Desire Unchained

Shade’s heart hammered hard, and cold sweat broke out on his brow. “E! You’ve got to stop Wraith. Now!”


Torn between staying as close to Runa as possible and helping E take down Wraith, Shade hesitated, but the sound of Eidolon getting pummeled by Wraith tipped the scales. Shade darted toward them. He caught Wraith from behind, managed to pin his arms to his sides, but only for a moment. Wraith had the advantage on any day, but add to that the bloodlust, and gaining control of him turned into a vicious battle.

They muscled him to the ground, but damn, Wraith was strong and pissed, and with the way his eyes burned red and his fangs had elongated into daggers, Shade doubted Wraith even knew who he was fighting anymore.

Eidolon used his weight to hold Wraith down while Shade channeled power into him, using his gift to slow Wraith’s heart and breathing, then reaching deep to cut off the adrenaline flow.

“Ease up, bro. Idle down,” Shade murmured, even as he looked over his shoulder to make sure Runa was okay and none of Roag’s minions were going to launch a surprise attack.

Bringing Wraith down was agonizingly slow, and most likely futile. As soon as they let him up, Wraith would probably go ballistic on Roag’s demons.

“Very, very good,” Roag said. “But honestly, I can’t believe you two haven’t figured out that killing Wraith would make life a whole lot easier.”

Eidolon bared his teeth. “You know what would be easier, you fucking—”

“Don’t.” Shade gripped E’s arm and squeezed. “I can’t risk Runa.”

The wind rustled the leaves in the trees, bringing with it the scent of brimstone. Hellhounds.

“Where’d you get the trackers?” Eidolon eased off Wraith, who leaped nimbly to his feet and stood there, quivering with the amount of restraint it must have taken to not go for Roag’s throat.

Roag stroked his blades through Runa’s hair, and now it was Shade who had to restrain himself, especially when locks of her gorgeous hair began to flutter to the ground. “What, you think I don’t have my own kennel?”

It was on the tip of Shade’s tongue to say Roag couldn’t control his own female, let alone a hellhound, but with Runa still in danger, Shade kept his mouth shut. Two Carceris officers stepped into the clearing, held prisoner by Roag’s minions.

So that was how he’d found Shade. He’d taken the Carceris officers prisoner and forced them to use the hounds to track him. Son of a bitch.

“Shade?” Runa’s voice was quiet but steady, and pride swelled in him. He smelled no fear from her, instead her strength permeated the air. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, lirsha.”

Roag snorted. “You’re fading, you know. I’m thinking it’s not okay.”

A deep, low growl rumbled in Runa’s throat. Shade’s pulse went tachy with panic. “Runa, no!”

She struck. A double blow, one sharp kick to Roag’s shin and a reverse punch to his face. A shockwave of energy hit Shade; she was trying to shift.

“Little bitch,” Roag hissed, and buried one of his blades in her shoulder. Her scream rent the air. “This blade is solid silver. You can’t shift.”

A veil of crimson came down over Shade’s vision. He sprang forward, because he was going to tear out Roag’s throat. Something pierced his neck. A dart, drugged, no doubt. He fell to the ground hard enough to knock the wind from his lungs. Determined to get to Runa, he yanked the dart from his skin. Eidolon and Wraith’s furious shouts told him they’d fallen victim to the same fate.

The last thing he heard before he lost consciousness was Runa’s bloodcurdling wail.





Nineteen





Kynan stood at the threshold to Gem’s apartment, his stomach in knots and his mind fuzzy from the half-dozen shots of liquid courage he’d slammed before coming over. Before Lori died, he hadn’t been much of a drinker, but lately he’d been lonely and all too eagerly seeking the kind of embrace only Captain Morgan could give him.

Though he normally didn’t fall into the Captain’s arms until after noon.

But this morning he’d started early, after calling Arik and confirming that the military knew about his work at UG. Ky had made clear that he wouldn’t betray Eidolon or the hospital, and Arik seemed to be cool with that. They’d spent some time catching up, and it had all been cozy—too cozy. His spidey sense was tingling.

The door opened, and Gem stood there, looking surprised and really freaking hot in a black V-neck, cropped sweatshirt that dipped low enough to reveal a hint of crimson bra beneath. Her black miniskirt seemed to be made of the same sweat material and was so short he wondered if she was wearing underwear that matched the bra. Strangely, he got the impression that this was her idea of lounge-around-the-house casual.

“Kynan. Ah, this is a surprise.”

“Can I come in?”