Desire Unchained (3 page)

incubus tricks and pheromones. You lied to me, made me think you were human.” She could go

on, about how betrayed and sickened she’d been when she’d learned the truth, but ultimately,

what had happened after she’d fled his apartment was what mattered. “You ruined my life,” she

snapped.

Well, she’d done that herself long before Shade had walked into her coffee shop, but he’d

definitely made things worse.

“Shit,” he muttered. “See, this is why I make it a rule to not sleep with a human more

than once. Your females are clingy.”

She stared. Sputtered. “Are you kidding me? You think my life was ruined because you

seduced me and then broke my heart?”

“Well, yeah,” he said, shrugging one broad shoulder.

What. An. Ass.

Snarling, she leaped into an aggressive crouch so fast he reared backward. Her chains

rattled as she trembled with the force of her rage. Her skin prickled, tightening, her gums ached,

and she knew she was dangerously close to letting out the inner beast.

“You arrogant son of a bitch.” She slammed her palm into his chest, was thrilled to hear

him grunt. “I was upset that night, but I’d have gotten over it. Too bad I never got the chance.

See, after I left your apartment, I was attacked, torn up, and left to die. You might have known

that if you hadn’t had some skanky vampire shouting your name. You might have heard me

scream.”

Shade’s gaze sharpened on her, points of midnight flint. “Someone hurt you?”

“Am I supposed to believe you care?”

His hand came up to curl around hers. “Believe it or not, I’m not a monster.”

She laughed, a hard, bitter sound. “No, but I am.” She got right up in his face. “Because

of you, I’m a monster, Shade. I’m a goddamned werewolf.”

Two

A werewolf? Not good.

Shade closed his eyes, hoping that when he opened them, he’d wake up in his own bed

and Runa would be gone.

“Well?”

So much for that. This nightmare wasn’t going away. He opened his eyes. Wished he

hadn’t. Runa was glaring at him, her pale eyes sparking. Gods, he’d bet she was beautiful in

beast form … shiny, toffee fur, glowing champagne eyes. She’d be big; would probably stand

taller than him. And now the fact that she seemed taller and leaner made sense. Those bitten by

werewolves, or wargs, as they usually called themselves, put on muscle and grew an extra inch

or two in human form.

Now that his head had cleared, he could smell her as well. Her scent was no longer

flowery and sweet. No, she smelled earthy, like a late summer rain in the forest. Oh, and she also

smelled really, really pissed.

“Isn’t the full moon in two days?”

Her eyes narrowed. “Why? You think I have a raging case of PMS?”

“It occurred to me.” Weres might joke about Pre-Moon Syndrome, but those who weren’t

were-creatures didn’t find anything funny about their hair-trigger tempers, mood swings, and

out-of-control sex drives.

“Oh, right. My anger wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that of the two people I

hate the most in the world, I’m chained in a cell with one, and in two days when I morph, I’m

probably going to be skinned alive for my pelt, which is apparently worth a mint on the

underworld black market.” She jerked her hand out of his with a snarl. “So excuse me for being a

little pissy.”

“A little?”

She yanked on her chain as though hoping it would break so she could launch at him. “I

should bite you.”

“Demons are immune to lycanthropic infection.”

“It’ll still hurt.” She bared her teeth, and he had no doubt she’d rip into him if she could.

“I’d planned to hunt you down and cause you some serious pain, you know. Unfortunately, the

Ghouls caught me before I could do it.”

“How did they catch you?”

She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “I went back to

the place where the werewolf attacked me. It was a long shot, but I was hoping to find some

clues. Since it was close to your place, I went by your apartment afterward. You weren’t there, but a man approached me from the street as I was leaving. He asked if I knew you. Asked too

many questions. I got suspicious and tried to leave, but he jabbed me with a needle. I woke up

here.”

Shade frowned. “How’d they know you’re a warg?”

“They didn’t until another warg came to interrogate me,” she said, which made sense.

Usually it took a were-creature or shapeshifter to recognize another.

“What did they question you about?”

“You, Shade. They kept asking what I was doing at your place and how I knew you.”

Oh, fuck. She wasn’t taken off the streets for her pelt. She was taken because she knew

him. But
why
?

Runa still glared at him, her delicate brows angled in a severe line. He inhaled her again,

took in the sharp aroma of her anger and the softer, feminine scent that tapped into his protective

male instincts. She didn’t belong here, trapped with demons in a dungeon that smelled of mold,

urine, and layers upon layers of despair.

Neither did his sister, and the knowledge that both Skulk and Runa were here because of

him drop-kicked a sick feeling into the pit of his stomach.

His track record for protecting females was the stuff of nightmares.

A harsh grating noise accompanied a draft of cold air as the iron door to their cell swung

open. Runa crowded close to Shade. A male Nightlash demon entered, his humanoid appearance

broken by clawed feet and sharp teeth. Two imps—one male, one female—followed, eyes and

mouths disproportionately large for their small, round heads. They carried chains, a cudgel, and a

bamboo cane.

“Take him,” the Nightlash said.

Shade lunged at the imps. The Nightlash tripped one of two levers on the wall. Instantly,

the grind of turning wheels rattled the cell, and Shade’s chains shortened, tugging him until he

was hanging sideways, plastered to the wall.

He gritted his teeth against the pain wrenching through his shoulder and hip. One of the

imps clamped a metal collar around his neck while the other installed leg irons. His curses

echoed off the damp walls, but through them, he heard Runa pleading with the Nightlash to leave

him alone. Surprised, Shade slid her a glance as the imps lowered him to the floor.

Rage glittered in her eyes, and maybe she didn’t hate him as much as she’d said. Then

again, maybe she wanted the Keepers to leave him alone so she could kill him herself.

“Where are you taking me?” Shade thrashed against his bonds, which earned him a strike

to the back of the head by the imp with the cudgel.

The Nightlash didn’t answer, merely curled his lips in a nasty smile and wrapped the

chain connected to the collar around his fist, yanking Shade to his feet. The imps wrenched his

arms behind his back and slapped restraints on his wrists.

They dragged him toward the door. When he struggled at the threshold, a caning to his

hamstrings dropped him to his knees. A cool breeze caressed the back of his legs—the cane had

torn through his pants. His flesh would be next.

Behind him, Runa spat curses and threats that were as creative as they were ineffective.

He couldn’t imagine the Runa he’d bedded saying those things, not the shy creature she’d been.

Seemed the little human truly had grown claws and teeth.

Freakin’ sexy.

Or it would have been if he weren’t being dragged toward one of three whipping posts.

Sure, Shade could appreciate a good whipping as much as the next guy, but he had a sneaky suspicion that he wasn’t in for a good time. Still, better the post than the water wheel, the rack in the corner, or the meat hooks hanging from the ceiling. And those were the tamer pieces of the

torture equipment that littered the cavernous space.

At the rear of the dungeon, an arched opening into a smaller chamber revealed a sight

that sent blades of ice right into his spine. Medical equipment filled the room—cutting tools, an

autopsy table, a bone saw, and a chest spreader. Fresh and dried blood stained the floor.

Gods, this was beyond sick.

The demons strung him up, facing outward, his hands stretched tight apart and above

him, his legs forced wide by a spreader bar and fastened at the ankles. The female imp stroked

his thigh, working her way up, and he quickly started working on a plan to seduce her into letting

him go … until the Nightlash cuffed her in the head. Still, the fact that some of the Keepers were

female was something to keep in mind.

“Where is the Umber female?” he asked.

“Cooperate, and you’ll see her.”

Shade hadn’t expected an answer, so the deep, gravelly voice shocked him. He thought

he detected a touch of an accent … Irish maybe, but he couldn’t be sure. A hulking figure veiled

in black robes stepped out of the shadows, its chuckle as cold as the air.

“And what do I have to do to cooperate?”

“Suffer.”

An icy tremor crawled across the surface of Shade’s skin. “Maybe you could be a little

more specific.”

Motion flashed in his peripheral vision. Something struck him in the chest, and blood

splattered on the wood post next to him. The Nightlash stood there holding a thorny flail, looking

all proud of himself.

“Was that specific enough?”

“Worked for me,” Shade said glibly, though he did so through gritted teeth. “It’d be more

effective if you removed my shirt, though.”

“And everyone says Wraith is the smartass of the family.”

Shade’s mind screamed. How did this sonofabitch know about Wraith?

“That’s a common misconception. Dickhead.”

The insult earned him more specific suffering. Blood ran freely down his chest through

the shredded remains of his medic shirt. His only consolation was the knowledge that because

they were busy torturing him, they were leaving Runa alone.

“Remove his clothes,” the dickhead said, “and fetch the fluffer.”

Fluffer? One of the imps skittered away while the Nightlash cut away Shade’s uniform

and stripped him of his boots.

“You know, it’s not fair that I have to be naked and you’re hiding in that drama-queen

robe.”

Robe Man moved forward, just a little, but enough for Shade to feel the male’s vibe on

his skin. It was familiar, like a scent that brought back a memory but couldn’t quite be placed.

The vibe felt diluted, or maybe masked. A spell, perhaps, had been used to cover it up. But why?

So he wouldn’t be recognized?

“You’re close to
s’genesis,
” Robe Man said. “The Change. I can sense it. Are you ready?

Or do you plan to fight it, like Eidolon did?”

Hell, no, he wasn’t going to drag out the final maturation process, the one that would

allow him to shapeshift and impregnate females, among other, less pleasant things. But how did this asshole know what E had done to try to stave off The Change?

“If you’re trying to get me to ask how you know about my brothers and about my species,

it won’t work, asshole. You got something to say, fucking say it already.”

“Not yet.” Robe Man circled him, his face hidden in his cowl, but the way he moved …

again, very familiar. He stopped behind Shade, and then the tickle of a finger trailed down his

spine. Shade fought the urge to shudder. “So? Are you going to fight it? Or take a mate? Oh,

that’s right, you can’t take a bond-mate because you might fall in love and consummate your

curse.” Hot fetid breath heated Shade’s ear as the creature leaned close. “Youthful indiscretions

always come back to bite you in the ass, don’t they?”

The son of a bitch knew about the
Maluncoeur
, a curse that promised if he fell in love,

he’d slowly fade away until he became invisible to everyone. He’d live forever, wracked with

stabbing hunger pangs, debilitating thirst, and unbearable sexual desire for all eternity.

Shade closed his eyes and tried to figure out who could know such intimate details about

his life. The list was short, and those on it wouldn’t talk.

Unless they’d been tortured.

Skulk.

“Again,” Robe Man said. “Inner thigh.”

Shade barely had time to brace himself before the Nightlash’s flail ripped into his flesh.

Robe Man laughed. “Doesn’t this seem a bit like karma, given how many females you’ve

strung up like this?”

Shade didn’t bother to argue that this was different, because sometimes the line between

pleasure and pain blurred far too much for Shade’s comfort.

“More.”

The flail bit into Shade’s other thigh. Sweat popped out on his forehead, his vision

dimmed, and
damn
, that hurt. How could E stand going through this once a month when he paid

for Wraith’s sins?

“You’re wondering how Eidolon deals with this every time Wraith goes over his limit of

human kills.”

Shade’s head snapped up and around, but Robe Man had retreated to the shadows. “I’ve

had enough of your bullshit,” he roared. “Who the hell are you?”

A sinister cackle echoed through the dungeon. “I’m the demon who is going to make you

beg for death. Starting now.”

“Hello, Shade.” The female voice Shade knew well brought his gaze back front and

center.

“Solice?” He stared at the brunette vampire nurse who had been working at UG for years,

and suddenly everything made sense. Skulk hadn’t talked—Solice had. “You bitch.”

Her sultry smile revealed long fangs as she leaned in and licked up his chest in a warm,