Soul Avenged (Sons of Wrath, #1) (8 page)

“I fed off a
junkie or some shit.” James pulled his hand away from his stomach
and wiped the blood on his chest without unbalancing his perch on
his elbows. “Bitch put me under all night.”

“Lucky for us
that we found you.” Wade patted the lycan’s shoulder, pushing down
on it as he rose to a stand. “You’ve been very helpful, James.
Thank you for your time.”

James tottered
on his elbow and caught himself. “Will you let me go, then?”

Wade stepped
toward Daniel, fingers clasped behind his back. “Well, I’m going to
let Daniel decide.” He placed his hand on Daniel’s shoulder.
“Should this wolf be allowed to live?”

James’s
attention locked onto the young boy, horror brimming over into his
face. “The kid? Please, no! Don’t do this.” His voice cracked as he
spoke.

Daniel’s chest
heaved, his eyes a murderous shade of fury.

Wade leaned
close to Daniel’s ear. “Only the shepherd can wield the spear,” he
whispered.

The boy’s lip
curled, revealing gleaming fangs.

“You said you
weren’t going to kill me!” Desperation in James’s voice carried on
the air.

The
surrounding Alexi soldiers stirred into a rocking motion as if
suddenly impatient.

Wade grinned
back at James. “To be precise, I said, ‘what makes you think
I’m
going to kill you, James?’”

Quick as a
bolt of lightning, Daniel leaped through the air onto the lycan. As
his fingers and teeth tore away at flesh, mutilating the body
beneath him, wails echoed through the building.

With a sigh,
Wade walked away, stopping beside Draven’s shoulder. “When he’s
finished, I want to you to set fire to this hellhole.”

“Yessir.”

“And find out
what you can about these Wrath Demons.”

Draven nodded.
“Yessir.”

“She’ll not
pull the wool over my eyes.” Wade nodded back at Draven and the
young soldier walked away. “I will find you, little lamb, and when
I do, the big bad wolves will seem nothing more than
fairytales.”

~

Warmth
blanketed Kane’s face, and he opened his eyes to sunlight glinting
off the crystal chandelier and the mural on the wall.

Shit. Not a
nightmare?

He scanned the
room for the girl with gray eyes.

Ayden.

The wolf
that bit me?
She had to be.

The room stood
empty.

Sitting up
sent him falling back onto the satin pillow, the bright light
blinding his eyes and throb in his skull like a lead weight.
Snaking his fingers beneath his neck, he patted around for the
gaping wound. Only smooth skin met his fingertips. He reached down
into the sheets, pulling his knee up to find the nasty bulge in his
thigh had disappeared, too, though a slight ache remained.

Thank God. I
must’ve dreamt it.

He glanced
around for a clue.

Where the hell
am I?

Aside from his
minor aches and a hungry stomach, nothing hurt. In fact, he felt
pretty damn good, like he could breathe easier all of a sudden.

A sound
emerged from the adjacent bathroom.

The woman from
the night before, Ayden, appeared, carrying a white towel, which
she threw at his chest. Cold water sloshed from it and prickled his
skin. “Clean yourself up before I puke at the sight of you.”

Kane wiped
away the blood and vomit still clinging to his chest and arms.
Despite the icy coldness of the water, it felt good to wash the
crap off.

Ayden stared
his way from the chaise beside the bed, her lip curled and disgust
in the twist of her features.

“So, you’re
Ayden,” he said.

“Shut up and
finish.”

He tossed the
towel beside him on the nightstand and turned his attention back
toward her. “There. Clean enough for the slaughter?”

“Don’t get
smart with me, wolf. I’ll break you in half.”

“You despise
me. Yet
you’re
the one who attacked
me
?”

“You think
I
did this?” Her lip curled tighter until white tooth peeked
through. “I’m not a dirty, disease-infested mutt like you.”

Images swirled
in a pool of confusion inside Kane’s head as he attempted to piece
together what he remembered of the attack and what he’d been told
by the demon named Logan. “You’re … not the one that bit me?”

“I wouldn’t
put my mouth anywhere near you.” Her words passed through clenched
teeth.

Kane pressed
his fingertips against his temples. “Damn. I don’t know what the
hell is going on then.” He ran both hands through his hair. “On one
hand, I guess I’m relieved to know you’re not the wolf that
attacked me. On the other hand, why am I here?” He dropped his arms
and glanced up at her. “What do you want from me?”

Her eyes
narrowed on him. “Who are you?”

“Kane.
Walker.”

“When were you
bitten?”

“Last night. I
think.”

“What do you
mean, you
think
?” She tipped her head, her icy stare primed
for scrutiny. “You don’t remember?”

“I thought
something bit me on the neck.”

“Why were you
lying on the landing? Most lycans take their changelings back to
their lair or eat them.” Her gaze roved him. “You don’t look like a
crack addict or a bum. Why were you left?”

Goddamn
. They
were
lycans. Suddenly the images he’d
seen for movie ads and magazines carried some dimension.

Nausea burbled
in his gut. “What exactly do you mean by,
changeling
?”

“I’m not here
to fill
you
in, wolf.” Her glaring eyes could’ve set the bed
sheets aflame had they not been focused on him. “Answer my
question.”

He huffed and
scratched the back of his head. “I don’t remember much. Just these
flashbacks I keep having. I don’t know if they’re real or not.” His
fingertips brushed his neck where the wound had been. “There were
two of them. I was walking to my car at the hospital where I work.
I blacked out. I think they attacked the security guard, too.” Kane
shook his head. “Bar none, the shittiest day of my life.” He
glanced up with a sorry expression. “Pardon my language.”

Ayden frowned.
“I tell you I plan to kill you and you’re apologizing for your
tongue?”

Kane shrugged,
his eyes still heavy with exhaustion. “You’re a woman.”

The grooves
already etched in her forehead deepened. “What the hell does that
mean?”

“It means in
spite of the fact that I don’t think we’re going to get along very
well, that’s not how I was raised.”

Ayden leaned
forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “If you think
pleasantries are going to spare your life, you’re wrong.” She sat
back again, crossing her arms over her chest.

Kane scratched
his chin then mimicked her pose. “So … you’re a demon?” The words
faltered, sounding so stupid in his head.

“No. I’m not a
demon.” Her sharp tone pierced the air.

“Sorry, if
that’s an insult. I just assumed, since the other guys were, well
…”

“No. And, for
the record, I’d pick a demon over a lycan any day.”

He nodded, a
gesture that quickly turned to a disbelieving shake of his head.
“You know, I don’t know if you realize this or not, but I didn’t
choose
this.” His shoulders did a quick spasm-shrug. “It’s
not like I chased the friggin’ wolves down, like some crazy-ass
wolf groupie and”—he pointed to the back of his head—“asked them to
make a meal out of the nape of my neck.” He returned to crossing
his arms. “Twenty four hours ago, werewolves didn’t exist to me.
This is a bit of a shock to me, too.”

“What you are,
and what you
chose
, doesn’t mean a damn thing to me.” Ayden
unfolded her arms and twisted to face him. “The fact is, in less
than seven days you will be one of them. A mindless, killing
machine that I’ll have the absolute pleasure of destroying.”

Kane didn’t
doubt it. “So … what? You’re giving me, like, six days to prove you
wrong?”

Ayden grinned.
“Lycan, you may think the pain you felt last night is over, but
it’s only just begun.” Her tone had a patronizing slap to it. “So
I’m going to sit back and enjoy the show. And when seven days is
up, I’m personally going to remove your spine from your body and
feed you to my demon friends.” She winked. “Then we’ll see who
proved whom wrong.”

“Sounds
lovely,” he muttered, though images of a dark room with whips,
chains and other unhealthy devices suddenly swarmed his thoughts.
Holy hell, this woman is some creepy shit.
“Are you a
masochist, or something?”

She sat
silent, her stare drilling holes right through his skull.

Kane nodded,
his lips tightened. “So, is starving me part of the plan, as
well?”

She rose from
the chair and leaned over the bed, forcing him back against the
pillow.”The sooner you come to respect how close you are to feeling
my blade slice through your throat, the better off you’ll be.” A
flash of gold flickered in the outer rims of her eyes before she
twisted away and left the room.

Creepy. As.
Hell.

***

Ayden stomped
down the stairs, the bullwhip at her hip beating against her thigh.
The scowl on her face cramped her muscles as she made her way to
the kitchen.

Like I’m some
goddamn nursemaid.

If she didn’t
feed him something, though, desperation would kick in, urging him
to roam the house, where he’d surely bump into Logan.

It’d all be
for nothing after that.

Zeke stood at
the counter in nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs, blond hair
all over the place, pouring coffee into a cup with one hand while
scratching his lower back with the thumb of his other. The
impressive V-shape of his broad shoulders down to his small waist
held details Ayden may have appreciated if the halfling hadn’t
pissed her off.

When Zeke
turned, her gaze immediately diverted from the enormous erection
tenting his briefs, focusing on Annabelle, housekeeper and Gambis
demon, rinsing vegetables at the sink.

Despite the
most notable talents of a Gambis demon being thieving and gossip,
the older woman with her sweet English accent hosted a lot of
kindness and seemed to adore Ayden. Zeke’s smile in her periphery,
as he sipped his coffee, told her she’d amused him.”Don’t you have
pants, or something?” she asked.

“
My
house, remember?”

“I thought you
picked up a woman to take care of …
that
for you.” She waved
toward his lower half and glanced away again.

“What, this?”
Zeke glanced down at himself. “You’ve never seen morning wood?”

Ayden shook
her head and moved past him to the cupboard, careful not to get too
close. She removed a porcelain coffee cup, stacked neatly thanks to
Annabelle.

“Morning,
Anna,” Ayden said, standing beside the plump female demon as she
poured her coffee.

Anna swung
around from the sink. “Sweet child! I heard you’d stayed over for
the night. With Master Gavin, I presume?” The coy expression on
Anna’s face brought heat to Ayden’s cheeks.

Gossip
monger.
“No. I just needed a place to stay for the night.”
Ayden replaced the coffee pot and grabbed the steaming cup from the
counter. “Say, Annabelle, any chance you might be able to cook up
something for breakfast? Nothing big. Maybe just some toast, or
something.”

Her eyes lit
up. “Absolutely, dear, but I thought you didn’t eat breakfast?”

Over on his
bar stool, Zeke paused with his coffee cup to his lip, his eyebrow
arched.

Ayden huffed
and rolled her eyes. “It’s … not for me. Don’t worry, it’s no big
deal. I can just … grab something.”

Annabelle
pursed her lips, but only for a second before smiling. “Would this
be for the halfling that spent the night up in the guest
chambers?”

A frown crept
across Ayden’s face, but considering she liked Annabelle, she
didn’t bother to vent the frustrations on
her
. Instead, she
turned her attention to Zeke. “You’ve got a big mouth, you know
that?”

Zeke grinned
and placed his hand over his heart. “I’m hurt, Ayden. You’d sleep
with a lycan before even considering me?”

Ayden kicked
the stool he sat on, spilling hot coffee onto Zeke’s hand and the
countertop. “I didn’t sleep with him asshole!” She glanced over at
Annabelle. “Sorry, Anna.”

Annabelle
shrugged and smiled.

“Do you serve
all your enemies breakfast in bed?” Zeke continued, wiping his hand
on a towel atop the counter.

Fuck
you,
Ayden mouthed.

Zeke winked,
his lips forming the word,
Anytime
.

Scalding
coffee sloshed onto Ayden’s fingertips as she carried it to the
dining room, where a hand-carved cherry wood table took up most of
the room.

Gavin sat at
the end of it, sipping his coffee with a newspaper in hand.

Ayden sat down
next to him, licked the coffee off her skin and set her feet up on
the table.

He peeked over
the paper with a disapproving expression then disappeared behind it
again.

“You know,
they have computers now,” she said to him. “And hand held devices
so you don’t have to hold the paper and get ink all over your
fingers.”

“Guess I’m old
fashioned. I remember when the printing presses first came out.
Shame they’re all on the verge of extinction.”

“So what are
your plans for the day?” She blew on the hot coffee and took a
sip.

“Return my
female once she wakes up,” Gavin said from behind his paper.
“Settle some business affairs at the casino. Kill a few lycans and
then seek out another female. You?”

“Look, if you
think it bothers me that you’re bedding a different woman every
night, you’re wrong.”