Chapter Fourteen

I'm Going To Kick You.

"I've experienced hundreds of situations that were dangerous and never blinked an eye. I just did what was expected. I protected our kingdom and our Prime and Prima. So it's new to me to feel something other than simple determination to defeat my foe. As I head toward our enemy, with my mate at my side, I have never been more scared. What if I fail to protect her? What if I lose her? I know these are questions that will do me no good to linger upon. And yet every horrid scenario that could happen is running through my mind." ~Callon

"Something is coming." Marissa stood on the old porch, looking out into the dark night.

"Are you ssspeaking metaphorically, or is there actually something coming?" Azure asked dryly. He was growing tired of the priestess's eccentricities. Despite the large size of the home, it only had enough room for one ego. Alas, Azure needed Marissa in order to accomplish his goal.

"I don't speak in metaphors," she said vehemently. "If I say something is coming, then I mean something is actually coming."

Azure started to respond, but his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out, read the name, then swiped to answer the call. "News?"

"Sorry, boss," the informant said. "But there's no sign of Otto in the Kingdom of Venom, Kingdom of Claws, or Kingdom of Fangs. Would he have gone to any of the others?"

Azure thought for a moment, trying to get inside Otto's head to think of what would he do, or where he would go. "Try the Kingdom of Chaos. He might be trying to hide among them. Keep a low profile. I don't need to deal with Wolfgang or his pushy mate."

"Yes, sir."

Azure ended the call and forced himself not to crush his phone. Things were moving too slowly. He needed more progress. He'd already sent out a text to his two supporters. But he'd been ignoring their calls all day because he had nothing new, or anything reassuring, to say.

He heard Marissa begin to chant. It was something she did when she wanted to channel the spirits, A.K.A. the souls of dead people. She used them like spies, but she could only cast the spell while out in the bayou, where the old magic lived. Marissa claimed the souls would tell her if any danger was near. Azure had refrained from telling her she didn't need souls to tell her about danger. The crocodiles and water snakes were plenty of warning.

He walked through the rickety home, the ancient wooden floors groaning and creaking with his steps. The air was musty, and layers of dust coated every surface. At first glance, one might believe the home hadn't been lived in for a long time. Azure thought Marissa was just a slob. But she claimed the souls liked the dust and that it helped her art for the house to be as undisturbed as possible.

He reached the circular stairs and began ascending. Holes were worn through in the rug. The banister felt sticky, as though a toddler had run their candy-covered hand down the rails. Azure had had the misfortune of learning that already, so now he carefully kept his hands and clothes from touching the banister.

When he finally reached the room where they'd placed the human women who were in a transitional state of becoming animi, he felt as if he'd hiked a mile. He was tired. Why? His kind rarely tired. Damarians didn't need nearly as much rest as humans. But here he was, ready to take a nap. He shook his head trying to dispel the thoughts. He opened the door to find the two females on the farthest bed from the door. Two pairs of eyes widened, and they both pushed as far back into the headboard as they could get without actually climbing it.

"I'm not here to hurt you," Azure told them. "What use would you be to me if you were dead?"

"What are you going to do to us?" the braver of the two females asked.

"I'm going to give you the incredible gift of being a compatible mate to a Damarian male. Preferably in my kingdom, but there are others that I'd be willing to sssend you to for the right price."

"And if we refuse?" the shyer one asked.

Azure shook his head slowly as he slipped his hands into his pockets. "Then I would kill you. Because you'd leave me no other option." He narrowed his eyes on them and used his superior senses to taste the air, suck in the scents, and listen to their heartbeats and the blood flowing through their veins. Their hearts were beating slower than he liked, but they were fine in every way. The remaining piece of the puzzle was to capture the girl, Katy, so Marissa could refine the spell.

He turned and left the room without another word. Something was off inside of him. He was restless and agitated. As he walked back down the stairs, he stumbled. How ridiculous. He pulled himself upright and stood still for a moment, trying to get his bearings. Azure took slow breaths and searched inside of his mind, trying to locate the bond that tethered him to Zeena. He hissed as he realized there was no bond present. What the hell had his mate done?

Morning came much too early in Katy's opinion. In less than half an hour, Gage had them up and back out on the streets of Vegas. As they walked toward the end of the busy street, Katy's eyes caught on a sign that pointed down a set of stairs that would lead to a basement of the casino. On the sign was the word "Sin."

She huffed out a tired laugh and pointed. "He literally told us the name of the club."

Gage shook his head. "Now the question is, did he have a way to contact her and warn her we were coming?"

"Dude, you totally just popped my balloons for the parade."

"What parade?" Gage held her hand while walking across the street.

"The one going on inside my head because, hopefully, we're about to meet up with the best possible person to defeat Azure. And you just pop, pop, pop with your dose of reality." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Keep that shit in check, Dire. I don't like my emotion-driven parades messed with."

Gage glanced at her with an almost smirk, because Gage's face doesn't move enough to have a full-blown smirk. "So what I'm hearing you say is that you're hungry."

Katy pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm going to kick you."

Gage steered Katy away from the stairs indicated by the sign.

"What about…" She pointed back to the stairs.

"We're not going in the front door," Gage hoped she wouldn't tear into him for not explaining why. She'd been quite testy all morning. He was so new to this mating thing, or even just having a female around, for that matter. It was definitely something that was going to take a willingness from both of them to communicate and work through the issues that they would no doubt have.

Gage guided Katy down the dingy back corridor of the casino, following his nose. At the end lay an unmarked door barely visible in the gloom. He exchanged a glance with Katy, seeing his own trepidation mirrored in her eyes. But they had come too far to turn back now.

With only a slight hesitation, Gage grasped the handle and pulled open the heavy door. Music and lights assaulted their senses as they stepped into the secret club below the main floor. Gage's inner wolf bristled at the sensory overload, but he focused on keeping Katy close as they moved into the noisy space.

Despite the early hour, the club was lively, packed with supernatural beings drinking and dancing with abandon. Gage's sharp eyes scanned the crowds, seeking one face among the chaos. Finally, in the farthest booth tucked out of sight, he spotted her. As they continued forward, he smelled her unique scent mixed with the smell of pain, anger, and fear. Even in the dim lighting, the defeated slump to Zeena's shoulders was obvious. Her glamour could not disguise the grief etched into the lines of her face.

Weaving through the press of bodies, he pulled Katy close behind him, forcing her to almost walk on his heels. Gage reached the booth and motioned for Katy to slide in across from the fallen queen, and then he slipped beside her. Zeena did not seem surprised to see them, merely lifting her glass in a weary greeting.

Up close, Gage could see past the thinning glamour to the wreck Azure had made of his regal mate. Dull scales covered gaunt cheeks, and lank hair fell limply to frame a pallid face. But her eyes still hinted at the formidable will lingering beneath the despair. That and the desperation to which she clung were her only allies. If they could get and keep her talking, perhaps the true queen could yet emerge.

"You found me at last, Dire Wolf." Her voice was a broken echo of its former melodic tone. "I was told you were coming."

His eyebrows went up. So, she'd received a visit from their Creator as well. Gage chose his words carefully, sensing Katy's sympathy for this grieving female. "We only wish to stop Azure before more innocents are harmed."

At the mention of her mate's name, Zeena flinched. She tossed back the remains of her drink before meeting their eyes. "Then you and I both seek the same end."

Katy reached tentatively across the table to touch Zeena's hand. "I'm so sorry for your loss." At the Queen's sharp glance, she amended, "The loss of the mate you knew, I mean."

Zeena's jade eyes shimmered with tears. "You have a gentle soul, young one, to pity me so." With a shuddering breath, she gripped Katy's hand. "Visata was wise to choose you. It takes tremendous courage to do the work of a Dire Wolf."

Gage leaned forward intently, recognizing an opening. "You have seen the Creator then?" At her solemn nod, he continued, "Then you must know Azure's ambitions will only end in ruin."

"I know." Zeena's whispered confession was anguished. She turned her palm up to cling to Katy's hand like a lifeline. It was bizarre for him to see the queen that he'd always seen as cold and aloof be so passionate without being cruel. At her former mate's name, Zeena's brief flash of strength gutted out again. She wrapped her free arm around herself as if to hold back pain. "He is lost," she choked out. "Warped by ambition into a monster I no longer know. If I stand against my mate openly, no matter how far he's fallen, it would destroy us both. But it will destroy me all the same if he continues down this path. He's already cost us our relationship. Centuries upon centuries of being mated. Poof." She made a motion with her hands. "Just gone."

Katy shot Gage a pleading look he already knew too well. His tenderhearted mate would not push this grieving female. With an internal sigh, he considered his words carefully.

"What is your plan for your future, Zeena?" he asked gently. "Are you leaving your mate? If he's left alive, will you stand by his side while he serves a lifetime prison sentence?"

Zeena considered this, desperation and longing warring in her expression. Finally, she shook her head. "I won't stand beside a monster, no matter how badly it hurts to let him go. I've already severed the bond."

Katy's eyes widened, and Gage felt a rise of panic. "The bond can be severed?"

Gage looked at her and shook his head. "Not our bond. Not ever."

Zeena's eyes were gentle as she looked at Katy. "Every bond is different." She shrugged and nodded her head. "But I have to face him. I've not even reached out to him since we got separated in the fire. I have no idea how he's going to react to me. He hasn't even tried to call me. But—" She shook her head and blew out a breath, then looked at both of them. "I will help however I'm able."

Gage squeezed Katy's shoulder in relief. "We thank you. My opinion isn't much, I'm sure, but your willingness to help us to capture your mate is incredibly selfless. It will not go unnoticed by others."

"First, I need to share with you what I've learned while in the Kingdom of Chaos. He's not been the man I mated for a long time. But I kept hoping he would change."

Katy's distress echoed Gage's own sympathy as Zeena brokenly confessed Azure's pact with the King of Chaos to produce animi mates by force. Her grief was a palpable thing, mourning the male she once loved who was now fully submerged in madness. They sat in solemn silence as Zeena grieved the end of all she had known. The scope of the Snake King's depravity left a sick feeling in Gage's gut. They had vastly underestimated the enemy.

"I'm sure there are other kingdoms in his pocket, but I don't know who they are," she added.

A text from Nox drew Gage's focus. He scowled, reading that the Claws envoy was venturing into the perilous bayou, seeking the voodoo priestess that Azure worked with. That was far too risky without knowing how deeply Chaos was involved in Azure's schemes. His mind jumped to Nico. Nico was a shaman, but he was the Shaman for the Kingdom of Chaos. Could he be in on this with Azure? The Nico that Gage knew was crazy, but he wasn't evil.

Looking up sharply, he asked Zeena, "Would Azure be with the voodoo witch he was working with?"

She paled. It obviously gutted her to think of Azure with another, though that wasn't how Gage had meant it. "You speak of the swamplands?"

"Nox said bayou." Then he shared the names of those in the hunting party.

Zeena's eyes widened. "Nico is with them?"

Katy's brow rose as she grasped what that could mean. "Do you guys think this is a trap, and Nico is in on it because of Wolf-whatever and his mate Tabata?"

"Tallula," Gage corrected.

Katy didn't skip a beat as she warned her mate, "Never correct another female's name to me."

Gage loved her possessive side. But she needn't be jealous or worried that he would ever want someone else. He mentally added it to the list of things they really needed to discuss.

Zeena scooted out from the booth and stood abruptly. "We need to get there. It might not be a trap, but if it is, they will need all the help they can get. And he won't suspect me." Her expression hardened with new resolve. "I should have acted long ago."

Katy gave the former queen a soft smile, though it didn't reach her eyes. "We're going to shut him down, Zeena. And maybe he can be saved."

Caught up in his mate's optimism, Gage allowed a smile. "First, we secure transport to the bayou. Are you ready, Love?"

At Katy's eager nod, he ushered both females toward the exit. As he walked, he sent a quick text to Callon warning him about the Kingdom of Chaos alliance and that they didn't know if Nico was in on it.

Gage: I'm getting us on a plane with Azure's mate of her own free will. Can you wait to head out until we get there?"

Callon: Nico?

Apparently, he wasn't past that part of Gage's text.

Gage: Focus, man. Wait for us. Make something up to stall that won't raise Nico's suspicions.

Callon: Fine. Hurry your ass up.

Good ol' Callon. A man of few words, which Gage respected, and when he did use words, he made sure they were full of piss and vinegar.

The heavy darkness lifted slightly from Gage's spirit. They had needed allies and found them in unlikely places. Perhaps together they could still drag Azure back from the abyss and into the light once more. He'd never be king again, but maybe they wouldn't have to kill him.