When Nicholas Tarrant sees a broken and bloody
Brody Lennox dragged into the Werewolf
Coalition he has to decide. Stay under cover or
help the incubus live. His decision is simple.
Nicholas Tarrant has worked hard for his position
on the Werewolf Coalition. Having access to
whatever is happening inside the Coalition is
important to the Underground and he's good at
blending in.
Brody Lennox is sent to Glitnir to broker talks
of peace but is dragged broken and bloody into
the Council chambers. Ludvik wants him killed as
a traitor.
Can Nicholas save Brody? Or is Brody too
broken to be saved?
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Please purchase only authorized electronic editions,
and do not participate in or encourage the electronic
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author’s rights is appreciated.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
places, and incidents either are products of the
author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any
resemblance to actual events or locales or persons,
living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
The Incubus Agenda
Copyright © 2014 RJ Scott
ISBN: 978-1-77111-801-9
Cover art by Angela Waters
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the
reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or
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Published by eXtasy Books
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The Incubus Agenda
Supernatural Bounty Hunters Book
5
By
RJ Scott
Dedication
To eXtasy. Thank you.
And always for my family.
1
Chapter One
ick Tarrant took a careful step back and
leaned against the large oak chairs around
the outside of the room. He had to be more in
shadow and less in the middle of the heated
discussion that already had one council member
threatening to kill another. Newly elected, he
finally had his place of the Werewolf Coalition but
he wasn’t willing to put his neck out just yet to say
what he thought. He had his own ideas that
would remain hidden inside him until they
needed to be turned into proper plans.
“This rebellion has to be stopped,” Cassius
shouted over the noise of the arguing, which grew
more violent and exponentially louder by the
second. Cassius was the Head of the Vampire
Clans Council and he was here, it seemed, to do
nothing more than rile up the Wolf shifters and
incite them to war. Given wolf shifters never did
anything by halves and with the council split over
the matter of Glitnir, Nick was waiting for his
fellow wolves to shift and tear off into the forest
looking for the rebellious Underground.
N
RJ Scott
2
Only Niceros sat quietly to one side much as
Nick did. His expression was guarded but Nick
could swear there was the faint hint of a smile on
his face. He was the big wolf in the Coalition now.
Not only did he have twenty Retrievers under his
control but he was cozied up to Cassius. Seeing
the vampire and the werewolf together never
failed to send shivers of apprehension down
Nick’s spine.
“Glitnir has done nothing for us,” a new
addition to the rank of Retrievers snarled. Nick
couldn’t recall the shifter’s name, such was the
turnover of Retrievers at the moment. Two other
wolves pulled him to one side and proceeded to
pummel him into the ground. Snarls and growls
and sudden silence made Nick think that the
Retrievers were going to be one short now. What
the fuck was happening here? Everything was out
of control.
“Does anyone else have anything to say?”
Cassius shouted over the noise to make himself
heard. He crossed his arms over his chest and
looked down from his height to the shorter
wolves. Nick could see how this was going. Over
half of the Coalition was behind this vampire,
which put the vamps and the wolves squarely on
the side of Glitnir in this crap. Not exactly the
outcome that Nick was hoping for but he wasn’t
saying a thing to the contrary of general opinion.
The Incubus Agenda
3
His job was to stay quiet and get the intelligence
he gathered to Joseph without getting caught,
nothing more, nothing less. Silence fell over the
room.
This closed Coalition meeting was anything
but. Not only was Cassius here in his flowing
black floor-length cloak that screamed pretentious,
but Ludvik freaking Peitrol was outside in the ante
room after asking for audience to talk. Nick
couldn’t recall the last time that a vampire was
allowed to address a full meeting of a werewolf
council, but add in the fact Ludvik was fae and
suddenly anything like tradition was being shot to
pieces.
Not one wolf spoke up against Glitnir but a few
looked at the prone body of the dead Retriever
and the blood that pooled under his torn throat. It
was so easy to kill these days, no one stopped a
murder in the name of pushing down the
rebellion.
“Then we’re agreed?” Niceros finally spoke up.
Everyone in the room turned to him with
expectation on their faces. He stood and Nick had
to admit he looked every bit a big bad wolf. “Do
we need to put this to a vote?” He didn’t wait for
an answer. “I put forward the motion that the
Werewolf Coalition forms an alliance with the
Vampire Clans Council and puts our support
solidly behind the Fae and Glitnir.”
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4
Silence.
Then each of the Retrievers that were left lifted
their hands and as one each shifter in the room,
even Nick, copied the gesture.
The main oak doors to the large meeting room
swung open and banged on the door and the
shifters closest to the door began to murmur
among themselves and the noise spread like a
wave as the crowd parted. Ludvik had entered the
chamber with two blood demon guards who were
near dragging a man between them. Nick stepped
from his column trying to get a fix on who it may
be who was dropped unceremoniously to the
floor. It was difficult to tell past the blood and
bruising but whoever it was this was not good.
Anxiety curled inside Nick and he ruthlessly
pushed it down. Other wolves would be able to
scent his worry that this was someone he needed
to be saving from whatever fate Ludvik had
decided on.
The bloodied man pushed himself to his knees
and shakily he stood. With great pride in his
bearing he finally stood straight and only as he
turned in a complete three sixty did Nick get a
proper look at who it was. Fuck. That couldn’t be.
Brody Lennox.
His movements were shaky and uncoordinated
but Nick could see what the Incubus was doing.
He checked out the opposition even though he
The Incubus Agenda
5
was in no position of strength to be doing so. He
shouldn’t be pushing the wolves like this, staring
them in the eye and showing defiance.
“What is he doing here?” Cassius snapped from
where he had moved next to Niceros.
“He was my most trusted assassin, a Fae
Guard, and now he’s a spy. A traitor. He’s arrived
saying he wants to talk under truce but in his own
words he tells us that he wants to destroy Glitnir.”
Nick watched as Brody drew himself taller and
without wincing he lifted an eyebrow in question.
“I think you’ll find I’ve said nothing,” he said
clearly. Then he ruined it by coughing and spitting
blood from his mouth. The trail of scarlet landed
near Ludvik’s feet and the nearer of the two blood
demons smacked Brody around the face.
“Show respect, traitor,” the guard snapped.
“I’m no traitor,” Brody said. The demon jostled
Brody. Nick slid between two wolves and
attempted to make it look as if he just wanted a
closer look. “I’m here to address the Werewolf
Coalition on behalf of the Underground.”
Nick bit his tongue, why didn’t Brody just shut
up? If he kept this going he was going to have his
stomach split and be staring at his guts on the
floor. That was if he lived. No one here was going
to listen to anything he said about Niceros. He
snorted a laugh and stepped close to Brody until
only an arm’s length separated them.
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6
“No talking.” Niceros leaned in. “Not from
traitors,” he added.
Brody very deliberately took a step closer until
he was right up in Niceros’ space. He tilted his
head. “You’re purple with deceit,” he said. Then
he sniffed the air. “Wet dog.”
Niceros snarled before extended his claws and
swiping sharply at Brody’s face. Brody didn’t have
time to move and the steel-like tips tore through
Brody’s skin and narrowly missed an eye. No one
made a move to help the incubus as he crumpled
to the floor clutching his face, but there was plenty
to be said when Brody removed his hand and
struggled to stand with blood running free down
his face. Muttering and hissed disapproval
worked its way through the crowd and when it
reached Niceros he plunged his claws into Brody’s
biceps and held tight.
“Fuck you traitor,” he spat.
“Scarlet now, temper? Or lust,” Brody smiled
weakly but didn’t drop his gaze from being firmly
fixed on Niceros.
“Take him away and finish him.” Niceros
ordered.
“Wait!” Panic forced the word but the clear
thoughts that soon followed had Nick inclining his
head to Niceros in respect. “He could be useful
with what he knows.”
The Incubus Agenda
7
Niceros appeared to consider the interruption
then his face turned to stone. “He can tell us
nothing. He dies,” Niceros snapped.
“Sir,” Nick agreed with a nod. He stepped back
in the shadows. With the hold Niceros had over
every wolf in this room, if Nick showed any more
than this he was likely to be torn to shreds as a
traitor himself.
Brody slumped against the blood demon who
held him and both stumbled. Niceros finished the
incubus’s fall to the floor with a well-placed kick
to the back of his knee and laughed when the
demon fell as well.
Cassius came closer to Niceros, the vampire’s
features schooled in thought and he bent in to talk
to the wolf shifter. Finally Niceros was angry, then
resigned, then a whole screaming mess of temper
as he aimed another kick at the fallen incubus.
“Take him to the Council for trial,” he shouted
in anger. Seemed Cassius had made him see that
proper justice had to appear to be done. Shame
that courtesy didn’t extend to the dead Retriever
lying in his own blood in the corner. Nick allowed
some of the tension in his body to relax away. If
there was a delay in processing Brody then maybe
Nick could get word to Joseph, or to anyone in the
Underground. Brody was important to the
Underground, as he was one of only two incubi
left in the Glitnir territories and if the rebellion
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8
was to succeed they needed to keep every skill
they could close at hand.
Helping Brody meant exposing himself, and
he’d be lost to any role he had in the wolf shifter
coalition. He considered his next move.
Hands gripped him and pulled him into
shadows and he was suddenly face to face with
Niceros, whose eyes were scarlet tinged with fury.
“You want him to talk,” he spat, “you make him,
then you leave him to rot until they can rip him
apart,” he added. Then he pushed away and in a
flurry of shouting and growling, the rest of the
Retrievers and other Coalition members left the
room with Cassius. Finally it was him, an
unconscious Brody, Ludvik and the two blood
demons left in the chambers. Nick noticed that
Ludvik had stayed out of everything that
happened after he dragged Brody in. Now it
seemed the Kappa had something to say.
“My demons will assist you in breaking this
fae.”
Nick owed the leader of the Fae Alliance
nothing in the way of fealty or respect. He
crouched down next to Brody and was silently
relieved that the incubus appeared to be alive. “I
don’t need help,” he said. He kept the response
simple but he didn’t have to have shifter abilities
to sense that this was not what Ludvik wanted to
hear. He stood and faced the Kappa with
The Incubus Agenda
9
determination despite the fact that distaste and
anger had him wanting to stab the slimy fucker in
the chest with his claws. Ludvik had the whole of
Glitnir jumping at ghosts, persuading everyone
that sticking to the old ways, where species were
shunned and where shifters died for saying their
piece, was the best way. Supported by Cassius for
the vampires, and Niceros for the wolves, he was
the one driving force for a closed state. Shifter and
fae rights be damned.
Ludvik smirked, a real honest-to-goodness
quirk to his thin lips, “Do you know who you are
speaking to wolf? You will take the demons and
you will break this incubus and you will come to
me first to tell me what he says.” He leaned into
Nick and for a second Nick’s head spun. Just until
he could attempt to block whatever shit Ludvik
was trying on him to control his mind. He used
every non-magical tool Joseph had showed him
and attempted to block. Ludvik frowned but
didn’t push harder. “Me first,” he said firmly.
“You first, Sir,” Nick repeated. For a few
seconds he actually felt like this was the best thing
to do. He couldn’t use the charms Joseph had
given him to block Ludvik in case he was found
out, but when Ludvik moved away… Fuck… move
away damn it. My head…
RJ Scott
10
Ludvik leaned even closer, so near that Nick
could feel and smell the puff of intoxicatingly
sweet breath from Ludvik on his skin.
“Me,” Ludvik demanded. “No one else.”
“You.”
Ludvik moved away and left the chamber, his
spell work still spinning in Nick’s head. With all
his strength Nick gripped Brody and hoisted him
up and over his shoulder. The incubus was no
lightweight and he staggered a little, forcing back
bile when he saw the blood on the floor where
Brody had lain. He was a peaceful shifter by
nature and blood wasn’t his strong point. He was
one of only a handful of shifters who liked heat in
their fresh meat as opposed to eating it raw. The
blood demons followed him with bowed heads
and that was okay, since he was still attempting to
push past Ludvik’s attempts to fuck with his head.
He couldn’t understand what blood demons were
doing this side of the Red Mountains but no one
questioned it.
Grunting with the exertion of Brody on his
shoulder he stalked out of the Chamber to the
corridor beyond and was faced with a left to the
cells, or a right to his private room. Taking the
right was the safe option. He wasn’t likely to be
able to get Brody out if anyone had any idea he
was playing for the other team. It was only as he
realised he was outside the first empty cell that he
The Incubus Agenda
11
wondered how much of the decision was his and
how much was some fucked up magical
suggestion. That would explain the nausea which
wouldn’t leave him. Wolves and magic didn’t mix.
He hefted Brody onto the bed and cursed when
Brody’s head smacked down on the metal and
stone shelf. Incubus killed by the shifter trying to save
him. The irony didn’t escape him. He shook him as
roughly as he dared, balancing permanent brain
damage with looking like he was actually trying to
rouse Brody. Finally he turned to the demons. He
had to get them away, get Brody out, or fuck, did
he? Should the underground just chalk this up to a
lost cause? They had Levi, did they actually need
another incubus?
Fuck. Ludvik’s doubts and spells needed out of
his head.
“You can go,” he ordered.
“We stay,” the tallest of them said. His response
was so immediate that he’d clearly been expecting
Nick’s dismissal. Hell, if they didn’t move soon
they were going to witness first-hand the
Technicolor effects of magic on a werewolf when
he was sick all over the floor. His wolf pulled and
scratched inside him for a shift to settle himself.
Doing that meant he’d clean out the last of the
magic but he couldn’t afford to let his guard
down.
RJ Scott
12
Drawing himself tall he assumed his best
badass look, one he’d been practising in the
mirror, and growled. He even added in some
extended claws and as he stepped towards the
blood demons, they stepped back. Clearly his time
perfecting angry dominant wolf shifter had been
time well spent.
“Move or I’ll gut you here and now,” he
snarled. The demons backed away and as one they
left. Nick shook his head. Must be the residual
magic in his system but he was feeling territorial
and he wasn’t bluffing when he said he’d rip the
guards apart if they stayed. Startled at the
stabbing desire of possession that rose inside him
he spun on his heel to look down at the
unconscious form of the incubus.
Possession? Fuck no.
The Incubus Agenda
13
Chapter Two
rody rose from the depths of the pain a little
at a time. He didn’t have to be a medic to
know he was as near to death as he could be
without freaking dying. There was a method in his
madness. He’d hoped provoking Ludvik would
mean he’d be struck down immediately, leaving
the chance of the messy torture part of prison out
of the equation.
Then he recalled what had happened. He’d
seen yellow in the group of wolf shifters. A
stunning lemon and gold that spun and twisted
from the shadows and he cursed his ability to see
the colours without knowing the person who was
there, out of his line of sight. In among the scarlet
of temper, and the icy blue of hate, as clear as
daylight piercing his eyes through the small cell
window, he’d seen the colour of the person
destined to be part of his future.
Hell. As far as he knew there was an
overabundance of wolves, two blood demons, a
B
RJ Scott
14
vamp, and one fae in that room. The sparks
weren’t from Ludvik or his blood demon guards
which left only one thing… wolf. Pain pierced his
head and he couldn’t stop the involuntary moan
that left his lips. Dying was supposed to be quick,
not this protracted agony that carved lines of pain
in his face and his arms and the ribs he knew were
fractured and pressing on his insides in shards.
“Good. You’re awake. Now stay awake.”
Brody moved his head to face the voice but the
pain from the deep cuts in his skin was too much
and he couldn’t stop the nausea as it swept his
body. Strong arms held him as he retched on an
empty stomach. He hadn’t eaten since the war
council in the Badlands. What was that? Two
days? Three? He should have listened to Levi
when his friend said he was unlikely to succeed in
his mission to talk to the Werewolf Coalition. He’d
not counted on Ludvik already being that far
ingrained in the Coalition as to be inseparable. No
one had counted on it. Intelligence had Ludvik
controlling the Fae but still at odds with both
vampires and wolves.
Having a vampire in the room didn’t bode well.
Joseph expected a fractured Glitnir, not a cohesive
whole under one Fae control. What they had
planned, a quiet coup, was not going down with
the combination of vamps, wolves and fae fighting
against them.
The Incubus Agenda
15
A slap across his face had him opening his eyes
wide and shouting in pain.
“Drink this,” a voice commanded. “Water.”
Brody hesitated for a second, then whoever
held him grew fuzzy in his blurred vision and he
couldn’t see their outline, much less what colour
they were. Sometimes it was the absence of colour
that showed him the most. This male, this strong,
demanding, bastard of a male who smelled of the
earth, was wrapped in swathes of magic that
blanked the colours he would normally see.
His reserves were low and he inhaled, hoping
to find the emotions that manifested in temper
and hate in this man. All he got was the taste of
magic and he coughed at the acrid essence.
“Stop doing that,” the voice snapped.
Accompanied by a shove backwards away from
the water he had just coughed over himself he
cried out as his ribs protested and his arms hit the
stone.
He attempted words but a firm hand closed
over his mouth and when he tried to breathe he
couldn’t. He struggled but the bands of pain
across his chest left him only able to feebly move
his legs in a twist of fear. At least being suffocated
to death was quicker than the imagined horrors at
the hands of Ludvik. He’d seen how close to
broken Joseph had been, and that wasn’t
happening to him. He’d kill himself before he let
RJ Scott
16
Ludvik take anything from him. A harsh whisper
reached his ear.
“Stop fighting me, no taking my emotions, I’m
poisoned with magic. Okay?” He struggled even
as the voice told him to stop, his need to escape
getting stronger. “Stop the fuck what you are
doing.” The words were so low no one other than
him could hear. What did that mean? The hand
released from his mouth and he gasped fresh air,
wincing as the blades of magic sliced into his self
and he shut it immediately.
The voice continued. “I’m getting you out, you
just need to heal enough to walk. Can you do that?
What do you need to fix you?”
Strength… all I need is strength…. I can work
around the magic…
He couldn’t speak, instead he lifted a hand and
placed it on the shoulder of the owner of the voice.
They had to know he was an incubus and would
expect him to try and feed. When they didn’t
move he forced back more nausea and focusing
minutely he managed to find a crack in the magic
that muddied this wolf’s auras. He relaxed as the
pure sweetness of strength began to filter out and
into him. At first it was nothing more than a
trickle but then he managed to force more through
and with it came grief, and pain, and the laughter
of a remembered joke and suddenly the nausea
was gone and even though he was broken and
The Incubus Agenda
17
bloody he was at least able to concentrate. His
vision remained blurry but just through that crack
in the spell work he saw something perfect—a
glimpse of lemon, and gold, and the taste of
sunshine.
What the hell.
“We need to get you back to Joseph.” The voice
was little more than a murmur.
A second voice was stern and unforgiving
coming from somewhere outside Brody’s range of
sight, beyond the shape of the person blocking his
view. “Tarrant? Is he awake?” this voice was
instantly recognisable. Niceros, the leader of the
Wolf Retrievers.
Tarrant? Nicholas Tarrant? Close your eyes… the
whisper echoed inside his head and he heeded the
instruction instantly.
“He’s near dead, he won't last the night.”
“You shouldn’t get so close to him,” Niceros
warned. A jolt of something encompassed the
form blocking Brody from sight and suddenly the
tiny chink through which the lemon escaped
vanished.
Just like that the colour was gone, shielded by
new magic.
“He’s too weak to present a threat,” Nick said.
He pressed a hand to Brody’s neck and pushed
hard. “A very faint pulse. I think the skill you
show with your claws was enough to fell him.”
RJ Scott
18
“Has he told you anything?”
“He hasn’t spoken.”
“He can't stand trial then,” Niceros said. His
words were dripping with disappointment but
they lacked sincerity in the strength of them. He
probably hoped Brody was dead already. “We
could do with a good show trial today. “You sent
the demon guards away,” he added in a quick
change of direction.
“Like one near dead incubus can take on a wolf
shifter,” Brody snapped.
“Your tone lacks respect.”
“My apologies, Sir.”
Brody listened to the exchange and wished for
one ounce of ability. Niceros’ death would mean
one of the major pieces, if not the most prominent
of them all, off the board. One less person intent
on forging forward with inequality and perverted
magic. If indeed Niceros had any idea of the kind
of magic that Ludvik possessed.
“You should finish him.”
“I’m staying until he draws his last breath in
hope he speaks. Until he dies I will stay here.”
“That’s not protocol, Nick,” Niceros said
immediately. Then he sighed. “If he says anything
you find me first. Not vampire, not fae.”
“Not Ludvik or Cassius?”
“Are you questioning me?”
“No, sir.”
The Incubus Agenda
19
“The mark of your cousin’s betrayal is
something that can be used against you at any
time Brody, so be careful who you trust.” Brody
heard the veiled threat in the words.
“He is no longer my cousin, our family
disowned him, and his lack of honour is a stain we
can never remove.” Nick lied. He liked his cousin
and couldn’t have been prouder of him coming
around to understanding what it meant for
everyone to be free. “I realise my position in the
Coalition relies on your patronage.”
“As you should,” Niceros said. “The council is
in session, Ludvik and Cassius have the floor, so
you will bring word to me if the incubus speaks.”
“Yes, sir.”
Niceros grunted his approval of this and Brody
heard him leave.
“What now?” Brody managed to force past lips
split from punches.
“It speaks,” Nick said. There was no heat in his
words, in fact he sounded a lot like he was
relieved.
“Nicholas
Tarrant?
Does—Joseph
know
about—y--you?”
“Shhh. Let me think.”
Brody tried to move, attempted even to stand,
but he got no further than raising his head before
collapsing back. In an instant Nick had him up
and over his shoulder again and Brody couldn’t
RJ Scott
20
help the noise of pain that left his mouth. His chest
was on fire.
“You can't walk out. I’m carrying you out, do
your freaky shit and get unconscious.”
Freaky shit or not, Brody didn’t have to try too
hard to let himself go. He’d never known pain like
it, not in a single day he’d been alive. He was
aware of the strides Nick took, of the fact that
daylight pierced his eyes through closed lids. He
heard words, was dropped unceremoniously to
the ground on two separate occasions that he
knew about, and finally jostled onto a hard
wooden floor.
“Fuck, Nick, what happened to him?”
“Wolf, Ludvik, demon’s, not sure if the vamps
got to him.”
“Is he actually alive?”
Brody opened his eyes as much as he could.
“Alive,” he muttered and winced. The world
swam into focus, and for the first time he got a
proper look at the wolf who had plucked him
from death and delivered him to… well, wherever
this was. As most wolves were, he probably
topped out at five ten, a good four inches shorter
than Brody, but he had muscles on muscles and
with his near black hair and his eyes a startling
blue he was gorgeous. Of course they’d seen each
other before, in better times, before the entire Fae
Alliance wanted Brody dead, but they’d never
The Incubus Agenda
21
spoken. The other was also a shifter, not quite so
muscled and older with grey at his temples. It was
this second shifter who leaned over him with
concern on his features.
“He’s alive, Hestion, but he’s hurt badly. He
needs to feed.”
“I can feed him,” the wolf called Hestion
offered.
Hestion instantly disappeared out of sight,
yanked away by a snarling Nick. “No one feeds
him but me.” He threatened Hestion not only in
tone, but he backed it up with aggressive body
language.
“Then you’ll need Phin to help remove the
magic poisoning your body,” Hestion offered. “Or
Joseph. Because Phin is in the Second Kingdom,
Joseph is, hell, I don’t know where he is.”
“We’ll be fine, but we need to stay here. And
you and your family need to leave.”
“We’re ready to go,” Hestion said. “But we’re
no further than twenty miles from Glitnir,
Ludvik’s reach is extending every day and they’ll
find Brody and you.”
“Then we’ll go down fighting,” Nick snarled.
“Up until then we have to hope Joseph’s wards
will stop them finding us. Now please, just go.
Take your family and for Declan’s sake please go
and see him.”
“We’ll put him in danger—“
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22
“Just find him, put him out of his misery, he’s
driving Levi mad with searching for you and the
rest of his family. And, please, stay safe.”
The two wolves embraced and Brody watched
it all. He was focusing in on the little things. The
green of friendship that swirled around Hestion,
mixed with the yellow of confusion. But nothing
around Nick. He took in the growling possession
in Nick’s voice whenever they mentioned his
name. Then he could sense nothing except Nick
pacing next to him and to the rhythm of his steps
he fell asleep.
Next time he woke he could see colours. Not
much, just a chink of that same lemon, and gold,
and he didn’t want to think what they meant.
Instead he reached up a shaky hand and pressed it
to Nick’s and held on tight. The flow of
compassion and sadness, of anger and fear, was
addictive, the taste of it like a fall day. He was
stronger, his chest tightening then releasing in
time with his heart. He could feel the bones knit
and buzz of life was noisy in his ears. He had to
stop, to pull back before he went too far. I could
overdose on Nick. He’d never tasted anything like
this shifter’s life force. Each little part he took
meant the magic around Nick grew weaker.
“Is that enough?” Nick asked, as Brody
dropped his grip on Nick’s hand.
The Incubus Agenda
23
“For the moment,” he answered.
Nick traced the blood on his arms and nodded.
“Your arms are clear,” then he gently touched
Brody’s face, “but your skin here is still scarred.”
They sat like that, with Nick staring down at
him, his blue eyes filled with sadness, and
something inside Brody snapped. Quickly he
shoved Nick off of him.
Nick didn’t argue, he simply moved to sit on a
chair further away.
“What? You’re staring at me now?” Brody was
irritable and angsty all of a sudden.
“I’m not leaving your side.”
“I need the bathroom.”
“I’ll help you.”
Brody pushed himself upright and swung his
legs to the floor. When he tried to stand he simply
fell back on his ass on the bed.
“I don’t need your help,” he said. Don’t touch
me, I can't take any more of your touch.
Nick tilted his head. “How about I open the
door for you, run you a shower and just stay out
of your reach unless you need me.”
Suddenly Brody was guilty for his irritable
reaction. Nick couldn’t help having the perfect
combination of emotions inside him, or that they
tasted of sunshine and earth at different times.
“I’m sorry,” he apologised. “Thank you for
getting me out of Glitnir, for saving my life,
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24
just…” he held up his hand when Nick smiled at
him. “My ability to stop feeding is at a low ebb,
don’t come too close or I could kill you.”
“Wolves are hard to kill you know.”
“Not impossible though. Never impossible. I
was an assassin, I am an assassin, I could kill you
here and now.”
Nick leaned forward in his chair and rested his
elbows on his knees. “Like to see you try big man.
I can probably piss faster than you, let alone run.”
He smiled again and Brody couldn’t help smiling
back.
“Take me seriously,” Brody warned.
Nick stood up and held out a hand which
Brody refused to take. Still it was enough to know
that if he was going to fall that Nick was there to
help. This way, with Nick hovering behind, Brody
managed to get to the bathroom, use the facilities
then wait as Nick filled the bath. When he
stripped and climbed into the warmth and the
bubbles Nick insisted were some kind of magic-
filled herbal remedy, abruptly he realised he was
feeling better. Time to get the questions out in the
open, but first of all a summary of the list so far.
“So I’m guessing this is an safe house, run by
the Underground of course. Also, that Hestion is
Declan’s missing father—and hence the rest of
Declan’s family were here— that you can't go back
The Incubus Agenda
25
to Glitnir because they will kill you, and I can't go
back to Glitnir because they will kill me too.”
“Pretty much,” Nick agreed. He’d put down the
toilet seat and now sat perched on the lid. “I don’t
want to talk about all that though.”
“You don’t? What is it you want to discuss?”
“About why the wolf inside me demands I
never leave your side.”
Brody didn’t know how to answer that one. The
point was moot, as both of them knew what it
meant. When a wolf wanted something it pretty
much took over the decision making process of the
human side of the shifter partnership. Brody
sighed inwardly. He’d seen this happen with
Declan and Levi, he just never expected it to
happen to him. For an incubus, sexuality was a
fluid thing and the idea of Nick killing anyone
who went near him was thought provoking. What
would happen when Brody decided to spread
himself around? Just the thought of it must have
manifested itself on his expression because Nick
growled again, in that sexy snarly possessive way.
“You’re not fucking anyone else,” he insisted.
“Just me.”
“What if I don’t like men?”
“You’re an incubus. You’ll sleep with anything
that has a pulse.”
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26
Brody chose to ignore the insult. “I’m never
having sex with anyone else other than you?” he
asked.
Nick nodded. “Pretty much until the day you
die.”
“Given what kind of battles we’re in the middle
of? You realise that could be a very short time.”
“Best start healing then.”
The Incubus Agenda
27
Chapter Three
etrievers found them in less time than it took
for Nick to circle the cabin in the woods to
ensure all the wards were in place. They’d clearly
followed the magic, since it was the only way they
could have been found. And the one thing that
really made that as confusing as hell for Nick was
that only people who possessed magic themselves
could actually track the damn stuff, which meant
one of the Retrievers in wolf form ranged outside
in the clearing had some kind of magic in them.
Either that or there was someone else out there
hidden in the dark. A fae maybe? Ludvik? Would
he place enough importance on Nick and Brody to
come himself?
He counted ten Retrievers, hell that was half of
all Retrievers—he should feel proud that Niceros
thought to send so many to find him.
“What are they doing?” Brody asked with a
cough. Nick glanced at the incubus and frowned.
Brody’s ribs were healed, the marks in his arms all
R
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28
but vanished, but the deep lacerations on his face
looked festering with taut skin and bright red
striations creeping from them and reaching
around his eyes. None of it looked good.
“They’re standing,” Nick answered.
“I can see they’re standing,” Brody said. He
leaned against the wall and peered out into the
growing dark of approaching night. “I’m guessing
they can't see us, or get in.”
“They know we’re here, they just have no
chance of breaking the wards that Joseph and Phin
placed around the cabin.”
“So, we’re in here, trapped? Did Hestion and
his family at least get away?”
“Yeah, they’re gone.”
“If they can't see us, how do they know we’re
even there? It’s not like the shifters can have magic
given you can't handle it as a species.”
Nick couldn’t stop the low growl in his throat if
he tried. “Magic is unnatural.”
“As unnatural as changing from man to
animal?” Brody teased, but Nick wasn’t in the
mood for it.
“Says the man who sucks emotions from people
and sees rainbows shining out their asses,” he
snapped before turning back to focus on the
Retrievers who appeared to be settling in for a
wait.
Brody chuckled. “Touche.”
The Incubus Agenda
29
“But you’re right, we don’t do magic, so there
has to be…” he trailed away and peered out into
the dark. Then, decision made, he toed off his
boots before unbuttoning his pants then dropping
them to the floor.
“This is no time for sex,” Brody pointed out. He
looked down at Nick’s cock which was erect.
Nick shrugged. He wasn’t someone who
viewed being naked as an issue, added to which
the fact he was hard was a compliment to Brody
and his intriguing brown eyes. The irony that
nature had somehow linked him to an incubus, a
species with no discernable scent as such wasn’t
lost on him. Wolf shifters were creatures attuned
to scent.
“I need to shift,” he explained.
“Not to go outside.”
“Just onto the porch, they won't see me, but I
need my night vision to check something out.”
“Check what out?” Brody coughed again and
this time he pressed a hand to his chest.
“Go and sit down, I’ll be back in a minute.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Brody was a
stubborn bastard.
Nick sighed, then made to open the front door,
Brody stopped him with a hand on his arm.
“They’ll see that.”
“It doesn’t matter. They know we’re here, they
can see us through the wards, they just can't get
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30
through them to get to us. An open door won't
make it worse. I need to know what kind of magic
is at play on their side before I know what to do
next.”
“Knowing won't change the fact that if they
have someone with any kind of magical abilities
then surely they can get through what Phin and
Joseph put here to protect the place.”
“They haven’t yet,” Nick offered dryly. He
pulled off his shirt and shifted in a smooth motion.
The scents of the night inside their magic bubble
were limited. It was strange to see so many other
wolves standing looking at the cabin but not be
able to scent them.
Who needs a nose, he thought to himself. Shaking
his head to clear the mist in his brain he focused in
on each wolf. His vision was enhanced and he
could see some wolves he knew, others that had
been Retrievers for just a short time. Not one of
them looked to be controlling this standoff
situation. Then, a movement to his right caught
his attention as a tall man stepped out from the
trees and moved to stand in front of the wolves.
He was blond, his hair a slash of near white in the
dusk, and he wore dark clothes, but other than
that Nick couldn’t make out anything about the
man. He didn’t look like a vampire, or even a fae,
if anything he looked like a normal human.
The Incubus Agenda
31
The man smiled in the growing darkness and
held out a hand. The action unnerved Nick and he
took a step back before wrinkling his nose in a
warning snarl. Something about this man was
wrong. That he possessed magic was obvious, but
who was he? What was he? And why was he
smiling?
Come talk to me little wolf. I can help.
The sounds of the words echoed in his head
and he sat on his haunches puzzled and unnerved.
Who are you? Nick thought.
The reply was instant. Someone who can help
shape your destiny if you ask for it.
The man stepped closer and where his magic
touched the barriers around the cabin there were
faint sparks of fire. On the man’s chest under his
clothing, patterns burned with a pure white light
and Nick’s wolf self skittered back.
Don’t go Nicholas Tarrant. Stay. Talk to me, the
man thought again.
Nick backed the rest of the way into the cabin
and was never more thankful than when Brody
shut the door. Nick shifted to human and stood in
absolute silence.
“And?” Brody prompted.
“There’s a human there, with magic. He smiled
at me.” He spoke to me.
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32
Brody moved to stand in front of him and
gripped him by the upper arms. “Earth to Nick?
Are you okay?”
Unfocused he looked directly at Brody. “He…”
closing his eyes tight he pushed and pulled at his
thoughts until they weren’t fuzzy and unfocused.
“He smiled at me.”
“You said. Is he able to get through the wards?
Should we be thinking about taking a back
entrance?”
“We’re surrounded,” Nick explained patiently,
“and he smiled.”
Brody shook him a little and Nick opened his
eyes wide. “What?” He was irritable and
confused.
“I don’t know what the fuck is going on in your
freaky wolf brain but we really need to get you to
focus here. Should we leave? Can this man get
through? Do men even have magic? What the hell
is going on?”
Nick wriggled free of Brody’s hold and stepped
away to gather his clothes. “I need a shower,” he
said. Without looking back he took the stairs two
at a time and nearly reached the top before Brody
spoke.
“So that’s a no for an explanation then?”
Nick was in the bathroom with the water
switched on before he stopped to consider what
the hell had just happened. There must be residual
The Incubus Agenda
33
crap in his system from Ludvik for him to be
feeling so chaotic and unfocused.
“Seriously, what the fuck?” Brody asked as he
opened the bathroom door. “What do we need to
do?”
“Go away,” Nick snapped. He deliberately
stood under the water so he couldn’t hear Brody’s
voice. Just the tone of it, the disappointment, the
question, the touch of fear, all added to the
wooliness in Nick’s head.
“A man. Magic. I’m guessing given you’re not
still a wolf that they can't get through whatever
Joseph and Phin did, but from the way you’re
acting I’m thinking you’re nervous about this man
who stood in our front yard.”
Brody opened the shower stall door as he
completed the sentence and Nick hissed at the
cold air on his now warm skin.
“We’ll talk when I finish,” he bit out.
Deliberately he yanked at the glass door and it
closed easily, which he hadn’t expected. He
thought Brody would argue more. He finished
scrubbing from head to toe, cleaning the scents of
the prison and the run and hide through Obahn
and out the other side, not to mention the blood
that had soaked into his clothes and onto his skin
from Brody. When he opened the door Brody
didn’t even move from where he was standing.
His head tilted to one side he stared at his
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34
reflection in the misted mirror. From his stance he
was shocked.
“It’s bad isn’t it?” he asked cautiously. He
touched the ripped skin and used two fingers to
push the edges of one of the larger cuts together.
Blood pushed to the surface, then there were the
signs of obvious infection in the scarlet puffiness
and the tendrils through his skin.
“Do you need to feed again?” Nick asked. He
wasn’t sure how incubi energy levels entirely
worked but his limited knowledge told him that
feeding was surely the best way to begin healing.
Brody shook his head, then prodded the scars
again and frowned. “Don’t do that,” Nick said.
“What?”
“You’ll get even more infected if you poke and
prod.”
Brody turned to face him. “It’s not painful, but
you know why it isn’t healing?”
“No. Why?”
“Like I’d know, that is why I asked you.” Brody
sounded disappointed where Nick thought he’d
had an answer. “Probably magic. I found some
herbs and medicines downstairs and mainlined
anything that looked like it might work.”
“Do normal medicines work on incubi?”
He shrugged and turned from the mirror to face
Nick. He ignored the question. “Nice lack of
The Incubus Agenda
35
towel,” he said as he gestured towards Nick’s
naked form.
“I don’t have to use a towel,” Nick said. Fuck,
he sounded all provocative and sexy. Why had he
done that? Then he wondered where the hell
saying something like that actually sat on the
ladder of importance, with strange magic human
guy being on the number one step. In a flurry of
motion he left the bathroom and crossed to the
room opposite before rummaging in the large
closet space for clothes. The bedroom still held
evidence of Hestion and his family’s existence.
This was clearly Hestion’s room with his wife
going by the clothes in the closet. He finally found
pants that were long enough, if a bit baggy and
well worn, and a large shirt that at least didn’t
cling to each muscle.
Finally he rough dried what little moisture
remained in his hair then, as if his body said
enough he fell back onto the bed and prone, he
examined the ceiling.
“Is it time to talk yet?” Brody asked from the
door. Nick scooted over and patted the large bed.
“Lay down. We’ll talk then sleep.”
Brody appeared to consider the options and
with a nod he climbed onto the bed and settled
himself on the right hand side. No part of him
touched Nick, and to be brutally honest Nick
thought that was a good thing. He was very close
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36
to the limit with how close he could get to Brody
without wanting to jump the incubus.
“So talk,” Brody prompted.
“What about first? The whole fucked up
situation where we are fated to be together, or the
one where we’re trapped in a cabin in a forest
with no way out?”
Brody sighed and Nick wished he’d worded it
better. He hadn’t meant to mention the fated
thing. There was no sense in rocking an already
shaky boat.
“I don’t believe in all of that fated crap,” Brody
said simply. “I trust in a lot of things, but I’m not
one of those who thinks there is one person for
each of us and that when we meet there are
fireworks and shit.”
“No, say what you really think,” Nick said. He
couldn’t help his tone, dry with a hint of sarcasm.
As species they had come a long way from the
days when vamps and wolves killed each other,
and incubi were kept in chains as servants to the
fae. Still, the idea that there was someone for
everyone, even bastards like Ludvik Peitrol, was
an ideal he aspired to.
“I just did. Your wolf may be trying that whole
possessive direction with me but I don’t do
monogamy or long term. I am incubi, and that is
what we do, we fuck around and we take pleasure
when and where we can.”
The Incubus Agenda
37
“Given there’s only a few of you left and added
to which I see how Levi is with Declan, I call
bullshit on that.”
“I don’t even like you much,” Brody said.
“Liar. You like the wolf who got you away from
Glitnir plenty.”
“Speaking of which, you didn’t exactly evade
Glitnir.”
“No one gets away from Glitnir without
Retrievers being sent after them.”
“So give me a summary of what kind of shit
we’re in.”
“They can't get in, we can't get out. Hestion will
get a message to Joseph if he can then, if Joseph is
tracked down, and if he is able, then he can come
get us both.”
“What about the human with the magic
standing on our doorstep?”
Nick pushed back thoughts of the man and his
freaky gaze. Shivers ran down his spine at the
smile. Something about him screamed power. “If
he could get past the wards set by Phin and Joseph
then he would have and we’d be dead by now.”
“Either that or it could be a trap. We think
we’re all caught up in this place with nowhere to
go then Joseph comes in, or Phin, and suddenly
they’re taken. Imagine the kudos of having the
two most important Underground members back
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38
in prison. Didn’t you think it was way too easy for
us to get away from Glitnir?”
Nick huffed. “It wasn’t easy dragging your
bleeding self through the forest to Obahn then on
to here. For us to be part of some elaborate scheme
to get to Joseph? Or Phin? That’s kind of far-
fetched. This all happened so quickly, how would
anyone have time to formulate a plan like that?”
“A man with magic maybe?”
“You’re all doom and gloom,” Nick muttered.
“I call it thinking things through and being
practical.”
Nick shook his head. “I call it negative.”
“What if Ludvik gets word and decides to bring
an entire fae army down on us?”
“He has enough to worry about with the
skirmishes on the north border with the bear
shifters in the Trent Forest, he’s stretched thin, last
I heard he was recruiting blood demons, and I
didn’t believe that until I saw them with him in
the Council chambers.”
Nick picked up on one thing. “So why was he
at Glitnir if the bear thing is so damn compelling?”
Another sigh from Brody. “Hell if I know.”
“Maybe you’re important to him?” Nick
suggested. “Maybe you are the bait for the trap for
Joseph or Phin? As to the Second Kingdom, they
need to stop the blood demons thing in its tracks,
it’s why Phin has gone to there to help Asher.”
The Incubus Agenda
39
“Bait? I’m not liking the sound of that. I need to
ask you something. “
“Go on.”
Brody paused momentarily as if he was
thinking exactly how to phrase his question.
“When you came back in from your reconnoitre
and shifted, you were as white as an albino elk.
Can you tell me what happened?”
Fear clutched in Nick’s chest and he pushed it
away. Typical that he was trying to be big, brave
and strong and he was probably glowing some
weird colour that showed Brody he was being
deceitful. “Nothing happened.”
“You’re lying. You’re so purple you’re like the
night sky.”
Nick turned on his side and propped himself
up on his elbow. “Hell, I’m still not completely
over the magic Ludvik put in me, add in you
feeding from me. Then give me a man exuding so
much magic he’s nearly explosive with power? No
wonder I was knocked back. That’s all.”
Brody reached out and traced a pattern on
Nick’s thigh. “Okay,” he said gently. “I see all
shades of yellow, and your usual lemon, but no
purples.”
“Lemon? I’m lemon?” Nick laughed and rolled
onto his back. “Figures.”
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40
“Why? What’s wrong with me seeing you as
such a beautiful colour like summer sunshine in
an early morning.”
“Not a very masculine colour is it, lemon.”
“If it puts your mind at rest it is a strong
lemon,” Brody teased.
“There’s no such thing as a strong lemon, like
there’s no strong pale pink.” Nick yawned as he
spoke and closed his eyes.
“We should fuck,” Brody suggested. “This
might be our last night alive.”
“You want to fuck?” Nick’s eyes opened fast in
surprise.
“I’m an incubus, I always like to fuck.”
“Even with your injuries.” Nick reached up to
touch Brody’s face and the deep claw marks
covered in a poultice and bandages.
“They’re on my face, not my cock.”
“We can make love,” Nick insisted.
“Hmph, nope.” Brody traced a repeating
pattern on his chest and every so often his fingers
glanced over Nick’s nipple.
“That’s nice,” Nick said. “You can keep doing
that.”
“Did you know we don’t just feed on
emotions?” Brody said gently. “I can give you the
best orgasm of your life. You’d never have sex like
it again.”
The Incubus Agenda
41
“I’ll have sex with you when you think about it
less like a transaction and more like forever.”
“Hmm, not going to happen. This is a one fuck
only offer.”
“And this is my answer. No. Now go to sleep.”
Nick had to compartmentalise. Danger of death
and torture he placed in one box and mentally
closed the lid. He couldn’t do much else. The
wolves outside could get in, or they couldn’t, they
had magic or they didn’t, Hestion contacted
Joseph or he was unable to. Whatever happened
he could face it better with sleep. Shoving the
whole mates thing in another box marked with
tomorrow, his last thought he had was that Brody
was lying next to him and he’d fallen into an easy
slumber.
And for the first time in the years since he’d
moved to Glitnir to turn his hand at politics,
Nick’s wolf-self was at peace.
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42
Chapter Four
hen Brody first woke he was disoriented.
He blinked into the dark and attempted to
focus on something. At some point he had turned
in and was hugging Brody from behind. The wolf
was like a damn furnace, and that was one thing
Brody liked about the wolf shifters he’d had sex
with. They were hot and wild and all animal. Of
course the sex never lasted long, Brody had never
yet met a wolf shifter yet that wasn’t impatient
and rushed. All except Declan and Connor. They
appeared to give their respective partners enough
to keep smiles on their faces.
Maybe it was just him. For an incubus sexuality
and sex were both fluid things. Brody had lost
count of the number of supernaturals he had slept
with. Sleep being the wrong word there probably. He’d
even spent time in a friends-with-benefit thing
with Levi, which still caused problems between
himself and Declan. Damned wolf was a
possessive little thing. Or not so little. Whatever.
W
The Incubus Agenda
43
Wolves were generally not on Brody’s to do list
unless he was desperate. But it appeared he had
woken up this morning with a very desperate
feeling. Inside him was a mess of colour but at the
core of it he could see something he’d never seen
before. Black. An inky darkness that was, bit by
bit, consuming the rest of him.
He should tell Nick. In the morning maybe he
would. But for now that desperation had him hard
and wanting and he needed a warm body. His
only option was the prickly snarly wolf in his bed.
Carefully he eased away, and his movement
allowed Nick to roll onto his back. The wolf shifter
was only dressed in thin-worn and very loose
pants and with a flick of his wrist Brody managed
to get the material was pulled down and away
from the very impressive cock that lay there half
erect.
“Nice,” Brody murmured and licked an
experimental stripe from base to tip. Nick
wriggled a little and his cock swelled but he didn’t
immediately wake up. Brody couldn’t recall the
last time he’d had the weight of a wolf shifter’s
cock in his mouth. Never let it be said they were
small or thin. Nope. A satisfying mouthful was
guaranteed with even the smallest shifters. He
moved so he was positioned better in case Nick
woke up and flailed out at him and with a hand
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44
solid to Nick’s thigh he swallowed him down
whole.
It wasn’t obvious at what point Nick woke up
but he didn’t seem overly worried that an incubus
currently had his cock deep in his throat, and was
very close to dragging him to orgasm. In fact the
way he moved was enough to have Brody feeling
very proud of himself. Add in the occasional deep
growly-groan and Brody was chasing his own
orgasm. Nick’s hand touched his head.
“Close,” he warned giving Brody time to back
off. Brody wasn’t having any of the backing off
and he closed his lips firmly to swallow anything
Nick gave him. Nick arched and shouted his
completion as he came in spurts down Brody’s
throat. The taste of Nick was like nectar and for a
second the blackness inside of him was pushed
back.
He released Nick’s cock and rolled over to face
away from the wolf. Abruptly the blackness was
back and climbing inside him. He felt Nick’s hand
on his back but couldn’t form words.
“We’ll talk in the morning,” Nick said firmly.
I’m not sure I’m going to make it to the morning.
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45
Chapter Five
rody opened his eyes and realised he could
only see out of one. He closed them again
and counted back from ten then tried again. Still
the same. Panic welled in him, then he ruthlessly
forced it back. The cheek bone damage was
probably causing swelling and as such it was
pressing on something, his optic nerve or
something. Instead of letting the panic take hold
he rolled and snuggled deeper into the furnace
that was Nick. At some point in the night he had
gravitated towards the shifter again..
He was so cold. Near shivering. And he
couldn’t see properly.
Fuck.
They probably needed to make their way out of
this place to the nearest medic, or actually, if he
was being honest with himself he either needed
Joseph, Phin or maybe some Levi loving. The
ability to share whatever was in his body with
B
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46
another incubus would maybe, possibly, lessen
the fact he was not well.
Not well being an understatement.
“Nick,” he forced out between dry lips.
Nick moved with a grumble and a growl then a
loud gasp.
“Your face,” Nick exclaimed.
“M'eyes,” Brody said.
“Fuck. You’re freezing.”
I know. The words didn’t actually leave his
mouth even though he tried.
The next time, and he wasn’t sure how long it
was, passed in a blur of pain and sleep and being
forced to drink concoctions that Nick promised
would do something. Nick also promised that
Joseph would be here soon and that he would fix
Brody.
Brody didn’t believe a word of that. He didn’t
want Joseph endangering the cause by dumping
himself in a cabin close to Glitnir currently
surrounded by Retrievers and some weird man
with magic. Not if Brody was going to die
anyway.
“You’re not dying on me,” Nick said over and
over as he held Brody close. The heat of the wolf
was the only thing that stopped Brody shaking,
and it seemed that the foul potions were working
as he actually managed sleep.
“I need to do something. Stay here.”
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47
Not going anywhere.
“I’m adding some more blankets.”
I need more.
“If I don’t come back… I’ll come back… I won't
be long.”
Brody heard the words but he couldn’t speak
and the pain had increased to a level that he
couldn’t control. Blackness stole through his body
and being scared for what Nick said was the last
conscious thought he had before he couldn’t fight
the dark any more.
Nick strode to the front door. He didn’t give
any thought to what he was doing at that moment.
He only knew that up in the top room Brody was
dying and he couldn’t face being next to him and
watching him die without doing something real to
try and fix it all.
He stood on the porch and stripped, shifting to
his wolf, before sitting on his haunches. The
Retrievers had backed away from the magic wards
as Nick expected them to.
You said you could help. Nick concentrated hard
on pushing the thoughts out. He hoped to hell
there wasn’t this psychic link between the
Retrievers and himself.
I can. Is he very sick?
His breathing is shallow, he’s freezing cold and he’s
not able to talk.
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His cuts from the wolf are infected with cursed
magic.
Yes? And? Nick didn’t want magical barely-
there answers and comments, he wanted help.
He needs a magic that is stronger than mine. Joseph
Jameson. You need to get him to Joseph.
We’re trying but he’s not near here and we can't
exactly leave.
If you drop the barriers I could send him to Joseph.
Disappointment surged through Nick. That is a
trick.
Whatever I say will not change that thought you
have. You’re only chance is this. Bring Brody past the
wards and place him near me. He will be gone before
anything is spoken.
And me?
I cannot send two.
Nick lay on the wooden porch and placed his
snout on his paws. He didn’t have long to decide,
but outside the wards he would be faced with ten
wolf shifters who wanted him dead. Not even
that, but the man with the magic didn’t say he was
going anywhere. Ten Retrievers, trained,
respected, fierce fighters, would be on him in an
instant backed up by death by magic.
I can give you a few seconds of distraction for you to
get behind the wards, but no more. Once this is done I
am no more use to the Underground.
You are with the Underground?
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49
I have been for a thousand years, the man said
with another one of his enigmatic smiles.
Who are you?
The man shrugged. Many people. Joseph will
know me, as would Micah, Orophin, even. Call me
Methulan.
Methulan. Nick tested the name in his head and
it sounded like a soft whisper. Will you come inside
the wards with me? After you send Brody to Joseph?
Why am I even asking this? It sounds like I trust
him. How can I trust him? Are you using your magic
on me? He snarled the words.
Methulan tilted his head. Do you feel my magic in
you at all?
Nick rose and prowled in front of the main
door. He didn’t feel anything like magic coursing
through his body. The only power he felt was
from the wards and they were faint. No, I don’t.
It’s your choice little wolf. Methulan pointed out
with unforgiving accuracy.
I’m not little, Nick replied with irritation.
You were when I first saw you. Nothing more than a
pup. A baby. I apologise for my manner of speaking.
Nick backed into the door frame then turned
and leaped the stairs four at a time, skidding to a
halt next to Brody in the bed then shifting in a
smooth motion. He grabbed his old pants and
forced his feet into his boots then lifted Brody
from the bed. His head lolled as Nick manoeuvred
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him out of the room and carried him gently down
the stairs. Brody was still breathing, but the traces
of red, like exposed veins, were brighter and there
were more of them, a network of agony travelling
from the wolf gouges in his face.
He stood ready on the porch and waited for the
moment when he could send Brody to safety.
When Methulan walked a little closer, near
enough to touch the wards he nodded his head. A
couple of the Retrievers lifted their snouts in
interest but not a single one moved from their spot
until Nick muttered the soft words to drop the
wards Joseph had set.
In a smooth move he placed Brody at
Methulan’s feet and watched as Brody vanished in
an instant. Then it was just him, and Methulan,
and ten pissed wolves who leaped to attack. All
hell broke loose.
Shouting the wards he had been taught he
called on the residual magic that Joseph had left
here and he scrambled back to the house. At the
last moment he yanked Methulan through the
barrier with him. A single Retriever made it inside
with them and Nick watched in surprise as the
calm, quiet Methulan swung a wicked sharp knife
in a deadly arc, severing the wolf’s head from his
body.
Finally with adrenalin spiking in Nick he
slumped to sit on the steps. Beyond the barrier the
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51
remaining nine wolves prowled from side to side
and a couple of them shifted and spoke in
shadows.
Methulan held out a hand which Nick was
hesitant to shake. What if Methulan could hurt
him? He looked into Methulan’s storm-gray eyes
and saw something in them, empathy? He didn’t
know, but he shook Methulan’s hand firmly.
“He’s safe?” Nick asked. He wanted Brody to
be safe and for someone to be looking after him.
Methulan’s voice was as calm and reassuring as
his smile had been when they had been
communicating through thoughts alone. “He’s
with Joseph now. His life is in the hands of a much
better man than us.”
Nick let out a deep sigh. “So what now.”
“One way or another Joseph will come for us,”
Methulan reassured. “Or send someone.”
“Will the wards here hold them back now?”
“For long enough I hope.” He didn’t sound as
sure about that as he had been about Brody being
with Joseph.
Nick couldn’t expect anything else. No one
could know what would happen next.
“You and the incubus are fated companions, are
you not?”
Methulan spoke with an odd inflection in his
voice, like he was talking in an old fashioned
manner. Are you not, instead of aren’t you. Maybe
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he hadn’t been joking about the thousand year
thing. After all, wolf shifters lived a few hundred
years, why wouldn’t there be supernatural beings
who could live for a millennium?
“My wolf is insistent that Brody is what he
wants.” Nick attempted to be diplomatic.
“Then your wolf-self is right,” Methulan
offered gently. “I find that the wolves, the cats, the
bears, all of them have an uncanny focus on what
they need spiritually and physically.”
Nick realised they were still sitting on the cold
steps and the prowling, snapping, snarling
Retrievers were something he wanted to block out,
not that he could hear them, but he could see the
temper and frustration in familiar wolf
expressions. He stood up and extended a hand to
Methulan who took it and when they closed the
front door Nick walked into the kitchen and
slumped against the table.
Seemed as if the adrenalin was subsiding and
abruptly his legs were like jelly.
He hoped Brody was okay, prayed that he was
with Joseph and that Nick could trust Methulan.
Whoever the hell Methulan was, ancient warlock
or spy, Nick was determined not to sleep now
until they made it out safely.
If they made it out.
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Chapter Six
oseph paced the long corridor. He reached the
end, reversed his direction then paced back the
other way. Each step was measured and accurate
to the tiles on the mosaic floor. The rhythm of his
steps was enough to settle him inside. Phin wasn’t
here. Phin was the healer, not Joseph.
Joseph had done everything he was supposed
to—used the right spell work, the correct herbs
and potions but it seemed as if nothing was
working. If Phin was here he would just say that
Joseph needed to be less impatient, but Phin
wasn’t here and Joseph was worried and anxious.
“You’ll wear through the tile,” Micah said from
the main entrance to the corridor.
“You’re the fifth person to say that to me,”
Joseph said. He didn’t want to be irritable with his
little brother but he knew he was on the edge here.
Micah held out a hand and stopped his steady
steps. Joseph bit off his irritation and instead
leaned back against the wall.
J
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“How long will this take?” Micah asked.
“He regained consciousness enough to say Nick
was in danger then he just passed out. I can't sit in
there with him watching him just die,” Joseph
said.
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“How long is a piece of string?” Joseph
muttered.
Micah pulled his brother in for a close hug then
without a word he pushed went into the room that
held a very sick incubus. Joseph watched Micah
touch him gently.
“He’s still icy cold. Can he feed at all?”
“His system is shut down and he can't do much
of anything. I wish Phin was here.” Sadness
washed over him. “Brody was a good man.”
“He is a good man. Don’t talk as if he were
dead,” Micah insisted. “We need to keep him alive
and well and find out what the hell happened at
Glitnir.”
Micah leaned over Brody. “A wolf scarred
him.”
“And there’s magic in the wounds that is really
dark. The same signature as Ludvik. And what the
hell does Nick have to do with all of this? Do you
think it was Nick who scarred him?”
“We’ll ask him when we get him back from
wherever he is.”
“If we ever get him back.”
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“Your location spell isn’t working then?”
“Something is blocking me from connecting to
him. I can't see past this whole layer of fog and
magic. I can't track a fucking thing. We have to
wait until Brody wakes up again and hope he can
give us an idea of where the hell they were other
than the single word Obahn.”
“Connor suggested that if it was Nick who got
Brody out of Glitnir then he wouldn’t have got far
with Brody this sick. He and Declan left an hour
ago to check out the closest places to there.”
Both men turned when the door opened and
Levi stepped in. “How is he?”
Joseph sighed. Levi was the last person he
wanted to talk to. He couldn’t look the incubus in
the eyes and tell him that his friend and ex-lover
wasn’t getting better. How was Levi going to
forgive him for not being able to fix Brody?
“He’s stable,” was all Joseph could say.
“Declan told me he’s gone to locate Nick? What
does Nick have to do with Brody?”
“I have no idea, and he’s not exactly talking.”
“I want to try something I read about, between
incubi, if it’s okay.” Levi looked nervous. “See if I
can't connect with him and help him, if you don’t
think it will hinder his recovery?”
At that point Joseph was willing to try
anything. He nodded his agreement. But when
Levi stripped and climbed into bed with Brody
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suddenly he wasn’t so sure. Declan was territorial
where it came to Levi and Joseph knew there was
some back story between Levi and Brody.
“This had better not involve sex, or you getting
hurt,” Micah warned. “Otherwise Declan will kill
us.” Levi’s lover was a snarly, growly, jealous wolf
who viewed anyone who went near Levi with
anger.
“Just holding him is all. Declan has nothing to
worry about. You can go, I’ll look out for him.”
Joseph didn’t argue, he wanted the plausible
deniability of not witnessing anything Levi got up
to. Anyway he had a visitor to talk to and Reuben
was left dealing with the representative of the
Feline Guild. Joseph didn’t have to have abilities
to feel the general levels of angst currently
twisting up Reuben.
As if Joseph didn’t have enough on his mind,
he had Reuben up in his face about war, great
battles and a destiny that Joseph was locked into
with his twin. Damn vampire was a liability with
his talk of aggressive tactics. He had been spelled
into a book, the Vampire Book of Days, for a
millennium and his life experience was set in
stone in the old ways. He may be the go-to person
for information on what had occurred all that time
ago, and what was happening now, but Joseph
didn’t trust him.
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57
Joseph hoped to hell they hadn’t exhausted
every means possible to them in the search for a
fresh start for all supernaturals. He didn’t want
the war that Reuben predicted.
They reached the large kitchen dining area
which is where all the big meetings happened and
Micah stopped him before he walked inside. “Is
there anything you want to talk about before we
go in?”
Joseph frowned. “About?”
“Our dreams.”
Joseph gripped his brother by the arm and
yanked him back into the shadows of the corridor.
“We said that was between us.” He spoke in little
more than a whisper. What was Micah doing
talking about this in an open corridor?
“It shouldn’t be. I shared what I was seeing
with Connor. He’s my partner and he needed to
know what the hell was going on with the
mumbling in my sleep.”
Joseph inclined his head towards where the
group of people waited for his words of wisdom
and guidance. Said words probably didn’t include
ramblings about dream walking with his twin.
They needed to lay out a logical path, discussions,
committees, even if Joseph’s vampire soul called
for action and fight.
“I told Phin,” Joseph admitted.
“And?”
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“He talked about the ancient prophesies and
said I should talk to Reuben. The writing about the
twins uniting the vampire nations with all other
nations blah blah. The dream walking is something
that the book, or Reuben, says is natural between
the vampire twins.” He used his fingers to air
quote vampire twins. He wasn’t exactly ready to
take on the mantle of the great fixer of all things
broken even if destiny was pushing it on him.
“Come on, let’s get this meeting started.”
The two went direct to the large table and
Joseph realised that the friends who sat there all
appeared to have their own seats. He hadn’t
noticed before but as he took his seat, the one at
the top of the table, it was natural for Micah to sit
on one side of him and Reuben the other. Connor
and Declan’s seats were empty, and Levi was in
with Brody. Simeon had sent his brother, Jason,
and that was pretty much it. He just wished Phin
was here. He missed him like he’d miss a limb.
Jason looked relaxed but Reuben just looked
pissed.
“How long does it take to mend an incubi?”
Reuben groused. “We’ve got places to be.”
Joseph ignored the first and focused on the
second. “What places?”
Jason leaned forward and rested his elbows on
the table. “Simeon asked me to tell you that the
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negotiations between the blood demons, the Feline
Guild and the elves is going well.”
“But?” Joseph knew there was a but in here
somewhere.
“The Feline Guild is balking at the idea of
pursuing diplomatic relations with the Werewolf
Coalition. And the blood demons are determined
not to be forced into forming any kind of alliance
with the vampires. Not to mention both vamps
and wolves are the bad guys in our little war here
by appearing intent on aligning with Ludvik in an
attempt to keep Glitnir in the Dark Ages.”
“Vampires created the blood demons as slaves
a millennium ago,” Reuben interrupted. “Being a
slave gives you every right to be justifiably pissed,
and I’m from that time. And as to the vampires
being on the wrong side?” Reuben huffed. “That
doesn’t surprise me, we’re a bloodthirsty race in
all ways and full of righteous indignation”
“Regardless,” Jason said, “Simeon said a visit
from you or Micah would be a positive move, to
show the blood demons what a new vampire can
be like and maybe to reassure them that you can
convince the clans to your side. Already there are
rumours that some of the older blood demons are
crossing the Red Mountains and joining Ludvik at
Glitnir. Ludvik is promising them new lives away
from their slavery. Even with Asher in place as
King.”
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Joseph shot Micah a look to see his brother’s
expression. Micah looked as resigned as Joseph
felt.
“I’ll go,” Micah said simply.
“No, I’ll go,” Joseph argued.
“Jo, your place is here, I’m not discussing this
with you. Brody clearly didn’t manage to get any
rational discussion with Glitnir despite going
there under diplomatic agreements, so even
though we played it by the rules—“
Reuben interrupted. “Micah is right. It’s your
turn to look to Glitnir, Joseph. We need to remove
Ludvik’s power and control and bring around this
peace you so desperately want.”
“You just want me to go there to kill a few
blood demons to bring them to heel.”
Reuben crossed his arms over his broad chest in
a stubborn pose. “It worked before.”
“You’re like this ancient relic of how things
used to be aren’t you,” Micah commented.
“You don’t change something that works.”
Fuck, the damn vamp was stubborn. “Reuben,
your ways were from a time when we knew
nothing but war. Things are different now and to
avoid war we don’t need your expertise as a
soldier, but your knowledge of this mythical twin
thing,” Joseph said immediately. “And some
freaking idea of what we should be doing with it.”
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61
Reuben wrinkled his nose. “I still don’t see
what is wrong with a few blood demon
beheadings.”
“Cassius was there.” The voice at the door had
Joseph twisting in his seat. Looking like death but
at least conscious, Brody was being held up by
Levi. “Cassius. At Glitnir.”
“You shouldn’t be up,” Joseph said. He moved
immediately to Brody’s side and helped Levi get
him seated.“
“I’m good,” Brody dismissed. “All three of
them, Cassius, Niceros and Ludvik.”
Disappointment flooded Joseph. His next hope
was to get Cassius at their table. As the leader of
the Vampire Council, with generations of Clan
Fletcher blood running in his veins he was a good
person to influence other vampires.
Micah cursed and Joseph agreed silently with
the sentiment.
“What happened at Glitnir, Brody?”
Micah fetched water and everyone waited
while Brody settled, took some sips then sat back
in his chair. He looked like death warmed over,
the scars on his face still open and weeping but at
least he was conscious.
“We need to get Nick,” Brody said
immediately. “I don’t know where he is.”
“You said that, but I can't see him,” Joseph
admitted, “it’s like something is blocking me.”
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“I can take you there—“
Levi looked at Brody in horror. “You’re not
going anywhere.”
Brody coughed and “Nick—“
“Will be fine. What the hell happened to you at
Glitnir, and why did Nick get involved?”
“Ludvik wasn’t interested in talking. He pulled
me in front of the Wolf Coalition and called me a
traitor.” He lifted fingers to his wounds and
winced. “Niceros did this, although I provoked
him.” He shook his head a little. “Thought I was
going to die anyway. The wounds were bad,
infected with magic, I don’t know. All I know is,
Nick got me out of Glitnir and we used the nearest
safe house, then of course he came out that we’re
fated to be together blah blah.”
“You and a wolf?” Levi snorted. “That is rich,
after all the shit you gave me over Connor.” He
added a wry grin to soften the teasing.
“Well, whether we are or not I don’t know, well
I do know… look… can we talk about where Nick
is. I don’t know how you managed to pull me out
Joseph, but you need to get your mojo back to pick
up Nick.”
“I can't. I didn’t magic you here. You were sent
here.”
“Phin then?”
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“Phin is in the Second Kingdom, and he would
have said.” Joseph tapped his temple to indicate
the connection he could form with Phin.
Silence fell as everyone looked to each other.
Some new player wielding magic was not a good
thing, although they did send Brody to Joseph and
spoke of being part of the Underground.
“How did whoever it was know where to send
you?” Reuben interrupted. He rose quickly and
gripped Brody’s shirt. Brody let out a yelp, a mix
of surprise and pain. “Did you betray us? Tell
someone where we were?” Reuben placed his
ever-present knife at Brody’s throat.
“Put the knife away,” Joseph ordered. “No one
betrayed anyone.” He waited until Reuben
reluctantly released Brody. “You okay?” he asked.
“Even injured I can handle a blood sucking
vampire,” Brody muttered. Then he appeared to
realise who he was talking to. “With respect to the
rest of the species,” he added.
“Did you manage to gather any intel?” Joseph
prompted.
“Only that Niceros was intent on killing me, as
was Ludvik. And Cassius was there.”
“I’ll leave for the Second Kingdom tomorrow, “
Joseph announced. He was excited that he’d get to
hold Phin again—it had been three weeks now—
and anxious at the same time. What was he
leaving behind?
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Chapter Seven
ick stared out of the window for yet another
turn at what he and Methulan had begun to
refer to as dog-watching guard duty. Didn’t
matter that Nick was one of the wolf shifter
species, he felt apart from them. He was happy to
attempt to forge some kind of camaraderie with
the frankly weird Methulan.
“You want a hot drink?” Methulan called from
the kitchen.
“Yeah,” Nick answered, distracted. Four of the
Retrievers stood to one side and were shifted to
their human selves. That in itself was a new thing,
very much out of the ordinary. Methulan placed
the drink on the shelf under the window and
peered out into the darkness.
“Why are you frowning?” he asked. “Has
something changed?”
“The Retrievers come and go in pairs in a
pattern, but this is new.”
N
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“That’s standard to have small teams checking
out the perimeter,” Methulan offered as if Nick
should know that.
Nick silently cursed the fact he’d missed out on
the training for a life in politics. Knowing how to
strategize and understand the other side, and hell,
to kill, was an essential skill now that he was on
the other side. He watched as two of the larger
wolves made their way out of the makeshift camp.
“You’re still frowning.”
“I’m not exactly trained in all of this,” Nick
said. He was feeling very much out of his depth.
Methulan huffed then sat in the chair on the
other side of the large room.
“Seems to me even as a politician you managed
to get the incubus out of the Glitnir dungeons, no
small feat. You then travelled miles, through
forest, and town, evading capture, until you made
it to this safe house. All this time you had a team
of Retrievers sent to bring you back. Then, you
had the instinct to help the incubus when he was
dying. Seems to me your wolf is a lot closer to the
surface than you ever let it be before.”
What Methulan said was right. Nick had never
felt as raw as he was at the moment. Like he could
shift and rip the throats out of anyone who came
near him. And as for the intense need he had to be
near Brody? Well, that was a new one.
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“Whose side are you on, Methulan?” Nick
asked suddenly.
Methulan crossed his legs at the ankles and slid
down in the large chair a little. Now it was his
turn to be frowning.
“I shouldn’t have to take sides,” he said finally.
Nick snorted. He thumbed to the wolves
outside the window. “You kind of need to,” he
said with disbelief. “Seems to me you chose your
side when you helped me and allowed Brody to
get away.”
Methulan sighed. “It wasn’t the right time. I
didn’t ask to be pulled this side of the wards, that
was your doing. I should be out there with them.”
Nick’s wolf pushed to the surface and claws
pushed their way through fingertips. What was
the human saying? That he wasn’t here to help
Nick? That he regretted the fact Nick dragged him
through the wards? If that was right, then
Methulan was enemy.
“You’d better explain,” he said. He couldn’t
help the threat that filtered through his words.
Methulan looked up at him from where he’d
been staring into his cup. “You have no idea of the
sacrifice I made to form Glitnir, the loss of my true
love, all to fight a battle that should never be
visited again.”
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“You’re not making any sense,” Nick snapped.
“Are you for the Underground or for Ludvik and
his poisoned Glitnir?”
“Lekland doesn’t scare me,” Methulan shouted
instantly. His cup fell to the flagstone floor and
smashed into small pieces.
“Who?” Nick wasn’t following this at all, but
Methulan was stalking the room, agitated and
with a temper simmering very close to the surface.
“You’re the ones who let this happen,”
Methulan said. “Nearly a thousand years of
sacrifice is coming to nothing.”
He abruptly stopped his agitated movements
and tilted his head. “We have company,” he said.
Nick turned back to the window, so intrigued
by Methulan he had taken his eyes off the ball and
his concentration had lapsed on what was
happening outside.
“I need to go now,” Methulan said. His voice
was low and controlled.
“What?” Nick asked, in and around searching
for what the hell was going on. Only two
Retrievers stood on the grass outside the house,
the rest had vanished into the night.
“Fuck, you think they found a way through the
wards?” he asked. “You stay here, I need to shift
and go to the porch.” He turned to where
Methulan had been standing but he was fading in
front of Nick’s eyes. What the hell? Then a wave of
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magic hit him so hard that he fell to the floor
writhing in pain and with a spark of golden light
Methulan vanished. In his place a ring of fire
burned then quickly died leaving a single word
seared into the wood. Arberfan. Some insistent
voice in his head told him he had to remember the
word but he was quickly distracted by crashes
outside the cabin.
A fight, the two remaining wolves in a battle for
control with two other wolves. Nick wanted to get
closer, to see what was happening, was this an
internal scuffle? It was too dark to see properly, to
see which wolf killed which wolf. He ran to the
porch and stood this side of the wards. This wolf
fight was to the death, one of the wolves who had
been guarding them dead, with his throat torn to
pieces. Now Nick could make sense and he
inhaled the scents of battle through the wards. He
stripped and shifted in an instant and with no
thought for safety or self-preservation he dived
through the wards and into the night.
He instantly identified Declan and Connor, in
wolf form, dealing with the final wolf, and instinct
had Nick prowling the rest of the site, out as far as
the final dead wolf. He counted three dead, add
one outside the cabin killed by Methulan’s blade,
and the one remaining who fought. That would be
five of the original ten. Declan and Connor had
taken on Retrievers and come out the other side
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alive? For him? A final dying howl and the battle
in front of the cabin was done. Scrambling down
the bank Nick slid to a halt and shifted quickly. As
did Connor and Declan, head to toe in blood.
“We need to go,” Connor ordered.
“There are still five,” Nick said. He caught a
movement to one side and spun to face what he
counted as five wolves. The missing ones.
Declan stopped him shifting to fight with a
hand to his arm. “Five offered themselves to
Connor as alpha,” he said. Nick looked from
Declan to the wolves then over to Connor. Instinct
had him tilting his head to Connor. As did every
single wolf beside him as they shifted to human.
He’d never given in so gloriously to his wolf as he
did now. He’d not bowed to an alpha since he
reached adulthood, never put stock in inherent
nature or the old ways. This felt right. Connor,
with his strong beta in Declan, had freed wolves
including himself.
“Time to go,” Connor said quickly. Then with a
quirk of his lips and a glint in his eyes he turned to
Connor. “You up for a run, politician?” There was
no censure in his tone, nothing to imply Nick had
chosen a path that Connor didn’t approve of.
“Brody?” So much was wrapped in that single
word. Did Connor know how Brody was? Did
Brody reach help? Did Methulan actually send
him to where help could be found or was the
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warlock human back on his side aligned with
Glitnir and with Brody back in prison.
“He’s safe, but very sick,” Connor said. “Shift,
we need to leave.”
Nick did as he was instructed and was utterly
determined to keep up with Connor and the rest.
They only stopped twice and that was to switch
direction and Nick watched as Connor and Declan
used an ancient language and herbs to block
anyone tracking them. He assumed Joseph or Phin
had something to do with that but he was too
exhausted to ask Connor. He was fit, he was a
wolf, but he wasn’t a hunter like the seven shifters
he ran with.
When they reached the place that was the end
of this crazy run Nick’s first thought was for
Brody. He shifted to human and mindless of being
naked he rounded on Connor. “Where is Brody?”
Declan answered. “I’ll take you.” The rest of the
wolves shifted and stood ranged in a semi-circle
facing Connor. Every single one of them respectful
and quiet.
Nick forced the sight of the wolves from his
head and ran after Declan. They found Brody
almost instantly. Supported by another incubus
Nick recognised as Levi, Brody seemed frail but he
was alive. Nick reached him and yanked him
away from Levi and into his own hold. Strong, he
gripped Brody and drank in the weight of his
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man. Glancing to his side he saw a door and in
seconds he’d half lifted Brody through the door
and into a small room. He yanked the door shut
behind him then reverently placed Brody on his
feet, settling him to stand and checking he wasn’t
going to fall over.
“What happened?”
“How did you?”
They spoke as one then spent the next few
seconds playing the ‘after you’ game until Nick
couldn’t help himself. He held him close and
kissed him. With a laugh Brody pushed him away.
“You taste of blood, and your aura is bright
red.” He frowned. “Is that temper or lust?” he said
out loud. “Your colours confuse me.”
“I am so happy to see you alive,” Nick said
gently. He gripped Brody by the upper arms and
stared straight up into Brody’s brown eyes. His
other half looked tired, exhausted even, and pale,
and the marks on his face, the deep scores from
Niceros’s claws, hadn’t faded, or disappeared
entirely. In fact they still looked puffy and there
were tendrils of red that remained wrapped
around his right eye. “Are you okay?”
“Joseph tried everything to reverse the injury,
but it was that and Levi sharing himself with me
that have me actually standing upright.”
Nick couldn’t help himself. His wolf was
furious. He growled low in his throat. “What do
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you mean, shared himself? Do I need to rip his
throat out?”
Brody’s eyes widened comically. “No. Hell,
you’re still on that whole fated mates thing?
People can touch me you know.”
“Not if they want to live,” Nick muttered.
“When I say shared, I mean, I fed from his bank
of emotions.”
“No fucking involved?” Nick asked crudely.
“Nick, hell, this isn’t the Dark Ages.”
“Was there fucking?” Nick insisted. He sniffed
Brody, but there was still no discernable scent.
Freaking incubi and their no-scent crap. His wolf
demanded that they get to the down and dirty
now and Nick pushed it down ruthlessly.
“No. For God’s sake. I just fed.”
Nick huffed his disapproval. “I’m here now,
you can feed from me.”
Brody sighed then let out a soft curse. “Feeding
from you won't help me,” he offered. “I need a
special kind of emotion, a connection—“
Nick shoved him gently. Not enough for him to
stumble but enough to stop him talking.
“Now,” he said. “Try it. How do we do this?”
Brody pointed down at Nick’s erection, which
wasn’t something going away very soon. “Not
with that,” he said. Then he shook his head. “I’m
not feeling so good. You need to take me back to
Levi so I can…” he stopped talking and coughed.
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73
The human part of Nick panicked and he even
opened his mouth to call for help as Brody
stumbled and Nick had to support him. But the
wolf in him, the part of him that was instinct and
need and feral, gently had them both sit on the
floor. Nick pulled apart Brody’s shirt and touched
his hand to Brody’s beautiful skin.
“Do it.”
“I need Levi.”
“You’re so freaking stubborn. It doesn’t hurt to
try. Do it.”
“Nick—“
“Do it Brody. Now.”
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Chapter Eight
rody allowed his body to relax against Nick.
There wasn’t any point to this. He needed a
special kind of fire inside him that only another
incubus could give him. A purity of emotion that
built inside an incubus and formed the core of
them. This wolf intrigued him, and yes, they were
good in bed, but he wasn’t as convinced as Levi by
the whole fated mates thing. He’d seen it happen,
he couldn’t deny it existed, Levi and Declan were
a connection Brody had never seen before but
when he’d connected with Levi he’d seen love
inside the man for the wolf who was his true other
half.
Was it possibly Brody would have one of those?
A mythical mate who was the true other side of
him? Was it Nick? Nick’s wolf certainly seemed to
think so.
Concentrating on pulling whatever fragments
of emotion out of Nick that he could, Brody closed
his eyes.
B
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“Are you okay?” Nick asked him. His voice,
soft and caring, caused Brody to open his eyes and
look up at the wolf shifter cradling him so
carefully. The scarlet of lust or temper had died a
little to be replaced by the orange glow of
contentment speckled with faint sparks of gold.
He missed the pale yellow that was Nick.
But gold? Gold meant things that Brody wasn’t
ready to accept. Fated mates were the old ways.
Gold was love, and Nick couldn’t love him.
They’d only just met. At least there was no silver
and white which was mated and final.
“I’m fine,” Brody answered gently. “Close your
eyes and let me concentrate.”
“Okay. Go for it.” Nick did as he was told, then
his eyes opened again? “And?” he asked.
Brody stifled a laugh. His wolf was impatient.
Wait. His wolf?
Brody screwed his eyes shut for an instant.
Then in a smooth move he reversed their positions
so that Nick ended up lying on the floor on his
back and Brody straddled him.
“Shhhh,”
he
said,
irritated.
“I
can't
concentrate.”
He was lying. He never had difficulty with
concentrating, but Nick was a bundle of energy
wrapped up with nerves and impatience and
Brody had to push through that. He attempted to
ignore Nick’s erection trapped under him and
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76
pressing against his own. And yes, he had a
freaking erection, but that was just biology. He
was up against a hot shifter, and he was good at
the sex thing. Sex was good. Lots of vitality could
be gotten from sex.
Nick wriggled a little but Brody shook his head.
“Stop moving.”
Then he placed both hands flat on Nick’s chest,
sliding them up close to Brody’s heart. The crinkle
of hair beneath his fingers, and the feeling of his
nipples was enough to have Brody near begging.
Maybe they should just have sex. Sex worked to
recharge. A cutting agony sliced through his face
where the injuries refused to heal. Seems like his
body wasn’t up with the whole fucking thing.
Instead he looked deep into Nick’s startling
blue eyes, so rare for a wolf shifter when they
were normally some variation of brown, and lost
himself in the depths of them. The connection
wasn’t instant, it wasn’t fireworks or other fabled
true mate explosions and disappointment slid
through Brody. He could admit some part of him
wanted to believe Nick’s announcement.
No. This was slow. A trickle of orange and gold
moved between them, swirling in the air and
wrapping warmly around Brody’s body. He
focused in on the colours and saw the pale lemon
and smelled the scent of a fall day. There. That
was beautiful. He sighed at the sight of it and
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77
unconsciously shifted himself a little so that his
hard length was aligned with Nick’s. The sigh that
left Nick’s mouth was perfect, a soft sound that
accompanied the lemon, of settled calm and peace.
Brody couldn’t just focus on the colours that
were soft, he needed the strength of scarlet temper
and icy blue hate, the extremes of emotion would
bridge the gaps in his soul that were damaged. He
searched for hate but there was none. Not for him,
not for this. He prodded for temper, but Brody
was pliant and smiling up at him. Silver speckled
his blue eyes, and Brody peered closer. The silver
of purity was something he had never seen before.
He realised he was moving in a dance as old as
time, a rhythm of pressing and sliding his cock
against Nick’s. He was feeling strong, clean, and
he turned his vision inwards. Black had taken up
residence inside him, although the only other
person who knew that was Levi. He focused in on
the black and could view it slowly diminishing,
pushed back not by the extremes like hate and
lust, but by the pale lemon that was Nick.
“Your face,” Nick murmured. He lifted a hand
and traced the scars left by the claws. The touch
had Brody flinching, but not in pain. Intensity of
touch along with the colours and the black inside
him dwindled to nothing and finally it was gone.
Orgasm built inside him, slowly the colours of
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passion and love became stronger, but even in
them was the pale lemon, and white.
Oh hell, no. White. The colour of fate twisted
with silver could only mean one thing. His days of
multiple partners, of being with anyone else were
over.
Nick writhed under him. “I’m going to… help
me… so close.”
Brody moved his hand and pushed aside pants
and material until he could wrap it around the
two of them as best he could. With clumsy,
imprecise, needy motion he sensed they were close
but it was Nick who was coming first, and arching
up into Brody’s grip he shouted his completion.
This precipice was terrifying, could Brody allow
himself to fall. Who would catch him?
He stared into the blue eyes.
“Come for me,” Nick demanded.
That was enough. With the feeling he was
flying he took the leap and a lifetime of his desires
was in this one orgasm. Coming, he arched back
then collapsed against Nick. He was exhausted,
overwhelmed and felt emotion tight in his chest.
His hypersensitive skin tingled as Nick ran hands
up and down his back.
“Hey,” he said softly.
“Hmmm?” Brody waited for whatever Nick
was going to come out with.
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79
“Your face, the scars, and the red lines. It’s all
faded, still there but faded. You know what that
means don’t you?”
Brody groaned. He knew what Nick was going
to say, something about fated mates and staying
together forever. Brody was alternating between
being scared and thrilled at the prospect.
Nick chuckled. “Told you so,” was all he said.
Bastard.
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Chapter Nine
rody stared into the mirror in the bathroom
and frowned. Nick was right. They’d gotten
back to the room that Brody had been using and
needed to get ready to attend a full meeting, or as
full a meeting as could be managed considering
how everyone was spread out. They had thirty
minutes to shower and that was it really.
Nick came up behind him and placed his hands
on Brody’s hips. Being shorter than Brody had
him peering just over Brody’s shoulder.
“See, mostly gone,” Nick said gently. “Not that
I don’t think scars are cool, but I do prefer you this
way.” He chuckled and stepped closer. He was
hard again, the length of him nestling in the cleft
of Brody’s ass. “Thing is. You did all that colour
stuff, lemon and gold, or whatever you were
mumbling when your eyes went all kind of weird
and white.”
“Colour stuff,” Brody murmured. “You don’t
know the half of it.” In actual fact he still felt like
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81
his insides had been scrubbed clean—in fact he’d
never experienced anything like this.
“So you say you’re coming around to the fated
mate idea, with this gold and the silver and white,
so from your point of view you’ll never be with
another woman or man again. Right?”
Brody smiled at Nick’s serious expression.
“No. You’re pretty much it for me now.”
A look of satisfaction passed over Nick’s face,
followed quickly by a burst of scarlet lust in a halo
around him.
“Thing is,” he began, “my wolf is a little
pissed.”
“Because?” Brody knew exactly where this was
going and he realised he craved the connection as
badly as he knew Nick’s wolf needed it.
“I need to get my wolf on,” Nick said. His touch
moved from hip to ass cheek then up to his
shoulder. “We can't go to any meeting before I do
this, or I’ll rip them to bits. Levi mostly and
Declan won't like that.” He glanced around him
and Brody didn’t have to be a genius to know
what he was looking for. He reached out and
grabbed one of the creams Joseph had been using
on his scars. Looking at the words on the front, he
wasn’t shocked to see his first pick was probably
the best thing for the job, an oil infused with herbs.
“At least my ass will smell good,” he joked as
he passed it back to Nick.
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“Are you sure?” Nick asked. Brody saw the
pale sage of impatience and the need to go right
now and he knew he didn’t have it in him to stop
this. It was what he wanted.
“As long as we switch, wolfy,” he murmured.
“Any time.”
The first touch of oil was cold but it warmed
and by the time Nick had stretched him enough to
make it easy, Brody was needy and hard and near
begging. When Nick crooked his finger and
tapped gently inside it was nearly game over for
Brody but he managed to hold back by not
touching himself. If he wrapped a hand around
his cock with Brody inside him, if only with
fingers, he would last ten seconds at the longest.
“Can I go inside?” Nick asked politely. Brody
nearly laughed at the man whose wolf was
probably inside demanding to be let out for the
fucking side of this.
“Please,” was all he said.
Nick pressed inside, the slide was so smooth,
and there was no pain, nothing but a momentary
press of fullness that had Brody gasping and
screwing his eyes shut tight.
“Am I hurting you?”
In answer Brody merely pushed back against
the thrust and opened his eyes until he could look
directly at the colours swirling around them. So
beautiful. White light with silver, scarlet, gold,
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83
lemon, a rainbow of oranges and reds, stunning.
He didn’t last long, wanted to be joined and hell,
claimed.
At the single moment when he was coming, he
felt Nick’s bite. A sting of sensation then Nick was
coming inside him.
“I’m falling in love with you,” Brody
whispered. “I want to love you so bad, is this
wrong? If you left me for a day I would be lost.”
“You and me,” Nick groaned as he arched in
ecstasy.
“You and me,” Brody whispered. “The Gods
help us both…
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Chapter Ten
ick insisted on holding Brody’s hand as they
walked into the kitchen dining area for the
meeting. Brody wasn’t arguing and Nick’s wolf
needed that connection, although any wolf in the
room would know they were together. And there
were a lot of wolves. The ones from the house,
plus himself, Declan and Connor. Declan and
Connor had their back to him and were talking to
the five new recruits, who then left the kitchen by
the back entrance to who knew where. Nick was
sure they would be told eventually what the hell
was going on.
Levi left the table and pulled Brody into a close
hug. “Good to see you well,” he said.
“Thank you for what you did, taking some of
the black from me.”
Levi shrugged. “The magic was nothing inside
me when I have Declan here to help me destroy
it.”
N
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85
“But Declan wasn’t here when you first took
some. You put yourself in danger. What if he’d
never come back?
Levi glanced over at Declan and smiled. “I
knew he was coming home.”
Nick put two and two together and in response
he held out a hand which Levi shook. He waited
for the familiar need to kill Levi for being an old
sexual partner of Brody’s but nothing came.
Seemed like Nick’s wolf was content at the
moment.
“Thank you,” he said to Levi. “For doing
whatever you did.”
“Joseph did most of it,” Levi said with a shrug.
“Where is Joseph? I want to thank him too.”
Levi smiled. “He’s on some kind of freaky mind
call with Phin he’ll be here in a couple minutes.
Come on, I’ll introduce you.”
In actuality, given Phin wasn’t here, there was
only one other person at the table that Nick didn’t
recognise. A tall dark-haired vampire, with long
wild curly hair, who appeared to have a
permanent scowl. He carried so many weapons on
his person he must surely be holding his body
weight in knives and swords. And hell, was that a
bow and arrows on his back? The vamp was a
walking army of one, and as he was at the table,
he must be important. Although he wasn’t sitting,
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he was absolutely still and silent and staring at
Nick like he had two heads or something.
Crossing to the man, still holding Brody’s hand,
he introduced himself.
“I know who you are,” the warrior said simply.
“I knew your family well.”
“I don’t have a family. Not much of one other
than Declan and he’s my third cousin twice
removed or something.” He must mean Declan.
Nick’s parents had died a long time ago and he
didn’t have siblings, or even aunts and uncles
come to think of it.
“Your ancestor, and Declan’s, the sire who
began your line. I knew him.”
Nick knew vampires lived long years, but
tracing back connections like that would mean
several hundred years. What was it with him and
Methulan handing out all this longevity nonsense.
“Nine hundred and eighty four,” Warrior-
vamp said simply. “Yes, I’m old. No, it isn’t
because I am a vampire and I don’t age like wolf
shifters. Yes, I was magicked away by trickery and
yes, you should sit down so that all this can be
explained.”
Thus he was dismissed and he allowed himself
to be led to the table and Brody encouraged him to
sit.
“What was all that about?” Nick asked Brody.
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87
“Long story short. Way, way back,a Kappa
called Lekland, who we believe is the same person
now called Ludvik Peitrol, had dark perverted
magic. He spelled Reuben here into the Vampire
Book of Days, nearly a millennium ago. Turns out,
as per the prophesy, vampire twins, in this case
our own Joseph and Micah, were enough to
release Reuben and he is now here to lead us in
some glorious battle where we win and the Third
Kingdom is created.”
Nick stared at Brody. Okay. That all sounded
just a little bit out there. He glanced over at Reuben
who stared directly at him. His wolf whined
inside him, a strange and new noise that Nick had
never sensed before. He didn’t think wolves even
whined in that weird almost respectful, yet
somehow fearful way. He quickly looked away
from Reuben and was never more thankful to see
Brody smiling at him.
“He’s kinda intimidating,” Brody whispered.
Nick’s wolf immediately settled. If Brody felt
the same way then that was okay. They sat in
silence for a while waiting for Joseph and Micah.
Nick had an awful lot to say and hoped Joseph
knew who the hell Methulan was and why he’d
vanished and why the hell he had such a fluid
way of switching sides at the drop of a hat. And
what exactly was the magic used that meant
Brody hadn’t healed, and where did Nick fit in to
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all of this. He thought back over his time with
Methulan and was comforted by the strong grip of
Brody’s hand.
“Wait,” he said in a loud whisper suddenly as
something occurred to him. “Lekland. You said
the name Lekland.”
“Yeah, Kappa, spelled Reuben, we think he’s
still alive and is now Ludvik.”
“Methulan mentioned that name.”
“Who?”
“Methulan, the warlock who—“
His words vanished as he was yanked back and
up against the wall with Reuben’s hand around
his neck and Reuben’s clear jade eyes stormy with
temper.
“What did you just say?” he demanded.
Dimly he could hear shouting but his vision
was blackening. Fuck, this vamp was strong.
“Methulan…” he choked out…
“Said
Lekland…” he couldn’t manage any more, but a
louder shout, Joseph? Phin? had Reuben releasing
his hold and Nick fell to the floor in a heap.
“You can't do that!” Joseph shouted.
“He spoke of Methulan,” Reuben shouted just
as loudly.
“Strangling him won't get him to explain.”
Brody helped him to stand then stood between
him and Reuben. Incubi never looked dangerous
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89
but they could turn emotions back on attackers
and have them on their knees in seconds.
Joseph blocked Reuben as he moved back
towards Nick.
“No,” he ordered. “Sit the fuck down.”
Reuben stared directly at Nick past Brody and
narrowed his eyes.
“Explain,” he said. Then he softened the words.
“Please,” he added. “Please," he repeated, his
voice broken. He sat down in the chair that Joseph
indicated and somehow he looked less warrior
and more wounded vamp.
Everyone sat down and Nick explained exactly
what had happened at the cabin. Dragging his
protector through the wards, the conversations
that they’d had.
“And he identified himself as Methulan,”
Reuben asked firmly. “You’re sure.”
“Methulan. Yes.”
“Describe him.”
“Human, tall, white blond hair, gray eyes,
although when you got close one eye was tinged
blue at the center, the other green.”
Joseph cursed and dimly Nick realised he and
Micah were talking. His focus was on Reuben.
“You know him?”
“If he is Methulan, then he was my lover, the
one that Lekland wanted so much that he drove us
apart, spelled me into a book and trapped me for a
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millennium. Lekland cursed me, and cursed
Methulan to an eternal life on his own. Please, tell
me…” he stopped and there was visible pain in
his expression. “Was he well?”
Of all the questions Nick expected it hadn’t
been this one.
“He was well,” Nick murmured. “Strong,
determined. A human with magic. He saved
Brody by sending him back and he stayed with me
until help arrived.”
“We’ve seen him in our dream sharing,” Joseph
said. Everyone looked at him and Micah. The
twins sat silently and uncomfortable.
Reuben leaned forward in his seat. “You never
mentioned you were dream walking,” He accused.
“It’s only been in the last week,” Joseph
defended. “We didn’t think it meant anything, but
now, with what Nick just said.” He glanced at his
twin, and Micah nodded. Clearly there was some
kind of agreement between them. “The man we
shared in our dreams is the man who’s murder
Micah was accused of. Ethan Harris.”
“A name he used,” Reuben said softly. “You
said he died?”
“Murdered by someone who made it look like a
vampire had killed him,” Micah confirmed. “We
suspect that it was Ludvik.”
“Methulan didn’t die. See, he can't die, not all
the time I am alive. His life is entwined with
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91
mine.” Reuben dropped his head in his hands. He
looked defeated. “Did he say anything? Mention
me?” he mumbled into his palms.
“He said very little,” Nick was honest. “He
observed a lot.” Then it hit him—he needed to
remember something. “There was a word.” He
closed his eyes to attempt to recall what had been
written on the wall. Brody squeezed his hand and
Nick opened his eyes to look at his lover. The
room melted away and it was just the two of them.
“Remember the word for Reuben.”
Nick nodded. The fire in the grate jogged his
memory of letters burned into wood.
“Arberfan,” he said softly. “A.R.B.E.R.F.A.N.”
Reuben inhaled sharply and Nick looked
directly at him.
“Does this mean anything,” Joseph prompted.
Reuben appeared to have been struck dumb
and it was Micah who spoke. “Arberfan was the
place where the final battles were held, between
the vamps and the elves. Before Glitnir. The place
that the Vampire Book of Days was created.”
Reuben nodded. “The place where Methulan
and I became no more,” he said agonized. He
stood and placed his hands firmly on the table. “I
knew it would come to this,” he said. “This is
where everything comes full circle. Way back
when human and incubi first came together as
friends, they knew that one day it would be a
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hybrid of all of us that would finish this. Back at
Arberfan we all thought it was Methulan, and we
imagined that Arberfan was the place for new
beginnings. We just didn’t count on Lekland’s lust
for Methulan.”
“Wait. Rewind. Incubi and human hybrid?
What do you mean?” Brody said. “I don’t
remember anything like that in my history
books?”
“You wouldn’t. Only one person was born to a
human mother and an incubus father, Methulan,
and he had no children. He was born with so
much magic that no one had seen the like of it
before. An incubi-human would be the one to lead
us, a strong man with magic and compassion. A
good man. All this and he wanted me. Me.”
Reuben said it like he couldn’t believe what he
said. “He was my lover, my friend.”
Silence fell over the small group. Nick couldn’t
recall ever hearing anyone so sad.
Finally it was Micah who asked the one
question that needed an answer. “Arberfan,” he
said. “Where is that? I’ve pretty much exhausted
all routes and never found an actual place.”
“In the Red Mountains between the Second
Kingdom and Glitnir,” Reuben said softly. “I have
no idea what is left there.”
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93
Everyone looked to Joseph, as ultimately it
would be him that would decide what next but the
mood in the room was determined and focused.
Joseph nodded. “Seems like Arberfan is a place
we need to check out.”
Reuben stood. “I will leave immediately.”
Nick didn’t hesitate, he had a connection to
Methulan now, and he knew exactly what he was
doing next. Brody squeezed his hand in silent
agreement.
“I’m with Reuben,” Nick said.
“I’m going with Nick,” Brody said.
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Epilogue
euben constantly forged ahead with a fixed
purpose, which left Nick and Brody behind
as they travelled to the Red Mountains. The three
travelled quietly and quickly and reached the
Mountains in four days without much sleep.
“Do you really think he remembers where it is
after all this time?” Nick said out loud.
“I hope so.”
Surefooted, Reuben followed a path that Nick
couldn’t see and finally he stopped. Nick and
Brody caught up with him and over a peak a flat
area lay before them. The space at first appeared
empty and silent. But then he saw him. In the
centre of it all a man with long blond hair stood.
Methulan. Too far away to call, Reuben obviously
decided running was the best option and he
sprinted down towards the man.
Nick sat down on the nearest rock and pulled
Brody with him. “It’s too private to watch,” he
said gently. This reunion after nearly a thousand
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95
years would be unbearable to see. They turned
their backs long before Reuben and Methulan
would meet in the middle.
Grasping hands they looked up at the
mountains. Nick tried to imagine a thousand years
apart knowing your lover was still there and
couldn’t touch you, or talk to you. It was an
impossibly large thing to think.
“This is the start of the end of this war isn’t it,”
Brody said softly. “Here at Arberfan. The last
stand. Either way, live or die, something has to be
done.”
“Freed Blood Demons, a new Kingdom? Yeah,”
Nick agreed. “Something has to be done.”
“What will we do now?”
“Wait for Methulan and Reuben? Go on to
Simeon. I never expected it to be this easy to find
Arberfan.”
“The final stand,” Brody murmured. “Not
much time left then.”
Nick pressed one of Brody’s hands between his
and nodded. “But whatever time we have together
before the end? We are living every second of it
together. Right?” He knew he sounded unsure
and needy for something, anything, from Brody.
In answer, Brody leaned forward and pressed
an achingly beautiful kiss to Nick’s lips.
“Agreed.”
About the Author
I am a writer of male/male novels and short
stories.
From cowboys to bodyguards, and firemen to
billionaires I write dramatic and romantic stories
of love and passion between men. My first real
love will always be the world of romance and my
goal is to write stories with a heart of romance, a
troubled road to reach happiness, and more than a
hint of happily ever after.
I am the author of the award winning books,
The Christmas Throwaway and Oracle. I am
known for both my Texas series charting the lives
of Riley and Jack, and also my Sanctuary series
following the work of the Sanctuary Foundation
and the people it protects.