Blood and Wrath (Blood and Ruin Series Book 2)

“You’re not coming with us.”

“Watch me.” I look around, find my boots in the corner, and throw them on. Glancing around, I look for where I put my jacket.

“I will fucking tie you to the bed if I have to.” Axel glares at me. But he should know better than now that his words are not a threat to me.

I give him a slow smirk and see his eyes start to dilate. “Keep the kinky shit for later. We’ve got hell to deal with first.”

“Damn it, Kiarra. We just want you to be safe.” He must be serious if he’s using my real name.

“I’m not useless. I’m different. You’ve all told me to accept that, so I’m trying to, but I won’t be locked up by anyone. Not again.”

Axel runs a hand down his face. “That’s not what I’m trying to do. I just want you safe. You’ve been through enough.”

“And you all haven’t?”

They’ve all been through just as much hell as I have been, with scars just as large and deep, but they still keep fighting.

“Besides, I can’t die. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you all this.” He opens his mouth, but I cut him off. “Yes, I know it can still hurt, but the end result is still the same.”

“We don’t give a shit. I don’t want you down there with those demons.”

This is not how this is going to go. I am not going to sit back and let them fight alone. Not when I can help. If these creatures escaped from the Underworld just to cause havoc in our home, then I sure as hell am going to help send them back.

Finding my jacket, I grab it and head for the door, ignoring their glares. “I’m not asking.”

“I guess she’s coming with us,” Luka says just as I leave.

I’m down the hall and in the lift by the time they catch up to me.

Kai stalks into the lift, caging me in. “Stay close and don’t do anything stupid, or next time we play, I’ll bend you over and teach that ass a lesson you won’t forget.”

I bite my lip, giving him a wicked smirk. “Looking forward to it… Alpha.”

Kai’s eyes darken. “Good girl.”

“Fuck.” Axel groans, stepping in behind us. The others follow.

Jax raises his hand, waiting for everyone to look his way.

“Yes, Jax.” Kai sighs, his gaze briefly flicking upwards, waiting for his reply.

“Well, if we’re going with new nicknames, I think mine should be hubby.”

Luka chokes on air, giving him a wide-eyed expression. Rion finds it amusing.

Jax looks at me expectedly. “What do you think?”

“I think…” The lift pings opening on the ground floor. I turn, walking backwards out of the lift. “You should talk to my other mates about that.”

“We unanimously vote no,” Luka says without missing a beat.

Smiling to myself, I head for the large portal, smack in the middle of the lounge. There are a couple of men and women around it, talking. As soon as they see us, they go quiet and stand up straighter.

“Alphas. We’ll be here for when you need the portal re-opened.”

“Thank you, Celina,” Kai says.

Luka takes my hand as we step through the portal and walk straight out into chaos. Complete and utter chaos.

“What the…” Luka says, looking around at the destruction.

The air is thick with fog. Black smoke billows from every surface. Buildings are up in flames, with most of them already crumbling or completely destroyed. The road is no longer visible, with chunks missing and long, jagged cracks breaking it into nothing but rubble.

Cars are overturned, their shape nearly unrecognizable as the flames eat away at them. The smell of burning rubber assaults my senses as we pass them.

“Damn,” Jax whispers as we spot the demon beast in action.

A cold shiver runs down my back at my first look of one of the demons. It is something not even my nightmares could come up with to terrorize me.

Four long, sharp, jagged horns sit on the side and on top of its head, with more running down the length of its back. Its entire body is covered in a hard black leathery hide with razor-edged spikes running along its shoulders and arms.

It’s huge, towering over us all and matching the size of the buildings around it, but it’s the face that creeps me out the most. It has two lines of dark, sharply pointed teeth on the top and bottom of its wide-open mouth and two sets of sinister yellow eyes.

“That’s the biggest one yet,” Luka tells us.

Good to know they aren’t all this huge and terrifying.

Hunching down, it uses its arms to destroy everything around it, clawing the ground and scraping it up like clay. People are screaming and shouting, some running toward it in their shifter form to fight, but most are running away.

There are smaller beasts that look like some sort of hybrid mix between a hyena and lion, but their tails are spiked, and they use them like a weapon to slash out at people around it. Fog spills from the large demon and blankets the smaller hybrid beasts as they move about.

Jax glances over at me, his face pale. “Baby… maybe you should—”

“No. I’m staying.” I give him a hard look, telling him this isn’t something they can sway me on. I’m not leaving them. This is my fight as much as it is theirs.

“Fuck,” Axel breathes, his eyes wide as he glances around him. “Princess… I’ll give you anything you want if you go back to the penthouse and lock yourself inside it.”

The other guys look at me, their eyes pleading with me to take Axel up on his offer. But they have to know after everything that happened, I won’t leave them.

I know they are scared. I am too. But I also know this won’t be the end of us. We are going to have years of beautiful memories ahead of us. I know that deep within me, because I am going to fight like hell to get it and keep it.

I look at them all. “You said we’re a family.”

“We are.” Kai steps in front of me. His eyes flash with conviction.

“And that families stick together.”

“We do, but—”

I shake my head, stopping him. “No buts. I’m not leaving any of you, just like none of you would leave each other. We’re going to fight this thing and beat it, and then we’re all going to head home together.”

Kai pulls me into him. “You mean everything to us. I know you can heal, but these aren’t normal supes. They’re from the pits of hell itself. What if—”

I place my finger on his lips. “You can’t do that. You can’t think about what ifs every time something new or different comes along to threaten us. We’ll learn and adapt and keep moving forward.”

Kai kisses my fingers before nodding. “We keep moving forward.”

I glance around at the others. “Okay, what’s the plan?”

Jax steps forward, his eyes narrowed on the destruction in front of him. “What you said before: destroy the big ugly fucker, kill off the little shits wreaking havoc, and then head home so we can destroy our mate in a whole other way.”

His blasé attitude makes me laugh, easing some of the tension around me.

I give him a smile. “Sounds good.”

Savage smirks surround me as Jax rubs his hands. “Well, then, what are we waiting for? Let’s get this over with so we can get home.”

Luka smiles, shaking his head at Jax.

Axel walks up to me. “No heroics, Princess. Anything happens and you get out of there.”

I salute him, giving him a smile. He shakes his head, but I catch the small tilt of his lips.

He gives me a quick kiss and turns to the guys. “I’ll take to the skies and see if I can injure the demon enough to take it down. Watch out for the small beasts. They’re sly fuckers.” Axel turns and transforms. His crimson scales glisten against the burning destruction around us. Within seconds, he’s flying above the buildings, heading straight for the large demon.

My heart squeezes inside my chest as he gets closer to it, but I have to trust in him, just like they have to trust in me.

Closing my eyes, I reach down inside me and call up my ability. It flows through me like water, no longer too thick and heavy to drag up. It slides across my body like a second skin, and the air around me turns static with energy as the power thrums throughout my veins. The strength beneath it makes me feel like I can take on the world.

I open my eyes, seeing everything more vividly and clearly.

“That’s never going to get old.” Jax moves in front of me and slams his lips to mine, pouring everything he wants to say into the kiss. All the worries he never says, all the fears he never shows. I grip him hungrily, pushing my mouth against his and showing him with every thrust and swipe of my tongue and lips, how much I love him, how much I need him to come back to me too.

Pulling back, he leans his forehead against mine while catching his breath. “Be careful and leave the crazy stunts to me.”

Giving me a wicked smile, he turns to the guys, giving them each a look, telling them to be careful. Taking off into a run, he leaps into the air, twisting his body while he shifts, and lands on all fours. His beautiful dark mane mixed with his blue flames stand out among the destruction, making him easier to keep an eye on.

“Go. Help them. I’ve got this,” I tell Luka as he steps up beside me.

“I’m not leaving you. Don’t ask me to. Please.”

I glance up, finding his shadows swirling around his face, a sad look in his eyes.

I take his hand, giving it a squeeze, letting him know I understand.

Kai moves in front of me. Glancing at Luka and over at Rion, he gives them both a look before turning to me.

“Stay where Rion and Luka can see you. If you get separated, take this and ring the last number.” He hands me his phone. “The portal will open at your location and get the hell out of here.”

“Kai—”

Kai takes my face in his hands. “Please, just listen to me this once.”

I won’t leave them unless I have to, then I would come back with help. But I nod my head, knowing he needs this right now. The tension in his body eases.

“I love you.” He walks backwards. “Be careful.” He looks at Luka and Rion. “All of you.”

Turning around, he heads straight into the chaos. Just before one of the small hybrid beast attacks, he transforms. His body erupts into flames, engulfing him whole as he expands and grows. A large dark body comes into view, the flames slowly disappearing to reveal a hound with two heads. Nearly the size of Axel’s dragon, his body is laced in flames. They run down his back, mirroring the orbs of fire that light his eyes. He’s magnificent.

A Descendant of Cerberus.

I can feel his power from here. It pulses out around us, much stronger than in his human form.

I glance at Luka. “Has he always been this…”

“Huge? Two-headed?” Luka smiles at my shocked expression. “Wait until his upgrade is unleashed.”

“That’s not the upgrade?”

He slices through the hybrid beasts like they’re nothing, viciously attacking anything that gets in his way as he moves toward the large demon.

“No. He’s always had two sides, one more vicious than the other. He doesn’t usually like to unleash that side, but I guess he’s not holding back anymore.”

A glint of silver distracts me as Rion slides two long black swords out from his back.

How did I not notice he had them?

“We can’t let them have all the fun now, can we?” Rion smiles before looking around for a target.

With my ability brimming inside me, I pull it to the surface, hoping this works. With a thought and the power behind it, I call the shadow beast to me. A couple of seconds pass before it appears beside me, making me smile.

Luka pulls me behind him, thinking it’s a threat. I pat him on the chest, walking back around him. “It’s okay. It’s with me.”

Looking at the shadow beast, I focus on that connection and tell it what I want it to do. As soon as the thought leaves me, it moves, slipping into the shadows and out to the crowd where a pack of hybrid beasts are backing a group of supes into a corner.

I hear a slash of metal and turn to find Rion taking on three of the hybrid beasts. I step forward to help, but Luka stops me. “He’s got this. Watch.”

Rion slices one in half, turns to catch another by the throat, then rips it out. He drops its body to the ground just as a third tries to jump off the wall beside it and spring at him.

Just as the beast is over Rion, he kneels, twisting around, and thrusts the sword up into its stomach. Rion swiftly moves to the side, allowing the beast to drop to the ground beside him. He looks up, catching us watching, and winks before turning to another beast heading straight for him.

“See.” Luka bumps my shoulder. “We can take care of ourselves. We’re not that useless.”

“You’re far from useless.”

A loud shriek blares out, making me cringe. Luka flinches at the sound, reaching a hand up to cover his ears. He pulls one hand away, glancing down at it and finding blood.

What the hell?

I move to inspect his injuries when his eyes widen, staring at something in front of us.

Turning around, I watch as more and more hybrid beasts appear. It’s as if they’re climbing out from the large demon itself. They head straight for us.

I turn back to Luka, reaching up to check his ears, now dripping blood, but he stops me.

“I’m fine. They’ll heal. Let’s focus on them.” He nods his head to the beasts.

He’ll heal, I remind myself, giving him once last quick check before stepping back.

Turning around, I feel my powers take over as I let go. My dark inky shadows slide over my skin, growing and expanding before they encase my entire body. They reach out like long sharp limbs, striking down the small beasts coming for us. Slicing through them like blades, the shadows pick them off one by one.

Just as we think we’re gaining on them, another loud shriek sounds out, but this time it’s much louder. Luka grabs his ears, squeezing his eyes shut in pain.

I move toward him when the sound cuts off, followed by a loud crash that quakes the ground beneath me.

My eyes veer toward the source, finding the large demon head-to-head with Kai’s hounds. Axel is above them, shooting flames down around them, hitting the demon whenever an opening appears.

I release a harsh breath, the tightness in my chest easing slightly, seeing them hold their own against it.

I check for Luka and Rion, seeing them both back to fighting now that the shrieking has stopped.

Knowing both are safe, I glance around, looking out for a familiar blue flame when I spot it in front of a half-destroyed I.

Jax is holding his own against a half a dozen hybrid beasts while protecting a group of young shifters. He rips through them, burning them with his blue flames.

Focusing back on the beasts in front of me, I hear a loud rumble, like thunder distracting me. I feel the air shift as if it’s being pulled into a vacuum.

Seconds later, a loud boom comes from the skies and the vacuum pops. It strikes, hitting the large demon, slightly tipping it forward. The energy from the vacuum keeps going, sending a rippling effect around it, destroying everything it touches.

The demon catches itself, sending out another loud shriek, but this time it doesn’t stop. Luka and Rion grab their heads, trying to cover their ears.

The hybrid beasts move forward, unaffected by the sound. I frown, only noticing that neither am I. Pushing the thought to the back of my mind; I focus on the beasts gaining ground on my mates.

I pull up more power, ready to strike when more and more beasts appear. They keep coming the longer the shriek blares out. Quickly glancing around, I find the tables also turned on Jax. He becomes inundated by a large pack of the beasts.

I go to move toward him when a slash of metal sounds out. Turning back, I find Rion using both weapons to hold them off.

Why isn’t he shifting? I glance around for Luka but can’t see him in the chaos.

Panic and dread sets in the longer I don’t find him. My dark shadows curls around me as I keep searching, waiting for my command.

A rush of breath leaves me spotting him kneeling and bleeding from multiple claws marks across his stomach. His face is in pain as he covers his ears, wincing against the loud shrieking. His hands are drenched in blood, making the panic inside me build once more.

Terror strikes me frozen as two beasts sneak up behind him. I glance at the distance between us, knowing I’ll never make it to him in time, nor will he hear me shout out to him.

Not knowing what else to do, I focus on the beast instead.

Reaching deep inside me, I search for a connection similar to the one I have with the shadow beast but find none. Moving quickly, I try to feel for a spark similar to Malik’s, but instead of a spark, I find a flicker. It’s so small I barely feel it as it brushes up against my senses.

I take hold of it in my mind and pull. I yank on it, feeling my power wrap around it and drag it to me.

Focusing on the beast, I aim everything at it, hoping I can stop it in time.

“STOP!” My command rings out, and it halts its advance… along with every other hybrid beast around us.

Suddenly, the shrieking stops. I glance over to see one of Kai’s hounds has its teeth latched onto to the front of the large demon’s neck while the other hound’s head latches on from behind.

With the shrieking stopped and the hybrid beasts frozen in their spots, Luka and Rion slowly make their way over to me.

They each take a hand and squeeze it tight. I check over them and see them already starting to heal.

We look over at Kai’s hound just as the demon starts thrashing, trying to escape Kai’s hold. But it’s no use. Kai’s hounds have latched on tight, and they aren’t letting go. The demon’s fight is coming to an end.

While Kai holds it in place, Axel creates another vacuum and aims it right at the demon. It gives Kai the extra push he needs to rip the demon’s head right off.

It drops to the ground, the loud thump blowing dust everywhere.

The fog starts retreating. I feel a pull from the flicker I connected with and sense it wanting to return.

I hold on to it a minute longer before pulling back and releasing it. The hybrid beasts immediately retreat into the fog, disappearing as if it they were never here to begin with. The only evidence is the destruction they left behind.

The adrenaline leaves my body all at once, my powers dropping the connection as soon as the last beast disappears.

Exhaustion settles over me, and I stumble forward, but Luka catches me before I reach the ground, grabbing my arm.

“Are you okay?” Luka’s worried look makes me smile.

“Just tired. You?” I check his injuries, but most of them have already healed. The blood running from his ears has stopped and is starting to dry.

“I’m fine.”

Glancing at Rion, I see him faring better with fewer injuries and already fully healed, the blood from his ears not as much as Luka’s.

Jax is… My stomach drops when I don’t see him by the crumbling cafe.

“What is it?” Luka’s eyes are wide as he checks over me for any injuries.

“Jax. I can’t—”

Arms wrap around me from behind, a woodsy scent that’s all Jax surrounds me. I slump back into him.

“I’m right here, baby.”

Just like he did with me, Luka checks his brother for any serious injuries. I see the look of relief when he finds none, lessening my own worry.

Jax’s grip tightens on me as he nuzzles into my neck. “Well done, baby. You kicked ass.”

I lean into his warmth, too drained to even laugh or reply.

Kai and Axel show up a few minutes later, having shifted back to their human forms. Kai glances at each of the guys as he heads straight for me.

“What happened?”

I shake my head, giving him a small smile. “Nothing, we’re fine.”

Reaching a hand out, he rubs a thumb across my cheek, frowning. “Are you okay?”

I nod, using Jax to hold me up at this stage. “Just tired.”

He glances behind me at Jax, doing that silent communication thing he does, before moving onto Luka and Rion.

Once he’s satisfied everyone is okay, he leans down and kisses my lips, lingering a moment before pulling slightly back. He gazes down at me, the look in his eyes full of relief and wonder, but there’s also a hint of worry that he tries to hide.

With effort, I reach a hand up and brush it down the side of his face. “I promise.” Letting him know that we are all okay.

He nods, swallowing hard before taking a step back, just as Axel moves toward me. He wraps his arms around me while Jax still holds me from behind, wrapping us both in his hug.

“This is nice,” Jax tells him.

Axel huffs out a laugh, but I feel the tremor work its way through his body as he holds me. I grip him a little tighter, hoping he’ll know I was just as worried about him.

Axel pulls back, glancing down at me. “You okay, Princess?”

I smile. “Never better.”

Nodding his head, he blows out a harsh breath before stepping back. Dragging a hand down his face, he glances around at the destruction.

Luka steps up beside me, gripping my hand like a lifeline as we look around. The area is nearly empty, with most people already cleared out or are in the process of doing it.

Kai turns to us. “I’ll call in some healers and see if I can get a big enough clean-up crew down here to sort this mess out.”

He glances down at me, his eyes softening. “Let’s head back and get some rest.”