Alphas on the Prowl (10 page)

Chapter Five

After the kiss, Trey kept his distance. An easy task because she didn’t speak a word to him for the rest of the night. She came out of the bathroom wearing his clothes which drove his beast insane with the need to possess her. He thought putting her in large sweats would hide her sexy body and keep his focus off how much he’d love to inspect all those tantalizing curves. Unfortunately, knowing the clothes she wore that were coated in his scent were rubbing against her skin in all the areas he’d like to be touching, licking, kissing was driving him over the edge. By the time Connor and Lee showed up he decided he was thankful his brother was being overprotective because any more torture and he was going to explode. He didn’t even think twice about pulling Connor outside, leaving Lee to watch over Kensi.

“What is wrong with you, little brother?” Connor gave him a look of confusion as he was rushed out the door. Trey didn’t speak right away. “I hope my wife is going to be okay with your prisoner.”

“She will.” Trey ran a hand through his dark hair. “Kensi is practically human in this realm. Her powers are almost completely in the dream world.”

“She better be.” The warning wasn’t hard to miss in Connor’s voice and eyes.

“I’m in trouble, Connor.” He plopped down on the curbside in front of the hotel room, his head drooped and his shoulders hung low.

He reminded Connor of a weeping willow tree. Connor let out a deep sigh and sat down next to his brother. “What happened?” He braced himself, assuming Trey did something that was going to need to be fixed. He was one of the impetuous siblings, and Connor was used to cleaning up messes after Tremaine. Connor looked toward the off-white hotel door. “Did she do something?”

“Yeah. She was born.”

Connor ran a hand through his short, dark hair, and scratched behind his ear. “You do know you’re making no sense, right?”

Trey took a deep breath and turned his eyes to Connor’s. “How did you know Lee was your mate?”

Connor let out a deep chuckle. “Do you think this weaver is your mate?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking you.”

Connor couldn’t hide the quizzical look on his face. True mates were rare. It was unlikely that Tremaine would’ve found his mate so quickly after he found his. “Lee is a succubus. The first clue was that her power had no effect on me. It’s what made her think we were mates. I wouldn’t have gone there if she hadn’t suggested it. As you know, I was tasked to turn her in to the Tribunal for your release.”

“I’m not willing to test whether or not her power works over me. I could very well lose my life.” Trey shook his head helplessly.

Connor knew his brother was strong, but even the greatest warriors had weaknesses and fears. From what Connor understood of weavers, they were able to see into the soul of their target to find those fears and weaknesses, and use those things against the person in their dreams as weapons. “We didn’t know for certain until we had sex.” Connor offered.

“Great, another option that I don’t have at my disposal. The woman hates me with a passion.”

“Then maybe she isn’t your mate, T. I mean, Lee and I had difficulty keeping our hands off each other.”

“My fingers itch to touch her. When I kissed her I almost lost all control. I had to push her away before I claimed her. The dragon thirsts for her. But from what I can tell, she doesn’t want to be near me even after I offered to capture her sister alive, despite the death warrant on her head.”

“You did what?”

“I can’t be responsible for killing my mate’s sister.” The helpless look in his eyes broke Connor’s heart. Trey was impetuous, strong, volatile, stubborn, but he was also his little brother, and Connor would do anything to protect him. Seeing the confusion, frustration, pain, and helplessness in his eyes made Connor desperate to help his brother.

“Okay, one of us will kill the woman.” Connor decided.

“No! If she is my mate, she will hate my family. It will make things impossible to develop a relationship between us. If we bring the girl in then she can defend herself, and the Tribunal will be responsible for the sister’s death.”

“That’s not how this works, Tremaine.”

“I don’t care.”

“It’s a death warrant. Not a capture.”

Trey shook his head, refusing to listen to the logic his brother was spewing. He wouldn’t let anyone in his family hurt the sister. Mariah needed to face the Tribunal and answer for her crimes. Her death was not something he was going to allow.

“T, you need to listen to me,” Connor began.

“No!” Trey’s eyes glowed blood red. “No one in this family will be responsible for Mariah’s death.”

The flash of anger in his brother’s eyes put Connor’s beast on edge. He decided to try a different tactic. “Maybe you should let one of the other hunters collect the girl’s bounty.”

“There are others, but Mysti called upon me personally to see this through.”

“Mysti? The Tribunal’s oracle?”

“Yes.”

It was Mysti that told the Tribunal to collect Connor’s siblings, and sent him on the mission to arrest Lee. What game was the oracle playing? Why was she making these pairings with his family members? “Something isn’t adding up, Tremaine.”

“No kidding.”

“I think we need to have a conversation with Mysti.” Connor tried to connect the dots with the similarities between Trey’s case and his own. They were different, but they had two very important coincidences. Mysti sent both of them on a personal mission to meet possible mates. “First, we need to figure out if this girl is your mate.”

“How do we do that?”

“Spend time with her, get in her good graces, and if you’re mates, it’ll happen. In the meantime, we’ll see about finding her sister and fulfilling the contract before anyone else can take the girl’s head.”

Before Trey could say anything, Connor was already flipping open his phone and calling the family.

*****

“So what does a succubus have to do with demon hunting for the Tribunal?” Kensi asked Alleyah curiously.

“I used to send demons to the underworld to spit in my father’s face.”

“Who’s your father?”

“The devil himself.”

“Ah, sure.” Kensi crossed her arms over her chest. Something about this woman made her nervous.

“Then, I met Connor and discovered I was his mate.”

“His mate?”

The pretty blonde grinned. “Yes. Little did I know shifters and demons could be true mates.”

“They can?”

“Yes. Connor really derailed my demon killing train.”

“Well, I guess I should thank him.”

“You’re not a full dream weaver yet.”

“Correct, but how did you…?”

“I’ve hunted enough of them to know the difference.”

Kensi sat on the edge of the bed. “I don’t want to graduate to assassin.”

Lee sat next to her. “I don’t blame you.”

“It’s not that I don’t like being a dream weaver, but I just don’t want to kill anyone.”

“Thankfully, you have a choice.” Lee grinned. Kensi’s power was passive where Lee’s was aggressive. She was a predator where Kensi had a choice. “What about your sister?”

Kensi worried her hands in her lap. “I don’t know. I mean, she’s not one to follow the rules so if she was asked to do harm to a human I would think she’d be strong enough to say no.”

“Which would mean if she’s guilty of the crime she would’ve done it on her own.”

“Yes,” the word was barely a whisper. “But, I can’t see Mariah doing such a terrible thing.”

“So help us find her so she can defend herself.”

“You won’t kill her?”

Lee had a sad look in her eyes. “No one really dies, Kensi. We’re made up of energy that just rematerializes into something new.” It was the only way Lee could feel good about dispatching demons to hell. Knowing that even though the body died, the soul, or an individual’s energy, continued on.

“That doesn’t answer my question,” Kensi insisted.

“The call is for her head.” Lee answered her truthfully.

“So you’ll kill her.” It wasn’t a question, simply a statement of fact.

“I’ve never been one to follow the rules either. If she comes willingly, I’ll bring her in alive.”

“Can I talk to the Tribunal?”

Lee shivered at the memory of her time in front of the Tribunal. “You don’t want to face those entities unless you have to, believe me.”

“You’ve met them? Tremaine said I couldn’t meet them.”

“I was summoned. In the end, I’m thankful because it brought me and Connor together. He was sent to bring me in for crimes I wasn’t guilty of.”

“So he turned you in?”

“No, his mother did.”

“What?”

“She had to. The Tribunal held Connor’s siblings as ransom to insure he brought me in. I suppose it had to be him. He was the only one that wasn’t affected by my succubus powers. The Tribunal knew this so they used his family as a motivator to bring me in.”

“That’s twisted.”

“About as twisted as they are at wanting your sister dead before she can defend herself against the charges.” Lee nodded. “They aren’t the best kind of leaders, but not all supernaturals are trustworthy. I suppose it takes all kinds to maintain authority over the supernatural world.”

Kensi put her head in her hands. “What should I do?”

“If I were you, I’d turn your sister over to my husband and his family. They’ll do the honorable thing.”

“I need to go to sleep now.”

“No you don’t.”

“No, I need to go to sleep so I can find out where she is. I don’t want to betray her, but I don’t see any other options. If someone else finds her first, she won’t have the opportunity to defend herself. At least Trey and your family will give her a fighting chance.”

“Smart girl.” Lee liked this girl. She looked at the big picture, analyzed the options, and made decisive decisions. It was a rare quality in the people she knew. Kensi crawled up the length of the bed and placed her head on the pillow. “Just know if you hurt my husband or my family I’ll dispatch you to hell alongside the rest of your family.” She warned as Kensi closed her eyes.

Chapter Six

In the Akashic Records contact room, Kensi picked up the phone and called her sister, Mariah. The connection was made almost instantly. Only this time, Mariah appeared in front of her. She’d dyed her dark auburn hair bright pink, and cut it short since Kensi had seen her last. Her hazel eyes, ringed by long brown lashes, looked around nervously.

“Kensi, I told you I can’t help you right now. Did you call Chase?”

“I did, but that doesn’t matter right now. I’m here to help you.”

“Believe me, you can’t help, and I don’t want you mixed up in this mess.” Mariah reached a hand across the table and squeezed Kensi’s arm.

“But I already am. My kidnapper is a bounty hunter who’s after you.”

“So why are you contacting me. What if he has a way to trace this call?”

Kensi shook her head. “He doesn’t, but you need to listen to me. The bounty is for your head. The hunters after you aren’t going to bring you in alive.”

“Okay, that’s good to know. I’ll just have to go into deeper hiding.”

“No, you need to let Trey turn you in. He’s promised he’ll deliver you alive.”

“And you believe him?”

“I do. I don’t know why, but I really do.”

“Poor, Kensi, always the trusting soul.”

“No, it’s not like that. I believe him.” She realized as she spoke the words she truly did. Hearing Lee reconfirm this hadn’t been necessary, just comforting. She really did believe her kidnapper which was scary in, and of, itself.

“You’re hopeless, Kensi. Seriously, no one turns themselves into the Tribunal. I’m sorry, but I have to go.” Before Kensi could say another word her skittish sister was gone.

Kensi sighed heavily and dropped her head onto her folded arms. “I guess we’re going to have to do this the hard way.” She closed her eyes and focused on her sister’s energy signature. It was a trick weavers could do, they had to have a way to track individuals jumping from one dreamscape to another. One minute she was in the Akashic Records room, the next she was in a fiery pit. The nightmare she found herself in made her skin crawl as though insects were covering her body. She pushed back a scream as she watched Mariah under attack.

There were at least five animals; a griffon, a phoenix, a gargoyle, a lion, and a bear all had her sister cornered. She created two swords out of thin air and went on the offensive.

“If you’re going to follow me you better take up arms.” Mariah snapped as the clang of metal filled the air.

Kensi manifested a bow and arrow. She wasn’t good at hand to hand combat, but she was good at hitting targets with an arrow. She shot one and listened as it cut through the air with a zip, and nailed the burly brown bear in the leg. She wouldn’t kill, but she could definitely maim.

The roar of the bear caused the other animals to turn their attention to him and then to her. She would distract them long enough for Mariah to escape. They weren’t after her which meant she was most likely safe.

*****

Trey stared down at his potential mate. Whatever dream she had going on was intense. Her body was covered in sweat and she was tossing and turning. The soft moans that escaped her lips sounded like they were drenched in fear. He wanted to help her, but had no idea how he could. He’d tried waking her, but it was like she’d been given a sedative. Her body just fell limp in his hands until another fit wracked her limbs. He looked helplessly at Connor and Lee who watched through furrowed brows.

“Connor, we have to help her.” Before this assignment, dreams weren’t scary places, but after researching the dream weaver demons, and their powers, he knew she was in danger, and things could get a lot worse.

Lee continued talking to her contact on the cell phone. Her words didn’t register with him. He only heard mumbled sounds mixed with concerned tones.

“Lee’s reaching out to a friend that might be able to help,” Connor confided as he placed a comforting hand on his brother’s shoulder.

Trey shrugged him off. “It’s your wife’s fault she’s in this spot right now.”

“That’s not fair, Tremaine. It’s not like she could stop a dream weaver from taking a nap. Especially after she convinced her to help.”

“Okay, thank you.” Lee hung up the phone and turned to the boys. “Here’s the deal. Jessalyn is going to be here shortly. She is going to link you with Kensi in the dream realm.”

“No, not going to happen.” Connor stood protectively in front of his brother.

“It’s his decision, Connor. If Trey is sure she’s his mate, and wants to keep her safe, he has a way to do that now.”

“You’re okay with sending him to his possible death?”

“She won’t kill me,” Trey insisted. “I don’t know how I know this, but I do.”

“You’ve only been with her for a day, and you kidnapped her. How the hell do you know she won’t hurt you?”

“I never said she wouldn’t hurt me, I said she won’t kill me.” He didn’t know anything for sure. He may enter to help her and wind up having to defend himself, but he really had no choice. He simply reacted to the feelings he had. He needed to keep her safe. The beast roared in his soul, and every thought was on making sure she survived whatever she was facing.

“No, I won’t allow it.” Connor began pacing the room.

“If Lee was in trouble, you’d move heaven, hell, and earth to make sure she was safe.”

“So? She’s my mate.”

“And Kensi is mine.”

“You don’t know that for sure.”

“I don’t care at this point. Sometimes you need to take a chance.”