Cambion Lord (Dark Warrior Alliance #23) - Brenda Trim Page 0,11

and balled his hands into fists. It was always the same thing. How the fuck had Zander manipulated all of the Tehrex Realm? Sure, he was the Vampire King, but this was fucking ridiculous.

No one should be able to make his shifters turn against him. It was about damn time he reestablished his dominance. This time his growl rattled the large window behind him and claws sliced into his palms as they surged through his fingertips.

“You want ta be watchin’ yerself.” Tia’s voice held steel and warning. Hayden’s mouth twitched at the same time his animals prowled beneath his skin.

Zeke held up his hand and smiled at his mate. “It’s okay, love. Hayden’s just letting off some steam. Aren’t you?”

Hayden’s heart slammed against his rib cage. All he could hear was the whoosh of his heaving breaths. Don’t attack your Beta! Slowing his mind and soothing his animals, Hayden focused on the issue at hand.

“I’d never hurt Zeke, Tia. You should know that by now. Zander, however, is another matter altogether. Him I’d like to go a few rounds with. But I want to remind you, Zeke, that I’m your Omega. Your life and loyalty belong to me.” Before Hayden could stop the power, it escaped him and surrounded Zeke.

Zeke stiffened and his eyes went wide. The cords along the sides of his neck stood out as his jaw clenched. Guilt swamped Hayden immediately and was quickly followed by him brushing it off. There was no reason to feel bad about putting him in line. Except Zeke wasn’t challenging him or disobeying him.

Sweat beaded across Zeke’s brow and his face screwed up in a grimace. “What. The. Actual. Fuck?” It wasn’t that Zeke was emphasizing his question. He struggled to get the words out.

Tia stepped around the island and cupped Zeke’s cheeks and placed a kiss to his lips before she turned to face Hayden. “I have some spirits dat want ta play, Hayden.” Energy crackled around her a second before cold washed through the room.

It was the line responding to her call. As a Mambo for the Voodoo Queen, Marie Leaveau, Tia had power over the dead and could call them to do her bidding. They were responding and it was enough to cool his temper.

After taking several deep breaths, Hayden shook his head and pulled the power back in. Zeke gasped and shuddered. “That was unintentional. Thank you for reminding me Zeke is on my side.” Hayden nodded to Tia.

Tia narrowed her eyes at the same time several forms appeared next to her. Initially, they were filmy and indistinct. They solidified into people that hovered next to her. None of them had feet. They floated and seemed to wave side to side. Their clothes were tattered and covered in holes. Most of them wore long-sleeved shirts with ruffles and the women had on floor length skirts.

Zeke wrapped an arm around his mate and tugged her into his chest. She stood there for a couple more seconds before she waved her hand through the air. The ghosts dispersed before disappearing completely.

The stiffness left Zeke in increments starting with his shoulders. It was fascinating for Hayden to watch the touch of a mate heal. Everyone heard stories about how mates affect one another. The one most often talked about is how being skin to skin with your mate can heal you. Seeing it in action was astonishing.

Zeke sighed and melted into Tia’s back. “Why the urgency now?”

Hayden shook himself and focused on Zeke’s question. Now was not the time to get caught in the same loop of wondering why everyone and their grandmother had found their Fated Mate while he was still alone.

Hayden walked to the fridge and grabbed a beer. “We lose good people every day while protecting humans that don’t appreciate the danger that we save them from. I’m sick and tired of supernaturals dying. Especially my shifters. It kills part of me every time I lose one. Humans aren’t helpless. They have weapons and can defend themselves. It’s about fucking time they did.”

Zeke kissed Tia’s neck and she moved out of his grasp and back to the stove. “And what about the risk of them imprisoning our kind in labs where they study them like bugs under a microscope?”

Hayden flicked the lid off his beer with his thumb then tipped the bottle to his lips. He didn’t lower the drink until he’d consumed half of it. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Humans