Savage

Prologue

“His father doesn’t want him.”

Azura froze as she heard the last words she wanted to hear. “What?”

“Lord Jaden said that he has no use for anything that’ll tie him to you. He told us to take it from his sight and drown it.”

Fury boiled up within her with such ferocity that she slung her arm out and obliterated the demon beside her with her powers. That made the imbecile in front of her, clutching the infant, step backward out of fear.

He should be afraid. Normally, she’d have already disemboweled him for delivering news she didn’t want to hear, as that was what she always did.

“Now, repeat what you just said to me.”

The demon gulped audibly as he shifted the baby in his arms.

“He said that he had no use for a child, and for you to drown it.”

Using her telekinesis, she ripped her worthless son from the arms of the demon before she splintered said demon against the far wall.

The baby hovered in the air before her, squalling. Red in the face and weak beyond her tolerance. Pathetic, disgusting waste of breath and time.

Another useless brat. Why had she bothered?

She had no use for it, either. The sole purpose of conceiving the hideous thing had been to tie Jaden to her. She should have known he’d be smarter than that.

Still, Jaden was a god of light. As such, she’d expected him to at least want to see his own child cared for. To raise it. To not just ignore it.

But if he didn’t want that…

She waved her hand and banished the whiny, smelly thing to whatever demon desired a baby. She had no time to change diapers or feed something so worthless.

If she was lucky, it’d be dead within hours and she’d never have to look at it again…unlike that other thing she hated more than anything.

“What happened?”

She turned at the sound of her brother’s voice. Darker than the sin he’d invented, Noir stood head and shoulders over her. He was ruggedly handsome and so cocksure that she wanted to slap him for it.

The only thing that kept her from it was the knowledge that he didn’t slap back.

He punched.

She’d like to say that she was meaner, but she knew better. Noir was the most corrupt and dangerous being ever spawned, and she had no desire to test him.

“You were right about the beast.” Those words absolutely galled her, and she was surprised she didn’t choke while saying them.

He tsked at her. “Of course I was. Nothing controls Jaden, and you know it. He’s an entity unto himself. I told you not to waste your time.”

“Shut up.”

Instead, he moved closer to her. “So what’s to become of that brat now?”

“Who cares?”

He arched a brow at her. “You should.”

“Why?”

Laughing bitterly, he shook his head. “You really have no idea what you’ve created, do you?”

Of course she did. “I had a baby.” It wasn’t as if it’d been her first.

“No, sister. You had a god. One born with an equal share of light and dark. This one isn’t like your other halfling, the useless son born of that pathetic Na?āru you crawled into bed with, or our precious daughter.”

A sick feeling began in the pit of her stomach as she considered a fact she’d missed before.

“Yeah,” he said, cruelly. “Just like with Mastema, he could turn on you. You have delivered something into this world that could easily have the same powers as you and Jaden. More, even. You never know how such powers will merge, any more than you know which side such a beast will choose to serve. His father’s…or ours. And the powers of his children could be even stronger, depending on who their mother is.”

“Then why did Jaden refuse it?”

“He’s an idiot. Always has been. He acts with no thought and all emotion. He never sees the future. Failure to think ahead. Normally, you have more sense.”

Yes, she did. But she’d been so focused on controlling one of their greatest enemies that she’d lost sight of the means by which she’d chosen to leash him.

An unpredictable child. As her brother had noted, she’d already had one turn against her.

“How do we guarantee the brat will side with us?”

Noir laughed bitterly. “We don’t. No one can predict what a child will do. They’re vicious that way. You have to beat them into shape and pray that you’ve beaten them down enough that they don’t dare try to defy you.”

That tended to be true. Sadly, everyone she knew had a child that had turned on them no matter how much they’d controlled them.

Everyone. Including her. She’d done her best with her eldest son. Beaten him until he couldn’t stand. Until he was unconscious. It’d done her no good whatsoever. Little brat had refused to obey even the simplest request.

Kill it…

Now, before he grew older and so powerful that she wasn’t able to end his life. That would be the best and safest thing to do.

It was the only thing to do, really. Why chance another son turning on her?

Determined to set this right, she left Noir and headed to the demonic realm where she’d banished her bastard.

Azmodea. She hated it here. Dreary and dark, it was populated by demons and other bottom feeders she didn’t want to deal with. Why was this even a place?

Created by the Source, it was said to be the realm where all hope went to die. Where misery was born and all evil flourished. Personally, she just thought it was depressing. Why demons wanted to congregate here, she couldn’t imagine.

In fact, there was nothing more wretched to her than being forced to live here.

“And it smells like hell’s farts! Ugh! Why does it stink like this?” she shouted in frustration and fury as she stamped her foot.

Snapping her fingers, she willed herself to the place she’d banished her brat.

Azura found herself inside a building made of drab gray walls that echoed with something that sounded like a dull, buzzing waterfall. Not melodic or soothing. Irritating.

“What is making that noise?”

No one answered.

Even more agitated, she turned around slowly to see more nothing. Just ick. Everywhere. Drab, boring ick. “Where’s my baby?”

“Why do you want a child?”

The voice came out of thin air.

That would be disturbing in its own right, but the fact that she couldn’t sense anyone or anything…

It actually sent a shiver up her spine.

“Who are you?”

The buzzing waterfall grew louder and seemed to move closer. What the hell?

“I am Darkness. The shadows are my friends.”

Azura smirked. “Don’t play with me. I’m not in the mood. I need my child.”

“The one you threw away?”

“None of your business. Hand him over. Now!”

The disembodied voice tsked. “How thoughtless of you to misplace a child.”

“I didn’t misplace the beast. I banished it.”

“For being born?”

Azura growled in her throat. “For being an annoyance. Should I banish you, too?”

“Only if you can find me.” The voice trailed off.

Azura wanted blood. But there was no trace of her child or the creature taunting her. None of her powers detected either of them.

Had that little bastard died? That would be a blessing.

Sadly, her luck wasn’t that good. Which meant she’d need to send her soldiers out to find him.

“If it’s the last thing I do, I’ll see you dead, brat! And you too, annoying voice! Run if you like, but I will find you.”

* * *

Michi didn’t speakor move until she was certain the angry goddess was gone. Clutching the naked baby boy in her arms, she felt terrible for him. “Do you even have a name, little one? Did she bother to give you one?”

He blinked at her, then yawned and snuggled against her shoulder.

Poor, poor thing. No one wanted him. His mother—not that she wanted to call that beast of a goddess a mother—had thrown him away to this realm with no regard for such a precious treasure.

Who could do such a thing?

Had Michi not been napping in this area, there was no telling what would have happened to the child. There were many here who would have eaten him. Or done even more unspeakable things to the innocent babe.

Now…

“What do I know of being a mother?” She wasn’t much more than a kit herself.

More than that, she hated being in a human body more than anything. Normally, she was a white fox. She’d been a fox when the boy had appeared next to her on the cold floor. Squalling, he’d rudely awakened her from her nap.

Her first instinct had been to kill him just to get him to stop crying.

But he was a baby. A tiny, harmless little thing, reaching out to her for comfort.

And she’d been unable to deny him what he sought. So she’d changed into a human body and picked him up to soothe him. He’d quieted down instantly.

“You are cute.” His blue eyes glistened in the dim light while he sucked on his fist and cooed ever so sweetly. Dark hair covered his small head.

So trusting. She couldn’t remember a time in her life when she’d trusted anyone. Not for anything.

No. Something like this should never be harmed. Life would strip his innocence from him all too soon. There was no reason for her to turn him over to his monster of a mother so that she could make him a monster in her image.

He needed someone to protect him and show him a better way to live. At least for a while.

“You’ll be my little kit,” Michi whispered. “I’ll take care of you, precious. Just remember when you’re older who your enemies are and who protected you from them.”