Soul Avenged (Sons of Wrath, #1) (24 page)

“Everything
ok?” Gavin asked, his voice strained as he pumped the bar up and
down.

Calix rose
from the bench and wiped his face with the towel draped over the
frame. “You don’t look so good.” He brushed his fingertips across
her cheek. “You’re looking a little pale, babe.”

“Gavin, can I
talk to you?”

“Where
were
you last night, Ayden?” Logan asked, before throwing a
left hook at the bag. “Nothing like taking down an entire pack of
wolves while you’re out dancing in the streets somewhere.”

Calix shook
his head. “Don’t mind him. Logan is what happens when kids don’t
get hugged enough.”

“Du feshj.”
Logan spoke in his native demon tongue.

Ayden had
heard it so many times before that she didn’t have to understand
what it meant to know he’d just cursed.

“Mwe leiszt
ma,” Calix retorted with his chin in the air.

That one, the
way Logan glared back at Calix, she probably didn’t want to
know.

Ayden turned
her back to dismiss their banter and faced Gavin. “You guys took
down a pack?”

“Yep,” Gavin
croaked, still pumping away. “Creeping around some
storefronts.”

“Gavin, any
chance we could talk alone for a moment?”

His arms
trembled under the massive weights as he slowly hung up the
barbell. He grabbed a towel from beside him, and she tried not to
look at the sheen trickling down his biceps.

Get a grip,
Ayden.
Her tongue twitched at the memory of licking sweat off
of them once.

His accordion
abs straightened as he stood. He slipped a
D&G
muscle
shirt on, giving her some relief of the visuals. She’d have to blow
off some steam soon or risk ‘adjusting’ her contract, as Gavin had
offered.

Nabbing his
bottle of water from the floor, he led her out of the gym in the
direction of the library, still wiping the sweat off his neck. Even
after working out, he smelled good—like sweat mixed with the faint
spice of his cologne, an intoxication entirely designed to entice a
female.

Too bad sex
with him had come to mean something different than before: an
invitation to commitment.

An acceptance
of his offer to be mated.

As the eldest
of the brood, his time would come soon. The Savidon. According to
Gavin, Wrath Demons lost their appetite for casual sex and had been
known to be very ‘touchy’ during the Savidon. From what Ayden could
fathom, it sounded sort of like a fifteen-day menstrual cycle for
demons, whereby they go in search of a mate to claim, who’d become
his
Tazshla
. Loosely translated it meant ‘wife’. Gavin had
once told her, a better description for it was: a demon’s sole
source of nourishment, the last fruit on Earth, to be savored and
cherished, protected and loved.

Lower ranking
demons were given one Tazshla; unlike Gavin’s father, Wrath, a high
prince who could father a number of children with different
Tazshlas. He also governed those children and provided for them.
Although each child of a prince had a different mother, they were
given a Divine Matron, or governess with witching powers who
protected them. Gavin’s father, Wrath, had many Matrons.

All six of
Gavin’s brothers shared the same Matron, Cefirina, and it was she
who sought them out and brought them together.

The Savidon, a
last ditch effort for the stubborn ones—like Gavin, who refused to
take just any woman—existed to further the species. During that
period, they’d undergo some internal and external physical changes,
as well. Only a demon with a fully developed szexus organ, designed
to attract his mate, underwent The Savidon. The organ produced
certain chemicals that would elicit a protective nature in even the
most detached demons of the underworld.

As Ayden
slumped into the chair in front of the desk, Gavin set down his
towel and water, and crossed his arms, leaning back against the
desk in front of her. “Shoot, slayer, I’m all ears.”

She rested her
forehead on her palm. “I’m so stupid. Why didn’t I think of this
before?”

“Think of
what?”

“I had Calla
touch the lycan yesterday.” She glanced up sheepishly. “You know,
to see if she saw the memories, too.”

Gavin smirked.
“He’s become quite the roadside show.”

“Gavin, she
saw
nothing
.
Nothing
.” Ayden’s brows, drawn tight,
emphasized the fear in her gut—a first for her.

Still leaning,
he shifted his weight and hiked up his knee, resting the sole of
his Nikes against the front of the desk. “You realize they can’t
just pull a memory out of their heads like some kind of jukebox.
Whatever memories he’s acquired have to be mingled with his own, as
if he’s lived them. All that can summon them is a trigger or
reminder.” Gavin winked. “Touch is a powerful sensation.”

“I saw
something.” She swallowed a gulp. “A child. And a husband. I was
there and it felt so real. So real and familiar that I didn’t have
to question any of it.” Some distant sense of loss, the same she’d
felt when the lycan had touched her, washed over her. “All of it
made sense to me.”

“So, what are
you saying? You think they were
your
memories?”

“I don’t know
what I think.” She shook her head. “All I know is I saw them and
Calla didn’t.”

“That would
mean the lycan that bit your halfling upstairs—”

“Was the same
lycan that attacked me.”

Gavin lowered
his foot back down and leaned forward, resting his arms on his
thighs. “You realize the odds of that are about as slim as a royal
flush. You have no idea which wolf murdered you. And there are
thousands of them in this city alone. Every day they kill each
other off.”

“It’s crazy, I
know.”

He tipped his
head. “So, what do you intend to do about it?”

“Get some
answers.” She drew her knee up, exactly as Gavin had moments
before, and set her chin against it. “At any cost.”

“These
memories. What were they?”

Her gaze
dodged him, focusing on everything else in the room except his
intent eyes. “Nothing important. Just images that make no sense to
me.”

Her neck
muscles tensed when he grabbed her chin, gently turning her face up
toward him. “I’m a demon. I know when you’re lying.”

She relaxed in
his grip, her head still tipped upward. “I was lying in bed. As a
family. My husband held me and the baby.”

A spark of
curiosity shimmered in his eyes. “And you enjoyed this image?”

Please
don’t.
She knew exactly what he was thinking. “I said nothing
about enjoying it. I just said it felt familiar.”

The light
seemed to dim from his expression again. He released his grip of
her and placed his palms back on the top of the desk.

“So what
happened with Wade?” she asked, changing the subject.

Gavin cracked
a crooked but saddened smile. “Nothing important.” His arms
re-crossed over his chest as if playfully begging a challenge.

Ayden rolled
her eyes. “Come on. At least tell me if I’m going to have to kill
him first.”

“He’ll leave
you alone … for now. But he’s got a pretty good hard-on for you. He
asked me to break my contract. He wanted to buy you out of it.”

She frowned.
“What did you tell him?”

The humor that
had momentarily shone through disappeared from his eyes. “I’m not
offering adjustments to my contracts anymore. They stand firm from
here on out.”

For some odd
reason that Ayden couldn’t pinpoint, the finality in his words
almost stung. Guaranteed, any mate of Gavin’s would be lavished
upon. Everything she could want would be hers; she’d be protected
not only by him, but his brothers; her children would be cared for;
and, the best part, she’d have the most exquisite sex she’d ever
known.
Why wouldn’t I want that?
Her thoughts drifted to the
night before, curled up against the rotted wood in her neglected
monastery in the middle of nowhere. She could have been lying
beside him in satin luxury.

Yet, sleeping
alone in the ruins had just seemed to fit. There was a comfort in
it.

Her mind
sought to dismiss the burgeoning heartache. “And what about
Calla?”

“He asked for
her, too. She’s under no contract with me, yet. Although, he thinks
she is.”

“He messed her
up pretty good. It’s not over with Wade.” Even she remained
tethered to his twisted obsession of power.

“The guy’s a
fucking psycho. I thought Logan was going to reach down his throat
and remove his organs with his bare hands.”

A chuckle
escaped her. “I should’ve warned you first.” Ayden huffed. “I’m
surprised you let him live, though. Aren’t you worried that he
knows how to find the manor?”

“Calix hexed
them. They’ll remember everything except how the hell they got
here. One of the ghouls jammed their GPS system, too.”

“Calix can
hex? Like, cast spells?” She grinned. “Any chance he can get Wade
to forget I exist?”

“Unfortunately, his hex only works on short term memory. He’s half
incubus. That’s typically how they sneak in and out of bedrooms at
night without getting caught.”

She nodded.
“Anyway, thank you.”

“For
what?”

“For being
you. For taking care of me. For everything.”

Gavin sighed.
“You don’t make it easy.”

She looked
down at her hands, where they fidgeted in her lap. “I know. But if
my suspicions are true, I might be out of your hair soon
enough.”

“Would you
believe me if I told you the thought of that saddens me?”

“Would you
believe I’ve spent the whole night trying to decide what to do?
Where will I go after my attacker is identified?” She pushed a
stray hair behind her ear and sat forward, elbows propped on her
knees. “But, I don’t belong here, Gavin. You have so much to give
and I’d always have my eyes on the moon.” Her gaze met his. “You’re
… the elusive prey. The one I never want to catch for fear I’d
never hunt again.”

His body
shifted, and he gripped the edge of the desk. “I’d give you
freedom. You could come and go as you pleased.” He paused, tilted
his head. “So long as you let me know ahead of time.” His gaze
averted then returned to hers. “So I could protect you, of
course.”

“You’d give me
far too many reasons to stay off the streets. But, you know I
can’t.”

His lips
tightened and he cleared his throat.

Ayden rocked
herself off the chair, her arms folded and tucked tightly against
her, as if she’d be too tempted to wrap them around him. “I’m going
to interrogate the halfling. I really hope he cooperates. I’m not
in the mood to cut heads right now.” Her words made small slices
through the atmosphere that had begun to envelope her in a
suffocating grip.

Gavin smiled.
“Well, if it comes to that, I’m sure Logan would be more than happy
to take care of it for you.”

“I’m sure he
would,” Ayden said, trying to ignore that annoying discomfort still
lingering in the air. She stepped out of the room and closed the
door behind her, stealing a deep breath when it finally clicked
shut.

Walking away
from Gavin’s offer could have been the dumbest mistake she’d ever
made in her life. Her words were true: he represented every bit of
perfection in her eyes.

Untouchably
so.

Something
stronger pulled her away from him, though: another clue to lead her
closer to the lycan that had stolen everything from her.

If only the
halfling wasn’t the one holding the key.
Dammit
. She’d
probably have to apologize for punching him.

What if he
refused to talk, though?

She stared
thoughtful, smiling to herself a second later as she decided,
I
could always threaten to remove his leg.

~

Kane rubbed his
jaw. It’d dislodged with Ayden’s punch but had long since fixed
itself, as had his split lip. His other hand still dangled from its
restraint at the bedpost.

How many more
days of this shit?

He froze when
the door slowly slid open.

Ayden stepped
inside, her eyes hard to read. Angry? Sorry?

Definitely
not sorry.
The woman only came with one emotion: pissed
off.

Hands tucked
in her pockets, she approached the bed.

“You must have
sensed I already healed. Come back to replace the split to my
lip?”

Her chest
rose, lips pursed, and Kane braced for the telling off. Instead,
she surprised him by slumping onto the chaise. “You don’t have any
bruises on your face either. In case you were curious.”

“I wasn’t. I’m
sure there’s a lot more of that in store for me. Why try to look
pretty for you?”

Ayden’s tongue
ran over her teeth. “As if it isn’t bad enough that you are what
you are, you have to be a smartass on top of it all?”

He tipped his
head. “You don’t like my pleasantries?”

“I need some
information and you’re going to tell me, whether you like it or
not.”

Kane awkwardly
tucked his free arm under his pit and frowned. “No.”

“Excuse me?”
The smile on her face didn’t reach any farther than her lips. “In
case you haven’t noticed lycan, you don’t have many options.”

“In case you
haven’t noticed, I smell like shit. I haven’t bathed since
yesterday morning, or gotten up from this goddamn bed to stretch my
legs, which means I’ll surely be in pain later tonight. Not that it
matters to you. But, it’d be nice to shower. To get up and walk
around.”

She crossed
her arms. “Absolutely not.”

“Then, do what
you have to. I’m not telling you a fucking thing.”

A frown crept
across her face. “Did you just say fuck?”

“Yeah, I did.
Fuck, fuck, fucking, fuck.”