'Night Wardens 1 Night Terrors

Since the beginning of time, an elite group of
human warriors called Wardens protected
mankind from all supernatural threats. Born into
this destiny, a Warden’s duties passed from father
to son…until the supernaturals made peace and
the Wardens were no longer needed. Since then,
knowledge of their existence has faded into myth
and legend.

Recently, the peace has been broken as civil

wars and infighting fragment the supernatural
species and the Wardens are needed again. One
Warden, Rev, could not be more unprepared for
what lies ahead. In an instant, he goes from college
student to literally fighting for his life as he’s
forced to enter a dark world he wants no part of.
To make matters worse, his stubborn, by-the-book
mentor, Jess, has little patience for a Warden
who’s inexperienced and bumbling at best.

Just as Rev thinks things couldn’t be worse, he

realizes he’s falling for his hard-ass mentor. Will
Jess return the feelings? Or will Rev be dealing
with a broken heart while trying to save the
world?

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Please purchase only authorized electronic editions,
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author’s rights is appreciated.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
places, and incidents either are products of the author’s
imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance
to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is
entirely coincidental.

Night Terrors

ISBN: 978-1-77111-015-0

Cover art by Martine Jardin

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Night Terrors

Night Wardens One

Stephani Hecht

Prologue

hey were coming and Fiona could do nothing
to stop them. More importantly, there was

very little she could do to save her child. A child
who could one day be the very thing that saved all
of humanity.

Perhaps she was overreacting a bit, after all, her

son, Rev, was one of several Wardens. Yet,
something told Fiona that her lineage was the one
that the prophesy spoke of.

She just had to make sure that said lineage

survived the night.

Clutching the longsword in her hand, she

debated her options, which were pitiful and few—
stay and fight, or run and save Rev.

Normally running would never enter her mind

she may just be a civilian, she was married to a
Warden and they never retreated. Especially not
from a band of feral vampires who didn’t know
their ass from their fangs. But Rev was just twelve
and he wasn’t ready to fight. In a few years, he
may be able to at least defend himself, but as of

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yet, he had only learned the most rudiment of
skills.

The air within their single-story ranch home

was rich with the scent of blood. Fiona’s stomach
lurched, not because she was squeamish, but
because the blood came from her husband who lay
gutted several feet away in the living room, the
grotesque display in direct contrast to the country
cottage décor in the room.

Several shadows moved outside, and her heart

lurched with dread. That could only mean that
more vampires had come to join the three who
were already lurking around her darkened home.
A slight quickening of breath to her right let her
know that Rev came to the same conclusion,
otherwise the twelve year old made no other
sound. Years of training had instilled in him the
ability to keep quiet, even after having watched
his father being ripped to shreds.

Fiona knew they had to make a run for it before

the vampires trapped them in the house. Her
brother-in-law lived several houses down and if
she could get to him, he and his sons could help
her fight off the vampires. As it was, she was
vastly outnumbered. She couldn’t even call for
help since the vampires cut both her phone and
electrical lines.

She used her free hand to flash a few gestures

to Rev, a signal known only to their family. In

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short, it meant it’s time to get moving. No matter
what happens to me, don’t stop running.

Yelling out a battle cry, she launched herself

from behind the counter and swung her sword
around in a neat arch, decapitating the vampire
closest to her. At the same time, Rev shot off the
gun he’d been given as a present on his last
birthday. His aim was a bit off, but he still
managed to hit a vampire in the shoulder, slowing
it down.

That allowed Fiona time to bring her sword

around, and she cleanly sliced off the head of the
second vampire. That only left one inside the
house, but she didn’t waste any time on it.

“Move!” she yelled to Rev, her voice rough

with emotion.

How she hated having to leave Ted behind, but

knew he wouldn’t want her risking themselves
over a corpse. Instead, she rushed Rev to the front
of the house and peeked outside at the car.

Several vampires blocked her path. Her

stomach dropped as she quickly counted—ten.
There is no way that a mere human such as herself
could stand a chance against so many.

Then she glanced down at her son and realized

something. So long as Rev lived, that was all that
mattered. As his mother, she was more than
willing to sacrifice herself. The expression on her
face must have said as much because tears welled

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up in Rev’s brown eyes.

“Please, don’t. We can fight them.”
She reached down with her free hand and

brushed back his mop of dark hair, her hand
leaving behind a smear of blood on his forehead.
“Get in the car. The keys are in the visor. I want
you to drive to Uncle Stew’s and tell him what’s
happening here.”

Rev shook his head. “By the time he gets back,

it will be too late. I don’t want to leave you, too.”

She gripped him by the shoulder. “Rev, you are

a Warden and your needs come last. It doesn’t
matter what you want. All that is important is that
you live to keep on fighting.”

When he started to argue again, she slapped

him across the face. While the move broke her
heart, she knew she was desperate to get him to
obey her. If he ended up hating her for it, then so
be it. So long as he lived.

The fact that a child as young as Rev was

handling a gun, much less driving a car, never
entered the equation. Like his father, he was a
Warden and he’d been destined from birth to be
different than all others.

He only let out one more sniff before he

nodded. “Yes, Mother. I promise not to let you
down.”

She kissed his cheek. The one that now carried

the angry, red handprint left from her slap. “Know

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that I will always love you.”

No sooner had she spoke those words, then the

final vampire from inside attacked. Fiona quickly
dispatched it before she opened the front door and
all but shoved Rev toward the car. He paused only
long enough to whisper, “I love you, too, Mama.
I’ll never forget you.”

True to his vow, he ran, never looking back

again. The vampires who had been lying in wait
outside attacked, but Fiona fought them off,
positioning herself so that she shielded Rev with
her body. Swinging her sword madly, she barely
registered when she connected with flesh because
there was always another fresh aggressor coming
at her.

When she heard the door slam and the engine

start, she let out sob of relief. A vampire jumped
on her, its fangs sinking deeply into her throat.
She yelled as pain shot through her body. Another
vampire jumped her, this one biting into her chest.
A third joined in, its fangs sinking into her
shoulder.

As they brought her down to the ground, she

caught a glimpse of the car pulling away. A smile
crossed over her face, even as the last of her blood
was drained from her body and she was no more.

Stephani Hecht

Chapter One

resent Day

Rev Becker tapped his pencil against the open

page of his Latin book, his mind completely
focused on the most significant person in the
room.

Unfortunately, said person wasn’t the professor

who was currently going into hour two of what
looked to be a marathon lecture. Not that Rev
needed to listen. His parents had always made
sure he had the finest tutors while growing up.
Even going so far as to dictate in their will that
even after their death, the lessons continue. As a
result, this class was remedial at best for him.

So no, it wasn’t Professor Bivins who was

occupying Rev’s brain. It was the asshole, better
known as Rick Parsons, who was making it
impossible for Rev to focus.

Not that he had a crush on the nozzle…far from

it. Rev would rather have a drink with a vampire
and a steak with a werewolf than deal with the

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human college freshman. And dealing with him
was something Rev had to do on a constant basis
because, like it or not, Rick had decided to make
Rev’s life a living hell. In fact, in all of his eighteen
years of life, Rev was hard pressed to think of any
other human who he despised more than Rick and
this said a lot considering what jerks Rev’s cousins
could be at times.

As if sensing Rev’s thoughts, Rick turned, his

always-wet looking lips forming into a mocking
pucker. Rev froze, hate spiraling so hard through
his body, it felt like a bolt of electricity.

God, what he would give to be able to put the

jerk in his place. But if Rev dared lift a finger
toward a normal human, trouble would be on him
faster than an heiress on a sale at Barneys.

That still didn’t mean that Rev couldn’t

daydream about his plans of maiming the asshat.
It even gave him a bit of joy in the bleakness that’d
become his life. In fact, he became so caught up in
his blood fantasies that he didn’t realize the
lecture had ended until all the other students got
up and began to file out of the theater-like lecture
room.

Rev would have loved to linger so he didn’t

have to face the unenviable encounter with Rick,
but he knew that it would be useless. If anything,
Ricky was one patient bastard and he’d wait
however long it took Rev to leave the building.

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So he gathered up his books and laptop and

shoved them into his bag. As he walked by, Rick
stuck his foot out and tried to trip Rev. Since Rev
was always in a constant state of alertness, he
managed to sidestep the size twelve Nike, but he
totally missed the spit wad Rick’s friend shot his
way.

Rev cringed as the slobbery wad of paper

connected with his cheek. He wiped it away,
biting his bottom lip to hold in the torrent of angry
words that threatened to burst through. Honestly,
who in the hell still used spit wads in college?

“Hey, Rev, where are you going in such a

hurry?” Rick goaded.

Rev ignored him and kept moving. Damn, he

wished he’d never allowed his uncle to talk him
into going away to school. But nooooo, Stew had
insisted that Rev go out and learn how to socialize
with normal people.

Well, if Rick and his minions were normal, then

Rev was much happier living in the Land of Misfit
Sociopaths. Just as soon as that thought occurred
to him, Rev pushed it aside as a heavy dose of
guilt hit him.

The whole reason he was now in the civilian

world was because it was his mother’s dying wish.
So Rev had no business whining about it, even if
he only did the complaining inside his head.

Besides, Rick and his band of assholes aside,

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things were better on this side of the fence. For one
thing, Rev no longer had to endure the daily
training sessions that went on for hours and left
him bruised. Plus, he could forget, if for only a
little while, that there really were monsters hiding
in closets and under beds.

Pushing his way outside, Rev wasn’t surprised

when Rick and his lackeys followed. Hoisting his
backpack further on his shoulder, he quickened
his steps in hopes of losing them. No such luck.
No matter how fast he moved, they seemed to
remain a few steps behind him.

Anger boiled in him and Rev completely forgot

about being inconspicuous. Spinning around, he
snarled, “Why can’t you leave me the fuck alone?”

Anya, one of Ricky’s biggest supporters,

separated herself from the rest of the group and
slowly approached Rev. A long-haired blonde
who had more boobs than brains, she knew she
was damn good looking. She wasn’t afraid to use
it for her advantage either. Too bad for the bitch,
her charms had little effect on Rev.

That still didn’t stop her from moving in close

and slithering her body around him, much like a
boa would trap a frightened rabbit. Reaching
down, she roughly cupped Rev’s cock. A tsking
noise leaving her throat. “Poor baby, can’t get it
up. Is it because you’re scared? Or impotent? Or
maybe it’s boys that you like?”

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Rev could have shoved her away. He could

have reached down and grabbed her hand, then
put her in a wrist lock hard enough to make tears
form in her malicious blue eyes. In the end, he did
neither, since it’d never been in him to harm
anybody weaker than him. Even if said person
was a bitch with a bite more vicious than a
hellhound.

“Maybe it’s just you I don’t find attractive,” Rev

replied tightly.

That earned his cock another squeeze, this one

more painful than before. Luckily, all of Rev’s
training kicked in and he was able to work past
the pain.

“What in the hell is you guys’ problem?” he

asked. “I thought that you would have left this
kind of behavior back in high school.”

“We just don’t like freaks like you,” Rick

snapped.

Rev barely kept his disgust hidden. Really,

what had he done to make himself come off as
different? Then, just as quickly as that question
popped into his head, so did the answer. Just
about everything he’d done made him look odd.
Raised by Guardians and fellow Wardens, he’d
only recently begun to truly mingle with civilians.
As a result, he was quickly finding out how
unconventional some of his habits and traits were.

For example, who knew that so many people

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would have an issue with him carrying around a
bag of salt and wolfsbane? It’s not like he flashed
it around on purpose. One day his backpack had
broken and the items came tumbling out along
with a silver stake, a vial of holy water, some sage
and a white candle. After that incident, everybody
had labeled him weird.

Anya gave him another squeeze, bringing him

back into the present. Her red lips curled up in a
sneer, showing off one slightly chipped front
tooth. Guess Daddy hadn’t had a chance to send
his little princess to the dentist to get that
imperfection fixed.

“Look, why don’t you guys just leave me alone

and let me go back to my dorm?” Rev reasoned.

At least there he’d only have to put up with his

roommate, Ari. Since Ari was another Warden,
that was the only place where Rev felt safe, even if
Ari was a bit of a moody, little basket case.

“I suggest you take your hands off my man

before I rip your eyeballs out and eat them for
lunch,” a low voice purred.

Turning his head, Rev was relieved to see

Naamah, which just showed how fucked up his
world was, considering she was a succubus.

As always, she was a beautiful as ever. Her

long, curly raven hair with red highlights
contrasted stunningly to her porcelain skin and
dark, soulless eyes—ones that on closer inspection

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had catlike elongated pupils. A fact she covered
up with sunglasses or lies about special effect
contacts.

She had the body of a seductress, but the voice

of an angel. This was kind of fitting since she was
once an angel before she’d fallen and become a
demon. She also happened to be one of his closest
allies, which, given that he was gay, was the
perfect irony.

Turning her gaze toward Anya, Naamah curled

her lips up into a sneer that came dangerously
close to showing off her fangs. “I believe I gave
you an order, Blondie. Let go of Rev.”

Rick stepped closer, no doubt thinking one

female didn’t offer a threat. “What’s it to you? Just
so you know, Freak here is a fag.”

Naamah let out a low snarl. “You call him that

name one more time and I’ll rip your guts out and
play with them like a set of TinkerToys.”

“You don’t like me calling him a freak?”
“No, I don’t like you calling him a fag. It’s a

disgusting term used by clueless assholes who I
usually wouldn’t bother talking with. But, since
you dared to touch Rev, I have no choice but to
put up with your presence.”

Rick sneered. “Why don’t you let him fight for

himself? Or is he too much of a wimp to fight his
own battles?”

Naamah let out a peal of laughter, one hand

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going up to cover her mouth. “Trust me, you’d
much rather have to battle me than Rev. If he had
permission, he could finish you off before you
even had a chance to take in a breath.”

Rick and his buddies found that comment so

funny, they doubled over in laughter. Naamah
just cocked a brow and waited for them to finish
before she said, “This is your final warning. You
so much as breathe on Rev again and I’m letting
him loose on your asses.”

With those parting words, she grabbed Rev by

the arm and led him away. They walked for
several moments in silence before Rev broke it.
“Not that I’m not happy to see you, but what in
the hell are you doing here?”

“Checking up on you. I could sense that you

were unhappy.”

He glanced down at her red leather bodysuit,

which fit her like a second skin, and matching
fuck-me boots. “You don’t exactly blend in here.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Baby, I fit in

everywhere.”

Rev laughed. “So, you came all this way, just

because you knew I was feeling a bit down?”

“Maybe I missed you,” she admitted.
Rick and his buddies walked by, their loud

voices cutting through what had been a nice, fall
day. Rev tensed, but the group continued,
obviously done torturing him for the day. Naamah

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studied them, her eyes glinting dangerously. “Do
you want me to suck them dry for you?”

“Like you said, they’re not worth it,” Rev

replied.

She glanced back at him, her face softening.

“Poor Rev. You haven’t felt like you belonged
since you got here.”

That was so true, but damned if Rev would

admit it. He gave an indifferent shrug. “It’s what’s
meant to be.”

“Just because you’re a Warden doesn’t mean

you can’t have happiness and someplace to
belong.”

“You saw what happened to my parents when

they tried to be normal. It doesn’t work for us.”

“So instead you hang out with succubi and

werewolves. What kind of life is that for a young
college boy?”

Rev sighed as he sat down on a bench next to a

fountain. “That’s just it. I still don’t understand
why I’m going to college in the first place. It’s not
like I’m going to become a doctor or lawyer. I was
born a Warden and that’s never going to change.
My life is always going to be devoted to training
and waiting for the day when maybe—just maybe,
my kind is needed once more, so I don’t get why I
need to pretend otherwise.”

“You’re here because it was your mother’s

dying wish. She left the edict in her will,” Naamah

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said.

“I don’t need you to point out the obvious,”

Rev snapped.

“I’m not. I’m just simply reminding you of the

reason why you are here instead of out hunting
like the Guardians are doing right now.”

Rev started, his stomach doing a strange flip.

“Out hunting? Don’t you mean back at the
compound training?”

She gave a sad shake of her head, her odd eyes

never leaving his face. “No. Things have become
more unstable in the paranormal world and the
Wardens are once again going to be called upon.
In fact, that’s the real reason I came to see you
today. The evil that the leading paranormal
entities once controlled is now loose and those
who never wanted peace are out to seek revenge.
More specifically on the Wardens. So all of you are
in grave danger.”

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Two

ev allowed that dire prediction to linger in
the air for a moment before he gave a short

laugh. “Why would anybody want to bother with
a Novice Warden like me? I’m just a nobody.”

“No, you’re not. Your lineage alone makes you

a target. Not only that, but everybody knows what
the Oracle foretold at your birth.”

“Stupid Oracle never could keep her damn

mouth shut,” Rev grumbled.

“Well, that is her job, you know, to tell others

what she sees in the future.”

“Maybe, but she could have been a bit more

discreet about it. She sure as hell shouldn’t have
started a tumblr account about her prophesies.”

“She protected it so only paranormals and

Wardens can see it,” Naamah pointed out.

Rev snorted. “Yeah, and that just happens to be

the very people who will be coming and gunning
for me. Well, not the Wardens, but the paranormal
creatures sure as hell will be.” He jerked his head
in the direction of his dorm. “Come on, we need to

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tell Ari all this. He’s just going to be giddy with
excitement.”

“Was that supposed to be sarcastic?” she asked

as she fell in step next to him, her high-heeled
boots clicking against the pavement.

“Yes, it most certainly was.”
“Cool, then I find the comment amusing,” she

replied in a deadpanned voice.

Rev rolled his eyes. Even after knowing her for

years, some of Naamah’s reactions still floored
him.

They went inside and found Ari just where Rev

knew they would—sitting in the center of his bed,
his nose practically plastered to the screen of his
laptop.

A blond who was a couple years older and the

same age and build as Rev, Ari always seemed to
have a wary vibe around him. Which wasn’t
surprising given the guy’s past. Ari still had to
wear high-collared shirts to hide the vicious scars
on his neck. A souvenir from spending a couple of
years as a blood slave. While the Warden never
spoke of his experience, some of the things he
screamed while in the midst of his nightmares let
Rev know it hadn’t been a trip to Disney World.

Ari lifted his head and gave them the barest of

smiles in greeting. “Is it time for dinner?”

Rev exchanged glances with Naamah. “No, we

just had breakfast a couple of hours ago.

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Remember?”

Ari shrugged. “I guess I just got so caught up in

this research that I lost track of time.”

“Is it for a class?” Rev asked as he closed the

door.

When he delivered the bad news, he wanted to

make sure that there was no chance of any
civilians overhearing.

Ari gave a slight shake of his head. “No, I was

scouring the internet and I found something
interesting.”

“What?” Rev felt his stomach sinking. Going by

the troubled expression in his friend’s blue eyes, it
couldn’t be good.

“It seems that a bingo hall in Linden was

attacked. All the people inside were killed.”

“Oh, my God. How horrible.” Rev sank down

on his bed, Naamah settling down next to him.

“That’s not the worst part. Whoever did it, ate

all the bingo chips, too. Now the hall is going to
have to buy new ones before they can have any
more games.”

Rev paused, his jaw briefly dropping open.

Yeah, that was Ari for you. Only in his world
would playing chips matter more than elderly
ladies. It saddened Rev beyond belief since he
knew Ari from before he’d been captured. At one
time, Ari had been so loving and caring. It was as
if the vamps had sucked out all of Ari’s empathy

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along with his blood.

“Do they know who did it?” Rev asked.
“No, but get this.” Rev glanced up, a

triumphant grin playing on his face. “The news
reports all say the place was covered in some kind
of weird looking brown slime.”

“It has to be slug demons,” Rev surmised. “But

how is that possible? I thought Lucifer kept them
under tight wraps.”

Slug demons weren’t known for being able to

control their urges or how to be discreet. Since not
even Satan wanted the general population to
know the true extent of the supernatural society,
he’d locked up the slug demons centuries ago.

“Hell isn’t any different than the rest of the

paranormal world and right now there is a huge
power struggle going on there, too,” Naamah cut
in.

“How bad is it?” Rev demanded.
“You know how they always predicted that

there would be a beast so great that it could take
over Heaven and Hell?”

“Sure, but I thought that was just a myth.”
“We did, too, until it really happened. Now the

little shit has taken over Hell and started to let
loose the worst-of-the-worst.” Naamah made a
small sound of disgust. “I still didn’t think that
even he would stoop so low as to work with slug
demons though.”

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Rev didn’t even bother to ask her to explain

that one. Anybody with even the most
rudimentary knowledge of the paranormal world
knew that slug demons were considered to be low
on the ladder of demon hierarchy. While the
things may be as strong as shit, they were also as
dumb as a poodle on crack.

“Slug demons may not seem like much to us,

but they’d still be able to rip apart the strongest
civilian,” Ari cut in.

His attention returned to the computer and he

began to clack away at the keyboard, his fingers
moving so fast they were a near blur.

“So, if there is such a danger, why hasn’t the

Warden council called us back in, yet?” Rev asked.
“No offense to you, Naamah, but why in hell are
we hearing about this from you instead of them?”

Naamah’s right fang worried her bottom lip.

“Because they think that the safest place for you
two is here for the time being. Your uncle doesn’t
want to involve you unless necessary because of
your mother, and as for Ari…”

When she trailed off, Ari picked up, “They

don’t know how stable I’ll be in a fight. They’re
afraid I’ll freeze up or freak out.”

“Yeah,” she admitted, regret filling her dark

eyes.

Anger surged through Rev on his friend’s

behalf. Okay, so maybe Ari was a bit off at times,

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but who in hell wouldn’t be, given all he’d been
through? In Rev’s opinion they were all lucky that
Ari wasn’t slobbering all over himself and rocking
back and forth in a fetal position.

“So why are you here warning us now?” Rev

pressed.

“Because while the council doesn’t want you to

enter this fight yet—”

“They’re not the only ones. I’m so through with

their shit,” Rev cut in.

Naamah continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “I

have a feeling that the demons are going to come
after you. While you may only be Novices and not
active, your Warden powers are going to draw
them in.”

“Are you sure about that? If that was the case,

then issues or not, the council themselves would
drag us in,” Ari argued.

Naamah tilted her head to the side as she

seemed to be considering her words carefully.
“Let’s just say that some of the council members
tend to let their personal feelings affect their better
judgment.”

Rev shook his head. Slug demons or not, there

was no way in hell he was going back to the life of
a Warden. When he’d come of age and his
mother’s will had freed him from that life, Rev
had never been happier. Sure, he may be
considered a freak in the civilian world, but it sure

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as shit beat going back to a life of gore and fear.

Maybe, he hadn’t been exactly happy at college,

but surely there was some far-off island where he
could slip into obscurity or something after he
graduated. Anything was better than ending up
jaded like Ari, or worse, dead like his parents.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Rev replied firmly.
A wave of relief went through him when he

saw Ari’s nod of agreement.

Naamah threw her hands up in disgust. “Why

not? What is so wonderful here that you don’t
want to leave it?”

She wrinkled her nose at the small, overly

cluttered dorm room. She even went so far as to
pick up one wadded up sock and sniff it, a small
gagging sound coming from her as she tossed it to
the side. Next, she walked up to Rev’s massive
collection of Lord of the Rings posters.

“Baby, I know you love the movies, but this is

taking things too far. It just shows that you need
the kind of discipline and structure that the life of
the compound will give you.”

“That’s not part of my future anymore.”
She turned to him, her eyes narrowing in a

knowing manner. “Some simple words in a will
can’t take away what’s in your blood. You were
destined to be a Warden from the moment you
took your first breath. As much as your mother
may have wanted to, nothing can ever change

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that.”

A shiver of dread traveled down Rev’s spine,

because a nagging part of him realized she was
right. For no matter how hard he and Ari tried,
this really wasn’t their world nor would it ever be.
After all, hadn’t he had the same thought himself
just moments earlier, while sitting in Latin class?

Then he thought about his mother, all she

sacrificed for him, and Rev shook his head.
“Maybe you’re right, but I at least owe it to her to
try.”

“I don’t suppose that I can convince you guys

to let me stay here for a while? At least until I
know for certain that you’re not in danger,”
Naamah suggested.

“Sorry, we’re not allowed to have overnight

visitors in our rooms,” Ari said.

Naamah rolled her eyes. “Come on, don’t they

know you’re both gay? The only thing that is in
danger of happening is us getting in a fight over
some cute frat guy.”

“Speaking of which, keep your fangs to

yourself when you’re on campus,” Rev ordered.
“The last thing we need is to have to clean up your
mess if you get carried away and suck some
human dry.”

“At least he’d die happy.” Naamah gave a fang-

flashing grin.

Rev couldn’t argue that one, since it was a well-

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documented fact that a succubus bite was
considered one of the strongest aphrodisiacs
known to exist. Not even a vampire bite could
compare.

She let out a huff as she got up and made her

way to the door. “Fine, since you won’t let me stay
around and play, I’m going to find some nice
paranormal bar.”

“Nice paranormal bar?” Ari grunted. “Does such

a thing exist?”

“No, but at least I’ll be able to find a lovely,

warm, willing donor. He’ll even fuck me after I’m
done drinking from him.”

With those parting words of sweetness, she

waved and left. Ari and Rev sat in silence for a
few moments before Rev asked, “Do you think she
was serious?”

“About finding a fuck buddy? Uh, yeah, she is a

succubus after all.”

Rev waved a hand. “Not that, about the slug

demons showing up here?”

Ari rolled his eyes before returning his

attention to his computer. “Please, why in the hell
would they want to bother with a couple of
Novice Wardens? We are so under their radar it’s
not even worth worrying about.”

Okay, maybe Ari did have a point there. That

still didn’t relieve that little tingle of worry that
was working the back of Rev’s neck. He knew that

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he for one wouldn’t be sleeping soundly until the
problem of the slug demons was taken care of.

* * * *

Jess rubbed away a bit of slug demon slime from
his cheek as he strode through the Warden
compound. While he received a few hellos and
other various greetings, he was too pissed off to
return any of them.

Not that he was angry at the slug demons. Sure,

they were a damn inconvenience, and messy big
ass fuckers, but Jess just saw them as part of the
job.

No, he directed his anger at the leader of the

Wardens, Stew Becker.

Seriously, who in the hell named their kid

Stew? Or maybe the question should be who in
the hell named a kid, destined to be a Warden,
Stew? The name just didn’t seem to fit in a world
of monsters, horror and gore. It seemed more like
something a TV salesman would go by.

Jess pushed his way into the main meeting

room, gagging as the stench of sage and myrrh hit
him like a fist in a face.

Waving a hand, he asked, “What are you trying

to do? Smoke us all out?”

Stew looked up from under the bill of his Tiger’s

baseball hat. While he had the same dark eyes and

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hair as his nephew and sons, Stew looked way
older than his years. As if all the crap he’d seen
weighed so heavily on his soul, it made him
constantly fatigued.

“I thought you liked the scent of this stuff,”

Stew said.

“Yeah, in small doses. It smells like you’re

burning a truckload in here.”

Jess let out a cough as he plopped down in a

chair. Like the rest of the place, the piece of
furniture was tattered and several years old. Jess
found himself longing for his apartment. While
the place may be small, at least the furnishings
were made in this decade. Plus, it was smoke-free.

“Some empusa tried to infiltrate the place, so

we’re setting up every protection spell we can
think of,” Stew explained.

That bit of news both shocked and unsettled

Jess. “Since when have empusa been in this area? I
thought the vampires drove them out a while ago.
Last time I checked, Detroit was the last place any
of those bitches wanted to be.”

“Well, now the vampires are too busy fighting

each other to notice anything else, so some of the
mice have come back to play.”

Stew pulled out a silver flask and took a deep

swig. Even with the stench of the myrrh and sage,
Jess still caught a whiff of cheap whiskey. A
discreet glance at the clock showed that it was

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only one in the afternoon, too. It seemed that the
stress was making Stew drink more than usual,
which said a lot. As it was, the guy had already
drank more than the entire cast of the Bad Girls
Club combined.

“How many empusa were there?” Jess asked.
Great, just what they needed. A bunch of

bloodthirsty bitches to add to the already out-of-
control slug demon problem. Now he suddenly
felt much older than his twenty-five years.

“Not too many. They are still too afraid of the

vampires…well, the Drone Vampires to be
specific. Even with the war going on, only a few of
the empusa are brave enough to show their faces
again. A couple of Novices were able to take out
most of them, but we’re still being cautious. So
you may want to make sure to add some more
protective guards around your apartment, too.”

“Why? I’m just a Guardian. Better yet, I’m a

Guardian without a Warden under my training.
So I’m just an afterthought to most beings.”

“Actually, that’s one of the reasons I called you

here. I have a Warden who is in need of a
Guardian and I think you’ll be perfect for the job.”

Jess scrambled his mind to think of an available

Warden, but came up with a short list of sadly
lacking candidates. His stomach clenched in dread
as he asked, “Who?”

“My nephew, Rev.”

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Oh God, no. Anybody but that little brat.
“I thought that he’d left this life to be a

civilian.”

Stew grimaced. “True, that was his mother’s

wish, but I don’t see how it’s going to be possible.”

“What changed your mind?”
“I had a talk with Naamah.”
“Not to be rude, sir, but what in the hell does

some succubus have to do with this?”

“She made a very valid point. With the way

things are going, it’s only natural that the
Wardens are going to have to start getting their
hands dirty again. That means that they’re going
to be in danger of being attacked by supernaturals,
whether the Warden in question is actively in the
fight or not.”

Jess felt his stomach sink at the implication of

Stew’s words. “Why don’t you just cut the crap?
We both know that Rev is going to be in more
danger than anybody because of the damn
Oracle’s prediction.” He waited for Stew to deny
it, but in the end, the older man nodded.

“I had hoped that if I sent him off to college and

cut him from the world, not only would I be
fulfilling my sister-in-law’s wishes, but I would
prevent the prophesy from coming true.”

“No offense, but that was stupid. You know

once the Oracle speaks, there’s no changing it,”
Jess snapped.

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A slow smile covered Stew’s face. “I’m glad you

said that because she was actually the one who
paired you with Rev.”

Fuck. Damn. Shit. Now there was no way in hell

Jess could refuse. He searched for any scrap of
memory about Rev, but all he could come up with
was a scrawny, nerdy kid who was so clumsy he
was a danger more than a help on the battlefield.

“What did I ever do to piss the Oracle off that

much?”

It wasn’t until Stew let out a low growl that Jess

remembered just how much the man doted over
his nephew. Jess mumbled out an apology while
he squirmed around in his chair. While he might
be pretty tough, and could take on a lot of
Wardens, not even he was crazy enough to want
to tangle with Stew.

“So when is Rev supposed to be coming back?”

Jess asked.

“That’s just it. I’ve tried his cell several times

and he’s not answering.” Stew frowned.

Alarm shot through Jess. “How about the

Warden he’s rooming with?”

“We can’t reach Ari either. Which is odd, since

they both know better than to turn their phones
off. I thought about calling somebody from the
dorm, but I don’t want to involve civilians unless
it’s absolutely necessary. Since the college is only a
half hour drive away, I’m going to send my sons

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out to pick up Ari and Rev.”

Jess barely repressed a grimace at the thought

of Brad and Adam. While most everyone
respected the brothers since they were Stew’s
sons, the guys did have the tendency to fuck
things up from time-to-time. In Jess’s opinion,
they both needed a strong Guardian to take them
under control, but he wasn’t stupid enough to
make that suggestion to Stew. As far as the guy
was concerned, his boys could do no wrong.

“You should have never let them go off to

college in the first place,” Jess growled. “We all
know how dangerous it is for Novice Wardens.”

No doubt Stew had assumed it would be okay

because the Wardens were no longer active, but
since things had recently changed, he should have
immediately assigned Guardians to both the
youths. Instead, he’d left them exposed and
vulnerable. It was one of the many examples of
Stew’s lack of leadership skills.

“You know Rev’s mother—”
“That’s enough of that bullshit. While it’s nice

that you wanted to honor her wishes, you should
have known from the start that it couldn’t happen.
Rev is a Warden and some words on a legal paper
are never going to change that. You let your
sentiments get in the way and now we have two
Novices in danger.”

Stew paled. “We don’t know for sure that

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they’re in trouble.”

Jess leaned forward and pressed his hands on

the desk. “Yes, we do. You knew the instant you
couldn’t reach them. You’re just too weak to admit
that you made a mistake.”

“How dare you question my leadership skills.”
“According to you, I am Rev’s Guardian, so as

far as his wellbeing goes, I have every fucking
right to challenge any decision made on his
behalf.”

Jess stood up and headed for the door.
“Where are you going?” Stew demanded.
Jess barely refrained from rolling his eyes. “I’m

going to find your sons and get Rev back here, like
you told me to. I only hope we’re not already too
late.”

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Three

ev sensed them even before the smell hit him,
which said a lot for his skills, considering the

stench the slug demons gave off. It was a mixture
of swamp goo mixed in with sewer sludge.

Slowly blinking his eyes a few times so his

vision could adjust to the darkness, he quietly
rolled out of bed. He could barely hear Ari doing
the same thing from across the small room. They
crept over to the end of Rev’s bed.

Opening up what looked like an everyday

normal footlocker, Rev revealed a vast array of
weapons that appeared so deadly they would
make Leatherface drool in envy. Pulling out his
weapons of choice, a Glock and a shortsword, he
scooted to the side. Ari moved in, snagging up a
couple of guns and a set of sai, which didn’t
surprise Rev since Ari liked to get up close and
personal with his kills. Shit, if he could, the guy
would reach in and grab out the enemy’s heart
with his bare hands.

They nodded to each other and got into

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position on either side of the room just as the door
opened to reveal a pair of slug demons. At least,
Rev assumed they were slug demons, since up
until that moment, he’d only seen pictures of
them.

Even that didn’t prepare him for the sheer

grossness that now stood in his room. The things
were over seven feet tall and looked like
somebody had taken a vat of Silly Putty and rolled
it in a pile of rotting flesh, then left it out in the
sun to stew for several hours.

The things didn’t even have a mouth, nose, or

ears. There were just slits in those areas. They did
have eyes and those were the freakiest things of all
about the demons. They were large and all white,
reminding Rev of the old Little Orphan Annie
comics. The similarity made him want to laugh
and shiver in disgust at the same time.

One of them stopped and let out a sound that

was equal parts sniff and snort. “I smell Novices
in here.”

Rev had to bite back a laugh when he spotted

Ari mouthing, Fee, Fi, Foe Fum.

It did kind of sound like the giant from the old

Jack and the Beanstalk tale. All that was missing was
a goose and its golden egg.

Then Rev heard the sounds of doors opening

and screams rending the silence throughout the
dormitory. He knew it was time to act. Novices or

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not, there was no way he and Ari could sit by and
let helpless civilians be attacked. Even if one of
them just might happen to be that asshat Rick.

Giving a slight nod to Ari, they both surged

forward as one. Rev used his sword to slice
through the slug demon’s throat. At least he tried
to, but the skin proved to be thick and rubbery. So
all he managed to do was partially decapitate it.

Its head now hung at an odd angle, those

creepy eyes staring at nothing as the beast
croaked, “Naughty Warden. Now it must die.”

“In your fucking dreams,” Rev breathed as he

brought his sword around again.

This time he managed to lose the head, the

body part falling to the ground with a sickening
thud. Just to be safe, he kicked the head away, the
corpse falling out into the hallway. Behind him, he
could hear the death cries of the other demon as
Ari finished it off.

They rushed out into the hallway to find all hell

had broken loose and then some. Several more
slug demons were there and they were attacking
the civilians. Already the walls were coated with
blood and numerous bodies lay on the ground.

“Those fuckers are here pissing in our

sandbox,” Ari growled as he spun the sai around.

One of the demons charged, Rev quickly

brought up his Glock, jammed in under the
creature’s chin and fired. The demon fell down to

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join the other carnage covering the floor. At the
same moment, Ari took out his guns, his aim
perfect as ever.

“Holy shit,” a voice to Rev’s right breathed.
Rev glanced over to see Rick standing there, his

eyes wide with shock and his skin so pale he could
have passed for a ghoul.

“Go back to your room and lock yourself in,”

Rev ordered.

Of course, the idiot didn’t listen. Rick just

continued to stand there like a scared rabbit under
the eye of its prey. That wouldn’t be too far from
the truth if one of the slug demons got to him.

A demon cried out as it ran toward Rick. Well,

damn it all, Rev was going to have to save the
asshole. And didn’t that just suck?

Tucking his Glock into the pocket of his

pajamas, Rev tightened his grip on his shortsword.
Sighing in resignation, Rev brought up his blade.
Unfortunately for him, this was one of the few
slug demons who actually knew how to fight. It
quickly sidestepped Rev’s blade, then swiped out
with a set of wicked looking claws. If Rev had
been a normal human, the slug demon would
have eviscerated him, but since Rev was a
Warden, he managed to avoid the blow, at the
same time bringing his sword up again.

The pair of them battled for several moments,

both dodging and exchanging blows. A sheen of

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sweat broke out over Rev’s body, making his Star
Wars PJs stick to his body. His arms began to hurt
from wielding the sword. He silently cursed
himself for slacking off on his training.

Then the slug demon paused. It was only for

half a breath, but it was the opening Rev needed.
Letting out a battle cry, he swung the sword in a
sideways arch. This time he made sure to do it
hard enough to decapitate the thing on the first
try. Brown, slimy blood sprayed everywhere as
the headless corpse fell to the ground.

A ton of the goo hit Rev in the face. His

stomach rolled as some of the crap ended up in his
mouth. It was still worth it when he heard Rick
wrenching behind him.

Just as Ari finished off the last one, Rick

managed to gasp out, “What in the hell were those
things?”

“Something that would have eaten you whole

and slowly let you dissolve in its stomach,” Ari
replied as he used some frat boy’s shirt to wipe off
his sai.

Rick gulped. “Is that some kind of sick joke?”
“I wish it was, but it’s the God’s honest truth.

Slug demons have always been the most
disgusting things,” Ari said in a bored tone. He
turned to Rev. “Are you ready? I’m willing to bet
that our ride is already waiting for us outside.”

Giving his goo-covered face one more wipe,

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Rev nodded and they walked out of the building
without even so much as a backward glance. Since
they knew Guardians would be coming back to
clean out their rooms, they didn’t even stop long
enough to pack a bag.

As expected, when they walked outside, a black

van was waiting for them, the engine running.
Rev’s two cousins, Brad and Adam, were waiting,
their usual smirks in place. Like every Novice
Wardens in active training, they wore all black,
from their jeans to the long-sleeved tees that were
loose enough to hide weapons.

Then Rev’s heart sputtered, almost missing a

step as he spotted a third person standing by the
van. What in the hell was Jess doing there and
why in the hell did he have to still look so damn
good?

For years, Jess had played front and center in

most of Rev’s jackoff fantasies. With a body made
for battle, blond hair that was cut in perfect, sharp
military style, and blue, piercing eyes that seemed
to miss nothing, Jess was everything that Rev
liked in a guy and then some.

There was just one tiny problem…Jess didn’t

make it a secret that he didn’t hold a high opinion
of Rev. Just one withering look from Jess turned
off Rev’s desire quicker than a dozen cold showers
ever could.

A flickering glance from Jess had Rev gazing

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down at his own body and he nearly let out a
groan of mortification. He just had to pick tonight
to wear his Luke Skywalker jammies. Fuckity, fuck,
fuck! Could things get any worse?

“It took you five minutes to kill only a handful

of slug demons?” Jess questioned with a
disapproving rise of his right brow.

Yes, they could get worse.
Rev’s mouth grew dry and he had to swallow a

few times to work up enough saliva to talk. Ari,
that little shit, had chosen to lapse into another
one of his morose silences, totally leaving Rev
alone to flounder for an excuse.

“There were over a half dozen of them. Plus,

there were civilians around. We didn’t want any
of them to get hurt in the crossfire or anything.”

Jess moved forward and jerked the sword from

Rev’s grasp. “It’s obvious that we have a lot of
work ahead of us.”

It took Rev a few minutes for his mind to lock

in on the word we. “What are you talking about?”

Brad gave a snarky smile, then had the audacity

to chuckle. “The Oracle has just assigned Jess as
your new Guardian.”

A small sound of distress passed through Rev’s

lips at this bit of news. Surely not even the Oracle
could be that vindictive. While Rev had a crush on
Jess, that didn’t mean he wanted to be the guy’s
Warden. Jess’s brutal training sessions were well-

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known and feared by seasoned Guardians and
Novice Wardens alike.

“Are you okay?” Adam asked.
While he could be just as much as a

troublemaker as Brad, Adam often took on the
role as the older mentor, too. More than once it’d
been he who bandaged Rev’s boo-boos while
they’d been young.

“I have to drop out of school, don’t I?” Rev

asked, deciding to ignore the Jess issue for the
time being.

“Yeah, I don’t think they’re going to be able to

overlook that whole dorm attack and destroy
incident,” Adam replied in a soothing tone one
would use with an injured or scared animal.

“In fact, we should probably get the hell out of

here before the police arrive,” Brad tilted his head
to the now-deserted road.

Going by the chorus of sirens coming their way,

those roads wouldn’t be remaining clear for very
much longer.

“What about the demon bodies we left inside?”

Rev asked, even as he let his cousins usher him to
the van.

“We have our own connections in law

enforcement and government. They’ll help us
keep things quiet,” Jess replied.

He nudged Rev to the center seat of the van,

then followed him in, completely crowding Rev’s

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personal space.

“What about the students who saw

everything?” Rev continued to argue.

Jess let out a sigh that clearly said that all of

Rev’s questions were aggravating. “We have a
witch on our payroll. She’ll use a spell to mask
their memories.”

Rev frowned. “Are you sure it’s safe? We don’t

want to fry their brains or something.”

“Do you really care if they scramble Rick’s

cranium?” Ari asked as he climbed into the back
row of seats.

Oh, now he decides to speak up!
“Who’s Rick?” Adam asked.
“Just some civilian who made it a hobby to

push me around,” Rev grumbled, a heat covering
his face.

“And you let him?” Jess demanded.
Outraged, Rev turned to him. “What else was I

supposed to do? We’re not allowed to harm
civilians, not to mention he always made sure he
had plenty of his friends with him whenever he
confronted me.”

“It shouldn’t have mattered if he had a couple

dozen civilians with him. Any Warden worth his
salt could take them out without any trouble.”

Rev couldn’t believe that he was actually

having to defend his actions. “I could have
handled myself if I had to.”

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“Just like with the slug demons?”
God, what in the hell had Rev ever seen in this

asshole? “We took them all out, so what’s your
beef?”

“It took you over five minutes to neutralize the

demons. That’s four minutes too long.”

“Do you have short-term memory issues? We

already went through this once. We had to be
careful not to harm any of the civilians. They’d left
their dorm rooms and were all over the place.”

“You didn’t want to harm the students?”
God, this guy was either dense or hard of

hearing. Rev let out an aggravated sigh. “Yes.”

“Even though, according to you, they made

your life at school less than pleasant?”

“Yeah, just because somebody is a jerk, doesn’t

mean I should let them die.”

Jess studied him for several moments, the

man’s handsome face completely unreadable.
Finally, when Rev felt as if he were ready to snap
from the tension, Jess gave a curt nod. “There may
be hope for you after all.”

Rev realized he’d passed some sort of test,

though for the life of him, he couldn’t understand
what it might be. Was it just because he didn’t
allow Rick to get gobbled up by the slug demons?
Because if so, then it didn’t seem much of a test to
Rev. Any person, Warden or civilian would have
done the same thing.

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“If I had my way, I would have let the things

eviscerate Rick,” Ari snapped from the rear seat.

Okay, so maybe most people would have done

that.

“Ari really doesn’t mean that,” Rev told Jess.
“Yes, I do. The asshole deserved that and then

some for what he did to you.”

Rev turned in his seat to glare at his friend.

Anger burned in Ari’s gaze, though Rev knew it
wasn’t directed at him.

“It wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle,” Rev

assured him.

Adam slowly reached out and pried the sai

from Ari’s fingers. Rev tensed, worried how Ari
would react since he’d always been very touchy
feely with his weapons. Surprisingly though, Ari
easily relinquished them. He even sat still as
Adam wiped a bit of slug demon blood from his
face.

Jess tapped Rev on the shoulder to regain his

attention. “As soon as we get to the compound, I
want you to go directly to the main training
room.”

Rev blinked a few times in confusion. “Why?”
“It’s time to start your training.”
“It’s three in the morning. I’m covered in slime

and blood, and I have a major headache. Can’t this
wait until the morning?”

Jess’s eyes narrowed, showing he wasn’t moved

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by Rev’s plight. “I have two words for you, kid—
tough and shit. You will meet me there and you’ll
give me a good session. None of this half-ass crap
I’ve seen you do with the other Guardians.”

The petulant child in Rev surged forward.

“And if I refuse?”

“Then I’ll drag your ass there and beat some

submission into it.”

Oh fuck, that shouldn’t have turned Rev on, but

damn if it did. So much so, he had to shift his legs
to hide his growing erection. When a knowing
grin slid over Jess’s face, Rev wanted to throw
himself from the moving vehicle.

“No, not that kind of way. When I punish you, I

can promise you’re not going to like it.”

A shiver danced down Rev’s spine and he

wasn’t sure if it was from desire or fear. He did
know one thing for certain. Now that Jess was his
Guardian, Rev’s life was never going to be the
same again.

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Four

amn it, did the kid have to look so
irresistible?

No matter how hard he tried, Jess couldn’t help

but notice the arousing picture Rev presented.
From his mop of dark hair that was slicked back
with sweat, to the way his brown eyes glinted
when angry. Even the way he shivered slightly in
those damn Star Wars pajamas looked desirable.
So much so that it was all Jess could do to stop
himself from pulling Rev into his arms so he could
warm up his Warden in more ways than one.

While Jess found plenty to fault in the way Rev

handled the demons, there was plenty of potential
in the kid, too. The way he’d easily moved as he
wielded the blade would forever be burned into
Jess’s memory. Rev had been born to be a warrior
and the way he fought showed it. Sometimes he’d
moved so fast that even Jess had trouble following
his movements and, as a Guardian, he’d been
trained to be able to analyze every detail no matter
how fast or minute they might be.

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A bit of slime clung to Rev’s cheek. The

grossness almost obscene because of the way it
marked up the creamy flesh underneath. Jess
wanted to reach out and wipe it away, much like
Adam had with Ari. But Jess had never been one
for sappiness and he’d be damned if Rev was
going to make him start now. No matter how
alluring the boy might be.

Reaching in the pocket of his black duster, Jess

pulled out a tissue and handed it to Rev. “Take
care of yourself. You look like a mess.”

Rev blinked up prettily at him in confusion,

before that sexy flash of anger came over his eyes.
Snatching the tissue away, Rev began to wipe at
his face in short, angry moves.

Jess scrambled to recall the last time he’d

actually seen Rev in person. Had it been two or
three years? Whatever the length of time, it was
painfully obvious that Rev had done some major
growing up in that period and he’d filled out
perfectly.

The real kicker was that Jess could tell that Rev

returned the attraction. If the quickening of his
breath hadn’t been clue enough, the erection
pressing against the fly of his sleep pants was a
dead giveaway.

A flare of excitement went through Jess at the

thought, but he quickly stomped it down. Rule
number one was Guardians and Wardens were

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never to get too attached to each other. Even
strong friendships were discouraged. In a field
where more died than lived, it never paid to form
any attachments at all.

Rev’s father was proof enough of that. While

he’d at least been smart enough to fall in love with
a civilian, he’d still grown way too attached to her
and in the end that had been his undoing. While a
normal Warden would have fought for his own
life, Rev’s father had fought to protect his wife and
child—and that had made him weak.

Fighting for the child had been acceptable since

Rev was a future Warden. But the council had
always frowned on a Warden needlessly giving up
his life for love. Sure, that might seem harsh as
hell, but that was the way things had always been
and Jess didn’t see them changing anytime soon.

Since Brad was driving, they arrived at the

compound in record time. From the outside, it
looked like a private exercise facility and in a way,
it was. That is if one were to overlook the huge,
electrified fence, guards and warding symbols
etched on the side of the building.

It was early yet, so most of the parking lot

remained deserted. Brad pulled into his assigned
spot and they all got out. The air was just cool
enough to bite into Jess’s skin and he tried not to
frown when he noted that Rev didn’t wear any
shoes or socks. Damn, he had to be freezing, yet he

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hadn’t uttered a word of complaint.

Ari on the other hand wore boots. Heck, now

that Jess took his attention away from Rev to
notice anything else, he realized that Ari was fully
dressed, too, in a pair of jeans and long-sleeved
black t-shirt. It was plain and held no lettering or
pictures, in direct contrast to Rev’s pajamas that
had Star Wars characters plastered all over it.

“Why are you dressed?” Jess asked Ari.
While Ari might be a Warden, that still didn’t

mean that his actions weren’t a tad suspicious,
and, since he was directly connected to Rev, that
made his odd behavior Jess’s business. Already
Jess found himself becoming a bit protective of
Rev. But that was only because he was the brat’s
Guardian…honest it was.

“Ari always goes to bed that way. When he was

captured, he was asleep at the time and during his
first month of captivity, he had to survive with no
shoes and only a pair of sweatpants. So, now he
wants to be ready at all times for the worst,” Rev
answered for him.

Jess blanched. He’d been part of the crew

who’d eventually rescued Ari from the pit the
vampires had kept him in. If he lived to be a
hundred, Jess would never be able to forget some
of the smells and sights from that hellhole. To
know that Ari had spent two years there only
made things more stomach churning.

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Jess felt like a jerk for even questioning Ari’s

attire. Of course, the kid still had issues. It’d only
been a few months since he’d been free. While
he’d argued with Stew over letting the kid go off
to college, Jess now saw that Rev was good for
Ari. Not only did he seem protective over his
fellow Novice, but Rev seemed actually capable of
calming the demons inside Ari.

It made Jess wonder just how close the two

were. A spike of jealousy shot through him at the
thought of anybody else claiming Rev’s soft lips.
Or somebody else hearing the Warden’s cries of
passion. To know how it felt as Rev shuddered
underneath them as he found his release.

Once again Jess mentally bitch-slapped himself

for thinking that way about his Warden and
instead pressed his thumb against the lock on the
door. It scanned his print before a loud click
sounded. Jess pulled open the heavy steel door
and ushered everybody inside.

“Grab some extra workout clothes from the

locker room and meet me in ten. Make sure you
take a shower first. You reek of slug demon,” Jess
ordered.

When Rev tensed, Jess knew he’d once again

come off as brash and too harsh. He almost
apologized, but pulled it back at the last moment.
With what was coming their way, Rev had to be
prepared and being coddled wouldn’t do him any

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good.

Rev nodded, then left, Ari on his heels. Jess

watched them go, knowing that once they were
out of earshot Adam or Brad would have
something to say. Sure enough, as soon as the
locker room door closed, Adam turned on him.

“Do you have to be such an asshole to him?

He’s been through a lot.”

“Yes, and he’s going to be going through a lot

more. If we handle him with kid gloves he won’t
be hard enough to handle it.”

Adam shook his head. “He’s just a Novice. He

has plenty of time to get ready for the field.”

“No, he doesn’t. With all the supernatural civil

wars going on, I just received word that the Oracle
is coming to initiate all the Novices. By this time
tomorrow, you will all be full-fledged Wardens.”

Adam paled. “There’s no way some of the

Novices are ready for that. I’m not just talking
about Ari and Rev either.”

There were ten Novices of various ages and

degree levels, but Adam did have a point. They
were all a long way from being battle ready. That
was going to have to change.

“Too bad, we’re just going to have to up their

training and make sure they’re ready. We also
need to call them in and get them closer to the
compound.”

Brad threw up his hands. “That’s not going to

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be easy. Some of them left the state or are in
college like Ari and Rev.”

“They should have never been allowed to leave

in the first place,” Jess growled.

“Tradition has always allowed for them to leave

for a few years so they can learn to live among
civilians. Otherwise, we’d just become some kind
of cloistered cult or something.”

“Normally I would agree with you, but times

have changed. Those slug demons weren’t there
by accident. Somebody sent them…somebody
who is targeting Novices. I don’t think Ari and
Rev are going to be the only ones attacked.”

That finally seemed to make the situation sink

in to the brothers. They exchanged looks of horror
before Adam nodded. “Okay, I’ll go to the main
office and begin making calls.”

Brad added, “I’ll try to contact the Oracle and

see if she knows anything more. Shit, what are we
going to do? Half of these kids haven’t even been
officially assigned a Guardian yet. That usually
doesn’t happen until their twentieth birthday.
Adam and I don’t even have one.”

“Yet Rev got his and he’s only eighteen. That’s

proof right there that things are changing,” Jess
pointed out.

Brad ran his hand through his slightly longer

hair. Jess noticed just how much he looked like
Rev, although Brad had a rougher edge to him

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despite his kidding nature. Jess much preferred
Rev’s innocence.

After Brad left, Jess busied himself by getting

out the sparring equipment. Just as it’d reached
the nine-minute mark, Rev walked in. He’d
showered as ordered, the front of his wet hair
flopping a bit over his eyes. He’d also ditched the
ridiculous pajamas and now wore a black sweat
suit that appeared to be at least two sizes too big.
It hung on his thin frame, making him look even
younger.

Holding his hands to the side, Rev asked,

“Okay, I’m here. What do you want me to do?”

Oh boy, if that wasn’t a loaded question. Since

Jess didn’t dare answer it the way he wanted to,
he just nodded to a pair of sparring gloves. “Get
those on.”

He expected Rev to balk, but the Novice went

over and put them on. He looked around for a few
minutes before cocking a brow. “Where’s the rest
of the protective equipment?”

“We’re not using it,” Jess replied, steeling

himself for the outraged reaction he’d no doubt be
receiving.

“Why not? Are we sparring or do you have

some other training exercise in mind?”

“We’ll be sparring.”
“But without the equipment, one of us could

get hurt,” Rev protested, his voice pitched with

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confusion.

“Oh, we’ll both get hurt for sure.”
Rev’s mouth parted in shock. “Do you have

some kind of sadistic streak or something?”

“No, I’m just realistic. We don’t have much

time to get you into top fighting form. If it hurts
when you make a mistake in training, then you’ll
be more likely to learn not to make that error
again.”

“Didn’t you ever hear of the whole wax-on-

wax-off way of teaching? That seemed to work so
well for Ralph Macchio.”

Jess restrained himself from throttling his

Novice…barely. “How about we try being realistic
here?”

“Hey, I am. That technique worked perfectly in

Karate Kid. He won both the trophy and the girl in
the end.”

It dawned on Jess that his job was going to be

so much harder than he’d realized. He took a deep
breath and slowly counted to ten. When that
didn’t work, he kept counting. It wasn’t until he
reached fifty that he was calm enough to talk
again.

“This isn’t some movie. This is real life and if I

send you out there unprepared, you’re going to
die. Do you have any clue how dangerous the life
of a Warden is?”

All the good humor fled Rev’s face as his eyes

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grew stormy with rage. “Yeah, the day some
vampires crashed into my home and sucked my
parents dry clued me into that fact. Just because I
don’t go around with a dark cloud over my head
like Ari, doesn’t mean I don’t realize how much
this life sucks.”

The venom coming from Rev felt so strong, Jess

almost took a step back. A wave of guilt hit him as
he realized that he’d completely forgotten what
had happened to Rev’s parents. Maybe Rev wasn’t
the only one who had some learning to do as far as
the new Guardian-Warden relationship went.

“I’m sorry. I forgot about what happened to

your parents and how that must have affected
you,” Jess said in a softer tone.

Rev blinked a few times, as if the last thing he’d

expected was an apology.

“Does that mean we get to wear some

protective gear then?” Rev ventured.

Jess gave off what he knew was a cold smile.

“Hell, no. You still have a lot of work to do in
order to be up to my standards and pain is the
best motivator. Now let’s get to work.”

They went to the center of the mat. Rev rolled

his shoulders a few times as his gaze swept up
and down Jess’s body, no doubt looking for any
weaknesses.

“You should know that I’ve been sparring with

my uncle and cousins for years now,” Rev

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warned.

“Never reveal too much information to your

opponents. I’ve also sparred with all three of them
and I know the bad habits that they share when
fighting. So, I can now safely assume you carry
them, too.”

“How so?” Rev demanded.
Jess moved in quick, using his foot to sweep out

Rev’s left leg. The Novice fell to the mat with a
loud thump. It pleased Jess to see that Rev only
stayed supine for a half a breath before springing
back to his feet.

“Lesson one, make sure to balance your weight

evenly on both feet. I don’t know how many times
I’ve tried to beat that tip into Adam and Brad’s
head.”

Rev winced in pain, even as he corrected his

stance. “Okay, got it.”

Not wasting any more time, Jess attacked. At

first, Rev went into defense mode, just working his
best to block the flurry of kicks and punches
coming his way. While he managed to ward off a
good number of them, just as many got through.
Before long, blood trickled from his nose and he
sported a fat lip.

Come on, kid, get pissed and fight back. I know you

can do it. Jess wanted to yell the words aloud, but
knew that it was important that Rev find the fire
on his own.

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Just as Jess was about to give up, the sexy glint

of anger flared in Rev’s eyes. Letting out a growl,
he began to fight back. He moved so fast and with
such precision, that a normal human wouldn’t
have lasted a half minute. It was only because of
the enhanced skills that came with being a
Guardian that Jess was able to hold his own.

Even then, he soon sported his own bloody

nose and what he felt for sure would soon be a
shiner on his right eye. Then Rev got in a really
hard punch to Jess’s ribs. Jess let out a grunt as he
dropped to the ground, a snapping sound filling
the air.

Rev’s eyes grew wide. “Oh, shit! Are you

okay?”

He bent over to examine Jess closer. Jess

reached out and gave Rev a jab to the throat. It
wasn’t hard enough to hurt or do any real
damage, but going by the way Rev gasped in
shock, it still got the message across.

“And that is lesson two, never show pity for

your enemy,” Jess declared, his voice coming out
in short pants due to pain.

Just as quick, Rev’s foot shot out and he wasn’t

so gentle. His foot connected sharply with Jess’s
already injured ribs. Pain shot through Jess and he
fell to the side, a slight groan slipping past his lips.

Shooting him a dirty look, Rev shot back,

“Lesson number three, never underestimate your

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Warden.”

Rev then turned and stormed off in what would

have been a very dramatic exit before he tripped
over his own feet and almost fell into the wall.
Recovering quickly, Rev called back, “I meant to
do that.”

Still gasping from pain, Jess managed to reply,

“Go find a cot and catch a few hours of sleep.
We’re leaving early for an assignment.”

“Where to?”
“Slug demons don’t just show up. Somebody

summoned them here and we need to find out
who they are. I have a good lead and we’re
following it.”

“You mean I get to spend the whole day with

you? Oh, how exciting for me,” Rev replied back
with such heavy sarcasm it was a wonder the
building didn’t sag under the weight of it.

Damn it. Even though Jess was in pain and Rev

had shown just how lacking his skills were, plus
the fact the kid had an attitude a mile wide, Jess
had never been more turned on.

Wiping the blood away from under his nose,

Jess smiled. He was going to have a good time
breaking that bratty streak in Rev. Like it or not,
the kid was going to become a good Warden, even
if it took every bit of Jess’s Guardian skills to make
sure it happened.

Night Terrors

Chapter Five

ev felt like he’d just closed his eyes when a
loud rap on the door woke him up.

“It’s time to get moving. I want to see your ass

out by the main meeting hall in less than five
minutes,” Jess called from the other side of the
wood.

Giving a mock salute that couldn’t be seen, Rev

replied, “Yes, sir.”

“Make sure you wear your Warden gear, too. I

want the person we’re going to see to know who
she’s dealing with.”

That comment shocked Rev most of all. In all of

his life, he’d never seen a Warden wear the official
uniform. Since the supernaturals had found peace
and been doing a good job of policing themselves,
the Wardens had been put into an informal kind
of retirement. Sure, they still trained their young,
but that had really been the extent of it.

Looked like Naamah’s prediction about things

changing was valid after all.

Opening the bag that somebody had delivered

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the night before, Rev found the long, dark, hooded
cloak and all-black clothing. The pants were made
of thick leather, with several loops and pockets for
holding or hiding weapons. The shirt was long
sleeved, the arms reinforced with leather padding
to protect him if he had to ward off blows. Putting
the items on, he then laced up the tall, military
style boots before putting on the finishing touch, a
small clasp that held the official emblem of the
Wardens, an intricate silver triquetra, with a ruby
in the center. The red color of the stone
represented the bloodshed from past Wardens
who’d made the ultimate sacrifice.

A pile of weapons, ranging from a gun to

blades and then more exotic things like grave dirt
and salt, lay in the bag. Rev grabbed them all,
tucking them into the various hiding places in his
pants. The only weapons that remained were a set
of blades with straps for his wrists and forearms,
lingered at the bottom of the bad, he put those on
as well, retracting the blades so his long sleeves
hid them.

As he left his room and walked through the

compound, a sense of pride went through him.
Despite all his misgivings and the desire to meet
his mother’s wishes, Rev knew this was what he
was meant to do…no, it was what he was destined
to do.

It wasn’t lost on him that he was the first

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Warden in the past couple of decades to be
wearing the outfit. Just like he would be the first
to finally be stepping into the role they were born
to play. He wondered what his father would think
if he had lived to see this moment. Would he be
proud of the warrior his son was becoming? Or
saddened that he would be going into danger?

As he stepped into the main meeting room, he

almost dropped in shock when he found the
Oracle waiting for him, along with Stew and Jess.
Rev prided himself that his steps didn’t falter as
he walked up and bowed down on one knee
before her.

Even with his nerves nearly choking him up, he

was taken aback by her beauty. With long, curly
blonde hair that hung nearly to her waist and
huge, blue eyes, she looked so pure and angelic, it
made Rev feel dirty in comparison. Even the
flowing gown she wore was white and
unblemished, the fabric seeming so soft that it
would tear if Rev dared to touch it.

Placing a hand on his shoulder, the Oracle

spoke, “You never wanted this life.”

Since Rev knew it would be useless to lie to

her—she was all-knowing—he nodded, “No
disrespect to my fellow Wardens. I just don’t feel
as if I’m good enough to fight what lies ahead of
us.”

She let out a soft laugh, her voice so melodic it

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gave Rev goose bumps. “You have always been
ready. From the day you were born, this is your
destiny.”

“So people keep saying it. I simply can’t believe

it. I’m the furthest thing from a warrior.”

She ran her fingers through his hair, the gesture

reminding him a bit of his mother’s caress. “You
have a warrior’s spirit. I felt it from the moment
you first took a breath. It’s time you know the
whole truth.”

Rev felt his chest grow tight with apprehension.

“What is that, Oracle?”

“Our future depends solely on you and the new

generation of Wardens.”

“How is that possible? I thought that there were

only ten Novices. That’s too small of a number to
do any good.”

She grew somber as her fingers continued to

play with his hair. “Yet, you’re all we have left.
Since the Wardens were no longer needed, they
have faded into memory and our numbers have
dwindled. Now they are needed more than ever
and they are at our weakest. You and the others
must stand up and fight or else all of humanity
will be lost.”

Gee, lady. Thanks! Nothing like laying some major

pressure on me.

It wasn’t until she gave him a narrow-eyed gaze

that Rev remembered she could read minds.

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Gulping, he forced a contrite expression on his
face, “Sorry.”

“It’s okay to have doubts and fears. I would

worry if you didn’t.” She smiled down at him.
“Trust in your Guardian. Jess will be the one who
guides you when you are at your lowest.”

Rev glanced over at Jess, lust shooting through

him at the site of his sexy-as-fuck Guardian. Even
with a blackened eye and swollen lip, Jess had to
be the hottest thing in Michigan and all the
surrounding states. Gods, what he wouldn’t do to
have just one bite of that forbidden apple.

A muffled laugh snapped Rev out of his

licentious musings. He jerked his head toward the
Oracle, horror filling him when he caught the
amused glint in her eyes. Damn that mindreading
trick. It was going to be his undoing.

“Probably, but it does entertain me,” she

replied aloud.

Tapping him on the shoulder, she said, “Now

arise, Rev. No longer a Novice, you are a full-
fledged Warden.”

Rev almost fell back to his knees as shock shot

through him. “I’m not done with my training.”

“It doesn’t matter. We are out of time and you

must make yourself ready. The evil will not wait
while you sit around and build up your courage.”

“Well, shit. That just sucks,” Rev grumbled.
Several gasps filled the room as the others

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looked at him in horror for speaking to the Oracle
in such a disrespectful manner. She on the other
hand, seemed to find the comment funny. She
covered her mouth with her fingers as her musical
laughter filled the air.

“I knew I made the right choice when I paired

you up with Jess,” she said.

“Why? So he could straighten me out?”
“Well, that, but also so you can get the stick out

of his ass. Seriously, that guy needs to learn to
loosen up a bit. We already face enough doom and
gloom as it is without him bringing in his own
brand of it.”

Rev couldn’t hold back the burst of laughter.

She joined in and soon they were both cracking up
so hard they had tears in their eyes. It wasn’t
exactly how Rev imagined a Warden initiation
would have gone down, but he wasn’t
complaining since this version was way more fun.

Once they sobered, Jess let out a sigh. “Are we

finished here? Rev and I have a lot of ground to
cover today.”

“See what I mean?” the Oracle asked in a loud

stage whisper.

Rev flashed her a grin before he turned to Jess.

“Yeah, I’m ready. I can grab something to eat on
the road on our way out.”

“I already took care of that.”
Jess tossed Rev an energy bar and a bottle of

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water. Rev deftly caught both items before he
nodded goodbye to the Oracle and followed Jess
out. Once they were out of earshot, Rev said, “She
wasn’t bad at all. In fact, she’s the type of person I
wouldn’t mind hanging out with under normal
circumstances.”

“You’re lucky she likes you. I’ve seen her kill a

Guardian with just one look.”

Rev paused, bar midway to his mouth. “You’re

just shitting me. There is no way she could ever do
that.”

“Yeah, she could and she did. Granted, the guy

deserved it.”

“What did he do?”
“He was the one who led the vampires to Ari.”
Disgust surged through Rev, making him lose

his appetite. “You mean to tell me that a Guardian
betrayed Ari?”

“Not just any Guardian…it was Ari’s assigned

one.”

“How could he do that to his Novice?”
“The same reason why many people do fucked

up things—the vampires offered up a lot of
money. Warden blood is at a premium on their
black market because they know you guys are
stronger and more viral than humans. That’s one
of the reasons why we hid your identities so
carefully before we let you go to college. We even
sent somebody to protect and watch over you.”

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“Who?” Rev asked, before the answer suddenly

came to him. “Naamah. You guys sent her to spy
on us.”

“No, we sent her to protect you and make a

report back to us if there was anybody stalking
you.”

Hurt, his appetite suddenly fled. Rev tossed his

bar into the nearest garbage bin. “And here I
thought she really liked me and was my friend.
All along it was some lie.”

Jess let out a sigh and for a moment Rev

thought he’d once again aggravated his Guardian,
until he noted the way Jess’s gaze softened. “She is
your friend. You should hear the way she goes on
and on about you. I swear if you weren’t gay and
she wasn’t a succubus she’d have married you
months ago.”

“Really?” Rev asked, too upset to be worried

about the fact that his sexuality was obviously a
well-known fact.

“Yes, so don’t be mad at her. She may have

started out as your assigned protector, but in the
end she truly ended up being your friend.”

“You’re not just saying that to make me feel

better?”

Rev knew he was pouting a bit, but damn it, he

was hurt. Naamah had been one of the very few
individuals he’d trust and he couldn’t help but
feel a bit betrayed.

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“You should know by now that I won’t say or

do anything to coddle you or ease your tender
feelings. So, yeah, I’m telling you the truth.” Jess
pulled out another energy bar and thrust it into
Rev’s hands. “Now eat, we have a long day ahead
of us.”

Somewhat mollified, Rev took the bar and

ripped it open. Taking a bite, he winced at the dry,
grainy texture. “Dude, would it kill you to get
something that didn’t taste like one of my old
textbooks?”

Jess gave him a stone-faced look. “I’ll make sure

to buy you some Fruit Roll-Ups next time.”

“Oh, thanks! Strawberry is my favorite. I like

the Fruit by the Foot, but if you can’t find it, any
other kind will do.”

The Guardian pinched the bridge of his nose

and slowly began to count. Something he seemed
to do a lot when they were around each other. At
least this time it only took him until the count of
thirty before he calmed down.

Leading Rev to one of the many black vans, Jess

climbed in behind the wheel. That didn’t surprise
Rev any. He just didn’t see Jess handing over the
keys to anybody. He seemed like a complete
control freak and that, no doubt, carried over to
driving duty.

Rev got in and buckled up, still munching on

his gross-as-crap meal. He even tried keeping the

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bites in his mouth for a while in hopes of softening
up the bark-like texture, but even that didn’t help.
He was half-tempted to toss it out the window,
but he knew that would only earn him a fresh bar
and then he’d have to start all over again from the
beginning. At least, with this one he had it
halfway eaten. So his torture was partly over.

“Where are we going?” Rev asked between

bites.

“To meet Grandma Agnes.”
Jess never took his eyes off the road as he made

that declaration. Rev shook his head slowly.

“Did you just say Grandma?”
“Yes, but don’t let her age fool you. She’s a

damn powerful witch.”

“What does that have to do with slug demons?”
“You really have a lot to learn, don’t you?”

Jess’s voice dripped with disapproval.

For some reason, knowing he let down his

Guardian hurt Rev way more than it should. His
stomach clenched as he forced the bite in his
mouth down his throat.

“I’m sorry,” he finally managed.
“I guess I’ll just have to assume you don’t know

anything and begin your instruction from the
beginning. I should have known that anyway.
Stew and his sons may be damn good when it
comes to battle skills, but they all suck when it
comes to knowledge of paranormal lore and

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creatures.”

Rev couldn’t argue with that since Jess did have

a very valid point. He couldn’t think of one time
when he’d seen his uncle or cousins willingly
crack open a book.

Jess took a deep breath, then began, “Slug

demons got their name because of their
appearance and for being lazy. They would just as
soon hang out in caves in Hell and only come out
to feed.”

“So why are they free and running around

Detroit?” Rev asked.

“I’m getting to that if you’ll only be patient and

stop interrupting me.”

“Sorry, please continue.”
“Somebody had to have summoned the slug

demons. The only thing is, it would have to be
somebody with some damn powerful magic. Not
just any witch or warlock has the ability to control
demons, even low ranking ones like slug
demons.”

“But why would anybody want to let those

things loose on the city and why would they send
them to attack me and Ari?”

“I don’t know why anybody would be stupid

enough to let the demons loose. As for them going
after you and Ari, I’m not sure if that was on the
witch’s orders. As Wardens, you guys are a
beacon for any paranormal creatures. It’s one of

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the reasons I told your uncle that you and Ari
shouldn’t have been allowed to live so far away
from the compound.”

“But up until just a few minutes ago, there

weren’t any active Wardens,” Rev pointed out,
feeling compelled to defend his uncle.

“Just because you weren’t active didn’t mean

that you weren’t deemed a threat to any violent
paranormal. They can sense your power much the
same way a shark detects blood in the water. Plus,
remember how badly the vampire wanted Ari?
That’s proof enough that the creatures don’t care if
you’re active or not. You still have power and they
still want it.”

“That just sucks.”
Jess finally took his eyes off the road long

enough to give Rev a grim look. “It’s only going to
get worse now, too. Since the Oracle initiated you,
your power is at its strongest. So many
paranormals are going to be gunning for you that
we may as well paint a neon, flashing bulls-eye on
your ass.”

Well, if that didn’t make Rev feel better… Cue

sarcasm.

“How about the others? Are they going to be

initiated, too?”

Jess nodded. “Even as we speak, Ari is going

through his ceremony.”

“I don’t think he’s ready for it. He still has

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nightmares from what happened to him,” Rev
argued.

“Anger and hate can be pretty strong

motivators and the kid has both of those in
spades. I think Ari is going to do much better than
you think.”

“I wonder who his Guardian is going to be?”
“Rumor has it, Adam wanted the position.”
Well, if the shocking news didn’t just keep

a’coming.

“How is that possible? Adam is a Warden. I

didn’t think you could be both.”

“You can’t. The Oracle will refuse him and give

Ari a proper assignment.”

“Who do you think it will be?” Rev asked.
He only hoped his friend got somebody who

was understanding and a little more lenient than
Jess. Not that Rev hated his Guardian or anything,
far from it. He just thought that Ari needed a
softer touch.

“One can never be certain with the Oracle, but

my best guess would be Marty.”

“Oh, that’s a relief. She’ll be good for him.”
Marty was only a bit older than them, but from

what Rev heard, she knew her stuff inside out,
plus she actually seemed to have some
compassion. A trait most Guardians seemed to
lack.

Now, the only question that remained was,

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would he and Jess be a good pairing. Sure, the
Oracle had told Rev to trust the man and, to a
certain extent, he did. The only problem was how
in the hell was Rev going to handle the ever
growing attraction he felt for his Guardian? Worse
yet, what would Jess do if he found out? For all
Rev knew, the guy wasn’t gay and would be most
likely angered or uncomfortable, neither of which
boded well for their partnership.

Turning to the window, he let out a long sigh. It

was already looking as if he was in for a long day.

Night Terrors

Chapter Six

ess shifted in his seat in attempt to relieve some
of the pressure in his pants as he shot another

sideways glance at Rev.

Damn, if he’d thought the brat looked good

before, in full Warden regalia he was damn hot
and then some. The uniform was custom-made so
it molded to his body perfectly. While Rev was a
bit shorter and on the thinner side, he also had the
build of a fighter. His muscles were compact and
coiled as if he were on constant alert of attack.

Too bad for Jess, he wanted to be the one who

did the attacking—right before he kissed Rev
breathless, then fucked him until they were both
senseless. Unfortunately, Jess could do neither. So
instead, he found himself taking deep breaths in a
desperate attempt to calm down his libido. The
last thing he wanted was to show up at Agnes’s
home sporting an erection. Knowing his luck, she
would think it was for her and jump him.

When they pulled into the driveway of a two-

story colonial, Rev frowned. “She lives here?”

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“What were you expecting, a gingerbread

house or haunted mansion?”

“Well…kind of. This looks like the home of a

retired school librarian or something.”

Jess turned off the engine and pocketed the

keys. “Actually, that’s exactly what she used to do
for a living.”

Rev shot him a dubious glance. “You’re shitting

me?”

“Nope, she worked for the local school district

for over thirty years.”

“Is she a good witch or a bad witch?” Rev

asked, mimicking Glinda from the Wizard of Oz
almost perfectly.

Jess had to bite back a smile. “She is most

definitely a bad witch.”

“Sheesh…they let anybody work with children

these days. You would have thought the school
would do a background check. Or at least have a
policy in place that nasty witches aren’t welcome.”

The amused glint in Rev’s eyes finally broke

through Jess’s shields and he smiled. “Maybe they
should make that a required question on all job
applications.”

“It would make our jobs easier.” Rev peered up

at the house, his dark gaze assessing every inch.
“Oops, looks like we’ve been spotted. I saw the
window curtains at the top right corner window’s
curtains fluttering.”

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“Well, then let’s not keep her waiting.”
They got out and went up to the front door,

moving somewhat cautiously in case she had any
shielding spells up. She must have felt secure
enough in her home, or dismantled them, because
they didn’t run across any.

As Jess knocked on the door, Rev wrinkled his

nose. “Do you smell that?”

Jess inhaled, but all he detected was the crisp

scent from the fall leaves. “No.”

“It smells like something is rotten.” A shiver

went through Rev. “It kind of reminds me of the
slug demons from last night, but it’s a little
different.”

Shit, did that mean that Agnes had demons in

her home? If so, then Rev and Jess just might have
walked into a world of trouble. But it was too late,
and they couldn’t turn back now. Jess would just
have to trust in their skills and hope for the best.

The door opened to reveal an old lady who was

so sweet looking, she put Betty White to shame.
Stooped over a walker, she wore a flowered dress
and white cardigan sweater that had wads of
Kleenex stuffed up the long sleeves. Her gray hair
was almost blue and styled in tight curls.

A huge smile crossed over her face, showing off

her ill-fitting dentures. “Ah, so the Wardens are
once more.”

Since Rev was dressed in full regalia, Jess didn’t

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offer an answer to that comment, instead saying,
“May we come in? We have an issue that has
arisen and we hoped that somebody who is so
wise in the ways of magic could help us.”

Jess knew he was laying it on a bit thick, but it

never hurt to be polite. At least in the beginning. If
things turned sour, then he would have plenty of
time to show off his grumpy side.

Agnes let them in, but her gaze remained

fixated on Rev. “I knew this time would be
coming soon. I just hoped that I’d live long
enough to see it. The Wardens are once more. No
longer are they relegated to the shadows.”

While Agnes talked as if she were happy as a

clam on ecstasy, the worried glint in her eyes
spoke otherwise. She gestured to her living room.
“Please, go grab a seat and get comfortable while I
make us some tea.”

They went in and perched themselves on an

ancient couch that was covered in a pattern that
was so loud it hurt Jess’s eyes. He glanced over,
silently ordering the Warden not to fire off one of
his smartass comments. Rev merely cocked a
brow, then shifted, the plastic covering crinkling
under his weight.

“The reek is worse in here,” Rev whispered.
“It’s just because it’s a witch’s home. They have

all kinds of herbs and oils all over the place. That’s
probably what you’re smelling.”

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Rev shook his head. “No, I know the scent that

stuff gives off and this isn’t it. Don’t you smell it?”

Jess inhaled deeply, but all he detected was the

scent of spices and tea. “No, I think you’re just
nervous because this is your first mission.”

While he nodded, the dubious look in Rev’s

eyes screamed he remained unconvinced. Agnes
returned, a tray of tea and cookies in her hands,
she put them down on the table before she sat in
the chair opposite of them.

Giving them the sweetest of smiles, she asked,

“Now what can I do to help you boys out?”

“I have to pee!” Rev blurted in a loud voice.
Agnes blinked in confusion, while Jess gave an

inward groan. Just when he thought the brat had
himself under control, he had to go and prove Jess
wrong. Rev blushed, “Sorry, I just had a ton of
coffee this morning and it went right through me.
I always did have a tiny bladder. It’s my curse in
life.”

It was on the tip of Jess’s tongue to point out

that Rev hadn’t drank any coffee, but a pointed
look from Rev stopped him short. Agnes
recovered and flashed that smile.

“Sure, dear. It’s the first door on the left once

you get upstairs.”

Rev tilted his head to the side in a sign of

respect. “Thank you so much, ma’am. I promise to
be quick.”

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“Make sure to wash your hands when you’re

finished,” she called after him as he walked away.

Rev paused at the doorway and grinned. “I

promise. I’ll even use soap.”

Jess used the distraction to wave his hand over

the tray. On his index finger, he wore a special
ring that had a red stone in the middle. It was gift
from a former warlock lover of his and the ruby
would glow if it detected poison. When it
remained dark, he let out a sigh of relief since the
cookies did look pretty good. Even if they did
appear to be lemon.

Agnes looked back over at him, then poured

him some tea in a delicate looking porcelain cup.
“Would you like some cream or sugar?”

“Both, please.”
She added the requested items before handing

over the cup. Jess took a drink, a slow moan of
approval passing through his lips. This sure as hell
beat the crap that passed for coffee in the
compound’s break room.

“So what can I do for you, Guardian?” Agnes

asked.

Jess took another sip before answering, “I don’t

know if you’re aware or not, but there have been
some slug demon attacks.”

She made a small sound of distress, one

wrinkled hand going to her chest. “Slug demons!
How vile.”

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“Yes, and they’ve killed some innocent

civilians, so you can understand that we need to
stop them as soon as possible.”

“Of course. But I don’t see how I can help you.”
“Only a strong witch such as yourself can

summon slug demons,” Jess pointed out, feeling
somewhat bad for accusing such a sweet, old lady.

He looked up the stairs, frowning as he

wondered what in the hell was taking Rev so long.
Just how long did it take to piss? At this rate, the
kid was going for a world record.

“Surely you don’t think I could have something

to do with that,” Agnes gasped, her eyes watering
just a bit.

A thump sounded from upstairs, the sound so

loud it made the pictures on the wall shake. Heart
hammering, because he just knew that it was
Rev’s doing, Jess kept his face straight as he
pretended he hadn’t heard it.

His confusion grew when Agnes didn’t react to

the sound either. Perhaps her hearing was going
or something. After all, she did look old and that
said something for witches since they lived for
hundreds of years.

“Of course we don’t think it was you,” Jess

assured. “But, we both know that you’re powerful
enough to conjure up the spell. Since there are
very few in the area with that kind of magical
ability, we have to question everybody.”

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A sharp curse filled the air, followed by a growl

and then the sound of glass shattering. Jess’s heart
froze as he looked through the huge bay window
behind Agnes and saw Rev falling from the
second floor. A moment later a dark, large four-
legged shape followed him.

Yet, Jess and Agnes continued to act as if

nothing odd was happening. There was no doubt
in Jess’s mind anymore that she was aware of the
commotion going on in her front yard. She may be
hard of hearing, but she seemed perfectly capable
of holding a conversation, which meant wasn’t
totally deaf.

“Can you think of any other witches or

warlocks who might be responsible for
summoning the slug demons?” Jess asked as he
took a bite of cookie.

Damn, it was just as good as the tea. He glanced

back out of the window in time to see Rev stand,
the blades strapped to his wrists extended as he
fought off a…hellhound? Now, why in the hell
did Agnes have one of those in her house?

Agnes tapped a finger against her chin as she

appeared to be thinking the question over. “It
could be my husband, Walter.”

The hellhound leapt up, its furless black body

seeming to loom over Rev before it attacked and
brought him down.

“Is Walter home?”

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A muffled gunshot filled the air, followed by a

long, high-pitched howl. Rev staggered back to his
feet, black blood covering his face. His lip curled
into a snarl before he said something that Jess
couldn’t hear, but going by the way the Warden’s
lips moved, it was either fucker or ducker. Knowing
his Warden, it was the former.

Agnes still was playing dumb. “I don’t know

what hole that idiot is hiding out in. I kicked the
cheating bastard out a few weeks ago.”

The hound lunged up again, Rev’s eyes

widened in shock before he was dragged back to
the ground, his cry of surprise so loud that it
carried over into the living room.

“You have no idea where I can find Walter?”

Jess asked.

While he felt some concern over Rev, he knew

that his Warden would eventually be able to take
out the hellhound. The things may be vicious and
stubborn as hell, but Rev did have more than
enough skill to bring it down.

Agnes frowned, anger flashing over her face.

Gone was the sweet old lady and in its place was
the expression of a woman scorned. “No, I have
no idea where the bastard is and I say good
riddance. Maybe, we’ll get lucky and the slug
demons will turn on him.”

Rev staggered to his feet again, his blades

dripping with fresh blood.

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“Do you know the name of the tramp he

cheated on you with?” Jess asked, thinking that
maybe if he acted like he shared her outrage, she
would be more accommodating.

“How should I know? All I’m certain of is that

she was some kind of demon hussy because he
reeked of her when he came home. As soon as I
smelled him, I kicked his ass out.”

Even as Jess nodded to her, he watched as Rev

pulled out his Glock and slid in a magazine that
was made with bullets infused with holy water.
Giving the demon a snarky smile, he shot twice.
The beast screamed once and then fell silent.

That finally got granny’s attention. She sprang

to the window and yelled, “Oh, no!”

Running much faster than she should be able to

for her age, she dashed outside, Jess hot on her
heels. He almost tripped in shock when he finally
got a good look at the now dead hellhound. It had
to be the biggest one he’d ever seen. The ugliest,
too, even though its red eyes no longer glowed,
they still seemed to bug out from its almost
skeletal black face. Long claws adorned each paw
and its rat-like tail had a wicked looking barb on
the end.

“What did you do to Fluffy?” Agnes shrieked.
“Fluffy?” Rev echoed, his face etched with

disgust.

There was also a fair amount of blood on his

Night Terrors

face, but a quick glance told Jess it was black, so
none of it was Rev’s. In fact, aside from the bruises
he no doubt earned from the fall, he looked
unharmed. He didn’t even carry any visible
wounds from their sparring yesterday since
Wardens healed quickly. Jess on the other hand,
was still sporting a set of sore ribs. The only
reason he could move at all was because his
warlock friend had been able to partially mend his
bones.

“You killed my puppy!” Agnes wailed, her eyes

flashing with anger.

“No, he killed your hellhound. A creature that

is illegal for anyone to own,” Jess pointed out
sternly.

Agnes raised her hands in Jess’s direction,

magical energy crackling on her palms. Moving so
quickly it was just a blur, Rev raised the Glock and
fired again. This time the bullet kicking into the
grass, inches from Agnes’s feet. She yelped as she
dropped her hands.

“Nobody…and I mean nobody threatens my

Guardian,” Rev snarled, for the first time
sounding like the warrior he was born to be.

Turning to Jess, Rev asked, “Did you get the

information we needed?”

Still noting that Rev held the gun at ready and

aimed at Agnes, Jess nodded. “Yes.”

“Good, then we can go back to the compound. I

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want to soak in a long hot bath so I can get all this
crap off me.”

“We don’t have time for that. You’re going to

have to make do with a quick wipe down in
Agnes’s sink.” When Rev looked dangerously
close to pouting, Jess added, “I promise that I’ll
drive through whatever greasy, fast-food joint you
want. No more energy bars.”

Rev lowered the gun. “Fine, but I get to

Supersize the meal and you better not bitch once
about how bad it is for me.”

With those final words, he spun on his heel and

stormed inside the house. Jess glanced down first
at the dead hound, then back at Agnes who was
weeping over her dead pet. “Do you realize how
many people you endangered by keeping this
thing?”

“I made sure Fluffy only hurt bad people.”
When Jess just cocked his brow and didn’t say

anything else, Agnes wrung her hands together.
“Okay, maybe I let him snack on an occasional
salesman or two, but who doesn’t want to punish
those bastards from time-to-time?”

“You do know I have to report this to the

nearest coven leader?” Jess said.

From what he could recall that would be Ethan,

a half-vampire, half-warlock. While he seemed to
be a good and compassionate leader, somehow
Jess didn’t see him overlooking an offense this

Night Terrors

grave.

“Oh, dear,” Agnes breathed.
Oh, dear indeed. Things just kept getting more

and more complicated.

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Seven

ev bit into his burger and groaned in pure
bliss. It was greasy, slathered in catsup and

covered in cheese. In other words, it was sheer
perfection. Jess shot him a look of disgust from the
driver’s seat.

“How can you eat that crap?”
“Remember, you’re not allowed to bitch about

it,” Rev singsonged before he took another huge
bite.

“I’m not bitching, I’m just asking a question?”
Rev shook his head. “Have you ever even tried

one?”

Jess wrinkled his nose. “God, no.”
“Let me guess, you’re a vegan or something.”
“No, I just watch what goes into my body.”
Rev sighed. Damn, didn’t the guy ever loosen

up? Holding up the burger, he urged, “Come on.
Try a nibble. I’ll bet you love it.”

Jess batted his hand away. “Get that thing away

from me. My arteries are going to get clogged just
from smelling that thing.”

Night Terrors

Horror filled Rev. “Oh, sweet Oracle. You’re a

health nut.”

For Rev, that thought was more terrifying than

having to take on a hundred hellhounds. He’d
rather face them and a band of ghouls than go
without his Big Macs, plus don’t even get him
started on the McRib. Whenever they promoted
that particular item, it was as if Christmas had
come early for Rev.

He shoved a big handful of fries into his mouth.

The salty goodness washed away the last of the
bad feelings left from the fight.

“Now that your mouth is full and you can’t talk

back, I have a question for you,” Jess said.

Going by the serious tone of his voice, Rev

wasn’t going to like the direction the conversation
was taking. Since he couldn’t very well argue, he
just nodded as he chewed vigorously in an
attempt to get the fries down.

“How was it you ended up in the front yard

with the hellhound?”

Rev carefully thought over that answer as he

finished chewing. “It was your fault for not
trusting me.”

“What are you talking about?”
“The Oracle said I should trust you, so the same

should hold true in reverse.”

“Why should I trust you when we just met?”
Rev couldn’t believe that it was actually he who

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had to spell this out. Wasn’t it supposed to be the
Guardians who were giving the lessons? “You
should trust me because the Oracle put us
together. We were fated to be partners, so that
means I could never turn on you. Just like you
could never betray me. Look, I know that I’m not
what you want in a Warden. I mess up sometimes
and I have a lot to learn fighting-wise. Plus, I’m a
nerd who loves Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. But
for some reason fate decide that we should work
together and, if we fight it, one of us is going to
end up hurt or worse.”

It shocked Rev to his toes when Jess appeared

to actually be thinking that over. After a few
moments, the Guardian nodded, “Okay, you have
a point there. I’ll try not to be so distrustful of
your judgment in the future.”

It wasn’t exactly the glowing endorsement that

Rev wanted, but it was a start, so he decided to
take it. He continued to eat until Jess asked, “So,
how did you meet up with the hellhound?”

“Well, I knew right away from the smell that

something was wrong. I made up the excuse of
having to go to the bathroom so I could explore a
bit. I followed the rank smell and it didn’t take me
long to find the little, hairless bastard.”

“Where was he?”
“Locked up in her bedroom.”
“And you just had to open the door to see it for

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yourself?”

Rev shrugged. “Sure, not only did I have to

make certain, but I’ve never seen one before.”

When Jess gave him an incredulous look, Rev

shrugged again. “Hey, I was curious. So sue me.
It’s a trait all Wardens have.”

“Let me guess, as soon as you opened the door,

the hound was on you.”

“Yeah,” Rev nodded enthusiastically, “the

damn thing didn’t even growl a warning or
anything. It just jumped me quicker than a go-go
boy in desperate need of tips.”

If Rev hadn’t known better, he would have

sworn that he saw a hint of a smile playing on
Jess’s lips. “So, I take it you met Randy from the
Flamingo then?”

Rev perked up, a shot of desire shooting

through his battered and weary body. “You’ve
been there before?”

“Plenty of times before I found out that I had

better things to do than spend my time at gay
clubs.”

“Please, don’t tell me that you’re bi and decided

to go for women instead.”

Rev knew he was flirting, but he couldn’t help

himself. What gay man in his right mind would be
able to resist the sex-on-a-stick guy sitting next to
him? Better yet, Jess was smart, too, which made
him all the more irresistible.

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“If that’s your subtle way of asking if I’m gay

and single, then it’s yes to both.”

“Oh.” Rev grinned, a flush of happiness went

through him.

“That still doesn’t affect our relationship

though. It has to remain strictly platonic between
us.”

Disappointment crashed through Rev, making

his chest grow tight. “Am I that unattractive?”

Jess took his gaze away from the road to shoot

Rev an incredulous look. “Are you kidding me?
You have done nothing but tempt me from the
second I saw you in those ridiculous pajamas. You
are the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen and I would
love nothing more than to fuck you stupid.”

Wow, once Jess opened up, he didn’t hold back.

Lust pooled in Rev’s gut before moving down to
his cock. “Then why can’t we have some fun?”

“It’s against regulation for any Warden to get

too close to anybody, especially his Guardian.”

“What are you talking about? My father loved

my mother more than anything.”

“And that was his downfall. It made him lose

focus on his destiny and he died because of it.”

That hurt….bad, but Rev decided to let it pass

for the moment. “If Wardens aren’t allowed to get
close, then how are they supposed to produce the
next generation? I may be a complete stranger to
the whole breeding thing, but doesn’t a guy have

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to get up close and personal to get a chick
pregnant?”

“The women were always a surrogate of sorts.

Even in ancient times, they knew better than to
become attached to a Warden.”

“So the Wardens just dropped their seeds and

took off,” Rev grunted. “That seems like a pretty
dicky thing to do.”

“It used to be considered a great honor to bear a

future Warden. The women were treated as
royalty and cared for. They never wanted for
anything.”

“Except maybe a loving relationship.” Rev

shook his head in disgust. “So, where does this
leave me? I hate to break it to you guys, but there
is no way in hell I can get it up for a girl.”

“We’ll have to figure out a way. The Warden

tradition passes only from father-to-son. If you
don’t produce a child, our numbers will dwindle
even more.”

Rev wrinkled his nose. “Then you better find a

turkey baster or something, because that’s the only
way it’s going to happen.”

“Do you have to be so crude?”
Rev shifted in a bit closer. “Okay, let me ask

you this? Would you be able to sleep with a
woman?”

After a few moments, Jess let out a sigh. “No, I

couldn’t. I’ll talk to the Oracle and see if there are

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other ways around this. Maybe you don’t have to
naturally conceive the child for it to work.”

Feeling brave because he’d managed to prove

Jess wrong on two occasions, Rev reached out and
lightly brushed a finger down the Guardian’s
cheek. “Does that mean you’ll relent and have
some fun with me? I promise not to get too
attached to you. We can just be fuck buddies.”

The last part was a bold-face lie, since Rev was

pretty certain he was already way too fond of the
Guardian, but Jess didn’t have to know that.

When Jess didn’t bat his hand away, Rev felt a

heady sense of victory. He even leaned in closer so
he could blow into Jess’s ear. “Nobody will ever
have to know. It can be our little secret.”

“Are you always this forward?” Jess

demanded.

It pleased Rev when he detected the slightest

tremor in the man’s voice.

Blowing in his ear again, Rev said, “Only when

I see something I want.”

“And how often does that happen?”
“Often enough, to know that I won’t stop until I

get what I want.”

In truth, Rev had very little experience. Aside

from a few hook-ups and a couple times with Ari,
he hadn’t been that adventurous. He sure as hell
hadn’t ever been as flirtatious as he was being
with Jess, but there was something in the

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Guardian that just made Rev feel reckless.

Jess finally put a hand at the center of Rev’s

chest and gently pushed him away. “Back down,
tiger. Nothing is going to happen between us.”

Rev settled back in his seat and fell silent. That

wasn’t because he agreed with the Guardian. Far
from it. If Rev had his way, he’d have Jess in his
bed, sooner rather than later. He just had to find a
way to persuade the stubborn man to break the
rules.

Hiding a smile, Rev realized he had the best

weapon of all at his disposal—Naamah. As a
succubus, she would know exactly what Rev
would have to do to make Jess fall for him.

Poor Jess wouldn’t know what hit him.
Jess pulled up in front of an abandoned theater

in the heart of the city. That surprised Rev. Not
because that once-opulent establishment was left
to rot and was unused as there were plenty of
unwanted, neglected houses and buildings in
Detroit. Most of them still displayed what had
once been great architecture, too. It was just now
hidden under layers of graffiti and other forms of
vandalism.

Rev frowned. “What are we doing here?”
“My intel tells me that a lamia named

Bathsheba is holed up here.”

A start of shock made Rev jump. “A lamia is

here in the city and nobody has taken her out

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yet?”

“This city is ground zero for most of the civil

wars going on between the paranormals, so right
now she’s the least of their worries.”

“But we’re going to take her out, right? I mean

don’t they suck the souls from the elderly and
children?”

“You bet your sweet ass we’re taking her out,

but not until she answers a few questions for us.”

“Like what?” Rev peered into the building, but

couldn’t detect any activity inside.

“Agnes claims that her husband is having an

affair with some slutty demoness. Now what
would a female demon want from some old
geezer?”

Rev gasped as he realized what Jess was hinting

at. “Oh, shit! You’re right! An elderly man who is
full of magic would be all the more alluring to her.
Damn it, she must be sucking him dry. Do you
think she’s using him to lure the slug demons in?”

“Oh, no. I know without a doubt it’s Agnes. She

summoned them to kill Bathsheba. The only thing
that Agnes didn’t count on was the fact that it’s
damn near impossible to control slug demons
once you summon them. Plus, not even they are
stupid enough to try to take on a lamia.”

“Then why are we here?”
Jess gave a grim look. “Because as a Guardian

and Warden, we can’t let her live. She’s a threat to

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every civilian in the city and we can’t allow that to
continue.”

Rev nodded with understanding, although he

didn’t relish the task ahead of them. Lamia were
one of the hardest demons to kill. “Wow, nothing
like throwing me into the fire on my first day.”

“If I didn’t think you were ready for it, I never

would have brought you here.”

“Awww…” Rev mockingly batted his eyes. “So

you do like me after all.”

“Don’t get too cocky. The only reason I think

you’ll do okay is because I’ll be there backing you
up.”

“Oh.” Rev sat back, properly chastised. “I do

have one question though. If you know Agnes is
responsible for the slug demons, why didn’t we
kill her along with her ugly ass dog?”

“Because we need her to lead us to the slug

demon lair. Plus, I don’t want the lamia to know
we are on to this little love triangle. We’re going to
need the element of surprise to take her out.”

Rev took a deep breath, then let it out slowly.

He still ached from his sparring session with Jess
and the bitch-slap fest with Fluffy, but he knew
turning back wasn’t an option. Whether or not
he’d wanted it, this was his life now.

“Okay, let’s go get the lamia.”

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Chapter Eight

kay, no doubt about it, lamia were ten times
freakier than slug demons.

Rev clutched his short sword tighter as he eyed

up the woman…snake…hybrid…whatever the
fuck one called it. As for him, he was going to go
with gross as shit.

Her top half wouldn’t be so bad. Sure, she was

topless and while he’d never been attracted to
breasts, he could admire a good pair. Which she
had. But that’s all she had going for her. The rest
of her body was covered in shimmery blue and
green scales that seemed to shift color as she
moved. Her hair was a mass of black dreadlocks,
which looked as if it’d never been washed, and
she wore a ragged, black skirt that was ripped up
the sides. The gaps showed off a set of horribly
deformed legs that looked almost like Popeye
meets Shrek. They were greener than the rest of her
body and so beefy, the muscles were more like
lumps of flesh than anything else.

Even her eyes were a freak-fest. Slanted with

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bright green irises and the pupils were elongated.
When she smiled, she showed off a set of fangs
that were dripping venom.

She jerked in shock as Rev and Jess barged in.

Glancing down at an elderly man, who lay
unmoving at her feet, she said, “Boys, hasn’t
anybody told you it’s not nice to come uninvited
to dinner?”

She gave the body at her feet a hard kick and

when the man didn’t move, Rev realized that
poor, demented Grandma Agnes was now a
widow. Well, at least she could bury her hubby
with Fluffy. Maybe it was nerves or something,
but that thought seemed so funny that a short
burst of laughter escaped his lips before he could
stop it.

Bathsheba shot him a scathing glare. “You think

this is funny, Warden?”

“Actually, yeah.”
Crossing her arms over her bare chest, she

asked, “What exactly amuses you?”

“Besides your horrible lack of fashion sense, the

fact that you actually think your hair looks good
that way,” Rev shot back.

He hoped that if he pissed her off enough, she’d

lose control and fight recklessly. Going by the set
of muscles under her sad excuse of a skirt, he was
going to need every advantage he could get.

She tilted her head toward Jess. “Guardian, are

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you going to let your Warden get away with
talking that way?”

Jess shrugged as if he could give a damn. “I

keep trying to beat the brat out of him, but so far
he’s proven to be as stubborn as hell. Kids these
days, what can you do with them?”

She smiled wider, showing off her fangs. “You

could always just suck him dry and leave the husk
for the scavengers?”

“True, but the uniform is custom fitted just for

him and since we already went to the expense of
having the outfit made, it would be a shame to
waste all that money,” Jess replied in a deadpan
voice.

Rev used that moment of distraction to whip

out his Glock. Not missing a beat, he fired, the
bullet hitting her directly between the eyes. She let
out a shriek as she fell down, her body landing on
the ground with a heavy thud.

“Well, that was anti-climactic,” Rev sighed.
When Jess just gave him that cock-eyed look,

Rev groaned. “Oh, shit. It’s not over, is it?”

As if answering his cue, the lamia leapt back to

her feet and attacked Rev, her fangs bared and
ready to strike. Rev moved back, but this time he
wasn’t quick enough and she caught him around
the middle of the waist.

They fell to the dusty, debris-ridden ground in

a tangle of limbs, claws and curses. Recovering,

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Rev managed to wedge his feet between them.
Kicking out, he thrust her away from him.

Her body slammed into the opposite wall, and

a large crack was left in what had once been and
intricately painted canvas.

“I’m going to kill you for that. You just ruined

my favorite picture.”

Rev grimaced when he noted it was a depiction

of a little girl running through a field of daisies.
Given that this chick preyed on children, the
image made him want to shiver.

“Are you pissed off enough yet to finish this?”

Jess asked in a bored tone.

“Hell, yeah,” Rev replied.
He reached under his cloak and pulled out a

longsword. While he rarely used it, he still
handled the weapon with ease. The lamia shrieked
and surged forward again.

At the same moment, Rev brought up his

sword and leveled it so it was pointed at her chest.
Her eyes widened in horror, but it was already too
late. Her body impaled itself on his sword, the
blade piercing her heart.

“So rude,” she proclaimed, her words gurgling

around the puddle of blood already pouring from
her mouth.

“I’ll make sure my Guardian spanks me for

being such a naughty boy,” Rev cooed.

He kicked the body away, pulling his sword

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free. The lamia fell on the ground next to poor
Walter, and this time the bitch didn’t get back up.
Using the ugly ass skirt to clean his blade, Rev
asked, “So, can I go home and take my bath now?”

Jess sighed before he did that counting thing

again. This time he got to forty before he seemed
ready to talk again. “Fine, but we’re still having a
training session tonight. Make sure you’re not late
either.”

Rev sank back into the tub and let out a

satisfied groan as the hot water eased some of the
aches in his muscles. He inhaled deeply, letting
the fragrant cherry bubble bath erase the memory
of some of the foul stenches he’d dealt with that
day.

While he tried to keep his mind clear and

relaxed, he couldn’t stop himself from thinking
about Jess and their earlier encounter in the car.
Now that Rev knew the Guardian returned his
attraction, he felt more frustrated than ever.

Why in the hell did they have that stupid rule

that Wardens weren’t allowed to form
attachments and why in the hell was Jess so
determined to follow it? That stupid rule had to be
centuries old and was so antiqued. It only made
sense that it should be updated to fit with the new
times. Or at least that’s what Rev hoped would
happen.

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He briefly considered making a plea to the

Oracle, but quickly dismissed it. Not only did he
have no idea of how to reach her, but he didn’t
know if she would even listen to the opinion of a
newly initiated Warden.

He scooped up a handful of bubbles and idly

blew them as he wondered just how in the hell he
was going to fix his situation. Even before he’d
gone away, he’d been halfway in love with Jess,
and now that Rev was almost constantly in the
man’s presence, his attraction had only grown
stronger.

The door burst open. Rev yelped as he ducked

under the bubbles to hide as much of his bits as he
could. When he saw that it was Naamah, he let out
an aggravated grunt.

“Did you ever hear of knocking?” he asked.
She shrugged a shoulder before perching

herself on the edge of the tub. “Please…like you
have anything I haven’t seen before.”

“Do you remember that talk we had about

boundaries? This,” he waved a hand back and
forth between them, “is a perfect example of that.”

“You really need to loosen up a bit. What’s up

with you? You’re usually not this tense.”

Rev thought about holding in his little secret,

but then recalled his little plan on getting her help.
“It’s Jess.”

Her eyebrows shot up knowingly. “I thought

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100

that he may become a problem the moment I
heard he was going to be your Guardian.”

“He’s not mean or anything,” Rev quickly

defended. “It’s just…”

“You want to jump aboard and ride him like

the Matterhorn?”

Rev paused, horror filling him. “Am I that

obvious?”

“Well, yes, but you also need to remember I’m a

succubus and I can sense arousal. And, baby,
whenever you’re near him, you reek of it.” She
moved in to deliver her next zinger. “News
flash—he smells of it, too. That man wants you
something bad.”

Knowing that didn’t make Rev feel any better.

It only solidified how dismal the situation really
was. “Yeah, he admitted he has feelings for me.”

“Then why so glum, drum?”
“Because he refuses to do anything about it.

Because of our Warden-Guardian situation, plus
the whole rule that says Wardens aren’t supposed
to develop any attachments.”

She let out a laugh. “That’s the biggest piece of

bullshit I’ve ever heard. I hate to break it to them,
but you have done nothing but develop
attachments. You have your friendship with me
and Ari. You’re close to your cousins and most
days you even like your uncle.”

Rev pressed his lips together as he mulled that

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101

one over. Naamah actually did have a very valid
point. “Okay, so how do I convince Jess that it’s
okay for us to be together?”

“He’s going to be a tough cookie to crack. He’s

so by the rules that he actually slows down for
yellow lights.”

“I was thinking about asking you for some tips.

You know, on how to seduce a guy…” he
suggested.

When she burst out laughing, it did little to

bolster his already battered ego.

“You don’t need to make fun of me,” he

grumbled.

She waved a hand. “I’m sorry, sweetie. It’s just

you’re the least seductive person I know.”

“Hey! I can be sexy if I want to.”
“No, you can be cute. Which is the exact

opposite.”

“Great,” Rev groaned as he sank deeper in the

bubbles. “So, what do you suggest I do?”

“Just keep being yourself. That’s what Jess likes

about you.”

Rev felt all his hopes do a crash dive. “Yeah,

because that’s been working like gangbusters so
far. Sometimes I feel like he wants me and then in
the next moment it’s as if he can’t even stand to be
in the same room as me.”

She reached out and ruffled his hair. “You need

a good stress reliever. I’d offer to give you a blow-

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102

job, but somehow I don’t think you’d take me up
on the offer. So, why don’t you go to the training
room and dance out your stress? That’s always
worked for you in the past.”

Rev shot her a dubious look. “I don’t think so.

Somebody could see me.”

“Don’t worry about that. The place is deserted

because everybody is out looking for leads on the
slug demons.”

When he continued to hesitate, she sang, “They

have a great sound system in there.”

Oh, there was no way he could resist that

temptation and she damn well knew it. Smiling,
he nodded. “Okay, I have a little time before my
next training session. I may as well have some
fun.”

What could possibly go wrong?

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103

Chapter Nine

ess ran back to his apartment for quick shower
and meal before returning to the compound. As

soon as he entered the building, Naamah
descended on him.

“You’ll never believe what Rev is doing.” she

announced.

Tension coiled through Jess as he thought of all

the ways his Warden could find trouble. And that
list was damn long. Sure, they may be in the safety
of the compound, but Rev could find trouble in a
packed church during the middle of a Sunday
service.

“What did he do this time?” Jess asked, steeling

himself for the answer.

Naamah just shook her head before she

muttered, “He really is a naughty Warden. You
should do something about that.”

She then walked away from him without

revealing anything more. Frustrated, Jess yelled,
“That’s not news to me. Are you going to tell me
what he’s up to or not?”

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104

“He’s in the training room,” she called back, her

voice suspiciously laced with amusement.

Jess watched her go, his mind whirling with

confusion, before he decided that if he was going
to find any answers he would have to go to the
damn training room to find them out for himself.
With a heavy sigh, he walked at a brisk pace
through the compound.

He heard the music before he saw Rev. The

song was something by Britney Spears. Jess
couldn’t be for certain since he wasn’t a huge fan,
but he thought it was Till the World Ends. Although
to be fair to him, it was even harder to figure out
since Rev was singing along—badly.

Actually, badly would be a kind term. The kid

was butchering the song. He was beyond tone
deaf and he was so pitchy that Randy Jackson
would weep with grief.

Then Jess rounded the corner, peered into the

room and suddenly didn’t give a damn about the
bad singing. Hell, a whole choir of zombies could
start chiming in and he wouldn’t have cared. All
that he could focus on was how damn good Rev
looked at the moment.

The Warden didn’t have a clue that he had an

audience so he danced with abandon. His body
rocked perfectly to the beat, his ass shaking so
provocatively under his black workout pants that
Jess found himself nearly panting in desire.

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When Rev did this shimmy move, his pelvis

thrusting in a perfect imitation of fucking, Jess had
to grip the doorframe to steady himself. Shit, the
moves the kid was throwing off were so alluring,
they should be illegal.

Rev let out a particularly ear-shattering note as

he spun around—and froze, his eyes widening in
shock as he spotted Jess standing there.

Time seemed to freeze as they both stared at

each other. The arousal building so strongly that it
almost felt palpable. Jess knew he should turn
away. That he should leave. Or that he should at
least stop himself from groaning in desire. In the
end, he was helpless to do any of those things.

Rev moved first, slowly walking toward Jess.

The dark desire stamped in the Warden’s eyes
spoke of his intent, but Jess still found himself
unable to pull away. Once he was close enough,
Rev reached up, cupped the back of Jess’s head
and brought the Guardian’s head down.

Their lips met in the sweetest, but most earth-

shattering of kisses. Desire rolled over Jess in
waves as he felt the pressure of Rev’s warm, soft
lips. Jess only resisted a moment, before he
groaned in surrender. Wrapping his arms around
Rev, he brought the younger man in closer,
crushing their bodies together.

Rev was covered in a fine sheen of sweat, but

Jess could also feel the Warden’s erection pressing

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106

against him. Rev didn’t seem embarrassed about
it—quite the opposite. He fisted his free hand in
the front of Jess’s shirt and rocked forward,
grinding their cocks together.

Jess growled, the alpha in him needing to

dominate and control. Moving one hand, he
threaded it through Rev’s hair and tugged, forcing
him to tilt his head further back.

Once Rev complied, Jess thrust his tongue

inside, the spicy taste of the man exploding over
Jess’s senses. Then Rev let out the sweetest of
sighs and it was all Jess could do not to tear the
man’s clothes off and fuck him into the mat.

Then, just as his fingers were inching toward

the hem of Rev’s shirt to do just that, all of Jess’s
common sense came flooding back. Uttering a
curse, he abruptly broke off the kiss and backed
up.

Rev let out a soft sound of confusion, stumbling

forward a couple of steps before he caught his
balance. His eyes were still filled with lust, but
there was also a fair amount of bewilderment
there.

“Did I do something wrong?” Rev asked in a

small voice.

Damn, but didn’t it feel like a punch in the gut

to hear the hurt in the Warden’s question.
Rubbing a finger over his still tingling lips, Jess
shook his head. “If there is anybody at fault here,

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it’s me.”

Rev nipped at his bottom lip. “Why? I was the

one who started it.”

“And I had no business finishing it.”
“Well, technically nothing was finished since

we both have our clothes still on.”

While Rev’s comment came out as teasing, the

pain still lingered in those chocolate brown eyes of
his.

“We can’t do this,” Jess said, taking another

couple of steps back.

“Why not? I don’t care about some stupid old

rules. In fact, they don’t even matter anymore
since I already care for you. A lot, in fact.”

No! No! No! This couldn’t be happening. If Rev

continued with this conversation, then Jess would
have no choice but to go to the Oracle and request
that Rev be assigned another Guardian. That
would mean they would never be able to spend
any more time together and Jess didn’t even want
to contemplate that thought. A world without Rev
would be so bleak and meaningless.

“Don’t say anything more,” Jess whispered

raggedly.

The crestfallen expression in Rev’s face nearly

destroyed Jess. He wanted nothing more than to
take Rev into his arms and assure him that
everything would be okay. That they would find
some way to be together. But since none of that

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108

could ever be true, Jess did the worst thing of all—
he turned coward.

Spinning around, he walked out of the room

without another word.

* * * *

Rev curled up in a tight ball on his bed inside his
new apartment and tried hard to work up the
energy to get his ass up and moving. He knew he
really needed to get to the compound and log
some training time in, but he just didn’t have it in
him to face anybody at the moment.

A timid knock sounded on the door, before

Ari’s voice called, “I’m getting ready to leave. Are
you coming?”

“No, I don’t feel so hot,” Rev replied, burying

his head into his pillow.

There was a long pause and he could almost

hear Ari’s disapproval. “You missed the last three
days. If you keep this up, your uncle is going to
hand you your ass.”

Like Rev really gave a crap. Since he’d fucked

up and thrown himself at Jess, his damn life had
taken a nosedive into sucksville. Not only had Jess
been avoiding him like the plague, but Rev had
been feeling like an idiot.

Why had he ever thought that somebody as

smart, strong, hot, levelheaded and amazing as
Jess would be interested in some Comic-Con reject

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109

dork like him? Rev pulled up the covers and
grabbed the remote, turning on an old episode of
Star Trek. Maybe some Tribbles could take his mind
off his own problems for a while.

The episode had just finished before another

knock sounded, this one louder and more
insistent. Before Rev could tell whoever it was to
go the fuck away, the door opened and Naamah
stormed in.

“What in the hell is your problem?” she

demanded.

“I…” Rev trailed off as he got a good look at her

outfit. “Why are you dressed up as a slutty
version of Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz?”

“Because it’s Halloween tonight.”
He frowned as he tried to figure out just how

many days he’d been pouting away in his new
bedroom. “It is?”

She gave a sad shake of her head as she sank

down on the bed next to him. “Wow, this is worse
than I even thought. Why don’t you tell bestie
Naamah what happened.”

So Rev revealed the whole incident, not leaving

out any detail, no matter how embarrassing it was.
When he finished, she gave another shake of her
head.

“I blame myself for this.”
He frowned in confusion. “Why?”
“Because I should never have left something

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110

this important up to you and Jess. No offense, but
sometimes, even put together, you two don’t have
a clue. I guess this means we’re going to have to
do things my way.”

Oh, boy. Rev didn’t like the way that sounded.

“What exactly are you planning on doing?”

A sharp-toothed smile was his only warning

before she descended on him, her fangs extended
and at the ready. Pinning him to the bed, she
cooed, “Don’t worry, baby. It’ll only hurt for a
second.”

She struck, her fangs sinking into his neck. Rev

screamed as agony shot through his body—a few
moments later, however, the most extreme arousal
he’d ever felt in his life slammed into him. It hurt.
It screamed for relief. It was a need that had to be
met immediately.

Rev’s only problem was the sole person who

could fulfill that need was not only miles
away…he wanted nothing to do with Rev.

He clawed at the bed, his hips thrusting up but

meeting only air. Blinking groggily at Naamah, he
watched as she wiped a bit of remaining blood
from her lips. His blood!

“What did you just do to me?” he panted, his

dick growing so hard that it began to hurt.

She grinned. “Trust me, once Jess sees you this

way, he’ll have no choice but to help you out.”

Damn it, Rev had wanted Jess, but not this way.

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111

It seemed so wrong and tainted. Yet at the same
time, Rev knew that if Jess didn’t get here and give
him some relief soon, he was going to be in
trouble. While one couldn’t die from blue balls,
they could go crazy from not fulfilling the arousal
brought on by a succubus bite.

Rolling his head against the pillow as another

wave of painful lust roared through his body, Rev
panted, “Jess. I need Jess.”

He only hoped that his Guardian arrived in

time.

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112

Chapter Ten

ess cursed under his breath as he rushed up the
steps leading to the small apartment Rev and

Ari recently moved into.

Ever since he’d gotten the short but urgent call

from Naamah, his heart hadn’t ceased hammering,
all he could think of were the words she’d spoke,

Rev is in trouble. He needs you now. Hurry, there isn’t
much time.

Since he had a key, he let himself in, bellowing,

“Rev! Where are you?”

“He’s in here and you better hurry. The

situation is really getting quite…uh, out of hand?”
Naamah called back.

Jess rushed in, only to come to a skidding halt

at the sight that awaited him. Rev lay in the bed,
his pants open just enough to free his cock. He
stroked his erection in quick, frantic strokes as a
series of frustrated whimpers slipped past his lips.
Sweat glistened over his body and his cheeks were
flushed with arousal.

As soon as Jess’s gaze honed in on to the twin

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113

set of pin pricks marring Rev’s neck, anger surged
through him. Turning to Namaah, he snarled,
“What in the fuck were you thinking?”

She shrugged, completely unconcerned by his

outburst, “Just that—fucking. It’s about time you
two got it on and since neither one of you were
getting your heads out of your asses long enough
to make it happen, I decided I needed to do
something to push things along.”

“So, injecting him with an aphrodisiac is your

idea of helping?”

At that moment, Rev cried out as his cock

erupted, streams of semen covering his hand. He
breathed a sigh of relief that was cut short when
he remained erect, “Fuck, not again. It just won’t
let up.”

The pain in Rev’s voice cut into Jess like a

blade. He glared back at her. “I can’t do this. It’s
not right.”

She shrugged. “Fine, I’ll just go get somebody

else to help Rev. I’m sure Ari or one of the other
Wardens or Guardians would be more than
happy.”

Before he could stop it, a possessive growl burst

from his chest. “Nobody else is allowed touch
him.”

She cocked a brow. “Well, somebody better do

something. We can’t have Rev hurting.”

Damn it, but she was right. Jess took one more

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114

look at the pain etched on Rev’s sweet face and
knew there was no way he could leave his baby
suffering. Giving Naamah one last glare, he
snapped, “Get out. We’ll discuss what you did
later.”

She had the gall to smile and give him a light-

fingered wave before she sauntered out. It wasn’t
until he heard the front door shut that Jess moved
toward the bed.

Rev glanced up, his eyes so wild that the pupils

were nearly blown. “I’m so sorry, I never asked
her to do this. She just jumped me.”

Pulling off his clothes, Jess replied, “I know.”
“Shit, I’ve dreamed about being with you for

years and I never thought it would be like this. I
feel like I’m forcing you.”

It drew Jess aback to know that Rev had been

attracted to him for so long. It touched him in so
many ways that he felt the last bit of his
reservations dissolve. Stripping down the rest of
the way, he said, “You’re not forcing me to do
anything I don’t want. I promise.”

Rev whimpered, “I hurt so bad.”
“I know you do. I’m going to make you feel

better.”

And Jess began to do just that, dipping his head

down to swirl his tongue around the head of Rev’s
cock, before taking him all the way in. Since the
man had already come numerous times, the shaft

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was slick with cum, the salty taste eliciting a moan
of approval from Jess. Shit, he’d dreamed of this
moment since he’d first seen Rev in those damn
jammies and it was already living up to be better
than he’d dared dream.

Since Rev was already on edge, it only took a

few moments before he came, his hips bucking as
he shot off into Jess’s mouth. Jess drew back just
enough so he could swallow down the offering.

By the time he’d licked Rev clean, the Warden

was already hard again. Jess carefully stripped
Rev, before asking, “Where are the condoms and
lube?”

Rev pointed wildly to the nightstand, and Jess

opened the top drawer. He had to rustle around,
pushing aside an e-reader, some Manga books and
various weapons before he found a small bottle of
lubricant and an unopened box of condoms.

Trying not to feel so smug over the fact that Rev

had not been playing around recently with
anybody else, Jess took out a condom, then slicked
his fingers up with the lube.

By now Rev was writhing around, whimpers

breaking out between his lips. “Please, I need you
inside me.”

“Soon,” Jess crooned as he slid one finger in

Rev.

Damn, Rev was tight. So much so that Jess

almost came on the spot just from thinking about

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how it would feel to have the Warden wrapped
around him. He still forced himself to be patient,
carefully stretching Rev with the first finger, then
a second, before adding a third. By that time, Rev
was reduced to begging and yelling out snarled
curses.

“Just fuck me already,” Rev snapped.
Jess gave his hip a slight slap. “Remember, you

are still under my rule.”

Even after that reminder, Jess grabbed the

condom and quickly slid it on, adding some more
lube as an extra measure. Only then did he line the
tip up to Rev’s opening and thrust in.

“Yes, oh Goddess yes!” Rev yelled, his hands

going up to claw at Jess’s shoulders.

Jess so wanted to take it slow so he could enjoy

every inch of his Warden, but that damn succubus
venom wouldn’t allow for it. Rev was soon
bucking under him, frustrated whines bursting
past his chapped lips.

“More. Oh, damn, I need more,” Rev sobbed.
So Jess grabbed Rev by the hips for leverage

and started to hammer into him. At the same time,
Rev clutched tighter onto Jess’s shoulders. They
were probably both going to be sporting some
pretty interesting bruises, but at that point, who in
the hell cared?

“Gonna come,” Rev moaned.
Jess felt the hot splash of semen between their

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stomachs as Rev found his release. Jess slammed
into him a few more times before he shouted Rev’s
name and filled the condom, Rev’s tight ass
milking every drop from Jess.

Jess collapsed on top of Rev, both of them

panting for breath.

“Just so you know, I’m nowhere near done,”

Rev whispered.

“Yeah, I was afraid of that,” Jess said as he

chuckled.

Jess woke up several hours later to the

sensation of a hot mouth surrounding his cock. He
moaned sleepily as it somehow miraculously
managed to harden yet again. Given the fact that
they spent most of the previous day doing nothing
but fucking, he would have thought it impossible
to get it up for at least another week.

Yet as Rev peered up, those brown eyes seemed

to melt Jess’s soul and he somehow found himself
getting aroused again. Then as he looked closer,
he noticed something else, Rev’s eyes were clear
and no longer feverish from the succubus venom.

As if sensing his thoughts, Rev pulled off Jess’s

cock and said, “Please, I know that we won’t be
able to do this again after today. I just want to
have one time where it’s just us wanting each
other because of our true feelings and not because
of some aphrodisiac.”

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118

How could Jess refuse a plea like that? He

nodded his consent and Rev grabbed a condom,
slipping it over Jess’s erection. He added some
lube before blushingly confessing, “You don’t
need to stretch me out. I kind of took care of that
in the shower a few minutes ago.”

“Fuck.” Jess groaned at the image.
Rev straddled Jess’s hips, grabbing his cock.

Then Rev slowly impaled himself on Jess. They
both let out a groan. Pleasure spiraled through
Jess from the sweet sensation of Rev’s ass
squeezing him and from the erotic vision his
Warden made.

His body was so lithe and beautiful as he began

to slowly ride Jess. The muscles under Rev’s pale
skin rippled perfectly. His eyes were closed, his
lips parted in passion.

I have so fallen for you and I don’t think I’ll be able

to give you up. Rules or not, you are a part of me. Jess
wanted to yell those words, but he kept them in
for fear of ruining the moment.

Rev continued to ride him at a slow pace, and

Jess savored every moment of it. He reached out
and grabbed Rev’s cock, lazily stroking him in
time to Rev’s movements.

But even at that leisure pace, it still ended too

soon. The way Rev sucked in a hitched breath let
Jess know his man had reached the edge. So he
gave Rev’s cock one last hard tug that sent the

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119

Warden over to his orgasm. Rev let out a hoarse
cry as he came, his spunk covering Jess’s hand.
The sight was enough to throw Jess over the edge
and he joined his lover in shared bliss.

Once they’d recovered, he expected Rev to

snuggle in. So when he rolled to his side and
presented his back to Jess, it was confusing.
Frowning, Jess asked, “Do you regret what
happened between us?”

Not turning around, Rev whispered, “No, it

was the best thing that ever happened.”

“Then why are you acting this way?”
“Because I know that you’re about to give me

the Wardens-can’t-form-attachments speech and I
don’t want to hear it. I know it may be true and
I’m willing to abide by the damn rules, but that
doesn’t mean I have to watch as you walk away
from my bed the only time I ever got to share it
with you.”

Jess’s heart shattered into a million pieces and

he realized then that there was no way he’d ever
be able to give Rev up. It wasn’t just because the
sex had been great either. It was because Jess was
finally willing to admit that Rev meant so much to
him that he’d rather be dead than live without his
lover.

Reaching over, he tugged on Rev’s shoulder

until the Warden finally relented and turned over.
Cupping Rev’s cheek, Jess pressed a soft kiss to his

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120

lips. “This isn’t going to be our last time. Far from
it. If I have my way, we’re never going to be apart
again.”

Rev’s bottom lip trembled. “But what about the

laws forbidding it? I don’t want them to separate
us.”

“I’m going to the Oracle right now. I’m going to

plead our case to her and hope that she has mercy
on us and allows us to be together.”

“What if she refuses?”
“Then we’ll leave and go someplace where

they’ll never be able to find us,” Jess promised.

He only prayed that such a place existed,

because last time he checked, the Oracle was still
all-knowing and how in the hell do you hide from
somebody like that?

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121

Chapter Eleven

etting the Oracle’s attention wasn’t such a
simple matter. After all, it wasn’t like she just

showed up at Stew’s office all the time. The only
time Jess had seen her outside her natural
environment had been several days ago at the
initiation ceremony. That meant that Jess had to
summon her. No easy feat.

He found a local grove of apple trees and

scattered some salt into a sacred circle. Next he lit
four candles, each one symbolic of a different
element, Earth, Air, Water and Fire. He then
burned some sage to cleanse the area and slowly
began to chant.

When he finished the spell and she didn’t show,

he didn’t let that daunt him. It wasn’t until he
repeated it a second, then a third time that he
began to worry. When he reached the fifth time,
he started to feel a tad ticked. He could sense her
listening, so why didn’t she show up already?

Great! Just what I need! Some chick who’s too

stubborn to come when I need her. What kind of Oracle

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122

is she anyway?

“I heard that,” a strong feminine voice snapped.
Looking up, he saw the Oracle, standing a few

feet away from him. Her eyes fired with anger as
she put one hand on her hip.

Oh, crap! This couldn’t be good. Rule number

one was never, ever, ever piss off the Oracle and
Jess had managed to do just that. When he needed
her more than ever, too.

* * * *

A loud pounding on his door jerked Rev awake,
jumping upright, he called, “Jess, is that you?”

Adam’s head ducked inside, “No, it’s me. We

need to get moving. You have five to get dressed
and get outside. Make sure it’s your Warden wear,
too.”

Years of training kicked in and Rev got up and

began to pull on his clothes. “What’s going on?”

“We finally know where Granny Batty Pants

has been keeping the slug demons and we’re
moving in now.”

“I can’t go. Jess isn’t here,” Rev argued.
His stomach did a flip at the mere thought of

going into battle without his Guardian by his side.

Adam shook his head. “You have no choice. He

went AWOL. He’s not at his place and he’s not
answering his phone. You wouldn’t happen to

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123

know where he might be?”

Rev paused, his arm halfway through his shirt.

“Uh…no?”

With a cock of his head, Adam’s glare bore into

Rev. “Yeah, real convincing there, skippy. Since
we don’t have time for me to grill you about that
now, we’ll talk when we get back.”

A tiny measure of relief went through Rev as he

realized he could put at least that worry out of
mind. Now he just had to take on a powerful
witch, dispatch all her strong-as-shit demons and
make it back in one piece. All without the
guidance of his Guardian.

Sure, no problem. Piece of cake. Easy peasy.
So why in the hell did Rev feel like he wanted

to vomit?

* * * *

Jess dropped to one knee and bowed his head so
deep, his forehead scraped against the ground. “I
am so sorry, Oracle. Please, forgive my
disrespect.”

For one horror-filled moment, he thought she’d

off him right there, but she finally gave the barest
of smiles. “You are so lucky you were always one
of my favorites.”

Giving a dismissive wave of her hand, she sat

down on a boulder that was just within the circle.

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124

Crossing her legs, she gave him an expectant look.
“So, what do you want?”

Jess paused, trying desperately to figure on

how to best word his plea. On the drive up, he’d
practiced his speech a dozen times. Now that he
was actually in front of her and ready to give it, all
the words seemed to elude him.

She laughed. “Here, why don’t I help? You and

Rev have fallen in love and not in the normal
Guardian-Warden way, but the oh-baby-do-me-
because-I-can’t-live-without-you way. But you
know that it’s forbidden because of the ancient
laws that not only forbid Guardians from getting
frisky with their charges, but the one that says
Wardens are not to form any attachments.”

When Jess just stared stupidly at her, she rolled

her eyes. “All knowing. Remember?”

Jess finally found his voice. “So, you already

know everything?”

“Yes, including what you and Rev spent most

of yesterday doing.” She shot him a sharp look.
“Now the only question remaining is, what are we
going to do about it?”

* * * *

Rev’s heart hammered as he and his fellow
Wardens quietly approached the abandoned
theater. The fact that it was the very same theater

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125

where he and Jess had killed the lamia wasn’t lost
on Rev and he couldn’t help but feel a bit
apprehensive.

All along they’d been playing to Agnes’s tune

and they’d never realized it. When her slug
demons had failed to take out Bathsheba, she’d
sent in the next best thing, an unwitting Warden.

The fact that Rev had been used for an

assassination by manipulation pissed him off
beyond belief. Not that the lamia hadn’t needed to
be taken care of, but damn it, not on some scorned
Granny’s whim.

They all crept silently inside the building. Since

it was a known fact that slug demons spent most
of their time sleeping, the Wardens hoped that by
coming at such an early hour, they’d catch all the
lumpy bastards asleep and unaware.

As soon as they stepped inside and all the lights

flashed on, Rev knew they were in trouble. His
spine tingled with fear as he found not only
dozens of slug demons standing at the ready, but
Agnes.

Gone was the sweet, old lady from the other

day and in her place was the wicked witch from
all the scary fairy tales. Her scraggly hair was even
tucked under a black hat and she wore matching
long, flowing robes.

“Do you honestly think you could take on

somebody as powerful as me?” She let out a

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126

cackle. “You Wardens are weak and not ready. I’m
going to be able to kill you all without breaking a
sweat.”

Grabbing his longsword, Rev let out a growl.

“We’ll just have to see about that.”

That’s when…pardon the pun…all frigging hell

broke loose.

* * * *

Jess’s heart lurched in fear as he stared up at the
Oracle. He then realized that he and Rev might
already be in a world of trouble for what they’d
done.

Desperate to at least save Rev from

punishment, Jess stammered, “It wasn’t his fault.
He was out of control and in need. I should have
found a way to resist him. So if anybody is going
to be in trouble, it’s me.”

She gave another wave of her hand. “Damn it,

don’t be so dense. How can you think I would be
mad about this?”

Jess blinked in surprise. “You’re not?”
“No, I’ve known since the moment you and

Rev breathed your first breaths that you two were
destined to be together and not just as Warden
and Guardian.”

“But what about all those laws?” Jess asked,

even as hope blossomed in his chest.

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127

She gave another dismissive wave of her hand.

“Please, what fun is it being the Oracle if I can’t
change the rules from time to time?”

Jess let out a huge breath, his body soaring with

joy. “So, does that mean that Rev and I can be
together?”

“Baby, I’ll officiate your marriage ceremony

myself.” She pressed her lips together
thoughtfully. “Of course, that’s still not legal in
Michigan. I think I may just have to do something
about that dumb ass law, too.”

With a laugh of happiness, Jess bowed once

more. “Thank you. I will never forget the honor
you have given me.”

A frown covered her face as she cocked her

head to the side. “We may have to save the
celebration for later. I sense the Wardens are in
grave danger.”

Jess’s stomach dropped. “What’s happening?”
“They are fighting Agnes and her slug demons.

What’s worse, the Wardens are getting their asses
handed to them.”

Jess sprang to his feet. “I have to get to my car

and get there to help them?”

“Or we could just travel Oracle style.”
With a smile, she snapped her fingers and in a

flash, they were smack dab in the middle of chaos.

* * * *

Stephani Hecht

128

Rev slammed into the wall, a groan of pain
slipping from his lips, right before Ari flew
through the air and crashed into the spot right
next to him. They both crumpled into undignified
lumps on the dirty ground.

Sitting up, Rev rubbed the burn spot in the

center of his chest where Agnes’s magic bolt had
hit him. Ari sat up, doing the same thing.

“Well, this Ari-and-Rev-take-out-Agnes-while-

the-rest-of-the-gang-kill-the-slug-demons plan is
working splendidly,” Ari said with heavy
sarcasm.

Rev was just about to fire off a No shit, Sherlock,

when a bright, blinding white light filled the
room. It glowed for few seconds, before it
dissipated to show the Oracle and…Jess?

The Oracle glared at Agnes. “Oh, you have so

pissed me off. Nobody hurts my Wardens and
gets away with it.”

Agnes paled, but didn’t back off. “What are you

going to do about it?”

Giving off a smile so malicious it sent a trickle

of fear down Rev’s spine, the Oracle replied,
“Plenty, and you’re going to hate every second of
it.”

The two women then began to exchange

magical blows, bright orbs of red and white magic
flying around the room. In the meantime, the slug

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129

demons continued to attack. When Rev noticed
that Jess was unarmed, his heart froze with fear.

Fighting his way toward his Guardian, Rev

finally reached his side. Reaching under his cloak,
he handed various weapons to Jess.

“I’m so glad to see you,” Rev breathed.
In response, Jess reached out and pulled Rev in

for a brief kiss. As they pulled apart, Rev gasped.
“That’s really not keeping things discreet.”

“We don’t have to anymore.”
Before Rev could ask what Jess meant by that, a

pair of slug demons descended. Rev and Jess both
began to fight. It wasn’t easy. Already, Rev’s body
screamed in pain from being overused since the
battle had been going on so long. He pushed past
the agony and finally dispatched one of the slug
demons.

Just as the creature fell, he caught Ari’s eye. His

fellow Warden stood on the opposite side of the
room, but they knew each other well enough that
Rev recognized that Ari’s expression gave off a
silent command.

Rev nodded his understanding before they both

charged Agnes. Rev came toward her front, while
Ari attacked from behind.

Agnes was so busy fighting the Oracle she

didn’t notice the attack coming until it was too
late. Ari brought his sword up in a high arch. At
the same time, Rev slid to his knees and struck

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130

low.

Their blades hit at the same time, slicing into

Agnes and going all the way through. Blood
sprayed the area before the witch fell to the
ground. Or rather, the three pieces of her fell to
the ground.

The Oracle stamped her foot. “Way to steal my

thunder, boys. I so had her taken care of.”

Ari went down to one knee, his blood-soaked

sword still clutched in his hand. “But, Oracle. It’s
our duty to protect you.”

She gave him a playful swat on the head.

“Okay, I forgive you this time, but only because
you’re so cute when you’re not being grumpy.”

After that it was only a few more minutes

before the rest of the Wardens finished off the
remaining slug demons. As soon as all of the
enemy lay dead, Rev rushed over to Jess.

The Guardian opened his arms and Rev didn’t

hesitate. He threw himself into Jess’s embrace and
crushed their lips together. Several shocked gasps
filled the air.

“Oh stop it, all of you,” the Oracle chided.

“Those two are perfect for each other and we all
know it.”

“But the rules say otherwise,” Stew protested.
The Oracle rolled her eyes. “Oh, Stew, stuff it

already. I have spoken. Rev and Jess are to be
allowed to be together in all ways and if anybody

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131

tries to say otherwise, then they’ll have me to deal
with.”

Rev turned to her, his heart filling with pure

joy. “You mean that?”

Smiling, she came up and gently cupped his

cheek. “My poor Rev. You have been through so
much pain and loss. Know that I felt it every time
you hurt and it grieved me so. It’s about time you
found some happiness. I know Jess is it for you.
So, I want you two to go back to your apartment
and get your freak on.”

Rev laughed, so happy that he could have taken

on twenty million slug demons. “Has anybody
told you that you’re the best Oracle ever?”

She pursed her lips. “Not lately. Now go, be

happy. Just make sure not to forget your duties.
The dark times are only starting for the Wardens.
This battle was just the first step in our long dark
journey and we’re going to need all our strength
in the battle ahead.”

The room grew somber as the implication of her

words sank in. Then Jess wrapped his arms
around Rev and the Warden realized something.
So long as he had Jess by his side, he could face
anything.

Turning his head to look up at Jess, Rev said, “I

love you.”

Jess smiled tenderly at him. “And I have loved

you from the moment I was born. You are my

Stephani Hecht

132

destiny, Rev, and now that I have you, I’m never
letting go.”

Rev snuggled in deeper. “I can live with that

plan.”

Yes, the war would be hard, it would suck at

times, but Rev knew their love for one another
would always carry them through.

About the Author

Stephani Hecht is a happily married mother of
two. Born and raised in Michigan, she loves all
things about the state, from the frigid winters to
the Detroit Red Wings hockey team. Go Wings!
You can usually find her snuggled up to her
laptop, creating her next book or gorging on
caffeine at her favorite coffee shop.

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