There’s no way that I’m letting this building take Trip, it’s obvious that he means a lot to Rana, and he’s been through hell, that’s pretty fucking clear.

  We cannot risk this building moving.

  I put more power into it, I’m not using everything, if I did, then I wouldn’t be still standing if it finally breaks, and I will not put the others at risk because they have the added complication of getting a passed-out me out of the building as well as keeping themselves safe.

  And then it suddenly gets easier. I keep the blast aimed at the sigil as I quickly glance over at the source of the new power stream. Sure enough, it’s Trip.

  He shouldn’t be able to do what he’s doing, but then again, neither should I, or Ransom, or hell, even River.

  His gaze darts to mine, filled with fear and unease. I grin, flapping my giant wings and flashing my fangs at him for good measure. I know he’s worried about revealing this part of himself to us, but I’m not normal, and that’s pretty fucking obvious.

  He clearly understands what I’m doing because determination fills his gaze, and the power level increases substantially.

  “Fucking hell,” River mutters, sounding impressed.

  The new power surge is exactly what we needed to succeed, and not only does the magic of the seal snap, but the wall explodes as well and sends us all flying backward.

  “Is everyone okay?” Ransom calls out once the dust settles.

  “All good,” I grin, as I stand up and shake off the debris that covers me.

  “Why are you grinning right now?” Trip asks, with a slight smile.

  My smile widens, “I love explosions.”

  River pulls me under his arm and kisses my head quickly before Ransom pulls me into his arms and kisses me fiercely.

  “So fucking hot,” he mutters before stepping back again.

  Trip chuckles, “You’re all just as crazy as each other.”

  River nods and smiles happily, “Yep. Wait until you meet the rest of us.”

  Trip smiles, “Sounds pretty awesome to be fair.”

  “Well, at least we haven’t scared you off,” I say, somewhat relieved.

  “About what just happened,” Trip starts, worry in his gaze.

  Ransom shakes his head and starts to walk past him, but pauses, clasping him on the shoulder as he does.

  “I didn’t see a fucking thing, did you guys?” He asks us.

  “Nope,” River grins at Trip’s shocked expression.

  I shrug, “I mean, I saw a pretty explosion, but that’s it.”

  “Thank you,” he says quietly.

  Ransom’s expression turns deadly, “Let’s go find some more fuckers to kill.”

  We don’t waste any more time as we head toward the sounds of fighting, clearing rooms, and securing people as we go.

  We can’t kill them all.

  Fortunately, Trip seems to understand that, and despite the torment that these fuckers have no doubt put him through, he shows a massive amount of restraint, as he secures them like we are, and doesn’t kill them.

  He fights like a machine. With skill and accuracy that is incredibly impressive.

  Ransom

  The need for more bloodshed is searing through me as we finally make our way to the main part of the house. We’ve cleared all the rooms that we have come across, and we didn’t find that many people. As we step through the doors into what must be the arena where they sell the wolves, and other supernaturals, it’s clear why we didn’t come across that many.

  They’re all in here.

  There are bodies strewn across the floor, either secured or dead, and the fighting is still going strong. I don’t wait, I dive straight in. This is what I do. This is what I live for, and this is what feeds that dark, feral part of me.

  I fucking love it.

  Moving through the crowded room, my gaze immediately hones in on my family.

  The members who are in here at least.

  Within a fraction of a second, I’ve categorized any injuries that they have and if they need help.

  Other than a few superficial injuries, they are all fine and faring incredibly well, as is expected.

  Now that I know they’re safe, I hunt.

  Stalking through the crowd, I take out as many as I can. We’ve got a good few still alive at this point, we don’t need many more of these disgusting excuses for life still alive. I did my research, I know which ones are the main players, and those ones I keep alive.

  I’m aware that I need to be careful just how much of my other side I let out in front of everyone here, and in front of Neith.

  I know she sees it in me, but I don’t want her to know just how deep the need for violence goes.

  I’m terrified that she would be disgusted by me, or worse, fear me.

  Neith is a violent little thing. I love that about her, but my violence is not normal even in the world of supernaturals, where violence is so much more common. I can’t risk it. She means too much to me.

  My gaze catches on Trip as I crush the fist of someone who thought they could land a hit. He’s special, far stronger than he should be, and I have never seen eyes like that on a supe, so he’s fucking rare. The way he fights, brutal yet controlled, is a testament to the shit that he’s been through. He’s calm, calculated, and deadly.

  It’s quite impressive, actually.

  I’m glad I didn’t rip his throat out when he stood over Neith threateningly.

  To be fair, the only reason why I didn’t was because River had an iron grip on me. I could have gotten through him, but that would have meant hurting him, and he’s my family, I would never do that.

  A spear of magic comes flying toward me, making me focus again, and I slice through it with my sword, imbuing it with my magic, and already missing my magic-made swords, even though I only used them once.

  It’s strange, but I can feel them, right there, waiting to be called on by me. That would probably give away more than I want it to though, so they’re going to have to stay where they are for now.

  Magic stirs within me, dark and deadly, the other side of me, and for the first time, it demands to be fed. It’s not fed physically, I don’t actually eat anything, but it's fed through violence, bloodshed, and lives.

  Ever since I fought with that supernatural in Luesidious, something has been different about it, it’s closer to the surface, more ready to be called on, and apparently hungry.

  Really fucking hungry.

  I have to admit that my thoughts have drifted back to that supernatural a lot since it happened. I really don’t like the fact that I left him in the middle of a battle. That’s not what I do, and it's fucking irritating that I didn’t get to finish what I started.

  Not only that, but I find myself genuinely caring about what happened to him. I want to know if he’s okay, and if he’s not, does he need help? Is he dead?

  The only way I can think of to find these answers is to try to find the imps. I know that they didn’t send me there, but they did send Neith, which means that they could send me back so I can see if he’s okay.

  The Hunt.

  That’s what he called them, a word that resonated within me for a reason that is entirely unknown to me.

  I felt a kinship with him, and I don’t feel like that with many people. As a general rule, I try to avoid people as much as possible. My family is the exception of course. By that I mean the guys and Neith, not my blood family. I have no idea who they are.

  The problem with going to see the imps is time. It’s always time, we seem to have too much to do in the time that we have. In a way, it’s a good thing, several members of my family, myself included, get bored with inaction, but in times like these, it’s not.

  I’m hoping that we’re going to get a window of an hour or two where I can take one of the guys with me, and we can go and find the imps and get them to send us to Lewi again.

  I’ll most likely end up taking River and Coen with me since they’re as restless and curious as I am.

  The other thing that I don’t think has occurred to anyone else yet is that I’m not supposed to be able to breathe in Luesidious, and yet I definitely could, just like Neith was able to.

  It’s yet another mystery to add to our ever-growing pile, and to be honest, I don’t really care about it as much as I care about knowing whether the Hunt got hold of him. They were strong and determined, and I know that it would have been really bad if he were captured by them, and if they killed him, a growl of anger builds in my chest, then I have his death to avenge.

  I need to focus.

  I have been fighting while these thoughts have been circling my brain, but I really should be paying more attention, someone might surprise me.

  Just as I think this, a different magic stirs, this is mine, but it’s completely new. Before I can work it out, someone charges me, they’re sloppy, and I simply take a step back, raising my sword and getting ready to defend myself as I allow the more violent part of me to come closer to the surface.

  He stops though, looking around like he can’t see me, even though I am still standing right in front of him. It’s then that I realize the sounds around me are sharper, more in focus, but there’s a dark edge to everything.

  Stepping forward, the guy's eyes widen in shock, and I realize that somehow he genuinely couldn’t see me. All I can see when I glance over my shoulder though is a shadow.

  Huh.

  My sword pierces the heart of the guy as my focus remains on the shadow, and I turn to face it fully as the guy drops to the floor.

  Testing my theory, I step toward it, and this time I feel as that new magic wraps around me and pulls me into the warm embrace of the shadow.

  Well, that’s new.

  I’m going to assume that it has something to do with the new magic that the Choosing gave us all. Although I can’t work out how being able to step into the shadows has anything to do with death, apart from the fact that I can kill a lot more stealthily from in the shadows.

  Testing to see the scope of this new magic, I zone in on a shadow just across from me, and sure enough, my body seems to turn into shadow itself as I move across the floor and into the new shadow.

  Fucking hell, this is awesome.

  My smile is deadly as I realize the advantage that this gives me, especially the fact that no one can see me. Still shrouded within shadows, I call on my swords made of magic and see if they gain the attention of anyone. When no one looks at me, I know that they can’t see me, even with my swords glowing.

  Let’s fucking do this.

  I move within the shadows, becoming the shadow itself as I move from one pool of shadows to another, my swords moving with me. Although the feeling is new, it doesn’t feel wrong or uncomfortable. It’s like I’ve always been able to do it.

  My swords slice through necks, taking heads, and I quickly realize that my new swords are more than just weapons. When I use them, they somehow manage to harness more of what fuels this darker part of my magic, and I’m soon satiated.

  While I love using the shadows, I also do a lot of normal fighting as well, since I enjoy it, but the use of my shadows is definitely handy.

  I can’t wait to tell the guys about them. Raiden is going to have a field day with this one.

  Van

  I’m fighting on the main floor, in the arena where the majority of The Owners’ men have gathered.

  My magic isn’t behaving like it’s supposed to, or rather it’s not behaving like it usually does. I’m having to keep a stronger grip on it than I normally have to, and there’s something else mixed into it, something that isn’t usually there, but is undoubtedly mine.

  I’m assuming that it’s the Choosing gifted magic, but whatever it is, it’s strong as fuck.

  My gaze drifts to the door that I know Neith and the others will be coming through as soon as they’re done with the kidnapped supernaturals. I take a vamp's hand and pin him to the floor, breathing a sigh of relief as I see Neith and the others walking through the door.

  They’re all okay.

  There’s someone new with them though, and I’m assuming he’s a prisoner, judging from the look of him.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Van

  “Everything okay?” I ask through the comms.

  “All good, we’ve got someone with us called Trip, Rana told us about him, well, she told Neith, and we overheard. He’s fucking good at what he does, send the word out he’s one of ours,” River replies.

  “On it, one second,” I reply as I punch someone in the face, securing his hands behind his back as I switch over to the other channel. “There’s a supernatural covered in tattoos, purple eyes, he’s one of ours.”

  “Understood,” comes the reply of several voices.

  I switch back, “Done.”

  “Thanks, Van,” Nene replies, and I have to admit that my mind doesn’t settle until I hear her.

  I should have just asked from the beginning if she was okay.

  Someone darts through a door to my left and out into the hallway. I know that it isn’t one of ours going to clear the rooms on this side of the building.

  Jumping up, I race after them, they’re heading in the direction of where Reed and the others have gone to locate The Owner. I am absolutely not going to risk this fucker sneaking up behind them and causing an issue.

  My feet are silent as I rush through the hallways, hot on the heels of the supernatural that came down here. She’s fast, that’s for fucking sure. She suddenly stops, spins around, and shoots magic at me. I manage to duck at the last moment, and the wall right where I was standing a moment ago explodes with the hit of magic, making bricks and debris fly everywhere.

  Rolling out of the way of the crumbling wall, I send a stream of water out, wrapping it around her legs and pulling her to the floor.

  She counteracts the water with fire, which only seems to piss my magic off, and it doubles down on its attack as I wrap it around her fire, putting it out and suffocating it.

  My water is stronger than her fire, and she quickly realizes that, so she changes tactics. She isn’t a supernatural that has fire as part of her magic, like I first thought though, she’s a mage.

  That makes things a little trickier and a whole lot more fun.

  I can feel it as she starts to build a nasty fucking spell, and I instinctively know that while it may not kill me like she intends for it to do, because I’m stronger than she thinks I am, it is going to put me out for the count, leaving me vulnerable and allowing her the time to escape and help her boss or kill me.

  For whatever reason, she holds loyalty to him. Enough to risk her life in order to help him. She must know that we’re going to have a team on her boss, which means that she either thinks that she is strong enough to go up against the whole team, or she doesn’t care whether she survives the encounter.

  The Owner was clever in that sense. He’s got people working for him who want to work for him. People who like and even respect him.

  People who are willing die for him.

  It’s smart because it means that they won’t betray him. In fact, they’ll do everything that they can to help him.

  It’s a more intelligent way to do it than most of the criminals we come up against do. Most of them use threats, blackmail, or magical control in order to keep the people working for them in line. All that means is that when those people get the chance to escape or turn their bosses in, then they do.

  There is absolutely no loyalty.

  Knowing that she’s preparing something nasty for me, I use her distraction to my advantage and command my water to hit her in the face, hard and fast, knocking her out instantly and stopping the spell from building.

  Once she’s down, I move toward her quickly, securing her with magic-dampening cuffs and calling it in to the team who are collecting the people that we secure in areas other than the main arena. It would be too dangerous to extract people in there at the moment, since that’s where the majority of the fight seems to be happening.

  In theory, Reed’s team should have cleared all of the rooms on this side of the building as they headed to find The Owner’s office and consequently The Owner.

  We questioned the location at first, it’s a pretty obvious place to be holed up in a raid, but it’s where Rana said he would be because he has a magical safe room in his office.

  Fortunately for us, he really didn’t have any intention of ever letting her go, and so wasn’t as careful around her as he perhaps should have been, especially considering that Rana is incredibly observant. Although he may not have realized that.

  She knows the code for his safe room and the spells that lace over the door. Ransom gave Reed the premade spells to break through it.

  Still, I want to check that we haven’t missed anyone, and I know that the arena is well taken care of now that the rest of my family is in there.

  “Heading your way, Reed,” I say through the comms.

  “Good, we could need a bit of backup,” he replies, as he grunts.

  I immediately pick up the pace, as I change the plan, I’m not going to bother clearing the rooms, helping the others, and securing The Owner is by far the most important thing that we need to do right now.

  To be honest, anyone else could escape, and we would simply hunt them down and bring them in, but The Owner poses a threat to one of our own, Rana, and he needs to be brought in once and for all.

  I know where I’m going. I spent hours studying the map that Rana had drawn for us to make sure that everything was covered, that I thought of as many eventualities as I possibly could, and that we were as prepared as we could be for each one.

  Also, so that I would be prepared in a situation like this, where one of the teams needed backup.