War is hell. Love is even worse.

Now that Ian and Kale are happily mated, they
thought the worst of their battles was behind
them. But the war between the VRF has heated up
and become more bloody than ever. As the Drones
prepare to take over Detroit again, Ian and Kale
know they must fight harder than ever to stay
together. The stakes are high since the VRF is
determined not to lose the city and will do
anything to keep the Drones at bay.

Will Ian and Kale aid the Drones in victory? Or

will they all lose the battle and pay with their
lives?

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this
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infringement, including infringement without
monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is
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fine of $250,000.

Please purchase only authorized electronic editions,
and do not participate in or encourage the electronic
piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the
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.

Of War and Blood

ISBN: 978-1-77111-563-6

Cover art by Martine Jardin

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the
reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in
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Of War and Blood

The Drone Vampire Chronicles

Stephani Hecht

Chapter One

ou are the only man I know who can frown
after sex,” Kale said as he snuggled into Ian’s

chest.

They lay in bed after a marathon session of sex,

and Ian knew Kale was right. By all rights, he
should have a great big smile on his face, but all
he could think about was what the next day had in
store for them.

Running a hand up Kale’s sweaty, naked flank,

Ian said, “I’m sorry, I was just thinking about
tomorrow.”

Kale pressed a kiss to Ian’s chest. “The whole

reason we had sex in the first place was for us to
forget about the battle.”

Ian sighed. “I know, but now that we’re done, I

can’t help but think about it, and it worries me. It’s
going to be one big cluster fuck, and I’m worried
you’re going to be right in the middle of it.”

“So are you,” Kale reminded Ian.
“Yeah, but you’re my mate, so I worry about

you more.”

“And you don’t think I’m not concerned about

“Y

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you?”

Truthfully, the thought hadn’t entered Ian’s

mind. He was so used to being hated it was still
foreign to him that somebody would actually give
a damn about his sorry hide. Especially somebody
as special and wonderful as Kale.

“Actually, I never thought of it that way,” Ian

admitted.

Kale went up on one elbow so he could gaze

down at Ian. “You’re my mate, and I love you. Of
course, I worry about you. I’m terrified of losing
you. So much so that if I could, I would tie you
down to this bed in order to keep you from going
to that battle tomorrow.”

Ian flashed his fangs. “Hey, I may have lost my

magic, but I still have these, so I can fight with the
best of them.”

Kale shook his head. “Even if you did have

your magic, I would want to keep you from the
battle. I don’t think I could survive if something
bad were to happen to you.”

Ian cupped the back of Kale’s head. “Come

here.”

Pulling Kale down, Ian brought their lips

together for a deep, long kiss.

“I feel the same way about you, Kale. Just

promise me you’ll be careful tomorrow.”

Kale licked his lips, as if he wanted to get every

little bit of Ian’s essence he could. “Only if you

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promise to do the same. After all, you do have the
reputation of being reckless at times.”

Since Ian knew it would be pointless to argue,

because it was true, he just gave Kale another kiss.
This one went on longer and was a little deeper.
Even though there was no way Ian could perform
again, because even a vampire had his limitations,
he just couldn’t get enough of Kale.

He knew it was because it could very well be

their last night together. The upcoming battle was
going to be vicious and dangerous, and the
casualty rate was going to high. Sure, they had a
ton of new allies on their side, but the VRF was
strong and weren’t going to give up Detroit easily.
They were going to fight with everything they had
and then some.

Ian thought about the few friends he did have.

The thought of losing any of them filled him with
a white hot rage. All of them were good people,
and they didn’t deserve to die. Especially at the
hands at such fucks. Ian wished he could protect
them all, but he knew that wasn’t possible. So he
had to let fate take control of the situation. And so
far, the bitch hadn’t exactly been kind to him.

As he glanced over at Kale, he realized that

wasn’t exactly true, she had given him Kale. In the
end, that was worth all the suffering Ian had gone
through. The warlock was truly a gift from the
Goddess. It was thanks to Kale that Ian finally

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believed there was some good left in this fucked
up world.

“What are you thinking about?” Kale asked

gently.

“How much I love you,” Ian replied.
“I love you, too, mate,” Kale said.
Those had to be the three favorite words in

Ian’s vocabulary. Although he’d die before he’d
admit it aloud. He’d never live down the ribbing
he’d get from his brother and cousin if he did.
After all, Ian had the reputation of a mean,
heartless bastard to live up to.

They fell silent, and after a few moments, Kale’s

even breathing told Ian his mate had fallen asleep.
Since Ian knew there would be no slumber for him
that night, he carefully slid out of bed and got
dressed.

He went out to the common area of the clan

dwelling and wasn’t surprised to see his brother
Donavan there as well. Like Ian, Donavan had the
same coloring of dark hair and eyes. He even had
the same muscular build. The only difference
between them was that Donavan was still a
warlock, whereas Ian was now a vampire.

“Couldn’t sleep, either?” Ian asked, being

Captain Obvious.

“No, I’m too jacked up about tomorrow. How

about you?”

“Pretty much the same. Kale doesn’t seem to

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have the same problem. He’s sleeping like the
dead.”

As soon as Ian said that last word, he wanted it

back. Just using Kale and dead so close together
made his stomach churn. As usual, Donavan
seemed to read Ian’s feelings. He came over and
patted his brother on the back.

“If it’s any consolation, I’m worried as hell

about Nolan, too. Why do you think I’m up? All I
can think about is him going into that damn battle
tomorrow. While we have the VRF soldiers who
turned and are on our side from Pontiac, there are
still the ones from Detroit to contend with and
from what I hear there are a lot of them.”

“We could just take our mates them and run,”

Ian suggested.

“You don’t really mean that, and we both know

it.”

Ian sighed and ran his hands through his hair.

“No, but part of me wishes I was heartless enough
to do it. I just want to keep them safe. You know?”

“Do I ever. But even if we did take them and

leave, they would never be safe until the VRF and
the Ninth are a thing of the past. Only then can we
live in peace.”

“Shit! Why can’t life ever be simple for us?”
Donavan cocked one dark brow. “When has it

ever been easy for us?”

“You would think we could at least catch a

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break for once in our lives.”

“We found our mates. I would say that would

count as a big break.”

Ian turned on his brother. “Mates we could

very well lose tomorrow. You’ve never had a mate
die on you. I have. Let me tell you, it’s the worst
feeling in the world. It changes you forever. I
don’t think I will be able to survive it again. If Kale
dies, I may as well go with him.”

“Don’t talk that way.”
“Why not? It’s true. If my mate leaves this

world, I will have no reason to live anymore.”

“What about me and Lachlan?”
“It won’t be enough. Not anymore. You know I

care about both of you guys, but not even that will
give me the will to live. Only Kale does that.”

It was true, too. Before Kale, Ian had only been

a shell of a man. A bitter, hateful soul who lashed
out at the world. It was Kale who had brought
him back from the brink and given him a reason to
live again. To see the beauty in the world. If Kale
were to die, then Ian would go so dark there
would be no bringing him back this time. He truly
would become the monster everyone believed him
to be.

“You guys couldn’t sleep either, huh?” Lachlan

said as he came into the room.

Their cousin came in and sat down at one of the

tables. Ian and Kale joined him. They all sat in

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silence for a moment before Lachlan said, “What if
we lose tomorrow?”

“We can’t think that way,” Donavan said.
“But we have to. We need to be prepared,”

Lachlan insisted.

“Prepared for what? To die?” Kale asked.
“No, for them to take us as prisoners. I don’t

know about you, but I’m not about to be taken to
be tortured or worse—to one of their prisons
again.” Lachlan grew pale as he spoke.

“So what are you proposing we do?” Donavan

asked.

By way of answer, Lachlan reached into his

pocket and laid something on the table. Ian grew
more confused when he saw it was six little pills—
capsules actually. They were dark brown in color
and not that big, no bigger than Ian’s pinkie nail.

“What are they?” Donavan asked.
“They are something I concocted. It’s the most

powerful poison known to exist in magic potions.
When ingested, death is instantaneous,” Lachlan
said in a low voice.

“What do you want us to do with them?” Ian

asked, a bit horrified. This was so un-Lachlan like.
Lachlan healed so he never was the type to make
something that could kill.

Lachlan gave each of them a probing stare. “We

each take one with us and give one to our mates. If
we’re captured, then we take them.”

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A stunned silence followed his announcement.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Ian finally said.
“No, I’m serious.”
“You would rather see Jeremy dead than in

prison?”

“Yes, he would never live a day in a place like

that, and we all know it. They would eat him
alive, that is, after they all took turns raping him. I
don’t want that to happen to him,” Lachlan said.

Donavan shook his head. “There has to be

another way.”

Lachlan pounded his fist on the table. “Don’t

you get it? They’ll turn me, you, Ian, Kale and
Blaine over to the Ninth. What do you think
they’ll do to us?”

Ian thought back to the time when he saw the

Ninth burn a couple alive at the stake. Just the
thought of Kale meeting such a torturously slow
death was enough to make him want to vomit in
the nearby trashcan.

He reached out and fingered one of the nearby

pills. “Where would we hide them? They’ll be sure
to search us when we’re captured.”

“In the corner of our mouths,” Lachlan said.

“They are coated with something that won’t let
our saliva break them down.”

“You can’t honestly be thinking about going

along with this plan,” Donavan thundered.

“Do you remember what they did to Nolan the

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last time they put him in a paranormal prison?”
Ian asked. “This time, you won’t be there to save
him.”

A flicker of horror went over Donavan’s face,

and that’s when Ian knew he’d gotten through to
his brother. If it hadn’t had been for them, Nolan
would have been a plaything to some creatures
and then had his throat slit. That would have been
if he’d been lucky.

Donavan let out a sigh. “How do we know one

of us won’t slip and fall and bite one of these on
mistake?”

Lachlan gave a wry smile. “I thought of that,

too. I bewitched them, so they won’t work unless
you say I choose death over life after you bite into
them. That’s the only way they will work.”

“Will the death be painless?” Ian asked.
He didn’t want Kale to suffer at all. If Kale was

going to have to die, Ian wanted it to at least be a
peaceful death.

“We won’t feel a thing. I promise you.”
“I can’t believe we’re even considering this,”

Donavan said as he ran his hand through his hair
again. At the rate he was going, he would be bald
soon.

“I know, but it’s better than the alternative. You

have to admit that,” Lachlan said.

“How did you even learn how to make

something like this?” Ian asked.

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Lachlan gave a dry laugh. “You weren’t the

only one who picked up a thing or two from our
time living with the Ninth. I have more than a few
tricks up my sleeve. I plan on using them during
the battle, too.”

“Won’t that go against your half-angel side?”

Ian teased.

“You’ve met some angels. Was there anything

angelic about them?” Lachlan challenged.

Ian only had to think a moment before he

answered. “Nope. How do you know these will
even work on you? What with you being part
angel.”

Lachlan shrugged. “I just have to hope it does.

If it doesn’t, they’ve been working with me on
transporting myself from place to place like they
do. Hopefully, by then I’ll have it down. At least,
I’ll know you guys won’t be suffering.”

“But you’ll be all alone,” Donavan said, his eyes

growing bleak.

Lachlan looked down at the table. “It’s a

sacrifice I’m willing to make. I’ll be able to have
some peace knowing you aren’t being tortured or
worse. I do know one thing. If it does happen, I’ll
use all the powers I have spending the rest of my
days avenging you guys. I won’t rest until the
ones who hurt you are dead.”

Now that really didn’t sound like the Lachlan

they knew. He was usually the easy going, make

Of War and Blood

love not war, one of their group. It just went to
show how war could change a man.

It made Ian sad. He wanted the old Lachlan

back. The one who was always smiling. The one
who lived for healing. The one who never had an
unkind word to say. Not this man who talked of
death and vengeance.

“Just promise me one thing,” Ian said to

Lachlan.

“What?”
“Don’t become like me. I don’t want you to be

miserable and hated. Trust me when I say it’s not
fun. And it’s no way to live. You’re too good of a
person to be that way. Don’t let them turn you
into that.”

He didn’t know who looked more shocked,

Lachlan or Donavan. If it had been a different
time, Ian would have been tempted to laugh. At
the moment though, he only wanted to weep. And
how sad was that?

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Chapter Two

ale sat in the back of the van that was on its
way to Detroit. All the way there, he kept

resisting the urge to touch the little pill tucked in
behind his back teeth. He still couldn’t believe it
was there any more than the fact it was Ian who
had asked him to put it there.

Once Ian had told him his reasons, Kale had to

agree with them, but it made the finality of the
war seem all the more real. There were a lot of
them that weren’t going to come out of this alive.
Many of who were or could be friends and loved
ones. This wasn’t any normal skirmish they were
going into. This was the big one. The one they had
been waiting for. The one all the little fights had
been leading up to. It was here now, and there
was no turning back.

Kale let out a deep breath. He was wearing

heavy body armor, and it was so hot he was
sweating under it. The armor would be fine
against claws and bullets, but it wouldn’t do shit

Of War and Blood

against any of the harder spells the Ninth would
be throwing their way. Kale just hoped all the
protection spells he’d been working on would be
good enough. It was at times like this he wished
Ian had his magic back. He would be helpless
against any of the magic tossed his way.

But Ian’s magic was gone because he’d traded it

away to some fire demons in order to save Kale
from an evil warlock. While the gesture had been
loving at the time, it could very well get Ian killed
now. Kale didn’t even want to think of that
possibility. If Ian died because of him, Kale would
never be able to live with himself. It would be like
losing the other half of his soul.

Ian nudged him. “Don’t worry. Everything is

going to be okay. We’ll go in there and kick some
ass. They won’t even know what hit them.”

Kale wanted to ask if that were the case, why

did they have the pills in their mouths, but he kept
that thought to himself. No sense in ruining a
good pep talk.

“So, is it true we’re going in through the

underground tunnels?” he asked.

“Yes, we think the VRF won’t be expecting it,

since the tunnels are unstable so they will be the
least guarded.”

“It will be dangerous for us then.”
“Yes, but Ethan’s team knows their way around

them, because they used to test their sunlight

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grenades out on them when they were still in the
development stage.”

Kale shook his head. Only Ethan’s team would

do something that reckless. “Is it true the VRF
troops are now wearing sunlight protective gear
so the grenades won’t work on them anymore?”

“That’s the rumor. Personally, I’m surprised it

took them this long to start wearing them. I would
have thought they would have done it a long time
ago.”

Kale snorted. “Well, nobody has ever accused

the VRF of being smart. Just ruthless and vile.”

“Isn’t that the truth!”
“They probably thought the new suits didn’t

look good for their image,” a vampire named
Dante drawled. “With them, good looks are
everything.”

“Yeah, they didn’t want the helmets to ruin

their hair,” Ian countered.

“Well, they do spend all morning making sure

it’s gelled to perfection,” Dante smirked.

“How can you two joke at a time like this,”

another vampire asked.

“I would cry, but I look dorky when I weep,”

Dante said.

“Me, too,” Ian added. “I get all snotty and

everything. You don’t want to see that, now do
you?”

The vampire just shook his head in disbelief.

Of War and Blood

Kale decided to put the vampire out of misery and
explain things to him. After all, the vampire
looked young, only around twenty. Although, that
didn’t say much since vampires stopped aging
once they were turned. For all he knew, the kid
could actually be over a hundred years old.

“Some people deal with stress differently. This

is their way. It’s a lot better than pissing their
pants or vomiting,” Kale explained to the vampire.

“Yeah, that would be gross and smelly,” Dante

said.

“Not to mention a bit rude,” Ian added. “And a

bit of a pussy move.”

“You two are crazy,” the vampire exclaimed.
“No, he’s a smartass.” Ian hooked a thumb to

his chest. “I’m the crazy one. I’m mean, too, in
case you haven’t heard.”

Kale patted Ian on the knee. “You’re not mean.

You’re just misunderstood.”

“Thank you. That means a lot. Just for that, I

won’t punch out that vampire over there.”

“That’s good. We need all the able-bodied men

we can get. We don’t want to go into this battle
with men already injured,” Kale reasoned.

“I guess that makes sense.” Ian sighed. “I won’t

hurt them.”

“Thanks. When we get back, I’ll find a special

way to thank you.”

“You two are so sweet together.” Dante made a

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gagging motion with his finger.

“Speaking of mates, where is Brenden?” Kale

asked.

“He’s in another van with his buddies, working

on some new weapon. They think it may be even
better than the sunlight grenade.”

Kale let out a sigh. “I hope so. We can use all

the help we can get.”

“But we have all kinds of new allies on our

side,” the interrupting vampire said.

“Yeah, but the VRF still has us outnumbered

and outgunned,” Dante replied.

The vampire grew pale and looked ready to

hurl.

“Hey now, remember, no puking allowed,” Ian

barked. “It’s rude. We already established that
fact.”

“Yeah, and there aren’t any windows back here,

so we can’t air it out, and it’s going to stink like
hell,” Dante added.

As they got closer to Detroit, Kale noticed the

banter gradually died down, and the van grew
more silent. When he looked out the front window
and saw a sign that read Welcome to the City of
Detroit, the silence became nearly deafening and
the tension rose.

Ian reached out and grabbed Kale’s hand,

giving it a tight squeeze. Whether it was to
reassure Kale or Ian, Kale wasn’t for sure, but he

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still took comfort from the contact. Kale took
several deep breaths as he knew within the hour
they could be very well fighting for their lives.

It was so funny, he’d been looking forward to

this moment for so long, and now that it was
finally here, he wanted it to go away. The irony of
it all was so amusing he would have laughed had
he not been so close to puking.

All too soon, the van came to a stop. They

crowded out and met in the back. Ethan was there,
and it gave Kale some comfort to see their usually
reserved leader looked as nervous as the rest of
them.

“The underground tunnels start right here,” he

said. “We don’t think we’ll meet any resistance
under there, but we need to be ready. We don’t
know what has changed since we’ve last been here
so I want everybody to be on guard. For all we
know, they could have enchanted scorpions or
spiders down there.”

Oh, goody! Things just kept getting better and

better. What was next? Zombies with machetes
and a grumpy disposition?

Just a portion of the group would be going

through the underground tunnels. The others
would be going street-to-street, trying to meet up
with old contacts to see if they were still friendly
and wanted to join up with the cause. Kale didn’t
know which ones had it worse. The ones who had

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to go into the unknown, or the ones who were out
in the open where the VRF could stumble onto
them at any moment.

Ethan pulled back some brush that hid the

opening to the tunnel, and they all slid in one by
one. When it was Kale’s turn, he immediately
knew something was off. He didn’t remember the
place smelling so rank.

“Gah!” he said, bringing a gloved hand up to

his nose. “What is that stench?”

“Rot,” Ian said with a grim face. “Mixed in with

something else. I can’t detect exactly what it is yet,
but if it’s what I think it is, we’re well and truly
fucked.”

“Should we leave?” Kale asked.
“No,” Ethan said with a heavy sigh, “I’m

thinking the same thing Ian is, and we have no
choice but to fight our way through them. We
have to take this tunnel. It’s our only hope of
getting Detroit.”

“What do you think it is?” Kale asked, his heart

thumping in fear. There wasn’t much that scared
Ian or Ethan so it must be pretty bad.

“Nagas,” Ian said.
“What in the hell are those?” a Pure Born ally

asked.

“It’s part cobra, part woman, and all evil,” Kale

answered.

“The VRF must have let them loose down here

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to protect the tunnel. The good thing is our new
weapon should help kill them. The bad thing is we
only have a few of them ready,” Ethan said.

It was only then that Kale noticed Cherish had a

pack on her back.

“Why does Cherish look like a Ghostbuster?” Ian

asked.

Ethan put one on Ian. “We found a way to

replicate the blue fire that magics use. It should
burn the nagas to hell and back.”

“What about the rest of the team? There are

only two of these,” Kale said.

“We have to hope good old bullets will do the

trick,” Ethan said with a sad expression in his
gaze.

They ventured into the cave, moving as quietly

as a group a soldiers could. It wasn’t long before
they came upon their first body. It wasn’t a naga’s
though, but a werewolf.

“What the hell?” Do you think he stumbled

here on mistake?” Kale whispered.

“No, I think they’ve been using them as food

for the nagas,” Ethan said, his eyes bright with
fury.

“So much for them being allies,” Ian snorted.
“The werewolves learned the hard way that the

VRF doesn’t have any allies,” Dante replied.

As they walked farther into the cave, they

stumbled upon more bodies, all of them

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werewolves. Kale felt his anger rising with each
one. While he’d felt betrayed when the
werewolves had turned on them, they hadn’t
deserved this. They had been treated like nothing
more than lambs being led to the slaughter.

Then just when he thought they’d never see one

of the snake bitches, he heard a slithering sound
coming from all sides of him. He raised his hands,
but he had no idea where to point to them.
Spinning in a circle, he just waited for one of them
to make herself visible.

It didn’t take long, and she was every bit as

horrific as he had imagined her to be. While her
body looked like a six-foot long cobra, her upper
body looked like a woman. Only her skin was a
dull gray, and she had a forked tongue that kept
flicking out to taste the air. Her black hair was a
mass of dirty, tangled dread-locks, and her eyes
glowed red in the darkness of the cave. She wore a
gilded golden corset to cover her torso and had a
ruby necklace around her thick neck.

Moving with inhuman speed, she grabbed a

nearby dark warlock ally and bit off his head. The
poor man didn’t even have time to scream. She
then crammed the rest of his body in her mouth
and chewed it up. Kale winced as blood and bone
splattered all over the place.

Ethan was the first to recover from the shock.

Letting out a few choice words, he shot off blue

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fire. The naga screamed as the blue fire hit her.
The air filled with the stench of burning flesh. She
lifted her hands to her face, and soon she was
reduced to nothing but ash.

There was no time to celebrate before ten more

slithered out to take her place. Chaos erupted as
gunfire, screams, and fire filled the air. They lost
several men and women as the nagas attacked,
killing with lightning speed. The smell of death
soon became so strong Kale gagged.

He turned and uttered the words that would

allow him to shoot off some blue fire of his own. It
hit a naga straight in the chest. She tried to lunge
at him. For a second, Kale thought she was going
to get him. Her claws even left a mark in his body
armor. But she soon burst into flames.

He took several steps back as she let out a

scream, her hands flailing wildly while she tried to
put out the fire consuming her grotesque body.
Ash worked its way up from her tail until it was at
her head. Only then did she still and fall apart.

Ugh! Talk about gross. Kale shook it off and

looked around to see how Ian was doing. His
vampire was offing another naga, using the
weapon Ethan had given him. Kale was amazed. It
did seem to act just like the blue fire the magics
used. Nobody could say Ethan and Brenden
weren’t geniuses when it came to weapons. The
stuff the pair came up with was downright scary

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at times.

Out of nowhere, a tail swept Kale off his feet.

He went down hard on the unforgiving ground.
Looking up, he found himself looking at the face
of a naga. Panicked, he yelled out the first spell
that came to his mind. It was one he’d leaned at
the Ninth and pretty dark. But it did the trick.

Just as she was lunging at him, the naga turned

to stone. Her face froze just inches from him, her
jaws stretched wide for the killing bite. He turned
to see Ian letting out a sigh of relief. Ian didn’t care
Kale had just used dark magic. All he cared about
was that Kale was safe and still alive.

Some of the other dark magics saw the spell

and began using it, too, and soon had many stone
nagas dotting the battlefield. It didn’t matter,
though. No matter how many they put down,
more slithered out to take their place.

“Just how many of these bitches are there?”

Dante asked as he mowed one down with a
machine gun.

“Who knows, I’ve heard of nests as big as

several hundred,” Ethan said.

Dante sighed. “It looks like it’s going to be a

long day for us then.”

“Yes, because we don’t know what else the VRF

has waiting for us deeper in the cavern,” Ethan
said with a grim face.

Of War and Blood

Chapter Three

an dodged a naga’s claws, barely avoiding
being eviscerated as he watched Kale turn the

other nagas to stone. Well, well, well, looked like
his little warlock still remembered more than one
spell from his time with the Ninth. Ian didn’t
know whether to be proud of him or spank him.
He decided if they ever got out of this situation
alive, he would do both. Why deny them the fun?

Ian raised the nozzle of the machine Ethan had

given him and blew off some more of the blue fire.
While it wasn’t anything close to having his
powers back, it still wasn’t half bad. The naga
went up into flames. Ian didn’t even pause to
watch her burn before he turned to find his next
victim.

Dayum, but the bitches were ugly. And that

said something since Ian had dealt with some of
the worst demons hell had to offer. These things
won the fugly contest hands down. He wondered
if whatever created them had done it on purpose

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or if they had just been high at the time. Whatever
the reason, they should be beat stupid just for
coming up with the creatures.

A Pure Born vampire ally next to him was

taken down by one of the nagas, his body split in
half by her talons. The guy screamed in pain until
she swallowed his head in one great gulp.

“Oh, you have to die, just for having terrible

table manners,” Ian muttered as he shot off some
blue fire her way.

She screeched in agony as the flames hit her in

the face. Ian trailed the flame in a straight line
down her body until she was completely
consumed, the air reeking of burning snake and
human flesh. Ian didn’t think he was ever going to
be able to clear the rank stench from his nostrils. If
he ever made it out alive.

Lachlan came over and put his back to Ian’s. It

was a common move the cousins took whenever
they fought together.

“How’s Jeremy doing?” Ian asked.
“He’s burning up everything that slithers and

loving it. How about Kale?”

“Pretty much the same. How many from our

side have we lost?”

“About a dozen, give or take. It’s kind of hard

to keep track with all this chaos going on. I saw
one naga take out two Pure Borns at once. The
poor fuckers didn’t stand a chance.” Lachlan

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shook his head.

Another dark warlock was devoured by a naga.

Ian cocked a brow. “Make that a dozen, give or
take, plus one.”

Cherish ran forward, and Brenden rushed

behind her and the pair took out the naga who’d
just had a warlock snack. Ian had to hand it to her,
Cherish might be small, but she more than
handled her own in the battlefield.

“You go help your mate, and I’ll go to mine,”

Ian said to Lachlan.

Lachlan nodded, and they pushed away from

each other. Ian dodged and weaved his way over
to Kale, getting there just as Kale was turning yet
another naga into stone.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that a dark

magic spell?” Ian teased.

Kale flashed him a smile. “Who cares? It’s

working, isn’t it? And it doesn’t stink half as bad
as burning them up alive.”

Kale did have a point there. It wasn’t quite as

noisy, either. Not for the first time, Ian wished for
his magic back, so he could use that spell himself.
As it was, he felt like some second-rate soldier
using a fake version of magic. He couldn’t even
bite the nagas, because everybody knew never to
bite strange creatures because their blood could be
poisonous. Damn it, all fanged out and nowhere to
go. If that wasn’t the story of his life.

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He turned so his back was to Kale’s, and they

fought on. The fight seemed to go on forever. Ian
lost count of how many nagas he killed. The air
around them grew smoky from all the fires, and
the stench grew thick with the smells of death and
burning flesh.

Just when Ian felt like he couldn’t go on, the last

naga went down. For a second, they all stood
there and just waited. Like they expected a second
wave to be coming. When none came, they all let
out a collective cheer.

Ethan held up a hand to halt them. “Not to be a

downer, guys, but this was just the first part of the
tunnel. I have a feeling there are more surprises
for us, and we don’t want to alert them that we
beat the nagas just yet.”

A chill went down Ian’s back as he wondered

just what else could be waiting for them. If the
nagas were just the warm-up act, what came next
had to be a doozy. He put an arm around Kale and
held him close, needing to feel his mate’s warmth.
To know he was still alive and okay—for now.

The group became sober as they all peered

down the tunnel. They had so long to go and no
idea of what might be coming. It was like going
into a haunted house, yet all the horrors awaiting
them were real and deadly.

They had to wait around while Lachlan healed

the wounded. That gave them some time to have

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the adrenaline crash and to yap their mouths.

“Did you see how big those things were?”

Jeremy asked. He had a smudge of ash and blood
on his cheek, but still managed to look as innocent
as ever.

“They were ugly, too,” Kale said as he eyed up

one of the statues.

Several of the soldiers standing nearby gave

shivers of revulsion.

“What kind of god makes that kind of thing?”

Kale asked.

“Actually, it’s found in Buddhism and

Hinduism,” Ian replied.

When Cherish shot him a surprised look, Ian

said, “What? Just because I’m mean doesn’t mean
I don’t know stuff. I’m not all anger. I do have
some brains. I just don’t throw my knowledge
around like you do.”

“You could have fooled me,” she replied with a

little sniff.

Lachlan had finished with the wounded, so

they all got back into formation.

“I’ll take point,” Ethan said.
As always, Ethan was brave and put his own

neck out before his team. It’s what made him such
a great leader and had earned him the respect of
his coven. Most leaders wouldn’t even go into
battle, let alone take the lead. It was why Ian
respected him unlike any other coven leader he’d

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known. Although, he’d die before he’d admit as
much to Ethan. After all, Ian had his reputation as
an asshole to protect.

“What do you think we’ll run into next?” a

vampire asked Ian.

“Why are you asking me?” Ian demanded.
“Because you’re mean like them, so I thought

maybe you’d know how they think.”

Kale turned on the vampire with a snarl. “Ian is

nothing like them, and I better never hear you say
that again.”

The vampire paled but gave a shrug. “Well, he

spent the most time with the Ninth, so he would
know their tricks more than anybody.”

“So did Lachlan and Donavan, but I don’t see

you asking them. Or me for that matter,” Kale
snapped.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to offend you guys,” the

vampire backed down.

“Truth is, I have no idea what’s waiting for us

up there. Take the nagas, for example. I’ve never
encountered anything like that in my time with
the Ninth. They’re really good for coming up with
new stuff all the time, and it’s been a while since
I’ve been with them. For all I know, they could
have killer bunnies at the ready,” Ian admitted.

“You’re crazy,” the vampire said, dropping

back.

Kale looked at Ian. “I take it he’s not a Monty

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Python fan.”

“Then who needs him?”
“He probably hasn’t watched Airplane! either.”
“Either way, he really needs to loosen up,” Ian

said.

They walked a few more minutes before Kale

spoke, “Have I told you today how much I love
you?”

Ian smiled. “Yes, you did when we first woke

up. But I like hearing it again. I love you, too.”

“I wish you had your magic back. It would

make me worry less about you.”

Ian sighed. “Well, that’s not going to happen.

So, we’ll just have to make do with what we have.
I wouldn’t change my decision on giving it up,
anyway. It was to save you.”

Kale stared at him. “Why did you have to

choose that time to be so noble?”

“Because, like I said before, I love you.”
“But I don’t want to lose you.”
Ian stopped and pressed their lips together in a

brief kiss. “Who says you’re going to lose me? I
may have lost my magic, but I’m still a badass.
And that’s all that matters.”

They took a few more steps forward before

Ethan let out a muttered hiss. “I just stumbled
over another werewolf body.”

Ian’s stomach dropped. That could only mean

one thing. They were getting closer to their next

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adversary. Kale let his hands fall loose next to his
body, getting ready to shoot magic off at anything
bad and ugly that might be coming their way
while Ian gripped the nozzle of his new weapon
tightly.

As they continued to walk, the bodies became

more numerous. So did the stench. It was almost
metallic, yet earthy at the same time, if that made
any sense.

“Does that smell familiar to you?” he asked

Kale.

Kale shook his head. “It kind of reminds me of

those bugs that had you and me trapped in the
infirmary of that dark coven.”

Ian’s stomach blanched. Oh shit! This was

bad…really, really bad. Before he could think any
more about it the air was filled with the sound of
thousands of skittering feet. He turned, expecting
to see overly large insects. What he found was a
hundred times worse. It was something straight
from Satan’s nightmares.

Ten-foot high scorpions were pouring out from

every crevice of the walls. There had to be at least
twenty of them, and each one looked just as
horrifying as the last. They had large, barbed
stingers on their backs, each of them dripping
yellow venom that left large sizzling pits when
they hit the ground.

“Fuck me!” Dante spat out.

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“Maybe later,” Brenden replied. “We need to

live through this first.”

They all lifted their guns and began to fire, but

they might as well have been hitting an armored
car for their efforts. The hard shell of the creatures
seemed impervious to their bullets.

“How in the hell are we supposed to kill these

fuckers?” Ian asked.

Just as he said that, one of the scorpions lashed

out with its tail and impaled a vampire through
the chest, pulling it up into the air. They all
watched in horror as the poor man died a slow
and painful death, the venom working its way
from the inside out.

“Aim for the head,” Ethan yelled.
So that’s what Kale did. Yelling out the spell,

Kale shot some blue fire at the fucker’s head. It did
the trick. The thing let out a high-pitched squeal as
it thrashed around. Several of their squad had to
jump out of the way to avoid its death throes, but
the scorpion finally gave one last shudder before
falling to the ground dead.

Now that everyone had a game plan, they went

into motion, aiming for the heads. The only
problem was the scorpions actually seemed to
have some brains. As strange as it might seem,
they appeared to be going out of their way to
protect their heads. As if they knew that was what
the magics and vampires were aiming for.

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Ian let out a grunt of frustration when yet

another scorpion dodged his fire. The little
buggers…ha ha…were proving to be trickier than
the nagas. They were far deadlier, too, going by
the rate their soldiers were going down. They had
to figure out a way to off these scorpions and fast.

Kale must have got desperate, because he held

up his hands and yelled, “Oblivion!”

A burst of power emanated from his hands and

hit the scorpion. The beast let out a yell before it
burst into a million little pieces. Gore rained down
on everyone, most of it shell and a yellowish,
green slime. Ian didn’t care. It did the trick.

Since it was yet another spell he’d learn with

the Ninth, most of the white magics didn’t know
it, but they picked up on it quickly enough. Soon
enough, all the vampires were standing back and
letting the magics do their thing.

Before long, all that was left was a lot of gore

but no more scorpions. Ian looked around and
saw that everybody was covered in the goo. They
were a mess, even Dante who always made a
point to look his best.

Ethan took a step forward and slipped in the

slime, landing hard on his ass. He let out a groan.
“Argh! This is not my best moment. I think I just
got some of it in my mouth. It taste like shit mixed
with vomit.”

“Since I’ve never tasted that, I’ll just take your

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word on it,” Ian snarked as he went over to help
their leader to his feet.

“Good job, everybody,” Ethan said. “I never

thought dark magic would save us, but this is the
second time it’s saved this coven and clan. It just
goes to show what happens when we work
together instead of against each other.”

A dark warlock nodded. “I agree, but I refuse to

sing We are Family. That will just be taking things
too far.”

“No way,” Ethan said. “Have you ever heard

Ian sing? It sounds like somebody is slaughtering
a cow.”

Kale let out a laugh. Ian was a bit miffed, after

all, since Kale was his mate, he should be offended
on his behalf. Ian gave Kale a hey look so Kale
went over and kissed it away.

“You have to admit you do have a terrible

singing voice,” Kale said.

“It’s not that bad,” Ian argued.
“Are you kidding? One time you scared

Snuggles away with it, and sea serpents don’t
even have that good of hearing.”

“That reminds me, I have a thing or two to tell

Snuggles once we get Detroit secured,” Ian said.

Ian wondered if Snuggles was even still there or

if the VRF had killed her. It would be like them to
do something like that. He hoped not. Snuggles
was harmless, for the most part.

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Ian wondered what they would find when they

got to Detroit, period. How much had their city
changed? Would they even be welcomed back? Or
would the locals hate them for leaving in the first
place? A shiver went down Ian’s back.

Of War and Blood

Chapter Four

an felt like he’d been on one of those kids’
shows where the characters get slimed. Not

that Ian watched those shows…much. He had so
much of the scorpion guts on him he didn’t think
twenty showers were going to be enough to get it
off him.

Kale didn’t look much better. He had so much

on him his dark hair was slicked back from it.
Some of it was even stuck to his face. That was
going to itch like a bitch once it dried. Not
wanting his mate to suffer that fate, Ian reached
over and brushed it off.

Kale shot him a questioning look. “What was

that for?”

“You had some goo on your face.”
“We all have goo on our faces.” Kale laughed.
They were sitting on the ground, waiting while

Lachlan moved around, treating the wounded.
Unlike last time, there were a lot more. Ian
worried Lachlan was going to overexert himself.

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He wasn’t doing everyday healing, but using his
angel powers to totally heal the wounded. Ian
knew that took a lot out of Lachlan.

“He’ll be okay. We’ll all keep an extra eye on

him,” Kale said softly.

“How do you do that,” Ian said as he took

Kale’s hand.

Kale laid his head on Ian’s shoulder, despite the

fact it was covered in junk. “Do what?”

“Always know what I’m thinking?”
“I’m your mate. It’s my job.”
“We may try to protect him, but we don’t know

what’s up there waiting for us. If it’s anything like
the last two things we’ve encountered, it’s going
to be hard. But something tells me they’ve saved
the worst for the last.”

Kale let out a sigh. “I hate to say it, but me, too.

The Ninth and the VRF can be real sadistic
bastards at times.”

“Don’t we both know it.”
“I wish I could hurt them like they hurt you,”

Kale said viciously.

It warmed Ian to know somebody cared enough

about him to want some vengeance on his behalf.
Before, nobody had given a damn about his hide.
He could have died and, aside for Lachlan and
Donavan, nobody would have even noticed. Now
Ian had somebody he loved. Sure, it left him more
vulnerable, but it was worth it.

Of War and Blood

“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you, where is

Lilith? I haven’t seen her in a while.” Kale asked.

“She’s in the city, trying to see who is on our

side and who is with the VRF. We figured if
anybody could blend in, it would be her.”

Kale sat up and gave Ian an incredulous look.

“Excuse me. Did you just say Lilith and blend in in
the same sentence?”

“Shhh…be nice. Since she’s Lachlan’s half-

sister, she’s related to me, which makes her your
family, too.”

Kale looked up at the ceiling “God, help me.”
“You have to admit we have one fucked up

family tree.”

“We sure do. It’s going to make for interesting

holidays, that’s for sure.”

Ian had a visual of that one. Lilith and him

drinking blood in one corner while Kale and
Blaine blessed the house and Lachlan sat on top of
the tree. Good times to be had by all.

Lachlan came over. He looked a little pale, but

otherwise none the worst to wear. “I just need a
few moments to rest and we can get going.”

“We were just talking about the holidays. How

do you feel about being the tree topper this year?”
Ian asked.

That earned him a one finger answer.
“I’ll do that if you dress up as Count Chocula for

Halloween,” Lachlan shot back. “You have to do

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the cheesy accent, too.”

“Fuck that. We’ll just get a star for the tree.”
“I thought you’d say that.”
Ian reached over and patted Lachlan on the leg.

“How are you really feeling? Don’t bullshit me.”

Lachlan sighed. “Tired, but I’ve healed a lot

more than this before. I’m just fucking sick from
the ones I can’t help. We’ve already lost thirty men
and woman, and we are only two thirds of the
way through the tunnel. Since magics work in
threes, we can expect to face one more challenge,
and it’s going to be the toughest one yet.”

“What do you think it will be?” Kale asked.
“I would say spiders or anacondas, but it’s too

obvious. The Ninth don’t like to repeat
themselves. Since we already encountered cobras
and scorpions, it will be something different,” Ian
said.

“Ghouls?” Lachlan guessed.
“No, too easy to kill. Plus, it’s not horrifying

enough. It’s going to be something we least
expect,” Ian said.

A cold ball of dread formed in Ian’s stomach.

He looked around the survivors. So far all of his
loved ones and friends had survived, and he
wanted to keep it that way. He didn’t want them
all to die in this dismal tunnel. It just seemed such
a useless way to go.

Ethan came over and knelt down by Lachlan.

Of War and Blood

“You ready to go?”

Lachlan nodded, then pushed himself to a

standing position. They all returned to formation.
Ethan was once again taking point.

He looked back at his dwindling team and said,

“Everybody keep your eyes and ears open. I think
we may only have one more task to get through,
but it’s going to be tougher than the last two put
together.”

So it would seem Ethan had reached the same

conclusion they had. It made Ian realize Ethan had
some brains to go along with those good looks of
his. Maybe they would get out of this alive after
all.

They began to make their way down the eerily

quiet tunnel, the only sounds being their footsteps
and the occasional whisper between one soldier
and another. Other than that, it was a vast
nothingness. The only light came from those
mounted to their helmets. Even they were set to
low as not to alert any enemies of their presence.

Ian stuck close to Kale’s side, not wanting to

stray far from his mate. Not that he didn’t think
Kale could take care of himself, but Ian just
couldn’t help but feel protective of the warlock. It
came from being mated to him. He was certain
Kale felt the same way about him. He noted that
Donavan and Lachlan were also keeping close to
their own mates.

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They walked for a while without seeing

anything. The first sign of trouble was so small Ian
almost missed it. It was just a small piece of a
werewolf. Just a hand that had been ripped from
the rest of the body. But for some reason, that little
bit scared him more than seeing a whole body.

As they continued to walk on, they encountered

more body parts. Some were bigger than others. A
torso had its intestines ripped out. An arm that
still had its shirt sleeve on. A leg with its boot still
on its foot.

“What in the hell could do this kind of

damage?” Kale breathed.

“Whatever it is, it’s not good,” Jeremy replied,

his voice quivering just a bit.

That’s when the stench hit Ian, and it was so

strong he gagged and almost lost his lunch. It was
the smell of rot, but a hundred times stronger than
he’d ever encountered in all of his life.

Only one thing could produce that kind of

smell. The undead…better known as zombies, and
a whole hell of a lot of them.

“What’s that smell?” somebody asked.
“Zombies and, going by how strong the stench

is, a whole hell of a lot of them,” Ian snarled.

“But I thought zombies were nice. Alonzo at the

bar was always so sweet,” Jeremy argued.

“Alonzo isn’t like most zombies,” Cherish said.
“Shit! This is not good. Everybody pull back

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now!” Ethan ordered.

They turned to do just that, but a wall dropped

down, blocking their escape and trapping them in.
Ian’s heart began to pound furiously as he realized
they were well and truly fucked and not in a good
way.

He brought up his gun and scanned the walls,

then his stomach did a flip when he saw the
marking on them. “The bastards enchanted the
walls.”

“What do you mean?” Jeremy asked.
“Magic won’t work in here,” Ian growled.
Kale brought out his gun. “Well, we’ll just have

to take care of them the old fashion way.”

Cherish held up her nozzle. “And we still have

blue fire. This isn’t magic, it’s mechanical. They
weren’t counting on that.”

Ian could have kissed her at that moment. That

was if he swung that way and she didn’t have her
two very overprotective mates standing on either
side of her. He did make a note to send some
flowers her way once the whole mess was all over
with.

The stench of rot grew stronger, letting Ian

know the zombies were coming closer. Ian
clutched his gun tighter as he waited for them to
show their ugly mugs. Finally, from the shadows,
the first of them began to emerge.

They were just like one would expect them to

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be, walking corpses in various states of
decomposition. They wore tattered clothing, all of
it from various walks of life. One wore a bus
driver’s uniform. Another, a fast food worker’s
outfit. One wore an outfit fit for a Kardashian.
While yet another looked liked a go-go boy who’d
stumbled into the wrong neighborhood.

“What happens if they bite us? Will we turn,

too?” Jeremy asked.

“No, we’re immune to their bites. Just whatever

you do, don’t let them drag you down. If they get
you to the ground, you’re a goner,” Ian warned.

No sooner had those words left his mouth than

the zombies were on them. The big difference
between the zombies in movies and those in real
life is in reality, they moved a whole hell of a lot
quicker. They were a lot smarter, too, and they
knew how to fight back.

Dante shot one in the head, grimacing when

brains went splattering all over. “Gah, just when I
thought they couldn’t get any grosser.”

Ian started to fire his own comeback, but a male

zombie was rushing his way. It was the fast food
worker. Ian raised the nozzle of his machine and
shot off a blast of blue fire. The thing went up in
flame, illuminating the tunnel to show he had at
least a few dozen more friends with him.

“Damn it, can’t we catch a break today?” Ian

bitched.

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Kale had managed to secure a sword from

somewhere and was using it to decapitate any
zombie that came his way. Ian was impressed. He
didn’t know his mate had any skills with the
blade.

Ian raised the nozzle again and zapped another

zombie. This one, the Kardashian wannabe. Just
because he had been forced to watch the show one
day when he’d lost the batteries to his remote. He
smiled in satisfaction when she went up in flames.
That kill felt so, so good.

He was so caught up in the joy of that one he

didn’t see a granny zombie coming until she had
her teeth in his arm. Ian let out a yelp of pain.
Turning, he punched her in the nose, then turned
and shot her in the face.

He shook off the pain. Damn, but that hurt. He

looked down at the wound, wincing when he saw
a huge hunk of flesh missing. That was going to
leave behind a bruise for sure. Worse, it had left a
rip in his nice uniform.

He didn’t have time to worry about that

because two more zombies were already coming
his way. Ian brought up the nozzle and let off a
blast of blue fire, getting them both with one hit.
When they went running off, hitting another
zombie and setting him on fire, too, Ian couldn’t
help but smile. Three for the price of one.

Too bad there were way too many more to take

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their place.

“Ouch! One of those fuckers just bit me!” Dante

yelled.

Well, at least it was nice to know Ian wasn’t the

only one getting chomped on. Maybe one of them
would bite Ethan in the ass. Now that would be
funny.

Ian once more glanced over to see how Kale

was doing. During the fighting, they had been
separated. His mate was getting all Lucy Liu and
slicing heads off like it was nothing at all. He was
handling that sword like he had been born with
the thing in his hand. Ian couldn’t have been
prouder. Who would have guessed shy, meek
Kale had it in him?

Trying to work his way closer to Kale, Ian

continued to fire off his own weapon. When he
saw the zombies had taken down a warlock and
were feeding off him, Ian tried hard not to gag.
They were ripping into the guy like he was
yesterday’s buffet. At least the warlock was
already dead, so he wasn’t suffering anymore. Just
the thought of being alive while that was
happening sent shivers down Ian’s back. Which is
what would happen to the vampires because they
were a lot harder to kill, so they could take a lot
more bodily harm before they expired.

He saw a zombie approaching Lachlan from

behind. Since he couldn’t use the blue fire without

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risking hitting Lachlan, too, Ian took out a
throwing blade and tossed it at the zombie. It hit
the zombie in the back. While it didn’t kill the
creep, it got its attention. Turning, the zombie
began to lumber toward Ian.

“That’s it, fucker. Leave my cousin alone,” Ian

growled.

The only problem was the zombie brought

along six of its friends. Ian began to panic as he
realized he was way outnumbered, and nobody
was around to help him. Now that Lachlan was
out of range, Ian raised his nozzle and tried to fire
off his blue fire only to have the thing belch, then
let out nothing but smoke.

Damn! What a time for the thing to run out of

gas. Just when he’d needed it most of all. Trying
not to panic, because then he would be in trouble
for sure, Ian dropped the nozzle and reached for
his gun.

But it was already too last. The first zombie was

on him. Baring his fangs, Ian lashed out with his
claws, but the zombies still managed to drag him
down to the ground.

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Chapter Five

ale let out a scream of protest as he saw Ian
go down. Then, moving like a man

possessed, he began to make his way over to his
mate. He swung his sword from side to side,
taking out any zombie who got in his path.

He was bit several times along the way, but he

didn’t even feel it. Not even when they clawed at
him with their dirty, blood-encrusted nails. All
that mattered to him was getting to Ian before
those zombies started ripping him apart.

It seemed to take hours before he got there,

even though Kale knew only seconds had passed.
He launched himself at the zombies who were
swarming on Ian. Using his sword, he began to
hack at them until they fell away.

Please, let him be okay. Don’t let them have harmed

him too much. Kale prayed as he fought.

Finally, after what seemed liked forever, the last

zombie was gone, revealing Ian. Ian was curled up
in a fetal position, and there was a lot of blood

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covering him. Kale knelt down next to him.

“Ian, are you okay?” he asked in a shaky voice.
Ian uncurled his body. He was covered in

numerous bite marks, but other than that, he
looked to be in one piece. Kale let out a sigh of
relief. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again.”

“Scare you?” Ian’s eyes grew wide. “How do

you think I felt? I thought for sure I was zombie
stew.”

“I thought for sure I had lost you.”
Kale helped Ian to his feet and then embraced

him. Kale was dimly aware of the team finishing
off the rest of the zombies, so he was going to take
this opportunity to hold his mate.

“So did I,” Ian admitted. “All I could think

about was what a way to go. Death by zombies. I
knew there was a reason I never liked those
freaks.”

Kale let out a shaky laugh. “I would have made

sure to put that on your tombstone, too.”

Lachlan and Donavan came running over.
“Are you okay?” Donavan said.
“He is now, but he’s going to need to be

healed,” Kale said.

“It looks like you both are,” Lachlan said,

pointing to Kale’s numerous bite wounds.

It was only then Kale remembered his own

wounds, and they began to hurt like hell. It was
funny how that worked sometimes. He let out a

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hiss as Lachlan probed at them.

“I didn’t even really notice them until now. I

was too worried about Ian,” Kale admitted. Since
Ian looked much worse, Kale said, “Take care of
Ian first. I can wait.”

Lachlan gave him a look a pure admiration.

“You are so good to him. First you save his life,
then you put his needs first.”

“He’s my mate,” Kale replied simply.
“Yes, he is, and he has a good and brave mate,”

Lachlan said.

Kale just shook his head. “I did what any other

man would do for his loved one.”

“Well, either way, Donavan and I are forever in

your debt, and it’s not just for what you did
today.”

Before Kale could answer to that last statement.

Lachlan turned, laid his hands on Ian and began to
heal him. A glowing light emanated from his
fingers and traveled over Ian’s body. Slowly the
wounds healed. By the time Lachlan sat back on
his heels, all the bite and claw marks were gone
from Ian.

Lachlan turned to Kale. “Okay, you’re next.”
“Do I need to lie down?” Kale asked.
“No, I can do it while you’re standing.”
Lachlan leaned over Kale and put his hands on

the warlock. Closing his eyes, Ian went into a
trance. The glowing light thing started, and before

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he knew it, Kale could actually feel Lachlan inside
him, healing him from the inside out. It was the
freakiest sensation ever and a bit unsettling.
Thankfully, it only lasted a few moments before
Lachlan let out a big sigh, and Kale could feel his
cousin-in-law leaving his body.

Opening his eyes, Lachlan asked, “How do you

feel?”

“Other than a bit creeped out, I’ve never felt

better. It was weird having you inside me like
that,” Kale admitted.

“It does take some getting used to,” Ian cut in.

“But after a while, you get used to it. Lachlan’s
healed me a dozen times, so it’s old hat to me.”

Kale doubted he’d ever get used to it. It just felt

so intrusive. It was like having his body possessed
or something. Only this time, it was by somebody
he knew and talked to everyday.

“Were you able to read my past experiences

and thoughts while you were in there?” Kale
asked. There were some things that had happened
in his past he didn’t want anybody to know. Well,
Ian knew about them, but they were mates, so that
was different.

Lachlan nodded. “I could have if I had wanted

to, but it’s strictly forbidden. So, we don’t do it. It’s
part of the pact we make.”

“Pact? What pact?” Donavan asked.
“The one we take when we become healer

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angels,” Lachlan said.

“I didn’t know you made a pact with the

angels.”

Lachlan sighed. “I didn’t tell because I knew

you guys would make a big deal out of it. I have
officially joined the ranks of the healer angels.
Don’t worry though, they have assigned me here
permanently, so nothing is going to change. I’m
not going anywhere.”

“Then why make the pact at all?” Ian asked.
Kale could tell that this new piece of

information was upsetting his mate. It was
obvious from the tick that had developed at his
temple. That was always the first sign Ian was
getting ready to go off.

“Because it’s part of who I am. It’s time I face

that,” Lachlan stated calmly.

“But now you’re their bitch. They can make you

do anything they want,” Ian snapped.

“I suppose so, but then again, they could have

done that before if they really wanted to.”

“That’s not true,” Ian argued.
“Come on.” Lachlan rolled his eyes. “Not even

you could stand up against the collective force of
the Angel Warriors. Besides, we need to make nice
with them. We still may need them again before
this war is over. If it takes me making a pact with
them, then so be it. It’s no different than you
making a pact with the fire demons.”

Of War and Blood

With those parting words, Lachlan spun

around and walked away. Kale had to hand it to
the guy, he sure knew how to strike where a
person was the most vulnerable. There was no
way Ian would be able to come up with an
argument to that final statement.

“God, I hate it when he’s reasonable,” Ian

snarled, lifting up one corner of his lip to show off
a fang.

“You do have to admit he has a point,” Kale

pointed out.

“I don’t have to admit to anything.”
“Okay, then just sit there and pout. That should

make things way better,” Kale drawled.

Donavan laughed. “I think Kale has been

hanging around with Ian too much. He’s starting
to pick up on some of his attitude.”

Ethan came over to them. “We’ll move just as

soon as Lachlan is done healing the wounded. We
are almost at the opening of the tunnel that will
lead us directly into our old dwelling.”

“Do you think they’ll have any more surprises

waiting for us?” Ian asked.

Kale sure as hell hoped not. He was worn out

and didn’t think he could handle another battle
yet. All he wanted was a shower and about twelve
hours of some good sleep.

Ethan shook his head. “I don’t think so. I doubt

the Ninth would have expected us to make it this

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far. As it was, we lost over forty men and women
in the fighting.”

Kale’s stomach twisted. That was so many since

they had only started off as a couple of teams.
Once again, he looked around and was relieved to
see his friends and family were all still present and
accounted for. He just hoped it stayed that way.

“I sent some scouts ahead to make sure,

though,” Ethan said. “They should be back by the
time Lachlan is done healing the wounded. Then
we can move on and get some rest before we hook
up with the rest of the teams.”

“Any word from the other of the group?” Ian

asked.

Ethan nodded. “It would seem there is a

resistance group within the city. It’s made up of a
variety of paranormal creatures. You’ll never
guess who their leader is?”

“Who?” Kale asked.
“Alonzo.”
“As in the bartender who is a zombie?”
“That would be the one,” Ethan confirmed.
“I don’t get it. How is he so nice while the ones

that we just fought be are mean and mindless?”
Kale asked.

“A white witch gifted Alonzo with his soul, so

he kept his sanity and morality. Now he just preys
on evil beings to feed upon,” Ethan explained.

“I guess that makes sense,” Kale said.

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“Although, it seems like an awful lonely way to
live.”

“Did I mention to you she was pissed off at him

at the time,” Ethan replied with a cocked brow.

“So it was more like a curse?”
“One could say so.”
“Damn,” Kale shook his head. Sometimes

people in the paranormal world were just plain
fucked up. So much so that it was often hard to
tell the good from the bad.

They made small talk while Lachlan did his

thing, and soon he was done. The scouts came
back not long after, all of them wearing sour
expressions on their face.

“What did you find?” Ethan asked.
“The place is abandoned, but the fuckers

trashed everything,” one of the scouts said.

Kale’s heart sank as he thought about their

former home being defiled in any way. He
wondered if they’d gotten to his room and what
they’d done to it. In their haste to leave, he’d been
forced to leave behind so many things that had
been precious to him. If those fuckers had
destroyed them that would just give him one more
reason to see them decimated.

Ethan let out a sigh and got up in front of the

group. “Well, we might as well not put it off, let’s
go see what they did.”

Taking point, Ethan led the way out of the

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tunnel into their old dwelling. Once inside, what
Kale saw made his stomach turn. The VRF and the
Ninth hadn’t just trashed the place, they’d
destroyed it.

Every piece of furniture in the common room

had been shattered to bits and then some of it
burned for good measure. Even the television set
had been smashes to pieces. The old pool table
was gone, too, the balls thrown so hard into the
wall that they were imbedded into the drywall.
They hung there like some sick form of decoration.

The carpet was littered with glass, broken bits

of wood, scorch marks, and God knows what else.
The team began to scatter as they went to their
room to see what was left of the personal
belongings.

Ian put a hand to Kale’s back. “Let’s go to your

room. I didn’t have much of worth at my place.”

Kale gave a nod, his body a bundle of nerves as

they made their way to his living quarters. As
soon as they opened the door, his heart skipped a
beat. His collection of herbs were smashed into the
ground, reduced to worthless pieces of garbage.
Nearly all the vials of essential oils were smashed,
most of them now dried up and forever gone.

“My spell book,” Kale cried as he dove for his

dresser.

He opened all the drawers and threw them to

the ground, the contents flung around. Kale had to

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find it. It was the only thing he had from his home
coven. The one thing he had managed to keep
even during his brief stint with the Ninth. It had
been his grandmother’s. In it had been spells she
had kept all her life—a life that had been brutally
cut short when the Ninth had attacked and killed
her.

Kale threw himself down on his knees and

began to frantically look around all the junk to
find it. He didn’t really care they’d destroyed it all.
All that mattered to him was finding that book. He
could live with losing everything else, but this was
irreplaceable.

“Tell me what it looks like, babe, and I’ll help

you find it,” Ian said calmly.

“It’s a big, white book that has a fake ruby in

the front of it,” Kale said, his voice cracking a bit.

They searched for several panic-filled moments,

before Ian called, “I think I found it.”

Kale jumped to his feet and rushed over.

Taking the book from Ian, he opened it to find it
was undamaged. Kale let out a sob. “It’s okay.
You found it for me. How can I ever thank you?”

Ian gave him a long kiss. “How about we find

out if that shower works. I’m too tired to fuck. But,
I would love to get this bug shit off us, then get
into bed and just hold you for a while.”

Since that sounded like a dream come true to

Kale, too, he nodded. “You got it. We have fresh

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uniforms in our packs, so we can even change.”

Ian went to the adjoining bathroom and turned

on the shower. When Kale heard the sound of
water running, he began to strip. He couldn’t get
the gore of the battle off him soon enough.

Ian stripped down just as quickly, and they

stepped into the shower, both of them letting out a
moan of happiness when the hot water hit their
battle sore muscles. Even with Lachlan’s healing,
they were still a bit achy, and the water felt like
heaven.

They took their time, making sure to wash

every bit of the mess off each other. It wasn’t until
they were squeaky clean that they get out. They
gingerly made their way to the bed, making sure
not to step on any broken glass.

While they usually slept in the nude, they knew

they had to be ready at a moment’s notice for
attack, so they redressed, even putting their boots
back on. Thankfully, the intruders had left Kale’s
bed intact, so Ian and Kale fell back onto it and got
under the covers. Only then did they allow
themselves to relax in each other’s embrace.

“Sleep well, tomorrow will be another busy

day,” Ian said.

“I love you.”
“I love you, too, mate.”
Kale fell asleep, a smile on his face as those

words warmed him from the inside out.

Of War and Blood

Chapter Six

he next morning, Ian woke up to the pure bliss
of having his mate in his arms. Then Ian

opened his eyes, saw the mess of Kale’s room, and
the world came crashing down with cruel reality.

Sitting up, he let out a sigh of anger. What the

VRF and the Ninth had done to Kale made Ian all
the angrier. Just thinking back to the way his mate
had been frantically looking for that spell book
was heart wrenching. To think that they had
gotten that close to breaking Kale was both scary
and sad at the same time.

Even now, Kale slept with it clutched in his

arms. Like he was afraid somebody would come
and snatch it from him at a moment’s notice.
Losing something from family was a thing Ian
could relate to. When the Ninth had taken over his
coven, he, too, had lost everything. He’d give
anything to have a piece of something from back
home. Even if it was just a ratty old book with a
fake gem in it.

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Ian reached over and gently woke Kale. Since

they had both lived with the Ninth, they had to be
coaxed awake. No jarring them, lest they come
awake swinging. They’d both been attacked too
many times while sleeping for them to ever
slumber comfortably again.

“Babe, it’s time to get up. Ethan is going to

want us all together, so he can decide what to do
next,” Ian soothed.

Kale’s eyelids instantly snapped open, and for a

second, there was a flicker of fear in them, but it
passed as soon as his gaze focused on Ian. “Hey,
good morning.”

“Yes, it has been so far, but something tells me

we’re still in for one hell of a day. So let’s get up
and see if we can scrounge up some breakfast.”

Kale’s eyes grew dark with lust. “Are you sure

we don’t have time for some fun first?”

Ian’s body instantly took notice, desire shooting

through it and pooling at his cock. Damn Kale. He
knew that all he had to do was look at Ian that
way, and Ian was a goner.

Ian began to take off his boots. “I don’t see

where a small break could hurt. After all, even
Ethan would understand that a man has his
needs.”

Kale sat up and began to take off his boots as

well. “Yeah, and we can be quick about it.”

Ian let out a growl. “Fuck that. If we’re going to

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do this, it’s going to be right. No quickies. I’m
going to take my time to enjoy every inch of that
sexy body of yours.”

They both got on their knees, facing each other

on the bed, and took off their shirts. Kale crawled
over to Ian and began to fumble with the fly of
Ian’s pants. It took a few moments, but soon Kale
had Ian’s cock out.

“I have to taste you,” Kale moaned.
He flicked his tongue over the head of Ian’s

dick. Ian let out a grunt. “That’s it, babe, you
know how I like it.”

Yes, Kale did know how his lover liked it. He

also knew how to drive Ian crazy. Ian only wished
he had the time to do just that. But they were in a
rush. Oh well, when this war was finally done and
over with, Kale would spend a whole day just
doing that. Ian remembered the day Kale used a
binding spell on Ian so he couldn’t move. Then
Kale licked, kissed and sucked every inch of Ian’s
body. Only when Kale had brought the proud
warlock to his knees did Kale have mercy on him.

“Let’s finish getting undressed, so we can do

this properly,” Kale suggested.

They took off the rest of their clothes, and once

they were nude, Kale was back on Ian’s cock faster
than you could say please-suck-me-off. Ian
threaded his hands through Kale’s hair and
enjoyed the ride. Loving the way Kale’s cheeks

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hollowed out when he sucked in.

Looking over, Ian noticed that one bottle of

essential oil had remained intact. It was
sandalwood, too. How apropos, considering that
was the scent that Ian always associated with Kale.
Reaching over, Ian grabbed and uncorked it.
Pouring some on his hand, he got his finger good
and slicked.

Ian stretched his arm out and sought Kale’s

hole. Finding it, he began to circle with his slicked
finger. When Kale moaned, Ian took that as
permission to enter. Slowly thrusting the digit
inside, he stretched his mate to take his cock.

Kale gasped but continued to suck Ian off, even

when Ian added a second finger, sawing them in
and out.

Once he was sure Kale was good and ready for

him, Ian ordered, “Sit up for me.”

Kale instantly obeyed. Ian pulled him in for a

hard, carnal kiss before lowering him back on the
bed so Kale was on his back. Once there, Kale
hooked his hands behind his knees and pulled
them back, opening himself up for Ian.

Ian paused a moment to admire the beautiful

sight in front of him before he used the leftover oil
to slick up his cock. Giving Kale one last kiss, he
slowly thrust inside his lover.

Kale let out a gasp. “It feels so good to have you

inside me.”

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Ian silently agreed. His lover’s hole gripped

him like a velvet glove. It was so tight and hot Ian
wished it could have gone on forever. But since he
knew they could be called at any moment, he
didn’t linger.

He began to move in and out of Kale, all the

while holding Kale’s dark-eyed gaze. Even after
being with the warlock for a while, Ian could still
hardly believe Kale had chosen him to be his mate.
Luck wasn’t something Ian was used to having
come his way, but he scored big when it came to
Kale.

“You’re mine,” Ian said, needing to confirm it.
“All yours,” Kale answered.
Ian’s heart sailed at those two words. Thrusting

harder into Kale, Ian could feel himself getting
close. Needing to see to his mate’s needs first, Ian
reached between them and began to stroke off
Kale’s cock.

After a few moments, Kale let out a cry and

came, his spunk covering Ian’s hand and stomach.
Ian let out a sigh of relief, then allowed himself to
follow, his own orgasm rolling over him like a
giant wave.

Once he was finished, he rolled to the side so he

didn’t squish Kale, and they both took a moment
to catch their breath. It was Kale who finally broke
the spell. “We should probably take another
shower and get dressed. They’ll be calling for us

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any second now.”

While Ian wanted to lie there a little longer, he

knew Kale had a point. So they took a quick
shower and got dressed. They were just in time,
because the loudspeaker sounded, asking for
everybody to meet in the common room.

“Of course that still has to work,” Ian groused.

“Why couldn’t the VRF have destroyed that damn
thing?”

“Don’t be such a grump. Sex is supposed to put

you in a good mood,” Kale teased, giving him a
light kiss.

“I am in a good mood.”
They left the room and joined the others in the

destroyed common room. It must have been Ian’s
imagination, but it looked even worse than the
day before. How they had managed to do so much
destruction was astonishing. They must have
worked a day at it. It made Ian want to find the
bastards responsible and rip them to shreds.

He was surprised at his reaction. He usually

didn’t give two shits about stuff like this. But the
coven and clan had been his first real home in a
long time, and it killed him to see it treated with
such disrespect. The vampires and magics here
were good people, and they didn’t deserve such
treatment. This was their home, their sanctuary,
and it had been defiled. Somebody should have to
pay for defiling it.

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Ethan stood in the front of the room. “I know

we’re all tired from the battle yesterday. I, also,
know we’re all upset about how they trashed our
home, but we can’t let that stop us from fighting.
Nor can we let it get us down. We have to keep
fighting harder than ever. The only way to get
back at them is to take this city back. We can
rebuild our home better than ever. But we can’t do
that until we secure Detroit.”

A loud cheer erupted from the surviving

soldiers.

Ethan continued. “I just contacted Eric’s group.

He and Sable have met up with a rebel group that
formed within the city of Detroit. Alonzo is the
leader, and it’s made up of a group of other
paranormal creatures, mostly werewolves.”

That didn’t surprise Ian, given what they’d

found in the tunnels. It would seem the VRF and
the werewolves hadn’t gotten along like they’d
originally planned. Talk about karma coming back
to literally bite you in that ass.

Ethan kept speaking. “They have agreed to join

forces with us to take back Detroit. With them, I
know we can be successful.”

Dante spoke up. “Not to be a jerk, since one of

my best friends is a werewolf, but how do we
know we can trust them? They already turned on
us once before.”

Ethan nodded. “I understand where you’re

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coming from, but this time, they won’t have any
choice. We’re their only hope for survival. I guess
what we saw in the tunnel is the least of what the
VRF have been doing to them. It’s so bad that only
one quarter of them remain alive. The rest of them
are dead.”

There were murmurs of shock at that

announcement.

“So, as you see, we’re their last hope of

survival. They need us more than we need them.”

Somebody else yelled out, “What about the

other paranormal creatures? Why do they want to
help us?”

Ethan gave a grim look to the crowd. “The VRF

has been killing off a lot of different species.
Werewolves haven’t been their only targets. As for
others, they just don’t like the rigid laws and
regulations the VRF have set in place for the city.
They want things back to the way they were when
we were in charge. Even Snuggles is on our side.”

Ian wanted to know how they could be certain

that a damn sea serpent was on their side when
the thing couldn’t even talk, but he kept his mouth
closed. Not only because he’d promised Kale he’d
work on his people skills, but Ethan was on such a
roll, Ian didn’t want to be a buzzkill and ruin it.

The rest of the crowd seemed to eat it up with a

Kool-Aid flavored spoon, though. They all let out a
loud cheer. A few of them even stomped their feet.

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Snuggles would have been so happy to know she
was so popular.

Ethan started speaking again. “So I want

everybody to get ready. We’re going out and take
the city back, street by street. We’ll meet up with
the resistance group in the middle.”

“Then what?” Ian asked.
Ethan gave a wicked grin. “Then we go after

the VRF HQ itself, and this war will finally be over
for good.”

“But we destroyed the HQ once before, and

they just rebuilt it,” somebody argued.

“That’s when Corbin was in charge. Now they

have their head honcho in there. We take him out,
and the whole thing will fall. Plus, other Drone
groups are attacking VRF HQs as we speak, so
other cities are falling, too. This time there is no
way the VRF will be able to recover.”

Ian hated to admit it, but Ethan was smart and

he was right. This would be the killing blow the
VRF wouldn’t be able to recover from. Plus, if they
were able to take out the Ninth at the same time,
they would be cutting off the VRF’s biggest ally.

They all went down to the armory. Thanks to

Brenden making sure the door was steel enforced
and impenetrable, the VRF had not been able to
get their dirty hands on the contents. So they were
all able to get new, clean vests and fresh ammo.
Somehow, they were able to get the supplies to

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refill the tanks for their blue fire, too.

“How are you feeling?” Ian asked Lachlan.
His cousin still looked too pale for his liking.

Plus, he had dark circles under his eyes. Ian knew
Lachlan was pushing himself too far, and he
didn’t like it one bit.

Lachlan gave him a smile. “I’m fine. Once this is

all over, I’ll take a two-day nap and then I’ll be as
good as new. No worries. Plus, I have you and
Donavan watching my back.”

Ian patted him on the shoulder. “Always. You

know that.”

Kale came over as Lachlan walked away. “Do

you think he really is okay?”

A cold pit formed in Ian’s stomach. “No, he’s

pushing himself too hard. He won’t admit it,
though, because he’s too damn noble.”

Kale laid his head on Ian’s shoulder. “Well,

we’ll just have to make sure we don’t get injured
again. That way he won’t have to waste his energy
on us. He can save it for the others.”

Ian turned around so he could fully embrace

Kale. “You be careful out there, period.”

Kale looked up at him. “As I seem to recall, it

was me who had to save you yesterday. So you be
careful.”

Kale just had to bring that up, didn’t he? As if

Ian’s ego hadn’t taken enough of a beating as it
was. He still gave Kale a long, lingering kiss. “I

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mean it, be careful out there. The place is going to
be crawling with VRF soldiers and the Ninth. Not
to mention the usual nasty creatures.”

“You know I can take care of myself,” Kale

replied.

“I know, but that doesn’t stop me from

worrying about you.”

Kale let out a sigh. “You’re right. Just like it

doesn’t stop me from worrying about you. Even
though you’re one of the most vicious fighters out
there. I still get terrified whenever a fight breaks
out that something is going to happen to you.”

That was a feeling Ian could relate to. Because

he felt the same way about Kale. He didn’t think it
was going away any time soon either.

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Seven

s they walked through the streets of Detroit,
Kale couldn’t help but feel a bit of nostalgia

from their old days when they had gone on
nightly patrols. Only this time, they were the
hunted instead of the hunters.

It was odd, walking down their own streets that

no longer belonged to them. Walking by familiar
haunts that had changed so much. Gone were
most of the paranormal bars. They were all now
boarded up and dusty looking, as if they hadn’t
been used in a long time. Even Alonzo’s bar,
which had been the most popular, was closed for
business. It was odd, seeing it empty. The once full
chairs were vacant and flipped up on the equally
empty tables. It made Kale sad.

He recalled all the good times they’d had there.

The one time they had gotten Ethan drunk, and
he’d almost set the place on fire. Oh, the good
times they’d had there. He hoped that one day
there would be more of them. That is if they won

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this stupid war.

Gunfire sounded off in the distance, showing

that some action was taking place somewhere.
Kale instantly thought of Sable and Ryan, they
were in that direction. They were such a nice
couple, even if they were a bit weird at times. He
hoped they were okay.

“I’m sure whoever it is will be okay,” Ian

assured him.

“You can’t promise me that,” Kale countered.
“No, but I had to do something to get that

frown off your face. It was breaking my heart.
And I hate it when that happens, as it makes me
grumpy.”

Then Kale didn’t have any more time to worry

because a group of VRF soldiers stumbled upon
them.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing here?”

one of them asked.

Kale barely restrained himself from rolling his

eyes. What in the hell did he think a group of
heavily armed warlocks and vampires were doing
strolling down the streets? Taking their dog out
for a walk?

Dante gave an indifferent shrug. “We’re just

sightseeing. You know, trying to boost the
economy. Just like the commercials keep asking us
to do.”

The soldier narrowed his eyes. “No, you’re not.

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You’re part of the rebellion.”

Dante gave another shrug. “Busted!”
He then raised his rifle and shot the soldier

dead. He looked over at the rest of the group and
said, “I never could stand stupid.”

No sooner had he said those words than the

gunfight broke out. Kale and Ian took cover
behind a dumpster, while Dante and another
Drone took cover behind a burned out truck. They
began to exchange gunfire.

Kale leaned out and let out a blast of magic,

hitting one of the soldiers in the chest. The man
fell over dead, a crater in his chest. Ian let out a
chuckle. “Remind me never to piss you off. You
are one force to be reckoned with, anymore.”

Kale basked in the praise. In the past few

weeks, he’d been working hard on his skills,
trying to improve them so they were up to par
with Ian and Blaine. Or at least what Ian used to
be. While Kale knew he still had a long way to go,
it was nice to know that Ian had noticed the
improvement.

“Thank you,” Kale said, perking up a bit.
More gunfire came their way. Kale finally had

enough of it. Since the VRF soldiers were all in a
clump, they made for the perfect target. Leaning
out, he yelled, “Explosia!”

The soldiers all exploded in a burst of body

parts, blood, and gore. Kale, Ian, Dante and the

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rest of their group let out curses of shock as they
were all covered in the gunk.

“What is it about you and blowing things up?”

Dante asked as he wiped blood from his face.

“Hey, it did the trick, didn’t it?” Ian countered

protectively.

“Yeah, but now we all look like we had lunch

with Hannibal Lector,” Dante groused.

“A little blood and guts never hurt you,” Ian

shot back as he put an arm around Kale. “How
about you thank Kale for saving our collective
asses instead of being such a big baby?”

“Thank you, Kale,” Dante mocked. “You don’t

happen to know a spell to clean us all up, do
you?”

Kale bit the inside of his mouth to keep from

laughing and shrugged. “Sorry, the Ninth only
taught us spells of destruction. They never taught
us ones to be good housekeepers.”

Dante let out a snarled curse and turned away.

Kale looked at Ian. “Plus, if I had known a spell
like that, doesn’t he think I would have used it
yesterday to get the bug slime off us?”

Ian laughed. “Dante doesn’t always think

clearly when he’s pissed off. All he’s focused on
right now is that he has to fight yet another day
covered in somebody else guts.”

“It could have been worse. Can you imagine if I

had been able to blow up the zombies? That

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would have been really gross,” Kale teased.

Ian gave a shudder. “I don’t even want to think

about that. It’s bad enough to be covered in body
parts, let alone rotten ones.”

They all regrouped and began walking the

streets again. Kale found himself caught up in old
memories as they walked past familiar landmarks.

“Does it feel strange to you?” he asked Ian.
“What? Being covered in guts? Strangely

enough, I’m beginning to get used to it. Scary,
huh?”

“Not that. I meant being back home.”
Ian paused for a moment, kicking at a rock in

the street. “Yes and no.”

Kale scrunched his face up in confusion. “What

is that supposed to mean?”

“Well, we’re back home, but it’s different

because it’s not ours, because the VRF is in
control. Does that make sense?”

Kale thought it over for a moment. “I guess it

does when you put it that way.”

It was kind of depressing when Ian worded it in

those terms. They were home, yet they really
weren’t. It was within their grasp, yet so far away.
Then another thought occurred to him.

“Has anyone stopped to consider all this

fighting is going to attract the attention of the
humans? There is no way we’re going to be able to
hide this from them.”

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Ian smiled. “What? You mean like you blowing

up a group of men to smithereens?”

Kale could feel a heat come over his face. Now

looking back, he realized that he really should
have thought first before he’d pulled that stunt.
There was no way that wasn’t going to call all
kinds of unwanted attention their way.

“Shit! I fucked up big time. Didn’t I?” he asked.
Ian shook his head. “With all the gunfire and

shit going on, the humans already know
something big is going down. They probably think
it’s some drug war or something right now, but it
won’t be long before the truth comes out.”

“What will happen then?” Kale asked.
He thought back to times so long ago, the Salem

Witch trials and the Inquisition. Neither had
boded well for the paranormal society. A slither of
dread went down his spine over the thought of
them having to go through that again.

Ian shrugged. “I think humans will handle it

better this time around. They’re a bit more open-
minded. Or at least, I hope so. Hell, they’ll
probably have more of a problem with you and I
being gay than a witch and a vampire.”

Kale couldn’t help but laugh at that one.

“They’ll say that we’re living proof that being gay
is of the devil.”

Ian cocked a brow. “Ain’t that the truth?”
They walked over a few more blocks before

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they met up with Sable, Ryan, and Alonzo. After
having to deal with all the zombies in the tunnel, it
was hard to remember that Alonzo was an old
friend and not an enemy. It wasn’t an easy task,
given his decaying smell and the way his flesh just
hung on his bones.

“How are things going with you guys?” Sable

asked, all business as usual.

Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail,

and her tiny face was smudged with dirt and
other grime. Ryan stood close to her in a
protective manner even though Sable was more
than capable of handling anything that came her
way. She was one kick-ass soldier.

They had a small group of werewolves with

them, all of which were in their human form. They
were armed to the teeth, too, and looked pissed as
hell. It would seem the puppies hadn’t liked it
when the VRF had double-crossed them. Kale
didn’t feel bad for them. Now they knew what it
felt like to be double-crossed by an ally.

Dante gave the zombie a huge grin. “Alonzo,

it’s so good to see your ugly mug again.”

Alonzo smiled, showing off rotted teeth. “Just

like it’s good to see your hideous hide, my friend.”

Sable leaned in. “Not to interrupt the reunion,

but we need to get down to business. What was
that explosion we heard a few minutes ago?”

Ian cocked a thumb at Kale. “My mate blew up

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some VRF soldiers.”

Sable narrowed her eyes at Kale. “That’s sure to

call all kinds of unwanted attention our way.”

“Yeah, and shooting up the city won’t,” Ian

drawled.

“He does have a point, babe,” Ryan pointed

out. “I think we’re past the point of keeping this a
secret.”

Sable let out a curse. “Eric is going to piss

kittens over this.”

“Eric and Ethan both had to know that it was

coming,” Dante said. “They’re not stupid.”

“Well, shit.” Sable slid down to the ground, her

complexion going pale.

“Frankly, I’m surprised you’ve been able to

keep a lid on things this long,” Ryan said. “You
guys aren’t exactly discreet. You have a frigging
sea serpent in the Detroit River.”

“Now why would you have to go and bring

Snuggles into this? She never hurt anybody—
much,” Dante snarked.

“Don’t you ever take anything seriously?” Ryan

asked.

“Not really. It makes life too boring.”
“Hey! There they are!” a voice called.
Kale looked up and saw what had to be dozens

upon dozens of VRF soldiers coming their way. So
they did what any good soldiers who were
outnumbered would do—they ran as fast as they

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could in the opposite direction.

“Can you just blow them up?” Sable asked as

they ran down the alley, trying to outrun the
bullets that were coming their way.

“Not a group that big,” Kale replied. Besides, at

that point they were running so fast he was having
trouble just keeping his breath.

A shot hit Ryan in the shoulder. He let out a

cry, but never once broke formation. Kale had to
admire him. It must hurt like hell, yet he kept
moving on, not slowing down the group.

“In here,” Ian yelled.
He led them into an old, empty warehouse. As

soon as they got inside, Kale put a binding spell
on the doorways and windows, so the VRF
soldiers couldn’t get in. The only problem was
now they were trapped inside and had no way to
get out.

“Well, this sucks,” Dante summed up the

situation for them.

“I didn’t see you coming up with any other

suggestions,” Ian shot back. “We needed a way
out, and we had a wounded soldier on our hands.
Something needed to be done quickly, or else we
all would have been dead.”

“I know. I just hate that we’re stuck here now,”

Dante said with a sigh.

Sable came over. “I just called Eric. Help is on

its way, but it’s going to take a while.”

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“So what are we supposed to do until them?

Play I-Spy or charades?” Ian asked, clearly pissed
at being trapped and not able to fight.

Lachlan was healing Ryan. Donavan turned

and said, “How about you try being quiet for
once? That may prove hard for you, I know, but
you might want to give it a go.”

Kale felt anger rise at him on behalf of his mate.

“Leave him alone. He’s just upset and frustrated
like the rest of us.”

“Why doesn’t everybody calm the hell down,”

Sable said, raising her hands. “We’re not going to
get anywhere if we fight amongst ourselves.”

Kale hung his head. He hated to admit it, but

she had a point. “She’s right. We all need to keep
our heads in the game or we’re going to get
ourselves killed.”

Ian ran his hands through his hair and began to

pace. “I know you’re right. It’s just hard to be
cooped up in here when we could be out there
doing something to help the others. I just…”

Ian trailed off as he dropped to the ground and

began to scream. It was the most heart wrenching
sound Kale had ever heard, and it made his breath
stop for a second. He quickly recovered and ran
over to his lover.

‘“What’s happening?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” Ian said. “All of the sudden I

started feeling the most intense pain in my life.

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Get Lachlan. Hurry.”

Lachlan rushed over and quickly scanned Ian.

“I don’t know what’s going on.”

“What do you mean you don’t know what’s

going on. I thought you were some super hero
angel healer,” Kale nearly yelled.

Cam, another angel, popped into the room. “He

doesn’t know because it’s something that no angel
healer has ever seen before.”

“You. You have something to do with this,

don’t you,” Kale accused.

He wished he had the power to punch the angel

in the face, but even he knew the angel would
knock him on his ass before he got within five feet
of Cam.

“Yes and no. But before you get your

underwear in a wad, calm down. What’s
happening is actually a good thing,” Cam
drawled.

“How can this be good?” Kale gestured to his

suffering mate.

“Because Ian is getting his magic back,” Cam

said.

Kale paused as hope flared through him. “He

is?”

“I wouldn’t lie about something like that.”
“Then why is it hurting him so bad?”
Cam crossed his arms and leaned against the

wall. “Well, you see, this is where the bad part

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comes in.”

Fear coursed through Kale. “Bad part? What

bad part?”

“In order to get back Ian’s powers, I had to kill

the fire demons. When I did that, their powers
transferred back to him along with his.”

Kale’s heart skipped a beat. “Are you trying to

say that Ian is going to be part demon?”

“Yeah, by the time things are done, that boy’s

just going to be a potpourri of paranormal
creatures.”

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Eight

an let out a scream as yet another wave of pain
washed over him. This had to be the worst

agony he’d ever experienced. Even worse than
when he’d been transformed into a vampire.
Worse than when they’d tortured him at the
Ninth. Worse than when they’d beaten him at the
paranormal prison.

The only thing that kept him sane was Kale’s

touch, his voice speaking soothing tones in his ear.
Ian vaguely could make out that he was getting
his magic back. He could also make out he was
getting the fire demons’ powers, too, which was
going to make him part demon in the process.

Ian could feel that evil in him. Eating away at

him, like some kind of vile parasite. But every
time it rose to the surface, Kale’s sweet voice was
there to give Ian the power to fight it back.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, it was

over. Ian was covered in sweat, his body ached,
but he could feel the power pulsating through his

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body. It was as if somebody had connected him to
a wall socket and amped him up or something.

Kale let out a gasp. “Your eyes!”
“What about them?” Ian asked.
“They look like Cam’s. You know, like a cat’s.

The pupils are like slits now.”

Ian opened his mouth. “How do my fangs

look?”

“Bigger. A lot bigger. It looks like you could rip

apart anything that gets into your way,” Kale said,
his voice quavering just a bit.

Ian’s heart sank just a bit. “Are you afraid of me

now?”

Kale gave him a gentle smile. “I could never be

afraid of you. You’ll always be my Ian. Nothing
can ever change that.”

Ian leaned in and kissed Kale, being careful not

to cut him with his new dental work. Pulling back,
Ian said, “Open the doors.”

Kale’s eyes grew wide. “Are you crazy? Those

VRF soldiers are still out there.”

Putting his hands on Kale’s shoulders, Ian said,

“Do you trust me?”

“Always.”
“Then open the doors.”
Kale paused only a moment before he nodded,

then spoke the words that would unlock the
doors. Just as expected, as soon as the doors were
unlocked, the VRF soldiers came piling through.

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Ian turned and let off a stream of fire that was a

hundred times bigger and hotter than the blue fire.
The approaching VRF soldiers didn’t stand a
chance. They were incinerated right where they
stood. What was more, Ian had better control of
the fire, so it didn’t travel to the building.

Everybody just stood there in shock. That was

except for Dante who muttered a curse. They all
looked at Ian with horror. Ian started to feel a bit
like a monster until Kale came over and embraced
him.

“Thank you for saving us,” he said right before

he gave Ian a kiss.

Kale then turned to Cam. “Why did you do

this?”

“Because this is the only way that you’re going

to be able to take Detroit. Without Ian’s new
powers, you would have lost.”

“And how do you know that?” Kale demanded.
“Duh…I’m an angel, I know this kind of stuff,”

Cam replied dryly.

Before Kale could tell him off, Cam popped out

of the room. Stomping his foot, Kale said, “I hate it
when they do that.”

“What?” Dante asked. “Pop in and out? Or turn

your mate into a demon?”

“Both,” Kale said. “Not that I mind Ian’s new

look, but Cam could have at least asked Ian’s
permission first.”

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Ian’s heart melted at the sight of his mate

standing up for him. Although, Kale had done it a
million times, Ian never grew tired of it. It was so
nice to have somebody who was there to stand by
his side no matter what.

Ian looked over to Lachlan and Donavan,

wondering how his brother and cousin were
taking in the new him. “How are you guys
doing?”

“Frankly, I find you fascinating,” Lachlan said.

“Medically, you are a one of a kind, and I can’t
wait to study you.”

“Thanks. I love you, too,” Ian drawled.
“You know that we’re going to be by your side

no matter what,” Donavan said, giving Ian a light
punch in the arm. “You’ve always been a freak.
Nothing has changed.”

“Thanks, that’s nice to know you’ve always

thought so highly of me.”

Sable made her way to the door, walking over

the ashes of what had once been the VRF soldiers,
and that was all that was left, ashes. She looked
out and said, “Okay, we’re good to go. Nobody is
out there.”

They cautiously made their way out and began

to walk through the streets again, looking for any
signs of danger.

“What was it like?” Lachlan asked.
“What? The transformation and getting my

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powers back?” Ian asked.

He looked down at his hands. Not only did

they hum with magic again, but they pulsated
with the added powers from the fire demons. He
felt like he could take down the entire city and not
even be winded. But otherwise he still felt the
same. Maybe it was because he was mated to Kale
and that kept him grounded. Or perhaps it was
because he wasn’t as evil as he had always
thought. Whatever the reason, he was able to keep
the wickedness that came with the demons at bay.
Sure, he could feel it there, lingering, but he was
able to easily push it back and control it.

“Yeah, did it hurt as bad as I think it did?”

Lachlan asked, his eyes softening.

“It was the worst pain in my life.”
“Wow, that says a lot, considering what you’ve

gone through in the past. How are you feeling
now?”

Ian flexed his muscles. “A bit achy but other

than that, I feel like I can take on anything that
comes our way.”

“That was pretty intense what you did to those

VRF soldiers. You didn’t just burn them alive. You
incinerated them. Not even their bones were left.”

“Yeah, I saw that. Pretty wicked, huh?”
“That’s one way of putting it.”
“Did you think I went too far?” Ian asked,

looking at Lachlan to judge his reaction.

Of War and Blood

Lachlan studied Ian closely a moment, before

slowly shaking his head. “No, you saved our lives
back there. You did what needed to be done. Who
knows how long it would have taken for Eric’s
team to get there? Or if Kale’s spell would have
held up. We were lambs waiting to be slaughtered
in that building. Those soldiers would have
mowed us down without one bit of remorse. It
was us or them. You did the right thing.”

Ian let out a sigh of relief. The rest of the world

had always looked at him like a monster. He
didn’t think he could stand it if his own cousin
had done the same thing.

“Thanks, Lachlan. That means a lot, coming

from you.”

Lachlan smiled. “You will always be family to

me. No matter what. We’ve been through too
much for that to ever change. Even if your eyes do
freak me out a little now.”

Ian laughed. “Maybe I better start wearing

sunglasses like Cam does.”

“That may be a wise investment. Just don’t get

those granny ones that wrap around your head.
That would take away from your cool factor.”

“I’ll make sure to take note of that.”
Kale came rushing over to stand by Ian’s side.

“How are you doing?”

“Besides realizing now I have yet another

reason for people to hate me, I’m doing just

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ducky. And you?”

Kale got an angry look on his face. “Stop

talking about yourself that way. Once they hear
how you saved us back there, they’ll look at you
like you’re a hero.”

Ian wished things worked that way, but he

knew better. Once the rest of the coven and the
clan got a gander at his new eyes and found out
about him being part demon, things were going to
change. It wasn’t going to be for the better, either.
Unlike Kale, who had never been shunned, Ian
knew how things worked. If you were different in
any way, nobody wanted anything to do with you.

“If you say so,” Ian said, not wanting to put a

damper on his mate’s good mood.

“Even if they do say something bad about you,

they’ll have me to deal with,” Kale said viciously.

Ian smiled. There went his mate again, going to

his defense. When they finally did get back home,
their coven was going to be in for a surprise. They
had never lived with a demon in their midst. Let
alone one that as part vampire and part warlock,
too.

They rounded the corner and came upon a

small group of VRF soldiers. Quickly taking cover
behind a car, Kale and Ian began to exchange
gunfire with them. While Ian could have easily
used his fire on them, he didn’t know if that
would deplete his strength, and he wanted to save

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it for emergencies.

“Make sure to keep your head covered,” he

warned Kale.

Kale shot him a look of irritation. “I know how

to fight.”

They exchanged gunfire for several moments.

Ian kept waiting for the sounds of the human PD,
but it never came. They must have been too busy
dealing with all the other fighting that was going
on. He’d heard the city made major cutbacks and
the force was stretched thin. They must have been
scrambling like crazy to keep up with everything
that was going on.

It took them several moments, but they finally

managed to take out all the VRF guys. They did it
without any injuries on their side, too. Which was
an added plus. As they came out of their hiding
place, Sable put her hand to the mic at her ear and
gave a report.

When she met them in the middle of the street,

she was beaming. “We have more than three
quarters of the city under our control. The
remaining VRF soldiers are boxed in by the
Detroit River. Eric wants us to meet him there, so
we can finish taking them out.”

Ian knew that’s when his powers would come

into play. He would be able to finish them all off
in one swoop, and Detroit would be under their
control again. Then all that would be left would be

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taking over the VRF HQ. Which would be a huge
separate battle of its own.

They regrouped and went to rendezvous with

Eric. Since it was several blocks away, they had
plenty of time to talk.

“So now that you’re a demon, does that mean

you’re going to grow horns?” Dante asked.

Ian flipped him off. “One more word, and I’m

going to feed you to Snuggles.”

Dante gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “Ah,

Snuggles would never eat me. She loves me. Or at
least I think it’s a she. I never did look to make
sure. Maybe I’ll throw you in the river, so you can
swim under to make sure.”

“It’s a she,” Lachlan informed them. “The last

time I was there, she told me so.”

“She talked to you?” Dante asked. “How?

Every time I was there, she never said a word to
me.”

Lachlan touched his temple. “It was an angel

thing. I didn’t realize it at the time. I just assumed
she did it with everyone. Stupid of me, huh?”

“Not stupid. I just think you were in denial,

even back then, that there was something different
about you,” Ian said.

“You’re probably right. I always felt there was

something off about me. I just couldn’t put my
finger on it until Daniel dropped his little
bombshell on me. Now I feel like my whole life

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has changed, and I have no control over it
anymore.”

Ian pointed to his fangs. “I think I know how

you feel.”

Lachlan had the good graces to flush. “I guess

you would. Every time you turn around, you’re
having another paranormal curve ball thrown
your way. I’m surprised you haven’t flipped out
by now.”

Ian nodded to Kale. “He’s the reason. Without

him, I would have lost it a long time ago.”

Lachlan stared at Ian for the longest time. “I

think you need to give yourself more credit. You
would have done okay. You may think you’re
some monster, but you’re not. Everything you did
was to protect me and Donavan. A monster
doesn’t do that kind of thing. They only think of
themselves. You need to remember that.”

Ian thought that over in his mind. Did Lachlan

have a point? While Ian might have done some
pretty vile things, it had always been to protect his
family and loved ones. So, maybe in the end, he
wasn’t so bad after all. Maybe that was why Kale
had fallen for him. The warlock had actually been
able to see that Ian had some redeeming qualities
after all.

Ian caught up to Kale and wrapped his arms

around his mate. Or at least he did as best as the
body armor and the weapons strapped to their

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bodies would allow. “I love you, you know that,
right?”

“Of course I do,” Kale replied. “I love you, too.

What brought this on?”

“I just realized you were the first one besides

me to see that I wasn’t a complete monster.”

Kale smiled. “It took you long enough to come

up with that conclusion. I was wondering when
you would finally realize it.”

“What can I say? I’m a bit dense sometimes?”

Ian said.

Sable held up her hand. “Do you guys hear

that?”

Staining his ears, Ian picked up the sounds of a

battle going on. From the sounds of it, it was a
doozy of one, too. There were the sounds of metal
clashing with metal, gunfire, howling, cries of pain
and screaming.

“Let’s go,” Sable said.
They all started to run as fast as they could into

the direction of the sound. Ian was painfully
aware they were getting closer to the Detroit
River. That was where Eric supposedly had the
last of the VRF soldiers boxed in.

This was it, the final battle for the city. If they

won this one, Detroit would once again be theirs.
The sounds of the battle grew louder as they drew
closer. Turning the corner, Ian looked at a scene
straight from hell.

Of War and Blood

Chapter Nine

ale watched open-mouthed in horror at the
battle taking place in front of him. It was

something out of a nightmare. A nightmare he
was about to run straight into and join.

Everywhere he looked, creatures of every kind

were in mortal combat with each other. Vampires,
magics, kubolds, zombies, ghouls, werewolves,
hell, even Snuggles was on the shore picking off
victims. She would reach out, pluck up a VRF
vampire and swallow them down in one gulp.

Sable swung her arm. “Let’s go!”
While every sane brain cell in Kale’s head said

to run in the opposite direction, he let out a war
cry and joined the fray. He soon found himself
locked into a hand-to-hand battle with a VRF
soldier.

The VRF soldier bared his fangs with a hiss and

tried to go for Kale’s throat. Kale dove to the right
and avoided being bit at the last second. At the
same time, he let off a small fireball. It caught the

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soldier’s uniform and set it afire. The soldier
obviously had never been taught the stop, drop,
and roll rule, because he ran away, the flames
engulfing him.

Kale barely had time to recover before a ghoul

was on him. This one was going to be trickier since
Kale couldn’t punch him. Thinking quick on his
feet, Kale used the spell that turned the thing to
stone. To his relief, it worked. The ghoul hung in
the air for a second before it dropped to the
ground, shattering into a dozen pieces. Just for
good measure, Kale gave them a good kick or two,
spreading the pieces apart.

He looked up to see Ian was using his

newfound power to turn anybody who came his
way into ash. After a few exhibitions of his power,
the soldiers ran away from him, not wanting to
engage him in battle. So Ian began to chase them
down.

Lachlan pulled out a bow and arrow and used

that to shoot the enemy. His aim proved to be
deadly and accurate. Kale had heard that most
healer angels were good archers, but he’d never
seen Lachlan in action until that moment.

A VRF soldier came up from behind Kale and

stabbed him in the shoulder, right in the area
where his protective vest left him exposed. Kale let
out a hiss of pain as he turned around.

“Only cowards attack from behind,” he snarled

Of War and Blood

in anger.

The VRF soldier didn’t seem a bit remorseful.

He even had the gall to smile. Kale brought out his
gun and fired, but because of his injury, he
missed. Damning himself for his lousy aim, Kale
shot again. This time he was more accurate, he hit
the soldier in the knee.

The soldier let out a howl of pain and took a

few steps back. Kale didn’t realize they’d
wandered to the shoreline until a huge serpent’s
head came down and scooped up the VRF soldier.
The soldier let out one last scream before Snuggles
bit down, the sound of crunching bones making
Kale wince.

“You know, I had that one,” Kale called to her.
She let out a huff, showing that she didn’t quite

believe him. Before she turned away and looked
for her next victim, Kale let out a grunt of disgust
as he was covered in serpent snot.

“Why is it I always get covered in gunk?” he

asked nobody in particular.

Deciding he could worry about that later, he

turned back to look for Ian again. Ian was still in
the middle of the battle, and he looked unharmed.
Unlike Kale, whose arm was beginning to hurt like
hell. Blood dripped from the wound at a steady
rate, which was sure to draw the vampires. Not
good, not good at all.

Sure enough, not two seconds later, another

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VRF crony was on him. Once again, Kale tried to
shoot him, only to find that his aim was still crap.
Left with little other option, Kale used his magic.
Lifting his hands, he shot off some blue fire and
burned the fucker to hell.

Kale knew he could only use his magic for so

long, though. Before too long his powers would
become depleted and he would be left with
nothing. Then he would be nothing more than a
sitting duck in the middle of a massive shooting
range of Elmer Fudds.

Luckily, Ian soon made his way over to Kale.

“You’re injured, aren’t you?”

“What gave it away? My crappy shooting or the

smell of blood?”

“Both actually.”
“Some VRF bastard got me in the back with a

knife,” Kale admitted.

“I hope you killed him for it,” Ian replied, his

eyes narrowing with rage.

“I didn’t even get the satisfaction of that.

Snuggles ate him before I had the chance.”

Ian looked up at the sea serpent. “Yeah, she

seems pretty hungry today. Which is good for us.”

“I’m using my magic for the battle, because my

aim is for shit, but I don’t know how much longer
I can hold up,” Kale admitted.

“Stay close by my side. I’ll protect you.”
Kale let out a sigh of relief, not that he was a

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coward or anything, but he knew he was weak
and in need of help. “Thank you.”

Ian smiled at him. “There’s no need to thank

me. I’m your mate. It’s my job to protect you.”

Kale stuck to Ian like glue after that. No matter

how chaotic things got, Kale made sure they
didn’t get separated. He still used his magic, but
he made sure to use it as sporadically as possible.

At the same time, he couldn’t help but be in

awe of Ian’s new powers. No one could touch him
when it came to his magical abilities anymore, not
even Ethan, and that said a lot, since Ethan had
been the most powerful warlock until that
moment. Ian had perfect control of it, too, not once
hitting one of their allies by mistake.

It wasn’t just fire he used. He wielded spells,

both white and dark, with a cold efficiency that
had Kale in awe. Wherever Ian went, he left
behind a path of mind-blowing destruction.

Kale tried his best to help, firing off his gun.

Thanks to his wound, he missed more than he hit,
but he managed to take out a few. Snuggles
seemed to have decided to make herself his
personal protector, as well. Whenever somebody
tried to come up from behind, she would reach
down, snatch the offender and eat him up. Kale
had long ago stopped wincing at the sound of the
screams and grinding bones.

“You owe that serpent some flowers when this

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is over,” Ian teased.

“What kind should I get her? I don’t know what

kind of flowers a sea serpent would like.”

“Water lilies.”
Kale rolled his eyes. “Of course, how stupid of

me not to think of that one.”

The number of VRF soldiers were quickly

dwindling, but that didn’t stop them from
fighting. It made Kale wonder why they didn’t
just surrender. Surely, they had to know they were
going to lose. Why face death rather than give up
and go home?

Then he recalled the rumors that their new

leader was vicious and ten times worse than their
previous one. What if they would rather be dead
than have to face him? If so, that was a chilling
prospect for the Drones when they finally went to
take over the VRF compound. It meant it wasn’t
going to be nearly as easy to take it down as it was
the time before. They would be going against a
true monster this time.

A VRF vampire launched herself at Kale. She

was already bloody from various wounds.

She fell short, landing on her feet. Looking

down at her with pity, Kale decided to confirm his
suspicions, “Why don’t you just surrender?”

“Because if we do, then he will flay the skin off

our backs and leave us out in the sun to burn to
death. This way we die with honor, and it will be

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quick,” she said, gasping for breath.

“You could join our side,” Kale offered.
She gave a hysterical, half-mad laugh. “Are you

crazy? Do you honestly think you can beat him?
You are going to die. Just like me.”

She then brought out a gun and shot herself in

the head. Kale jumped as blood and brain matter
went splattering all over the place.

A shiver went down his spine as he thought

about what she said. Did she have a point? What if
what she said was right? Could they beat the new
leader? Were they fighting a losing battle?

“Don’t listen to her. She was out of her mind.”

Ian growled. “Soldiers say all kinds of wacky
things on the battlefield.”

Kale gave a dull nod, hoping Ian was right.

Although a part of him couldn’t help but believe
the female. After all, it did make sense. The
remaining VRF soldiers were fighting to the end.

He pushed that thought to the side and began

to fight again. His arm was getting tired from
firing, and he knew his wound was getting worse.
He tried not to worry about it. After the fighting
was finished, Lachlan could tend to it. Or one of
the other medics. Looking around, there were a lot
of wounded who would need Lachlan more than
Kale did.

Kale noted they had a lot of their own dead on

the ground, they were going to win this battle,

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there was no doubt of that now, but it had come at
a heavy price. He just hoped in the end it would
be worth it.

A small group of VRF soldiers attacked Ian as

one, obviously thinking they could take him down
if they worked together. Kale almost laughed at
their stupidity. Ian just smiled before he sent a
burst of fire into their direction.

They all screamed for a second before they

were reduced to nothing but ashes. A nearby
Drone saw it and slowly shook his head. “Damn,
remind me not to ever piss you off again, Ian. You
are one badass now.”

Kale laughed. “And don’t you ever forget it.”
Kale looked around and saw that the last of the

VRF soldiers were being finished off. His heart
soared with excitement. They had done it! They
had won. Detroit was theirs again.

A large cheer broke out among the crowd as

everybody began to celebrate. Snuggles even let
out a bleating sound as she splashed her flippers
in the water. Hugs were exchanged, and people
pumped their fists in the air.

Kale started to join in the celebrations, then his

gaze fell on all the bodies, both of his allies and the
enemies. Suddenly it seemed so senseless, all this
death over just a piece of land. There should have
been a better way to resolve their differences.

Ian came up and embraced him. “I know what

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you’re thinking.”

“What’s that?”
“That all this dying didn’t need to happen.”
Kale blinked up at him in surprise. “How did

you know?”

“I’m your mate, remember? I know you better

than anybody. Even your twin.”

Kale looked over at Blair, who was celebrating

with the others. “I guess you do.”

“It’s okay to feel that way. You are a good soul.

There’s nothing wrong about that. Just know this.
That had we lost tonight, it would have been us on
the ground instead of them,” Ian advised.

“I guess that should make me feel better, but it

doesn’t.”

Kale wished that this damn war was over. The

sad thing was that he knew they still had a long
way to go.

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100

Chapter Ten

fter leaving one cluster fuck, they had to go to
another one when they went back to their old

HQ. Ian couldn’t believe the damage that had
been done to their former home by the VRF. It was
yet another reason to hate the bastards.

Ian didn’t know when he’d grown to call this

place home. Hell, half the people there couldn’t
stand him, and the other half out-right hated him.
But somewhere along the way, he’d grown fond of
the place, and the thought of the VRF defiling it
made him see red. He couldn’t wait to give them
some payback. When he got his hands on their
HQ, he would tear the place apart. Let them see
how they liked it.

They all got to work, cleaning it up. Most of the

furniture had to be taken out to the dumpster.
There was no saving it. Same went for the TV.
Which just pissed Ian off because it was time for
Judge Judy, and he loved that gal.

They decided for the time being to keep the

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101

original coven and clan in one building. The new
members were to stay in the building next door,
while the other paranormal creatures would live
in another warehouse across the street. They had
elected Alonzo as their leader. The zombie had
seemed shocked, but took to the role naturally. He
already had them hard at work, making the place
livable.

The worse part of it was, it would seem to Ian

that Alonzo’s crew had an easier job of it than they
did. The VRF had really gone out of their way to
work their aggression and hate out on the Drones
by trashing their home.

Ian looked into his room. It was sparsely

furnished, so they didn’t have much to trash, but
going by the smell, somebody had pissed on his
mattress.

“Come on,” he muttered to himself, “what kind

of idiot does that kind of thing?”

Kale came up from behind and embraced him.

“Hey, look at that. Your room doesn’t look too
bad.”

“I didn’t have much for them to destroy in the

first place. Why don’t we move what’s salvageable
from your room here?” Ian suggested.

“That sounds like a good idea to me. Most of

my stuff is going to have to go to the trash
anyway.”

“We will need your mattress, though. They

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102

used mine as a toilet.”

Kale wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Are you

kidding me?”

“Gods, but I wish I was.”
“They really had a field day in here, didn’t

they?”

“Yeah, it must have been a great big party. I’m

not sorry I missed it,” Ian drawled sarcastically.

“Okay, first things first. Let’s get this mattress

out of here.”

Working together, they got the mattress to the

dumpster that was already filled to the brim with
other debris. At this rate, they were going to have
to call in for another one.

“Damn, I hope the dork that did that was one of

the ones Snuggles ate. He deserves it. What kind
of moron pees on somebody’s bed like that? It’s so
childish,” Kale bitched.

They went to Kale’s room this time and looked

around for any herbs or oils that could be
salvaged. Sadly, there wasn’t much. The VRF had
done a pretty thorough job of smashing
everything to bits. Frankly, Ian was shocked that
Kale’s precious book had made it through
unscathed. His grandmother must have put a
protection spell or something on it.

It took them several hours, but they managed to

save a few uniforms, some herbs, a couple vials of
oil and the book. They took that and Kale’s

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103

mattress back to Ian’s room.

Once they had finished, Ian shut the door,

made sure it was locked and turned back to Kale.
“I have a question for you?”

“What’s that?” Kale asked, a knowing look

already coming into his eyes.

“Have you ever made love to a demon before?”
“Is that the best pick-up line you can up with?”

Kale asked, running a finger along the dresser.

“Give a guy a break here. I’ve fought in a war

today, been transformed into a creature that
nobody has ever seen before, and learned I can
shoot super fire out of my hands. I’d say I’ve had a
full day. So, I’m too tired to come up with witty
zingers right now.”

Kale looked up from under his lashes, and

never before had he looked more beautiful. “I
think I can forgive you just this once.”

Ian let out a sigh of relief. “Thank the Goddess,

because if I don’t get inside you soon, I think I’m
going to die.”

Kale smiled. “Well, we can’t have that, now can

we?”

Ian couldn’t wait any longer. He moved across

the room, grabbed Kale by the waist and pulled
him in close. Their lips came together in a hot kiss,
Ian being mindful not to cut Kale with his fangs.
The last thing he wanted to do was hurt his lover
and ruin things before they even began.

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104

“It’s okay, don’t hold back,” Kale assured him,

as if reading Ian’s mind.

“But you’re still wounded, the last thing you

need is me adding to it,” Ian argued.

“Dahlia stitched me up, so I’m fine. I want all of

you, Ian—the warlock, the vampire, and the
demon. You’re my mate, and I accept every bit of
you. If my lip gets cut in the process, then so be it.
Just make sure to lick it clean.”

Desire coursed through Ian at the thought of

tasting Kale’s blood. He hadn’t realized until then
he was damn thirsty, and it had been so long since
he had last fed. Only one thing would satisfy his
need, too, and that was Kale.

“Get naked,” Ian ordered, his voice sounding

rough even to his own ears.

Kale gave him an impish smile before he did as

ordered. He stumbled a bit as his pants got caught
up on his boots, but it made him all the sexier. At
the same time, Ian was carefully taking off his
own clothes, his eyes never leaving Kale and the
glorious show he was putting on.

Once they were both naked, Ian dropped to his

knees in front of the warlock. Eyeing up Kale’s
cock, Ian said, “You are so fucking perfect.”

Not giving Kale time to answer, Ian opened his

mouth and took Kale’s cock in his mouth, going
all the way down to the root. Kale let out a
breathless gasp, his head going back as he

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105

threaded his fingers through Ian’s hair.

Hollowing his cheeks in, Ian sucked, at the

same time reaching under to cup Kale’s balls.
They felt velvety, heavy and perfectly built for
Ian’s hand. Ian rolled them around, all the while
still sucking Kale off.

Pre-cum leaked into Ian’s mouth, giving him a

prequel to what he was going to get when he
made his mate come, and that was what Ian was
going to do. He wasn’t going to stop until Kale
was screaming his name and shooting off. Last
time they had to rush things, but now that they
were finally alone and there was no immediate
danger lurking around, Ian planned on taking his
time. He was going to make proper love to his
mate.

“Gods, that feels so good,” Kale moaned, his

knees buckling just a bit.

A thrill went through Ian knowing that he

could garner such a reaction from his man. Kale
was usually so reserved and shy. It was good to
see him lose control like that. What’s better was
that Ian was the only one who ever got to see him
that way.

Still massaging Kale’s balls, Ian ran his tongue

along the underside of Kale’s cock, right where it
was the most sensitive. Kale let out a shudder as
he put his hands on Ian’s shoulders.

Ian smiled to himself, knowing Kale was on the

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106

edge. Ian had him right where he wanted him.
Parting his lips, he took Kale’s cock back into his
mouth, only this time he sucked quick and hard.

After a few moments, Kale said, “Ian, I’m going

to come.”

While it was nice of his mate to warn him, Ian

had no intentions of pulling back. He just
continued to suck, if anything moving faster. After
a few more passes, Kale let out a cry and came, hot
cum filling Ian’s mouth.

Ian swallowed quickly, not wanting to let one

precious drop go to waste. Kale’s flavor was
sweeter than the best ambrosia and Ian couldn’t
get enough of it. Finally, when Kale was spent, Ian
licked his limp cock clean, then stood up.

“Get on the bed and get on your hands and

knees,” Ian ordered.

Kale panted. “You sure are bossy tonight.”
“Do you have any complaints?”
Kale gave him a huge grin. “Hell, no. I’m

enjoying every fucking minute of it.”

Kale got on the bed and into position. Ian

settled behind him, but didn’t move to fuck Kale.
Ian wasn’t quite done playing yet. No, he wanted
to have a little bit more fun with his mate first.

Parting his butt cheeks, Ian sought out Kale’s

hole and then swiped his tongue over it. Kale
acted as if somebody had just shocked him. He
jumped and let out a loud cry of pleasure, his back

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107

arching.

“Oh, my God!” Kale cried out.
Ian continued to lick and nibble at Kale’s hole,

spearing his tongue inside from time-to-time. Kale
let out a series of whimpers as he rocked back
against Ian’s mouth.

Ian released a little growl of satisfaction when

he saw Kale was getting hard again despite the
fact he’d just come moments before.

Grabbing the vial of sandalwood oil, Ian

uncorked it and poured some on his hands. Using
his new powers, he heated it up a bit and then
spread it out over his hand. He circled one finger
around Kale’s hole.

“Please, stop teasing, give it to me,” Kale

panted.

With a dark laugh, Ian slowly inserted one

finger, watching as Kale’s body sucked it in. He
lazily sawed it in and out. Kale groaned as a fine
sheen of sweat broke out over his body. Ian knew
his mate wanted more, but he wasn’t going to be
getting it quite yet.

Ian took his time, driving Kale crazy before he

added a second finger. Kale let out a sigh of relief.
But once again, Ian took his time, moving slowly
and taking his sweet, damn time.

When he finally did remove his fingers, Kale

said, “Thank the Gods.”

But Kale was in for a surprise. Instead of

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108

fucking him, Ian ran his hands up Kale’s back. Ian
added some heat to his hands so he was giving
Kale a heated massage. He ran them over Kale’s
spine, his ribs, his flank. All through it, Kale
quivered with need.

Only when Kale was chanting, “Please. Please.

Please. Please,” did Ian have mercy on his mate.
Sitting back, Ian grabbed his own cock, slicked it
up and lined it up to Kale’s entrance.

Even then, he still didn’t just thrust in. Ian

inched himself in, going slowly. Kale tried to rush
things by thrusting back, but Ian had foreseen that
and grabbed Kale by the hip, holding him still.
Kale let out a frustrated grunt, but didn’t say
anything. He knew Ian was running the show. If
he wanted his release, he was going to have to
play by Ian’s rules.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Ian was

fully seated inside of Kale. He began to move in
and out at an easy, lazy pace. If Kale had any
complaints, he didn’t voice them. He just let out a
moan and allowed Ian to take control.

Ian took his time, learning what made his mate

groan, what made him gasp and what made him
cry out in pleasure. Only then did he pick up the
pace. By that time, Ian’s own cock was so hard and
he was so close to the edge he felt ready to break
apart into a million pieces.

Reaching down, he grabbed Kale’s cock and

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109

stroked him in time with his thrusts. Kale was so
close by that point, it only took a couple of passes
and he came, hot cum covering Ian’s hands. Ian
brought up his fingers and tasted Kale’s essence.

That was enough to throw him over the edge.

With one last thrust, he came, too. Yelling Kale’s
name, Ian’s orgasm hit him hard. He came like
he’d never come before, his cum filling Kale’s ass.
Ian closed his eyes tight as he saw stars.

Once he recovered, he rolled off Kale and

brought his lover to his chest. They laid that way,
both of them panting as they fought to catch their
breath. They were covered in sweat and cum, but
neither one of them seemed to care at the moment.
Ian knew he sure as hell didn’t. They could take a
shower in a few minutes. Once they could walk
again. At that moment, he didn’t think he could
even stand.

“That was amazing,” Kale said.
“That’s understating things,” Ian countered.
“When can we do it again?”
“Give me about ten minutes to recover, and we

can give it another go.”

Kale let out a happy humming sound. “I like

the sounds of that.”

They were both silent a moment before Kale

said, “How long do you think it will be before
Ethan and Eric will want to attack the VRF HQ?”

And just like that, the happy mood was broken.

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110

Ian let out a sigh. “I’m not for sure, but I think it
will be soon. They won’t want to give them long
to regroup from this defeat.”

Kale frowned. “I thought you were going to say

that.”

Ian gave Kale a tight squeeze. “Don’t worry, I’ll

be by your side the entire time.”

“I’m not afraid of dying. I’m afraid of you

dying. Does that make sense?”

Since that was Ian’s biggest fear, it made perfect

sense to him. “Yes, it does. If I were to lose you, I
would never be the same again.”

“Promise me something.”
“What?”
“If I do die, don’t go back to the way you used

to be. I don’t want you to be sad, angry, and lonely
again.” Kale turned and gazed at him with
beseeching eyes.

“I don’t know if that’s a promise I can keep,”

Ian answered honestly.

“Do it for me.”
Damn it, Kale would have to go for the heart. If

Ian could get angry at his mate, he would be
seething right now. As it was, he was frustrated as
hell.

“Fine, I’ll try my best. That’s the best I can give

you.”

Kale didn’t seem too happy with that answer,

but he still nodded. “I will always love you, even

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111

in death.”

“And I will always love you.”

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.

Contact her at:

Email Address: stephani@stephanihecht.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/StephaniHecht
FaceBook:http://www.facebook.com/profile.php
?ref=profile&id=110935385
tumblr:http://rainbowsandmish-
mash.tumblr.com

Document Outline

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
About the Author

Stephani Hecht Drone Vampires Of War and Blood

Document Outline