Dark Flames (Blood Bound Book 6)

Chapter 13

“Oh hell,” Michael shook his head before he started laughing again. “That’s probably for the best. Anyone else daring to interrupt Kane’s honeymoon would only get tossed out on his good intentions.”

*****

Kane was wrapped around Tabatha’s warm body. They had just finished another bout of lovemaking less than an hour before and both were sleeping peacefully. Syn stood silently beside the bed looking down at them with a soft smile on his face.

It appeared that his family was growing larger by the day. All that was left was for Michael to find and claim his bride and everything would be perfect.

The memory of what Storm had told him came back to haunt him. These three children were only the beginning. He did not fault Angelica for not remembering her children… remembering her lives without him would serve no purpose and her soul deemed the memories unworthy. If she ever started to remember… those memories would only be of her children.

“I charge admission,” Kane grumbled into the pillow.

Syn smirked and took something out of his jacket pocket and tossed it gently on the bed. Kane opened his eyes and looked at the object laying innocently on the bed before rolling over onto his back to look up at Syn.

“That barely covers it,” Kane said holding up the inch of bound one hundred dollar bills. “It’ll cost more for the peep show.”

Syn reached out to take the money back but Kane quickly tucked it under Tabatha’s pillow.

“And you are keeping it why?” Syn asked with an arched eyebrow.

“Pain and suffering,” Kane answered with a sleepy grin. “What do you want dear father of mine?”

“We have a new home,” Syn answered. “When you are ready, bring your belongings to the club called Love Bites.”

Kane sat up and rolled his neck before rising to his feet n***d as the day he was born. Slipping on a pair of jeans, he motioned for Syn to follow him out into the kitchen. Once there, Kane lit up a cigarette and started the coffee pot going.

“What possessed you to buy Love Bites?” Kane asked curiously.

“I did not,” Syn informed him. “Damon decided as I had previously, that we need another place for all of us to call home so we can ward it against anything that would distress our mates. Damon believes this club will suit our needs perfectly.”

“That’s because it’s the mainstream vampire bar of the city,” Kane gave a quick smirk remembering the interior of the club. “It’s the upscale version of a Hollywood vampire lair. I take it that the club will be shut down?”

“Only those invited will be allowed within its walls,” Syn confirmed as he sat down on the other side of the small island facing Kane.

Kane shrugged, “I’m all for it… just keep the surveillance cameras out of my bedroom.”

“There will be no need for surveillance inside the building… nothing will breach the wards I’ve already placed around the perimeter. Human or demon, they won't bother wondering why they don’t want to go near our home.” Syn said with satisfaction. “And should something or someone be powerful enough to attempt to gain access, the wards also act as a trap.”

Kane leaned back against the counter looking at the enigma of a man he’d always called father. The way he appeared now was in sharp contrast to the mind he knew Syn possessed. Syn was handsome and there was no denying that… but that magnificence also hid a dark side very similar to that of Kane and his brothers.

Their bond had grown stronger in recent weeks than it ever had. Kane believed in that bond more than ever now because of Syn’s connection to his mother, Angelica. Right now there was calmness about Syn that Kane had never noticed before and it had him thinking.

He knew Syn had always been hunting for something though he could never put his finger on exactly what that was. But Kane suddenly realized it wasn’t something his father had been searching for… but someone. The pieces of the puzzle were fitting together making Kane’s head spin at the gargantuan implications they produced.

“She’s Michael and Damon’s mother too… isn’t she?” Kane asked, not really understanding how that was possible. Syn had found him over a thousand years before Michael and Damon were born. Why had he gone around collecting Angelica’s children and were there more of them?

Syn smiled as he listened to Kane’s thoughts and crossed his arms on the island top. “I collected all of you because you were and are my children in every way.” His gaze seared into Kane’s as he established a direct mental link with his child and fed him the instant answers to the riddle.

Kane sat down hard on the stool across from Syn and blinked when the mind surge was severed. His hand went to his chest, massaging the area over his heart wondering how in the hell Syn had dealt with the pain of losing Angelica like that… only being able to be with her when her human form was asleep. Not to mention the fact that she didn’t remember anything about him… or her children. That was just heartbreaking. Kane knew something like that would have driven him off the deep end long ago.

“No wonder Misery kept calling me a demi-god.” Kane whispered then looked up at Syn with wide eyes. “Wait a tick,” Kane paused wanting to be crystal clear about this part. “Are you saying that all three of us were conceived while she was dreaming of you? That you are our real father as in we are of your direct bloodline and not the offspring of some random human?”

Syn nodded glad to see that Kane’s mind was as sharp as ever. “We can only conceive children with our soul mates… and it is our souls that create the seeds of new life. Though the men your mother married in each lifetime were human, none of you are anything close to human. Do not make the mistake of comparing us to earthlings… we are not of this earth.” Syn smirked hearing more questions forming in Kane’s mind.

The coffee pot started gurgling signaling that the coffee was finished. No sooner had Kane poured a cup for himself and Syn, an adorably disheveled Tabatha wearing Kane’s black button up shirt stumbled into the kitchen and stole Kane’s cup.

“Mine!” she said possessively before sitting down next to Syn

“She takes after you,” Syn said with a straight face.

Kane sent Syn a helpless look, “I’m at the mercy of her and the coffee god.”

*****

“Why can’t we have the masquerade?” Kat demanded. “We have one every year. It’s not our fault you never accepted an invitation.”

“Must have gotten lost in the mail,” Quinn growled back. “And our answer is still no. Not after everything that went down last night with the earthquake and the club needing to be fixed up on top of the renovations… plus we can’t forget about expanding into the building behind the club. There isn’t going to be enough time to have your masquerade.”

“After being chased by werewolves and running from demons, I think we deserve the night off.” Envy argued, trying to give Kat as much back up as possible.

Devon shook his head, “No can do. We’ll get a day off once everything blows over.”

“But if we go ahead and plan the masquerade, it’ll be something to look forward to.” Jewel put in, standing with the female population in the room. “If there’s a goal to work toward, then that makes this nightmare of a city so much easier to handle.”

Quinn looked over at Warren who was trying to stay out of it by pretending to look at a newspaper. He sighed, “How about a little help here?”

Warren looked up at Quinn then back at the girls before lowering his eyes back to the paper. “Sorry, you’re on your own.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Nick asked.

“It means you are butting heads with the most evil, diabolical, twisted, and masochistic breed known to ever roam the earth. Many times they have been beaten, killed, and left for dead, but they always seem to return to wreak havoc on our lives.” Warren explained trying to hide his smirk.

“Huh?” Steven said eloquently.

“Women,” Devon realized. “He’s talking about women.”

Kat smirked and crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s right, and these women have the power to hold back. We can live without it… you on the other hand can’t.”

“We can too!” Nick argued.

“Oh really,” Kat smirked. “Shall I tell them about the one time you took your girlfriend into Devon’s downstairs office to have a little privacy and even offered to…”

Nick had shot forward and quickly pressed his hand over Kat’s mouth. “Not another word.”

“No way,” Devon said with a bright expression. “I gotta hear this.”

Kat yanked Nick’s hand away from her mouth. “I suggest you guys get off your asses and call every cougar and jaguar in the city to help get this place together in time for the masquerade.”

Nick sighed and started thumbing through his black book for the numbers while Devon unraveled the building plans on a nearby table.

“What just happened?” Steven asked.

“We lost and they won,” Quinn answered, “Though I’d love to know how.”

“Like I said,” Warren offered. “They’re women and you’re fighting a losing battle each time you confront them and keep them from doing what they want to do.”

Kat shook her head, “Okay, let’s do this then. We compromise and make it a party by invitation only… inviting only the supernaturals left in the city.”

“That’s only a couple hundred powerful people dressed in drag,” Nick frowned then looked over at Steven. “You still have that choir robe?”

“Only if you’re gonna be the Pope,” Steven answered and ducked when Nick threw a bottle of liquor at him.

Chapter 7

Tiara sat curled up in her chair in front of her desk memorizing the addresses of all the cemeteries in Los Angeles. She’d been at it for a few hours now and her eyes were starting to burn. This job was very important to her and she’d vowed to be just as good at it as Myra had been.

She loved her mom but the one thing she didn’t want was to stand in Myra’s shadow. She had a different plan in mind. In order to use her necromancy night after night, she would have to pick a lover and eventually a mate.

She smiled remembering all the times she’d used her mother’s log in to access the PIT database. She’d had a habit of waiting until her mother was out for the night before borrowing her laptop with the excuse that she was bored and wanted to watch a movie on it.

The first thing she’d always done was scour the database for any mention of Zachary… the only PIT member that knew her mom’s secret. Any new information on him and his whereabouts were few and far between but she’d always felt a rush when she found something. She wondered what Zachary would say if he knew a little girl had crushed on him. Biting her bottom lip Tiara focused back on the screen.

Looking at all of the graveyards PIT had already red-flagged in the database, she wondered if they hadn't already lost the war. It would take months to get to them all… even if she did two or three a night. That many at once would be pushing it even for Myra.

Maybe after the city was secure and everything had settled back down, she’d take the time to look for a true mate like Myra had found in her father. But until then, she didn’t want to have a whole pack of lovers that would rip out each other’s throats at a moment’s notice.

Only her mother had thought her team of men had been the perfect setup. However, Tiara had eavesdropped more than once on the men when her mother was not around. It surprised her when she saw and heard the jealousy they had for one another. The only reason they hid it from Myra was because they didn’t want kicked off the team and shipped off somewhere else.

Sure, most of the guys were fine with sharing, but for the ones that weren’t… Tiara had felt sorry for them. The worst part is none of them completely understood why Myra couldn’t choose between them… even before Deth had come into the picture.