Ecstasy Claimed (The Guardians Of The Realms Series) Read online

  Chapter 35

  New York, Earth Realm

  “Damn it, Havoc, come here.” Gregoire’s voice boomed in the dank alleyway. He’d spent the last several hours in different cities patrolling for possessed, and it was the dead of night there. Fortunately, the job was made easy since Havoc attracted them like nothing he’d ever seen. It wasn’t ideal allowing the hound to hunt without Uri since Gregoire wasn’t able to alter memories of any humans that saw the beast, but his brother had needed to refuel and rest with his mate, and the pup needed fed.

  Havoc bounded his way after wandering the alley and sniffing a vagrant’s foot. Judging by the scent, the filthy human was drunk and passed out. Good thing or he would have gotten quite a scare. He shook his head at the beast. He needed to take him home. They’d taken down seven possessed in three cities. The most time-consuming part being the disposing of the bodies. It had been a long patrol. It took effort to rein in the pup, especially the more he fed. Uri said it was good to let him run it off. He was still shaking his head when he felt Dorian arrive.

  “Hey, man,” Dorian said and took a deep breath. “I feel like shit for what happened with Alyssa.”

  “No one touches her,” he said to his brother with a firm look. “What’s going on? Did you see Sirena?”

  “Yeah, she checked me out. She couldn’t find anything wrong. It’s something off with my senses. It started in Miami a few days ago, and now I keep detecting something in the manor that sets me off. She’s doing tests. I just wanted to apologize. I’m going to get a drink and fuck it out of my system. We good?” the Nereid said as he rolled his neck.

  He hoped shit was okay with his brother. “Just don’t fucking touch her and we’re good.”

  Dorian nodded and was gone.

  It appeared the demon-possessed were down for the evening. They hadn’t had a bite in about an hour. It was finally time to get back to his mate.

  She was in the courtyard. He felt her and ported to her with the pup in tow.

  Havoc immediately barreled in the direction of Sirena, who was sitting with Rain and Alyssa. His sister smiled wide and coo’d at the pup. The healer loved that damn animal, and judging by all the wiggling he was doing around her chair, the feeling was mutual.

  Alyssa beamed a smile in his direction.

  Rain just looked at him, assessing. She had done the same the night before. The female issued a warning with her eyes, and he respected her for it. She was loyal to Alyssa and didn’t give a shit that he was a Guardian.

  “How was the patrol?” Alyssa asked as he sat next to her. Without a word he lifted her into his lap and kissed her. It had been a long fucking day, and he just wanted to take her home and bury himself inside all that heat, but he knew she’d feel guilty leaving Rain so soon. He would give it an hour; then he was fucking her, and he didn’t care if it was on the patio table or in their home. He remembered last evening and was tempted to make use of the table. She settled under his chin, and he knew she felt his cock under her firm little ass.

  “Has there been any news about the females?” he asked Sirena.

  The healer shook her head.

  Vane walked up and informed them, “Alex just told me that she and Uri are going to try to get back to the female shortly. They’ve refueled and rested. We’re all just waiting to see if they can get to her again.” The blond male headed over to the patio bar, still talking. “I saw Drake a minute ago. He just got back from patrolling with the Geraki clans. They have been doing aerial patrols. Drake ported a few to the other continents, but he said that Cyril would be a needle in the proverbial haystack. He was going to get refueled and rejoin them, just in case. He also said the Aletheia reported in that they haven’t found any other traitors in the cities so far, but they said the scans were just surface thoughts while they question the inhabitants.” Just the same that he’d heard reported while he was patrolling Earth. Cyril wouldn’t be found easily. He’d hidden before. He knew how to do it, and he wasn’t stupid. Gregoire didn’t like it, but they may never find those females. They’d only found them the last time because of Erik connecting to his mate.

  A staff member walked out toward the bar and about jumped out of her skin when seeing Havoc. The pup tilted his head at her, and the female slowly walked away.

  “All of the staff was informed about Havoc?” Gregoire asked Sirena.

  “Yes.” the healer answered.

  Rain explained as she held her hand down for Havoc to smell, “They’re scared of him, but I think it’s the shock factor more than anything. This is only the second time I’ve seen him, but I almost peed myself the first. Conn laughed before explaining the little guy’s presence. I can tell by looking at him that he’s just a pup, but damn.” She shook her head.

  “Yeah, we need to do something. I’m worried about what someone might do as a knee-jerk reaction,” Sirena said as she looked at Havoc.

  “I can maybe make him something to wear.” Gregoire couldn’t help the burst of laughter that came at Alyssa’s comment. She shot him a surprised look and he grinned down at her. His cock twitched, and he knew that she felt it against her ass when he saw her lids lower.

  Sirena was cracking up too. “Oh, I’d pay big to see the look on Uri’s face if you made Havoc one of those dog jackets,” Sirena said, and the table erupted into more chuckles. “He just about has a fit every time the animal wiggles at me, hates that his manly animal is so cute.” Sirena’s violet eyes were shining as she added the last.

  “I could make something manly,” Alyssa said, and she put her hand down to greet the animal. She glared at Gregoire and shook her head when he tensed. What the fuck was wrong with him? He reacted like that with animals too. She turned and scrutinized the pup, assessing the animal’s size while Gregoire got his shit together. A couple of deep breaths helped. As he watched her, he remembered what she was doing and another chuckle came. He’d seen the little clothes humans put on their dogs, and that was all he could picture. He sent the visual to Alyssa’s mind, and her laughter filled the air. “I would not put a male hellhound pup in a pink argyle sweater,” she protested.

  “A collar wouldn’t be a bad idea,” Sirena said.

  “Yeah, I could do that. Maybe one of those harness type ones in a bright color so there is more of it to see.”

  “Erik and Sam will be here in a minute. Anyone want a drink?” Vane said, still rummaging through the cabinets in the patio bar.

  “Can you just bring the bottle of wine I left out?” Rain asked.

  He nodded and grabbed the wine.

  Gregoire loved that Alyssa snuggled into his chest. He smelled her hair and settled a hand on her waist.

  “Good, I wanted to check on Sam again,” Sirena said.

  “How are the other females?” Gregoire asked. They hadn’t heard much about the other Mageia that were rescued from Cyril’s compound with Sam. He stroked Alyssa’s back and felt her shiver at the touch then lean closer. He wanted to take her home, but he knew she hesitated, feeling guilty about leaving Rain alone. Her friend was strong.

  “The redhead is still in bad mental shape. Alex and Uri have tried to help, but they said her mental links are messed up, and they haven’t figured out a way to fix it. I hope that as their powers meld, they’ll find a way to help her. The others are starting to come to terms with everything. I found odd things in the tests that I want to reassess, but since they need time to adapt before we situate them in the Covens, I have some time. There is a lot they need to understand before any major changes can be made,” Sirena said.

  Rain listened intently as the healer spoke, her head shaking in apparent sympathy for the females. She drank deeply of the wine. She was worried for Delia, the girl that had worked at her shop before being taken. They weren’t sure which female Cyril had taken and injected, she had been in too much pain for Uri and Alex to get her name, but it could very well be the female Rain and Alyssa knew.

  He heard footsteps and saw that Erik and Sam were walking
up. Sam was taller than his mate by a few inches and had shoulder-length straight blond hair and tanned skin. She smiled at Sirena, and was introduced officially to the rest of them. The two took seats at the table, Erik pulling his mate’s chair in close to his and wrapping his arm over the back.

  “Congratulations,” Alyssa said to Sam and Erik.

  Sam beamed a smile back. “Thank you.”

  Sirena asked her questions about how she was feeling while Vane brought drinks over. Havoc made the rounds and then went to sniff around the trees. Gregoire needed to get the animal to his brother’s suite, and he was itching to get his mate home and under him.

  Cyril has mated the female. Uri’s words in his mind stilled him. He knew by Alyssa’s tensing muscles that she’d heard it. His arms tightened around her.

  Drake’s fury was powerful within their link. Do we know where they are?

  No, and it wasn’t good. We were with the female after it happened and stayed with her as long as we could. She’s in bad shape. We finally got her name. It’s Delia, and she’s fucking young. Her mind is barely holding on. We’ve given her as much information as we were able. I helped set a shield in her mind when we went in, so Cyril isn’t aware of our interference.

  “What’s going on?” Vane asked. He and his brother were not on the Guardian link so Gregoire and Sirena explained what had happened.

  Rain gaze got dark and she said some expletives when he’d confirmed that it was the female she knew. After her outburst, she stared off, a hard glint in her aqua eyes.

  Sam had tensed, fury radiating from her, and Erik tried to get her to leave, but she refused, wanting to know everything they knew. Sirena gave them what little information they had and explained the worst part. If the female didn’t know where she was and her mind was starting to fail, they may never know where to find her, and Cyril had just gained mated powers from her. They would have some time before they all melded. It took a full year for most mated pairs to gain comfort and skill with their new abilities. It was still beyond fucked, if the formula he had worked, Cyril could mate his warriors to the other females they’d taken.

  “I think you two should complete the mating ceremony right away,” Sirena said, and Alyssa jolted in his lap.

  Gregoire’s jaw tightened, knowing where Sirena was going, and she wasn’t wrong.

  “Wouldn’t that be completely disrespectful while Delia’s going through hell and who knows what the other females are suffering?” she said. Her voice sounded shocked that the healer would suggest it.

  “Cyril just gained mated power and has stolen several females that could be at this very moment being mated to his males. There were twelve females taken. This is not about being disrespectful. I would think she’d want for you to be strong enough to protect yourself. The added power might be needed sooner than later.” Sirena’s voice was dead serious as she looked at Alyssa. Vane and Erik also nodded their heads in agreement.

  Rain’s hard gaze met his. “I agree with them. If I could get some power to take Cyril’s ass out, I would,” Rain said, fury radiating from her as she clenched her teeth.

  Angel, I agree. I don’t want your ceremony to be marred by necessity, but I need our connection as strong as possible.

  Chapter 36

  Guardian Compound, Tetartos Realm

  Alyssa relaxed into the stone bath across from Rain. They were quiet. It hadn’t felt right to be cheerful, so they’d gone about preparations fairly subdued. They had the relaxation room in the manor courtyard all to themselves. French doors opened on all four walls, looking out on the beautiful green lawn. There was a fountain trickling to one side. The sound in itself was soothing while the warm waters relaxed her tight muscles. They had spent the last couple of hours getting waxed and preparing her gown. The traditional design was simple and made to take off with a single pull of fabric. Rain supervised while she made a simple adjustment to hers. Which was code for Rain drank while pointing out things Alyssa could do with it. She grinned to herself.

  She was surprised that with everything potentially going to hell around them, she was still excited to complete their ceremony. Not for power. To claim her male. Her beast loved that he would be marked as hers. Swirling her hands in the warm water, she realized just how much things had changed in such a short time.

  She laid her head back on the stone ledge behind her. She was sitting on her haunches to keep her bound hair out of the water. She knew Rain had to be doing the same, since they were both too damn short for the seats in the pool.

  “This feels so good, but I feel crappy for enjoying it,” Rain said with disgust as she sank lower into the steamy water. Her friend looked exhausted. She knew Rain was worried for Delia. They both were. Alyssa was just happy her friend had been on lockdown there when everything happened. She had a bad feeling that if Rain had been home, she might have been one of the victims.

  Alyssa knew the others had arrived even before Rain sounded off greetings. She turned around to see a smiling Sirena, Brianne, Sam and Sacha walking in through one of the open doors. It had been nice enough outside to let the breeze flow through. When she’d had Gregoire relay an invitation to Alex, through Uri, he’d raised his brows. She had to admit that she’d been relieved when Alex declined. She heard Uri explain to Gregoire that they needed to try to keep tabs on Delia until the ceremony, but that they appreciated the invitation. She’d felt good about it. It was a start. She didn’t blame Alex for what happened, but she’d still gotten a pang when seeing her in meetings. The Demi-Goddess was truly stunning, and she hated knowing… It would only wear down with time and interaction, or so she hoped.

  “Okay, I’m popping this shit open,” Brianne said, holding up two bottles of wine, one in each hand. “You’re going to need it.” The Guardian smirked. She and Rain got out of the pool and dried off. The females looked beautiful, already dressed in short white flirty gowns. They were all ready for the ceremony. Sacha had a gold band around each arm. She was exotically striking and obviously powerful to allow metal to circle her flesh.

  She wrapped her towel around her swimsuit-clad body and relaxed in the company of both new and old friends.

  “Okay, drink up, Brianne wasn’t kidding,” Sirena said, laughing.

  Alyssa looked over to where Brianne was busily pouring the wine and caught sight of her back. The Guardian’s dress was completely backless, the front clasped by a thin strap around her slender neck. Her long, curly, titian hair was pulled back in a ponytail, showing a beautiful tattoo of wings that tipped down to the dips at the tops of her buttocks. The artwork was stunning. It was done in an array of brilliant greens that looked beautiful with her hair color. She’d apparently never seen her from the back.

  “Your tattoo is gorgeous,” Alyssa said, a little awed.

  A grinning Brianne turned with filled glasses for them both. Someone had planned in advance because stemware had been in the room from the start. “Thanks. I’ll probably have more done soon.”

  She took a drink of the rich wine and let it warm her thoroughly. This may be her new favorite drink. Rain actually moaned in delight when she drank some of hers. Alyssa smiled. It felt nice to have a group of female friends. It was good for Rain, too. Her friend was in an odd situation, still trying to figure out what to do with her days. With the city on lockdown, she couldn’t check on her store or really get any bearing on her new life, especially when no one knew what Cyril was planning next. She shook off those thoughts. Sam looked pensive and maybe a little uncomfortable, also fighting the uncertainty of what Cyril might be planning. Alyssa gave her an understanding smile, and the female nodded back.

  “Are you ready to do this? It’s probably going to hurt pretty bad for a second,” Sirena said, shaking her head, then grinned wickedly. “He’s going to go crazy when he sees this. We’ll help you get ready after I’ve finished.”

  She nodded and then took a long fortifying drink in order to prepare herself for what she had planned.

  “I�
��m ready. Let’s do it.”

  Chapter 37

  Mountain Temple, Tetartos Realm

  Gregoire impatiently awaited Alyssa’s arrival at the Temple. His brother Guardians along with Vane and Erik were waiting with him. He had tuned them out from the beginning. He was too anxious and tense to converse, but they had no trouble filling the air with plenty of noise. All were dressed in the traditional black silk and standing in the opulent golden temple set high in a mountain cave.

  The muscles of his bare chest twitched as his life force whirled in the anticipation of being marked forever as a mated male.

  He watched as Uri and Alex walked in. Both their features seemed tense as they came up to him to wish him well. The experience with Delia was trying for them both. It was the worst of situations, and he felt for them. To have the power to go into the female’s mind only to share in the suffering had to be pure hell.

  “I would have understood if you needed to stay with the Delia,” he told them. The others were behind him, no doubt hoping for news.

  “It wouldn’t do any good. She pushed us from her mind not long ago. We will refuel and rest before trying again. I hope to fuck he gives her some damn clue where they are.” Uri’s voice was filled with frustrated irritation. Gregoire noticed Alex squeezing his hand, and he blew out a breath, attempting to calm himself. Her sapphire eyes were sharp and dangerous. She wanted to kill Cyril. They all did.

  He wished Alyssa would show up. He was not a patient male.

  He was close to leaving and collecting her himself when his sister Guardians along with Rain and Sam walked in to the room. They parted, and his breath caught at how gorgeous Alyssa was. She wore a gown of pale green, similar to but not quite as beautiful as her eyes. There were jewels shimmering in her hair, holding the wild waves off her stunning features. Her glossy lips tilted as she moved toward him. It was if there were no other people in the room. A buzzing started up in his mind as he took her hand. The diamond chandelier above moved and sent sparkling light over her small features and bare shoulders. The gown cinched tight at her small waist. A tie to one side held it in place. It was the cutout at her cleavage and the small delicate clasp holding it together at the top that held his full attention. It was the only bit of frippery that kept her glorious breasts from spilling out for everyone to see. His cock swelled at the sight.