Darkness Unleashed (2 page)

“
We’ll need a plan.”

“
You believe me?” It was my turn to sound astounded.

“
Of course. Listen, we grew up together. You’re the closest thing I have to a brother and you’re my Alpha. You could tell me aliens have landed in the back yard and I’d say, ‘let’s go greet them’. If you say something’s wrong with Darcy, then I believe you.”

Relief rushed through me as I walked around the desk and pulled him up out of the chair, embracing him. There was a reason why I’d appointed Daniel as my second-in-command and trusted him with my very life. Pounding him affectionately on the back, the panic that had been jittering within my chest subsided and clarity replaced it. “I couldn’t do this without you, man. Thanks for always having my back.”

“
Always, Mason. Don’t ever doubt it.” He grinned, lightly squeezing my shoulder. “Whatever happens, we’ll figure this out.”

“
Then first things first. I’m going to call Devlin and see if he can come here. With Darcy becoming a vampire, we may need the extra help and he’ll want to know about this.” I was all business as I reached for the phone and began dialing. It never ceased to amaze me how steady I could be in a crisis when it involved the Pack, but the moment danger approached my wife, I could feel that steely resolve begin to crumble.

Darcy’s father had jokingly told me that it was a feeling that never really went away, once the mated bond was forged. He’d shared a few of his own experiences, which had made me chuckle. Seems that Darcy’s feistiness was inherited from her mother and I wasn’t the only one prone to overprotectiveness.

Devlin answered after a few rings and his response was immediate. With this new concern, he agreed that he needed to personally investigate and would be at the house within thirty minutes.

Hanging up, all that was left to do was to wait. I’d spoken my unease and now the troops were rallying.

The days of whatever or whomever was possessing Darcy were now numbered.

****

“
Are you sure you heard right?”

I couldn’t blame Devlin for asking. I’d been questioning the same thing since Darcy had mumbled it outside the bar last night. “Positive.”

He cussed softly under his breath and I cast a sidelong glance at Daniel. We’d sat in silence waiting for Devlin to arrive. There’d also been a brief stretch of nothingness after I’d relayed to Darcy’s uncle everything I’d shared earlier with my best friend. Now, Devlin also wore an expression of stunned disbelief. It seemed like something straight from the pages of a science fiction book.

But, if the past few months had taught me anything, it was to never discredit the impossible. It seemed that the unlikely and unexplainable was what always rose and became the most probable.

“
It’s definitely something that’s hard to wrap your mind around, right?” Daniel vocalized.

“
I knew there was something going on with Darcy, but this . . . the thought that all this time it might not actually be just the result of her becoming a vampire . . .” Devlin let out an incredulous breath. “Mason, are you sure?”

I barked out a laugh. “I wish I wasn’t, but yeah. The more I try to reason it out, the more it leads me back to the same conclusion. The woman I carried home last night, the woman who’s been walking around, talking, and looking like Darcy—that’s not my mate.”

“
Are we thinking spell? Mind control? Possession?” Each word Devlin spoke grew in seriousness. Each word deepened the concerned frown he wore.

“
I don’t know, but I’m not going to sit around and let whatever’s happening grow worse. If we’re dealing with a magical influence, the longer it’s left ignored, I’m assuming the stronger the hold becomes.” I didn’t voice my growing fear that with each passing second, Darcy could slip further and farther away.

Pulling out his cell phone, Devlin began dialing. “We need Vivien, then. I know she’ll have some kind of incantation that will reveal the truth. I’ll need to notify Zane, as well.” That made my stomach drop. As one of Zane’s closest advisors, I understood Devlin’s obligation to report this new turn of events to his king; but, if after exploring Darcy’s erratic behavior only to discover no magical trace of tampering, it meant only one thing: the love of my life was heading into a downward spiral into insanity.

It would be the only explanation left.

Madness was something we all dreaded, the large elephant in the room that no one wanted to acknowledge. But we all knew that it was a possibility when Darcy was changed.

Her death will be ordered if that’s the case,
a sickening voice from the back of my mind whispered. The moment it was free from the locked box I’d kept it buried in, there was no ignoring it. With each breath I took, my fear escalated.

Never
, I roared silently, refusing to let it control me.
Over my dead body!

Gruesome images from my nightmare taunted me, forcing bile to rise up my throat and into my mouth. Even now, remembering the lifeless bodies of Daniel, Lynn, April, and Wade brought a chill over my skin. All that blood and carnage—the air of our bedroom ripe with the scent of gore—it seemed so real that night.

Maybe what you saw wasn’t merely a horrific dream, but a portent to the future. Your future. Your beloved Darcy . . . a psychotic killer.

My wolf was the one to respond now, as a rage-filled growl erupted deep within me.
We would rather die, first, than let that happen.

We shall see then
, the smug voice faded away, content with the damage it had inflicted.

As great as my fear was, my determination and stubborn non-acceptance of the possibility was larger. I was Mason O’Connor—Alpha. I had faced steep obstacles, stared down savage challenges, and triumphed. I had the wisdom that came from experience, a heart that loved deeply, and a spirit that refused to cower. I had fought hard—desperately at times—for everything I held dear.

I had dug deep and confronted my demons in the Heart and Death challenge that the Fates had required for a love I’d forgotten. There was no way in hell this would be any different from any of the other times I had to fight for my mate.

Darcy was mine. I was hers. If it took my dying breath and the last drop of my blood to secure her safety, so be it.

Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

The sound of each passing clock stroke filled my ears, intensifying my impatience.

Devlin’s voice broke through my distraction, giving me something else to focus on. “We’ll leave now. Have Helena there, as well. Maybe she can help shed some light on the situation, too.”

“
No!” I blurted out, startling both Devlin and Daniel with the degree of force I used. “Just Vivien. Right now, we don’t know what’s happening, so I want this to remain between the four of us. The people I trust impeccably.” He nodded before relaying my wishes.

I couldn’t explain why I felt so strongly about excluding Vivien’s witch friend from our meeting, but I saw the importance with crystal clear lucidity. I’d disregarded my instincts—that uncomfortableness that had been prodding me over the past week or so. Never again.

“
Okay. She said there are some spells she can do, with or without Darcy being present. Obviously having her there would be best, but if something truly is controlling her, whatever it is may put up a struggle once it realizes that we suspect something.”

“
I’m not letting her out of my sight, Devlin,” I answered quickly. “We’ll restrain her, if needed.”

“
Do you want me to go get the silver cuffs?” Daniel asked. “It won’t affect her vampiric traits, but it should weaken the wolf in her.”

The mention of her wolf made my chest tighten. The murkiness that surrounded Darcy’s conversion and her personality change started to become clearer and, at the same time, make heartbreaking sense.

“
That’s why she hasn’t shifted,” I whispered. The idea was too horrifying for words. “She kept resisting my encouragement. It wasn’t because she couldn’t, or because she was afraid she’d hurt her wolf.” I glanced between Devlin and Daniel, both of them reaching the same conclusion. I continued, “She knew if she shifted, her wolf would take over to protect both of them from whatever threat was occurring.”

The implications were staggering.

“
If that’s the case, this is much bigger than anything we could imagine,” Devlin replied.

“
Damn,” Daniel muttered. “All this time . . .”

“
All this time.” I agreed. “We can’t waste a second more. I want this resolved. Now.” Rising from where I’d been sitting, I stalked toward the door. “Do whatever you need to prepare, but we leave as soon as I wake Darcy up. Daniel, go get the chains and meet me at my room. Devlin?”

“
I’ll follow shortly. I need to give a quick call to Zane.”

With my fingers wrapped around the door handle, I nodded. “I understand. Let him know I’ll also call, once we know what’s going on. I know you owe your allegiance to him, but I have no idea what I’ll be facing when I enter my bedroom. Don’t take too long.”

“
I won’t.” His thumb was already pressing his phone’s screen, activating Zane’s speed dial.

“
Then let’s do this.” Taking a fortifying breath, I left my office with the feeling of impending doom.

There was a small, slivered chance this was a mistake and I’d misunderstood her last night—that a few more days, more control of her blood lust and possible help from Devlin regarding her vampire nature, and this strange new personality would pass.

But with each determined step, the more certain I became.

Darcy was in danger.

And time was running out.

Chapter Two

Amber

The first thing I noticed as I woke up from a dead sleep was the incessant throbbing in my head. The second thing was that I was still in bed, covered by a soft, warm comforter.

Considering the memories that came flooding back of my drunken display with Mason last night, I’d half expected to find myself handcuffed in chains or, at the very least, locked inside the silver cage I knew he had downstairs in the basement. I’d come so close to revealing all my secrets—telling him what I’d done to his precious Darcy.

That bitch was in her own kind of prison right now and soon, soon she would no longer be the persistent presence inside her mind . . . my mind. She’d become the parasite feeding off its host, ever watchful as she struggled to find a way back in, so she could reclaim control.

She thought she was so smart, but not this time. This time I would be triumphant. I’d win the guy. Mason would be all mine and there was nothing she could do about it. I’d made sure of it when Helena approached me with the plan that would give me everything I’d ever wanted.

The ambitious witch had come with promises of power and a future filled with mayhem and incredible possibilities. She was working on behalf of someone greater—a threat whose entire goal was world domination—someone who had patiently waited for a chance to strike.

I understood that kind of determination.

I could appreciate the foresight it had taken to meticulously plot and envision every viable option and outcome.

From the very second my father had introduced me to Mason O’Connor, the heir and sole son of the Mystic Wolves’ Alpha, I
knew
he had to become mine. I wouldn’t settle for mere trifles—a casual acquaintance or the pathetic, sniveling girl who loved and yearned for the guy of her dreams from afar.

I saw him and knew that I wanted, needed, to become the one who stood by his side as he rose into the position for which he was being groomed. I saw great things in Mason.

I envisioned even greater things for me.

There would be no more standing in the shadows as other, less worthy wolves stepped forward and claimed the notoriety for which I was born. People were supposed to look to me with adoration and reverence. They were meant to come to me out of respect for the authority I held.

Unfortunately, I was born a female; and from as early as I can remember, women were merely pawns to be pushed around on an invisible chessboard. We were bargaining chips in closed-door meetings. We were a means of acquiring loyalties, fealty, and safeguarding alliances.

We weren’t supposed to want anything more than babies, home, and hearth.

We were meant to be perfect—our only power coming from our willingness to lie on our backs and submit.

But not me.

I would never be that weak.

I would never become the trophy wife my mother was.

I would become Amber O’Connor, mate to the most powerful Alpha I’d ever encountered.

And I’d almost blown it, in my impatience, by opening my huge mouth. Darcy was fading, her spirit unable to linger much longer without her body to anchor her to this world. It was surprising that she’d been able to hold on this long, but Helena had assured me that her time was running out and to enjoy the satisfaction of knowing I’d supplanted her.

Why give the bitch a quick release when I could extend the torture?

Helena had been right. The pleasure I felt as Darcy screamed and fought for her wolf to take over, once she realized she was helpless, was invigorating. I relished every feeble threat she uttered as she weakened. I rejoiced in that moment when I whispered she was dying, her soul diminishing with each breath I took.

I positively vibrated with smugness the night Mason made love to me, taking what he needed from my body, turning to me for solace. Each kiss and blessed stroke as our bodies collided sent me spiraling toward me owning him, completely. As he worshipped my body with his hands and mouth, it made every sacrifice I’d made to be in his bed worth it.

It told me that I’d made the right choice in placing my faith in an unknown stranger. In believing that Helena could make my wishes come true.