Doomsday Brethren, Book 04: Entice Me at Twilight (42 page)

Lucan scowled at her as if she’d lost her mind. “After what Mathias did to you? Why would you imagine that you’d be doing anything more than putting yourself—and the rest of us trying to save you—in more danger?”

It was a fair question, but she refused to be cowed. “I’m not the same woman I once was.”

Lucan clenched massive fists as his side. “I noticed.”

He was trying to restrain his temper. Anka had seen this behavior more than once during their mating. She bit her lip to hold in a bittersweet smile. How much she missed his face and every one of those expressions she knew so well. If Bram refused to allow her to join the Doomsday Brethren, would she ever see them again?

Despair bottomed out her stomach into a endless chasm of dread. It was unreasonable to assume that she would forget two centuries of sublime happiness in mere weeks, but even tragedy and rape couldn’t obliterate love. Such joy would never be hers again … no matter how much she wished it could.

“I have to go.” Anka couldn’t bear to look at him again and wonder if this would be the last time.

But when she turned toward Bram’s home, she saw a familiar narrow-hipped giant sauntering her way. Shock. He wore black leather from top to bottom, like something out of a motorcycle gang—or a fetish club. A goatee framed his full mouth and square chin. Sunglasses covered his inscrutable eyes. She knew without seeing them that he glared at Lucan.

Her former mate shifted his weight to the balls of his feet, clearly itching for a reason to charge Shock. “Why are you here?”

The arch of Shock’s black brow popped above his dark-tinted glasses. “I need your permission to be here?”

Lucan hesitated. Anka hadn’t thought it possible, but his body grew more taut. “After you dragged Tynan away last week, took him to your boss, then tossed him aside when he was only suitable for a body bag, you have a shitload of audacity to show your face.”

“Could you read Tynan’s mind?”

No, but Shock could. And everyone knew that since Mathias had murdered the love of Tynan’s life, Auropha, upon returning to magickind months ago, the wizard had had a death wish. Shock had done nothing more than grant it.

The night of Tynan’s death, Shock had sunk further than ever into a bottle. Given the depth of his black mood, Anka was surprised to see that he’d crawled out.

“You could have saved him,” Lucan growled. “And you didn’t.”

“You think Tynan would have thanked me if I had?”

Shock crossed his arms over his chest and waited for Lucan to concede. That was never going to happen. These two together had always been like oil and water. She’d cared deeply for both of them for centuries. Now, like then, divided loyalties were tearing her up inside.

“I’m leaving.” She spun away from the two men.

“Where are you going?” Lucan demanded, grabbing her arm, his hold sizzling though her entire body, settling with a gentle ache right between her legs.

Shock took hold of the other in an equally tight grip. “Where have you been?”

They were both aggressive, demanding. A chill wound through her, killing the spark of arousal. She knew better than to jerk away. Either—or both—would do everything in his power to hold her until they got answers.

“I’m here to talk to Bram. Let go.” She glared at them both.

Lucan dropped her arm with a curse. Satisfied, Shock slowly unwound his fingers from her wrist. Anka knew that if she turned her back on them, it wouldn’t be long before they began to argue—with their wands and their fists. But neither man was her responsibility any longer. Lucan’s magical signature revealed that he was brimming with energy, and Anka wondered who he’d been taking to his bed to generate it. If she stayed to ponder the question longer, she would only cry.

And she’d left Shock a few days ago. This was likely the first time he’d been sober enough to notice her absence. But no matter what he said, she wasn’t going back. They were slowly killing each other.

Anka turned toward the house again, this time to see Bram striding toward them, grim purpose filling his sharp blue eyes. In a glance, he took in the scene. His tawny hair moved with the breeze. He was so focused, he didn’t notice or care.

“Shock?” the Doomsday Brethren’s leader stopped in front of the other wizard, his brow lifted as if to ask
why the hell are you here?

Clearly, Shock wasn’t popular with anyone here. Then again, he never had been. No one trusted him. Anka only did because he’d kept her secret for so long—just as she’d kept his. She’d always known that if one of them went down in flames, they’d be going together.

Smirking at Bram’s arrogance, Shock pretended he didn’t see the other wizard’s impatient expression. “Yes?”

“No bloody stupid games. I hear you’ve come to see me. Out with it, then. And this had better be about stopping Mathias and Morganna le Fay’s antics. They’ve been so busy of late that everyone in England thinks the sky is going to fucking fall months before the Mayans supposed.”

Shock’s posture lost some of its starch. “That’s exactly why I’ve come. When Mathias resurrected Morganna in her tomb a few weeks ago, he planned to meld her power to his and—”

“Be magickind’s most dastardly supervillain or whatever the hell, I’m sure.” Bram raked a hand though his already-mussed hair. “But did he have to take all that energy and direct it against humans? My God, if humankind discovers that we truly exist, the Inquisition will look like a friendly game of croquet.”

“Did you want him to direct his power at magickind?” Lucan glowered.

“It’s only a matter of time before Mathias comes after us, too,” Anka murmured. “We all know that.”

She, better than most.

Shock growled, “Fucking listen! Mathias had nothing to do with the decimation of the Tower of London last week or the death of all those tourists. Morganna is beyond control.”

“Even Mathias’s?” Bram quizzed.

Nodding, his dark waves brushing his shoulders, Shock confirmed what some of the Doomsday Brethren had long suspected: Morganna wouldn’t be tamed. “Completely. And she is obsessed.”