Chapter Twelve
Jaytee tried to get up, tried to push to his feet, but his body was too badly damaged. If he shifted into his wolf form, he would fall instantly into a healing sleep, leaving him to die at Vicino’s hands. Normally shifters had no choice. Their animal took over, but Jaytee had always had immense control over his.
I’m so sorry, Moonbeam. I tried. I tried so hard to protect you, but I wasn’t strong enough.
No! Don’t you dare give up! Fight, Jaytee! Fight for your life!
Either Jaytee was now hallucinating or… Raidh?
Fight!
On trembling arms, Jaytee snarled as he pushed to his knees, every inhalation of breath crippling.
Moonbeam was his responsibility, his mate, and Jaytee needed to fight until his last breath.
No one would take what was his. Not a vampire, not society’s punishment for a forbidden mating, or even powerful magic would destroy the one person he cherished most in the world.
Somehow, someway, Jaytee would figure out how to break the curse.
And then he would send Galamir straight to the pits of hell where he belonged, because Jaytee was nothing without his moonbeam.
Just half a soul begging to die.
But first, he needed to somehow win the fight against a powerful vampire and his army of undead minions. How in the fuck was he going to do that?
Vicino’s wicked and cruel laugh was filled with joy. “Stay right there on your knees, donate de sangre.” A snarl rent the air. “My abominations need to feed.”
Jaytee willed his body to give him the strength he needed to get to his feet. If he was going to die, fuck if he would perish on his knees.
With a fierce growl, he rose to his full height, pulled his shoulders back, and glared defiantly at Vicino. “I might die, but I’m taking you with me.”
I love you, my sweet little fairy. We’ll meet again and dance hand in hand like moonbeams through the Milky Way.
Your heart, your soul, and your very existence belong solely to me. I love you, so fight, goddamn you! Fight!
Jaytee swallowed roughly past the raw ache in his throat, his eyes burning with unshed tears. Potty mouth.
He braced himself, knowing he couldn’t win against a horde of undead vampires, but he was determined to go down swinging.
“Jaytee!” He spun his head around at the sound of his dad’s voice. Kalen and Jax raced toward him, just as naked as he was.
“Son, I thought…” Tears brimmed his dad’s eyes. “Damon.”
Clenching his teeth, Jaytee turned his head to face the onslaught. We’re coming, Damon. You won’t spend eternity alone, dear brother. You’ll be surrounded by your family once more.
A flash of light briefly blinded Jaytee. He threw his hand up to shield his eyes as he stumbled back a step, hissing when pain pulsed through his broken body.
When the light faded, he lowered his hand, then his jaw dropped. A tall, brawny warrior stood in front of them, his dark, wavy hair cascading down his back. He had as much facial hair as Jaytee, but it was the pointy ears that shocked him.
The stranger was fae.
The newcomer charged right into battle. Jaytee was stunned. He had never seen anyone fight like that. Somehow the fae had swords in his hands, like they’d just appeared out of nowhere. As the vampires stormed the guy, the stranger flawlessly dodged and struck with his swords, and every one of his strikes caused massive damage. Wow. His moves looked like a carefully orchestrated dance of a seasoned warrior.
Who was this guy?
“No!” Vicino shrieked.
Kalen and Jax shifted into their wolves and attacked the undead, claws and teeth shredding through graying flesh. Jaytee dove for Damon’s wolf when a vampire went for his twin. “Don’t you fucking touch him!”
The vampire’s head rolled from its shoulders with a swift stroke of the fae’s blade.
“I’m Casimir. Don’t move,” he said in a deep, commanding voice. “Protect your twin while I rid us of these heinous defilements against Mother Nature.”
Jaytee didn’t want to stay down. He wanted to fight alongside his family and warrior, to decimate the horde, to kill Vicino with his bare hands.
But he didn’t want any of these vile creatures near Damon’s body, and Jaytee’s own body wasn’t in any shape to fight.
He gasped when a swirling portal appeared next to Kalen. “Your left, Dad!”
Whatever that was, Jaytee would be damned if it harmed his dad. He shoved to knees just as Panahasi emerged, followed by Prince Christian, Maverick, alpha of the timber wolves, Zues, alpha of the gray wolves, Ahm, a tall and proud shadow elf, and lastly, Nazaryth, leader of the winged beasts.
Holy shit. Jaytee’s jaw dropped as Panahasi threw his head back and bellowed a war cry, his skin turning from an olive color to crimson. Sharp and deadly talons grew to at least twelve inches from his fingernails, as a tail at least four feet in length shot out behind him.
Then horns shot up from his scalp as leather wings unfurled. At the same time, Nazaryth’s feathered wings shot out, and then the two took to the sky before swooping down and cutting through a swath of the undead.
What. The. Fuck. Jaytee knew who the Ultionem members were. He just hadn’t known Panahasi could take on a different form. Rumors circled that he was more than just the demon leader, and Panahasi had just confirmed them.
Jaytee watched as Ahm fought side by side with Casimir, while Maverick helped Kalen and Jax.
Zues matched Vicino in height, but the alpha’s girth could have classified him as his own planet. Even from where Jaytee lay, he felt the bald man’s commanding presence.
Jaytee frowned when he noticed Christian simply standing there off to the side, his anger palpable as he watched the battle rage on. He was the first vampire ever born, a prince to the race. At least, that was what Jaytee had heard.
Vicino went blow for blow with Zues, exchanging ferocious punches that would have killed anyone else. The gray wolf alpha’s fists looked larger than Jaytee’s goddamn head and the gray wolf knew how to swing them.
“Jaytee!” Elvine appeared in front of him, her colorful wings fluttering furiously as she lay Raidh’s limp body down next to him.
“Why did you bring him here?” Jaytee shouted when he saw Vicino’s eyes gleam, his smile so wide it split his face in half.
The ancient vampire threw his head and shoulders back, his hands balled into fists, as he shouted a triumphant cry.
“Look at him!” Elvine screamed at Jaytee.
Pulling his gaze away from Vicino, Jaytee looked down at his mate and sucked in a sharp breath that caused his lungs to erupt in pain. Moonbeam was struggling to breathe and drenched in sweat, his stunning lavender-gray eyes filled with tears.
The cut on his arm from casting the spell had gotten so much worse. The skin around the wound was more crimson than Panahasi’s current skin. Puss oozed from every inch of it, and when Jaytee touched the redness, he snatched his hand away from the fiery heat.
He pressed his hand over Raidh’s heart and felt how slow it was beating.
“Moonbeam? Talk to me, sweetheart.” Jaytee’s voice quivered.
Raidh was dying right before his eyes. He was losing his mate. Jaytee was willing and ready to sell his soul to save his little fairy.
He was willing to do anything.
Raidh finally looked at him, and then a soft smile curled his lips. It looked like a struggle as his mate lifted his slim arm and placed his palm against Jaytee’s cheek. “I love you, my sweet wolf,” he wheezed. “We’ll meet a-again and dance hand in hand like m-moonbeams through the Milky Way. ”
His hand slipped from Jaytee’s face and hit the ground, his gaze unfocused.
“Raidh!” Jaytee crushed his mate’s limp body against his chest then threw his head back and released a soul-piercing howl. All-consuming pain ravaged his entire body, the agony splitting his very foundation in half.
Elvine openly wept as Jaytee rocked his little fairy in his arms, running his fingers through his mate’s long golden hair as violent sobs racked him. The loss filled him to overflowing, suffocating him to the point he couldn’t breathe. He’d failed his mate, and now there was no way to ever make up for it.
“Please, please, please, Moonbeam. Please don’t leave me.” He rocked back and forth, his gaze unfocused from the tears flowing from his eyes. “I can’t live without you, sweetheart.” He buried his face in his mate’s chest. “I’m going to join you so you won’t be alone. I promised nothing would separate us, so I’m coming to be with you and Damon.”
It felt as if an iron fist was wrapping around his heart and was squeezing it tightly. Never before had he felt such anguish. It was on a level reserved only for the deepest parts of hell.
Jaytee wanted to die, to join his mate in the afterlife, to see his little fairy smile at him once again. To hear his declaration of love spoken out loud and not just whispered in his mind.
As he held his lifeless mate, Jaytee pulsed with raw fury, the air around him churning with pure darkness. Violent clouds gathered as a lightning storm unleashed inside of him.
“Watch over my mate,” Jaytee growled to Elvine as he gently lay his mate’s body down then stood, ignoring the searing pain from his injuries. “Don’t let anyone near Raidh or Damon.”
“Damon?” Elvine glanced to where the wolf lay then slapped her hands over her mouth as she let out a sob. “Oh god!” she cried.
Vicino was going to feel the unimaginable agony that was a living, breathing cancer inside of Jaytee.
The son of a bitch would regret ever coming after his mate and family in the first place.
And if Jaytee was killed, so be it. What in the fuck did he have to live for now that his mate was gone, now that his twin lay dead? The vampire had taken everything from him, as had Galamir, who had killed Jaytee’s gentle reminder of the beauty in this world.
His steps were unsteady as he stalked toward Vicino, who was still fighting Zeus but smiled maliciously at Jaytee’s advance.
Keep smiling, you psychopathic piece of shit.
Panahasi landed in front of Jaytee and placed a bloody hand over his chest. Jaytee was so far-gone he didn’t even cringe when those blood-soaked claws touched his bare body. A sonic pulse swept through Jaytee, causing him to arch his back. The demon leader lifted his hand a few inches before a blue light, finer than a wisp of smoke, writhed up from Jaytee’s chest. It swirled its way toward Panahasi’s palm, until every last speck of the wispy smoke disappeared.
Jaytee gasped when the physical pain evaporated, leaving him standing there at full strength. “What did you just do to me?”
Panahasi’s whiskey-brown eyes filled with deep sorrow. “A gift to you for your loss, wolf. You are now fully healed, and I have given you a small measure of what I am capable of to have as your own.”
“What capabilities?” Charged electricity flowed and vibrated inside Jaytee like he was touching a live wire.
Panahasi dropped his arm, leaving behind a bloody handprint on Jaytee’s chest. “You are now an equal match in power against Vicino.” He leaned in close, his eyes narrowing as he snarled, “Exact your revenge, brother.”
Jaytee threw his head back and let out a vicious howl.
“Do you want me to take your other pain?” Panahasi asked with deep sympathy lacing through his voice.
“No.” Jaytee shook his head. “It will fuel my rage. Besides…” He looked toward the ground as the loss ate him alive. “I deserve the pain for failing my mate.”
“Why do you think you failed him?” Panahasi’s right arm shot out, but he never broke eye contact with Jaytee. His deadly talons punched through the chest of the vampire who charged at him, and then the demon leader tore the bloodsucker’s heart out.
“Raidh’s father swore to eliminate him.” Jaytee snarled just thinking of Galamir. “The bastard not only blew the kiss of death at Raidh but paid Vicino to kill his son and my family. It was my job to keep him safe, to…” The pain of his little fairy’s death shredded Jaytee in half once more. He wasn’t even sure how he could breathe right now. Every breath was a searing pain that left his lungs charred.
Panahasi’s eyes erupted with rage. “Galamir Shadowlace put a hit on his own son and blew him the kiss of death?” His voice was filled with so much fury it vibrated against Jaytee like a living entity.
“Are you serious?” Maverick growled as he walked up to them. “Now I see why you’re fed up with those pompous blowhards,” he said to Panahasi. “You would think fairies would be all cute and lovable.”
“Mine was,” Jaytee whispered as fresh tears fell.
Maverick squeezed Jaytee’s shoulder. “You and your family are always welcome at the Den, brother.” He cupped the back of Jaytee’s neck. “Consider us your extended family, wolf.”
Jaytee’s head shot up when he heard Vicino bellow. Christian stood right in front of the creature, one hand tucked behind his back, the other outstretched, his palm facing Vicino.
“If you want your revenge, I suggest you hurry,” Panahasi said. “Christian is about to destroy him.”
“You want help?” Maverick smirked. “It’s been a while since I kicked some serious ass.”
Jaytee shook his head, curling his lip. It was his mate and twin the ancient vampire had killed. It was Jaytee’s duty to avenge their deaths. And he would do it with all the pain of his loss and the pure hatred he harbored for the creature. “Vicino is all mine.”
“Guess I’ll just sit on the sidelines and watch you rip him apart.” Maverick walked away.
Jaytee noticed the army of vampires had been slain. Everyone who had fought alongside his family stood there bloody, but alive. Even Casimir, though his swords were no longer in his hands. Now the only enemy left was the one he was going to send straight to hell.
This is for you, Damon .
As he advanced toward the creature, Jaytee raised his arm then whipped his hand toward the ground, watching as Vicino rose into the air before crashing back down.
Christian glanced at Jaytee, studied him for a moment, then shockingly stepped aside. The prince gave a single nod. “For your loss, wolf.”
“You haven’t seen unimaginable rage yet,” Jaytee growled at Vicino while he drew closer. “You wanted me to save some for you, so I’m about to give you all of it.”
The second he felt Vicino’s powers lashing toward him, Jaytee thought of the meadow Raidh had created, how he’d given Jaytee the best hour of his life. The electricity detonated from Jaytee with a powerful airblast, uprooting massive trees and sending them crashing to the forest floor, taking Vicino with them.
The vampire released a ferocious roar, his powers crashing against Jaytee, sending him flying backward.
“You want to play with the big boys?” Vicino shouted, slamming a fist against his chest. “I’ve been around for ten thousand years, pup. I’ve wiped out entire civilizations without barely lifting a hand. Do your worst.”
Instead of acting on the taunt, Jaytee closed his eyes, centered himself, and focused. The power flowed through his veins and pulsated through every cell in his body.
He opened his eyes then narrowed them before he discharged a violent blast wave. Then another and another. He refused to let up, ejecting the blast waves with all the pain inside of him, with the profound agony of his loss; the loss of the most beautiful fairy in the world.
Vicino’s screams were ear-crushing, his body contouring and twisting as he absorbed every ounce of Jaytee’s soul-shattering pain and anguish.
He poured all of it into Vicino.
Jaytee’s heart lurched when a creature appeared right beside him, looking just like Panahasi did right now, only its skin was the color of ripe blueberries—a deep purplish hue. His eyes were bloodshot, spidery veins of red branching toward brown irises.
“Jaden, no!” Panahasi bellowed, his wings carrying him at lightning speed toward Jaytee.
Jaden sniffed at Jaytee, baring fangs that reached his chin. “Your soul yanked me to your side. You wish for death, wolf, and I can give it to you.”
Panahasi’s winged body slammed into Jaden’s, the two rolling away. Jaytee should have never taken his attention off of Vicino. As the two mighty winged creatures exchanged blows, Jaytee was lifted into the air, his body nearly bending in half, his blood feeling as if it was boiling.
“I will bathe in your blood,” Vicino breathed out, malevolence flowing through his eyes. “I will slowly, enjoyably, torture your family for the rest of eternity.”
Jaytee tried to call on his powers, but he couldn’t focus when his bones were snapping and his skin felt like it was peeling from his body.
Suddenly, he slammed to the ground, jerking and convulsing as the torturous agony gradually receded. He lay staring up at the stars, panting and covered in sweat.
Vicino roared with curses.
After taking a deep breath, Jaytee pushed to his feet. The vampire was on his knees, his arms behind his back, glaring a promise of death at him.
Looking to his right, Jaytee saw the winged creatures held up one arm each, their fingers curled in halfway, their talons resting against their forearms.
Panahasi shook his head while staring at Vicino. “I see you need a handbook for your new powers, wolf.”
“You can’t just give a shifter that kind of power and expect him to execute it flawlessly without giving him lessons first,” Jaden snapped. “You’re a little too fucking generous for your own good. You need to be more careful with your generosity before you do something you can’t undo.”
“You’re looking at Life and Death,” Kalen said from next to him.
Jaytee snapped his head around to see his father and Jax standing on his left.
“I don’t understand,” Jaytee replied.
“Panahasi is every creature ever born into existence,” Kalen replied. “Jaden is the Grim Reaper. The one who controls and commands all the rest. Panahasi and Jaden are brothers.”
Kalen slid his arm around Jaytee’s shoulders, tears shimmering in his blue eyes. “Let’s end the son of a bitch who took my son’s life, who killed your twin and Jax’s brother.”
“Raidh.” Jaytee’s shoulders shook, unable to hold back the anguish.
His dad swallowed roughly. “I’m sorry, Jaytee. He was a sweet person. But please, I already lost one son, and I can’t lose another. Please, Jaytee, don’t seek death.”
“I can’t live without him, Dad.” Jaytee broke down as his dad and Jax pulled him into their arms. “It hurts so much that I just want to die.”
Kalen’s arms tightened around him in a rib-breaking hug as Jaytee inhaled his familiar scent, which had once comforted him but was unable to anymore.
“For Damon,” Jax said before he pulled away.
Jaytee wiped his eyes, took a deep breath, then nodded. “For Damon.”
“For Damon.” Kalen nodded.
The three shifted into their wolf forms and attacked, inflicting their sorrow ferociously, tearing into Vicino without mercy. Right before Jaytee gave the killing blow, he glared into Vicino’s eyes. “Burn. In. Hell.” Then he tore out the vampire’s black heart.
But Vicino’s death didn’t appease Jaytee. Nothing was going to bring back his twin. It felt as if a part of Jaytee had been torn away from him, creating a hole inside of him. He had been able to feel his twin’s strong emotions, but now that part lay silent.
“He’s not dead,” Panahasi said. “Vicino cursed him into an ancient sleep.”
“How do we get him out of it?” Kalen demanded as Jaytee’s heart raced. His twin wasn’t dead?
Panahasi glanced at the Ultionem members. “With our combined blood.” He turned back to Jaytee and his family. “Vicino was a powerful, ancient being. Jaden and I had to work together just to restrain him. It will take the blood of powerful beings to awaken him.”
Kalen looked toward the other members who stood off to one side, but noticed Jaden was no longer there. Casimir was. He stood a little back from the rest, his gaze locked on Damon’s wolf.
“It’ll change him,” Panahasi continued.
“That’s a vast understatement.” Ahm pursed his lips. “Damon will absorb some of our essences.”
“That sounds so dirty.” Jax grimaced.
Kalen popped him on the back of the head. “Let them talk.”
“He’ll need to drink blood,” Christian said. “He will still be able to eat, but his body will never feel fully nourished unless he drinks blood at least once a week.”
“If you can bring him back, I’ll open a goddamn vein for him every single time,” Jaytee replied, hope filling him, but that still didn’t overshadow his sorrow.
“His wolf will be stronger,” Zues added.
“And possibly more aggressive,” Maverick said. “Since Zeus and I are alphas. Our wolves essences, for lack of a better word, will merge with his, changing his beast.”
“Your wolves will be inside of his?” Jaytee frowned. “I don’t get it.”
“It’s hard to explain,” Maverick replied. “The alpha in our blood will merge with his wolf, though it’s more complicated than that, but you get the gist.”
Jaytee glanced at Nazaryth. The winged beast leader shrugged. “Hell if I know.”
“And you?” Kalen asked Panahasi. Jaytee looked over the demon leader. But he wasn’t just a demon. Panahasi was Life, making him wonder if that would have an effect on what they were about to do.
“He might gain a demon power.” Panahasi chewed on the side of his lip, as if he was wondering the same thing as Jaytee. But if he brough that up, the Ultionem might not perform the spell, and damn if they were going to leave Damon in the ancient sleep.
“I’ll add mine, as well,” Casimir said from behind them. “Méityah blood is very potent and powerful.” The guy scratched his beard as Jaytee wondered if that word meant fae in their language. “Since Ahm and I have pointy ears—”
“Damon will have them?” Jaytee asked.
Casimir shrugged. “He might develop them. Although he will have Unseelie blood running through his veins, the dark fae won’t recognize him as one of them.”
“I don’t give a shit what your people think,” Jaytee snarled. “Your law says my mating to Raidh was illegal.”
Casimir shook his head. “A ridiculous law.”
Jaytee frowned as he studied the guy. “Who exactly are you, and how did you know to show up?”
“I am Raidh’s uncle.” Casimir placed a palm over his chest and gave a slight bow. “I haven’t seen my nephew since he was a nyliché …for reasons.”
“A what?” Jaytee looked the warrior over. The fae was only two inches shorter than Panahasi. The Unseelie was built like a warrior, muscular, with eyes a shade darker than Jaytee’s.
“Child,” Casimir clarified.
“He knew to come because of me.” Elvine still had tears clinging to her thick lashes.
When Jaytee glanced down at her, his pain thrummed harder in his soul. Although she and Raidh didn’t share a lot of the same features, they shared enough to make his pain beat harder in his soul.
And fuck if looking at her didn’t hurt down to his very foundation.
“There might be a way to save Raidh,” Casimir said, grabbing everyone’s attention.
“How?” Jaytee asked desperately.
Casimir’s cerulean-blue eyes burst with anger. “Raidh’s death broke the curse.”
Jaytee growled.
The fae held up his hand. “Let me finish before you accuse me of stating the obvious.” His gaze wandered to Damon’s wolf, something strange flaring in his eyes, before he pulled his attention back to Jaytee. “Because my nephew’s life was ended by the kiss of death, his soul is imprisoned in the dark fae realm. He remains suspended in unconsciousness for all eternity. His mind will never experience dreams or even be aware of his own existence.
“But if we can guide his soul back to his body…” Panahasi surmised, talking more to himself than to anyone else.
“Then we’re taking his body to the Unseelie realm,” Jaytee snapped, hope gripping his heart and easing some of the anguish.
“Go get my dewdrop back!” Elvine clenched her tiny fists and snarled.
“I was heading there anyway to deal with Galamir,” Panahasi said.
Not even death can separate me from you. I’m coming for you, Moonbeam.