Demigod Down Read online

  Scanning my eyes, I found Logan’s who shook his head before his eyes traveled down lower to where my pants should have been instead of just my neon green undies. Oops. Lorraine behind Logan scowled at me, mouthing something not flattering I was sure. I sighed, lowering my gun stance, seeing as they had it under control.

  Maybe not under control but no one was dying, I amended, huffing back down the stairs.

  I heard Logan bellow my name as the weight of the female wolf shifter landed on my back, propelling me down the stairs. Making the decision to lose the gun in favor of tucking and rolling, I hit the hallway wall before bouncing off and under the black wolf.

  Wonderful.

  Her muzzle reeked so close to my nose, blowing stale hot breathe. I was wrong, this situation was nowhere near under control. Turning slowly, I laid flat on my back bearing my neck in a submissive stance, noting the shift of the emotions in her eyes. In one moment, she was ready to tear my throat out and in the next, she was scared, her body language dipping only slightly before turning back to deadly. She was no more human, but beast.

  I heard Logan wresting with someone upstairs. If I had to guess, it was her mate. They didn’t take the change well, ever. If they did, I wouldn’t be the one having to kill the out of control shifters so often. I stared into the ice blue eyes of her wolf for a long moment and saw the shift again to human in her eyes. I could try and save her, but it was going to hurt like hell.

  …

  The struggle against the silver chaining to me the bed was long fought. I was conscious a few times to see Logan sitting next to me, to see Dean cleaning the wound I didn’t know I had on my other forearm, and to listen to the alpha beg for his mate’s life.

  Logan looked exhausted, dark circles under his eyes hinting at a lack of sleep. Pulling emotions from a shifter in beast form was stupid - idiotic even. No one ever accused me of being highly intelligent.

  The beast was pure emotions and only time could dwindle the lingering emotions from my body. My only hope, as I pulled chaffing my wrists on the chains, was that it gave the alpha’s mate some time to get her shit together. Otherwise this was all a waste.

  I heard Gram’s voice on the speaker phone, “Keep the room clear, too many alphas and she will break her own hands to get out of there. Do not let anyone else in the room with her, a submissive will kick her already over protective nature into high gear. Also, do not under any circumstances feed her meat.”

  Dean asked hesitantly, “What if we already did?”

  “Get a bucket, it’s coming back up,” Grams answered solidly.

  “How do you now all of this?” Logan asked clearly impressed

  Grams scoffed, “You think this is the first time she has either been bitten or pulled a beast’s emotions? We have an entire handbook on how to handle this situation.” She took a deep breath, “If that is all gentleman?”

  “Yes, thank you,” Logan answered, ending the call.

  Jay asked quietly, “They have manuals?”

  I heard myself growl, “Bucket.”

  “Shit.” Dean said scrambling. He guided me. Hopefully, I wasn’t making such a huge mess as the raw meat they gave me came back up. He touched my back and I tried to swipe at him.

  “Everyone out, “Logan commanded when my stomach had finished.

  I heard him cross the bare floor my eyes still refusing to work properly. “How much longer of this Olivia?” He asked, wiping my mouth of with a damp rag.

  “Till it’s gone,” I answered as the beast roared her displeasure at him being so close, arching my back and shoulders off the bed.

  Eventually I made it back to my body and felt no residual lingering of the beast’s emotions.

  Finally.

  Opening my eyes, I took in the small cement room. The mattress was thin against my back, the bars of the frame digging into my hips and upper back. A small rectangular window let in the early morning light. Stretching, I found my shoulder no longer bothered me as my chaffed and bleeding wrists and ankles caused a hiss.

  An unfamiliar voice called out to Logan. “She’s awake and her eyes are back to normal.”

  Normal? Huh, wonder what not normal looked like?

  The silver jail cell door slid open, turning towards the noise I saw Logan and a few other alphas holding back. Working my jaw, I asked hoarsely, “Water?”

  Dean came forward around Logan who began unshackling my wrists to hold a small cup to my lips. Greedily, I drained it.

  “Easy, darling. You’ve had one hell of a few nights.” Dean said pulling the cup away.

  The fresh water washed away the staleness in my mouth but did nothing for the raw feeling of my throat. I must have been screaming. Logan finished with my legs and I sat up shakily. I did not like being on my back in front of a pack of alphas.

  I saw black spots before I blinked them away, leaning my head into my hands as a shudder ran through me. Raising my head back up, I asked, “Why are you all staring at me? Is being an alpha so mundane you have nothing better than stare at the resident Executioner?”

  I used my title on purpose. I killed things and I wasn’t above doing it here. Not to mention the fact I had just taken down a shifter abuse ring. Assholes.

  No one moved. That was just rude.

  Dean moved around while Logan helped me stand. I was relatively stable on my own. “Let’s get you a shower.” Dean said, placing a hand against my back as I leaned heavily against him.

  The hot water felt amazing on my stiff joints. It stung on my wrists and ankles but that was a small price to pay. I stayed under the steam for a few long blissful moments avoiding the shifters.

  I found Dean sitting on the bed with a first aid kit.

  “Sorry, I wanted to get your wounds cleaned up.” He said softly.

  “Not worried.” I said quickly slipping into jeans and a turquoise top. Sitting next to him on the bed, I rolled my jeans up.

  My cell phone picked that moment to ring. Dean swooped it up from the nightstand, handing it to me. I sighed, “I have to take this.”

  He nodded, going to work on my ankles.

  “I’m okay.” I answered as reassuring as I could to Grams.

  “Good. Now what the hell happened?” she asked both relieved and annoyed.

  I filled her in on the details, listening to her silently absorbing it all before she asked the question we both wanted an answer to. “How did they amass that many shifter females?”

  I sighed, “They could have created all of them, but that would leave a huge gap in the human population which I didn’t notice on the recent police reports. Or” I paused, putting her on speaker phone. I wanted everyone who might be listening to hear this next part. “someone is selling the shifter’s into the ring.”

  She sighed before stating, “I don’t like either of those options.”

  “Neither do I,” I answered. “But we have to figure out where they are coming from if we are going to stop it.”

  She asked, “Even if it is a shifter or human matter?”

  I gave that thought. “I see your point,” I said, shifting the phone to my other hand while Dean spread a thick ointment over my wrist.

  “I suppose we can wait, alert the law enforcement, and Logan now knows about the shifter ring. If they don’t successfully eliminate any additional rings do I have the grounds to step in?” I asked.

  Grams scoffed, “Since when do you need grounds? Besides it could be over, this might be the only one.”

  Smiling, I answered, “Valid, it just doesn’t feel over. It was far too organized, too well hidden, although I want to be wrong.”

  Grams was silent for a moment before answering, “As do I. I will notify Logan’s secretary in writing and human law enforcement regarding the issue.”

  “Thanks Grams. I’m leaving soon,” I said.

  “That’s good, Tommy has been kicking all of our asses on his new game. It’s about time he had fresh meat,” she said, ending the call.

  I smiled,
staring at the blank screen.

  Dean was at the small table putting the first aid kit back together my forearm having healed sufficiently. “So you are leaving?” He asked leaning against the table his arms crossed.

  “Yep,” I said, unsure what caused his sudden defensive manner, I had enough of my own issues.

  “Do you want to know why all those alpha’s were waiting outside your cell?” Dean asked angry.

  I sighed, “Why?”

  He took a step towards me, “They were hoping you might become a shifter so that they could claim you as their own.”

  I looked at him as understanding slowly dawned on me. Logan was the master alpha of the entire United States. Under him there were four master beta’s that were in charge of each point on the compass and below those were individual animal packs. If I had turned today, depending on what animal I turned into, one of the alphas could have claimed me as part of their pack and I would be a huge asset and liability.

  I blew out a breath, “I can’t be turned,” I said, standing gathering my belongings into my trusty military grade duffle bag.

  Dean was still angry and I chose to ignore it. “That’s too bad,” he said, picking up the first aid kit and stopping by the door about to say something else. “Your eyes were black.” Before he turned and slammed the door behind him.

  Black, that was interesting.

  Blowing out a breath, I was thankful my Supernatural Council didn’t have to watch over the shifter packs. The original design of the council was to protect those sups who didn’t have a clan strong enough to protect them, than some idiot let a vampire run the show.

  That was a mistake of epic proportions. However, it was one I fixed. It was a bloody, long, road, but it was what I did best, killing. It was what I was bred for. I shook off those memories, throwing my bag over my shoulder and out the open door, stomping up the basement steps.

  “She’s a demon,” Logan bellowed as I graced the living room. His back was to me but every other face was towards me. I hated being called that, even if they might be right.

  I didn’t bother answering him and just moved towards the door, all eyes tracking me. I made it to and out the door when someone called. “Is it true? Is your friend is pregnant with a demon?”

  I stiffened. How dare he speak of his sister-in-law that way! I thought. I turned in the open doorway. “No.”

  The glare I leveled at Logan had a slight twitch of my lip. I was fighting the urge to snarl and lunge at his jugular. I wanted to tell him never to speak of one of my kind that way and that I was not above removing his tongue. I knew, however that if I disgraced him in front of his alphas and their mates, I was going to have to battle him to the death. I really didn’t want to kill him, at least not today.

  Logan lifted his head, acknowledging I wasn’t breaking the eye contact with him, which was the fastest way to piss off an alpha before I turned and stormed out the door to my car.

  There was so much I wanted to say. How pathetic it was he put me down as I delivered his shifters from suffering. Fucker, I thought, slamming my duffle bag in the back seat.

  “Olivia.” Logan’s voice boomed from the door. Clenching my hands, I turned slowly meeting his gaze, noting that no one had followed him out nor were they watching from the windows. They could still hear us. I shook my head and walked away. Second best way to piss off a shifter is not to acknowledge them.

  I was pretty sure he wanted to bellow but settled for growling as I made my way to the driver’s side door. At the front of my SUV, I stopped and turned to him just to flip him off. He bellowed as I drove away.

  I was probably going to pay for that. Whatever. I was heading home.

  Chapter 3

  I didn’t make it home, or really to Blake’s house. Home was a concept I still didn’t believe in.

  Exhaling, I spoke the truth. “I can’t have a home. They told me that, drilled it into me. I don’t deserve it,” I whispered to Logan’s grandfather’s grave. His name was Lawson.

  Kneeling in the wet grass behind the crypt, I took comfort in the shade from the weeping willows as I bowed my own head, tears tracking down my face. “I can still smell the cages,” I whispered, drawing in a deep breath. “I can hear the scraping of their claws, and feel the madness pulsating through every living thing.”

  Wind blew through the trees, rustling as I looked down at my indestructible watch checking my time. I hadn’t been here long, I wouldn’t be missed yet and I still had much to tell Lawson, not that he could hear me.

  That was the reason I was here in the first place. He couldn’t judge me, interrupt me, or understand, but it helped just saying the words out loud.

  “It was pages directly from my memories,” I whispered my tears blinding my eyes as I swallowed a sob. “I have hidden these nightmares away, drowned them in the blood of my enemies, but I cannot be free of them.” I gave in to gut-wrenching sobs.

  Turning to lean against his headstone, wiping my wet eyes, I blew out a breath taking in the view. “Death would be easier, simpler, peaceful,” I muttered. “But then who would be left to take care of everyone? It’s my job and the only thing I am really good at.” I stood up and walked back to my car.

  …

  It was just over an hour before I was pulling into Blake’s large estate driveway and I hesitated. I had been gone almost a month and while we had talked almost every day, I still felt hesitation at even being in a relationship.

  Blowing out a breath, I pushed myself out of the dirty and stinky vehicle. Grabbing my equally stinky military-issued duffle bag from the back, I used my key to get into Blake’s.

  Pushing open the heavy oak door, I called out, surprised by the butterflies in my stomach, “Honey I’m home!”

  Blake’s laughter echoed and I followed that sound with a smile of my own entering the formal dining room. I couldn’t help my mouth falling open in shock when I saw him.

  I had forgotten just how handsome he was. Jet black hair perfectly styled with pieces draped seductively over shockingly blue eyes, strong porcelain features and perfectly kissable ruby lips.

  Yet aside from the handsome vampire in front of me, the usually sparse dining room had been transformed into the definition of elegance. Thick cream ribbons hung in scallops across the ceiling with glittering jewel accents and in the center of the room, an impressive chandelier was lit up with matching cream candles.

  Dinner laid out on the pristine white table cloths smelled delicious. I inhaled deeply, wrapping my arms around Blake’s powerful shoulders.

  “Everything smells divine,” I said, pulling back smiling at him.

  Blake sniffed before saying, “You have smelled better.”

  Pushing up on my toes, I pressed a kiss against his lips, “Think the food will keep?” I asked softly as his arm snaked around my waist.

  “Absolutely,” he murmured against my lips.

  I smiled against him, feeling light as he picked me up and I wrapped my long legs around his waist. Without missing a step in our kiss or the flights of stairs to his bedroom, Blake slipped me down his body with one lingering slow kiss.

  Slowly opening my eyes, I smiled into his blue gaze. “Shower?” I asked huskily.

  “Yes,” He replied turning me around, “you do need to shower.” He agreed giving me a small push.

  I huffed, heading into the monstrosity of a bathroom, opening the glass shower to start the water. Lined on the edge was my shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and shaver.

  I turned, surprised and delighted he had thought of something so small only to find him no longer in the door way. Stripping quickly, I made quick work of showering, being sure to shave exceptionally well for the spicy encounter about to rock my world.

  Stepping back out, wrapped only in a towel, I was greeted by the exquisite shirtless form of Blake lighting candles.

  “Mood lighting?” I asked sliding onto the four poster bed.

  “Ambiance,” he replied, turning back blowing the match o
ut.

  I nodded, done with talking and throwing my towel to the floor.

  His attraction was written plainly in his eyes as they glowed amber and his fangs descended. Approaching me slowly, he climbed on the bed, pushing me down without touching me as my breathing starting coming in rapid pants.

  “I have a surprise for you,” he whispered against my lips.

  It took a moment for my brain to regain the ability to speak. “What?” I asked, pushing up as he slipped to the night stand.

  “Roll over,” he whispered seductively.

  I hesitated for a moment. I wasn’t one to easily trust, but given I had allowed Blake to drain me within inches of my life, I made an exception for him settling on my stomach.

  Warm liquid dripped down my spine. “What is that?” I asked, twisting around.

  “Massage oil, Olie, stay still!” he chided me, pushing my shoulders flat again.

  “Do you not like it?” He asked, slightly worried.

  His fingers pushed into my tense shoulders, massaging out my kinks, “No, it’s amazing. You are amazing” I said, settling down to enjoy his strong hands.

  His lips nuzzled my ear as his experienced hands released the long kept tension, and I couldn’t help but moan at his ministrations.

  “So, want to tell me about your latest case?” Blake asked, pushing gently against my spine.

  “Ugh, it was terrible.” I informed him, launching into details I usually just swept under the rug and emotions I typically ignored and hoped I would never have to deal with.

  “They were so terrified that the air was thick with it - dark cages and disgusting conditions.” I exhaled, “I have lived in some pretty terrible places in my life - been trapped and captured in similar conditions - but I have never had to live for an extended time as they did.”

  I drew a breath, forcing myself to continue. “The point of those cells was to drive them into pure beast forms. They treated them so poorly, so inhumanely, it would have been inevitable given enough time.”