AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jaden DaCosta wasn’t his concern. The portal was what he needed to focus on. Time was not on their side. Cormac was out there somewhere with Azaiel, and if the portal wasn’t found, all bets were off. The human realm would fall into darkness.
His sacrifice would have been for nothing.
His face creased as his lips pulled back in a feral snarl. Over his fucking ass would he let that happen—he’d die trying to stop it—no one should experience the holiday he’d had in hell.
The elevator doors were still wide open and Julian disappeared inside. He spared not a glance back. He no longer cared.
He rode the mechanical lift in silence and when it opened, he shot out, his hands fisting into hard weapons as he pounced on Tank. The shifter never had a chance, and he pinned the jaguar to the wall.
“Where are Nico and the eagle?” he asked, enjoying the power he held. He pressed his fist into Tank’s larynx, watching his eyes bulge as the man struggled for air.
Slowly, he relaxed his grip. “I could end you right now,” he whispered hoarsely as he struggled with the need, the desire, to inflict more pain.
The clarity through which he saw things wavered, like the color and essence of the world had receded. A film of gray passed before his eyes, and he hissed at the odd sensation as he felt the darkness within him stir.
He saw fear sweep across the jaguar’s face and knew that the man had glimpsed a sliver of what lived inside him. Or rather, of what no longer existed.
He felt nothing as the man continued to struggle, his words wheezy as he managed to spit them out from between tight lips.
“You are unnatural. You have the strength of a great warrior, yet . . .” His eyes fell to the flesh of his neck. “You do not carry the tattoos.”
“Yeah, so I’m not a fan of LA Ink, doesn’t mean I won’t kick your ass but good if you don’t tell me where I can find Declan.” His grip tightened, and the shifter struggled as his airway became nearly nonexistent.
“What are you?” Tank managed to wheeze.
Julian leaned close, barely able to control the violence that he felt. “Trust me, my friend, you don’t want to see what lies beneath my flesh.”
He pushed Tank away, watching dispassionately as the man inhaled deep gulps of air. Julian rolled his shoulders and widened his stance, aware that a crowd had gathered. “Shall we give them a show, or you gonna point me in the right direction?”
The shifter stared at him, labored breaths falling from his lips as he rubbed the raw flesh at his neck. Beads of sweat seeped from Tank’s pores, small rivulets sliding across his face as the large man stared at Julian, his eyes full of hate. And indecision.
The large shifter grunted, and Julian watched him carefully, noting the shift in his eyes and the way he shuffled his feet nervously.
This sad excuse is what Jaden had guarding her home? Un-fucking-believable.
He saw Security running from across the pool area, their radios echoing into the still-quiet morning.
He looked at Tank. “Your call, buddy.”
Tank cursed and nodded toward a stairwell that was located near the lobby and barely managed to speak. “That takes you to the lower level. Once down there, you’ll find your way. Just use your nose.”
Julian turned without another word and seconds later disappeared through the heavy glass doors, smiling as the heard the excited shouts of Security and tourists.
Nothing like a little chaos to feed the soul and start the morning off right.
The sounds disappeared almost immediately as he jogged to the bottom. A large conference room was off to his right, as well as a business center. Both were empty, and he quickly made his way down the hallway to his left.
Declan had been down this way in the last while. He wrinkled his nose; Nico as well.
Jaden’s scent, however, was fast fading. He only caught small snatches of it. It was an elusive trail that led his feet toward a small alcove. Directly in front of him was a door. It was unassuming, and he tried the handle, shocked when it opened with ease.
He stepped through and was immediately greeted by a young woman.
“Can I help you, sir?”
She was otherworld. He smelled the tinge of magick that coated her flesh, and saw the glitter of it in her eyes as she smiled at him.
She was the first line of defense from what he could tell, and though she appeared almost frail, with her pale skin and jet-black hair, he knew that she held power. It vibrated in the air, subtle pulses of energy that told him she was not to be messed with.
