Page 53 of Ruin

I kissed her nose. “Really?” Now I sounded hopeful. There was shit that needed sorting out today for our raid in three days, but damn, I wasn’t joking when I said I needed her again already. I was going to have to find a way of dampening down my need...or at least controlling it. Because every time I saw her curves sway or inhaled her scent I was a goner.

“Hey, boss.” Myles sat down next to me. Gods, I’d been so caught up in claiming my mate I’d neglected my brothers. Myles had dark circles under his eyes and had lost weight. His ebony skin had lost that natural healthy lustre he’d always had, and his shoulders were bowed forward as if carrying a heavy burden.

“Hey, man.” I clasped his outstretched hand before pulling him in for a hug. We clapped our hands on each other’s backs. “It's good to see you, brother,” I said. “I’m so sorry about Reed.”

Ember looked down at the table, her face dropping.

“Yeah, so am I. Hey?” He leaned forward so he could see my mate’s face, and despite him being my brother, I tensed. He was an alpha who had lost his mate, because of mine. No matter that it hadn’t been her fault, she’d still ripped a hole in Reed’s chest. I’d only seen Myles briefly since that day, so I trusted him as far as I trusted any shifter who faced the one who had killed his mate.

“I already told you, you hold no blame for what happened to him. He’s still in there somewhere, I feel it,” Myles said, his face grave.

“So, how is he?” Ember asked, though her voice was small, and she bit her top lip. I reached over and squeezed her hand. She blamed herself for what had happened. For all her physical toughness, Ember had a soft and loyal heart; she loved as fiercely as she fought, and of all my brothers, she had connected with Reed the most.

Myles shrugged and took a big swallow of coffee. “He’s possessed by a demon, so pretty shit I would imagine. His body is fading away because I won’t let anyone near him. His demon needs blood or innocent souls to feed from. And I am starving it.” He gulped more coffee, but even that action couldn’t stop his wolf from peeking out. I felt its distress and fear at hurting their mate. It was destroying them both. I sent a wave of reassurance to my brother, who squeezed his eyes closed, and inhaled, accepting my gift with a nod.

“Innocent souls?” Ember paled, her eyes wide as she stared at his face.

“Yeah. That’s what the demon bastard demands of me, everyday. And we’re a little short on innocent souls and spare blood, here.”

My attention shot to Ember when she started to hyperventilate. “Em? You okay? You look like you’re gonna throw up.”

“I…oh, shit...” And she twisted her legs over the bench seat and put her head down.

Anxiety spiked through me. “Ember? What’s wrong?”

“I, err…” She took another few deep breaths. Gently, I rubbed circles on her back, giving her time. After a few minutes, she sat upright again, still looking pasty.

“The women and babies,” she said, grabbing my hand and squeezing it.

I looked at her blankly. “What women and babies?”

Her brows dipped. “The ones from the prison; the ones we rescued. That’s what Berith needed, or still needs, them for. He is feeding them to the demon Weres as they come through the rift; or more to the point, he’s piling up a fucking larder for Hell’s army for when they are freed. The women supply the blood, and the babies supply the innocent souls.”

“Shit.” Suddenly, seeing her so nauseous made sense. Prime growled. Neither of us had given much thought as to why Berith had needed to take those women from the prison, but suddenly it all made complete sense. It had never been just a breeding programme as we’d suspected.

At least Owen had managed to save some of those innocent souls from being consumed. I rubbed my face, shuddering at the thought of how many more were locked away in those other cells. My shadow fae rumbled as I tried to sort through my memories. My hands began to tremble, but I pushed through. He hid my most painful memories from me. I didn’t want those nightmares back, but he agreed he would return them if I asked.How many other voices could we hear from our cell?

Suddenly, a chorus of high pitched screams and crying hit me, echoing through my mind. My chest tightened to the point of pain. Not all of that crying was from adults, some were pitiful little cries from babies.

I shoved my chair back and pulled Ember to her feet. Parting from her was gonna hurt, but I needed to rethink our plan for an assault on the science wing. There were far more cells than that old plan had shown. All those years of women being taken and babies being born. Those babies may be half-demon but they were still innocent. And my brother was evidence of the goodness that they could carry. I would not let them die. I held Ember’s shoulders. “I need to speak with Owen and Drake, and even that arsehole Jed. Our plan for the science wing needs to be rethought. We need a back up plan to care for the women and children that we get out of there.”

Ember nodded at me and slipped her arms around my waist. I held her tightly for a moment before I pulled away. “I have to go.” I hated that I did, and that I knew she needed to do something else. I glanced at Myles. “Myles needs you, sweetheart, so does Reed. See if you can get through to him. The demon in him will be getting weak, but Reed’s soul and his wolf spirit are still there. Tell him to fight and that I will find a way to help him very soon.”

She nodded, her beautiful bright red hair brushing against my chest, releasing her heady scent. I pulled away before I could do what I really wanted, which was kiss her until she couldn’t breathe. Instead, I leaned my head down until my lips brushed her ear. “I love you,” I whispered and contented myself with the way she shuddered before I pulled back and brushed my lips softly on hers. “Take care of her.”

Myles nodded, but Ember tutted and rolled her eyes.

“I don’t need ‘taking care of’. But…” She linked her arm with Myles’s. “I do want to spend some time with my friend, and see Reed.”

“I know you do, sweetheart, that’s why I’m letting you leave my side. Even though it goes against everything I feel right now.”

She raised a brow this time. “You’re letting me?”

“That's right.” Despite the fact that I needed to go and find Owen, I grinned.

She jammed her hands on her hips, her scowl only making her look cute to me. “Why, you sexist son-of-a-bitch.”

I laughed. “Yep. And I’ll think you’ll find most alphas are. Aw, sweetheart, you know I just don’t like it when you’re not by my side where I can protect you from harm.”

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