(Daimon)
I groaned. A painful throb in my head seemed to pound like a hammer. Too much alcohol? I was not sure. There were times I could down multiple drinks without a hangover, but this time I had three. Which made no sense.
Shifting, I heard a soft sigh.
My eyes snapped open.
On top of me was the most gorgeous sight I had ever seen. At first, I thought I had caught a mythical creature, but the longer I stared, it was Sarah. Black hair cascading down her face, pooling over my bare chest. Her soft breathing tickled my chest as the warmth spread over me and went straight to my core and pooled lower. Steadily growing.
Plump lips smacked a few times, and Sarah shifted. I felt the bulge in my boxers, growing harder. Damn it. This isn't what I wanted to wake up in. Did we? I scanned her and noticed that she wasn't naked. It was just me. A breath of relief escaped my lips. Waking up in another bed with a naked woman was the last thing I wanted to be in.
I tangled my arms around her shoulders, and for some reason, my hand seemed to grip the base, holding her in place. It was as if I caught something that wanted to fly away, but it couldn't with my iron grip. An unconscious smirk appeared on my lips, satisfied. Keeping her from bolting away stirred something that I didn't quite understand.
Gently, my finger rubbed against the downy feathers. At first, awed by the softness of it. I have felt a lot of different furs, feathers, and skin, but this was so soft it reminded me of silk. The morning light entered, giving her wings an ethereal glow. I had never seen such wings before. Unearthly was the best way to describe it, and it wasn't just her wings. It was her as a whole.
The wings felt too real. I noticed how perfectly the wing seemed to glue to her back. Prosthetics and makeup have come a long way, and I couldn't believe how seamless it looked. These four wings seemed an extension of her. The twitch of her wings was also too real; did they put robotics into the limbs to make it move like that? I was fascinated by the technology that humans were able to get too.
Her sweet scent of jasmine and frankincense that spilled out of her skin brought an unknown peace to my mind. My free hand raised up, pulling away the stray hair on her lips. She smacked her lips as if she were munching on something, followed quickly by a pout. Yep, she's dreaming of food.
My other hand gripped the base of her wings; Sarah moaned. Shuddering, her wings shook. I gulped, swallowing in an inhale. What a sound! Her moan went straight to my arousal, strangling to the point it made me uncomfortable. Stupid morning wood. I shifted to get comfortable, but failed.
Heat radiated through my body. My teeth ground, cursing myself for even moving and putting us in a more compromising position. I dare not move again, hoping that my body did nothing other than stupid shit I didn't think about.
Waking up to find one of my employees on top of me in bed wasn't the way I wanted to wake up. Heck, I have tasted a handful of women with a rational mind, with boundaries, and not a single ounce of control let go. Being forced into decisions without logical reasoning was awful, but this was absolute agony. I never expected such a stir that raked against my body and my mind.
My wolf paced, heaving and sniffing at Sarah as if she were the best steak in existence. There was something odd about her, and we both couldn't tell what it was. She dazzled Eric, and the others at the Luna gathering; many males were as well. They all wanted her. I huffed, annoyed.
She's ours. My wolf, Logan, barked, nodding his head, pleased that he had figured it out.
What are you talking about? I felt annoyed. She wasn't ours; she smelled too human and strange.
She smells right. Logan huffed. She smells like a scent that I would stick my nose into for days.
I couldn't agree with him more. Shaking my head, I denied it vehemently. You're thinking too much. Her scent doesn't automatically mean she belongs to us.
She's ours. Our…. mate.
I snorted at his statement. Mate? Where is the tug? I haven't felt the mate pull. No rapture of attraction and mind-bending moments as two people get to know each other. I countered Logan. Those were the words of every mate pull. I felt none. Only Logan seems to go crazy.
I'm the wolf. Your other half, the beast inside you. You listened to the voice, why not now?
Because it sounds too convenient. Too fantastical. You see how a fated mate acts. We saw how the others acted. Right now, she's in my bed, sleeping on my chest, and your dick is thinking for you.
Logan snorted. You mean your dick. Sharing a body doesn't negate your individual thoughts about your current desires. I heard those dirty thoughts that raced across your mind a few moments ago. But that's beside the point; she's ours. I'm sure of it.
I rolled my eyes. Forget it. There was no point in talking with a beast. What happened to us last night?
I'm not sure. My senses were damper; everything else…seemed like a fog.
My fingers now invested in rubbing her downy feathers, twirling around the base. Every stroke Sarah shuddered. I couldn't help but find it entertaining. She leaned into my hands to get that itch scratched when I found the right spot. Each stroke, scratch, rub made her shiver as her body leaned into my hand.
I thought about what Logan had said; everything was in pieces. Broken memories popped up: the dance, the talk with Ariel, and the council meeting. After that, it was as if something slammed into like a burning fire that didn't want to leave, a thirst that numbed my mind. It felt like a rut.
A curse spat out of my lips. My hand froze. An induced heat. I knew that going into heat was impossible; it wasn't for another few months. Someone did this to get under my skin, but for what or why? Who? I had many enemies, but this made little sense. Why were they trying to trap me with Sarah? No, the better question is how she got in here or if she was the culprit.
I scowled. This was too coincidental.
An ugly knot formed in my chest, anger rising. I couldn't help but take in a deep breath, steadying my emotions. That's why we had that attraction, I stated with anger.
Logan whimpered, maybe…maybe the induced heat had made it all wrong. Realizing with me that a drug had struck us. Our senses are going haywire because of it. I couldn't tell if the effect was still lingering. The drug I was given was potent. That I could remember.
"Sarah." I spoke with a commanding voice.
Sarah smacked her lips a few times. She blinked, opening her eyes slowly. The deep black eyes stared back at me for a moment, then she snapped up, throwing herself off me as she slipped to the side. I heard a loud bang, and then Sarah let out a painful grunt. "Damn it!" She hissed.
I stared at her, baffled by her movement. Throwing herself off me like that I was some form of disease by the way she got up and pressed herself against the wall. I felt annoyance creep into my heart.
Sitting up, I sat down with the covers halfway on me, covering my legs.
Sarah's gaze moved up and down before she blushed and looked away.
"Sarah," I took a moment to look at her. She was still in her dress from last night; her black hair wasn't messy at all and seemed to fall in place.
"Yes?" she squeaked, shifting from side-to-side. Her eyes held steady with mine.
"Why are you here?"
"Oh, that." Sarah straightened herself and stood up prim and proper. "I brought you here after you got yourself into trouble."
"Trouble?"
"Yeah, well ... someone…put in an aphrodisiac or some kind of drug and wanted to take you to a room."
"Someone? That sounds like you."
"Absolutely not. I don't sleep with my bosses, thank you very much." Sarah sighed, pushing back her hair. "Someone wanted you marked last night."
"What?" I glowered, a boiling anger fueling inside me. "Who?"
"I don't know. There was a man and a woman talking to one another. I was lucky to hear it."
"What did they look like?"
"The woman had red hair, was quite skinny and looked like she had a constant lack of hangover. While the man looks like a rat that got electrocuted." I replied.
A few people popped into my head. I wasn't sure, but it was something to look into.
"Do you think it's your girlfriend?" Sarah asked.
"She's not my girlfriend." I said with annoyance. "It was just a cover-up for the past years."
"That's even worse." Sarah crossed her arms in front of her. "You paid her to be your girlfriend. What kind of sick- Sorry. I mean, your life. She would be my top target. It makes sense. Must have been desperate."
I couldn't believe Ariel would stoop so low. It made little sense. She was clingy, annoying, but drugging people? No. Still, the annoying instinct of possibility didn't disappear. I glowered.
"Look, it was a family agreement. She did her job, kept the females away and I got a piece of mind."
"Well, I remembered someone coming in and out a few times throughout our meeting. She was one of them."
"The drug was an induced aphrodisiacs." I said, observing her. Her nose scrunched up, thinking as a pout formed. I spoke, "How did you come out unscathed?" Flashes of memories, heat, kisses, and molded body parts, but then it went blank, which confused me.
"Oh," Sarah coughed, her hand rubbing her neck. "I gave you a pill to counteract the poison. You fell asleep when it dissolved into your system."
"Is there such a pill?" I looked at her suspiciously. There wasn't anything of that sort that I remember. Why counter such a state when people sought and used carnal pleasure as a tool? I didn't fully believe her.
"Something like that, so I assure you nothing happened. You're in expert hands; it's just that you didn't let me go."
"Me?" I squinted. What was she saying? I didn't let her go.
"Yeah, you squeezed me to death last night and I couldn't escape your hold. And, you know, I fell asleep…" Sarah blushed hard, becoming a tomato.
"If you say so, where is my cloth-" I stopped, looking around shocked. It was a catastrophe. "What happened here?"
Sarah followed my gaze, her face opening in shock. "I don't know."
"You don't know. Now, you're not making sense. You said we did nothing."
"We didn't, I assure you we didn't sleep with each other like that."
My hand waved around, showing how the whole place looked. "Are you sure, because it seemed like it was a heated night."
Sarah didn't have a counter to what I was saying. I knew she was lying. The question is what. What was she hiding?
"Well, um. I got to go. I'll see you on Monday." Sarah turned, dashing out of the room like someone was chasing after her. I snorted, shaking my head. Someone was up; I felt it in my gut. Pulling back the cover, I stood up. My leg snapped straight; I stretched.
The phone rang.
I searched and found my pants on the ground a few feet away. With slow steps, I reached down and pulled my phone out.
"Alpha," said Mike. "I'm glad you're awake."
"You should look at the news."
I put the phone away from my ears, putting him on speaker. I then scrolled through the phone, looking through the internet to see the trending news: Ariel and Daimon Regis break up after five years. Daimon's old flame coming back? Ariel cries her eyes out as her heart breaks. The Regis and Laughton familial ties are no more. Is there war?
The title goes on and on, the majority leaning on the breakup between two families dynamic. Always hinting back to Racheal Mill's coming back.
I frowned. "Was the news about Racheal necessary?"
"That wasn't me, Alpha. I assure you. We pushed for the breakup, but your past relationship with Racheal is still a stir that people have not forgotten. You were going to marry her."
"Were. Past tense."
I could feel the uncomfortable on the other end. I rolled my shoulders, putting on the clothes that I wore last night.
"What is it?"
"Well, Daimon. Will you go back to her if she comes back?"
His question snapped straight into my heart, rubbing and twisting it in a nasty pain. My hand rose to my hair, pulling it back. I thought I had control of my emotions for her, but I didn't.
"No," I said with a snap.
Lies, Logan whispered in my head. You always lie to yourself.
Shut it.
We'll see. I'll tell you now, you'll regret it if you go back. We found our mate. Lose the old and move forward.
I'm not going to do either. You didn't seem sure that she was after that induced heat. I pushed away Logan's words, burrowing both thoughts.
"What else?" I asked Mike. Grabbing my keys, I headed out as I put the phone off speaker.
"We dug through Sarah Gibbon's history. She has a brother named Sam Gibbons, who has two children. His wife hasn't woken up. Not sure what's causing it but it doesn't seem to be an illness, which is strange. It could be a curse."
"A curse?"
"Yes, there have been cases where dark warlocks have cast spells upon their opponents. The curse that she must have fallen into is something the Goldenberg is known for. I wouldn't be surprised if one of them cast the spell. Though, It's normal in human society, so she must have fallen under a spell. Though I am not sure how she ran into a warlock of such caliber."
"Interesting, so her family has some foot in the supernatural, but the Goldenberg. I wonder why they picked her."
"They will be coming to the States this week. Now, here is the interesting thing: the Gibbons family has been on the hit list in the underworld five years ago, but the strange thing is that we don't know who put that hit. Though we traced where the hitman received the contract: Midnight Store, here in Hillmont County. "
"Did you find out why they were on the hit list?"
"No. Nothing. It seemed like someone wiped it clean.
I ruminated on what he had said. This was strange. "Dig into any other clues. She's here to find clues about her family's murderer." I took a moment, thinking about the brother's wife. "Make sure you dig up anything about Sam Gibbons' wife. Is there anything else?"
"Well, your mother called this morning, asking when you will bring a real girlfriend home."
I chuckled. Mother, she loves to stick her nose where she shouldn't. She knew that Ariel and I were just a family blood payment, and never pushed to come together. Out of the whole family, she was the one who understood me best. I softened, "when I am ready."
"I'll remind her of that."
"Good. I'll need new clothes to change into; bring it to my office. Set up meet Tyler. We have a hunt to start. The Goldenberg is moving."
"Yes, Alpha."
"Also, get me any information on two people: Dagon and Tammy."
"Dagon and Tammy?"
"Look into anything that has to do with whom they contacted for the last two days."
"Why?"
"They drugged me."
"You sure?"
"Yes, find me anything about their dealings on where they got the drug, who she is working with, and why."
"On it. I'll get that on your desk tomorrow."
The line went dead. I gazed around, finding several black feathers on the floor and the bed. I walked over, picking them up one-by-one. A small smile graced my lips, remembering what she said about messing up her wings, but she wasn't taking much care of them.
I picked up ten pocketing them in my pocket, I headed downstairs. I went straight to the office.