Tempting Darkness

Darius Wraith

I stared out the window overlooking the castle grounds. This place was older than dirt and passed down through the generations, though we had renovated the castle to our taste. My father was old-fashioned, and I would not miss the gaudy drapes and the ugly furnishings he had throughout this place. We had made it more functional for our needs and that of the army we were building here. An army that was for her... to keep her safe. I just couldn't believe she'd called on us after all this time. After everything we had done for her. She threw it all in our faces-everything we had done. I killed my f*****g father for her, Tobias lost his brother because of her, and we nearly lost Kalen. She was lucky we didn't because I would have killed her when I'd laid my eyes on her if we had. Aleera ruined him, ruined all of us.

Tobias would handle Aleera until I would get over the shock and anger at her calling on us after all this time. All this f*****g time, and then she suddenly wanted us to save her. No calls, no letters, nothing for six bloody years. To say I was angry was an understatement. I wanted to hurt the girl, strangle the life out of her. She needed to feel the agony she'd caused us. She would regret running away from me, from us.

Kalen and Lycus didn't say a word, yet I could feel their eyes on me, watching me and waiting for the explosion that would come. Yet despite hating her-every goddamn thing about her-I had never felt so relieved at the same time. She would pay for betraying us, for nearly destroying us. Hearing the door open, I looked over at it to see Tobias walk in. His anger was as hot as mine.

He hated her just as much and with good reason. What she took from him, what it had cost him, pained me still. His twin brother was also like a brother to me-another life lost while trying to find her. Not only did he lose his title as the next Vampiric Fae King, but she also took the only person that stood by him when everything fell apart. She took so much from us, more than she could or would ever realize, but she would pay. Aleera would pay for what she had done.

We would have loved her; we already did. We would have looked after her, but she threw it in our faces.

"Well?" I asked him as he dropped into the armchair next to the fireplace, his shirt all creased. He looked unkempt for the first time in ages.

"Hopefully, she freezes to death," he muttered, glaring at the flames licking at the wood as he tossed more kindling in. I hated that look on his face, the look he had when he re-lived that night. That night would forever haunt him. I looked away, unable to handle seeing his torment.

"Where is she?" Kalen dared to ask, and I looked at him. His blue eyes instantly dropped to the floor as if embarrassed that he even asked. No, he was embarrassed because he still cared for her, and he should be after the damage she'd caused. Lycus watched him with a worried expression, and I knew why he was concerned.

Kalen's obsession with her almost killed him last time when she never answered our call, and by the time we got to her school, she was gone. We thought she needed time to get her head around the idea of us, but after a few hours, we realized we had misjudged her.

"She is in the cells," Tobias answered him with a sigh before rubbing a hand down his face like he was tired, and he was. The anniversary was coming up, and he never slept much this time of the year. I would have to exhaust him or put him under when he went too long without sleep. Tobias would become unstable and driven by his instincts. We had lost a few men to his grief. Having her here was going to make him worse.

I watched Kalen as his head snapped up before he realized I was watching him. His face shut down, instantly recognizing his mistake. He was our weakness, and we couldn't drop our guard around her. I nodded to Lycus, and he patted Kalen on the shoulder and nodded toward the door. Kalen reluctantly got up and followed him. I would have to pull him in line later. We wouldn't lose him to her again. She had taken enough from us, and I wouldn't allow her to do it again. She either fell in line, or she would rot in that cell for the rest of her life.

"We should have let them kill her," Tobias muttered. He reached for the bottle that sat on the coffee table between the armchairs that circled the fireplace. Moving toward him, I watched as he twisted the cap off the bottle before bringing it to his lips, swallowing down the amber liquid. My hands fell on his shoulders, and Tobias flinched, only relaxing when I squeezed gently. He knew I would never hurt him. We'd been friends long before we became mates. I trusted this man with my life, and he trusted me with his. "She will pay for what she has done," I told him, and he dropped his head back to look up at me standing behind him.

"I want her to hurt, and I want her to bleed like we have all done for her." "Then make her," I told him.

Tobias turned his stare back at the fire burning for a second, his green eyes reflecting oddly from the flickering light of the flames. His expression darkened as his mask slipped back in place. The same icy demeanor that had made people run just at the sight of him. He could be cruel; he was nearly as sadistic as me, and he knew it. Aleera should fear him just as much. Tobias could be cold, and family meant the world to him before she destroyed his. Now, he would return the favor and destroy her.

"Aleera will wish for death long before we grant it to her." He chuckled softly, shaking his head before tipping the bottle to his lips. I took it from him, making him growl at me. His drinking had become worse, making me worry he was developing a drinking problem. My jaw clenched at the angry look on his face as he glared up at me.

"You want revenge, fine. But do it sober," I told him.

"And after?" he asked, and I stood upright. My lips pressed in a line as I stared at the flames, my mood plummeting further. Sometimes I hated the mate bond, hated it with a passion. It was the worst feeling, craving someone but hating them simultaneously. She nearly ruined all of us; Aleera nearly killed Kalen. We almost lost him because of her selfishness. We just need to remember everything she took from us.

"Then we kill her. We don't need her."

"Are you sure that is a wise decision? We need her. I f*****g hate her and wish nothing but death on her, but she is our power keeper. She would strengthen us, complete us."

"We have survived this long without her, and I don't want her touching my magic. She doesn't deserve to after what she has done." He nodded in agreement bending forward and leaning his elbows on his knees. The tension in his body was evident as his back muscles tensed under his shirt, his arms flexing and straining against the fabric.

"She has no magic. I couldn't feel it. Could you?" Tobias asked me while looking over his shoulder at me.

"She must have burned herself out. I couldn't sense it either, but she'd manifested. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to call on us."

"What was she doing there in the first place? That was bloody stupid of her. Not even we would take on a Lycan City on a full moon."

"Well, maybe you wouldn't," I told him, and his lips tugged at the corners.

"Yeah, but you are crazy enough to," he said, and he was right. I feared nothing, and I didn't have to. Nobody in the world feared anything more than my name.

"Would be an enjoyable challenge," I told him, and he looked over at me and smirked.

"I think Lycus should deal with her for a few days. I don't want Kalen near her. Not until he has control of his emotions. Probably best I steer clear of her, too. I may just kill her," Tobias said, snatching the bottle back, and I had to agree. These would be testing times, with her under our roof and tested she would be.