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  “Well, I’m going to bed.” She looked back to Ethon. “Don’t be too long.”

  She leaned down and kissed him before making her way around the large oak desk. She gave Slay a hug and then, to Daniel’s surprise, gave him one as well. She was only five foot two, so she was really hugging his hips, but he was still taken aback by the affection. Libby wasn’t one to show her emotions unless it was anger. Must be the pregnancy hormones. He watched her walk out before he turned back to Ethon.

  “So what brings you here?” Ethon asked, looking up from his desk. “Is everything all right? I see Helena fixed you up.”

  “She did,” Daniel replied. “And thank you for coming to help.”

  “Of course. What can I do for you?” He leaned back in his chair, raking his fingers through his shoulder-length blond hair. There were dark circles under his eyes that showed Ethon hadn’t fed in a while.

  Ethon was an unusual vampire. He only fed from Libby, and with her being pregnant, he tried to abstain as much as possible. Only feeding once a week. For most vampires, that was practically a death sentence, but Ethon was known for going over a month without feeding, and still be a force to be reckoned with.

  But Daniel wasn’t here to gawk at Ethon’s strength. He was here for Jessie.

  “I want to know what you know about black blood.” Ethon sat up and eyed him. “I know you know about Jessie’s situation.”

  Ethon glanced over at Slay and she quickly buried her face in her glass.

  “Please,” Daniel said, drawing Ethon’s attention back to him. “I can’t lose her.”

  Ethon took a deep breath.

  “I know this is difficult, Daniel, and I know twenty five years is short, but there is no cure. There is no stopping it.”

  “But Jessie is nearly a hundred.”

  Ethon perked his head up as he looked at Daniel. His blond brow creased, and Daniel could see his mind trying to wrap around what he had just said.

  “A hundred? How?”

  “That’s why I’m here. I don’t know. I don’t really even understand it. Rickon said he’s had Jessie’s powers bound. Agnes has been doing it for some time now. But they’re growing too much.”

  “Jessie is part witch?” Ethon asked.

  “Yes. She shifts into wolf form easily enough. It’s only her witch powers that are bound.”

  “Still, twenty five is the cut off,” Ethon said, leaning back. “All Cambions develop by then.”

  “You said that. It doesn’t change the fact that she’s ninety nine and half wolf, half Amazon.”

  “Amazon?”

  “Yes. Some kind of witch that I had never heard about. Helena knew of them, though.”

  “She would. Helena would have made a great Amazon, you know, if she wasn’t a Dark Lord. But this does change things.”

  “How so?” It was Slay that asked.

  “Amazon witches are a little different. They’re actually a lot different. They have their own set of rules. They come from a very special demon.”

  “Special?” Daniel asked.

  “All Cambions are spawned from demons. The more powerful the demon, the more powerful the Cambion line will be. But Amazons were spawned from a different demon. At least, that’s what we assume. No one actually knows. It’s even rumored that they came from Lilith herself. They aren’t like other witches. Their powers develop differently, and when they grow to maturity at a hundred years old, instead of twenty five, they have to pass a test.”

  “A test?” Daniel asked.

  “Yes. It’s like an initiation. They only keep the strongest.”

  “So they just kill whoever doesn’t pass some stupid test?” Slay asked.

  “No. If they can’t pass the test, then their powers will basically eat them alive. It’s part of their magic. Which is why they train from birth.”

  “When do they take this test?” Daniel asked. Ethon paused as he looked back to him.

  “On their one hundredth birthday.”

  Daniel felt his stomach drop. Jessie only had a week.

  One week.

  It might have well have been a second. No amount of time would ever be long enough.

  Slay’s phone started ringing and the sound of Trueblood’s theme song broke the silence.

  “I thought I told you to change that ridiculous ringtone,” Ethon said.

  “I like it,” Slay replied, answering her phone. “Plus, Alexander Skarsgård is hot.”

  Daniel was only half listening as his mind tried to wrap around everything. Jessie had a week until her one hundredth birthday, but she still had time. She’s lasted this long because of her witch side. Maybe if she completes the Initiation, she could control her powers.

  “Where do I find the Amazons?” Daniel asked. Ethon let out a laugh.

  “You can’t find them. No one but an Amazon knows where they live or even come from. The tribe will kill to protect that secret, even if it means killing their own. No man has ever stepped foot on their land. It’s how they’ve stayed protected. Secrecy is a priority for them. You wouldn’t even know you’ve met an Amazon unless they tell you.”

  “Then how do I get Jessie to them?”

  “You don’t need to find them,” Slay interrupted. “They’ve apparently found you. That was Drew. A clan of witches showed up to the bar claiming to be Amazons, and they’re trying to take Jessie away. He was calling for back up.”

  Daniel was out of the house before Slay finished her sentence. He heard Slay and Ethon calling for him to stop, but he couldn’t. He shifted as soon as he reached the end of the driveway, his jeans barely hanging to his wolf form. He ran at full speed, his claws digging into the dirt beneath him. He had to get back home.

  CHAPTER 17

  Ashley sat in the bar with her family and the Dark Lords. She felt for Daniel, and worse, there was nothing she could for him. There was no easing his pain. She felt Darion’s hand grip onto hers. To know that the person you love was dying, and to not be able to do anything about it was…unbearable. She looked at Darion’s hand over hers. She might be strong, but there was no way she could take that kind of pain.

  Agnes came down the stairs, breaking Ashley from her thoughts. Agnes looked exhausted. Her hair was a mess and her dress was wrinkled. Her shoulders were slumped and it looked like it took her a lot of effort just to keep her eyes open. Ashley had never seen Agnes look so drained before. Binding Jessie’s powers was taking its toll.

  “How’s it going?” Ashley asked. Agnes walked her way. She wiped her forehead before she sat down on the stool next to her.

  “She’s strong. Her powers are different.”

  “What do you mean different?”

  “They’re raw. Unchecked. The last time I bound a witch’s powers, it was as if the powers wanted to obey. But Jessie’s powers don’t want to listen to me. They’re fighting the binds. They’re fighting me.”

  “You make it a habit to bind powers?” Agnes turned to Darion.

  “No. I prefer to help the witch learn to control it. But in Jessie’s case, and the one before, their other half makes it hard to control.”

  “What do you mean the one before?” Ashley asked.

  “You think Jessie was the only mixed blood to be born?”

  Ashley never thought about it. Very rarely do the three Cambion races inhabit the same area, so the chances of them mating with each other were slim to none.

  “What happened to the other one?” Darion asked, sitting next to Ashley.

  “He was like Jessie. Half wolf, half witch. Witches and wolves have always been the most cordial of the three races, so for the few reported cases of hybrids, they had been witch and wolf. But unlike Jessie, the other hybrid was obedient. His powers easily succumbed to my will. By binding his powers, he was able to live for quite some time. Well past his twenty fifth birthday.”

  “When did the disease kill him?” Darion asked.

  “He never had the disease. His witch powers laid dormant and never foug
ht for control.”

  “Then how did he die?”

  Agnes looked to Darion.

  “Marcus killed him.”

  Darion fell silent. Ashley looked at him as he dropped his head. Marcus had been the leader of the Dark Lords before he betrayed them. She knows how much that betrayal hurt him. How it hurt all of them.

  “Marcus did a lot of things we’re not proud of,” Bender said from the corner. Agnes let out a laugh.

  “Don’t try to play innocent. You’re a good man, Bender, but we both know your past is less than honorable. You’ve taken many Cambion lives.”

  “I did a lot of things out of fear. I’m not proud of them and I’m certainly not innocent.”

  “Let’s just keep the past in the past,” Helena said. She turned to Agnes. “No one in this room is innocent. All we can do is learn from our mistakes and hope we don’t repeat them.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “I’m going to go get some air,” Helena said. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do for Jessie.”

  “Actually,” Agnes said. “Do you mind giving me an energy boost?”

  “Sure.” Helena walked over to her and touched her bare arm. Agnes jumped like a zap of electricity was passing through her. Helena stepped back and Agnes sat up straight, stretching her muscles.

  “Better?” Helena asked.

  “Yes. Thank you.”

  Ashley watched Helena walk out the front door. There was a time when Cambions were taught to fear the Dark Lords. Now, she couldn’t remember why. She couldn’t imagine her life without them in it.

  Ashley looked around the room. Rickon sat on the last step with his youngest son, Justin. Robb stood next to them leaning against the railing. They looked anxious as they kept glancing upstairs and then returned to looking at their hands, or the floor, or the wall, or anywhere but at other people.

  “Is that why you didn’t tell us?” Ashley asked. Rickon looked up at her. “You were worried Jessie would be killed if we knew the truth?”

  “She’s my daughter. I have risked so much to keep her safe. We all have.”

  “But we’re your friends, Rickon. We could have helped.”

  “If it were you, would you have risked it?”

  “No. I guess not. But we are your friends.”

  “I guess it doesn’t matter anymore,” Rickon said, standing up. “The disease will spread. Soon, it will claim her life.”

  Ashley could see the sadness in his eyes. It was beyond sadness. It was pure sorrow. His face held the same grief it had when he had lost his eldest son. To lose two children, even one was unthinkable, but two? Ashley’s heart went out to him. She had lost her own brother the same day Rickon had lost his son. A battle where the one and only, Marcus, had tried to kill them all.

  Ashley stood and shook off the memory of her brother. It hurt too much to think about him. But she froze in her stance as she looked to the door.

  Standing in the doorway was Helena. Baxter stood behind her, a knife to her throat.

  “Where is the hybrid?” Baxter demanded.

  “The what?” Darion said to Ashley’s left.

  “Don’t pay dumb with me. I can smell her. Give her to me and I’ll let the woman live.”

  Laughter exploded in the bar. Ashley looked to Darion who was holding his sides while Bender and Boyd tried not to fall to the ground in a laughing fit.

  “What are you laughing for?” Baxter asked. “I’ll do it.”

  He pulled the knife closer to Helena’s throat.

  Darion sobered himself, as did Bender and Boyd, but their smiles were still wide. Colt stood behind the bar, gripping the counter tight enough to break it. Colt knew that Helena could handle herself, but like the rest of them, they didn’t like their mates put at risk, even one as skilled as Helena.

  “You just signed your own death warrant,” Darion said. “Out of the all the people to threaten, you pick the one that can heal herself and then send that knife right through your heart in the same moment.”

  “I mean it!” Baxter yelled. “Give me the girl!”

  “Enough of this,” Helena said as she grabbed his hand, bending it backwards. The knife fell from his grip as Helena head butted him back. He staggered a few steps and then stopped. His eyes looked out, wide and in shock. A sword stuck through his chest, the blade dripping blood from the end. He slid forward, falling to the floor.

  Behind him stood a beautiful woman, and deadly. Her blond hair was braided into three French braids, each braid falling past her strong shoulders. Tattoos laced up her bare arms, across her neck, and around her forehead. Her legs were laced with tattoos as they stood exposed from her very short skirt. She wiped the blade on her fur boots before stepping into the bar.

  “That was my kill,” Helena said, crossing her arms.

  “Just thought we would help a girl out,” the woman said. Her light brown eyes shown fierce against the bar lights. They looked so unique, yet Ashley felt like she had seen them before. Then it dawned on her. Those were Jessie’s eyes.

  “When I need help, I’ll ask for it,” Helena said. The woman looked like she was going to say something, but Rickon cut her off.

  “Asteria?”

  Everyone looked to Rickon. He looked like he had seen a ghost. Then anger swept across his face as his hands tightened to fists at his sides.

  “It is time, Rickon. Give me Jessie,” the woman said.

  “Does everyone want this girl?” Helena asked, still upset about being ‘saved’.

  “She must go through the Trials, Rickon. I felt her powers. They can no longer be bound.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Rickon said. He took a deep breath. “She’s dying.”

  “What are you talking about?” Asteria’s gaze swept over the bar until they landed on Agnes. “What did you do?”

  “I put her in a coma,” Agnes said, not in the least intimidated by the woman. “Her witch side won’t be tamed. It’s killing her.”

  “That’s because she’s an Amazon. She needs to go through the Trials.” She turned to Rickon. “Why do I feel like a broken record when I speak with you?”

  “You’re not taking her,” Rickon said.

  Asteria stepped into the bar. Rickon, Robb, and Justin stood shoulder to shoulder, blocking her from the stairs. Asteria snapped her fingers and twelve more women came in behind her. Each one as beautiful and fierce as the last. Weapons decorated their cloth skirts and fur braziers from swords, to knives, to chakrams, and anything in between. Ashley nodded to her brothers who went on full alert. She quietly made her way to Drew.

  “Call Ethon,” she whispered. “We might need some back up.”

  He nodded before he pulled out his phone and disappeared into the kitchen. Ashley turned back to face what she can only assume was Asteria’s tribe.

  “I’m taking Jessie with me,” Asteria said. “Don’t risk your sons’ lives for this.”

  “I’m more than willing to lay down my life for my sister,” Robb said. Asteria turned her eyes on him.

  “And I’m more than willing to end your life for my daughter.”

  Ashley looked to Darion who nodded back to her. Quicker than the eye could see, Darion had Asteria on her knees in a head lock. Her arms were pinned behind her head. Her warriors behind her went for Darion. Bender, Torrick, Boyd and Helena leapt into defend him. Metal against metal rang out. The Amazon warriors were skilled, and they held their own against the Dark Lords. They fought with precision and patience.

  Asteria was able to get out of Darion’s hold and went for Rickon. He went to shift, but couldn’t. Ashley tried to make him shift, but was unable to. It was as if her alpha powers were being blocked. She looked around and saw her brothers weren’t able to shift either. These witches had skill. A line had formed with the Dark lords and wolves on one side, and the Amazons on the other.

  Ashley barely dodged an arrow aimed for her head. The arrow shot past her and stuck into the brick wall, pieces of concrete falli
ng to the floor. Ashley had had enough. If she didn’t do something now, her bar, and her family, would be destroyed.

  With a loud growl, Ashley leapt into the air and landed between the two fighting sides in wolf form. Not even a witch could cast a strong enough spell against her. The fighting stopped as both sides retreated. The Amazons backed up looking at the pure white wolf that paced in front of them. Once they were far enough back, Ashley shifted back, Darion pulling off his shirt for her.

  “How did you shift?” Asteria asked. “No wolf can shift under our spells.”

  “I’m Ashley Gregorian, Alpha of Alphas. And this is my bar!”

  “I have to take Jessie,” Asteria pleaded. “It is the only way for her to survive.”

  “She’s right.”

  Ashley looked up to see Daniel standing in the doorway. He was gasping for breath, his chest bare and his ripped jeans hanging on his hips. Sweat dripped down from his hair and neck. He looked like he had just run across the world.

  “What are you talking about?” Ashley asked.

  “They need to take her,” Daniel said, walking through the Amazon warriors. “If Jessie completes the Initiation, she can live. She can control her powers. She needs to go with them.”

  Ashley looked to Asteria. “Is this true?”

  “That’s what I’ve been telling you,” she replied. “I need to take her.”

  “Jessie only has a week until her one hundredth birthday,” Daniel said. “If she doesn’t go through the Trials, she will die.”

  “And if she goes with them,” Rickon said. “We will never see her again.”

  Daniel turned to Asteria.

  “That is also true. Amazon witches do not marry or mate. We are forbidden. This will be goodbye, forever.”

  Daniel felt his heart drop. He would never see Jessie again. But he could live with that as long as Jessie lived.

  “If it means Jessie will live, then I can give her up,” Daniel said. He looked to Rickon, Robb and Justin. They nodded before they stepped aside and let Daniel pass.

  Daniel walked up to the third floor, each step heavier than the last. He was about to say goodbye. Forever.

  He walked into his room and over to the bed. Jessie was back in human form, her blond hair spread across his pillow. He ran his fingers through it as she lay in her coma. He looked at every detail. Every line, every bone in her beautiful face, every hair that shone like the sun.