Courted: A Paranormal Romance (Midnight Huntress Book 2) Read online

  Brandis shakes his head. “She’s got to be descended from Artemis. With the way she never misses, the way she can hit a target from across the room, with obstacles in her way…”

  Tyler opens his laptop and starts typing. “That’s not all she never misses with. Pool, darts, even landing the slipperiest of bounties. It makes sense.”

  I sigh as Tyler drifts back into his research zone, and Brandis seems focused on helping him, giving him ideas on what to look for.

  Somehow, in the span of less than half an hour, I went from being their only focus, to the third wheel without anything to do.

  I get up and start a pot of coffee, strong like I like it, and then I grab my own laptop. I might not have quite the acumen of Tyler, but maybe if I try to bury myself in the research, something will trigger.

  Or, at the very least, maybe it’ll distract me from the fact that Gage is out there, right now, facing down some unknown supernatural threat, and I’m stuck in here with the computer geeks.

  It takes over an hour before any of us find anything.

  I don’t even really know how I stumbled on it. It’s not like anything I was looking at, but somehow, it looks more real than anything else I’ve seen.

  “Guys, I think I’ve got something.” I wave them over.

  Tyler takes the computer from my lap, and Brandis leans over his shoulder.

  Both of them stare at the webpage I found.

  At its claim to be a spell to contact the gods. Not just through prayer or faith, but an actual face-to-face interaction. Or, as close as it can be without making a god appear here or take me to the plane where the gods exist.

  “Do you think it’s something real?” I bite my lip as they look it over.

  “Only one way to find out. It’ll take some time for me to get all the ingredients together, but the words look legitimate.” Brandis looks over at me. “If it is, it should take you right to whoever your godly parent is. One drop of your blood, and you could talk to your mom or dad.”

  Tyler is still staring at it, with an unreadable expression on his face.

  He almost looks like he thinks it’s too easy. Like something this potent shouldn’t exist, even on the deepest, darkest corners of the internet.

  Or maybe that’s just my fear coming out.

  Sex and Thrall

  GAGE

  Driving away from Ryanne, from Brandis’s house, is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. Gods, seeing her like that, lost in passion, taking her pleasure from not just one, but two shifters, was more than enough to make me hard as stone.

  I expected to be jealous, to be angry at the fact that she gave herself so freely to Tyler and Brand. But if there was any jealousy at all, it’s only because I wasn’t able to join in, to add to her pleasure.

  It goes against everything that I know about mates. Everything I know about life as a shifter. And yet, it feels as natural as breathing.

  I’d hoped the drive toward St. Cloud would help ease the pressure on the front of my jeans, make it possible to function. But I can’t get the image of Ryanne out of my head.

  With a sigh, I pull over before I cross into city limits and pull out my cock.

  Stroking myself isn’t nearly as satisfying as the hot, wet heat of Ryanne’s pussy, but better to take care of myself now, than walk into what could be a supernatural firefight with an erection.

  At least with the visuals playing in my head and the memories of what it feels like to make her come myself, it doesn’t take long before I’m ready to lose it. The way her curvy, thick body moves, the way her cunt feels when it clamps down on my dick, even the way I imagine it would be to fill her mouth with my length, is all enough to make me blow my load on its own.

  Combined? She might as well be a succubus, for how quickly she makes me spill.

  It’s not enough to fully sate my cock, and if she’s not asleep when I get back to Brandis’s, I have every intention of claiming her sweet pussy myself. But at least I’m not so hard that everyone in the S.E.A. will know.

  Driving up to the motel near the outskirts of town, I already see some faces I don’t want to deal with.

  Including Brandis’s father.

  “What’s going on?”

  “There’s a couple of demons holed up here. I think one’s the incubus you swore you’d track down.” My superior, Fianna Bowen, scowls at me as I approach. I’ve never been entirely sure what sort of creature Fianna is. She claims to be a witch, but it doesn’t sit right with me, or my panther. The redhead is just as stern looking as always, and I’m sure she’s pissed that it took me so long to get here.

  “It seems he’s been feasting on everyone in this motel. The mortals are starting to get suspicious.”

  Fuck. Eranear Mathis is here?

  Why wouldn’t he have just gone to ground, disappeared into the wind, after last night?

  “What room?”

  “One-oh-five.” Brandis’s father, Landon Lawrence crosses his arms as he addresses me. “We have great hopes for you in the S.E.A., and in the counsel, Neil. Don’t let us down.”

  I wonder idly if he can smell that I’ve been in contact with Brandis. Hopefully, the only scent on me right now is Ryanne and wilderness.

  I don’t need a fresh barrage of questions. Not when I’m distracted enough.

  “I know my duty, sir. I won’t let you down.”

  “You’d better not. The S.E.A. doesn’t need more screw-ups. The world has grown small, and it’s harder and harder to keep things like this a secret. How long do you think it’ll be before social media, the news even, catches wind that everyone who checks in here ends up having sex?” Fianna shakes her head at me. “Fix it, Gage, or your ass will end up out on the pavement, right along with Brandis’s.”

  She can’t know. Can she?

  I nod and start making my way slowly toward the room in question. The first wave of thrall, of need, hits hard, and even Fianna starts looking like a viable option. But I don’t want to fuck Fianna. I want Eranear to be neutralized, so that I can get back to Ryanne.

  Someone I don’t know is standing in front of the door to room 105, and I frown as I approach.

  “Are you the cause of this?”

  The demon sneers, his lip curling up to reveal a sharp, elongated fang. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? All you S.E.A. drones are the same, blaming an entire race for the misguided deeds of a few. How would you like it if all shifters were persecuted simply for existing?”

  A vampire. And of course, a self-righteous one at that.

  I fight the urge to roll my eyes. “If your friend in there doesn’t stop what he’s doing, he’s going to put every supernatural creature at risk, not just the incubi or other demons.”

  “You don’t understand what’s going on here.” The vampire crosses his arms over his chest and snarls at me. “We didn’t ask to get stuck on this plane. And we sure as shit aren’t the criminals you make us out to be.”

  “Hayden, relent. He’s a friend. Or at least, I think he could be.” Eranear’s voice calls out from behind the door.

  The vampire, Hayden, steps aside, but he still looks like a blond linebacker ready to tackle me to the ground at any moment. And with those fangs, I don’t trust him not to try and take a bite.

  The door opens slightly, and I slip in before Hayden or any of the S.E.A. can interfere.

  The incubus is sitting in a chair in the corner looking exhausted and tense. “What are you doing here, panther? You shouldn’t have come. Not when you have a goddess to protect and care for.”

  “You know what Ryanne is?” I swallow hard against the power flowing around the room, just trying to keep my focus on the task at hand. “How?”

  “I didn’t, at first, but you have to admit, she’s intriguing.” Eranear looks worn down, with dark circles heavy under his reddish eyes. “I need to get to her.”

  “Like hell I’m letting you anywhere near her. You or the vampire outside. She’s too precious to put in the hands of
creatures like you.”

  “You mean her mate?”

  Fuck.

  “I’m her mate.” I snarl, and I can feel my panther pulsing under my skin.

  I can feel his power pulsing around me, but I don’t understand why his thrall isn’t affecting me, or why he’s not trying to use me like incubi have used people for millennia, but I’m glad to be in charge of my own faculties. At least for now.

  “You may be that, panther, but you’re not the only one, and you already know it. I can smell the sex on you. The sex you had alone, and the sex you witnessed between Ryanne and two of her other mates. You can deny it to me all you want, but your body betrays you.” He licks his lips, but it doesn’t feel like he’s coming on to me. More like he’s parched, like he’s too thirsty to function.

  “You can’t have her.”

  “I think we both know that’s up to her.” He sniffs at me again. “And maybe the wolf. I would’ve pegged you for the alpha, but maybe the quiet wolf is the one to watch out for.” The chuckle that escapes his lips is dry and ends in a cough.

  “What is wrong with you?” I tilt my head, trying to figure out why he seems so weak, so drained, when Fianna and Landon said he’s been feeding on the entire motel.

  “I need Ryanne.” He runs his fingers through his hair, which doesn’t have the body and sheen it had the last time I saw him. “I don’t want to fight my way out of here, even though I could. I need you to call S.E.A. off. I need your help.”

  “I can’t do that. The counsel is represented out there. There’s no way they’d let you just walk, not with all the trouble you’re accused of causing.”

  “You think this is me?” He shakes his head. “Look at me, Gage. Do I look like a healthy, sexually satisfied incubus? Do I look like I could be feeding on an entire hotel of people? I’ve barely been surviving on whatever Hayden does with his victims as he feeds.”

  I shrug. It would make sense that he’s not in control, that this isn’t his doing. But I know that incubi, that all demons, have the ability to change perception. If he can make people believe he’s the most attractive thing in their world, why not trick me into believing the opposite?

  My cell phone buzzes in my pocket, and I pull it out to see a message from Fianna.

  Fianna: End it, Gage, or end your career with the S.E.A.

  Shit.

  The room’s not exactly designed for escape. The door and the window share the same wall, and if there’s a window in the bathroom, I doubt either of us would be able to fit through it.

  “You swear this isn’t your doing?”

  “I only take what I need, Gage. As does Hayden. It may not make sense to you, but I’m not the monster the S.E.A. would paint me to be. I’m a good man. And I’m doing everything I can to abide by the rules, to stay hidden. I don’t want to be caught. I wouldn’t survive in prison, mortal or supernatural. If you doubt me, talk to Ryanne. She trusted me enough the other night. She trusted me today.”

  He saw her today?

  I snarl again, my panther dangerously close to breaking through the surface and adding yet another supernatural problem to the S.E.A.’s hands.

  Instead, I push him down and call Brandis.

  “Hey there, kitty cat.”

  Gods, I hate it when he calls me that.

  “Give the phone to Ryanne. I need to talk to her.”

  “So bossy.” I hear him as he pulls the phone away and asks, “Do you want to talk to Gage?”

  A moment later, Ryanne’s voice fills the phone. “Gage? Are you okay? What’s going on?”

  “It’s Eranear. He says you talked to him today? That you let him go the other night?” I don’t like cutting to the point so quickly, not when it comes to her. Time isn’t on my side, and the only way for me to get through this is to cut to the quick.

  She pauses, and I can almost feel her hesitancy, even through the phone. “He’s not a bad guy, Gage. I don’t know how I know that, but I trust him. Tyler can tell you I can smell a criminal from a mile away. Eran might not be completely on the level, but he’s not what the mortal cops say he is. And if he’s why you had to leave, I’d be willing to bet he’s not the reason for this either.”

  I glance over at the incubus, who’s pacing the room like a drug addict going through withdrawals. He’s curled into himself, muttering under his breath, and he looks crazed.

  He certainly doesn’t look like he’s feasting on mortals having sex.

  But if he’s not the cause of this, then who is? What is?

  “Would you be able to tell if there’s another incubus in the motel? Or a succubus?”

  Eranear shakes his head.

  “It’s only me. We’re not known to travel in groups.”

  “Killer, I don’t know if I’m going to make it back tonight. Keep Brandis and Tyler close.” I hang up the phone and shove it back into my pocket before I look at Eranear again. “If I help you get out of this, it’ll cost me my job. It’ll cost me everything I’ve worked for, to keep the supernatural community safe.”

  “You don’t have to. I’d understand if you need to turn me in. But if you do, please, tell Ryanne this wasn’t me. That I’m not the cause of all this.”

  I shake my head. “We’re getting you out of here. Do you have any control at all over your thrall right now?”

  He frowns. “Not enough to make it matter.”

  “What about Hayden? What sort of abilities can he work on the S.E.A.?”

  “Not enough to keep it from becoming a firefight. The enforcers are arming themselves with spells. Whoever’s causing all this, I think the S.E.A.’s in on it. They knew exactly what they were getting into.” Hayden leans against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest. “I can keep them from getting into the room. Make them believe there’s not even a room here at all. But it won’t last. Not against their spellcasters.”

  “Then we’re going to have to fight our way out. Whatever ability you have, whatever power you possess, now’s the time to draw on it.” I sigh as I pull my phone out again and toss it toward Hayden. “There’s coordinates in there for a remote cabin about an hour outside the city. If you get out of the magical barricade the S.E.A. put up, go there.” I look over at Eranear. “Ryanne’s there. You can make your pleas to her, if she’s really the one you think can help you.”

  Hayden nods as he pockets my phone. “Fight dirty, panther. I doubt it’s your style, but it’s what you need right now, if you’re going to live another day.”

  With a sigh, I let go of the tenuous control I was keeping over my beast.

  The panther rips through my clothes like they’re tissue paper, and I raise my chin toward the demons once before Hayden pulls open the door.

  As soon as I’m outside the room, I realize the air smells wrong. Like the thrall, or whatever the motel is suffering under, isn’t demonic. It almost smells witchy, herbaceous with floral notes and an undertone of earth.

  Nothing like the brimstone that shifters can scent when demons are around.

  Maybe Eranear’s telling the truth.

  But if he is, then what’s causing this? Or should I say who?

  Reluctant Hero

  HAYDEN

  Eranear’s too weak to make a good battle partner at all.

  I sigh as I look over at the incubus, who I call a friend even when I want to deny it, as he nearly collapses under his own weight.

  I really hope the panther is as deadly as I’ve heard S.E.A. enforcer shifters can be, because I don’t know how else we’re going to get out of here.

  “You sure you need to get to Ryanne, man? Because we could run the other way, get out of St. Cloud, get somewhere sunny, where the women wear next to nothing and just beg to be bled.”

  Eranear scowls as he closes his eyes and musters whatever strength he has left to keep going. “I’m not running from this. Not when I’ve finally found the person who could keep me from living, from barely surviving, like this.” He straightens his back and opens his eyes, n
ow glowing fully red. “At least whoever is trying to frame me for this gave me a solid source of fuel. It may not be as sweet as fucking it out of someone myself, but I can feel it now. I can almost taste it. The lingering need on the panther was enough to wake me up, but we need to get to Ryanne.” He smirks, and for the briefest of breaths, it’s almost like he’s at full strength. “Ready to do some damage, Hayden?”

  As if I even have to be asked. I flash him a full-fanged grin and pull open the door again.

  The panther’s nowhere to be seen, and I don’t want to know where the cat’s gotten off to. We just need to get to my car, and the wards will deflect any spells the S.E.A. wants to throw at us.

  That is, if we can even get that far.

  An enforcer lifts what looks like an RPG launcher, pointing it directly at Eranear and me.

  The incubus isn’t strong enough yet to take the brunt of an attack, and we both know it.

  Decades ago, I would’ve left Eranear to his fate. It would’ve been easy enough for me to sway one enforcer away from me. But whether I like it or not, I’ve made a friend in Eranear. I don’t want to see him bleed. I don’t want to watch him die because he won’t take what he needs from mortals.

  As the launcher lights up, I throw myself in front of Eranear, blocking him from the attack even as I try to get into the enforcer’s head.

  Let him think he’s done his duty.

  Vials of potions explode as they collide with my chest.

  It burns, but nothing I can’t heal from. Yet. These were made for Eranear, not for me. And while we might both be demons, and we might both feast on what mortals can provide, are weaknesses are not the same.

  I snarl at Eranear as the grenade launcher gets reloaded. “Get to my car. Get inside, quick.”

  He groans, and I break my connection with the enforcer just long enough to realize that I wasn’t as quick or as big a shield as I intended to be.

  The incubus has cuts on his arms, on his hands, and he looks to be faltering.

  Fucking hell. This is why I don’t get involved with people I can’t control.