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  Shaking off the memory, she reached for the bottle of water Dougan had placed in front of her. The bartender gave her a small smile when she glanced at him, grabbed a rag from under the counter and started cleaning the bar. She knew that Diskant had entrusted him with keeping an eye on her, ensuring she didn’t get into any trouble while he, Trey, Kinsley and Emory prepared the rest of the group for what was coming.

  Lifting the bottle to her lips, she stared out the window of the bar.

  The sky was turning orange, which meant soon everyone would leave to do what had to be done.

  “Hello.” An incredibly soft, feminine voice tore Ava’s attention from the window. Katie smiled nervously and motioned to the empty seat beside her. “May I?”

  The woman was a far cry from the one she’d seen carried in the arms of her mate at the club months ago. Her skin was glowing and radiant, her complexion healthy and pink. Up close she didn’t appear frail or weak. In actuality she was very tall and her frame was long and lean.

  Ava masked her shock and returned her smile. “Sure.”

  “It’s really great having another bloodbonded mate in the pack,” Katie said quietly as she sat down and accepted the bottle of water Dougan handed to her.

  “It is?”

  Katie nodded. “Before I came along there was only Raelyn. The rest of the women were all shifters.”

  “Raelyn?”

  “Raelyn Chavez.”

  “Chavez…” She recalled when a beautiful girl with flowing black hair, big green eyes and the most beautiful face she’d ever seen had come into the club to visit her father—the infamous head chef and resident wise-ass of Liminality.

  “You’ll like her,” Katie continued. “She was the only one of us for a long time so she’ll be excited there’s one more person in the pack who understands what it’s like.”

  Ava knew exactly what Katie was talking about. While some of the pack embraced any female one of their members mated, there were several who looked at the bond negatively, feeling as if humans weren’t worthy of such a gift.

  “Where’s she now?”

  Katie’s winsome smile wavered. “In California.”

  Saying goodbye to her family.

  Ava picked up on the second thought accidentally, along with Katie’s sadness, and opened her mind to listen. Soon Katie would have to do the same thing. You could only stay the same age for so long before someone started to notice, and she and Zach had decided it was time to finish the bloodbond.

  As if he sensed his mate’s distress, Zach suddenly appeared. His brown hair was longer, his blue eyes a darker shade of indigo now that he was no longer worried but determined. He marched up to Katie, wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her from the seat. Although he whispered something into her hair, Ava knew he was about to carry her into the office, lean her over the desk and significantly alter her mood. Katie’s passion-laced eyes met Ava’s and she blushed when she was tossed over Zach’s shoulder and carried away without so much as a goodbye.

  Diskant’s unique scent assailed her just before Ava felt his hand snake around her waist. She went soft at the contact, relaxed against him and placed her bottle on the counter. The entire situation was surreal, unbelievable, and made no logical sense but she was beyond caring. In the span of a couple of days she’d found the one place she wanted to be.

  At Diskant’s side, in his arms.

  “We have to leave,” he whispered into the shell of her ear.

  “I don’t want you to go.” It wasn’t fair to tell him that but it was true. The danger he was placing himself in terrified her. She had only just discovered how wonderful it was to be cherished by him. If she lost that, she wasn’t sure she would survive it.

  “I’ll be back,” he said as if reading her thoughts. “Don’t worry. Everything has been planned. I just need you to wait in the apartment until I return.” He nipped at her lobe and growled, “If you promise to be in the bed—naked, spread out and ready for me—I’ll be sure to return as soon as I can.”

  “Is that all you ever think about?” She tried to sound stern but the question came out husky.

  He chuckled, nuzzling her. “Don’t try to fool me, mate. I can scent your heat.” His hand came down until it rested between her thighs. He cupped her sex, causing her to groan and lowered his voice. “Your cunt is dripping for me. If I were to lay you on the bar and strip you, you’d be soaking wet and eager to take whatever I wanted to give you.”

  Her entire body shook at the thought, embarrassment fading as desire took its place. Glancing at the mirrored backdrop behind the bar, she noticed that none of the shifters batted an eye at what was taking place before them. She’d learned rather quickly that sexual displays were the norm, not taboo. In fact, earlier that morning she’d gotten a bird’s eye view of exactly how open shifters were with their sexuality.

  She shuddered at the memory, flushed as her nipples went hard, the sensitive beads pressing painfully against the lace of her bra. Her clit started to throb, a dull, insistent pulsing that matched the steady hammering of her heart.

  “I know what you’re thinking about,” Diskant purred. “You’ve been thinking about it all morning, haven’t you?”

  She met his gaze through the mirror and nodded, recalling the precise moment she descended the stairs and happened upon a newly mated pair christening the stairwell. She’d been mesmerized by the sight of the half-clothed male’s bare ass going taut as he pumped into the woman from behind, holding her by the back of her hair so that her head was turned to kiss him. They never stopped, not even as she and Diskant squeezed past.

  “You wonder how it would feel to be watched when I fuck you, so that everyone could see how good I make you feel. They’d be jealous as hell, watching us, smelling your cream, unable to do anything more than watch and wish that they were in my place.” He brought his head down and licked a line from her shoulder to her ear. “I want that too. I want everyone to know that you’re mine. When all this madness is said and done I’m going to make it happen, and you’re going to let me.”

  She gasped, struggling to breathe. The need for him had only gotten worse, and after their discussion this morning she knew it wouldn’t relent until he gave her the final bloodbonding mark. For once, her ability was a huge attribute because it allowed her to fully comprehend and understand exactly what Diskant was offering as he explained the process.

  The first two marks were physical—when she accepted his seed and his blood—but the third went much deeper. It was that final, mystical mark that would bring all of his shifter beasts into her keeping, rending them in half only to bring them back together so that a portion resided in her just as it did in him. She should have been terrified by the notion but yearned for it in a way that made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

  After squeezing her sex, he slid his hand to her stomach and pressed against her back, allowing her to feel the hard outline of his cock. “I’m as eager as you are, Pinkie.”

  “I hate to break this up but we’ve got to get moving.” Kinsley’s deep voice was teasing but the underlying seriousness was apparent.

  Diskant exhaled against her neck before spinning her stool around. She peered up at him—dizzy, lightheaded and aroused. The shadow on his face was thick now, nearly obscuring the skin beneath. He’d pulled his hair back at the nape with a leather tie, so she could fully appreciate his facial features—strong jaw, smooth nose, full lips.

  Cupping her face in gentle hands, he instructed, “Stay upstairs until I get back. I want you to lock yourself inside and wait for me. I’ve told Nathan to remain outside your door until we return.”

  His kiss was as combustive as his touch. He didn’t brush his lips against hers, he demanded entry. His tongue delved, explored, ravished and tasted. Drawing her in until she was clinging to his tight black T-shirt, her hands forming fists in the thin cotton. When he lifted his head they were both breathing heavy, a mixture of desire, worry and uncertainty flowing between th
em.

  The increasingly strong mental connection allowed them to experience what the other was feeling, so she was aware that as scared as she was for him, he was equally torn about leaving her. She could feel it in him, could sense how it tested his control.

  He wanted to be nearby in case she needed him and resented the responsibility that took him from her side since her emotions were unstable. Without his nearness, he worried she would be on edge, unable to think of anything but what was taking place in his absence. The thought made it impossible for him to break away from her, and he wasn’t sure if he’d have the power to leave her behind and see to the safety of the pack.

  Although she hated to do it, she brought up the mental barrier between them and shut him out. The moment he felt the severed connection he frowned.

  “Ava—”

  “Shh.” She leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his chest. “If I don’t, you won’t be able to leave.”

  His arms came around her and squeezed until, slowly, he pulled away. “Stay in the apartment. Wait for me.”

  She nodded, fighting back tears, and whispered, “Hurry back.”

  Diskant turned from Ava before he pussied out and told Trey he couldn’t go. It was too difficult to look into her face and tell her goodbye when his instincts demanded he stay, especially when those pools of reflective blue revealed the anguish the separation caused. Thank god she’d severed the connection that allowed him to experience her emotions, leaving him with nothing more than his own doubts and fears. Otherwise he’d never have been able to leave her side.

  Her tears fucking killed him.

  “Let’s go,” he told Kinsley and stepped past the pack standing at each side of the door.

  Emory and Trey were just outside, waiting in front of the black, unmarked, older-model vehicle. The strain was evident on their faces, although Trey appeared to be more shaken.

  “Don’t start any trouble. Keep your mouth shut and wait for us,” Trey instructed Emory as he stepped away and Nathan appeared with a pair of silver cuffs in his gloved hands. “Don’t fight them and don’t argue.”

  Emory didn’t respond, the only indication he’d heard coming in the form of a slight nod. He didn’t flinch when Nathan placed the cuffs on him, remaining quiet and still as they were fastened to his wrists.

  “Aldon has been advised of where you’re going to drop him,” Trey told Kinsley quietly. “As soon as he knows which way they’re traveling he’s going to contact us and plan the diversion. Keep your cell handy.”

  Kinsley nodded, opened the driver’s side door and slid inside. As soon as the motor started Nathan opened the back door for Emory, who promptly did the same.

  The moment the doors closed Diskant placed a comforting hand on Trey’s shoulder. Even though Diskant wasn’t close to his own brother, as their ages prevented them from forming a bond, he couldn’t imagine how difficult it must be to place a sibling in harm’s way.

  The car shifted as Kinsley put it in gear and slowly pulled away from the curb. The pack watched silently, all of them experiencing the turmoil, fear and anger that assailed their Alpha.

  “I hope we know what we’re doing,” Trey said.

  “He’ll be fine.” Diskant let go of his shoulder and stepped back.

  No one spoke as Trey walked to his motorcycle and climbed on. He brought his hands to the handlebars but stopped short of touching them. Lowering his arms, he rested one palm on the fuel tank and brought the other to his chest and rubbed the surface as if something had touched him. When Diskant stepped over Trey looked up and a strange, ominous expression shrouded his face. He continued rubbing his chest, shaking his head.

  “I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

  Neither did Diskant, though he didn’t say it. “With Nathan in charge we don’t have to worry about the bar.”

  “I know that, it’s just…” Trey hesitated before he sighed and lowered his hand. “Let’s get this over with.”

  Half of the pack returned to the bar while the rest went to their bikes. Diskant climbed on his Harley and waited until Trey had vanished down the street before he started his own engine.

  Glancing through the window to the bar, he saw Ava standing near the hallway. Her arms were folded over her chest and her short hair was in disarray. For a second he considered killing the engine, returning inside and staying with her until the danger passed.

  Trey was right.

  All shifters were born with a sixth sense about things, and something was definitely off.

  His gaze rested on the shifters seated near the windows and the bar. Some of them he knew personally, others he knew by association. Each was on full alert, armed to the gills with weapons, ready to do whatever was necessary to protect the pack.

  There was no way they’d allow any harm to come to Ava. They’d kill anyone or anything that came through the door.

  Shaking off the prickly sensation at the back of his neck, Diskant’s focus returned to his mate. She hadn’t moved. He wasn’t sure if she picked up on his indecision with her telepathy or if she instinctively understood that she had to turn away first but that’s what she did.

  When she finally vanished from sight he took a deep breath, pulled the kickstand up with his heel and revved the motor.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Two vans approached in the darkness, headlights flashing and motors humming. Trey shifted his weight, balancing on the balls of his feet, and remained in a crouch in the cover of the trees and foliage. Adrenaline and the impending thrill of combat made his skin tingle and his heart accelerate. The rest of the pack was equally agitated, struggling to remain still under the green span of shrubbery.

  Watching as Emory had been taken by Shepherds had nearly driven him to the point of madness, so much so that he’d actually started to shift until Diskant pulled out his Omega deck of cards. Even now, he felt that calming portion of his pack mate easing his beast, forcing it to recede so the man could remain in control.

  “Easy,” Diskant whispered and placed steady hand on his shoulder, the weight heavy and grounding. “It’s almost time.”

  Trey nodded, unable to speak, wanting to rage against what he couldn’t control.

  Right before the vans reached the trees, Aldon would stop the progression, giving them time to dispose of the Shepherds one by one. That moment couldn’t arrive soon enough. He needed to see Emory, to know he was safe and that no harm had come to him. While less than an hour had passed since Kinsley had handed him over, a shifter could be killed in under a minute with the proper injury.

  The pack moved restlessly, as eager for blood as he was.

  Stop thinking about it. Take fucking control.

  Trey took a deep breath and released it slowly. The desire to change forms and attack was nearly impossible to deny. For the first time he missed the mysterious caress of what he’d started referring to as his phantom, a spirit that seemed to arrive when he needed to be comforted most. The ghostly fingers that brushed his skin were a balm on his soul, atonement for his sins. Real or imagined, the sensation never failed to bring a level of peace and calm.

  Where are you? he thought and braced himself for what had always been an answering contact, the whisper-soft brush against his skin. Yet there was no light weight against the back of his neck, no tender pressure against his chest over the steady thrum of his heart. His wolf seemed to mourn the absence, as if it were a kind of loss, and the unfamiliar and unexplainable emotions caught him off guard. Emory was in danger and his focus should have been entirely on his brother, not the maddening touches of an entity that he had created in his mind as a way to steel his soul against a lifetime alone.

  His cell phone vibrated and he pulled it from his back pocket. Glancing down at the screen, he read the simple text.

  It’s time.

  He cleared the screen with the flick of a button, slid the phone back into his pocket and ordered, “Get ready.”

  The pack shuffled around him, crouched
at his sides. Their growls, while low, carried on the wind that suddenly rose and surrounded them, causing the branches above to stir.

  “Don’t kill them all,” Diskant growled in a voice as rough as asphalt. “We need one alive.”

  Murmurs of assent were garbled by the change. Several of the pack allowed the wolf to rise. Their claws escaped their fingers and their teeth no longer resembled anything human.

  When the vehicles were within yards of their hiding spot, Aldon appeared in the center of the road, creating a roadblock. Diskant moved and the pack spread outward to form an inescapable barrier, over a dozen of them ready to show their enemy why it was wise to steer clear of their city, their domain and one of their own. Despite Emory’s failings, the pack was his family, his blood, and they would kill anyone who threatened him.

  “No matter what happens, keep one of them breathing.” Trey reiterated Diskant’s order, pumped for the thrill of battle but eager to secure Emory’s safety. “Have your fun but take one alive.”

  Aldon stood unmoving in his black, long, flowing trench coat, his white-blond hair stark against the collar as the rising moon shone down. The vans didn’t slow, coming at the lone figure in the middle of the road at a hard seventy miles an hour or more. Unfazed, he lifted a pale hand and brought his palm upright. The coat flared around him as his hair lifted into the air, the blond strands and flaps of leather rippling as if electrically charged. The heady oppressiveness of magic crossed the distance, coating the air from his position in the middle of the isolated stretch of highway until steady growls and snarls from of the pack breached the stillness of the night.

  Trey’s fingers raked into dirt as his claws extended. As an Alpha he had natural protection from magic. However he wasn’t entirely unaffected by the darkness which called to his beast. Diskant’s influence overrode the compulsion to change that came from the essence of mystical energy lingering in the air, nullifying the madness that arose as a direct result, creating a wave of serenity in a chaotic maelstrom.