Darkness Rising Page 5

  He didn’t like the idea of being separated from Greer, especially after she had thawed toward him a bit during the ride over here, but since he didn’t want to risk insulting her again, he simply nodded at the others. “If you see him, let me know. If he doesn’t know you, I don’t know that he will speak to you.” He had tried to retrieve Cynbel’s phone number but Prima’s clan had been unable to find it. They’d simply found out that he was in New Orleans and had a picture of him.

  After agreeing, they all dispersed, with Greer heading straight for the dance floor. He watched the soft sway of her ass as she moved among people wearing little scraps of clothing. Though she was fully clothed in formfitting pants and a long-sleeved sweater, she was by far the greatest prize in here. The female glowed with energy and vitality and didn’t need to walk around practically naked for that to be clear. Though he would not mind if she did.

  Looking away from her, because otherwise he would stare at her all night, he started in the opposite direction of Prima. Justus was currently talking to a purple-haired female and seemed occupied. That must be Cynara, the female who Greer had asked the former general about earlier. So maybe Justus would not be as big of a help tonight as he’d hoped.

  As he made his way through a cluster of tables, he ignored some of the welcoming smiles from males and females. And in one instance, he flashed his teeth at a female who sidled up next to him and wouldn’t take the hint when he said, “No, thank you.” Unfortunately that seemed to turn her on, if the scent that filled the air was any indication.

  He turned away, sliding in between two tables and making a quick exit of the area. Even as he moved, he was constantly aware of where Greer was, while scanning for the familiar face of Cynbel. There were many individuals here tonight of every supernatural race. Or damn close to it if the scents were anything to go by.

  According to Justus, New Orleans was more or less neutral territory, though the last couple years, one Alpha had started carving out this area as his own. It was not completely recognized as the male’s own yet, but Justus was convinced that soon enough that would happen.

  So as it was, Reaper did not have to announce his presence to anyone while here. And this establishment was thankfully supernatural only, so he did not have to hide what he was. That thought alone rankled him.

  He shouldn’t have to hide what he was. Ever. He was an apex predator and the strongest warrior of his day.

  As he reached a set of stairs, he quickly jogged up them, surprised when a male at the top simply lifted a rope for him to pass. He had thought he would have to seek permission but it seemed as if he was allowed into this area. There was much to learn about this new world.

  Upstairs was more of the same. More tables, more people dancing, many mixed scents, but he should have a dragon’s eye view from up here. So he went to the railing and scanned the dance floor below.

  What he saw had fire surging through him, wild and hot and stripping away any sense of civility. Greer was on top of one of the pillars, dancing, her hips swaying with the steady beat of music. She’d taken her long hair down and it flowed around her in soft waves that appeared multicolored under the strobing lights.

  Every part of him tightened in anticipation as he watched her. Staring at her like this felt somehow forbidden because she was completely oblivious to his gaze.

  He’d thought he only was attracted to warrior females, but as he stared at this strong, kind healer who had stolen his breath time and again, he realized he had been a fool. She was the only one he wanted.

  It was clear she was scanning the floor just as he was, using the platform for better viewing, but as if she sensed him watching her, her gaze flicked in his direction.

  For a moment she froze, her eyes flickering so that her dragon peered back at him. Then she surprised him as she continued dancing, keeping her gaze pinned to his, her movements sensual and all for him.

  Maybe the last part wasn’t true, but he could pretend that it was, and it made his mouth go dry.

  Right now he imagined what she would look like taking her clothes off to the sound of music, stripping off one piece after the other until she was naked in front of him. Then he would kneel in front of her and taste what was between her legs.

  He groaned aloud, the sound muted by the music thumping in time with the pulse between his thighs, but he swore she could hear him if the way she shuddered was any indication. No, he was not alone in this attraction. Even if she was frustrated by him, she still found him appealing.

  A surge of arousal raced through him. So maybe his “game” wasn’t as bad as he had assumed. Though nothing about what he felt for Greer was a game.

  “Got him.” Prima’s voice nearby snapped him out of his trance.

  He forced his gaze away from Greer and realized Prima was right next to him. She should not have been able to approach him without his knowledge, but he’d been too preoccupied by the female he wanted more than his next breath. “Where?”

  “He just ducked out one of the back exits. Looked a whole lot like your guy and he didn’t like me approaching him.”

  “Let’s go.” When he looked back at Greer, she had already jumped down from the platform and was making her way in the direction Prima pointed. Reaper hurried after her. Less than a minute later they were in a back alley.

  “I smell him,” Reaper said. Once a shifter had a scent, it was for life. Some people could suppress theirs or even hide it temporarily, but not always. And not forever.

  “Does anyone else think it’s weird that he’s running from you?” Greer asked as they hurried down the cobbled alleyway. It spilled out onto a street teeming with people. Lots of humans but many, many supernaturals. The area was filled with similar-looking bars, all stacked next to each other, crammed in as close as possible. And the scents were almost overwhelming—food, humans, supernaturals, perfumes, alcohol, sex, unwashed bodies…all mingled together.

  He found the presence of so many supernaturals interesting. Many vampires, shifters, and other beings were just going about their business, mostly talking, and many intoxicated humans stumbled from establishment to establishment.

  “I am not sure why he would flee from me.” He looked at Prima. “Did you ever have an issue with him?”

  “Not that I recall. But it has been thousands upon thousands of years. Perhaps so?” But she shook her head even as she spoke. “I cannot imagine what though. I usually killed all my enemies. Makes things much easier.”

  Greer made an exasperated sound as she followed after them. He did not like the fact that she was coming with them.

  If Cynbel was fleeing from Reaper or Prima for some reason and decided to attack, he didn’t like the thought of Greer being anywhere near that violence. Healers were sacred and off-limits but he still worried that Cynbel would not respect that law. One thing Reaper knew, however: he would kill anything or anyone that posed a threat to her.

  “I wish we could just fly after him,” he muttered.

  “There is no reason we can’t,” Prima said. “Come on.” Then she took off, racing down the sidewalk at a fast clip, Reaper and Greer hurrying after her. Even in human form, they were all fast. Humans for the most part dodged out of the way and only the supernaturals managed to move without getting jostled. He noticed that Greer apologized, but he did not bother.

  Minutes later they reached a three-story brick building that was falling down, and there were no inhabitants inside from what he could scent.

  “What is this place?”

  “I have no idea,” Prima said. “But it’s high enough and I don’t scent anyone inside. We should be able to shift and camouflage ourselves and track Cynbel easier from the sky.”

  Good point.

  Soon enough they were on the roof of the building and it was in just as bad shape as the exterior. Many soft spots where something had clearly done damage. Water perhaps. But from here he could see for miles and miles in each direction. The night was hazy, with the moon and stars covere
d by clouds. It would be good for hunting down his former comrade.

  He wanted to know why the male had run. Had Cynbel seen him and fled? No. It made no sense. They had fought together. Maybe he had simply left, not having seen Reaper at all.

  “You will not come with us,” he said to Greer.

  She blinked. “Excuse me?”

  “Prima and I will hunt him down. We will find you afterward. You will not help with hunting him down.” He did not want her anywhere near the other male. Not if there was a possibility of danger.

  Prima looked between the two of them, and her expression told him that he had just said something wrong but he couldn’t imagine what.

  “You are a healer,” he said to Greer, which should explain everything. She had no business coming with them. No, she should be somewhere safe, protected.

  Greer’s jaw simply clenched and she turned away from the two of them, stalking back toward the door.

  “Soon you and I are going to talk about what a dumbass you are.” Shaking her head, Prima started stripping off her clothes.

  “I did nothing wrong.” Still, Reaper had the insane urge to call after Greer, to apologize for something. Though he wasn’t certain what. How could she think he wanted her to come with them? He would not be able to focus if she was in danger. He would barely be able to think straight.

  Even now, his dragon snarled at the mere thought of something happening to her. If it were to happen in reality? There was no telling what his beast would be capable of.

  Chapter 6

  Greer half-smiled as she reached the exit door of the dilapidated building because she scented Justus. There was a big sign outside saying the place would soon be undergoing construction. Given how close it was to the edge of the Quarter, she imagined it would fetch quite a lot in rent if this turned into a residential building. Not that any of that mattered to her—she was just trying to keep her mind off Reaper and the rude way he’d dismissed her. As if she was nothing.

  “You guys ran out of there so fast,” Justus said as he pushed off the outside of the building, clearly waiting for her.

  “You didn’t have to come.”

  He lifted a shoulder. “I’m always looking for a fight or adventure.”

  She lifted an eyebrow and fell in step with him as they moved toward the nearby sidewalk. “You are always looking for a fight?”

  He rolled his shoulders once. “Not always. Just lately.”

  “Give her time,” Greer said, knowing exactly what his problem was. “Supernaturals are all complex creatures. She’s no different. But I have faith that she will make the right choice.” Greer hoped anyway.

  “I’ve given her everything I can possibly think of. I’ve offered to leave my coven, but she thinks that’s ridiculous. I don’t understand why she thinks there is such a divide between us. Even her brothers approve of me now, an impossible feat.”

  “All her brothers?” Cynara had four.

  “Yep. We battled after Christmas and they know how much I care for her. I’ve shown them I’m physically capable of defending her if necessary and I’m willing to give her the world.”

  Greer kept her mouth shut because she didn’t think he was looking for an answer, and while it might not be clear to him, it was clear that Cynara didn’t think she was good enough for the older vampire. She was a half-demon, and while it shouldn’t matter, some supernaturals had issues with half-demons. Things like that went deep into your psyche, all the way back to childhood, and could be hard to shake. Especially for supernaturals who were very long-lived. “How long are you in New Orleans?”

  “As long as it takes to convince Cynara to mate with me.”

  “Why don’t the two of you join me back at our place tonight? I haven’t even dropped my bags off yet and I could use some company.” She was used to being surrounded by her clanmates. After being dismissed so abruptly by Reaper, she could admit she felt stung, hurt. And she didn’t want to think about him anymore.

  “We can stop by the bar and grab her. She’s supervising tonight but she has plenty of capable people she can leave in charge. And she was disappointed when you guys ran out of there so I know she will love to spend time with you.”

  “Perfect. I know Nyx is in town as well,” Greer added. “She texted me earlier in the week. Could we ask her and Bo as well?” Since Bo was Cynara’s brother, Greer already knew the answer but asked anyway.

  “Of course.”

  She’d seen a lot of the supernaturals who lived in New Orleans and Biloxi over Christmas, but she still loved spending time with them. In the last couple years her circle of friends had grown and she adored all of them. Right now she didn’t want to be alone with her thoughts at the big mansion in the Garden District that her clan had procured.

  After Reaper had refused to let her go with them—as if she was an incapable dragonling—she’d fought her own embarrassment. Because she’d definitely been dancing for him back at the club, and she wasn’t sure what had come over her. But she’d wanted him to like what he saw.

  Clearly he had, if the way he’d been watching her was any indication. And clearly he didn’t see her as an equal. If he had, she would be in the skies right now with him and Prima searching for his friend. But she wasn’t an ancient so apparently that made her less. For some reason that hurt a lot more than she could have imagined.

  She had no time for a rude male. Even one as sexy as Reaper.

  * * *

  Reaper glanced at Prima as they stepped into the three-story house in a place Prima had told him was called the Garden District. Homes seemed to be stacked close to each other here but the exterior of this home was lush with trees and other foliage. Her clan either owned this house or was renting it. He’d heard laughter and voices from the street thanks to his supernatural hearing, but now that he was inside it sounded like a full-blown party. He hadn’t realized anyone else would be here other than Greer.

  Was she entertaining males?

  His dragon snarled, his claws releasing so swiftly that Prima’s eyes widened. After losing Cynbel’s scent, he was even more anxious to get back to her, and now she had other males here? His dragon was close to breaking his threadbare leash.

  “This is what a party sounds like, not a battle. Control yourself.” She stared at him as if he had lost his mind.

  Rolling his shoulders, he forced his claws to recede as they followed the sound of the laughter.

  In a spacious kitchen there were a dozen supernatural beings of various species, if their scents were any indication. Vampires, hybrids, and some scents he could not decipher at all.

  Greer was speaking to a brown-skinned male with electric blue hair and laughing at something he said.

  His dragon eyed the unknown male, annoyed at the sight of her giving her smiles to someone else. Not that she’d actually bestowed any smiles on him, but a dragon could dream.

  She flicked a quick look at him and Prima and just as quickly she looked away, but not before he saw something he couldn’t quite define in her gaze.

  He needed to speak to her in private. Now. Prima had explained to him that he might have been too brusque with her and he needed to remedy that. The only females he had experience with were other warriors and…he was used to giving orders and not being questioned. Perhaps he needed to rethink some things. Okay, there was no perhaps. He did.

  As he approached Greer and the unknown male, a petite female with long, dark hair—who was half fae for certain—wrapped her arms around the male next to Greer, and that strange sensation surging through Reaper stilled. The male was taken and not a threat for Greer’s attentions.

  “May I speak to you in private?” he asked her, ignoring the others completely.

  Little lines formed in between her eyebrows as she turned to him. But she nodded, giving him her back.

  He couldn’t help it—his gaze trailed over that beautiful ass as she headed for a door that led outside to a colorful patio and quite a large backyard, given what he�
�d seen of the city so far. The yard was completely walled in and truly private from its neighbors, no doubt the reason they were staying here in the first place. Shifters liked their privacy.

  When she turned to face him, those green eyes sparked with fire and heat—and he had a feeling he was only getting a small picture of the passion she had inside her. “Yes?”

  “I am sorry if I offended you earlier.” Apologizing felt strange but he would do anything for her. “Prima pointed out to me that my words were likely misconstrued. I didn’t want you coming with us because you are a healer. You are special and to be taken care of. I thought that was clear, but obviously by your anger at me, I was not clear.”

  To his surprise, her arms dropped, the tenseness in her shoulders loosening. “You didn’t tell me to stay put because you thought I was incapable?”

  “No. I simply wanted you to stay safe. I thought healers were supposed to be protected, completely revered. Has that changed in this time period?” he asked, even though he knew the answer already. But he wanted to make obvious the truth of his words and actions.

  “No, that hasn’t changed.” Her cheeks flushed slightly. “I’m sorry I got angry. It felt as if you were dismissing me because I’m not an ancient. I jumped to conclusions.”

  He let out a short laugh with no amusement. “It would be impossible to dismiss someone as incredible as you.” Her cheeks flushed even brighter, something he found he liked very much. She was so different from any female he had ever been attracted to—and everything about her eclipsed all past memories. It was as if no one existed for him except Greer. “Why does this statement surprise you?”

  Her cheeks remained pink even as she cleared her throat. “I guess I’m just not sure what to say.”

  “I liked it when you danced,” he said bluntly. Now that he had her off-balance, he wanted to make it clear that he was very much attracted to her. Something she must already know, but he felt as if he had better standing to speak boldly to her now. Now that he wasn’t making a complete ass of himself.