Mystik Warrior: (Dark Warrior Alliance Book 2) (28 page)

Jessie ran up to her and hugged her tightly. “You smell of sex,” her friend said. Cailyn smiled at the blunt comment, appreciating that Jessie was still the same woman she knew despite all her changes. “I see you completed the mating. Your mate mark is a tattoo.”

“I know, I love it. But, you should see Jace’s. It makes his ass look fine as hell,” she sighed, recalling the sight of his muscular globes.

Jessie laughed. “I’ll trust you on that one. I don’t want you to claw my eyes out for sneaking a peak,” her friend teased as she hugged her. “You look happy, happier than I’ve ever seen you and I am so glad to see it.”

“I am happy. Thank you,” she released her friend as a delicious chocolate aroma reached her. “Do I smell s’mores?”

Jessie smirked and turned around. “Yeah, we told Angus they were your favorite. They’re right over there,” Jessie replied, pointing to the side of the fire.

“Have a seat and I’ll be right back. I’ll cook your marshmallow just right.” Jace’s voice turned husky and he leaned over to kiss her. Cailyn went to the wicker lounge with her friend trailing behind.

“So how does it feel to be mated?”

Cailyn looked around the bonfire seeing that everyone was there. Her sister and Zander were in an embrace talking with Evzen. All the Dark Warriors were laughing and relaxing, which had been rare of late. There had been so much going on between her car crash, the search for a cure, the Mystik Grimoire appearing, the battle, and the recovery. It hit her that this was now her family.

Finally, she turned to her friend. “I have no words for how this feels, Jess. I only know that this is right for me. That I am whole in a way few ever experience.”

“I wonder if I will have a Fated Mate now that I am a dhampir,” her friend mused as she picked up a stick to poke the fire.

Thane came up behind Jessie and wrapped his arms around her. “You will have a mate surely enough, Jess. I will just have to enjoy you until that lucky man claims you.” Cailyn smiled as her friend bid her adieu and went off into the shadows with the San Francisco Dark Warrior. After everything Jessie had been through, she deserved to find the same happiness Cailyn had. She said a silent prayer to the Goddess to send a mate Jessie’s way.

Jace returned with chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers on a platter. He handed her the plate and then maneuvered his body behind her. His masculine strength surrounded her and made her want to eat her treat off of his body. “Careful what you think, my love. I may take that as an invitation,” he growled in her ear. “Watch the flames,” he murmured.

As if on cue, everyone gathered around and focused on the fire. When her eyes made it back to the flames she gasped at the colors rolling through them. Purple and pink dominated the colorful scene and rose into the air. The cloudlike images morphed into her face and formed a slide show of images of her with Jace. In each one she was smiling and laughing. She was beautiful in a way that she didn’t see when she looked in a mirror. A flood of emotions raced through her as she watched the most romantic gesture ever created.

The love and devotion Jace had for her was obvious in every flame, and she was awed by its intensity. She vowed to show him how much she loved him every day. Maybe then she would deserve one tenth of what she saw.

“This is how I see you,
Shijéí.
I hadn’t lived before you came into my life. I love you isn’t enough to tell you how I feel about you.” Tears built in her eyes and overflowed as the images continued.

“I love you too, Jace, more than life. You are a part of me, the best part,” she murmured and turned in his arms, kissing him passionately.

An abrupt blast of heat broke their lip lock and she glanced over her shoulder to see what caused the fire to flare. She felt Jace’s entire body go stalk-still and tense. The flames turned black, making her gasp, before the image of a stunning female appeared in the center of the flames. Jace whispered, “Angelica,” through gritted teeth as he wound his arms around her waist and tried to pull her behind him.

So this was the evil creature that had kidnapped and tortured her mate for over a century. She wanted to slowly rip her to shreds, and appreciated that every warrior felt the same and had weapons out, battle-ready.

“How is she able to project onto our property? Can she find us?” Zander barked out at the same time Jace leapt from behind her. Before she could blink, Jace, Gerrick, Killian, and Evzen were poised at the edge of the fire with their staffs in hand, chanting in a foreign language.

“You will regret casting me out, Jace Miakoda. I will have the Grimoire, and every one of you will submit to my will,” Angelica shrieked before she disappeared. Cailyn was shaking as adrenaline rushed through her veins. What had just happened?

“Like I suspected, she has aligned with dark magic. With the addition of the Rowan sisters’ power, we will cast spells against blood magic, and this will never happen again. Rest assured, Liege, she will never breech our property,” Jace answered. He walked back to Cailyn’s side and had her wrapped in his arms, and only then, did her shaking stop.

Evzen interjected, “It was no secret that we were having Jace’s mating ceremony tonight and I believe she made a blood offering to dark fire spirits. Her power is greater than I anticipated.”

“Shite,” Zander cursed. “How much of a threat is she to this compound and the realm as a whole?”

“The compound is secure, Zander. None outside your circle and the council can locate this place, and we will reinforce those protections. The realm as a whole is another issue altogether. At this point, we need to assume that she poses as much a threat as the archdemons,” Evzen shared ominously.

Even Jace’s warm arm couldn’t stop the shiver of fear that racked Cailyn’s body. As she looked to the night sky and saw the black flames die out, she vowed that she would never allow Angelica to harm her mate again.

Elsie’s curse garnered the attention of the entire group. “I really wanted to have one night of peace,” she said as she met Zander’s gaze then turned to Jace and Evzen. “Will she be back anytime soon or are we safe to pursue other matters?”

“She won’t be back tonight, and I will make sure the Rowan sisters are here before dawn to cast new spells.”

“What’s on your mind,
a ghra
?” Zander growled before Jace had finished speaking.

“Mack is going to be in a house fire and we need to save her,” Elsie replied.

Elsie jumped out of the car the second Orlando stopped at the curb in front of Mack’s house. Worry for her friend had been eating at Elsie’s nerves ever since she’d had the premonition. It hadn’t helped that they stood around arguing for a half hour before Zander finally agreed it was safe to leave the compound. She understood he put the safety of the realm and those under his roof above that of her friend, but she had a sense of loyalty to Mack.

The slam of car doors told her that the Dark Warriors were right behind her as she raced up the path to the house. A hard hand grabbed her arm and stopped her. “Stop,
a ghra,
we canna rush in before we know what we are facing.”

Elsie knew her mate was right, but it was difficult to stay put when her friend could be dying. She cocked her head, opening her senses and took in the house. She didn’t sense skirm in the vicinity, but easily smelled smoke and the fumes of plastic burning within its walls. One side was soot-stained, and flames were shooting out of the broken windows. She looked in the driveway and saw that Mack’s car was parked there. She strained her ears and after several minutes she was able to work through the sounds of destruction and detect two heartbeats.

“There’s no skirm, but she’s in there with somebody. We have to get them out!” she yelled and began running to the front door.

A sudden blast, followed by glass shattering, sent her to the ground cursing. She lifted her head to see that the side of Mack’s house had exploded along with a nearby propane tank. She was getting to her feet when she heard a woman screaming. She recognized the irate voice as Mack’s.

She looked to the back of the house where the yelling was coming from and gaped when she saw Kyran carrying Mack over his shoulder. Mack was beating Kyran on the back and yelling at him to put her down, but he wasn’t listening. As she watched, Mack’s protests lost steam and her movements slowed. Her face was pale and covered in ash.

Kyran was striding quickly through the backyard and away from the street, likely wanting to avoid the sirens Elsie could hear in the distance. Elsie started rushing to Mack’s side to help when in a flash of white light Kyran disappeared, carrying Mack with him.

Authors’ Note

Thank you for reading
MYSTIK WARRIOR
! We hope you enjoyed Jace and Cailyn’s story. Deviant Warrior is next in the Dark Warrior Alliance series where Kyran and Mackendra find that the only way they can survive is to work through their hatred for one another and find a way to unite. Look for it late summer 2015!

In the meantime, be sure to read our spin-off trilogy about the Rowan sisters. Pema’s Storm coming April 2015!

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XOXO,

Brenda and Tami