CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Ella fumbled for the door handle, ready to jump out and join the battle, when she noticed something that made her freeze. "What the … ?" The strix were volleying balls of hellfire at the Black Saints—that was normal enough—but the angels were retaliating with ultraviolet orbs of who-knew-the-fuck-what.

Mia leaned forward. "What is that stuff they're conjuring? It's not holy fire, and it's not hellfire."

"Maybe it's some combination of both."

Something blasted out of Viper. A shimmering, ultraviolet wave that rippled through the air.

And sliced its targets in two.

Ella flinched back, her demon as impressed as it was leery. "Well. Fuck."

More of those waves were tossed around, killing multiple demons at a time.

Hearing a vicious muffled curse, she looked to her left to see Razor baring his teeth at a strix. He whipped out his arm, telekinetically throwing it at another demon that had been fast approaching, sending them both flying to the ground. Yet another flip of the same arm sent a third strix soaring right over Ella's car and into the grassland beyond it. All three strix were on their feet again within moments, only to be taken out by a series of ultraviolet thingies.

Her heart jumped when a cluster of strix surrounded Kasper and Arman.

And killed the guards in seconds.

She hissed in anger, clenching her hand on the steering wheel. "Jesus Christ. We have to—" She started in surprise as a strix approached the front of the car, sniffing. Its red eyes zipped from her to Mia, a combination of intrigue and bloodthirst there. The demon coiled its body, preparing itself to lunge.

Ella grimly smiled. "That's it, motherfucker, come on."

It pounced on the bonnet but then shrieked as electric magick shot through its feet and surged through its body. Its eyes rolling back, it violently convulsed as it toppled backwards and fell to the ground. A puff of ashes ballooned up, telling her that it was dead.

Viper's psyche bumped hers, and his voice floated into her mind: I'd be wasting my breath telling you to stay in the car, so instead I'm going to tell you to watch your back . They like to pounce from behind.

As a thought came to mind, Ella turned to her sister. "I have an idea."

Hyped up on adrenaline, rage, and protectiveness, Viper grunted in satisfaction as yet two more strix burst into ashes. Typically, he wouldn't rush a battle. But Ella was stuck in the middle of this one. She could take care of herself just fine, yes, but there were many strix here. So Viper kept hurling one archangelic blast after another, cleaving in half several demons at a time.

He didn't have to worry that any humans would arrive and see things they shouldn't. He'd instantly thrown a forcefield over the area to conceal them—a forcefield that for anyone outside it would give the illusion of ‘roadworks ahead' traffic signs.

Surrounded by the scent and sight of blood and death, Viper's entity was high on sadistic glee. It was particularly enjoying watching these strix die, because they'd dared go near Ella. She hadn't been their target, but it didn't matter.

A roasting hot orb connected with Viper's head, burning his ear, making him hiss out a pained curse. He whirled to find his new attacker and— there . It was in the process of hurling another orb at him. He squatted low, evading it, and then lobbed several orbs of unholy fire at the demon. Only once it was ashes did he briefly check on his brothers, noting that none had allowed their inner fire to cover them in flames, careful what they permitted the sisters to see.

He glanced at Ella's car.

And his gut dropped.

She and her sister were both fucking hanging out of the sunroof, back to back, as strix charged the car. Their palms crackling with vibrantly colored magick, their lips barely moved as they chanted low and fast; ramming the aforementioned strix with magickal strikes.

Normally, Viper would have sat back and enjoyed watching Ella wield her magick. Right then, his focus was on the battle.

A focus that shifted to his left as more demons rushed him.

Viper grunted as an orb of hellfire smacked his already charred skin, popping blisters and making his skin sizzle. More came, and he batted them away with orbs of his own before slicing the bastard in half with another lethal blast.

He wanted to teleport to his woman's side, but the strix were mainly coming at him . It was best that he wasn't stood near her right now.

Crackling balls of flame arrowed through the air toward Viper—one, two, three. He sidestepped two, but the third clipped his shoulder. Even as he killed its source, a heavy weight crashed down on his back and teeth bit his injured shoulder hard . The force felt like needles driving into his flesh and scraping bone.

Viper looked at Jester. "I am so done with these bastards."

As yet another strix fell victim to her magick, Ella allowed herself to quickly check on Viper. She glanced his way … just in time to watch a strix unlatch its teeth from his skin and slip to the ground, agony painting its face. Huh. That was weird. She had to—

A hellfire orb slammed into her shoulder like a flaming rock, sending a brief sensation of numbness down her arm.

Ow. Focusing on her attacker, she chanted as she emitted twisting streams of magick that rammed into its heart hard enough to make it stop. Like that, the demon was dead.

But then another took its place, launching orbs at her and the car. The latter move was a mistake, because those orbs bounced off her vehicle's transparent protective shield and took down the strix who'd conjured them. Ha.

An alarming cry of pain came from Mia.

Ella tensed. "Are you—"

"I'm okay, just wasn't expecting how hot that black fire is," said Mia. "Their numbers are massively down, I'm thinking this will be over soon."

Fingers crossed.

Always chanting, always tossing out magick, she and Mia snapped necks, broke legs, ruptured organs, and sent ashes scattering everywhere.

They didn't always attack strix that came their way … because the strix didn't persistently come at the sisters, too focused on the Black Saints. As such, Ella and Mia were also able to cover the angels' backs. Not that the guys needed help. They actually appeared to be enjoying themselves.

If they weren't grunting and cursing, they were laughing like loons. The strix were more animalistic, hissing and shrieking and making guttural cat-like sounds.

"I don't know where the smell of acid is coming from, but it's making my nose tingle." Ella wasn't crazy about the scents of sulphur and brimstone either.

"I think it's coming from whatever the Black Saints are conjuring."

Noticing that three strix were hightailing it across the field, Ella narrowed her eyes. Apparently, some had decided they were fighting a lost cause. Good decision. That didn't mean she'd let them leave alive.

But before she had the chance to cut their run short, they bounced off something she couldn't see. A containment forcefield, maybe? She wasn't sure. Whatever it was, the strix battered at it with fists.

Chanting, Ella slammed them with heavy gusts of magick that punched their backs hard enough to knock them down. Before they could fully rise, she hurled a loop of magick that curled around each of their necks and contracted tightly, cutting off their air supply.

Another tried running. She did the same to it.

Another made the same attempt, and it met the same fate.

A strix sped toward her car with an enraged hiss, its eyes boring into hers. She launched a blast of magick square in its face, causing its head to wrench back. Before she could act again, an ultraviolet blast sliced through it.

She whipped her gaze to her far left. Viper was looking at her, his breaths coming a little heavy … and she saw that the battle was over. No strix remained, no others were attempting to flee. All the fallen angels appeared fine and were slipping their jackets back on.

"You okay, Mia?"

A relieved sigh. "Yeah. Just wondering something, though."

"What?"

"Well, the strix somehow sent Ghost tumbling over your car and onto the road, didn't they? How did they manage to see him when they call him Ghost for a reason."

Considering he'd once claimed to Ella that people only saw him if he wanted them to see him … "I really have no idea."

Ghost tipped his chin toward a stretch of grassland. "They were waiting out there to swarm me, V. My cloak dropped for just a few seconds, and then they were on me. For them to wait here, they know my routine. They've been watching me—probably all of us."

Just as Viper had suspected. "There are two things I don't get. How they could know your routine when your presence is cloaked, and how the hell they could make that cloak drop."

Ghost shrugged. "Beats me. I'd like to know the answers as well."

Viper crossed to Ella's car just as she and her sister hopped out of it. Pulling his woman close, he searched her from head to toe. "Were you bitten?"

"No, the strix never got that close to me. I'm okay, just a few minor wounds."

"I'll never consider any injury you suffer ‘minor'." Viper pressed his palm to hers and then pushed healing energy into her.

Her eyes widened. "Oh. You kept that nifty ability quiet." She looked at Mia, who was receiving the same aid from Dice.

Satisfied she was fully healed, Viper caught Ella by her nape. "I know it's not who you are, but I can still wish you'd stayed in the damn car."

"Technically, I did."

He felt his nostrils flare. "Not with every possible entry and exit closed."

"As you said, that's not who I am."

"It should be totaled," said Rivet, eyeing the vehicle.

Ella shrugged. "A little magickal protection goes a long way."

"Was it my imagination, or did your car actually zap a strix?" asked Blackjack.

"I'd set the trap for my note-writer, but the strix suffered for it." Her attention drifted to the two dead bodyguards, and her eyes dulled. "They were killed so fast I didn't have a chance to do anything to stop it."

Picking up on the guilt lacing her voice, Viper gave her a pointed look. "The strix are to blame, not you."

"My words, your mouth," Mia said to him before then turning to Ghost. "I'm guessing the strix barreled into you out of nowhere, since you went hurtling through the air."

He stiffly inclined his head. "They did."

"I never see you," said Ella. "I catch glimpses of your brothers in the distance sometimes, but never you. How did they ?"

"I can cloak my presence, which is why I can stick close to you without being seen," Ghost replied. "For just a few seconds, the cloak dropped."

Ella frowned. "But … how could they have made it drop when they couldn't see you?"

"They must have guessed I was here when they saw your car. They somehow know I watch over you and that you use this route. They were prepared for an ambush." Ghost absently rubbed at dried blood on his jaw. "Don't know how they lowered my cloak, though."

"Maybe they didn't," said Dice. "Maybe a celestial is working with them. They hate hell-born demons, yeah, but the Uppers are desperate to take Viper down. They could have decided to make an exception."

Ella's gaze flew to Viper, a pinch of fear there. "They want you dead ? Why?"

Hearing the worry in her voice, he felt his heart squeeze. "Baby, they're not going to get their wish. Soon enough, they'll come to terms with that and back off." Maybe. "In the meantime, they'll send other celestials on what are basically suicide missions."

"If a celestial was here just now, surely they wouldn't have hidden and watched the battle," said Mia. "They would have struck while you were preoccupied with the strix."

Viper shook his head. "I threw up a forcefield. It hid the battle from view, and it would have stopped anyone outside it from landing any hits of their own."

Ella poked him. "You didn't answer my question."

"You didn't stay in the car. Fully. "

"We talked about that already." Ella looked at Ghost. "Speaking of the car, how are you managing to keep up with it if you're not driving? Do you have wings or something?"

Ghost's lips curved a little. "Or something."

Viper thought Ella might push for an answer, but she sighed, her gaze again drifting to the dead guards.

Sadness once more seeped into her expression. "Shame they couldn't hide their presence like you can, Ghost. I really liked those guys. Luka's gonna freak when I tell him what happened." Ella looked up at Viper. "This would have been a good time to tell him about you and me. I'd like to just get it over with. But … "

"But he's going to be furious enough on learning you were attacked by strix, and you don't want him to be in a murderous frame of mind when you tell him about us," Viper understood.

"Instead of admitting that Ghost is your guard, just say you got caught in the backlash of strix blindsiding him as he walked innocently across the street," Jester advised her. "A wrong place wrong time thing."

Ella pulled a face, not wanting to keep more things from Luka than she already was. But seriously, given how her anchor operated, what else could she do?

Sometimes, as Viper had recently shown, the truth was just best kept quiet. It would be better for her to present the Black Saints as her saviors rather than revealing that they'd been the targets. Luka would otherwise blame them for her being in the sight of the strix.

"If there's anything you lot don't want him to see, now is the time to hide it," Ella warned the Black Saints as she pulled out her phone. She brought up Luka's contact entry and pressed ‘Call'.

He answered after a few rings, "Yes?"

"Hey, hope you're okay." Ella scratched the back of her head. "Be warned, you're not gonna like what I say next. Mia and I got caught up in a strix problem, and your guards sadly died in their attempt to save us. But the Black Saints showed up, so we're fine."

There was a long pause, then, " What ?"

She winced at the growl. "Really, we're good."

"Where are you?" It was a snarly demand.

She rattled off the location, and then the line went dead. Sighing, she pocketed her phone. "He's likely gonna have someone teleport him here." Hence why she was backing away from Viper. "You might want to lower the forcefield so he'll see us."

"Already done," Viper told her.

Proving her prediction correct, Luka materialized nearby no more than thirty seconds later. He headed right for her with his guards and a third demon—no doubt the teleporter—at his back. His expression black, his mouth a thin slash, he studied her appearance. "You're all right?" he asked, his voice gruff with anger.

"We're fine, I promise," Ella assured him.

Mia leaned into her. "I really don't think he's asking about me," she said, as ever amused by how he considered everyone other than those closest to him to be somebody else's problem.

Luka's gaze swept over the Black Saints, eventually settling on their president. "Viper."

Viper inclined his head and greeted, "Belinsky."

"I'm sorry about Kasper and Arman," said Ella, feeling seriously shitty about them getting caught in the middle of all this fuckery. "I liked them. They were good guys."

Her anchor gave her a hard look. "Don't take the weight of their deaths on your shoulders. It is not your fault." He planted his feet. "Now, I have questions. Starting with how exactly does one get caught up in a strix issue?"

"A Black Saint was crossing the road in front of us when, bam, down he went as some strix barreled into him. Your soldiers jumped out to help, got attacked for their trouble, and then the rest of the club appeared. Mia and I stayed in the car while a short but sweet battle ensued that the Black Saints did indeed win." Aside from the first sentence, it was pretty much the truth, she'd just omitted a few details.

Luka's eyes flew to Viper. "I suppose you're going to call in a favor for protecting my anchor."

He shook his head. "The girls got caught up in our shit. They owe us nothing."

The legion narrowed his eyes slightly, a glint of suspicion there. But then his attention resettled on Ella. "Come. I will take you home."

"No need," Ella assured him. "I have my car, it didn't sustain any damage."

"I don't care. I want to be sure you're home safe before I leave you. Mikhail can drive the car back to your building."

Viper's psyche stroked Ella's as he said, Let him take you back to your apartment so he can feel sure you're all right. I'll come pick you up as soon as he's gone.

Knowing that Luka wouldn't budge on this anyway, she agreed, Okay. I'll text you when I'm ready . She then smiled wanly at Luka. "Fine. You can take me home."

Stepping out of Viper's en suite bathroom wearing only a fluffy towel, Ella sighed at him. "You're still brooding?"

"I'm not brooding," he denied, sitting on the bed. "I'm concerned."

"There's no need to be. I'm fine."

Which wasn't the point. "You should never have been caught up in my shit." He scrubbed a hand over his jaw. "They somehow know he's tailing you, which means they're also aware that you're important to the club. They would have killed you today in the hope that it would piss us off."

"But they didn't."

Viper wanted to gather her close, squirrel her away, and hide her somewhere where no one would ever find her. That she was powerful in her own right and didn't need such protection didn't quash those instincts.

It had been hard for him to let Belinsky take her away earlier. So fucking hard. What Viper had most wanted was to take her to his compound and not let her out of his sight. But he'd known that the legion wouldn't leave that spot without her, and the quickest way for Viper to get her alone had been to let Luka feel assured that she was safe.

Viper rose to his feet. "I don't suppose you'll let me put you someplace safe until all this is over, will you?"

She bristled. "Uh, no. No, I won't."

"Strix are dangerous, Ella."

"I know. Gosh, if only I could use magick or something."

His entity snickered at that. "I'd be the last person to imply that you can't handle yourself—I've seen you in action, and I know you're strong. I just … I don't want to lose you."

Her face softened. "I'm not the main target here."

"But you're a target purely because you're of interest to the club."

"True, but you have guards on me. Be satisfied with that. I get that you're still wound tight after what happened earlier, but I'm fine. See for yourself." She dropped her towel.

Predictably, his body stirred. "You think you can distract me with sex?"

Humor lit her gaze. "That is my hope. But my intention was to seduce you in any case."

"You don't need to put effort into seducing me, Ella. I'm easy when it comes to you."

"That works both ways." She crossed to him. "Now instead of fretting over what could have happened, can we celebrate that it didn't?" She tilted her head. "Or shall I cover up?"

"Stay as you are." Because there was no way for him not to fold like a cheap pack of cards when she was naked in front of him.

Viper edged closer and inhaled deeply, savoring the feel of her scent slamming into his senses and making his cock harden. He stared down at her hauntingly beautiful face. Fuck, she made him ache. Covet. Crave.

Her eyes lowered as she doodled a circle in the hollow of his throat. "You, um, you said yesterday that you need to feed tonight at the latest. I thought about it. Hard." Her gaze flew back to his. "I want you to take my blood."

He stilled, greed and excitement bursting to life inside him. His entity grinned, fucking ecstatic. "Be sure, Ella. If I drink from you, it'll get intense."

Her brow dented. "Intense how?"

"With others, I keep it clinical. Feed and then walk away. You're not just prey to me, you're mine. There'll be nothing impersonal about what happens. I won't only take your blood, I'll take you while I feed."

She swallowed hard, her eyes heating in a way that made his gut twist.

"Which means it won't be a gentle feed. It won't hurt—you'll love it, Ill make sure of that. But it'll be intense, like I said."

She hummed in thought. "Well, go big or go home, Viper."

" Be sure ."

"I'm positive. And why you think that ‘intense' will ever be a turn-off for me, I don't know. Honestly, it's like you're new here."

His lips twitched. "Fine. But don't say you weren't warned."

Tired of him drawing this whole thing out, Ella fisted his tee and tugged on it hard. "I won't, I promise. Now do me already."

In hindsight, she shouldn't have gotten all demanding. Whenever she tried to rush him, he only made her wait longer. So it was no surprise that he lowered his face to hers inch by slow inch.

Finally, their mouths touched. It was a mere brush of lips. Featherlight. Barely-there. And yet, her nerve-endings sprang to attention.

He sipped from her mouth once, twice. Then he took it. Took it with a hungry, bruising, unrestrained kiss that made every part of her ache.

Releasing his tee, she slid her hands up to grip his shoulders. The kiss went on and on, interspersed with nips and scrapes of his teeth. All she felt in that moment—the heat, the connection, the chemical bliss—strangely calmed her mind. Her body, on the other hand? Oh, it was a hot mess as sexual sparks arced between them.

She leaned into him, seeking more. He kissed her harder. Deeper. Hungrier. Dragged her right under his spell, like always.

Viper pulled his lips free, his pupils blown, his face cold. "I'm gonna fuck every other man from your mind," he said, his voice thick with a need that made her skin pebble. A finger tapped her temple. "I'll be the only one up here. And you'll never get me out."

Ella felt a little shiver take her. And then his mouth was back on hers, his tongue was sliding against her own, his hands were in her hair … and up in flames she went.

She impatiently yanked and pulled at his clothes, shedding them piece by piece, scattering them all over the bedroom floor.

Hands snatched her hips and lifted her, plopping her down on his dresser. His mouth dipped to her neck, licking and nipping and suckling. Covetous hands stroked over her skin, a hint of reverence in his touch as well as the distinct stamp of ownership.

She palmed his head, letting tufts of his hair sift through her fingers as she closed her eyes. Ella officially lost herself in the moment, in the sensations, in the excitement winding through her. At this point, her core hurt with need and—

He raised his head, slamming a carnal gaze on hers. And shoved a finger inside her. Her gasp got lost beneath the growl that rumbled out of him.

"So slick and ready," he roughly whispered.

"Exactly, so can we cut the foreplay short?"

"It's like you read my mind."

Ordinarily, Viper would have spent more time gorging and savoring. But right now, knowing he was about to feed from her, he was too wound up to hold out. His cock was harder than it had ever been.

He withdrew his finger, snapped his hands around her thighs, and hauled her closer. "I want to take you bare, Ella," he said, the edge of a growl in his voice as he lodged the head of his dick inside her. "You still good with that?"

They'd discussed it only yesterday, agreeing it was time to scrap the condoms. She was on birth control, and both their kinds were immune to STDs.

She nodded, curling her legs tight around his hips. "Yes."

Thank fuck. Urged on by his entity, he rammed his hips forward, driving his cock deep. Her inner walls gripped him tight, making his teeth grind.

"Mine, Ella. You're mine and only mine." Digging his fingertips into her thighs, he fucked her hard.

She slapped her hands down on the dresser and elevated her hips slightly, allowing him to slam even deeper. "And you're mine."

Those words gripped his balls and squeezed. "Only ever yours."

It was true. No one had ever owned him until her. None had ever marked him.

So long he'd wandered the Earth at the bidding of his superiors, never really being seen . People had interacted with him, yes, but they'd forgotten him afterwards—he'd used his power to ensure it. It hadn't worked on her. Even her soul itself had retained those memories.

Until they'd been scrubbed away—he'd ‘watched' it happen when raiding one of the Seven's memories.

Recalling that, recalling how she'd been taken from him, he couldn't help but up his pace. He fiercely powered into her, drinking in the gasp that crawled up her throat.

Speaking of her throat …

Viper dipped his head and scraped his teeth over her pulse there. She tilted her neck in offering. "You're gonna have to ask for it, Ella," he said, a note of challenge in his words. "I need to know you're still with me."

"I'm with you. Take what you need."

He growled. "I've fucking ached for this."

There was a flash of pain as he sank his teeth deep, but then a liquid heat fired through Ella's body and dialed up her need. As if someone had injected her with a goddamn aphrodisiac. Oh, hell.

Viper groaned, grabbing a fistful of her curls. He tugged hard on her hair as he drank, every pull of his mouth making her core clench.

She arched into him, her breathing going to shit, her mind blissfully empty of everything but how fucking good it felt.

Tension swirled in her belly, moved through her muscles, and tightened her inner walls. Then that tension broke.

Ella shattered with a silent scream, her eyes going blind. His dick plundered, thickened, pulsed, rammed so deep . And then he stilled, shuddering and jolting with every blast of his release.

Viper dislodged his teeth from her neck as the strength seemed to drain from them both. Fuck, he hadn't felt so sated in a long time. It wasn't simply that he'd taken her blood as he possessed her body, it was that she'd allowed it. Welcomed it. Showed that element of trust, moving them a step closer to where they needed to be before he could claim her.

He blew over the bite mark to heal it and then raised his head. "You okay?"

She double-blinked, her lips kicking up. "We are definitely doing that again."

He smiled.