Stephani Hecht Drone Vampire Chronicles 14(11) Sacrifice and Blood

Sometimes falling in love can be the death of you.

Because of his turbulent childhood, Kale tries to
make safe life choices. He stays by his twin’s side,
serves his coven leader and never sleeps with the
wrong kinds of guys…until he finds himself
drawn to the most unsafe man in the world—
fellow warlock Ian.

Once, Ian was part of the most dreaded coven

known to the supernatural world. Although he left
the coven at the same time his brother and cousin
did, Ian still feels as if those years surrounded by
evil stole all the good from him. Many fear him,
and Ian likes it that way for he never wants to be
seen as weak or vulnerable. He’s confused when
he falls for a quiet warlock with a noble spirit, but
that doesn’t stop Ian from making a great sacrifice
in order to save Kale…a sacrifice that leaves Ian
weaker and more vulnerable than ever.

Now, Kale must protect Ian from the enemies

hunting them. As death draws closer, Kale
discovers that maybe the safest choice isn’t the
best. Still, will he be strong enough to save both of
them, or will they become the next causality of the
war?

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Sacrifice And Blood

ISBN: 978-1-77111-100-3

Cover art by Martine Jardin

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Sacrifice and Blood

Drone Vampire Chronicles 14

Stephani Hecht

Chapter One

lone. Empty. Vulnerable. And most of all
unloved. That’s not exactly how Ian had

expected his life to end up. Yet, there it was, all
sitting out in front of him, like some macabre
buffet that nobody wanted to touch and he found
himself at a loss as to how to change anything.

Sure, he’d always expected to die alone.

Especially since his brother Donavan had found
his mate. After all, who wanted a bitter, evil
warlock hanging around to drag the mood down?
While their cousin Lachlan was still there, Ian
knew it was only a matter of time before the
kindhearted healer found his own mate.

So yeah, there was no doubt about it. Ian was

fucked. Well and truly fucked. The worst thing
was, he couldn’t even find it in him to be sad
about the fact.

He was sick of it all. The war…the death…the

suffering…the memories…and most of all, the
fucking regrets.

He rolled to his side, trying to find a

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comfortable position on the hard hotel mattress. It
was daylight, which meant it was bedtime since
part of his travel party was a vampire, but he was
too jacked up to sleep.

The door opened and he knew from the

sensual, musky scent that it was his friend Lilith.
The succubus walked across the room, climbed
into bed and began to spoon him.

Ian didn’t say anything, just continued to stare

at the wall that was covered in some god-awful
wallpaper. It looked like something straight out of
the seventies, which was kind of fitting since that
was about how old the porn was that they were
offering.

“When are you going to tell them?” Lilith

finally asked.

While her voice was all smoke and sex and her

body was hot, there wasn’t even the slightest
spark of arousal in Ian. Not that he didn’t think Lil
was attractive. After all, she was a succubus and
sex was what she did best.

No, it was because Ian, sap that he was, had

made the most fatal mistake in his life. He’d gone
and fallen in love with somebody…somebody that
would never return his feelings. The saddest thing
of all was that Ian had just literally sacrificed
everything for the other man.

“I’m not going to tell them,” Ian replied dully.
She let out a gasp as she sat up slightly, her

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long blonde hair brushing against his arm. “You
have to! How else are they going to know that you
need protection?”

“I can handle anything that comes my way.”
“Maybe before, but not now.”
Ian sat up and instantly regretted it when the

room began to spin. He took a few breaths and
waited for things to stabilize before he spoke
again. “I know how to fight with the best of
them.”

She reached out and touched his hands. The

ones that used to hum with power, but were now
empty and basically useless. “Not without your
magic.”

“I’ll be fine,” he insisted.
Part of him wanted to shove her away as he had

with nearly everybody else in his life. Long ago,
he’d made a vow never to show his weak or
vulnerable side to anybody except Lachlan and
Donavan. But damn it, it felt nice to take some
comfort from her. Plus, his cousin and brother
were hundreds of miles away. Sure, Ian could ring
them up, but if either one of them found out what
Ian had done, they’d flip out.

“The others on our team should at least know

the kind of sacrifice you made for us,” she argued.

Ian shook his head. “I didn’t do it for them. I

did it for…”

He trailed off, afraid of voicing what his true

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weakness was. Even though Lil was one of his
oldest and most trusted friends, the past hadn’t
exactly been kind to Ian. As such, he tended to
keep things close to his chest.

“You did it for Kale,” she finished.
Like all succubi, she had elongated, cat-like

pupils that made her penetrating gaze kind of
freaky until you got to know her. It looked even
stranger to see tears filling up in those peepers,
too, since Lilith was usually the one causing the
crying. She sure as hell wasn’t normally the one to
be sobbing.

Ian nodded, not bothering to hide his feelings

for Kale. As a succubus, Lilith would have already
sensed Ian’s desire anyway. Taking a deep breath,
he finally found the courage to ask, “I don’t
suppose you ever picked up that he has any other
feelings but hate for me?”

When Lilith averted her gaze, Ian had his

answer and it hurt—badly. Worse than anything
the Ninth had done to him and he’d lived with
that hellhole of a coven for years. That was before
they kindly threw him into a paranormal prison to
rot for a several more.

Ian pulled his knees to his chest and let out a

deep sigh. Oh well, it wasn’t like he would have
done things any differently.

The instant Ian found out that Kale was going

with his brother to defeat Tarick, one of the most

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evil, powerful warlocks ever created, Ian knew it
was a suicide mission. So he did what any insane
guy would do, he used Lilith to get in contact with
some fire demons and make a deal. They’d come
up and suck Tarick to Hell and Ian would give
them all his magic.

In the end, it had left Ian exactly how he’d

promised himself that he’d never be. Now, he was
weak and vulnerable as fuck. Yet, he wouldn’t
change it for anything. Because now, Kale was
safe and that was all that mattered to Ian. If he had
to die in the process, then so be it.

It wasn’t as if anybody was going to miss him

anyhow. Donavan had Toby and was happily in
love, while Lachlan was melding well with the
new white magic coven they’d joined. Ian, on the
other hand, had remained an outsider, never fully
trusted or liked by their new allies. Hell, when he
died, they would probably throw a happy day
party to celebrate.

Lilith curled up against his side and rested her

head on his shoulder. “You won’t be able to hide it
from them long. I can already sense you growing
weaker so it’s only going to be a matter of time
before they do, too.”

Ian snorted. “Please, they’d have to look at me

first. As far as they’re concerned, I’m just an
unwanted piece of baggage that they have to lug
around.”

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“You were the one who defeated Tarick—not

them. So they have to respect you a little for that.”

When she said that, Ian flashed back to the look

of horror on Kale’s face when Ian had summoned
the fire demons. While Kale had done a brief stint
with the Ninth, too, he’d never learned to embrace
the black arts like Ian had. Quite the opposite.
Kale considered them vile and evil. It hurt Ian
more than he liked to admit that he knew those
feelings carried over to how the warlock viewed
him.

“That doesn’t matter to them.” Ian gave a

shrug. “Not that it changes anything. I’ll be dead
soon enough. If I don’t get killed in battle, I’ll
eventually get too sick to continue.”

For there had also been a nasty footnote to the

deal he had made with the fire demons. Along
with his magic, they also were slowly leaking
away his life force. Ian figured he had a week,
tops, before they sucked him dry.

He shifted a bit, wincing as the days’ old

gunshot wound in his arm throbbed in pain. It had
begun to heal, but now that he was basically a
human in fancy wrappings, it had started to
worsen. He glanced down, not surprised to see a
spot of blood marring his white t-shirt.

“You better cover that up. Since Toby is a

vampire, he’ll smell it right away. If he does, how
will you explain it away?” Lilith asked.

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Ian shrugged. “I’ll just lie and say the wound

reopened while I was fighting Tarick.”

“They won’t buy that. He didn’t get a shot in on

you.”

“I doubt they’ll remember that. They were all

too busy picking their asses off the ground.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Won’t Blain

and Kale be able to sense that your magic is
gone?”

“No, that was part of the deal with the demons.

They could take my magic, but they had to leave a
shield up so other magics couldn’t detect it.”

She blinked, a confused expression crossing her

face…a look that wasn’t exactly foreign for her.
“Oh, yeah. I forgot that.”

Ian was also hoping that she forgot the part

where he only had days to live. While it wasn’t
something that would slip in a sane person’s head,
Lilith was a bit self-centered and shallow at times,
so she tended to overlook details that didn’t
directly affect her.

He gently tweaked her nose. “You forget your

own underwear some days.”

She gave him a smile that was all fangs and

seduction. “Who says I ever forgot all those times?
I just like to show off my assets sometimes.
Speaking of which…I hate to bail on you, but I
have to go feed.”

“Just don’t suck any humans dry. We don’t

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need that attention,” Ian warned, realizing he
sounded just like all the goodie-good white
warlocks he professed to hate.

She ran a hand up his chest. “I need sex, too.”
He gently pulled her fingers away and gave

them a chaste kiss. “Sorry, sweetie. Even if I could,
you’re not exactly my type.”

“I know, but you can’t blame a succubus for

trying.”

The door opened and Kale walked in. The

instant his dark-eyed gaze swept over the bed, Ian
knew the warlock had come to the wrong
conclusion. Great, just what Ian needed—more
judgment coming his way.

Jaw clenched, Kale took a step back. “Sorry, I

didn’t realize you were busy. I’ll find someplace
else to sleep tonight.”

Lilith got out of bed and sauntered over to the

door. “Don’t worry, sweetie. I’m just leaving. Ian’s
too tired to play so I have to go find my fun
somewhere else.”

When a flicker of alarm went over Kale’s face,

Lilith let out a husky laugh. “Don’t get your white
hat in a knot. There is an old friend of mine who
lives nearby and he owes me a favor so I’m going
to collect.”

“He’s not human, is he?” Kale asked.
“No, he’s an angel. Or at least he used to be

before he got his ass kicked out of Heaven.” She

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made a tsking noise. “All these civil wars are
really starting to become a downer. That’s the
good thing about being a succubus, we’re all
about love.”

Ian would believe that had he not seen her on

more than one occasion, literally tear the heart out
of an opponent’s chest and hand it to them.

“Sex and love aren’t the same thing,” Kale

argued.

Lilith glanced over her shoulder at Ian, her red

lips curving in a knowing smile. “No, they’re not.
Sex never killed anybody, whereas love, on the
other hand, seems to claim a new victim all the
time.”

Ian curled his hand into a fist as anger slammed

into him. When in the hell had she become the
Gandhi of demons? If he had his magic, he would
have zapped her in her pert little ass for delivering
that zinger. Now, he was so weak, all he could do
was give her a low growl.

She had the utter gall to give him a happy little

wave. “See you in the evening. Have pleasant
dreams.”

“That’s highly unlikely,” Kale muttered under

his breath.

Kale shut the door behind her, then wordlessly

crossed the room to the other bed while Ian
covertly studied the other man. Not that he really
needed to stare. Ian had long ago memorized all of

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Kale’s features. Damned if he could find a single
flaw in them either.

From the way Kale’s chestnut hair fell slightly

over his forehead, to the sensual habit he had of
always licking his lips whenever nervous,
everything about Kale made Ian want to moan
with appreciation. Even the man’s build, tall with
just the right amount of muscles, appealed to Ian.
The best thing about Kale though, had to be his
smile.

While Kale had never directed it Ian’s way, that

still hadn’t stopped Ian from falling in love with
that feature. Just the way Kale’s eyes would
lighten up as his dimples flashed in a sexy way
always made Ian feel a little happy—an emotion
Ian usually was low on supply.

Then Kale looked up and Ian’s gut clenched

when he saw the usual wariness and disdain in
the other warlock’s eyes. Without meaning to, Ian
glanced down at his own wrists with the bright
red and black tattoos inked into his flesh. The tats
represented a piece of his past that wasn’t pretty.

While Ian always lied and said he didn’t regret

the time he spent with the Ninth, deep down, he
hated himself for some of the things he’d done
while living with that coven. Sure, it had been
done out of desperation, but a part of himself still
felt weak for allowing himself to be used that way.
Ian would rather die before he admitted that to

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anyone, even his own brother.

The irony of that thought hit him and it was all

he could do to hold back a bitter laugh. From the
looks of it, he would be dying before he had to
admit to anything. Even as he sat there, he could
feel his body growing weaker.

The only thing that warmed him was the

knowledge that this sacrifice was one of the few
things in his life he didn’t regret. He would do
anything to save Kale, even if the other man
couldn’t stand to even be in the same room with
Ian.

“Do you need to take a shower?” Kale grunted.
Ian shook his head. All he wanted to do was

curl up under the cheap blanket and sleep for the
next forty-eight hours. “Go ahead, it’s all yours.”

Kale gathered up a few items of clothing before

he made his way to the bathroom. Just as he
reached the door, he paused and turned back to
Ian. “That spell you did, the one that called up the
demons. I’ve never seen anyone wield dark magic
like that. Who taught you that spell?”

While Ian could have easily lied, he cared too

much about Kale to do that. He deserved to know
the truth, at least in this matter. Although Ian
dreaded revealing it, he knew it would only make
Kale hate him all the more.

Taking a deep breath, Ian blurted, “I learned it

from Tarick himself.”

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The expression of pure revulsion that crossed

Kale’s face felt like a lance to Ian’s heart. So much
so, that Ian had to avert his gaze once more.

“Shit, I knew you were into the dark arts, but I

didn’t think that even you could sink that low,”
Kale breathed.

“I did what I had to in order to survive,” Ian

shot back automatically, using the excuse he’d
always fallen back on.

It was much better than dwelling on the real

reason. That would only bring back the
nightmares.

Kale shook his head before going into the

bathroom and shutting the door. Soon the sound
of the shower filled the room. Ian gingerly lay
down on his uninjured side and pulled the covers
over him.

Maybe he would get lucky and one of their

enemies would get off a shot and finally finish Ian
off. At that point, he’d much rather be dead than
have to deal with another day of the hate.

Blood And Sacrifice

Chapter Two

y the time Kale woke up in the evening, Ian
had already showered and left the room—

which was actually a blessing. The warlock was
already a real pain in the ass, but when Ian first
got up, he was always especially grumpy.

Kale quickly gathered his stuff and went out to

the Hummer. The rest of their travel party was
already there. Blaine and Toby had taken the
front, while Ian was slumped in the back.

Great…that meant Kale would spend the next

several hours stuck in the back with Lilith and Ian.
It was like being stuck with Satan and Snookie. At
least Ian looked as if he would be napping for a
bit. His eyes were closed and he didn’t lift his lids,
even when Kale opened the rear door to stash his
gear away.

Usually Lilith sat in between them so when

Kale noted that she was outside the car, waiting
by the back passenger side door, he frowned in
confusion.

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“I want a window seat today,” she declared

brightly.

“But I thought you said you didn’t like looking

out at all the humans because you hated them,”
Kale reminded her.

She cocked her head to the side, her long hair

brushing against her bare shoulder. Even though
she kept her wings hidden when out in public, she
still always favored strapless, corset style tops.
The tighter the better, too. The same went for her
pants. They were always leather, too. Since Kale
had seen other sucubbi dressed the same way, he
figured it must be a dress code of sorts for them.

“I only hate the humans who annoy me,” she

retorted. “How can I help it that my annoyance
just happens to encompass most of the human
race?”

Kale almost argued with her before he realized

that there was just no reason to even try. He
settled for a glare, instead, which seemed to have
no effect on her. Getting in, he slid into the
middle, which put him much closer than he would
have liked to Ian.

Surprisingly, the warlock didn’t fire off one of

his usual grating comments. He didn’t even seem
to rouse from his sleep. Unsettled by the un-Ian-
like behavior, Kale glanced over at the other
warlock.

Was it his imagination or did Ian look pale? The

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way his dark hair framed his face only served to
showcase his new pallor all the more to the point
his skin looked almost porcelain. Normally, Kale
would have loved to rib Ian about it. Now,
however, it concerned him for some reason.

Then Kale began to notice other things such as

dark circles under Ian’s eyes and the way his
breathing seemed to be a bit rattled and shallow.

What the hell? Like most other paranormal

creatures, warlocks were immune to almost all
illness. Reaching out, Kale pressed the back of his
fingers against Ian’s forehead, finding the skin to
be feverish and sweaty.

Lilith slid in and shut the door. Not even that

sharp noise motivated Ian to move.

Okay, now Kale was really alarmed. While they

hadn’t been there at the same time, both he and
Ian had done a stint with the Ninth. One of the
first skills they developed in that kind of
environment was never to sleep too deeply
because if you did, it would be an open invitation
for you to wake up with your throat slit, or worse.

Turning, Kale saw Lilith giving him a knowing

look.

“Is there something that you should be sharing

with the rest of us?” Kale asked, surprised at the
anger in his voice.

He hated Ian so it confused Kale why he was so

concerned about the jackass’s wellbeing. Then

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again, Ian had saved all their lives by taking out
Tarick so Kale at least owed it to Ian to look out
for him.

Lilith blinked innocently at him. “Yes, I slept

with a carbo demon last night so I may smell a bit
smoky. You may want to roll down the windows.”

“Not that. I’m talking about Ian.”
“If you want to know, why don’t you ask him

yourself?”

Kale wondered how the succubus had managed

to survive so long without anybody strangling
her. Although, since demons were immortal,
somebody could have and, knowing her, she
would have just kept yapping throughout the
whole thing.

Taking a deep breath, Kale tried again, “I

would ask him, but we all know Ian would just
snap at me and tell me to fuck off.”

“Maybe that’s because you’ve never bothered

to be kind to him.”

Astounded, Kale gaped at her. Had she finally

lost the last of her marbles? Be kind to Ian? That
would be akin to kissing a cobra. Everybody knew
that the warlock lived only to make other people’s
lives miserable.

Toby glanced back from the passenger seat, a

frown marring his youthful face. “Maybe he’s just
drained from doing that spell to call up the fire
demons.”

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“That could be it,” Kale begrudged.
In truth, he really didn’t know how much juice

a spell like that would take. It involved some
serious dark magic and while Kale did know more
than his fair share, thanks to the Ninth, that was
above his level. Still, he’d never seen a spell take
this much out of anybody and while he hated to
admit it, Ian was a pretty powerful warlock so he
should be recovering quicker than most.

“Where are we going?” Lilith asked, changing

the topic.

“The Lizbeth Coven. They are one of the groups

who have remained neutral so far in the war,”
Blaine answered.

“Do they practice dark magic?” Toby asked.
“Yeah, although they’re nowhere near as bad as

the Ninth,” Kale said.

“Where exactly is their coven?” Lilith

demanded.

“In a group of caves in the middle of

Wisconsin,” Kale replied.

She shuddered. “What is it with magics and

living in caves? I hate the things. They remind me
of Hell too much.”

“They do it to hide from humans and enemies,”

Toby answered. “I was taught that Hell was all
fire and brimstone?”

She huffed. “Please? What kind of fun would

that be?”

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“I thought Hell was supposed to be some kind

of punishment.”

Lilith gave him a probing glare. “According to

who? Most of the demons that live there do so of
their own free will, and they like the place. If you
want to know any more about it, I would be more
than happy to take you sometime.”

“No, that’s okay. I’ll take your word for it,”

Toby rushed out.

She flipped her hair. “Just as well. I think those

demons are still hunting me down. Jeeze, some
people just can’t ever let a grudge go. “

“So do you think this coven will agree to join

our side in the war?” Toby asked.

Blaine shrugged. “Who knows? They may just

be happy keeping their heads stuck in the sand
and wait to see how the war plays out. A lot of
these covens don’t want to get their hands
bloody.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Lilith asked as she

idly picked at one her long red fingernails.

Toby blinked at her. “Just how many kills do

you have under your belt?”

She sighed. “I don’t know. I lost count around

the time Nero was still hanging around.”

Toby blanched. “Seriously?”
Kale’s heart went out for the guy. Up until

recently, he’d been a normal human who had no
idea that the paranormal world really existed and

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now he was dealing with a whole new reality.

Toby had such an innocence about him and the

classic boy-next-door looks. In addition, he had
empathy—something that was in rare supply in
their fucked-up world. Those qualities had called
to Kale, and for a while, he’d actually thought that
he was in love with his twin’s mate, which had
caused Kale all kinds of guilt and even more
jealousy.

During that period, the most amazing thing had

happened though. Kale had gradually realized,
while he loved Toby like a brother, that was as far
as the feelings went. Somewhere along the way,
Kale found that he wanted something else.
Damned if he could figure out what it was.

Almost on its own accord, his gaze slid over to

Ian. Even in his weakened state, the warlock
looked handsome. In his sleep, he was almost
tolerable, too, since he wasn’t firing off mean
comments.

For the first time ever, Kale really studied the

man, noting the way his hair was so dark it was
almost raven. How his nose was slightly off
center, showing that it had been broken and not
properly set at one time. Strangely enough, it only
made Ian look better. As if there was some
vulnerability behind all those shields of hate.

Ian’s lips were parted and Kale realized that

they were soft and…kissable. That was if Kale

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didn’t have to worry about Ian biting him in the
process.

Kale’s gaze swept down the warlock’s body.

Even though Ian wore a heavy black jacket and
the car was dark, Kale could still make out the
muscular build of the man. Lust shot through Kale
as he wondered what it would feel like to be
pinned under that hard body or how it would be
to hear Ian’s raspy voice issuing orders as he
fucked Kale senseless.

A soft giggle snapped Kale out of his X-rated

thoughts. Sucking in a huge breath, he tore his
gaze away from Ian and looked at Lilith. She gave
him a fangy grin and Kale knew he’d been busted
while basically drooling over Ian.

What the fuck?
He hated Ian…right? The guy had no

redeeming qualities about him. He made a point
of making everybody dislike him and he didn’t
hide the fact that he embraced dark magic.

Yet, he saved all of them from Tarick and Ian

had been nothing but loyal to their coven since he
joined.

Lilith leaned in and whispered, “It’s about time

you noticed.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kale

denied, playing dumb.

“Why do you think he insisted on coming on

this trip?”

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“To get away from the rest of the coven and the

Drone clan,” Kale whispered back.

“You can really be dense sometimes. I guess

Blaine must be the smart twin as well as the cute
one. Ian came to protect you.”

Too shocked to reply, Kale rolled that one in his

head for a while. Then he recalled all the times Ian
had made a point to be on the same team as Kale
when they’d been home. How he’d always gone
out of his way to seek out Kale’s company, even if
it was to deliver a few scathing comments.

“I thought Ian said he didn’t ever want to be

with anybody else since his mate was killed by
vampires,” Kale replied, still keeping his voice
low.

“That’s what he thought, too, until he met you.”
Kale studied the demon carefully, looking for

any signs that she was teasing. For once, her face
was deadly serious. He shook his head, still
unable to wrap his mind around the new
development. “You have to be mistaken. I’m the
last kind of guy Ian would ever fall for. In fact, I’m
quite certain he hates me.”

Or more to the point, Kale had been certain.

After this conversation, he didn’t know what to
believe anymore.

He continued to argue, almost desperate to

prove her wrong. “Ian could never want me.”

“Why not? You’re everything he wished he

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could have been.”

Kale’s stomach lurched at those words. “What

in the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Somehow, even though you went through the

same torture at the hands of the Ninth, you kept
your soul, where Ian thinks he lost his. That’s
where you have to prove him wrong.”

“I don’t follow.”
Lilith grabbed Kale’s hand. “You have to show

Ian that he’s wrong. That he still has a soul and
that he’s worth saving.”

The desperation in her voice tugged at Kale and

before he realized it, he nodded to her. A soft gasp
sounded from the front and that’s when Kale
realized that Toby had heard every word of their
exchange.

Damn vampires and their enhanced hearing.
“Are you crazy?” Toby asked.
Kale glanced back at Ian, taking in his haggard

appearance, fully accepting that Ian had done it all
for him. In all his life, nobody, save for Blaine, had
ever made such a sacrifice. While Kale didn’t
know if he would ever be able to fully return Ian’s
feelings, he at least owed it to the warlock to try.

“Maybe I am,” Kale mumbled. “But from what

I’ve seen, that would only make me a more perfect
match for Ian.”

Kale reached over and felt Ian’s brow again,

alarm filling him when he found the skin more

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feverish than before. He had a sinking suspicion
that something more was going on with Ian. He
couldn’t help but think that Lilith knew what it
was as well.

Kale almost demanded the answer from her,

but she’d put in some earbuds and had shut him
off. The message was clear—this is all you’re getting

out of me so fuck off.

Fine, then he’d just figure it out on his own. If

there was one thing Kale didn’t like, it was secrets.
One of the hardest lessons he’d learned at the
Ninth was that sometimes the best intentions
ended up causing the worst consequences.

He’d be damned if he made that mistake with

Ian, because like it or not, Kale now found himself
feeling protective of the jerk.

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Three

an slept the entire trip, not rousing until
somebody shook his shoulder. A jolt of fear

followed and he started to reach for his knife as all
the brutal memories of the Ninth and the
paranormal prison suddenly assaulted him.

Then came Kale’s voice, soft and soothing, “It’s

just me so you’re okay.”

Ian let out a deep breath, all the tension ebbing

from his body. He sat up straighter and blinked a
few times as he gazed out the window. “Isn’t this
the Lizbeth coven?”

“Yeah, have you been here before?” Kale asked.
“Yes, and every time there were at least four

guards outside the entrance. Where in the hell are
they now?”

Ian scanned the foliage that surrounded the

narrow entrance of the cave. Even though his
eyesight was for shit now, even he could tell that
the grounds were empty save for some grass,
gravel and scraggily bushes.

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“Where are the others?” he demanded, his heart

pounding.

“They’re scouting the area.”
“Get them back here. Now!”
Ian began to scramble around, gathering up his

weapons and shoving them into the various
pockets of his coat. He cursed the fact that they
weren’t wearing their normal uniforms, which
were specifically made to carry guns and knives.
Since they were out and mingling with humans,
they’d opted for civilian wear. Because the
everyday normal Joe Blow didn’t carry around
stuff like that, Ian had to make do with what he
had.

Kale lifted his hand and keyed up the

transmitter in his ear. “Hey, Blaine. Where are you
guys?”

After a couple seconds, Kale frowned and tried

again. “Blaine, are you there?”

The tension in the car built as Kale continued

not to get a response. It soon became grimly
obvious that there was trouble and now they were
smack in the middle of it.

A wave of protectiveness went over Ian as he

thought about Kale being involved in it. The bitch
of it all was now Ian was powerless to help him.
He’d given up his powers to protect Kale and now
he might end up losing the warlock after all. Wow,
the fates must be laughing their collective asses off

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at the irony of that situation.

Ian curled his fingers around the butt end of a

Glock. It’d been his favorite one since the Drone
clan issued it to him and Ian never went anywhere
without it. Then it dawned on him, that while he
may not have his magic, he did have a whole
lifetime’s worth of battle skills. He planned to use
them all to protect Kale, too. Even if that meant
giving up his own life a little bit sooner than
planned.

“We have to go check up on them,” Kale

declared, his eyes wide with fear.

“I just knew you would say that,” Ian groused.
In truth, he would have gone out anyway. He

loved Lilith like a sister. Plus, Toby didn’t annoy
him. Most of all, Ian knew he had to go because of
Blaine. Kale adored his brother and would be
broken if anything happened to Blaine. Kale being
upset about anything didn’t settle well with Ian.

Goddess, when in the hell had he become so

sappy and sentimental? Next, he would be crying
at those ridiculous jewelry store commercials.

He pulled out his Glock and got it ready. “Okay,

let’s go.”

They got out of the vehicle, but didn’t slam the

doors. While Ian felt pretty certain that whatever
was out there already knew they were there, he
didn’t want to announce it. Using hand signals, he
told Kale to come over to him and slowly

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approach that side of the entrance. Seeing the
beaten down grass there, he assumed that to mean
it was a path that was often used.

Ian didn’t want to enter the cave itself until he

knew what in the hell they would be facing. For all
he knew, the cavern could be full of rabid
werewolves, or worse, Newt Gingrich with a
megaphone.

As soon as he had Kale next to him, Ian felt a bit

reassured. At least now, he would be better able to
protect the other man, which was just another
example of how ridiculous Ian was being. He’d
been in plenty of battles with Kale and the
warlock was a scrappy fighter. One time, Ian had
even seen him take out two feral werewolves and
a zombie without any help from anybody else.

They were just closing in on the path when a

strong stench of decay hit Ian. It was so powerful
that he had to swallow several times so he didn’t
vomit. Shit, this wasn’t good. The scent either
meant that they had just stumbled across a bunch
of dead bodies or demons, neither of which were a
good option.

The sounds of growling filled the air before

several pairs of red, glowing eyes seemed to
materialize from nowhere.

“Fuck, hellhounds,” Ian growled.
“What?” Kale gasped.
Ian did a quick guess-timation of all the sets of

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eyes and knew that even if he did have his magic,
they wouldn’t stand a chance so that left his least
favorite option—retreat.

Giving Kale a shove, Ian yelled, “Run! Go back

to the car.”

Kale hesitated. “But what about the others?”
“If they’re lucky, they found a place to hide.”
Ian didn’t give voice to the other possibility. He

only hoped that the lack of screams and yells
indicated that they’d found someplace for cover.
Either way, Ian and Kale were on their own.

He gave Kale another shove and this time Kale

obeyed, turning and making a run for the vehicle.
They were halfway there before more hellhounds
came out from the woods and surrounded the
Hummer.

Damn, had the things always been that big and

ugly? Hairless with thick, leathery black skin, the
demons were hideous. With their barbed tails,
long fangs and black claws, they went up to the
level of horrific.

Ian didn’t even bother trying to shoot. With so

many of the demons, it would be futile. He
grabbed Kale by the arm and practically dragged
him into the opening of the cave.

They scrambled their way inside, slipping on

the wet surface. Ian didn’t hesitate long enough to
glance down to see what it might be they were
stepping into. Instead, he yelled at Kale, “Blow up

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the entrance.”

Kale balked. “But that will trap us inside.”
Ian nodded to the converging demons. “It’s

better than having to deal with them.”

Kale glanced at the beasts before he gave a

quick nod and lifted his hand. “Explosia.”

Ian was somewhat surprised that Kale used

that spell since it was dark magic. As far as he
knew, Kale hadn’t used any of the stuff he learned
from the Ninth since he left the coven.

It worked though. The ground shook before a

huge explosion burst from the ground and shot
up. Ian grabbed Kale and threw him to the ground
as the air began to rain rock and other rubble.

It seemed to go on forever, the noise becoming

deafening as a thick dust filled the air. Ian tried
not to, but he still managed to take in a big
lungful. Pain shot through his chest as he started
to cough violently. He could feel the gunshot
wound break open and blood soaking the bandage
that Lilith had put on for him.

All of that seemed inconsequential. What really

mattered to him was that Kale survived. Ian held
the man’s trembling body close and mumbled
some reassuring words into his ear, even though
there was no way in hell Kale could hear them.

Finally, the rumbling stopped as the last few

rocks fell. Getting up, still hacking from the dust,
Ian fought to get in a breath as he staggered back a

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few steps. Kale rushed over, taking off his coat,
and stripping off his t-shirt. Even in the middle of
the pain, Ian couldn’t fight back the dash of
disappointment when he saw another plain white
shirt under it. Great, the one time he might
actually get to see Kale’s chest and Ian discovers
the hard way that the guy likes to layer his tops.

Ripping the fabric in half, Kale tied the cloth

over Ian’s mouth and nose, making a mask of
sorts. He then used the other half on himself. Ian
nodded his thanks. While the cave-in had finished,
the air was still thick with dust, so much so, it had
covered both of them, making their hair and
clothes a strange mix of brown and ash.

Ian glanced at the entrance to find that it was

full of rubble and completely hellhound free.
Although, going by some of the howling echoing
through the cave, there were still at least a few
alive.

“Let’s get out of here before one or more of

them decide to dig their way out,” Ian urged.

“And where exactly do you suggest we go? We

just blew up our only way out of here,” Kale
snapped.

Ian wanted to point out it was Kale who had

done all the blowing up, but decided to keep his
mouth shut. After all, Kale had done it because of
Ian’s suggestion and they had been desperate to
escape at the time.

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“There’s another way out. Last time I was here,

I overheard a couple of the coven members talking
about a secret, emergency exit.”

“Well, where is it then?”
Ian shot off his best duh look only to realize it

was wasted since the mask covered half of his
face. “I don’t know, hence the word secret.”

Kale’s brown eyes flashed with anger. “Is there

ever a time where you’re not an asshole?”

“Nope, I even have that trait listed on my

Facebook description.”

“You have a Facebook page?”
Ian paused and glared at Kale. “I did, but I

cancelled it when nobody would friend me.”

Actually, he did have a page, only because

Cherish, one of the vampires from the IT group,
had set it up for him. She had been the only one
who had friended him on it, too. This was a true
analogy for how his life had been since they joined
Ethan’s coven and moved in with the Drone clan.
If they didn’t fear him, they hated him. Up until
recently, neither opinion had mattered to Ian
either.

That was before Kale entered the picture and

wormed his way under Ian’s skin. For a while, Ian
had resented the guy for it, to the point of almost
hating him. If that made any sense. Now, Ian just
wanted to live long enough to make sure that Kale
made it out from their new tomb alive.

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As the dust settled, Ian realized the smell of

decay was as strong as ever. Since there were no
telltale growling that would indicate demons, the
smell could only come from one other source. The
coven’s inhabitants.

Taking out his small flashlight, Ian switched it

on and swept the beam around the area. His
stomach flipped when he realized that they were
literally surrounded by dead bodies. Looking
down, he saw that what he’d slipped on had been
blood. The walls were splattered with the stuff,
too.

“Fuck,” Kale breathed.
He turned on his flashlight, too, giving them a

better look at the carnage. Something had herded
the entire coven inside the main hall and
slaughtered all of them. Young, old, male, female,
none of them had been spared.

“What in the hell did this?” Ian asked.
He wanted to avert his eyes from the horror on

display in front of him, but shock had left him
frozen. While he’d seen some pretty bad things in
his life, nothing compare to this.

“I can sense dark magic here,” Kale said, his

voice shaking.

“Well, yeah, but this was a dark coven.”
“No, I mean really powerful magic, like I used

to feel when living with the Ninth.” Kale shot him
a speculative look. “Don’t you sense it?”

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Ian’s stomach flipped as he realized he’d fucked

up. “Ah, that spell is still making me its bitch so
my magic is still messed up.”

Kale cocked his head to the side. “Really? I’ve

never seen any spell affect a warlock so heavily
before.”

“Have you ever seen a warlock do what I did to

Tarick?” Ian challenged.

Inside, his heart raced as he said a silent prayer

to the Goddess that Kale would buy the excuse,
showing how desperate Ian was since he’d long
ago stopped speaking to the bitch who had
forsaken him and his family.

“I guess not,” Kale conceded, although his tone

still remained doubtful.

“Why don’t you try to contact the others

again?” Ian suggested, desperate to change the
subject.

“I don’t think it will work through all these

rocks.”

“Try anyhow. For all we know, they may be in

here with us.”

Kale tried hailing the others, only to come up

with nothing again. When a crestfallen expression
passed over Kale’s features, Ian rushed to reassure
him, “They’ll be okay. They have Lilith with them
and she knows how to handle ten packs of
hellhounds.”

“Are you sure?”

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This time, Ian didn’t have to lie. “Lilith is older

than time so if there is anybody who knows how
to survive, it’s her.”

“Yeah, but will she be willing to help Toby and

Blaine? They aren’t longtime friends with her like
you are.”

“Lilith may be a demon, but she’s loyal.

Sometimes to a fault. She won’t leave them
behind. Besides, she likes Blaine and Toby. Lilith
always protects the few individuals she bonds
with.”

Ian decided to leave out the fact that the first

time he met Lilith, she almost killed him. It was
only through using his magic that Ian escaped
unscathed. He’d impressed Lilith so much, they
had been allies ever since.

After casting one more glance over the

chamber, a shudder went through Ian’s body.
“Let’s get out of here.”

Grabbing a couple of torches from the wall, he

held them out to Kale. “Here, light these. We
should try to preserve the batteries in our
flashlights in case it takes us a while to get out of
here.”

Ian didn’t bother to add that if that were the

case, they could well be truly fucked. He just
hoped that there really was a way out of there.
Otherwise, they’d just be two more corpses in
what used to be a thriving coven.

Blood And Sacrifice

Chapter Four

ale had to fight the urge to vomit as he
followed Ian from the main chamber. Even

though they left the bodies behind, he kept
thinking about their faces—most them still frozen
in a state of horror.

Dead. All of them dead. And for what? Just so

the Pure Born Vampires could take over and rule
all the supernatural world.

Sure, the Pure Born Vampire Regulation Force,

or VRF for short, claimed that they were only
trying to tamp down the revolt by what they
considered lower class, the Drone Vampires, but
Kale knew better. The Pure Borns wanted to have
power over each and every species of paranormal
creatures. With that, the VRF would finally have
what they wanted from the beginning of their
conception centuries ago—all of the riches of the
world and the strength to hold onto it forever.

What Kale didn’t understand was how the

VRF’s allies failed to see this. What was left of the

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Ninth, several demon clans and even some packs
of werewolves were sided with the VRF in the
war. Kale knew once the Pure Borns won, they
would turn on their allies, just as they had done
with everyone else.

When they entered a long hallway and found it

clean of any carnage, Kale let out a sigh of relief.
Since the air was clearer, he lowered his mask, still
taking in shallow breaths since the smell of decay
lingered in the air.

He ran his fingers over the wall, the smooth

stone feeling cold to the touch. He also felt ancient
lettering and symbols etched into the surface. Kale
recognized them as protection spells and felt the
sharp bite of irony. A fat lot of good that spell had
been. In the end, they’d all died at the hands of
their enemies.

They’d all believed that Kale’s coven leader,

Ethan, had destroyed most of the Ninth, but now
it looked as if they’d rebuilt their numbers and
were stronger than ever. For while, the Lizbeth
clan had practiced dark magic. The kind of powers
the Ninth wielded had its own particular stench
and the place reeked of it. So much so that it was
palpable even over the smell of the rotting
corpses.

Ian let out a series of hacking coughs before he

lurched to the side. He almost fell, but at the last
moment, his hand shot out and caught the wall.

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Even from a few feet away, Kale could see the way
the warlock was shivering and how a fine sheen of
sweat covered his forehead.

Rushing forward, Kale jerked down Ian’s rag

and felt his forehead. Somehow, even in the cool
confines of the cave, Ian’s temperature felt to be
higher. He looked paler, too, but then that just
might have been because of the poor lighting.

Ian jerked away. “We need to keep moving.”
“Not until you tell me what’s wrong with you,”

Kale argued.

“What do you care? I’m not Toby so I don’t

matter to you.”

The accusation hurt, both because of the truth

behind it and for how low it made Kale feel. What
kind of person lusts after their own twin’s mate?
Angry at Ian for knowing something that Kale
tried to hide, even from himself, he lashed out.
Letting out a growl, he shoved Ian. “Why don’t
you do us all a favor and just fuck off? The whole
coven would be better off without you.”

Normally Ian would have shoved back and

then some, but this wasn’t normal circumstances.
His eyes grew wide with alarm before he fell
forward. Ian once again reached out for purchase,
this time his hand brushing against a different
symbol.

The icon was a weird form of lettering that Kale

had never seen before so he was shocked when it

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began to glow red. Ian let out another round of
harsh coughing before he managed to gasp one
word, “Run.”

“What? Why?” Kale demanded, his heart

pounding so hard it nearly hurt.

Before Ian could answer, the sound of clacking

filled the hall. Wildly looking around, horror filled
Kale as he saw hundreds of insect-like creatures
pouring from the walls.

Ten times larger than scorpions, but boasting

long curved tails, the things were bright red with
segmented bodies like ants and large earwig-like
pinchers in the front. One of them leaped on Ian’s
back. The warlock let out a loud cry of pain as the
insect thrust its stinger into him, somehow
managing to get through all the layers of clothing
he wore.

Kale didn’t even think, he just acted. Letting out

a curse, he kicked the thing off Ian and hauled the
warlock to his feet. “We need to get the fuck out of
here.”

Ian took a few steps, but it soon became

obvious that whatever venom the thing had
injected affected his motor skills. Soon, Kale was
basically dragging Ian down the hall. All the
while, the clacking sound continued to grow
closer.

“Just leave me,” Ian slurred.
“Sorry, that’s not going to happen.”

Blood And Sacrifice

“You said so yourself. Everybody would be

better off without me.”

Kale felt a stab of guilt for ever saying that to

Ian. “You’re part of my coven now and we never
leave one of our own behind.”

Ian let out a bitter laugh. “Let’s face it, there is

no way I could ever be part of your coven. They
only accepted me because of Donavan and
Lachlan.”

Maybe so, but Kale would die before he let Ian

know. Somehow, he knew that under all the layers
of mean, a bit of softness still lingered. Kale would
be damned if he would be the one who finally
tramped it out of existence.

“No, we accepted you because you have

amazing powers and you’re scary as fuck when
crossed.”

That part was true. Kale had seen Ian do things

that not even the highest level Ninth warlock was
capable of doing, which made his current
condition even more confusing. Of all the
warlocks and witches out there, Ian should be the
fastest at recovering from a spell, no matter how
powerful it was.

“Fire,” Ian mumbled.
“Huh?”
“Use blue fire. It won’t kill them, but it will

delay them for a bit.”

Shit. Kale wondered why he hadn’t thought of

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that. It was times like this that he relied on his
twin. Blaine had always been the brains in their
family. Now, Kale was all alone and he didn’t
even know if Blaine was alive. The mere thought
of that made Kale want to fall to his knees with
grief, but he couldn’t allow himself even that bit of
weakness now. He had to get him and Ian out of
this mess.

Keeping one arm around Ian, Kale turned and

raised his palm out and yelled out the spell. A
whoosh of blue flames spiraled down the hallway.
High-pitched screams filled his ears, making
Kale’s stomach churn.

“Don’t be fooled by the yelling. They’re not

dead, just hurt and pissed,” Ian warned, his voice
growing more slurred.

When Kale spotted a small room that looked as

if it served as an infirmary, he almost let out a yell
of relief. Dragging Ian in, Kale let him slide to the
floor. Once he was sure Ian was safely on the
ground and no bugs were on him, Kale set about
barricading the door.

To be on the safe side, he used both magical

and physical shields, pushing a heavy cabinet in
front of the door. Then he murmured a string of
incantations that sealed the door.

Once that was finished, he found a light switch

and flicked it on. Relief flooded him when the
bulbs flickered to life. He had hoped that at least

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in this part of the building the power still worked.
Yes! It was about damn time something worked in
their favor.

Lifting Ian up, Kale carried him to a nearby

table. He tried to be as gentle as possible, but it
was hard because Ian had a few inches and
pounds on him. Kale still managed.

“Ow,” Ian grunted as he rolled to his side.
Kale looked down, feeling more helpless than

ever. He’d never been a healer. He would give
anything to have Ian’s cousin Lachlan there. The
warlock was a genius at knowing what herbs and
oils to use.

“Elder Tree bark. Grind it up and press it into

where the thing stung me,” Ian rasped.

“Are you sure it will work?”
“Yeah, I learned a few things while living with

Lachlan.” Ian started to laugh, but it turned into
another round of rattling coughs.

Kale ran to another cabinet, scanned the various

jars and quickly found the container. He also
spotted a vile of amped up morphine specifically
made to work on paranormals. Rushing over to
the counter, he quickly ground the bark to a fine
powder, making a bit of a mess since his hands
were shaking so badly.

When Kale grabbed a pair of medical shears to

cut off Ian’s clothes, Ian shook his head. “It’s only
going to get colder in here and we don’t know if

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we’ll be able to scrounge up some replacements.”

Kale wanted to argue, but he knew Ian had a

point. He helped Ian sit up, his heart lurching as
Ian hissed in pain. Working together, they
managed to peel away all the layers of clothing
until Ian’s chest was bare.

Even under all the blood, Kale could tell that

Ian was a fine specimen. Tan skin stretched over
sculpted muscles, making Kale’s mouth water
with appreciation. While the various tattoos
marking the flesh should have been a turnoff since
they each indicated that Ian had taken part in a
different Ninth ritual, the ink only seemed to add
to Ian’s appeal.

“I’ve waited forever for you to look at me like

that and you choose to do it now when I’m too
weak to do anything about it,” Ian slurred before
letting out a goofy laugh.

That snapped Kale out of his sinful thoughts.

Crap, what in the hell was the matter with him?
Ian was in pain and all Kale could do was drool
over the poor guy.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, a heat coming over his

face.

Ian gave him a sloppy grin. “Don’t be. I only

wish it had come sooner, but I never dreamed in a
million years that somebody as good as you
would glance a second time at a piece of trash like
me.”

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It broke Kale’s heart to know that Ian thought

of himself that way. Just as it killed Kale to know
that, just up until hours ago, he’d felt the exact
same way. All the while, he’d been blind to all that
Ian had done to protect him.

Glancing down, Kale gasped as he saw how

bloody the bandage was that covered Ian’s right
arm. With trembling fingers, Kale gently peeled it
away, revealing a huge gaping wound. “Shit, this
is even worse than when you first got shot. Have
you been digging at it with a knife or something?”

The question hadn’t really been serious, but Ian

must have picked up on that because he gave a
soft laugh. “No, I’ve been letting Lilith claw at it. It
helps her to let out her aggression.”

“I’m going to have to clean it out,” Kale

warned.

Even with his rudimentary healing skills, he

knew that. He also knew that it was going to hurt
like a son-of-a-bitch. He pulled out the syringe of
morphine and held it up.

Ian’s eyes grew wide and, if Kale hadn’t known

better, he would have sworn he could see a flicker
of fear in them. Surely that wasn’t possible
though. Ian wasn’t afraid of anything. This was
the guy who literally played with demons so a
little shot should not even be a blip on his worry
radar.

Kale still decided to move in quick before Ian

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could offer a protest. With his weakened state, Ian
didn’t stand a chance. Before he could even move,
Kale already had the needle in his uninjured arm.
Pushing the plunger down, he injected all the
contents into Ian.

“Fuck, why did you do that?” Ian demanded in

a slightly betrayed tone.

“Because I don’t want you to suffer while I

clean your wounds.”

Since the drug was so strong, Ian’s eyelids were

already beginning to droop. “But it’s when I’m
asleep that I’m in the most pain.”

That comment puzzled Kale for a moment

before the answer came to him—nightmares. Of
course! Why hadn’t Kale thought of that? While
Ian never spoke of them, the few nights they’d
roomed together, Kale had heard Ian thrashing in
the other bed.

Kale knew how horrible they must be because

he was also plagued with nightmares and he
hadn’t suffered at the hand of the Ninth nearly as
much as Ian had. Plus, Ian had all the years of
memories from the paranormal prison to add in.

“I’m sorry,” Kale said as he slowly lowered Ian

back down on his side. Reaching out, Kale gently
brushed Ian’s hair away from his feverish brow.
“If it helps, I promise not to leave your side. I’ll be
with you the entire time.”

“You should be finding a way to get out of here

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and leaving me behind,” Ian said, his eyes rolling
back in his head.

Kale leaned down and pressed their mouths

together in a kiss. It came as a surprise to find
Ian’s lips soft and supple, in complete odds to
every other aspect of the man.

Pulling back, Kale lightly brushed the back of

his fingers over Ian’s cheek. “There is nothing that
could make me leave you behind.”

“Why are you being so stubborn about this?”
“Because, dumbass, I care about you.”
As soon as those words tumbled out of Kale’s

mouth, he realized just how true they were. After
a life of always trying to make the safe choices so
he would never end up in a situation like the
Ninth again, Kale had gone and fallen for the most
dangerous guy possible.

He glanced down, wondering how Ian would

react to the revelation, only to discover that the
warlock was unconscious. Kale still gave him one
more kiss before straightening.

He carefully applied the Elder Tree bark,

blanching when he saw how inflamed and puss-
filled the wound already was. It must have hurt
like crazy, yet Ian had continued to fight on. Then
again, Ian had always been a fighter so that really
didn’t surprise Kale.

After that was finished, Kale cleaned out the

gunshot wound. Red streaks ran from the wound,

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which Kale knew wasn’t a good sign. It further
aroused his suspicions that there was something
Ian wasn’t telling him. There was no way in hell a
wound like this should get infected, not since Ian
was a warlock.

Determined finally to get an answer, Kale

closed his eyes and scanned Ian, looking for any
weakness in the other man’s magic. When Kale
encountered a barrier, he was surprised, but
undaunted. Whether anyone liked to believe it or
not, he had learned a few dirty tricks of his own
from living with the Ninth. Using one of them, he
easily pushed through the shield and what he
found almost drove him to his knees.

Nothing!
Where there should have been Ian’s magical

core, there was only a black empty space. Worse
yet, Kale could sense that Ian’s life force was
slowly dying away. It wasn’t because of the
injuries either. Kale could sense another entity
there feeding on it.

He tried to push farther to discover what it was.

Just as he thought he was reaching the answer, a
loud voice screamed in his head, No! He belongs to

us now!

Then, it was as if a giant fist came out and hit

Kale in the chest. He was thrown halfway across
the room before an empty cot broke his fall. He
stumbled to his feet, his heart racing in fear.

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“What in the fuck did you do?” Kale asked.
Of course, Ian didn’t answer since he was still

out of it. That was when the enormity of the
situation hit Kale. He slumped down on his ass,
then brought his knees to his chest. Out of
desperation, he tried to hail Blaine, again failing.
The only sound he heard was the clicking from
outside the door that let him know the insects
were still there, just waiting to attack.

Kale glanced around the room. Since they were

underground, there were no windows, nor were
there any other doors, which left them well and
truly fucked.

Maybe if Ian had all his magic, they would have

stood a chance, but now all they had was Kale and
he was a lower level warlock at best. While he
could have honed his skills and improved, he’d
stupidly always hung back and relied on Blaine to
protect him, just as he always had.

Self-loathing filled Kale. By wanting to play the

safe road, he’d let down not only himself but Ian,
too. Now they were both going to die for his
cowardly act and there was nothing Kale could do
to stop it.

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Five

an stood with Lachlan, Donavan and the other

members of their old coven while one of the Ninth

elders stood in the middle of the ceremony circle. As
always, a shiver of dread went down Ian’s spine as he

stared at the older warlock. With long silver hair and

black, beady eyes, he reminded Ian of a cobra ready to
strike at the slightest provocation. Which was a good

assessment since he’d seen the man do just that on

numerous occasions, and Ian had only been there a few

months.

Had it really only been a few months? It seemed like

it was a lifetime ago that Ian was at home, safe within

the confines of his childhood coven. The halls were
always filled with the sounds of children laughing and

people happily chatting away. There had always been

more than enough food and only white surrounded

them.

Then, in the span of a few hours, all that had been

ripped apart. In the middle of the night, the Ninth had

attacked. Since Ian’s coven had always been a peaceful

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one, they hadn’t stood a chance. The Ninth had

shredded through their defenses as if it was nothing. In

fact, the Ninth magics had even laughed about how easy
it had been.

Once they were inside, the true horror began. They

went on a tirade of killing and destruction that had left
most of Ian’s coven stunned and terrified. Ian had tried

to fight. His mate had just died so he had nothing to

live for anyway. Sure, there was his family, but he was

more than willing to give up his life for them.

In the end, fighting back was the worst mistake he

could have made. The Ninth had been impressed with

his skills, so instead of killing him as they did with so

many others, they captured not only him, but Lachlan
and Donavan. Then the Ninth had taken them and a

handful of other male members from the old coven and

forced them to join the Ninth.

Again, Ian had wanted to fight but he had to give in

to the Ninths demands. While he hated caving to those

bastards, he did it to save his sister and female cousins.

The Ninth had promised that if Ian was good and did
everything they asked, they would allow the women to

live. Most of all, he did what they asked so they

wouldn’t ask Lachlan or Donavan to do it instead.

It was hard though, some of the spells and rituals

they forced Ian to perform were straight out of Hell. If

he lived a thousand years, he knew that he would never

be able to wash the blood from his hands any more than
he could cleanse the memories of the screams from his

brain.

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A woman’s shrill yell snapped him out of his

musings. She, along with one of the lower ranking

warlocks, was being dragged to the center of the circle.
They were both stripped of the black cloaks that marked

them as members of the coven. All they wore were their

undergarments, despite the fact that it was the middle
of the winter and the temperatures were well below

freezing.

The couple was struggling against their captors, not

to escape, but rather to reach each other, almost as if
they knew that they were about to die and they just

wanted to touch each other one last time. The woman

had mud streaked on her face along with slush and her

brown hair was wild and had small bits of debris in it.

The male couldn’t have been much older than

twenty. He tried to remain defiant, but Ian could see

the tears coursing down the man’s dirty cheeks. At that
moment, Ian felt a bit of pride for the warlock. Even

though he knew he was going to die, he still had the

bravery to stand up to the Ninth.

Ian glanced around the crowd. While many of the

magics that were gathered there were laughing in

sadistic glee, an equal number wore looks of horror. No

doubt, they were the ones who had been forcibly drafted
into the Ninth, much like Ian, Lachlan and Donavan. It

was a common practice of the Ninth whenever they took

over a coven. Kill the weak and enslave the strong.

When Ian saw the couple being taken to a row of

stakes, his stomach rolled. They were planning to burn

the poor couple alive. Fury filled Ian and he almost took

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a step forward to help.

Then the images of his sister and cousins flashed

before his eyes and Ian knew he couldn’t help the
couple. For if he did, then they would be the ones who

paid the price for his defiance. Not only that, but the

elders who had taken a special interest in Ian would
surely punish Lachlan and Donavan for Ian’s

transgression.

So Ian did what he hated the most, but had become

so good at, he stood back and kept his mouth shut. They
took the couple to the stakes and shackled them to the

posts. A small curse sounded from his side and Ian

turned. Donavan had Lachlan’s arm in a firm grasp, no

doubt for fear that Lachlan would do something
foolishly brave.

It struck Ian that Donavan never once glanced over

at him. No, of course he wouldn’t. His brother must
have noticed how much time Ian was spending with the

elders and how Ian was quickly mastering the dark arts.

An ache built up in Ian’s chest as he realized that his

own brother now thought that Ian was just like all the
other bastards of the Ninth.

The smell of smoke filled the air. Ian looked back over

at the stakes to see the flames starting to lick their way
up the couple. The female broke first, her heartbreaking

screams slicing into Ian. After a few moments, the

man’s cries joined in. Then the smell hit Ian—that of

burning flesh. Bitter and revolting, it seemed to burn
itself into Ian’s nose and mouth. Bile began to rise up in

his throat, but he held it back. He knew if he vomited, it

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would be seen as a sign of weakness and he would

rather be burned alive himself than give the elders that

pleasure.

“Dear Goddess, help us,” Lachlan whispered.

“There is no Goddess. How can you still believe in

her after everything we’ve seen?” Ian countered.

Ian woke up and instantly wished he could go

back unconscious as a wave of immense pain
rolled over him. Then he recalled the nightmare
he’d been having and decided he would much
rather live with the agony of his wounds than go
back to that world. He took in a deep breath,
gagging as the smell of burning flesh assaulted
him. It would seem that while he was awake, bits
of his past were still continuing to haunt him and
right now, it was the smell of that poor couple that
taunted him. His stomach rolled and he began to
retch.

“Here, I’ve got you,” Kale’s soothing voice

called.

Another bout of nausea slammed into Ian and

he couldn’t hold it back. Retching again, he
emptied all the contents of his stomach into the
trashcan Kale had thoughtfully brought over.

Thankfully, since it’d been a while since they

ate, he didn’t have much in his gut. That still
didn’t stop Ian from having a series of painful dry
heaves that left him sweaty and gasping for
breath. Through it all, Kale rubbed Ian’s back and

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spoke comforting, soothing words.

Once he was finished puking up what felt like

every single one of his internal organs, Ian laid
back down with a moan. He still felt foggy-headed
thanks to that damn shot, but at least the pain was
tolerable. Most of all, when he took in a few
breaths all he smelled were the various herbs and
oils that were lining the shelves of the infirmary.

Ian let out a sigh of relief. The memories were

done torturing him…at least for now. He had no
doubt they would be back soon. They never were
that far away.

Kale shot him an apologetic smile. “Sorry. I

wouldn’t have given you the full dose of the
morphine had I known how weak you were.”

Ian froze, wondering just what Kale meant by

that comment. “Yeah, being shot and then stung
by a mutant bug will do that to a guy.”

Putting the garbage can to the side, Kale sat on

the edge of the bed. “Let’s drop the game, Ian. I
know you lost your magic. I also know that
something is sucking the life out of you. What I
don’t know is why and who in the hell is doing it
to you.”

For a moment, Ian thought about lying, but

then decided that it didn’t matter either way. “I
traded my magic away to the fire demons so they
would come up and take Tarick.”

Kale’s lips parted in shock and he blinked a few

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times. “You did that to save us?”

“No, I did it to save you.” Since he was dying

anyway, Ian decided it was time to let go of all his
secrets.

“Why?”
Ian briefly closed his eyes and then forced

himself to fess up to everything. “Years ago,
before the Ninth destroyed my coven, I fell in love
with another warlock. His name was Galen and he
meant everything to me. He was ambushed by a
group of feral vampires and they killed him.”

“I’m so sorry that happened to you,” Kale

whispered, his face turning pale.

“A couple of months after that, the Ninth

attacked, and later on, I learned they killed my
whole family, save for Donavan and Lachlan. I
then vowed that I would never let myself love
anybody again.”

Ian still felt a bitter bite of regret when he

thought of his sister and cousins. All those years,
he thought he’d been protecting them by doing
the evil work of the Ninth. Then, just before they
threw Ian into the prison, they finally told him the
truth. All the woman from his former coven had
been dead all along. Therefore, Ian had basically
thrown away all that was good in him for nothing.

“Because it hurts too much to lose them.” The

haunted look in Kale’s eyes spoke of his own
personal losses.

Blood And Sacrifice

“That all changed the day I met you.”
Kale shot him a doubtful look. “The first time

we ever spoke, you called me weak and too
kindhearted.”

“That’s because I was pissed because of how

much I was instantly attracted to you. That scared
me more than anything I ever encountered with
the Ninth. Then, when I saw you mooning over
Toby, I lashed out at you because I was jealous.”

“Yet, you still made that deal with the fire

demons.” Kale’s eyes grew bright with unshed
tears. “That still doesn’t explain why your life
force is dwindling.”

“That was also part of the deal,” Ian admitted.
“What in the hell were you thinking?” Kale

practically shouted.

“That I would do anything to make sure that

you lived. There was no other way that we could
have possibly beaten a warlock as powerful as
Tarick otherwise. Not even Ethan could have
taken him on.”

“I thought that’s why you brought Lilith in. She

was supposed to kick his ass.” Kale gasped, his
eyes growing wide as understanding dawned on
his face. “Shit, that’s not why you enlisted her,
was it? She was the one that helped you broker the
deal with the fire demons.”

“Yeah, she was,” Ian affirmed.
Kale let out a curse as he angrily kicked a

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nearby stool. “How could she agree to that? She’s
supposed to be your friend.”

It had taken a lot of convincing on Ian’s part.

Lilith had screamed and called him all kinds of
names, but in the end, Ian had convinced her to do
it by calling in a favor she owed him. Left with no
other choice, she’d gone along with the plan, but
she had made it painfully obvious she hated the
idea.

“She knows how much you mean to me,” Ian

said.

Kale ran his hands through his dark hair as he

began to pace the room. “And where does that
leave me?”

“Alive and well.”
With a growl of anger, Kale turned on him.

“That’s just it. I won’t be well for long because I
won’t have you.”

Ian gave a bitter laugh. “Oh, please. Don’t try

and tell me that you’ll mourn my passing at all.
You just said yesterday that everybody would be
better off without me.”

“I didn’t mean that. I was angry at the time.”
“Don’t worry. No hard feelings. I know that I’m

useless to you. In fact, the coven will probably
throw a party once I’m gone.”

Kale curled his lip up. “Oh, no you don’t. I

refuse to let you use meanness to push me away.
The others may be fooled by it, but I’m not. At

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least, not anymore. You care for me as much as I
do you.”

How Ian wished that were true, but half a

lifetime’s worth of beatings had taught him
otherwise. Guys like him don’t ever get a happy
ending. “You don’t have to say that because you
pity me. I’m probably going to be dead before the
day is out.”

Kale let out a sob. “I won’t let you die. You

mean too much to me.”

“Look at it as a blessing. If help doesn’t come

for a while, I’ll even give you permission to go all
Alive! on me and eat my body. No hard feelings.”

“I could never do that.”
“Of course you can. It’s called survival. The

Ninth should have taught you that much.”

“Don’t you get it?” Kale seethed
“What’s there to get?”
Kale stalked forward and leaned in until their

faces were only inches apart. “I’m trying to tell
you that I love you, you dumb fuck.”

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Six

an looked so stunned by Kale’s declaration that
it was almost comical. In fact, Kale even let out

a small burst of laughter before he was finally able
to compose himself.

Ian cocked a brow at him. “Is this supposed to

be some kind of joke to you?”

“No, I meant it. Even though you’re a mean

bastard, somehow I still managed to fall for you.”

“Wow, what a touching declaration. You

should get a job writing poetry or romance
books.”

“Maybe I’ll think about that once we get out of

here.”

Ian grunted. “Let’s be realistic. Even if we do

manage to figure out a way to get past those
freaky insects, there is no way I’m ever getting out
of here alive.”

Kale didn’t want to admit it, but Ian had a valid

point. Even over the span of the past several
hours, he looked paler than ever, and every time

Blood And Sacrifice

he breathed in, Kale could hear the warlock’s
lungs rattling.

No! Kale refused to accept that. After all he’d

lost in his life, he’d be damned if he added Ian to
the list. It might not be easy, but Kale was going to
make sure that both of them lived for a very long
time.

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Ian’s

brow. “We’re getting out of here. Even if I lug
your complaining ass behind me.”

“No. I want you to figure out a way and leave

me behind. I don’t want to drag you down.”

“Shut up and just accept that you’re stuck with

me for good now,” Kale snapped.

Surprisingly, that seemed to work better than

soft words. No doubt because Ian was so prickly
himself. Kale grabbed a tray and sat it on Ian’s lap.
“Here, I managed to scrape up some food. Since
this is an infirmary, they had some supplies on
hand for patients. It’s not the best, just some
canned soup and juice, but it’s better than
nothing.”

Ian straightened, then picked up the spoon, his

fingers trembling so bad that some of the soup
sloshed over and spilled on his blanket. Kale
pretended not to notice, instead giving him an
update.

“I haven’t been able to reach the others yet.”
“It’s probably just because we’re so deep

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underground.”

Kale hoped so because he didn’t even want to

contemplate the other alternative. Since both his
parents died years ago while fighting a dark
coven, Blaine was the only family Kale had left.
Kale didn’t know if he could survive if Blaine was
dead.

“I have an idea, but I may need your help,”

Kale ventured.

“What is it?”
“Years ago, Blaine and I used to communicate

telepathically.”

Ian let out a small chuckle. “Going into other

people’s minds is a big no-no in white magic. I’m
shocked.”

Kale shot him a withering glare. “Says the guy

who makes deals with demons.”

“I guess you do have a point there. So what can

I do to help you?”

“While we were living at the Ninth, Blaine put

up a mental barrier and I haven’t been able to get
through it.”

“Why did he do that?”
Kale took a deep breath, hoping his twin would

forgive him for sharing his most shameful secret.
“Because he didn’t want me to know that he was
trading sexual favors to Tarick in order to protect
me.”

“But you found out anyhow,” Ian surmised.

Blood And Sacrifice

“Yeah, Tarick called me in one day and threw it

in my face.” Kale glanced down at his hands and
noted he was the one shaking now. “I got angry at
him and tried to attack him, but of course he easily
took me down.”

Somehow, Ian’s face managed to grow paler.

“Then what happened.”

“Tarick informed me that he was going to keep

using Blaine and that there was nothing I could do
to stop it. Then Tarick turned me over to his
higher ranking warlocks. They…”

Kale trailed off, not able to go into that night of

torture and humiliation. Ian reached out and
grabbed his hand. “It’s okay. You don’t have to
tell me anymore.”

“I wish I could be strong like you,” Kale bit out.
“Then you wouldn’t be the warlock who I love.

Trust me, Kale, there are enough bastards like me
out there, but there aren’t nearly enough
compassionate souls like you.”

“I’m glad you killed him. No, I hope he’s still

alive and being tortured by those demons, how
compassionate is that?”

“It’s normal for you to want revenge after all he

did to you.”

Kale felt tears build up in his eyes, but he

blinked them away. “I don’t want to lose you in
the process though.”

“It’s okay. I would have done it a hundred

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times over in order to protect you. At least I know
that my dying has done some good in this world.”

Kale had an idea as to how to save Ian, but he

held it back for now. Mostly because he had a
dreaded suspicion that Ian would refuse to go
along with it. Also, because Kale didn’t want to
get his hopes up. If a rescue party even did come,
they may be too late.

“I know you were taught how to go into other

people’s minds, even if they have shields up. I
need you to help me get in touch with Blaine,”
Kale said.

For one crazy second, Kale thought that Ian was

going to refuse. The warlock pressed his lips
together in a tight line and gripped his spoon so
hard his knuckles cracked. Finally he nodded.
“Fine, but it’s not going to be easy. It takes some
serious dark magic and I can’t combine my
powers with you to help out.”

Kale let out a sigh of relief. “Hey, you seem to

forget I did serve under the Ninth for a while and
although I may be quiet, I did pick up some things
from them.”

Outside the door, the clacking from the insects

died down. Ian cocked his head to the side. “Do
you think they went away?”

“They’ll be back. They’ve grown quiet a few

other times, but in the end, the noise always starts
out again,” Kale said.

Blood And Sacrifice

“Is there any pattern to it? Maybe we can figure

it out and slip away while they’re gone?”

Kale shook his head. “No, I tried timing it, but

it’s always at different intervals. I think they leave
to feed.”

“What could they be eating?” Ian asked. When

Kale just cocked a brow at him, Ian let out a sound
of disgust. “Ah, fuck. Are you trying to tell me
that they are feeding on the dead bodies?”

“Yeah, I am.”
“Well, that’s just twisted. And to think, they

were this coven’s own creation, since they were
the ones who set the trap. Talk about having your
own mistakes coming back to bite you in the ass.”

“And by that you mean literally,” Kale couldn’t

resist quipping.

Ian laughed. “Yet everyone says I’m the twisted

one.”

Kale leaned down and gave Ian another kiss,

this time making sure it was slow and sensual so
they could both enjoy it. Had Ian been healthy,
Kale had not doubt the warlock would be taking
over, but at the moment, he just sat there and let
Kale do most of the work.

Moaning his approval, Kale traced the outline

of Ian’s lips before finally slipping his tongue
inside to get a taste of the man who had before
been taboo to him. Lust shot through Kale as he
explored every inch of Ian’s mouth. The man had

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an erotic, almost smoky flavor to him and Kale
instantly knew that he’d never get enough of it.

Ian cupped the back of Kale’s head and began

to return the kiss, his tongue coming out to tangle
and slide against Kale’s. By that point, Kale’s cock
was so hard it hurt and he cursed the fire demons
for taking away Ian’s strength. Otherwise, Kale
would be stripping and offering himself up to Ian
in every way possible.

Kale put a hand on Ian’s chest and felt the way

his lungs continued to rattle. It served as a painful
reminder of the dire condition Ian was in. Kale
reluctantly broke the kiss.

Raising a hand to his now slightly swollen lips,

Kale said, “Sorry, I kind of got carried away
there.”

Ian smiled. “Feel free to do it whenever you

want.”

“How about once we get out of here we spend a

whole day in bed together?”

“That sounds great,” Ian agreed, although the

doubt in his eyes spoke of his fear that the
moment would never come.

Straightening the covers, Kale took the tray and

set it off to the side. “Okay, now how do I get into
Blaine’s mind?”

Ian recited a list of ingredients Kale would need

for the spell. Luckily, since they were in the
infirmary, they had everything on hand. Once

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Kale gathered them all up, Ian had him use chalk
to draw a pentagram on the ground. Once
finished, Kale sat in the middle of it and waited
for further instruction.

“Okay, you need to mix all the ingredients

together and drink it,” Ian informed him.

Kale balked as he glanced down at some of the

jars in front of them. “Are you shitting me? I have
bat liver and muskrat bile here and that’s just a
few of the gross stuff.”

Ian shot him a sympathetic glance. “There’s a

reason why it’s a dark spell. No white wizard in
his right mind would do this.”

“Okay, I’ll just pretend that I’m on Fear Factor,”

Kale grumbled.

He measured out the doses under Ian’s

directions and mixed them in a cup. The smell was
so bad that Kale was already gagging before he
brought it to his mouth. It didn’t help matters any
that the thing had taken on a gray, lumpy
appearance. It even bubbled a few times as if it
were alive or something.

“Blaine so owes me for this. The first thing I’m

going to do when I see him is kick his ass for
putting that damn shield up,” Kale bitched.

“I love it when you talk vicious like that,” Ian

said. “Now drink up.”

Kale brought the cup to his lips and started to

gulp it down. He hoped that by chugging it, the

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stuff wouldn’t taste so bad, but one swallow
proved him wrong. Fuck, it tasted as if a skunk
ape had pissed in the cup and left the contents out
to rot for a month or so. It didn’t help when the
lumps got stuck his throat either.

Ian continued to encourage Kale the entire time,

using soothing tones or outright bullying in order
to keep him going. It worked though. After what
seemed like an eternity, Kale emptied the cup. He
set it down and clamped his lips together in an
effort to keep it all down. The last thing he wanted
was to hurl it all up and have to start all over
again.

After taking several deep breaths and

swallowing a few times, Kale nodded, “Okay,
what do I do next?”

“Just close your eyes and meditate, the potion

will do the rest of the work.”

“It better,” Kale grouched. “It tasted worse than

zombie shit.”

“Seeing as how I never tasted zombie

droppings, I’ll take your word on that.”

Kale playfully flipped him off before closing his

eyes and allowing himself to go into a trance.
Thankfully, his current coven leader was big on
meditation so it didn’t take Kale long to get into
his zone.

A pleasant humming sensation traveled over

his body and then he grew warm all over, almost

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as if somebody had poured heated massage oil
over him. Slowly, he felt his mind detaching from
his physical body.

It was kind of freaky. He could even look down

and see himself sitting in the middle of the
pentagram. Next, he glanced over at Ian,
somewhat surprise to see the concern on his face.
Ian said something, but Kale couldn’t make it out.

Next, he floated over the hallway and found

that he was looking down at a corridor full of
mutant insects. It may have only been his
imagination, but there seemed to be twice as many
as before. Maybe they reproduced fast or
something. That was as horrifying thought. Now
Blaine and the others would have an even harder
time getting in to rescue them.

As he glided over the main chamber, horror

filled him when he saw most of the bodies picked
clean by the insects, leaving the bones. It made
him realize how lucky he and Ian had been to get
away alive. How the coven could have even
thought of a creation so awful baffled and
disgusted Kale. Had they even bothered to think
what would have happened if the things had
gotten out into the human population?

Next thing he knew, he was outside and over

Blaine. Kale barely had time to register his relief
over his twin being alive, before their minds
seemed to merge.

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Is that you? Blaine asked with a gasp.
Yes, it is. I’m so glad that you’re alive, Kale

replied.

Where are you guys and how in the hell are you

contacting me?

Kale chuckled at the surprised tone in Blaine’s

question. No doubt he thought that Kale would
never be able to break through his shield. The
kind of wall Blaine had erected was strong. Much
more so than even the ones the fire demons had
put up to hide the fact that Ian’s magic was gone.

Ian helped me.

I should have guessed. That guy is a bad influence

on you.

A burst of anger went through Kale. Don’t talk

about my mate that way!

Thanks to their bond, Kale could sense Blaine’s

anger and shock. What do you mean mate? Have you

lost your mind? What in the hell would make you bond

with him?

We haven’t bonded, at least not yet. But once we get

out of here, I plan on doing that as soon as possible.

Blaine let out an impressive string of curse

words. Has he put some kind of spell over you?

No, quite the opposite. He’s going to die if you don’t

get here soon. He gave up his powers and life force so

the fire demons would take Tarick.

There was a long pause before Blaine replied,

Are you sure Ian’s telling you the truth about that?

Ask Lilith. She knows all about it.

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I will, but first tell me where you are.

We’re holed up in the infirmary. We can’t leave

because the place is filled with these giant bugs who like
to munch on flesh.

Kale worried that their group wouldn’t be able

to defeat all of the creatures in time to save Ian.
Blaine must have picked up on that thought
because he sent back, Don’t worry. We have plenty of

help here.

That was when Kale became aware of other

presences there, both vampire and magic. He tried
to reach out to see who they were, but all of a
sudden he felt himself being sucked back to his
body. Desperate, he shot off one last message,

Please, hurry I can’t lose him. I love him too much.

Very dimly, he heard Blaine’s reply, Don’t

worry, brother. I won’t fail you.

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Seven

s soon as Kale returned to his physical body,
he sprang to his feet and rushed over to Ian’s

side.

His heart stuttered with fear when he noticed

that Ian was barely holding on to consciousness,
his breathing now so labored that the sounds of
his rasping breaths filled the room and blood had
begun to trickle from his nose.

Kale gently wiped it away and kissed Ian’s

brow. It was now cool and clammy. That didn’t
relieve Kale any, but only worried him more. Ian’s
lips were cracked and bleeding so Kale dribbled
some water into his mouth.

“Did it work?” Ian asked, his voice a strained

whisper.

“Yes, they’re on their way now and they have

help with them. I sensed some other vampires and
magics there so I need you to hold on for me,”
Kale pleaded.

Ian smiled, the movement making his lips crack

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more. “I’ve waited so long for you to look at me
like that. I used to see you giving Toby the same
look and it hurt me so badly. I wanted to hate him
for that, but I couldn’t even have that satisfaction
since the fucker is too likable.”

Tears built up in Kale’s eyes and this time, he

made no effort to hold them back. “I’m so sorry I
was an idiot and missed the fact that my mate was
standing off to the side, just waiting for me to
notice him.”

“It’s okay. I have you now. Even if it’s just for a

little bit, it’s still worth it.”

“No, it’s not. You have to hold on, babe. I can’t

survive without you.”

Ian let out a gurgling sound that may have been

a laugh. “Don’t ruin this moment by using sappy
pet names.”

Kale gave Ian’s chapped lips a soft kiss. “I love

you so much.”

“I love you, too,” Ian replied, his eyes

beginning to droop.

Outside, a loud commotion started and Kale

knew it was their allies coming to rescue them.
Going by the number of screams coming from the
mutant insects, the good guys were winning, too.
All Kale had to do was keep Ian alive long enough
for them to be rescued.

“Come on, Ian. Stay with me,” Kale begged.
“Why? There’s nothing that anybody can do to

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save me.”

“There’re vampires in this group. While Toby

may not be able to turn you because he’s still a
fledgling, one of the other ones can.”

Ian shook his head. “No, I don’t want to be a

vampire. They killed Galen.”

Kale brushed Ian’s hair away from his face.

“Maybe, but Donavan mated with a vampire and
you’ve become friends with many of the clan that
lives within our coven, you have to know they’re
not all bad.”

When Ian looked like he was still going to

argue, Kale added, “Please, do it for me. I can’t
live without you. If you die, I’ll soon follow.”

It was true, too. Kale knew that if his mate were

to perish, he would lose the will to live. That was a
death sentence given the war they were currently
in.

Before Ian could say anything more, a strong

blast of magic blew the doors open. Acting on
instinct, Kale put his body between the intruders
and Ian. Kale hoped to see Blaine, but instead, a
strange warlock and female vampire came in.

“Hey, did somebody call Orkin?” the warlock

quipped.

He had the hood of his black and purple

uniform up and Kale didn’t recognize what coven
he might be from. Nor could he place if the
vampire was friendly or not. She had short dark

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hair and piercing blue eyes that were both erotic
and scary at the same time. She glanced down at
Ian, her lips curving into a frown.

“Please?” Kale begged.
Friend or foe, all that mattered at that point was

saving Ian’s life.

She studied Kale closely for a moment before

she gave a slight nod and strode over to the
bedside. Kale glanced into the hallway and saw
that the rest of the bugs were being destroyed by
the magics and vampires, but so far there was no
sign of Blaine, Toby or Lilith.

“Are you sure of this?” the female asked Ian.
Ian glanced over at Kale.
“Please, stay with me,” Kale all but sobbed.
By way of answer, Ian tilted his head and bared

his neck to the female.

“Oh, you should probably know since I’ll be

your sire. My name is Porsha and I come from the
Elvina clan.”

Kale gasped. “Isn’t that the clan from

Washington? What are you doing here?”

She gave him a toothy smile. “Funny you

should ask. We’re on our way to join forces with
your clan and coven. My sister is the leader and
she sent me and my men to broker a deal.”

Before Kale could reply to that startling

revelation, she bared her fangs with a hiss and
sank them into Ian’s flesh. At the same time,

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Blaine, Toby and Lilith came storming into the
room.

Blaine rushed over to Kale and wrapped his

arms around him.

“You came,” Kale whispered, his gaze still

riveted on his mate.

“I would never leave you behind,” Blaine

replied.

Porsha only took a few swallows before she

pulled back and licked the wound closed. Next,
she brought her wrist up to her mouth and bit it,
squeezing the flesh until blood began to flow.
Holding it up to Ian’s mouth, she ordered, “Drink
from me.”

Ian still hesitated a second. Then, not caring

that they had a huge audience, Kale said, “I love
you. Do it so we can live the rest of our lives
together.”

That seemed to be the last bit of motivation Ian

needed because he placed his lips on Porsha’s
wrist and began to drink deeply. Her eyes
fluttered shut as she shuddered in pleasure,
causing Kale to growl with jealousy.

“Easy, it can’t be helped. Feeding from

somebody is always a bit intimate and it’s even
more so when it’s during a conversion,” Toby
assured him.

Kale barely heard him. All he could think about

was that somebody else was receiving pleasure

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from his mate. Kale wasn’t able to calm down
until Blaine murmured, “Remember, it’s to save
his life.”

Finally, Ian pulled back and passed out. Porsha

sealed her own wounds shut before she began
barking orders. “Quick, grab a cot from one of our
mobile medical units and restrain him before he
wakes up.”

“Why does he need to be restrained?” Kale

demanded angrily.

Porsha flicked an irritated glance his way.

“When he wakes up, he will be out of his mind
with bloodlust. If we don’t have him tied down,
he’ll attack anyone who gets near him.”

“He can have all the blood he wants from me,”

Kale immediately offered.

“It will be better for him to have vampire blood

at first. It will help cement the conversion. Besides,
one donor won’t be enough.”

Kale was shoved to the side as a medical team

of vampires rushed in and moved Ian to a cot,
using thick leather straps to secure him in place.
As they were carrying him out, Kale asked, “Can I
at least ride with him?”

Porsha considered the request a moment before

giving her consent. “Just make sure you stay out
of the way.”

Nodding his agreement, Kale followed them

out. When he stepped outside and encountered

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the numerous insect bodies, Kale’s stomach did a
slow roll, especially when he stepped in some
thick, sloppy, yellow goo that was leaking out of
one of the corpses.

They rushed out through the main corridor,

and through a narrow opening the magics had
managed to blast through the cave in. Kale made a
point not to look at the remains of the coven.
Having seen them once already was enough to
give him a few extra years’ worth of nightmares.

Once outside, he didn’t see any hellhounds, but

numerous scorch marks told that they had met an
even worse fate than the insects. Lilith was there
and she came running to his side.

“What happened to Ian?” she wailed.
Kale turned all his anger on her. “You know

damn well what happened. He almost died. It was
only thanks to Porsha that he’s alive now.”

“What do you mean?”
“She converted him to a vampire.”
Lilith blinked a few times. “Ian would have

never agreed to that.”

“He did it for me. Will the fire demons leave

him alone now, or are they going to continue to
try and drain him?” Kale asked, putting voice to
his biggest fear.

“No, the demons won’t want to have anything

to do with him since he’s a now vampire. They’ll
consider him tainted.”

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“How about you? Does that mean that you’ll

abandon him now?”

“Never! Ian has and always will be my friend.”
That declaration almost made Kale forgive

Lilith for her part in the deal with the fire demons.
Kale still wasn’t ready to be all buddy-buddy with
her though.

“Go with Blaine and Toby. We’ll meet you back

at home.”

Lilith looked like she wanted to argue, but in

the end, she nodded and went over to the
Hummer. It was then that Kale noticed that there
were nearly a hundred other vehicles dotting the
landscape.

More than that, countless magics and vampires

were running around. Going by the different
colors of the uniforms, there had to be at least fifty
different covens and clans present.

“What in the hell is happening?” Kale breathed,

shock coursing through his body.

Porsha smiled at him. “When the VRF and the

Ninth began attacking neutral covens and clans,
they thought it would scare us into obeying them.
Instead, it pissed us off. So much so, that we’re
coming to Pontiac to join the fight.”

Kale was speechless. With all these new allies,

the tide of the war would change in their favor.
For the first time ever, Kale saw a ray of hope that
they might actually win.

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“I can’t believe it,” he finally said.
“Oh, it’s true. Not only that, but more groups

are coming from the south and north. The VRF
and the Ninth aren’t going to know what hit
them.”

Kale wondered where in the hell they were

going to house so many soldiers, but then shoved
the worry aside. That was Ethan and Eric’s
problem. For now, Kale only wanted to
concentrate on Ian and making sure that his
conversion went as smoothly as possible.

They reached a large van that served as the

mobile medical unit. The medics shoved Kale into
a far corner and forced to watch helplessly as they
began to work on Ian. They secured his restraints
again before moving on to start two IVs. One was
connected to a bag of blood while another was
connected to a bag of clear liquid.

“What are you giving him?” Kale asked.
He wanted so badly to reach out and touch Ian,

but a team of vampire medics currently
surrounded his mate.

“We’ll have to keep pumping blood in him to

keep him sane. The other bag of fluids is to help
keep him hydrated so we can administer
morphine,” one of the medics answered.

“Will it take away all the pain?” Kale pressed.
The medic shot him a grim expression. “I’m not

going to lie to you, conversions hurt like the worst

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kind of hell. Plus, being a former warlock is going
to make things worse. While he’s drained of his
powers, he’s still not human so his body is going
to resist more than normal. At least the morphine
will take the edge off, but it’s still going to be a
rough road for him.”

An ache built up in Kale’s chest. “But he’s still

going to live…right?”

“We don’t know for sure. We’ve never faced a

situation like this. But I promise you that we’re
going to do everything we can for him.”

Ian’s eyes shot open and he let out a roar of

agony. Kale rushed forward to help, but was
immediately shoved back into his seat. Meanwhile
the medics began to work quickly, one of them
filling a syringe full of morphine and pushing it
through the IV port.

After a few moments, Ian stopped screaming,

but he still continued to let out whimpers. Almost
like a puppy that someone kicked too many times.
To hear the once proud, cocky warlock reduced to
such a state broke Kale’s heart.

Desperate to give Ian some form of comfort

Kale closed his eyes and reached out mentally.
While he and Ian had yet to bond, Kale still hoped
that the love they felt for each other would
provide enough of a connection for him to reach
out to Ian.

I love you so much. I’m right here by your side and I

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promise not to leave you until it’s over and you’re

better.

Ian’s voice came back, feeble but still there. It

hurts so bad.

Kale almost caved at those words, but he forced

himself to stay strong for Ian’s sake. I know it does.

I need you to hold on and be strong for me. Just think of

what we get to do as soon as all this is over.

What’s that?

Haven’t you heard, babe? The first time a fledgling

vampire feeds and fucks at the same time, it’s supposed

to be the most intense experience ever.

Ian let out another whimper before sending,

There you go with the sappy nicknames again.

Kale snorted. Give up already. We both know that

you love it.

I guess it beats what you used to call me—the

sadistic, self-centered asshole.

Regret slammed into Kale as he realized just

how much his words must have hurt Ian. I was an

idiot. I didn’t realize that you were the most caring soul
in our coven. You gave up everything to save Lachlan

and Donavan. Then you did it all over again to save

me. I can’t think of any other warlock who would have
made such great sacrifices.

Kale meant every word of that, too. He vowed

that he would make sure the rest of the coven and
clan knew the truth, as well, even if it took the rest
of his life to convince them.

Ian let out another groan of pain. I’m never going

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to say that the Drones are wimps again. This shit hurts

like hell.

Kale shot his mate a helpless look. It will all be

over soon. I promise. Then we can finally officially

become mates.

Kale only hoped that he was right and that Ian

lived through all this. After getting this far, failure
just wasn’t an option Kale was willing to accept.

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Eight

he entire world had become a haze of agony
for Ian. It surpassed any other pain he had

ever felt in his life, and he’d suffered a lot of it,
too. It even made the stinger bite from the mutant
insect pale in comparison.

Through it all, the only thing that kept him sane

was the sound of Kale’s soothing voice, mentally
giving words of encouragement and love. Ian held
onto that like an anchor, sure that if he were to let
go he would be lost forever.

He was in a state of near unconsciousness for

the most part. When he did come to, it was always
to a different situation. First, he was in one van
with a group a vampires medics working on him.
Later he found that he’d been transferred to a
different van as another crew took over the duties
of taking care of him. Finally, he opened his eyes
and saw the familiar surroundings of his coven’s
infirmary. Both Lachlan and the vampire doc,
Dahlia, were hovering over him, both of them

Blood And Sacrifice

wearing looks of concern.

The one thing that remained consistent was

Kale’s presence. He refused to leave Ian’s side.
Even though Ian had heard others urging the
warlock to go and get some rest, Kale insisted on
staying. Going so far as to wipe away the sweat
from Ian’s forehead once they reached home and
Kale could finally be within touching distance.

When Ian woke up for the final time, he found

himself in one of the few private rooms in the
infirmary. Ian paused, not daring to move as he
did a quick inventory of his body, searching for
any painful spots. After he was sure he wouldn’t
regret the move, he let out a sigh of relief.

The noise was nearly painful to his ears and it

was then that Ian realized he could hear
everything, and by that, he meant every little detail
in the room. He could hear the fluttering of the
wings from a moth who was dancing around the
green light emitting from a computer monitor. He
could hear the voices from all the other members
of their coven and clan. Most of all, he could hear
the blood rushing through the veins of the person
who was in the room with him. While he knew it
was all because of his new enhanced vampire
senses, it still caused him a brief moment of panic.

Casting his gaze over the room, he spotted Kale

sleeping in a nearby chair and all of Ian’s anxiety
faded away. Just the sight of his mate, so close and

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smelling so delectable caused Ian’s newly formed
fangs to drop down in his mouth.

The movement shocked Ian and he ran his

tongue over his new dental work, finding the
sharp points were surprisingly sensitive. He sat
up, relieved to find that he was no longer
restrained.

Damn, but didn’t Kale look just so edible. He

wore a pair of black sweats and a matching t-shirt.
His hair was wet, showing that he’d just
showered. Ian inhaled, catching the scent of
sandalwood. Kale always used that kind of
shampoo and Ian loved it so.

Ian let out a low growl of appreciation. The

noise roused Kale and he sat up, his eyelids
opening. Instead of looking weary, Kale flashed
that dazzling smile of his. “You’re awake.”

“Yes,” Ian said.
Arousal unlike any other that he’d felt before

slammed into Ian and he curled his fingers in the
sheets in an effort to hold himself back. While he
didn’t want to scare Kale, every instinct in Ian was
screaming for him to attack the warlock and claim
him.

Kale slowly stood up and began to peel off his

clothes. Ian blinked in surprise, even as his cock
perked up in interest. It was only then that Ian
realized he was naked under the sheet.

Nice! How very convenient.

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Despite the bone-numbing lust shooting

through him, Ian still asked, “What are you
doing?”

Kale grinned as he took off his pants and kicked

them to the side. Now fully naked, he reached
down and lazily stroked his thick cock. “Did you
forget the promise we made?”

Mouth dry, Ian shook his head. “What one was

that?”

“We promised that once we got here, you

would fuck and claim me as your mate.”

“Are you sure it’s safe? I don’t want to hurt

you.”

Ian’s inner voice told him to shut the hell up

and fuck Kale senseless, but luckily the protective
side of Ian still ruled. As horny as he might have
been at the moment, he wasn’t going to take
things any farther until he was certain that it
wouldn’t harm Kale.

Kale reached over and ran a hand across Ian’s

chest, his touch leaving behind a heated path.
“Why do you think we’re in a private room?
Dahlia knew what you would need and she said
she’s sick of her infirmary being a public sex
show.”

Ian laughed. His brother Donavan had been

one of the ones guilty of getting frisky in the
infirmary. Ian had been painfully aware of the
activities at the time, too, since he’d had the

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misfortune of being handcuffed to the bed next to
him.

Kale pulled back the sheet and eyed up Ian’s

cock. “Wow, you’re big.”

“I’m glad you approve.”
Kale climbed on top of the bed and straddled

Ian. For a moment, Ian thought he was going to go
in for a kiss, but Kale surprised him. Dipping his
head down, he ran his tongue over the crown of
Ian’s cock.

“Goddess, you taste so good,” Kale praised.
For the first time in years, Ian didn’t deny the

deity’s existence. Now that he had Kale in his bed
ready to mate with him, Ian was finally beginning
to believe that just maybe she hadn’t forsaken him
after all.

Kale went in for another taste. The velvet touch

of his tongue sent spirals of pleasure through Ian.
He wanted to reach out, push Kale’s head down
and demand that he do a proper job of sucking
him off, but Ian held back. This moment was
supposed to be special and he wasn’t going to ruin
it by treating Kale like just another back alley
hookup.

“I need you so badly,” Ian groaned, his voice

slightly slurred because he still wasn’t used to the
fangs.

Kale glanced up at him. “I kind of figured as

much. That’s why I took the time to stretch myself

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out while I was in the shower. That way we didn’t
have to waste any time and could get right to the
good stuff.”

The thought of Kale fingering himself in the

shower filled Ian with both raw lust and a bit of
jealousy. He should be the one who saw to that
task. Letting out a growl, he decided it was time to
show Kale who was in charge.

Rolling them over so Kale was now on the

bottom, Ian began to kiss and lick his way down
the man’s body. Along the way, Ian couldn’t resist
sinking in his fangs from time-to-time. He only
did it a little bit so he could get a small sampling
of blood, not wanting to rush things.

The taste of Kale’s essence sent shivers of desire

over Ian’s body and he was soon wild with need.
He still forced himself to take things slow. He
even paid special attention to Kale’s nipples since
that seemed to be an especially sensitive area for
the warlock.

Kale arched up, a gasp of pleasure slipping past

his lips. Ian allowed himself to savor the image for
a moment. In all his years, he’d never seen
anything so fucking beautiful. Giving Kale’s
nipples one last lick, Ian moved his way down to
the man’s cock.

A perfect pearl of pre-cum had formed at the

tip and Ian licked it clean, letting out a hum of
approval at the wonderful taste of the man who

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would soon be his forever. Reaching down, Ian
sought out Kale’s hole and was now pleasantly
happy to find that Kale had indeed stretched and
lubed himself up.

Ian slid in two fingers and twisted his wrist so

he was pegging Kale’s sweet spot. At the same
time, Ian sucked in Kale’s cock all the way to the
root. Kale let out a loud cry, his fingers clawing
the sheets.

Ian smiled, loving how he was the one who

brought out that kind of reaction from the usually
quiet and reserved man. If he was being this vocal
now, Ian couldn’t wait to hear how he would be
once they were actually fucking.

Ian worked his fingers in and out, all the while

sucking on Kale’s cock. It wasn’t as easy at first,
since Ian had to work around his new fangs, but
he quickly adjusted and soon had Kale writhing
under him.

“Do it. Now! I need,” Kale moaned.
“You’ve got me. You always have,” Ian replied

as he took his fingers out and sat up.

Ian spotted a vial of essential oil on a nearby

cart. Niiiiiiiiice. Ever the Boy Scout, it would seem
that his mate had thought of everything. Ian
grabbed it and poured some of it on his fingers, a
smile coming over his face as the familiar smell of
sandalwood hit him. He felt certain that for the
rest of his life, whenever he caught a whiff of that

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scent, he’d get turned on.

Slicking up his cock, Ian lined it up to Kale’s

well-stretched hole. Ever since Galen, Ian had
always taken his lovers from behind, wanting the
experience to be as impersonal as possible. This
time, however, he wanted to gaze into Kale’s
beautiful eyes when they made love for the first
time.

Ian slid slowly inside. Not because he didn’t

think that Kale couldn’t handle it, but because Ian
wanted to savor every moment. If he could, he
would freeze time. At that moment, there was no
war, no painful memories, no hurt and no fear.
There was only him, his mate and bliss.

“I love you,” Kale whispered, his gaze never

leaving Ian’s.

“And I love you,” Ian replied, finally sinking in

all the way.

The hot grip of Kale’s body around his cock

forced a moan from Ian. Then Kale pulled his legs
up, shifting their positions just slightly, but it
made Ian go in even deeper. That shattered the
last of Ian’s self-restraint.

Letting out a hiss, he began to hammer into

Kale with a desperate need. Maybe it was because
he was now a vampire and their sex drive was
supposed to be higher. Or it could just be the fact
that he was finally getting what he’d lusted over
for so long. Whatever the reason, Ian couldn’t hold

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himself back.

“Yes, just like that,” Kale cried.
Ian ran a tongue over his fangs. It was nice to

know that he wasn’t the only one out of control.
Then Kale tilted his head to the side, exposing his
neck, and Ian knew he was a goner.

The exposed flesh and fluttering pulse was

something that Ian could not resist. Letting out
another hiss, he lowered his head and sank his
fangs into the surprisingly tender flesh.

As soon as the blood filled his mouth, Ian’s

body began to hum. Kale tasted like wine warmed
over a fire, but there was a special zing to it that
spoke of his warlock status. Instead of being bitter
over the fact that his own magic was gone, Ian
found himself relishing the feeling of being able to
bond with his mate in this new way. Somehow, it
seemed more intimate.

“Deeper! Mark me forever,” Kale ordered.
With a muffled growl, Ian sank his fangs in

farther so that even with his enhanced healing,
Kale would still carry the scars for the rest of his
life. At the same time, a glowing light covered
their bodies as Kale’s magic created another
special bond.

It all became too much and Ian was pushed

over the brink. The most intense orgasm of his life
hit him. Lifting his head, he screamed his release,
his cum filling Kale’s hole.

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At the same moment, Kale yelled Ian’s name.

Kale’s body shuddered as he came, hot ropes of
semen covering his stomach and chest.

The light slowly faded away as they continued

to hold one another. Ian lowered his head and
licked the wound closed before moving farther
down so he could lap up his lover’s cum. Kale
closed his eyes and let out a pleased humming
sound.

Once done, Ian moved back up and wrapped

his arms around his mate, pulling the warlock
closer. Kale didn’t protest the new position. He
even snuggled in and let out a happy sigh.

“So how long before somebody comes in and

finds us this way?” Ian asked as he began to idly
play with Kale’s hair.

“Probably not for a while. With all the new

bodies moving in, I think this may be our new
home.”

Ian blinked in surprise. While his memories of

the past couple of days were scattered, he did
recall that they had some new allies. “Just how
many new magics and vampires are here now?”

“Last count, five hundred, but more are coming

every day. It would seem that that VRF’s plans to
scare everybody into obeying backfired on them.
Instead, it pissed the masses off so much that they
are all joining the revolt. They’ve already
overthrown the VRF branch in Canada and

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Mexico, and now the rebels are taking on the US,
state by state.”

“How are things overseas?” Ian asked.
The news both shocked and elated him. It

looked like they might actually have a chance at
winning this thing after all, which meant he
needed to get used to his new vampire body so he
could get out there in the fight. He had so much
payback to dish out, starting with the bastards
from the Ninth.

“It’s the same over there. Slowly but surely

countries are falling into the hands of rebels. The
Russian branch of the VRF is so scared that they
didn’t even bother trying to fight, they just went
into hiding.”

“Who’re still allied with the VRF?”
“Only the Ninth, a few clans of demons and

one pack of werewolves. All the others have
defected to our side,” Kale said before he let out a
loud yawn.

“You haven’t really slept since we were

rescued, have you?” Ian accused softly.

Kale shook his head. “I couldn’t. Not until I

knew you were going to be okay.”

Ian placed a soft kiss to Kale’s temple. “Well,

I’m perfectly fine now, thanks to you. Sleep,
mate.”

Kale gave the sweetest of smiles before he

obeyed, his eyelids drooping shut. After a few

Blood And Sacrifice

moments, Ian joined him. Basking in the
knowledge that he had finally claimed Kale as his,
and now, nothing would ever be able to drive
them apart.

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Chapter Nine

few hours later, Kale heard the door of the
room opening, but didn’t bother to move. He

was way too comfortable in his current position
and the sheet was covering them. He only hoped
that whoever it was would quickly do what they
had come in there for and get the hell out. Maybe
then Kale could convince Ian to go another round
or three.

All those hopes were dashed when he glanced

up and saw Eric and Ethan standing there. Kale let
out a groan that was echoed by Ian.

“Damn, Ethan, you always were such a

buzzkill,” Ian bitched.

Kale bit the inside of his cheek to keep from

laughing. While Ian loved to give Ethan a hard
time, Kale knew his mate secretly admired the
coven leader.

Ethan rolled his eyes, but otherwise didn’t seem

too offended by the comment.

Keeping the sheet over their laps, Kale and Ian

Blood And Sacrifice

sat up.

Kale noted how Ian made a point of keeping an

arm around his waist. The gesture came off as
both protective and possessive, and damned if
Kale didn’t love it.

“I guess we don’t have to ask if the rumors over

you two mating are true?” Eric drawled, his eyes
dancing with delight.

Ian shot off a cocky grin. “So does this mean

that I officially answer to you now?”

Now it was Ethan who shot off a snarky smile.

“Nope, since I’m half vampire, half warlock, we
thought it would be better if I still watched over
you.”

“Crap, I’m never going to get rid of you, am I?”

Ian groaned.

“Just think of me like herpes. I’m the gift that

just keeps on giving.”

“More like you’re a sore on my ass that refuses

to heal,” Ian countered.

Kale exchanged amused looks with Eric. It was

nice to know that some things hadn’t changed.
While he may have lost his magic, Ian was just as
much a bastard as ever. Kale couldn’t have loved
him more for that fact either.

Eric tossed some clothes at Ian. “We need you

two to get dressed. There’s a lot that we have to
tell you and Lachlan wants to run some tests. He
said it would be easier to do it out in the main area

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of the infirmary.”

“Okay, but if he tries to take one more vial of

blood from me, I’m going to kick his ass, cousin or
not,” Ian grumbled.

Ethan cocked a brow. “I’ll pass along the

message.”

Once the leaders were gone, Kale and Ian

quickly cleaned up and got dressed. When they
went out into the infirmary, Kale was surprised at
how many of the beds were filled. Even though
the real fighting had yet to begin, there were
already more than their fair share of wounded.
Kale only hoped that there were some healers
among the newbies, otherwise Dahlia and Lachlan
would soon become overwhelmed.

Lachlan rushed over and hugged Ian. “I’m so

happy that you’re okay.”

Ian returned the gesture. “Since when have I

ever let anything get the better of me?”

Donavan was in the infirmary, too, and he also

rushed forward to welcome his brother home. “I
can’t believe that you’re a blood sucker now.”

Kale let out a low growl, offended at the term.

Ian let out a soft laugh. “Easy, he’s just teasing
me.”

Donavan glanced over, a huge smile on his face.

“I guess I should welcome you to the family?”

Before he could reply, Kale found himself being

hugged first by Lachlan, then Donavan. While still

Blood And Sacrifice

holding him, Donavan whispered in Kale’s ear,
“Thank you for bringing him back to us and I
don’t just mean from the cave either.”

Too full of emotion to reply, Kale nodded. Up

until that moment he never thought about how
hard it must have been for Donavan to see Ian
become so bitter and jaded.

Lachlan patted one of the few empty beds.

“Hop on up here, Ian. I have to take some blood.”

Ian let out a grunt. “And here I thought I was

the vampire.”

For all his grumbling, Ian followed orders,

hopping on the bed and holding his arm out.
Lachlan bent his head down and started to take
the sample.

An excited squeal filled the room as Lilith came

running in. Since she had her wings out, she
knocked over several pieces of medical
equipment, but she didn’t seem to notice, too
intent on getting to Ian.

“You’re better!” she gushed as she reached the

bed.

“What are you doing here?” Ian asked. “I

thought you said that you never went into
hospitals because they smelled yucky.”

She wrinkled her pert nose. “Well, they do. But

I decided to make an exception this one time so I
could come see my BFF.”

The fact that a centuries old-demoness was

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using that term amused Kale and he let out a burst
of laughter. Lilith didn’t take offense though. In
fact, she turned around and hugged him so tight
that Kale worried about coming away with a few
broken ribs.

“And now you’re my BFF, too. You saved my

Ian.”

Kale wanted to point out that it was his Ian, but

decided to worry about semantics at a later time.

Lilith pulled away, then asked, “So how soon

before Ian can come out and get into some really
bloody battles? I can’t wait to get my hands full of
guts.”

Lachlan glanced up. “Give him about a week

and then he should be good to go.”

Lilith let out a gasp, her eyes growing wide

with shock as her gaze fixated on Lachlan. Ian
rolled his eyes. “You can forget it, Lil. Lachlan’s
gay, too. By the way, I just realized you’ve never
met him before. I should probably pretend that
I’m polite and introduce you two to each other.”

Lachlan smiled. “So this is the infamous Lilith

that Ian keeps talking about.”

Lilith didn’t reply. Instead, she slowly walked

over to Lachlan. Once she was in front of him, she
raised shaking fingers and grabbed his chin,
turning his face one way and then another as she
carefully studied him. “You look just like him.”

Kale exchanged worried looks with Ian. While

Blood And Sacrifice

there had been rumors that Lachlan was half
angel, this was the first time a demon had this
kind of reaction to the healer.

“Who does he look like?” Ian asked gently.
“My father. The rat bastard who got my mother

pregnant, then broke her heart by abandoning her.
That was the reason she turned and became a
demon.”

For one brief, heart-pounding moment, Kale

thought that she was going to attack Lachlan.
Instead, tears began to run down her face. “Is he
still around?”

Lachlan shook his head. “No, it looks like he’s

in the habit of knocking woman up and then
leaving. He did the same thing with my mother.”

“My mother is dead now.” Lilith let out shaky

breath. “I thought that I was going to be alone for
the rest of time. I had no idea that I had a brother.”

“I never knew I had a sister. At least one who

was still alive.” Lachlan gave her a weak smile.

It was obvious that Lachlan didn’t know how

he should react to the startling revelation.
Thankfully, Lilith took over. Letting out a sob, she
threw her arms around Lachlan.

Lachlan only hesitated a second before he

returned the gesture, having to wrap his arms
around her waist because of her thick, black
wings. They stayed that way for several moments,
Lilith’s sobs growing louder.

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100

Wow, I’ve never seen her cry like this before, Ian

sent via their link.

Kale smiled, loving that despite the fact that Ian

had forever lost his magic, they still were able to
share this special connection. Did you suspect that
she could be Lachlan’s sister?

Never. I’m just as surprised as you are.
Lilith pulled back and let out a small sniff. Then

Lachlan did the most shocking thing of all, he
reached out and gently wiped the tears from her
face. “Hey, none of that. This is supposed to be a
happy moment.”

She laughed. “I am happy. I’ve never been this

much at peace before. I finally have somebody to
really care about.”

Lachlan placed a kiss on the top of her head.

“Yes, you do, sister.”

Ian swallowed a few times and Kale knew Ian

was thinking about how he could relate to Lilith’s
current situation. For now that he and Kale were
mates, neither one of them would feel isolated
again either.

Needing to feel his mate’s touch, Kale sat on the

bed and laid his head on Ian’s shoulder. Ian
reached out and grabbed Kale’s hand, lacing their
fingers together.

“Wow, we really do have one hell of a

dysfunctional family,” Ian said.

Kale let out a chuckle. “Yeah, we have three

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101

and a half warlocks, two vampires, a half angel
and a succubus. It sounds like the opening to some
kind of cheesy joke.”

Ian glanced down and Kale’s heart stuttered at

the raw love he saw in his mate’s gaze. “Would
you have it any other way?”

“Never. In fact, I’ve never been happier.”
Which was kind of funny since they were about

to go into a war that would either garner their
survival or be the end of them all. At that moment,
Kale didn’t care about any of that.

Sure, his mate might be grumpy, mean and

sometimes a real jerk, but Ian was his jerk and Kale
wouldn’t change a damn thing about him.

And I wouldn’t change a thing about you, Ian

returned through their link.

Tilting his head back, Kale captured Ian’s lips in

the sweetest of kisses. Inside, he vowed that no
matter what, he would never let himself forget
how lucky he was to have Ian as his mate.

He also vowed that he would do whatever it

took to protect him.

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. You can
usually find her snuggled up to her laptop,
creating her next book.

Contact her at:
Email Address:archangelwriter@yahoo.com

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/StephaniHecht

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http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=pr

ofil&id=1109353859

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Blog:
http://stephanihechtauthor.blogspot.com