She was here. Kiarra was right there. I stare at the spot she stood before being ripped from us once more.
“Did I—” Axel starts.
“No, you didn’t imagine that. It was her. We all saw her,” I tell him.
“How?” Jax asks me, but I have no answers for him, not understanding it myself.
“I don’t know.”
“Do you think she can do it again?” Axel asks.
“Maybe?” I tell him, unsure and not wanting to get his or any of our hopes up. Kiarra looked shocked that we could see her. “It didn’t look like she knew where she was.”
“She thought it was a dream, right?” Luka says, looking at us. “That’s what she said… Dream.”
“So, she was able to jump into our link, but thought that she was just dreaming?” Axel asks, still confused as hell about the whole thing.
“Why now?”
We all turn to Luka. Axel is looking at him like he’s got a third head. “What are you talking about? How can you not be happy to see your mate?”
Luka sighs. “Of course I am. I’m just wondering why it’s taken this long for her to reach out to us. We’ve been feeling the bond for a while, up until recently.”
“Yeah, so? What’s your point?” Axel crosses his arms, frowning at him.
“My point is, why now? We’ve been pulling on the connection for days, feeling nothing from her. What’s happened to her that’s pushed her to us now?”
He thinks something bad has happened. That Kiarra must have been in trouble to reach out to us.
Draven better know something.
We were fractured when she was taken the first time, only becoming whole once we found her again. We know she can heal from anything, but there’s always the little doubt in the back of my mind telling me this time might be it. If anything happens to her, none of us will survive it.
“Well, whatever just happened can only mean something good… right? I mean, she might try it again,” Jax says with a hopeful gleam in his eyes.
“Or she might not.” We all turn to look at Rion.
“Way to put a downer on the only breakthrough we’ve had.” Jax narrows his eyes on him.
“She thinks we’re dead. It was the last thing she saw. Us dying right before her eyes. To her, this probably was all just a dream,” Rion says, giving Jax a pointed look.
I rub my chest, the tight feeling turning suffocating the more I think over Rion’s words.
He’s right. I release a harsh breath, shaking my head.
“That’s why she hasn’t been trying to reach out to us using the connection. She thinks we’re dead,” I tell them.
Why didn’t I think of this before? I just assumed she’d feel the bond and know we were out there looking for her.
Instead, she’s been mourning our deaths all while trapped with King.
“Fuck.” Axel spins, slamming his fist onto the marble table behind him. It shatters in half before mending itself back together.
“This is going to make things a lot harder,” I tell them.
“A shitload harder.” Axel sighs, shakes his head.
“But she still might try to reach us again.” Jax looks at me with a hopeful glint in his eyes, waiting for a reply.
I couldn’t tell them this was going to be easy or that it was all going to work out the way we wanted. But I wouldn’t let them lose hope either. I had to make sure that if it went our way, someone would be here for her.
“We have to be open to the possibility that she may try. Even if she thinks it’s a dream, she might still try to reach out again.”
I look at Rion. “Keep the link open. We’ll check in regularly, just in case.”
Rion nods.
I turn to the others. “We’ll let you know if Draven has anything. If not, we’ll see if we can use this to our advantage.”
We leave the link with a little more hope than we had before.
Axel and Rion walk on each side of me as we make our way along the hall to the room where Draven is having his so-called meetings. The excuse we’ve been given since we arrived a few hours ago.
But we weren’t waiting any longer. Every hour wasted was another hour Kiarra could be suffering.
Two of Draven’s guards block the door to the room. My shifter senses pick up Draven’s voice inside. Once we have confirmation that he’s in there, we move toward them.
“You can move out of our way, or we can make you. Either way, we’re going in there,” I warn them, not playing the diplomatic leader anymore. My patience has reached its limits.
The guard narrows his eyes on me. “I’m afraid we can’t allow that. Draven will see you when he’s ready.”
Is that so?
Before the guard spews out another word, I move, slamming him into the wall. The other guard comes up behind me. I grab him by his throat and throw him through the door, giving us an opening and one hell of an entrance.
Axel laughs, stepping over him as we walk into the room where Draven sits among a room full of supes. “Guess we’re not playing it safe anymore.”
No, we’re not.
The demons get up to fight when I call one of my hounds forward, slightly shifting so he’s revealed through my eyes. I know each of the demons, witches and warlocks sense his presence when they sit the fuck back down, growing quiet.
“So, it is true.”
Draven gives the warlock who spoke a nod, confirming whatever question he asked. I ignore them both, focusing on what we came here for.
“You said you had information about our mate. Tell us now or we’re leaving.”
Draven sighs, signaling to the room. “Leave us. All of you”
“But, sir?” One of Draven’s guards questions his order, but with one look from Draven, the guard bows and leaves with the rest of them.
“Forgive me. We’ve been overwhelmed with the non-stop attacks on the Island,” Draven says before standing.
“The old demons?” Rion asks him.
“Yes, it’s one of the reasons I’ve asked you here—”
“Tell us how you can help us find our mate first. Then we can move onto what you need from us.”
“There’s something I need to know first.” Draven leans against the table in an attempt to seem at ease, but I know better.
Demons know how to reel you in and keep you distracted while they get what they want. Dangling something in front of you, all while pulling the rug from beneath you.
But I’d play along… for now.
“Go on.” Crossing my arms, I give him a look that says not to waste my time.
Draven nods. “You have Jazmyn, yes?”
My eyes narrow on the demon lord. “We’re not trading her for Kiarra.” She’d have my balls if she knew I handed her over to him.
“I wasn’t suggesting it.”
Rion shares a look with me. He’s picking up on something Draven isn’t saying, but I continue to play along to see where he’s going with this.
“Then what would you need her for?”
Draven moves around the table with ease, trying to make it look like he’s the one in control here.
“I take it you know little about my family tree, or demons in general?”
Axel scoffs. “We know enough, but demons don’t like to share and prefer to keep to themselves.”
Draven tilts his head in an appeasing manner. “I meant no harm.”
“What’s Jazmyn got to do with your family?” I push.
We haven’t gotten any closer to finding out what he knows about Kiarra. It grates on my patience, and my hound tries to push forward.
“I’d advise you to tell us exactly what it is you know now. Before I let my hound out, otherwise those demons will be the last of your worries.”
“Kane is my brother.” My hound pulls back slightly, not expecting that answer. I glance at Rion, and I can tell this is also new knowledge to him. But what does any of this have to do with Kiarra?
Axel voices my thought. “That’s great and all, but what does any of this have to do with our mate?”
“Your mate is with King, yes? And my brother works for him.”
“If that son of a bitch has anything to do—” Axel moves forward.
Draven raises his hands, his eyes widening as my alpha power seeps into the room.
“No. No. That’s not…” He shakes his head. “Kane doesn’t work for him, not really.”
“Why should we trust him or you? Especially if he has been around that psycho.” Axel narrows his eyes on him.
Draven sighs, moving around the table to sit back down. “Kane despises King. If he knew he had your mate trapped, he would have already gotten her out. It’s his… flaw—always trying to save those in need.”
Rion’s focus is on Draven and his expression. I remind myself to ask him about it later.
Draven leans back in his chair. “What matters is, I might be able to find your mate through Kane.”
“How?” I ask, a ripple of excitement rushing through me.
“Demons who share the same kin can… connect with one another.”
“Then what would you need Jazmyn for?” I ask, needing the specifics.
I know demon and witch relations aren’t at an all-time high, especially for those who wanted a future together. I wasn’t about to send Jazmyn to her death.
“I’ll need her help. Kane and I… We’ve been estranged, which has made the connection between us weaker. She’ll act as a link to help forge a better one.”
“How would… unless…” Rion smirks. “She’s your mate.”
Draven clenches his jaw. “That’s none of your business.”
“No, but Jazmyn is Kiarra’s friend, which means she’s under our protection. If anything happens to her, it will be you we’ll be coming for.” I push a bit more of my alpha power into the room, backing my statement.
Draven clenches his jaw, glancing down and unwillingly submitting to my demand.
“I would never…” Draven clears his throat. Straightening his tie, he squints and glances up at me. I pull back my alpha power, and he relaxes his stiff position.
“You have my word. No harm will come to her.”
It’s enough for me to move on to the topic of how we’d find Kiarra. “So, in theory, if Kane is with King, then he should lead us to Kiarra’s location?” I ask.
“Yes. If King is focusing all his efforts on blocking Kiarra from you, we shouldn’t have the same issue when finding Kane.”
Meaning Kane might not have any concealment spells on him keeping his location hidden from us.
It’s the best lead we’ve gotten in a while. I look at the guys. Both wear a similar expression: hope.
“What do you want from us in return for your help?” Rion asks, making sure we know what the payment is.
Not that it would matter. We’d give up everything to get her back or destroy it all in our search.
Draven sighs, his expression telling us he’d rather keep whatever information he was about to share to himself.
“There’s a reason supes that lean towards the darkness choose to settle on Staten Island. There’s dark power here that needs to be watched. Sometimes demons from the deeper levels get through, and we make sure to get to them before they move on and cause havoc on this plane. But something far darker has been awoken, and with it, demons from its depths. A few have shown up here and already caused a lot of damage.”
I share a look with the others. “Our brothers have already met one of these… demons.”
Draven sighs, nodding. “I thought as much. But I had hoped we would have more time to contain it here first.”
“Why do you think we can help? Surely an island full of demons and warlocks can take on a few creatures. Luka and Jax dealt with it easily enough,” Axel says, probably wondering if Draven has an ulterior motive.
“You and your mate are not like the rest of us,” he declares, as if it’s a statement we all should know.
Axel narrows his eyes on him. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“You’ve become stronger since you’ve bonded, no?” Draven looks from Axel to Rion, and then his gaze lands on me. He raises a brow. “You were powerful before, but now…” He shakes his head. “Now, you might as well be unstoppable. We can fight them, but with your help, we can send them back and close whatever portal they’ve come from.”
There’s something he’s not telling us, but it’s a problem we’ll deal with later. Right now, I want Kiarra in my arms and home with my family.
I share a look with Axel and Rion before turning to Draven. “Fine, you help us find our mate, and we’ll help you with the demon problem.”
Draven nods, releasing a harsh breath. He’s more worried about the old demons than he’s letting on.
“When can you start searching for our mate?” It needs to be his priority if he wants our help.
“As soon as you get Jazmyn here.”
“Consider it done, but remember your vow.” We’ll contact the guys and should be able to have her here within the hour.
“You have my word. She will not be harmed and can leave once we find Kane.”
Draven gets up to leave. “I’ve arranged private rooms for you. They should be ready if you’d like to make your own arrangements.”
I turn to the guys and head out.
“Do you think he’ll follow through?” Axel asks.
“Yes. I think he’ll have no reason to go back on his words, but I do feel he’s keeping something from us,” Rion says.
“You picked up on that too?” I didn’t miss the way he acted when he mentioned us bonding to Kiarra and how he already knew about our stronger abilities.
Rion nods, “He knows something about our bond with Kiarra, but he doesn’t trust us.”
“Goes both ways. I don’t trust anyone here.” Axel seethes, staring at a warlock, who stares back with a look of disgust on his face.
“It could be something important. We should press him on it. Make him tell us,” Axel says.
“After we get Kiarra back. Once she’s back with us, we can figure the rest out,” I tell them both.
Axel and Rion nod in agreement.
Once we’re inside the apartment, we check around for any concealed spells or traps. Finding everything clear, we get settled and reach into the link to contact Luka and Jax.
The small thread of hope grows. It feels like it could work this time.
Just hold on a little longer, Kiarra. We’re coming…
