Chapter 42

NATHANIEL

I studied the cracks on the stone walls, wondering just how long this temple dated back. I was also questioning the durability of the building. Who knew if it would crumble any minute from now?

There were no decorations inside the temple save for a wooden statue, which looked like a couple of termites had gone down to work on it over the years.

“What are we gonna do? Call Ozark out here, and ask him to translate the spell?” Theo asked, his voice echoing off the walls.

“And ask for the bloodstone. Don’t forget that.”

“I’m doubting you now. What do we do? Sit?”

Ishmael shrugged, reaching into his satchel. “You might as well. The same goes for you. Summoning Ozark is going to take a while.”

Dismissed, I moved over to the half-broken wooden window, pushing it all the way open. It fell off its hinges, hitting the ground below.

“I’ll go scout the place to see if anyone’s here. The dead body out front didn’t get there itself,” Theo informed us before going down a narrow hallway.

“What’s going on, Nate?” Logan asked, coming to stand next to me. “Wanna let me in on why we’re coming to strange places like this? Anything we need to know about?”

I studied the sky, waiting for another pop-up of Draven’s face; the memory from the desert seared into the forefront of my mind. “What do you think is going on?”

“War.”

“You’re right.”

“You know, you never really showed us what you looked like in your demon form.”

I raised a brow at the ease with which he admitted he knew the truth about me.

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t look at me like that. I don’t care what you are. You hinted at it during the Blood Moon Festival, but that was months ago.”

“You don’t care what I am?”

“Actually, scratch that. I do care. What I don’t give a fuck about is what you were born as. If we could all pick the family we were born into, that is a fucking distinct case. You didn’t choose to be born into the Black family. Anyone who has made you feel like shit because of what you are is a piece of shit.”

“I don’t blame them. Wolves and demons don’t get along.”

“But it’s like the Creator is trying to mock us all. They trapped two feuding entities in one body, and you’ve been living just fine.”

I’d heard rumors from my father about past ancestors whose demon and wolf sides constantly fought, resulting in them committing suicide. It was rare, but not unheard of. Luckily, that wasn’t the case for me and my brothers. I hoped the same didn’t happen to the child Ayra gave birth to.

“This war, does it have something to do with you being a demon?” Logan asked offhandedly.

“Partially.” I paused, registering his question. “How do you know about that?”

“You seem to know a lot about them. There’s this pain that’s always in your eyes when you talk about them. Kai and I just kind of put two and two together.”

“When was this?”

“Before Ayra came along.” He shrugged. “You were always on edge, and I might have heard a few conversations you had here and there with your brothers. Those demons have been troubling you for years. As I said, it’s no big deal. I don’t give a fuck what you are. I’m sure the others won’t, too. You’re just being insecure, and I understand the reason for that. People have betrayed once you before.”

“Why didn’t you confront me about this? The war could have happened before Ayra came along.”

He shrugged. “Because you weren’t ready to talk about it. I just have one question. How do you not loathe werewolves? Kai did some research on your family, and it’s safe to say they have scarred your family many a time.”

How did I not loathe werewolves?

That was a question I never thought of, but then again, I didn’t loathe demons either. I just preferred to stay away for my safety, and honestly, I found I was more at peace without my lair.

Dealing with headstrong creatures all day wasn’t fun, and there was always one problem or the other.

“Never thought of that one before, huh?” Logan asked, picking up on my hesitation.

“True. The question caught me off guard. It’s a tough question, seeing as I don’t loathe demons, too. I never got to form a bond with the werewolves I lived with, so it was no loss for me when we got kicked out. I spent centuries with these demons. They knew me better than the werewolf did, so them kicking me out was a monumental betrayal.”

“I understand. Can’t say for the others, but I promise to stand by your side at all times. Even with this war coming.”

He would, too. He was more of a brother than a second-in-command to me, and I knew he’d lay his life down for mine if it came to that. Of course, I’d do everything to make sure that never happened, but it felt nice to know he cared.

“So, what do we need to do? I figure we have a lot of things to cover if we’re going to war.”

“We do. First, we have to get our hands on the bloodstones. That’ll set Benjamin a couple of steps back, and we can form a plan to take care of him for good.”

“Sounds like a plan. We’ll discuss in the detail the things we need to do when we get back to the island. Kai is like a wizard on those types of things.”

“Thank you.”

“I should thank you. Kimberly and I owe you our lives.”

“No, you don’t. I just offered my assistance. The shit Kimberly went through, only she was responsible for her healing. Plus, she had you by her aside. I just fed you and gave you a roof over your head.”

“Those two things made us survive. We all put in some effort. How about we agree on that?”

“Sure, we can.”

We spent the next hour reminiscing over old memories. By then, Theo had joined us, but we made sure to be quiet, so we didn’t distract Ishmael.

He arranged ten candles in a circle, and he sat at the center. I couldn’t tell if he was meditating, but he sure was laser-focused on what he was doing.

“Are the candles supposed to burn out?” Theo whispered. “I’m getting a weird feeling right now.”

Logan snorted. “It’s been over one hour. Did you think the candles are going to stay on for that long? Plus, the weird feeling is just in your head. Everything is fine.”

“No.” I rose to my feet, looking out the window, dread creeping up my spine as the sky slowly darkened. “There’s a demon approaching.”

A powerful one at that.

“Where?” Logan asked, looking up at the sky himself.

“There.” I pointed at a particularly darker cloud that traveled across the sky, making its way to the building. “Get down,” I yelled, pushing Logan and down to the floor, but I wasn’t lucky enough in my escape. A dark beam hit me square in the chest.

Manic laughter followed shortly after as I tried to regain my bearings, the excruciating pain in my chest almost blinding.

“Alpha Nathaniel. Are you o-“

Theo didn’t get to complete his sentence, because an invisible force dragged him across the floor before he could crawl toward me. His body crashed hard against the wall before he fell to the floor. He groaned, rolling onto his back, letting me know just how hard that hit must have been.

“Don’t shift,” I bit out at Logan, who bared his fangs, the unmistakable sound of his bones breaking to turn into his four-legged form.

Confusion filled his eyes. “Why not?”

“You won’t be able to go head to head against him.”

“Who is ‘him’?”

“That’d be me, but no. I’m no ‘him’.”

What I dreaded the most was finally coming true. Benjamin was going to get his hands on the bloodstones.

“Miss me, Acheron?” The sickly sweet voice asked. If only the female had a fraction of that sweetness in her.

I should’ve known it was her approaching. She was stronger than she looked, and had been a valuable asset to my lair when I was the leader.

“I put a lot of trust in you, Tiana.”

“I don’t think so.” She pressed her forefinger against her bottom lip. “Wasn’t it you who bared his fangs at me back at that building when I came to see your mate for myself? If you ask me, it was quite stupid of you to send her downstairs all by herself. I could’ve ended her on her way down.”

“Now you’re working for Benjamin.”

“Now, I know I said I was going to leave the lair after they kicked you out, but you know, wealth has always been my love language. Throw Alan into the mix, and I’ll be grand, but oh well.” She shrugged. “Things don’t always go as planned. Benjamin offered me something I couldn’t turn down.”

“What’s that? I’ll triple it.”

“Love.”

I chuckled, running my hand through my hair. “You don’t have a heart, Tiana. You can’t love anyone.”

“Hm. That’s what you think.”

“No one can offer you love. You find it yourself,” Logan said.

Tiana eyed him like he was beneath her. She had always been like that. She found other creatures to be inferior to her, but then again, a fuck ton of demons did.

She scoffed before turning to me once more. “Let me rephrase. He’s giving me a chance at finding love.” She shrugged. “It’s nothing personal. Wealth and love. Who would turn that down?”

“You’re stronger than usual,” I mused, sniffing at the surrounding aura.

She laughed, flipping her inky black hair over her shoulder. “Is this the conversation you have with someone who’s about to ruin you?” She transformed into black smoke, circling me three times. “You’re weird, Nathaniel.” She placed her hands on my shoulders, bringing her lips to my ear. “I liked Acheron better.”

“Get off me.”

“As you wish.” Her presence disappeared behind me, and the next time I saw her, she was beside Theo’s slumped body. “God, I was a desperate bitch.”

“You still are if you’re willing to be Benjamin’s little bitch. Do better.”

“Oh, I’m not working for Benjamin. We just have a mutual... goal.”

“Causing destruction?”

She unsheathed the knife strapped to her thigh, the silver blade glinting dangerously when it caught some light. “Maybe not a mutual goal.” She fell to her knees, pressing the blade against Theo’s neck. “One step forward, and he loses his life.” She smirked. “You could take me on right now. We both know that, but let’s watch righteous Nathaniel battle within himself to do the right thing.”

“What’s your deal here?”

“I want Ozark out. Guess he didn’t appreciate the blood sacrifice,” she said like she hadn’t taken a person’s life. As if she could read the disgust on my face, Tiana rolled her eyes. “If it makes you feel better, he’s a rapist.”

Okay, maybe some deaths were justified.

My gaze slid over to an oblivious Ishmael, who had sweat beading on his forehead. He was still focused on what he was doing, and not even Tianna’s arrival had deterred him in the slightest.

*’How do you think she found us?’* Logan mind linked me. He had risen to his feet, and he was on high alert, waiting for Tiana’s response.

*’She made the sacrifice, so she was probably stalking the place.’*

*’Or maybe someone tipped her off,’* Logan insisted. *’That’s a possibility, but who could have told her?’*

Silence followed after that, because no one came to mind. I wanted to believe none of the Enforcers could do such a thing, but I’d thought the same about Sandra, and look how that ended. A demon possessed her to do things she normally wouldn’t do.

*’I’ll interrogate the Enforcers when we get back to the island.’*

*’Was thinking the same.’*

I ended the conversation with Logan, shooting off a message to Kai.

*’Gotten your hands on the stone yet?’*

Instead of a reply, all I got in return was a splitting headache that swept me off my feet.

“Nate!”

“Kai is in danger,” I said, testing the wall-like barrier between Kai and I’s link. “Samuel and Ryker.”

They’d placed a barricade between our communication, so Kai couldn’t communicate with us. That explained why we’d gotten nothing from him for over an hour. Usually, he checked in every five minutes, but my mind had been too preoccupied to see the signs.

“Nathaniel Acheron Black.”

“Fuck,” I groaned, sliding my eyes shut, praying for strength from some higher power to deal with the shit that was about to go down.