Tempest of Vengeance
Read Tempest of Vengeance Online
Authors: Tara Fox Hall
Tags: #vampire, #tragedy, #magic, #rape, #sex, #love triangle, #shifter, #bond, #were, #sire
Promise Me #11
by Tara Fox
Hall
Published by
Melange Books, LLC
White Bear Lake, MN 55110
Tempest of Vengeance, Copyright 2015
Tara Fox Hall
ISBN: 978-1-68046-083-4
Names, characters, and incidents
depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or
are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales,
organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental
and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher. No part of
this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
or by any information storage and retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publisher.
Published in the United States of
America.
Cover Design
by
Caroline Andrus
Table of
Contents
TEMPEST OF
VENGEANCE
by Tara Fox Hall
A chain of tragic events cumulating in the
shattering of the magical “dream bond” between Theo and Sar turns
the lovers against one another, as Ulysses attacks from all fronts,
hoping to destroy Devlin for good. The return of Lash reignites the
fire between he and Sar, even as he saves her daughter Elle from
certain death. Finally joined under Oath, Lash, Devlin, and Sar
face the storm of Ulysses’s wrath, knowing it will take their
combined strength and courage to save all they love from his
tempest of vengeance.
To Lash
***
In Memory of Macavity, who will
live on in the pages of this series.
Chapter
One
I woke still clinging to Devlin, all my
strong resolve of the previous night gone like so much thin fog
evaporated by the harsh light of dawn.
Danial, my Danial, had been delivered to the
front gate of Hayden a drained corpse. Now my always perfect and
proper vampire lay unconscious and unresponsive just down the hall,
watched over by Devlin’s demon, Titus. Danial was just the latest
casualty in Devlin’s war with Ulysses, the brother of one of his
former “turns” who’d died at the end of some vampire hunter’s
stake. He almost certainly wouldn’t be the last.
Last night, after a monster fight with
Devlin—and a lot of cutting words neither of us had truly meant—I’d
decided to leave Hayden and go back to living with Danial. Sure,
this step seemed like just another tawdry chapter in my imperfect,
supernaturally-influenced life of trading one handsome superhuman
man for another, but at the time, it had seemed like the most
rational decision. Theo, my husband by law, had his hands full with
keeping our young werecougar son Devon safe from this tempest of
vengeance that Ulysses was wreaking on Devlin and all of his
allies. There was also the question of his new sex partner, Jenny,
a recent werecougar herself via Theo’s bite, which he had dispensed
to save her from the ravages of late stage cancer. Our resulting
“threesome” was its own messy tangle, one I’d have to sort out
later. I had enough to worry about right now.
Everything had been going well until this
fall, when a moonlight bike ride for Devlin and I had ended in us
both being taken prisoner of Ulysses. While I’d been unharmed,
Devlin had been tortured terribly, something that still scarred him
psychologically if not physically. Lash, Devlin’s right hand
man—actually weresnake—had arrived in time to save Devlin and wreak
his own vengeance, but the cost had been speeding up his own
demise, even with eliminating many of Ulysses’ men and an older
vampire lover of Devlin’s—Catherine—who had allied herself with
him. I had been the one to step in at the 11
th
hour to
save Lash with my blood, but had paid my own price of temporarily
losing my vampirically-enhanced abilities, and possibly
accentuating my demon-taint, something I was worried about.
According to my doctor, I was human now, probably more human than
I’d been in years. I should have been enthused about that, but I
wasn’t. I’d gotten used to being able to teleport, heal minor
injuries with ease, and other cool abilities like seeing in dim
light as if it were bright daylight. Who wanted to be human when
all it did was make you more vulnerable?
I did feel vulnerable, even here in the arms
of my golden-haired god of a vampire who’d sworn on his life to
protect me. Everything had gone wrong, like dominos knocking into
one another in a huge pattern whose ultimate design I couldn’t
fathom. Terian, a friend with unrequited feelings for me, had
turned from part to full demon, nearly assaulting me, and spending
months in magical recovery before recently emerging with a fraction
of the power of his old self. Lash was serving a month in prison
because of a misunderstanding with human police that had stopped
just short of murder. Several of Devlin’s employees had been killed
and skinned, among them a recent friend, the werewolf housekeeper
Robin. My son, Theoron had been beaten and left for dead, escaping
only by the thinnest of margins. Now Danial, my Danial, might be
lost to me, if he didn’t awaken soon from the coma he was in.
Earlier this morning, Devlin had spoken of
war, and pledged to not only kill Ulysses, but also to bring Danial
back to us. While I knew how much Devlin loved his brother, I
wasn’t sure he had the power to bring Danial back. A massive
“transfusion” of Devlin’s blood had saved Danial’s life last night.
But it hadn’t been enough to waken him. Devlin had been badly
weakened as a result, so he wouldn’t be able to do that again
anytime soon. Ulysses, so far, had remained not only out of
Devlin’s grasp, but also beyond the reach of all the other powerful
vampires of the Ruling class.
I had always been an optimist, even in the
times of my life when tragedy had struck me down like a pine
sapling before a Cat 5 hurricane. However, Devlin’s warning that
things would get worse before they got better felt like the
footsteps of doom for me.
As if sensing my fear, Devlin stirred in my
arms, pulling back slightly to look down at me. “I’m glad you’re
with me,” he whispered. “This is not a good morning. But it would
be worse if I did not have you here beside me, Sar.”
I bit my lip, and swallowed hard. “I’m
scared, Dev.”
“You’ll be safe here,” he assured me with a
chaste kiss on my brow. He got out of bed, then put on his
robe.
“I’m scared for Danial.”
Devlin’s self-assurance faded before my eyes,
as he turned to me with a haunted expression. “He may never wake
up,” Devlin whispered brokenly. “I don’t know if we got to him in
time, to save his brain from cell death. His body will heal
rapidly, but until he wakes up, I won’t know if he’s my brother or
someone different now.”
The bedroom door opened. Titus shifted
uncomfortably, his clawed hand remaining on the knob. “I’ll be in
the nursery nights, if you need me, Devlin,” he rumbled. “I’ve set
up a mattress there on the floor. I’ll be near Venus. She’ll be
safe. I just checked and she’s still sleeping—”
Venus appeared in the doorway behind Titus,
clutching her stuffed cougar, looking afraid, and very alone. “Mom,
can I sleep with you and Dad today? I’m having bad dreams. I want
to be in here with you guys, not Titus.”
We both looked at her, then at each other.
Titus shifted his weight, uncomfortable.
“Sure,” I said finally, with a lot of false
bravado and sternness. “But just for tonight, V. You’re a big girl;
you’re too old to sleep with Mommy and Daddy.”
I caught a glimpse of Devlin regarding me
from the corner of my eye, a tender look again on his face. Venus
came over and climbed into bed, sliding under the covers between us
as Titus shut the door. We all snuggled together, Venus in the
middle. She was asleep almost instantly. Devlin was still watching
me with that affectionate look in his eyes.
“You know, you just looked at me like Danial
always does,” I said, reaching out to caress his face. “I’ve seen
you wear that expression for Lash, but I’ve never seen it before
for me.”
“I never thought I’d hear you say ‘Mommy and
Daddy’ in the same sentence, when it meant you and me,” he replied,
giving me a radiant smile. “I’m happy to have heard it. Also happy
I wore pants to bed last night, because I almost didn’t.”
We both hugged Venus, and it wasn’t long
after that I fell back asleep.
When I awoke for the second time, Venus was
sleeping on Devlin’s chest, and he had his arms around her. I was
off to the side, not touching them, but I didn’t feel excluded. I
took pleasure, watching them both sleeping together, so ethereally
beautiful, like a god and a nymph out of a myth.
Venus stirred, and Devlin did as well. He
looked down at her, and then started, and I laughed, as I knew he’d
expected to see me in his arms. He looked to his left, and then
whipped his head right, relaxing when he saw me beside him. Venus
had meanwhile settled back to sleep. “There you are.” The relief in
his words was a living thing. I came closer, and he put his free
arm around me, kissing me. “Thank you,” he said softly as he drew
back, tears in his eyes.
“For what?” I asked curiously, tilting my
head as my brow furrowed.
“For making me a father. For forgiving me.
For loving me, even when I’m a bastard.”
I leaned up and kissed his tears away. “Thank
you, Dev.”
Now it was his turn to look confused. “For
what?”
“For giving me my little girl,” I said,
caressing Venus’s sleeping form. “I love my sons. But I wanted a
girl, and it’s true that I couldn’t have had one more
beautiful.”
Devlin hugged me to him, and kissed me again.
“I wish you could have more children,” he said huskily. “I wish we
could undo that operation you had. I would love to make another
child with you, no matter if it was a boy or girl.” There was an
abyss of desire in his words.
I trembled in his arms, thinking of how
quickly I’d be Oathed by force, if he but knew I was still
fertile.
Devlin saw my shaking, and took it for
sadness. “Shh,” he consoled me. “I just meant I’m very happy, being
a father. It’s okay, Love.”
I knew that hadn’t been what he’d meant. And
a coldness in my blood remained that his arms around me didn’t
ease.
* * * *
In the morning, after feeding the dogs, cats,
Venus, and myself I called Theo. We hadn’t talked since the scene
with Devon, and I decided I should make amends. I’d been too hard
on him, and as his wife, I should be there for him, especially now,
when he’d lost his best friend.
I got Brian, who in a curt and standoffish
way told me Theo was still with Jenny, and he had orders not to
disturb them. I told him that was fine, but that I’d like Theo to
come to Hayden later, or I would teleport there. That I wanted some
alone time with my husband, and also to visit both Devon and Elle.
They had to all be reeling under the blow of losing Danial.
Brian gruffly said he’d tell Theo, and I hung
up, unsure of what my next step should be. I was afraid to get into
anything too much at Hayden, as Theo might call at any time, and I
didn’t trust Dev to tell me if I missed the call. After some brief
thought, I decided to work in the basement, doing some filing. I’d
mess up the stitches on anything I sewed, with the mood I was in. I
would call back later at noon, if Theo hadn’t called by then.
Venus’s assistance took my mind off things;
watching her carefully give me one file at a time a welcome
distraction. I made it a point not to let her look inside them even
though I doubted she could yet read, not wanting her asking me what
“demolition” meant.