Aaron's Kiss Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 7) (37 page)

“Ah ha, a flower pixie named Genese. Of course you are. And you say my mother sent you? Well, now I know I’m off the deep end. I don’t have a mother. Well, I’m sure I did at one point, but I don’t know how she would know me well enough to send you to help me.”

Shade eyed the little thing on the rocks. A pixie, she’d said. Nope, couldn’t be real. A flower pixie of all things to dream about. Shade closed her eyes and counted to ten then opened them again. It was still there.

“I have a pixie sitting in front of me that’s dressed like some sort of...well, I was going to say street walker, but that seems harsh. But it is my dream.” Shade felt mirth begin to build inside of her again. It wasn’t the laughter of
“you’re funny,”
but the
“oh my, Shade, you’ve lost your mind”
kind of laughter. “So...are you a tiny hooker? Do you buy your clothes at Tiny Hookers R’ Us?”

“No, I’m not a hooker, but thanks.” Shade grinned as best she could at the sarcasm in the bug’s voice. “I’m very eclectic with my tastes, very unique in my clothing. You should try it sometime. Having taste, I mean.”

“Sure. When I’m done hanging around here, you and I can go to the mall. I think there might be an
Itty Bitty Tiny Shop
for you to go to and I will go to
I’m Out of My Fucking Mind Shop
. You think they’ll have something with less blood on it?

Genese obviously found no humor in Shade’s comment and ignored her. Either that, Shade thought with a giggle again, or she wasn’t talking in the right language. She would have to learn Pixienese.

“Your mother sent out a bunch of us to look into every cave in the area. We have been looking for you for hours.”

“Well, it looks like you’re the winner. Do you win something good? I hope so. I don’t suppose you have a key or a sharp saw hidden on you, do you?”

“No, we can’t carry something that weighs more than we do. Are you always this dense?”

“I don’t know. I just don’t know anymore. This is…I’m having a really shitty day, I think.” Shade felt the tears stream down her face as she spoke. She had never felt so lost and sad in all her life. She wanted Colin.

Shade looked at the...girl. She didn’t doubt that she was female, a very beautiful one, in fact. It was how she was dressed that threw her.

Her hair was a bright purple and hung in a cropped cut to just below her ears on one side and to her shoulder on the other. She had on a leather top hat with some sort of metal eyepiece wrapped around the brim. Her eyes were as bright of purple as her hair and just as beautiful. Her wings, nearly the same length as she was tall, were sheer lavender with tiny sparks of light blazing from them. Her jacket and top skirt, also purple, shimmered with what at first appeared to be glitter, but was actually dew. The gauzy underskirt was made of crinoline and was silver with small flowers all around the hem. Boots, knee high with sharp-looking heels, completed her ensemble. They were perhaps a quarter inch in height, giving her what Shade thought was a tiny, six-inch frame that extra boost.

“Then just how did she expect you to help me? You’re barely tall enough to kiss your flowers. These beings aren’t human. One of them is, but she isn’t right in the head anymore.” Shade rubbed her sore cheek on her shoulder and wiped away her tears. She hurt, she was hungry and, damn it, she had to pee.

“My mistress said that you need to pull from the earth. You are a part of it; the earth is you and you are the earth. Your power will know no boundaries when used with a pure heart. Borrow what you need to make yourself stronger.” Genese stood and looked to the open mouth of the cave.

“Well, aren’t you just a wealth of useless information.” Shade could hear the others returning and lowered her voice. “How? How do I gather it into me? I’m weak and injured. I’ve lost a lot of blood. I’m going to need a great deal of energy to fight and survive. I need to survive. My mate...I...I have a mate, I...please tell me, tell me how to finish this.”

Shade didn’t know why, but she knew that this woman was more than connected to her and that she could trust her. But at the moment, she didn’t much care for her.

“Stop whining. The beings return, as you know. Just do what I tell you. You must dig as deep as you can into the soil. I’ll return when they have gone.”

With wings fluttering faster than the human eye could detect, Genese darted out just as Lynne and Brenda walked in.
Shade slumped down. She wanted to appear weaker than she really was, which was saying a lot. Borrowing from the earth…where had she heard the before? But as she was beginning to think about that, Lynne moved closer to her.

“So, you decided to come back to us, did you?” Lynne taunted. “Good. I believe torture is so much more enjoyable if the victim is awake to scream for me. It just sends shivers down my spine.”

“Well, I’ve always heard that you should humor the insane. As for the torture, mind telling me why me? That loony boyfriend of yours seems to have a motive, unless you’re just his flunky. Is that it, Lynney dear? Are you just his serving bitch?” It might earn her another slap, but Shade enjoyed seeing Lynne’s face turn that molten shade of red.

“You are here because I say so, not Sherman. I make the decisions here. You’ll die because you will not take my place as the alpha-bitch. It was you who caused Bradley to denounce me. He actually thinks he can run the pack without me. Without my help! I made him! You and all the others will die and he’ll see reason when I dump all your carcasses on his doorstep. Then he’ll beg me to come back to him.”

“What happened? Did he find out you be-spelled him into thinking you were his mate? That’s what has your panties in a twist, isn’t it? Good old Bradley isn’t quite the sap you thought he was, is he? Did your boy Sherman help you with that? Oh yeah, I know all about that. I can smell the black magic all over you. Your whole being is tainted with it.”

Shade braced herself for the blow when Lynne growled. Anger and the smell of wolf permeated the air.

“Shut up! He
is
a sap. I made him. He will take me back once I kill Sara and that mate of hers. Shut your fucking mouth.”

“It’s not going to work, you know? You
are
going to fail. As soon as they find me, and they will, you’re both going to pay. And you.” Shade turned on Brenda. “What are you supposed to be getting out of this? Lynney has no home, no money, and if Sherman has his way, you won’t even have little Brent to sell for your drugs ever again.”

“Lynne, what’s going on? What’s she saying? You said you’d make sure I never had to be without my medicine again.” Shade noticed that Brenda was looking a little wild-eyed and sliding toward the door.

“You’ll never get away with this. They’ll be here soon and you’ll pay like you made all the others pay. The women you decided were getting too close to your alpha, your other victims, the women you tortured.”

Shade knew that she was pushing Lynne, but she was stalling too, building up her strength until Colin came to her.

Shade had done as Genese instructed. First with the dirt beneath her feet, then with the water in the small alcove she could see the fish within; even the algae answered her call for help. Reaching still further out with her magic, Shade could feel help coming from the grasses and the trees surrounding the area beyond. It seemed that anything with energy and connected to the earth willingly gave energy to her. The farther she reached, the easier it became, the stronger her connection. Her body hummed with power; her heart beat to the answering pulse of the things around her. She felt alive.

Shade felt the touch, gentle and soft at first, then stronger as it began to talk to her. Soon, the whisper came through her body. Like a hand checking and testing her injuries, it settled in her mind like a soft breeze against her cheek.

“Speak to the magic as I am speaking to you. Use your telepathic connection to reach out. You will be able to touch the earth, trees, and plants deeper and stronger than you have already. Speak to them this way, the way we are speaking now, thank them for their bounty. The creatures of the Glen are yours, as well, and they will speak to you. Reach to them, Shade. Tell them you need their help. They will know you for what you are, and what you need,”
the voice spoke in her mind.

Shade reached out to try and find the source and found a being like the magic that was now pouring into her. She felt the immediate connection. A bond was formed between them, a bond that was strong and magical. Her mother; it was her mother, Fiona.

Shade could stand up now, her strength increasing by leaps and bounds. She dug her toes into the soft dirt of the cave to get a better stance and was surprised by the magic still coming into her. It felt clean and pure, strong and earthy at the same time. She felt as if it almost spoke to her; the magic was singing through her muscles, and cells, rejuvenating her quicker now, building her into someone stronger, stronger than ever.

~CHAPTER TWENTY~

The Hummer pulled in front of the Pack house just after sunset. Everyone spilled out of the vehicle quickly. Aaron had driven with Sara in the front seat with him. In the next seat back were Colin, Demetrius and Dominic; in the last seat sat James, Phillip and Fiona. The latter three were not vampires but the two men were the mates to Sara’s mother and aunt. Aaron thought it could not hurt to have a little extra help in the event of Sara getting into trouble. He would die for her, and on the off chance he did, he wanted to make sure she would be well protected with her family.

Dinner was being served in the large dining room of the pack house when the vampires converged silently on the surrounding porch. Aaron was to go in first, followed quickly by his men. He worried about Colin and kept him close.

All the pack members who were close enough to the pack house were there and had come to enjoy their time together as families would. It was the first dinner they had had together since the shut down earlier in the week, Sara had told them. Her source had said that even Bradley’s grandparents were in attendance.

Twenty-five vampire warriors and the eight from the Hummer stood at the front door awaiting Sara’s signal. The others had already begun their search of the area surrounding the house and outlying areas. They were taking no chances; being prepared was more than half the battle, Aaron thought.

Sara’s magic had the door slammed open on its hinges, the entrance wide seconds before they flashed as a single unit into the room.  The vampires moved in double file around the main table where Bradley and his grandfather Charlie sat at the head. Once they were all inside, the warriors spread out around the room, backs to the group they had escorted in. Each warrior, whether man or woman, was fierce, and hungry, a scary combination for a vampire to begin with. Add in the need to prove to the new master they were his to command, and it had the potential for a very lethal situation. Aaron hoped it would remain a marginally peaceful one.

As one, the pack began to rise to the challenge; magic shimmered throughout the room as the first wolves began their shift into their beasts. They were halted by the simple raising of their alpha’s hand. Silence floated around the room like a blanket, heavy and complete.

“I don’t believe you’re Avon calling, so I can only assume you want something else. And for your sake, Master Vampire, I do hope it’s important enough that you’ve barged in without an invitation. I don’t enjoy my food as much if I don’t get to chase it down and eat it. It’s not near as much fun either.”

Had Aaron been any other man, he might have been frightened, but Aaron was neither a man nor a vampire who was easily intimidated. So he only smiled. He thought he might like this wolf.

“I’m Aaron Xavier MacManus, Master Vampire of this Realm. And yes, Alpha, it is important. To both of us, I believe.  It seems you may have someone who belongs to me and mine and I want her back.” Aaron did not so much as look at anyone else in the room. This was to be between him and the wolf. “I have come to see if your involvement extends to that of your mate. If so, then I am justified in my lack of courtesy. If not then you have my humblest of apologies.”

Aaron didn’t take his eyes from the powerful wolf. Aaron had not lived for fourteen hundred years by being a stupid, nor naive.

Bradley glanced at his grandfather and Aaron saw the smallest nod of the older man’s head. He had brought him here for his advice and counsel, it appeared. It was a smart man who asked for help, an even smarter one who heeded it. Aaron’s respect for the wolf rose considerably. He just hoped now that they could look back on these incidents years from now as friends and laugh.

“Perhaps we could do this in a little less...hostile environment.”

Aaron could feel the man’s nervousness, not for himself, but for the pack as a whole. He was nervous that his wolves would attack the uninvited guests and a bloodbath would ensue. If Aaron was honest even with himself, he would admit that he was a little nervous himself. This was important to them. Both men needed to save face and control the stupidity of the moment that could get them all killed.

“No, I think not. You see, I have just returned from the site where there was so much blood soaking in the snow it looked as if a large battle had occurred. Your mate, Lynne, I believe she’s called, and a human woman shot and kidnapped, the mate to one of my best men. They’re now holding her somewhere we cannot contact her mentally or physically. This does not make me a happy camper, you see.” Aaron flashed his fangs before he continued. “You’re lucky we are only as hostile as this, Alpha, as my first instinct was to have a bloodbath with your pack being
our
dinner. No, I like where we are just fine.”

Aaron glanced to his left and a chair shot across the room to land directly behind him. As Aaron made a production of sitting down, he felt Sara laugh at his arrogance in his mind, calling him an ass. It made him smile outwardly. Something in it seemed to calm the wolf somewhat. Aaron smiled larger.

Bradley spoke to Aaron as he, too, sat down. “Lynne is no longer my mate. I have shunned her from us all and forbidden her safe passage within my territory. I’ve also asked the surrounding packs to do the same. She was using black magic, had in fact used it against me. The details aren’t important at the moment, but I will assist you in any way possible to bring her to justice.”

Aaron felt the room shift. The magic seemed to lessen and calmness moved through them all. His vampires eased as well.

“My wolves, all of us, are at your disposal. The human woman is the mother of the young male we had brought here, as I’m sure you have surmised. Shade was…she is my friend and I owe her a great deal.”

Aaron nodded. He did, as well. The sudden shift of magic alerted him that Sara was entering the room. No one moved to stop her.

“Brent was under pack care until early this morning. We did this as a favor to Shade and would do whatever she needed to help. The mother coming for the human made it impossible for us to keep him without bringing the law into the arrangement. I had sent a messenger to Shade and have not heard back from her. She was to come here today to meet with the little human.”

Colin stepped forward then and bowed before the man. Aaron watched as his best friend laid his own sword, a claymore from his previous life, before Bradley on the table. He bowed low before the alpha.

“Yes, please, she’s my mate. I need to find her. I thank you for your help.”

Bradley stared down at Colin’s bent head, and then looked up at Aaron again. He seemed to be considering, Aaron thought, weighing his next move.

“I believe there are some areas on our land that our wolves would be useful in searching. If you have something of hers, an article of clothing, or better yet, a small bit of her blood, the search can begin.”

“You have an idea where the she-bitch might have her held?” Aaron pulled a plastic baggie from his jacket pocket and handed it to Bradley. A second man, taller and thicker in the neck and shoulders than the alpha, took it.

“I’m afraid that I do. There are many caves up in the southern portion of this land that have been used before by Lynne. I’ve only just found out about it from one of the females she took there to teach a lesson.”

Aaron felt the first shimmer of magic as a group of wolves changed and began sniffing the cloth covered in Shade’s blood. His kind, too, could find by scent, though it was much stronger if they could taste.

“And the lesson? Would it have anything to do with staying away from you?”

Behind him, the room filled with the noises of clicking toe nails on the wooden floor and across the tables where food had been served but not yet eaten. Aaron didn’t turn, but watched the reaction of the man in front of him. A startled expression came onto Bradley’s face at the question and Aaron’s answer.

“Sara, too?” Bradley sat down hard when Aaron simply nodded at him. “I’m sorry for that. I honestly didn’t know, not until three days ago. It seems a great deal more has been going on than I first imagined. Christ, Sara. No wonder she...you have my profound apologies and I will extend them to Sara as well.”

“Sara is here, and will welcome your friendship again, I believe. She speaks highly of you and your skills as a leader. I’m glad to know that my mate was correct.”

Bradley nodded. “There is one thing, Master Vampire. When you find Lynne, she’s mine.”

It was not a question, but Aaron nodded his approval anyway. “It’s Aaron, and of course.”

Within moments, the rest of the wolves in the room shifted and were out the door, taking most of the vampires with them. Trying to find the scent of the old alpha bitch was not as difficult as Shade’s would be, as Lynne was one they were familiar with. They then divided up the acreage into patches; each group was to search for Lynne and report back to the main house any findings. It was safe to assume that once Lynne was located, Shade would be very close.

“You said she was your friend. Shade, you said she was your dear friend. Could you explain how a wolf pack would help her kidnap a young male from a busy hospital?” Aaron was curious, as well, and glad for Colin’s question.

“One of ours, a wolf in my pack, hurt the boy and is responsible for the death of the young girl as well. When we found out he’d hurt Brent the first time a few weeks ago, I was at the hospital with another young wolf. Shade had brought Brent in and I could smell the wolf on him and told her I would take care of the situation, she needn’t worry. That same night my brother, a police officer with the local human division, contacted me to let me know about it as well. We should have acted sooner. If we had, the young female would still be alive, I believe. I told Shade that I would be at her service in any way that we could, and this is what she asked me to do. I could do no less for her.”

“How did Brent come to be able to leave with his mother if you were keeping him for Shade?” Colin sounded upset, but the alpha seemed not to take offense.

“Shade made me promise that if the mother came for Brent, I wasn’t to fight her, but to contact Shade as soon as possible. I tried, sending a messenger as soon as the human trash left with Brent earlier today. I’m assuming now that we couldn’t contact Shade because Lynne has her.”

“Yes. Shade was on her way here. We’re assuming that because of where she was when she was shot.”

“This human woman, you’ve met her, correct? I’ve forbade my wolves to bite her when they find her. She’s full of poison—hell, she is poison. I’ve known her sort of person before, but to do this to your own pups...I wouldn’t want my worst enemy to go anywhere near her.”

Forty minutes later, someone had found the body of the wolf messenger that had been sent to Shade. He had been torn to pieces, buried under the snow, and left out in the meadow, presumably to be found when the weather broke, if then. The word spread throughout the pack and vampires alike. The bitch had killed one of her own kind, and justice would be swift and final.

~~~

“They will arrive soon now, miss. Our mistress said that you are to wait for them. She doesn’t want you hurt now that she’s found you.” Genese was flittering about the cave again, swooping to and fro only stopping long enough to whisper in her ear.

Brenda and Lynne had not left again, but Genese had returned anyway. She had flown so high along the ceiling of the cave that she was unseen by the other two. Shade hadn’t noticed her until Genese flew around her head, then landed on the back of Shade’s neck and whispered in her ear that she had returned.

“No. I can’t wait. I need to…”

Shade thought she was as strong as she was ever going to get, and just as she was ready to attack the women, she felt a weak pulse deeper in the cave. When she used her new abilities to see who it was, she felt Brent’s signature.

He had been beaten again, and this time, they had drugged him. That’s what Sherman had meant when he said he was going to kill him. They had him here in the cave with them.

“Brent’s here, in the cave. He needs my help. If I don’t act now, I’m afraid he’ll die. I can’t let him die. He needs me,” Shade whispered to Genese.

His heart was beating so slowly that it was only a matter of time before he would be gone from her. Not wanting to fail him a second time, she reached into the earth and asked it to help the young boy. The earth responded to her request immediately. She could feel the earth pull him into itself, covering him with the healing soil, warming him, pulling the poison from him and keeping him safely hidden away until she could come to him.

Shade decided to fight back, hoping that if she made the two women mad enough, they would act stupidly and Shade would be able to kill them. And if that did not work, she knew that she could tell Genese where to find Brent, and she, in turn, would tell her mother.

“You stupid fools. You thought you could hurt me through Brent? I won’t give you the chance. What kind of person uses an innocent child, her own child? You know, I think that’s where I made my last mistake with you, Brenda.” Shade pulled slightly on the chains and the rattle of it had them stepping back. “I’ve been assuming all along that you’re human when you aren’t anything close to being that. Bringing Brent here was a mistake on your part. You counted on my loving him so much that I would come along quietly and cooperate for his sake, that I wouldn’t fight you because of him. Well, you figured wrong. I am going to destroy you, destroy you both. And I’m doing it for him.”