her. In the end, one of them would lose everything. Or worst case scenario… she could reject them both and the damage would already be done.
He reached out and cupped her cheek the same way she’d done him. “To tell Kriss and Dean about her would inevitably destroy them.”
Tabatha blinked realizing the full implications of what Kane was trying to tell her… that the girl was a Fallen. She looked back at the monitor and remembered the first time she ever met Dean. He’d been enraged because Kriss’ scent had been on her and believed she’d done something with the other Fallen. Possessive and scary were two words that came to mind.
She bit her bottom lip as she contemplated what Kane had said. If Kriss and the girl got together… there was no question that Dean would become very dangerous. And if Dean and the girl got together… how much heartbreak would Kriss be put through? Kriss had told her why a Fallen could only be with a Fallen. He’d be completely alone without Dean… it would destroy him.
Kane closed his eyes listening to Tabatha's voice as he eavesdropped on her private thoughts. He was looking at it from Dean’s point of view and she was more worried about Kriss. He’d expected no less.
“You have the biggest heart,” Tabatha said startling Kane. She smiled and slid into his arms, pressing her ear against his chest so she could hear his heartbeat. “You’re right… I wouldn’t have thought it through and would have instantly called them thinking it was the best news in the world. How could I be so blind and you see so much?”
She glanced back toward the monitor and added, “I feel bad for her though. She probably thinks she’s completely alone in the world.”
Kane reached over and turned the monitor off, “We’re not completely heartless you know. She now has a place to run to if she needs sanctuary and I have a feeling we’ll be seeing her quite a bit.”
“I need something to take my mind off of her,” Tabatha gave him a seductive pout before disappearing from the room so fast that she left a breeze.
“Damsels in distress… got to love them,” Kane traced through the club stopping in his bedroom doorway to admire the view.
She was stretched out on the bed with her tiny silk nightie still on and smiling at him with half-lidded eyes. Kane approached the bed, shedding the leather pants as he went.
Tabatha didn’t know how he could make taking his pants off look sexy but he managed it and she couldn’t argue with the results. In a matter of seconds, her nightie was gone and they were once again participating in Kane’s favorite pastime… sexual torture… at least that was the way Tabatha saw it.
***** On the roof above them, Aurora finally gave in to the temptation of the blankets. She spread one of them out on the roof then tossed a pillow down on it. Hugging the second pillow to her chest, she wrapped the other cover around her and laid down thinking about the couple that had found her. They both had amethyst eyes.
She hugged the pillow tighter to her chest as she remembered another with such eyes and wondered if they were the same breed as the man she’d made love to. She’d accused the blond man of being a vampire even though she knew he wasn’t… but what else did she have to compare him to. She wasn’t really afraid of vampires, there had been several in the demon realm.
One of the many times she’d escaped from Samuel, it had been directly into a nest of soulless vampires and they’d descended on her like a swarm of angry bees. She’d managed to kill a good number of them with her bare hands before being overrun.
Aurora could still remember the feeling of their claws ripping at her clothing and fangs sinking into her flesh. She didn’t know who was more surprised… her or the vampires when the ones that did bite her started burning away from the inside out.
The vampires that were left finally fell back once they realized they couldn’t drink her. When she’d raised her eyes, she saw Samuel smirking at her from the edge of the mob. What she had left of the little bit of clothing he’d allowed her was ripped away and she was forced to remain like that for a very long time… never leaving Samuel’s sight.
She could have regained her clothing sooner but Samuel had insisted she make love to him without a fight if she wanted her modesty back. She’d decided right then that modesty was highly overrated.
The man in the subway had bit her, but it hadn't felt like the merciless tearing of flesh she’d endured and he survived the sip of blood he’d stolen from her. She rolled her neck to the side remembering the sensation then clenched her legs together when she felt a phantom pulse between her thighs.
Aurora bit her bottom lip. Her chest had felt like something heavy was sitting on it when Samuel had told her he’d killed the vampire. Her relief when she realized he was lying had lifted that weight. She suddenly frowned wondering if that meant the vampire had beaten Samuel in a fight. She sighed knowing that was just wishful thinking.
***** Across town, Michael leaned against the frame of his bedroom doorway surveying the progress he’d made in righting the room. Everything was back in its place except the bed… his mattress was now missing the antique frame that had once supported it.
He already missed it but shrugged deciding it was better to leave it that way until he had these power surges under control. He hadn’t had the heart to throw the frame away though… it was now stored in the attic. If luck was with him, he would be able to restore it later.
He couldn’t help but push his melancholy away and laugh when Scrappy jumped up on the mattress. The little dog looked at him strangely for a moment before he decided to run around in circles so fast he made himself dizzy to the point that he couldn’t stay on his feet.
“You’re not right… you know that,” Michael exclaimed shaking his head.
Scrappy merely whined and finally succeeded in righting himself, still lying down but Michael laughed harder when Scrappy’s head kept moving in tiny circles. Finally he took pity on the little dog and picked him up in his arms.
“Well that’s one way to get drunk, but I know another way that might be just what I need tonight,” he rubbed Scrappy’s ears “hopefully my drinking buddy is still free.” He sat Scrappy down and patted his pocket for his cell phone then sighed in annoyance remembering he’d crushed it in the subway.
The house phone chose that moment to ring sending Michael tracing down the stairs to the living room.
“Tell Kat you need a fresh bottle of Heat… make that two,” Michael started off the conversation by getting straight to the point.
“Having a bad day are we?” Warren asked then glanced over at Devon whom he’d locked in the dance cage. “I’ve definitely got something to take your mind off your own troubles. You can have as much Heat as you want if you’ll just come help me get a handle on Devon.”
“It’s a deal.” Michael hung up feeling a sudden adrenaline rush.
Deciding to put it to good use, he was standing on the sidewalk in front of the house before the living room clock had time to make it to the next second. Stopping dead, he turned back toward the house hearing Scrappy scratching on the door.
Opening the door back up, he could have sworn the puppy sent him a glare before slowly walking out. “Guess a doggie door might be a good investment,” Michael cocked an eyebrow. “And don’t you go telling your daddy on me.”
Scrappy barked up at Michael before taking off around the back of the house.
“Traitor,” Michael yelled.
Listening to the roaring silence coming from the empty house, Michael closed the door. He missed having Kane, Damon and Alicia living here with him. He’d lived alone for so long before that… he hadn't realized just how lonely he truly was.
With a heavy sigh, Michael walked away from the house and decided he needed to get to Moon Dance as quickly as he could. For some reason, he just didn’t want to be alone tonight.
The first thing he saw when he entered the club was Kat and Quinn standing against the railing looking down onto the dance floor. He tilted his head to the side, the edges of a smile pulling at his lips.
“What’s going on?” Michael asked when he saw what Kat and Quinn were looking at.
“Devon’s practicing a new cage dance,” Quinn smirked at him and then grabbed the top of his head when Kat smacked him. “What?” he inquired looking innocently at Kat.
Kat crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him as if he were stupid, “You’re joking… right?”
Michael frowned at the weirdness of the newly mated couple and cocked an eyebrow at what he was seeing. Warren was sitting in a chair with his feet propped up on a five gallon paint bucket and he was staring at the cage with a dejected looking Devon inside. Michael cocked an eyebrow when he noticed that the door to the dance cage had a heavy chain locking it.
“Will you please talk some sense into Warren?” Kat pleaded.
“Don’t you mean talk some sense into Devon?” Quinn corrected then took a quick step back when Kat snapped a glare in his direction.
“Do you really want to fight?” Kat asked then took her own step back when Quinn started toward her.
“Yes,” Quinn’s voice came out in a dark seductive purr.
Michael shook his head when Kat took off up the stairs with Quinn right on her heels. He had to admit Kat was often smarter than her brothers and glanced back down into the pit seeing an almost devious smile on Warren’s face.
Yep, whatever reason Warren had taken Devon prisoner… he was enjoying playing the part of jailer.
Feeling eyes on him, Warren lifted his head and waved at Michael. He reached for the bottle of Heat on the floor beside him and held it up so Michael could see it. “Wanna join me?”
Devon sighed now sitting on the cage floor with his back against the bars. Seeing Michael coming down the steps was all he needed. He thumped his head backwards against the steel making the bars rattle. Between Michael and Warren… he would never hear the end of this.
“Sorry to disappoint you Michael but the show is over,” he hissed.
“What did I miss?” Michael asked rubbing his chin as he stopped beside Warren’s chair.
Warren finally pulled his gaze away from his brooding brother and glanced at Michael who was busy sliding the five gallon bucket across the floor with his foot, “You mean you really don’t know?”
“Know what?” Michael asked only for Warren to laugh and hand him the bottle.
“Hey Devon, why don’t you tell him,” Warren suggested glad Michael didn’t know. This was going to be funny as hell.
“Why don’t you go to hell,” Devon retaliated staring at the wall so he wouldn’t have to look at them. “I’m fine now… let me go to her.”
“Her? You’re keeping him away from Envy?” Michael inquired while taking a seat on the bucket.
Warren looked at Michael and held up one finger… then pointed it at Devon with a mischievous smile. “You can’t go see Envy right now… it’s the middle of the night and she’s probably in bed snuggled up to her Teddy Bear.”
When Devon grabbed his head and started screaming in a tired voice, Michael slowly tipped the bottle up and took a long drink. It was a Trevor pun… he understood that much, but why the theatrics?
Michael felt his healing powers surface and sat the bottle back on the floor… he could feel Devon's pain and didn’t like it. He started toward the cage with every intention of fixing Devon but Warren’s words stopped him.
“He’s alright… leave him be,” Warren nodded when Michael turned to look at him curiously. “Kane has him under a compulsion spell.”
“Kane did this?” Michael asked rubbing his temple. “Isn’t this why you called saying you needed my help?”
Warren shook his head, “Nope, I need something else.”
By the time Warren finished telling him everything, Devon had quieted down to soft groans. “Where have you been for the last couple days not to have already known about this?” Warren asked. “And in case you didn’t know… your cell phone is going straight to voicemail.”
“We’ll talk about that later,” Michael brushed his own problems to the side and once again approached the cage. From the amount of pain coming off Devon, he’d have to say Kat was right in which brother needed his help. And right now… helping Warren meant talking some sense into Devon.
Squatting down beside the cage, Michael gripped the bars and tried the opposite thing that Warren had been trying. “Devon, look at me.”
“I don’t think so,” Devon said quietly. “The last time I looked at one of your kind… this happened.”
“Fine, just listen closely,” Michael said calmly. “I know you… have watched you since the day you were born. You’re hot headed and very passionate about everything you do, but above all you’re honorable. Believe it or not… I understand perfectly. You’ve found your soul mate and you love her with all of that hotheaded passion. It’s because of that passion that Envy fell in love with you. You know that… right?”
Devon remained silent as he listened to Michael's gentle voice then finally gave a slight nod. “She loves both of us though. I’ve known it all along. And now… there’s a baby.”
Michael closed his eyes as a vision of Aurora swam through his mind followed by the image of the demon that claimed to have possession of her. Blinking away his own disturbing thoughts, he refocused on the jaguar.
“I see… in your eyes Trevor is winning. So then… what will you do? Give her back to Trevor?” Michael asked point blank.
“No… but I don’t know how to beat him,” Devon gave voice to his biggest fear.
The caged jaguar made a pained face and Michael knew it wasn’t from a migraine… but a pain far deeper than that. “I’m not sure what you need to do but Kane gave you a huge hint when he put you and Trevor under the compulsion spell. The quickest way for you to lose Envy is to hurt the man she loves… and that goes for the both of you. It’s not about a competition anymore.”
“Then what do I do?” Devon finally looked at him.
“That’s the easy part… you love her exactly like you did before you found out she was pregnant. That is the man that took her away from Trevor in the first place,” Michael said as he snapped the lock on the cage. “Trevor has nothing to do with the way Envy loves you.”
When Devon didn’t make a move to come out of the cage, Michael looked back at Warren and then glanced up the stairs pointedly. The two of them moved away from the cage and back up into the bar area.
Warren stayed quiet until they reached the bar. There were many reasons why he loved Michael and the fact that the vampire had just gotten through to Devon where no one else had didn’t surprise him in the least.
“That’s why I called you. I know I was being cruel to him, but at first I thought it would work. Make him immune… you know,” Warren shrugged.
Michael shook his head and walked behind the bar to grab another bottle of Heat. “You torturing Devon before I got here was probably why he was exhausted enough to finally listen to reason. Don’t get me wrong… he’ll still have his fair share of migraines from random thoughts before it’s all said and done, but even without Kane’s compulsion, I don’t think he would have followed through with any of those thoughts. He loves Envy too much to risk her hating him.”
“Too bad Trevor caught on to that theory first. It made the bear shifter kind of look like the good guy… or at least it didn’t help Devon save face.” Warren pointed out still holding the bottle of Heat he’d brought up from the dance pit.
“About that,” Michael made a face knowing there was no such thing as a bear shifter. He rubbed his hand over his eyes remembering the bar was probably bugged by PIT and not a good place to be telling secrets. “I think it’s safe to leave Devon alone for a while. Let’s say we take a drive.”
Warren pulled two sets of keys out of his pocket, tossing one to Michael. “I bought a couple things this morning that you might find enticing,” Warren hinted with an intriguing smirk.
Michael followed him into the private garage attached to the extended building and smiled when he saw the sleek black motorcycles parked beside Warren's jaguar.
“You do know what I like,” Michael said and approached the vehicles.
“Where to?” Warren asked.
Michael started to say his house, but changed his mind associating the place with the loneliness he’d felt earlier. “Let’s go to Love Bites. At least I know that place isn’t bugged by PIT.”
“Must be important if you want to keep it from them,” Warren said.
Michael nodded and took up his helmet, “Trust me… it’s very important.”
“Race you,” Warren taunted as he put his helmet on.
Michael smirked, “Yeah right, you’ll be eating my dust.”
