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  “He was my son,” Olivia corrected. She finally showed some emotion and it was of disgust. It was so clear in her tone that Zeke didn’t have to see her face to know it was twisting her features. She added, “He became dead to me the moment he willing sacrificed himself for some vampire.”

  “You fucking bitch,” Rafe snarled, his hands balling into fists at his sides.

  “Ah, Rafe, I should have known Eric would bring you in on this. When you talk to me like that you remind me so much of your father.” She clucked her tongue. “Vampires are such barbarians.”

  “If we’re the barbarians, then why is it the magics are leaving one of their own for dead?” Rafe shot back with low growl.

  “I am not about to risk losing good warlocks and witches in exchange for anyone, even my son. Leaders shouldn’t let their emotions guide them. It’s something Eric will eventually learn, too.”

  “Shit, woman, who’s fooling who?” Rafe snorted. “We all know you don’t have any emotions, period.”

  “Fine, have it your way, Olivia,” Eric cut in, his tone now just as cool as hers. “We will be doing this mission, with or without your help. Just so you know, those Drone soldiers that you’re scoffing at me for risking, every single one of them volunteered for this mission. Ethan has earned the respect of so many of us that I actually had to turn down some volunteers. So what do you think about that?”

  “If you vampires love Ethan so much, then you can keep him. For his dishonor, we banned him from ever returning to the coven. Not that I think for one second you’re going to get him back alive. If they haven’t killed him already, they will soon. You’re wasting your soldiers for a corpse.”

  The entire time Olivia made her hateful speech, she didn’t bother raising her voice once. Zeke wondered how Ethan had managed to grow up with such a caring heart with this ice queen as a mother.

  “I’ll make sure to pass along the message, right after I tell him he will always have a place in my clan,” Eric responded, taking on the same tone of voice she had been using.

  “I do hope this doesn’t affect our alliance.” For the first time Olivia showed a small hint of worry. “This morning I had yet another report of Pure Born vampires joining up with dark magics. They attacked another white coven and nearly killed the entire population off.”

  “Don’t worry, the treaty still stands,” Eric spat. “In that area, we still need you as much as you need us.”

  There was a click that showed Olivia had hung up and the vampires stood in shocked silence for a while, the only sound, the humming of the dial tone. Zeke took a deep breath, hoping to contain the anger that was boiling up inside him. Right now, it was the last thing Rafe needed. Just one look at the guy’s haunted eyes told him the poor vampire had enough on his emotional plate right now.

  “I knew she was cold, but I didn’t think she would just give Ethan up like that,” Rafe whispered in a choked voice. “I mean, sure she left me when I was a baby, but I always thought that was because I was part vampire. I never dreamed she would show that much callousness toward Ethan since he’s full blooded warlock.”

  “We don’t need them,” Zeke snarled. “I’ll go in by myself if I have to.”

  “Don’t worry,” Eric reassured. “This changes nothing. We’re still going ahead with the rescue mission. We may not have Olivia’s coven backing us up magic-wise, but we still have Rafe, Morgan and Dominic.”

  Dominic and Morgan were Rafe’s mates and since they were both full-blooded magics, it would help, but not much if there was a whole dark magic coven guarding Ethan. That still didn’t weaken Zeke’s resolve. If anything, this whole confrontation had made him itchier than ever to get Ethan back.

  “Good.” He curled his hands into fists and let out a low growl. “When do we leave?”

  Chapter Two

  It turned out they didn’t get to leave for several hours. While Zeke wanted nothing more than to run right out and start kicking tail, they didn’t know where Ethan was yet. They had scoured the entire length of Detroit and had come up with squat. They couldn’t even turn to their usual informants of help since nobody was talking out of fear for the dark magics. Rafe and his two mates had tried numerous times to scry for Ethan, too, looking for his magical mark and they had found the same thing—nothing.

  Finally, out of desperation, Morgan, Dominic and Rafe tried again. They used chalk to draw a pentagram in the center of the training room floor. They were all sitting around it, crossed-legged and holding hands, deep in trance as they tried searching for Ethan’s magic.

  “Do they really think this will work this time?” Zeke whispered to Dante, one of Rafe’s vampire brothers.

  “It better,” Dante replied grimly. “It’s all we’ve got.” Dark haired, like Rafe, the middle Toren brother had shorter hair and dark eyes. While Rafe tended to keep more to himself, usually Dante was more outspoken and had at one time been a playboy until he’d finally settled down with a male Drone named Brenden.

  “Eric should have let me at the informants.” Zeke bared his fangs. “I would have made them talk.”

  “No offense, skippy, but you’re not exactly ready to be released on the public the way you’ve been the past couple of days,” Dante said dryly.

  “We would know where Ethan is though. Instead we’re wasting our time while they could be doing God knows what to him.” Zeke started to pace, the relentless need to get into action clawing at him.

  “Easy there,” Dante soothed. “Rafe is just as determined as you and he does have a brotherly bond going for him. As crazy as the magic’s plan may sound, I think it’ll work.”

  “I got him!” Rafe shouted as if on cue.

  Zeke and the others pressed closer. His heart pounded in fear and excitement as he waited to hear more.

  “He’s right on the edge of the city, in some old house. It looks like it was once upscale, but now it’s rundown and dirty. I don’t know if it’s abandoned or not though,” Dominic added. He was sweating so hard, his normally perfectly styled blond hair plastered itself to his head. When he cracked open his lids, his blue eyes were hollow and so bleak, Zeke’s stomach lurched. “His magic mark is still there, but barely. I’ve never seen it so weak in a warlock who was still…” he trailed off, shooting an apologetic look at Rafe.

  Morgan started softly sobbing as she scooted across the floor so she could wrap her arms around Rafe’s waist.

  Rafe held her back, the expression on his face broken.

  “Is he dead?” Zeke croaked, the words hard to get out past the lump in his throat.

  “I honestly don’t know.” Dominic shook his head. He made an impatient gesture with his hand. “Someone give me some paper, quick. I think I may have the address. I keep seeing some numbers in my head.”

  Eric ran to do as asked. As soon as Dominic had what he’d requested, he scribbled down something and handed it back to the leader.

  Eric looked at it, nodded once before he directed his gaze at the assembled vampires. “Everyone suit up. We leave in ten.”

  Zeke sagged in relief. For the first time, he actually felt some hope because despite what the others had just said, he wasn’t ready to give up. One of the things he’d always admired most in Ethan was even though he was scrappy, he always managed to come out ahead, despite all the crap life had tossed his way. He would survive this, too. He had to. Because Zeke didn’t think he could live in a world that didn’t have Ethan in it.

  Ryan, one of the Drone’s top soldiers, came running into the training room. He was out of breath, his face pinched with worry. “Eric, there’s something out here you need to see.”

  “What now?” Eric grumbled as he stormed out.

  Curious, Zeke followed him out into the large parking garage set to the side of the compound. When he saw what was waiting there, he sucked in a breath of shock.

  Half a dozen warlocks were standing in a tight group. They were all dressed in black and green leather shirts and hoods, the colors marking th
em as members of Ethan’s clan. The tops had hoods on them and the males all had them up, obscuring their profiles, so Zeke couldn’t tell if their expressions were friendly or not.

  Dominic shouldered his way through and went to meet them. “Kavan, I’m surprised to see you here,” he said, his gaze searching the small group of magics.

  Since his body language wasn’t tense, Zeke relaxed a little. While Dominic had been born a warlock, by mating with Rafe and joining the ranks of the clan fighters, his loyalties now lay with the Drones. Zeke still didn’t let his guard down all the way though. Morgan, Dominic, Rafe and Ethan aside, he didn’t have the best history with magics and he sure as hell didn’t trust this new group.

  “Did Olivia change her mind?” Morgan asked.

  Kavan turned to look at her and his eyes widened in shock. Since coming to the clan, she’d done a Drone Soldier makeover. No longer wearing the long green robes the witches of their coven favored, she had on the body armor, black cargo pants and long sleeved tee that the vampire rebels wore when going out to fight. She had guns strapped to her hips, her long raven hair pulled back in a braid and there was a total new kick-ass vibe going about her.

  “No, Olivia didn’t change her mind,” Kavan replied slowly, his gaze still looking her up and down. He lowered his hood.

  Zeke was finally able to get a good look at the man. He would have been good looking if not for a ragged scar running along his jaw line. His blond hair was just a bit longer than his collar and Zeke was willing to bet the guy often used it to shield his injury when he didn’t have the hood up.

  Kavan’s grey eyes grew bitter as he added, “We left against her orders.”

  “Why would you do that?” Zeke took a step closer so he could meet the guy’s gaze head on.

  “Despite what our coven leader says, not all of us think Ethan is just to be thrown away like last week’s trash.” Kavan’s lip curled up into a vicious sneer. “There have been countless times he’s saved my ass and it’s only right I do the same for him.” There were nods and murmurs of agreement from the rest of the warlocks.

  “Let me see the palms of your hands,” Dominic ordered stiffly.

  The warlocks obeyed, holding their hands out. Each and every one of them had a large, vertical cut on their right palms.

  “Damn, you guys don’t fuck around do you?” Morgan breathed, shocking Zeke with her uncharacteristic harsh language.

  “What do they mean?” Zeke asked. The wounds looked so fresh and deep, he could still detect the sweet scent of newly shed blood.

  “By shedding their blood this way, it means they formally broke coven to come help my brother,” Rafe said, his voice shaky with awe. “They gave up everything—their homes, family, titles and heritage.”

  Zeke eyed up Kavan, wondering just how close he was to Ethan. Somebody didn’t do something like that unless motivated by real strong feelings. An unwanted surge of jealously hit Zeke like a sledgehammer as he bit the inside of his cheek to keep the feral snarl in. He’s mine! Zeke knew he had no right to those possessive feelings, especially with the way he’d treated Ethan after their one and only kiss. Yet, the emotion was there and it was all he could do to contain it.

  “How is it exactly that they got the drop on Ethan?” Kavan asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. “He’s the best warlock I know. It would take someone big to get him.”

  “Yeah, well he wasn’t exactly full strength at the time,” Rafe supplied, shooting a baleful look over at Zeke.

  “Didn’t Olivia fill you in on all this?” Dominic shook his head.

  “She told us her version. Now I want to know the truth.” Kavan whipped his head around and pinned a hard glare at Zeke. “Vampire, why don’t you tell me exactly how it happened? I have a strange suspicion you are very involved.”

  Zeke met his glare, refusing to be cowed even if the guilt was hammering away inside his chest. “Ethan was on patrol and he saw our clan leader’s daughter, Misty, wandering around outside the compound. She was under some spell and when he tried to stop her, they both ended up surrounded. There was a dark warlock there and he wanted to take Misty so the clan would be more cooperative to their demands.”

  “What was it the warlock wanted?” Kavan continued to study him intently.

  Zeke was proud he didn’t squirm under the hard stare. “One of the members of our clan has developed a new weapon, sunlight grenades. With these weapons, you can take out huge numbers of vampires all at once and you don’t even have to get close to do it.”

  “Impressive.” Kavan gave a low whistle “And damn dangerous from the sounds of it. I can see how the other side would love to get their hands on it. With it, they could easily take out rebel clans like yours.”

  “They can take out huge numbers of Drones, period,” Zeke snapped. “In case you haven’t heard, the Pure Bornes are doing everything they can to get rid of us. I’m sure even you guys have heard the rumors of mass executions and prison camps.”

  “Yes, we have, but that still doesn’t explain why they took Ethan instead of the vampire girl. If they want your weapon so bad, why capture a warlock?”

  “He tricked them into believing he was Brenden, the creator of the sunlight grenades.”

  “Fuck,” Kavan cursed. “I’m sure they were beyond pissed when they discovered his ruse.”

  “Which is why we can’t waste anymore time,” Zeke replied. “We have to go get him. Now that you know everything, are you still in?”

  “Hell yes.” Kavan said with a grin, somehow looking more dangerous than ever. “We can’t let you vampires have all the glory, can we?”

  The Drone soldiers arrived at the old home and quickly fanned out around the parameter, using the dark night to cloak their presence from those inside. Zeke went to stand by Morgan who was at the front of the walkway. Her eyes closed, she had her palms up in the air.

  “That’s strange,” she mused, a small frown playing on her red lips.

  “What?” Zeke asked sharply as he hoisted his rifle into a more comfortable position.

  “The only magic I sense coming from inside, is Ethan. If it was a warlock who captured him, then where is he?” She continued to hold her hands out, like she was double-checking her first findings.

  “Are there vampires inside?” He stared up at the house, hoping to see some activity through the blackened windows. There was nothing though. With its faded paint, hanging shutters and sagging porch, it could have passed for a condemned house. It gave off a whole eerie, lonely feel. Like it had once been a place of great happiness until a whole lot of history went down inside. As stupid and whimsical as that inner thought was, it still made him shiver a bit. He didn’t need magic to tell him there was evil inside and his warlock was smack dab in the center of it.

  Instead of pondering too much on that because he needed to keep his emotions in check, he pressed down the button to open the link to the communicator wedged in his ear. “Eric, you there?”

  “Yes, I’m on the south side of the house with Dominic,” the leader’s voice crackled over the device.

  “Morgan says there are no magics inside—just Ethan and a whole bunch of Pure Borns.”

  “That’s what Dominic said, too,” Eric agreed. “So I want everyone to get their protective gear on. We’re going to light this place up.”

  Zeke scrambled to get his thick black gloves, facemask and UV goggles into place. It was only a few moments after he had them on when he heard the weapon discharge. More rocket than a grenade like the name suggested, the device fit on the end of an M-16. When the gun discharged, the bullet carried the rocket into a building. Once inside, it exploded, letting out a whole bunch of damage and a burst of artificial sunlight.

  Fake sun or not, it did the trick. As soon as it went off, the air filled with the screams and shrieks of pain from the Pure Borns who hadn’t been instantly vaporized. Zeke may have felt sorry for the bastards had they not been the ones who took Ethan.

  Not waiting for t
he go-ahead from his leader, Zeke surged forward. He could hear Morgan let out a loud curse as she ran after him, their boots slamming into the cracked pavement as they ran up the long walkway.

  He leaped the stairs and landed on the porch, barely breaking stride as he kicked down the front door. It wasn’t until he was inside that he paused. What met him was a scene straight from hell. Small fires had broken out all over, blood splattered the faded wallpaper, and there were injured vampires running around, some burned beyond recognition, while others had vicious wounds to their bodies. They were all screaming in pain.

  Zeke knew at that moment that they had to do whatever they could to keep this damn weapon out of the hands of the Pure Borns so this terror was never visited onto his clan.

  That worry could wait until later though. Right now, all that truly mattered to him was finding Ethan. His gaze swept the room and the upstairs as he tried to figure out where they might be keeping him. Time was running out. Before too long those small fires would become bigger and the house was going to come crashing down around them.

  “We’re supposed to wait for the all-clear before we go in,” Morgan admonished, as her wide-eyed gaze took in the horror.

  “You can wait, but I’m getting him out,” Zeke growled as he continued to search. Then he felt a mental tug that told him Ethan was upstairs. Of course! When he’d drank the warlock’s blood, it must have linked them somehow. Not enough for him to be able to pinpoint Ethan’s location when they had been miles away at the clan dwelling, but now they were closer, he could feel it.

  He broke off at a dead run to the stairs and stormed up them, stopping once to shoot a vampire who lunged forward and blocked his way. He didn’t look behind to see if Morgan followed because quite frankly, at this point, he didn’t care. He came to a door and tried to open it, only to find it locked. Letting out a roar, he kicked it open and ran inside.

  He made it two steps before he skidded to a halt, his heart seizing in his chest. He’d found Ethan, or at least what was left of him. The warlock lay on his side, curled up into a fetal position, not moving. Dressed only in his black cargo pants, his torso was covered in so much blood, he could barely make out all the bite marks, welts and deep cuts. His once blond hair was dark and matted with dried blood and his head tucked so tight to his chest, it was impossible to tell if he was conscious or not.