Soul Avenged (Sons of Wrath, #1) (20 page)

Hair mussed
and breaths heaving, Draven settled the fury spreading through him
like a bolt of lightning. “So what is your plan … sir?” His jaw
clamped but he spoke past the ache.

“My plan?”
Wade rubbed his chin—a patronizing gesture. “Well, I plan to sit
down with them and tell them what I want. Calla in exchange for
Ayden.”

“That wasn’t
the deal!” Draven shot forward to the edge of his seat. “Calla was
supposed to lead us to them. That’s all!”

Wade eased
back and smiled. “Son, I never made a deal with you.”

The vehicle
pulled up to the curb and stopped. A black motorcycle, one of the
Alexi’s, sat on the adjacent corner, its rider astride the
saddle.

Wade reached
across and opened Draven’s door. “Get out.”

“What?”
Draven’s question carried the panic that’d begun to zip through his
body.

“I said, get
out. I don’t need some goddamn lovesick puppy tagging along. One
stupid move and you could get us all killed.”

“I won’t.”
Draven’s pulse raced, his words tumbled from his mouth. “I swear.
I’ll keep it under control.”

“I gave you an
order, boy. Now get the fuck out.” Wade pulled the gun from the
holster of his new slacks. “Don’t make me tell you twice.”

Draven
snarled, stepped out of the vehicle and slammed the door so hard
behind him, it rattled the glass. As the SUV pulled away, Wade’s
face peered from the back window. Draven stood curbside, the
thunder roiling through his mind no doubt reflected in his
expression, his fury so palpable he might self-implode.

***

The demons sat
around the dining room table, all four of them together an
intimidating force, dressed to kill in their sharp business suits,
like a GQ spread. Stony-faced. Silent. All eyes fixed on the very
shaken Calla beside Ayden .

“They … want
Ayden back.” Calla’s voice quivered, her gaze on the table in front
of her as if desperate not to look at anyone.

Logan pounded
his fist against the table so hard Calla jumped back in her seat.
“Well they’re not fucking getting Ayden back.” A tattoo snaked down
his neck and peeked around the open top of his black button-down
shirt, stretching across half of his chest—the eye of Horus weaved
into black tribal art. A thick, silver chain-link necklace also
dangled around his neck, carrying their charm: the symbol of
Wrath—the same design all the brothers had tattooed over their
hearts. The love Logan had for Ayden wasn’t of the romantic kind.
Not even the same love he had for his brothers. Logan simply
admired her as a fellow soldier.

“Logan,” Ayden
said in a casual tone, “relax. You’re going to freak her out.”

Logan eased
back into his chair.

Gavin spoke
softly from across the room. “They’re not getting you back either,
for that matter, Calla. If you return to them, they will forever be
suspicious of what you know and what you might do. It’s dangerous.
Wade will never trust that you wouldn’t decide to go AWOL. I won’t
force you”—his eyes diverted toward Ayden then back to Calla—“but I
strongly urge you to consider breaking away from them. Even if it
means going off by yourself.”

Tears formed
in Calla’s eyes. “B-but.” She broke into sobs.

Logan shook
his head at the other end of the table. “Weak.”

“She has a
brother.” Ayden huffed. “He’s young. Wade’s been looking for an
excuse to get rid of him since Calla joined the Alexi. She’s afraid
he’ll kill him.”

Head still
bowed, Calla spoke through gritted teeth. “And I would rather
suffer their torture than see that happen.”

Logan crossed
his arms and tipped his head, eyebrow raised. “Then, I see only one
solution.”

The other
three demons turned to face their brother.

“Tell the
other two to come home. We’ve got a new assignment.”

“It doesn’t
work that way, Logan.” Gavin’s voice remained level though his eyes
seemed thoughtful, as if contemplating a plan as he spoke. “She has
to summon us to the task. And we need to evaluate whether or not we
have the resources.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the
table. “We work on the motive of vengeance. Without doubt, it was a
shitty thing for Wade to set her up. But he’s not actually wronged
her.” Gavin turned back toward Calla. “Has he?”

Calla pulled
her knees up and tucked in her head as a torrent of tears and
sobbing burst from her.

Everyone else
at the table quieted, including Ayden, who looked on in
confusion.

“Calla? Are
you alright?” Ayden reached out to touch her but hesitated, sliding
her hand back into folded arms.

Calla shook
her lowered head. “He … did wrong me.”

Ayden bit her
lip. As the only other female in the room, she felt a sense of
obligation to comfort Calla. She placed her hand on the other
female’s back and spoke low. “Would you like to step out of the
room with me, Calla?”

Calla nodded
and wiped at the tears on her cheeks as she stood up from the
chair. She followed Ayden into the kitchen, taking a seat on one of
the stools at Ayden’s indication.

“He hurt you,”
Ayden said.

“Not sex.”
Calla sniffed, her gaze downcast. “But, yes. He … made me do
things.”

Ayden closed
her eyes as disgust gurgled in her chest. Her hand unwittingly
tapped the dagger at her side. “Sexual things.”

Calla nodded
silently.

“In his
chambers?”

At Calla’s
second nod, Ayden’s heart sank. She’d once been invited into Wade’s
chambers. The very night she left the compound. Thoughts roused of
that night remained so frightening and gruesome, they alone haunted
her the first year after she’d left. Chains, whips, odd devices she
couldn’t fathom a use for.

Sadistic.

Always behind
the closed door.

Ayden had
refused him and escaped in the night.

Her stomach
lurched at the thought of someone as innocent as Calla entertaining
him in such a private, intimate setting.

“He told me
that he’d dump my brother in the middle of Detroit somewhere and
let the wolves have him. Ayden, my brother never learned to fight.
Draven and I secretly taught him,” she said through tears. “Wade
refused him any more of the antibody than what would heal him after
the attack. He’d never make it on the streets alone.”

Ayden placed
her hand on Calla’s shoulder. “Your brother was your weakness,
Calla. That’s how Wade controlled you. He feeds off of
weaknesses.”

Black streaks
of Calla’s eyeliner had become so weathered from her tears that
they’d begun to fade. “What did he use against you?”

“I never had
anything to give him that edge. And I left before he could find out
what would break me.”

Calla closed
her eyes and ducked her head again, rocking on the stool. “It’s a
cult, isn’t it?” Her voice, muffled between her knees, carried an
air of defeat. “We’re made to believe that we’re so good and pure.
But we’re just as evil as the lycans, aren’t we?”

Are we?
“We didn’t start out this way, Calla.”

She lifted her
head, cheek against her arms. “I just wish I could remember what it
felt like to be a good person.”

A light bulb
went on in Ayden’s head. “Come with me.”

***

Ayden passed
through the hallway and hopped up the first few steps with Calla at
her heels, glancing upward when Annabelle appeared on the
staircase.

She carried a
tray on her descent, moving slow as though trying not to spill the
toppling dishes. “My, his appetite gets bigger and bigger with
every meal!”

Ayden paused,
Calla beside her. “You’ve been feeding him, then?”

“I hope that’s
alright, miss. I’d hate to think of anyone going hungry in this
house. Well, beside the ghouls.” Annabelle chuckled.

“Thank you,
that’s fine. His
stay
is nearly over.” Ayden dodged
Annabelle’s gaze. “In a few days he’ll be gone.”

She smiled and
turned her attention to Calla. “And who is this pretty lady?”

“Calla. A
friend of mine.”

“And Master
Gavin?” That coy expression returned to Annabelle’s face. “How
interesting.”

“It’s not what
you think, Anna.” Ayden tried her best to hide the smile in her
voice.

“Well, it’s
very nice to meet you, m’lady.”

“Nice to meet
you, too,” Calla said quietly.

Annabelle
hobbled down the rest of the stairs past them, dishes rattling as
she went, and disappeared off into the kitchen the two females had
just left.

Ayden turned
to Calla. “Watch out for her. She’s sweet as sin but loves to
gossip.”

Calla cracked
a modest smile and continued on behind Ayden.

Without
knocking, the two entered the bedroom holding the lycan.

A gasp came
from Calla to Ayden’s rear. “Ayden, he’s …”

“Halfling,
yes.”

“What’s this?”
The look on Kane’s face held both confusion and titillation. “I’ll
be tortured to death by two of you? Damn, why couldn’t I have been
attacked years ago when I was still in my prime?”

“Shut up,
lycan.”

Calla breathed
heavy, eyes turning a bright gold, her fangs inching from beneath
her top lip. At her side, her hands balled into fists. “Ayden … can
I …
have
him?”

Ayden threw
her arm out across Calla’s chest. “He’s my kill.” She growled.
“Control yourself, Calla.”

Kane shifted
on the bed. “There’s enough of me to go around, ladies.”

“Keep your
lips shut or I’ll personally sew them shut for you.” Ayden slowly
removed her hand.

Calla’s eyes
returned to their normal blue. “How can you stand it? Being around
him?”

“I can’t. He
has ‘til the end of the week to live.”

When Ayden
approached the bed, Calla fell into step beside her again.

Kane sat
surprisingly calm, considering he could be torn to shreds by both
women. Of course, he didn’t know that. His instincts hadn’t yet
formed. The killer inside of him would only just be coming to life.
Soon anyone who approached would be viewed as a potential threat,
aside from his own kind.

“Touch him.”
Ayden’s fingers clenched with the command.

Calla glanced
over. “Touch him? Like, break something?”

Kane
frowned.

“No, like
place your hand on him,” Ayden said.

Calla’s eyes
roamed over him as if sizing up a slab of steak. “Anywhere?”

“I think
that’s how it works.”

“How what
works?” Calla’s voice carried confusion.

“Tell us how
it works, lycan.”

Kane shrugged.
“I have no idea. I don’t even know what I did.”

“You grabbed
me the other night.” Ayden reached in her pocket for the other key
to the cuffs and released him.

Calla backed
up a step. “You’re going to set him free?”

“He isn’t
fully changed, Calla. He can’t even support his upper body yet.”
She tucked the key back into her pocket and crossed her arms over
her chest. “Grab her arm like you grabbed mine.”

“I honestly
don’t remember grabbing your arm. But … okay.” Kane reached out and
swiped Calla’s wrist, dropping his hold when her eyes blazed golden
amid an impressive glare. “I don’t think she appreciates this.”

“She has
natural instincts to rip your spine out.” Ayden kept her own arms
tucked close to her body. “Ignore her. Grab her again or I’ll give
her the go-ahead to act on those instincts.”

Kane reached
again and held her wrist more gently. Seconds passed, their arms
bound together in the air.

Calla’s eyes
turned blue again, confusion swirling within them. “Is something
supposed to happen?”

Ayden’s brow
furrowed. “What do you mean? You don’t feel it? You can’t see
them?”

“See
what?”

“Memories.”

Calla shook
her head. “I don’t see anything, Ayden.”

Ayden thrust
her arm out. “Grab me, lycan.”

He seemed
hesitant as though unsure of what to do.

“I said, grab
me! Now!”

Kane reached
for her wrist and held tight.

Ayden’s body
froze as if turned to stone, before she lowered as though guided,
slow and cautious, onto the bed beside him, gaze riveted on his. Up
and down, her chest heaved. She gripped his wrist back and pulled
his hand to her cheek.

Warm gray
eyes, like hers, stared back from the little girl standing beside
her, a fuzzy pink blanket in her arms. Her soft baby hand grazed
Ayden’s cheek and felt cool against her skin. Ayden’s bigger hands
covered the tiny one and held her fingertips there for a
moment.

“
Good
morning baby girl, how did you sleep?” Ayden whispered in a voice
not her own—so bright and full of life.

“
Momma,
uppie,” the baby said in a feathery, shallow pitch of a voice, as
she reached to her from the edge of the bed.

Ayden smiled
and lifted the little girl beside her. She moved back and bumped
the warm body of another behind her. A glance back revealed a man
with brown hair, his features handsome, as he shifted over on the
bed. His eyes remained closed. Everything about him felt familiar.
Love.

Ayden settled
back on the pillow, drawing the baby under the covers with her. A
thick arm snaked around her waist and pulled the two of them closer
together.

With her
fingertips, Ayden traced the baby’s light brown downy hair all the
way to her chubby little chin. Warmth and contentment blossomed in
her heart and spread through her body. The girl’s eyelids grew
heavy from her touch until she finally fell asleep.

Blurriness
affected Ayden’s view of the room, and dampness misted her eyes,
but she swiped at the unshed tear before it could escape. Clearing
her throat, she released Kane’s arm and backed away, wiping again
at her cheek and eyes.