Darkness Binds Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Darkness Binds

  Others of Seattle: Book 8

  Brandy L Rivers

  Brandy L Rivers

  Copyright 2018 Brandy L Rivers

  http://brandylrivers.com

  Cover Design by Brandy L Rivers

  Edited by Emily A. Lawrence

  www.lawrenceediting.com

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Also by Brandy L Rivers

  Bundled Sets

  Others of Edenton – Series Volume 1

  Others of Edenton – Series Volume 2

  Others of Edenton – Series Volume 3

  Others of Seattle – Series Volume 1

  Others of Seattle – Series Volume 2

  Others of Edenton

  New Beginnings

  In Too Deep

  Shadows Fall

  Shadows of the Past

  Fated Love

  Falling Into Place

  Breaking Free

  Mending Scars

  Labor of Love

  Light in Darkness

  Blissful Agony

  Deep Trouble

  Entangled Darkness

  Deadly Design

  Untitled – Declan’s Story (Coming summer 2017)

  Others of Seattle

  Nights Embrace

  Storm Mistress

  Accepting Fate

  Red Queen

  Seductive Solutions

  Changing Destiny

  Coming Together

  Storm Wrath

  Twisted Bonds

  Nights Embrace Spin Off

  Summer Rhythm

  Combustible

  Heart on Fire

  Falling Star

  Sweet Tooth

  Backburn

  Pine Barrens Pack Co-Written with Rebecca Brooke

  Cursed Vengeance

  Vengeance Unraveled (coming 2017)

  To keep up with upcoming releases and news visit me at my

  Website – Facebook - Twitter

  Or join my newsletter or reading group Rivers’ Shenanigans

  Dedication

  To my readers who keep coming back for more,

  I love you all.

  Chapter 1

  The world moved along as usual while Brent Shadows stared out the window. His world was on the verge of major change. He could feel it in his soul. The visions weren’t solid enough to discern what was coming or how. Two things he was sure of. Darkness filled the horizon, and his future was tied to Amelia Simons. For decades, he’d seen her face in dreams. She was his downfall. One he couldn’t resist.

  From the moment Robert brought in the innocent twenty-year-old girl, he knew time was running out. One look and his soul recognized her for what she was.

  His salvation.

  His downfall

  His mate.

  Over a year ago, he was preparing the latest edition of In Other News for printing. There was a knock on the office door. He looked up and found the Magister of the Silver Council and a young woman who stole his breath.

  He’d dreamed of her cinnamon eyes and her long auburn hair fanned out on his pillow as he gazed down on her. So few visions of them together, intimate. More of her death, or his, some of them dying in each other’s arms.

  And still, he ignored every word out of Robert’s mouth as he lost himself in her stare. The spark of recognition in her eyes drew him in.

  Robert cleared his throat, and Brent forced attention to the mage. He continued again. “This is Amelia Simons. I spoke with you about her internship here, where she can explore writing articles about Others, without putting them on a blog.”

  Right, the young woman who brought attention to a vampire in Edenton. He never expected Amelia to be the woman who haunted his dreams and visions.

  There was only one thing he was sure of. If he allowed nature to take its course, darkness would sweep in and destroy one or both of them. To protect her, he promised himself he would stay away.

  She’d been human then. And he’d done a good job of staying away, until four months before, when a demon-possessed vampire tried to make her the same as Yuri. Brent ripped the demon from her body, and Declan changed her into a Shadowstalker, the worst of the vampires. In a moment of weakness, Brent told her to come to him when she was ready.

  And now the distance threatened to kill him. He must have scared Amelia enough to give up on him because she entered into a complicated relationship with a friend. Boundaries were pushed and crushed, and the longer it went on, the more Brent realized he should have made a stand and claimed her.

  However, her choice could save them both. He should have been happy, but the cracks in his heart were spreading. Sooner or later he would shatter.

  The knock on the open door brought his head up. Toryn stood inside the office, next to Preston. Interesting, though Brent was one of the few to know their secret. Father and son, though most believed Preston to be fully mage, not half Fae.

  “What brings you two by?”

  Preston shut the door and met his gaze. “A problem the Silver Council can’t handle alone. Toryn made the excellent suggestion to bring this case to you and Amelia.”

  Unease rolled through Brent. “What’s the problem?”

  Toryn spoke next, “Seems Others and humans who know about vampires are disappearing. Unknown vampires are taking them. We don’t know the cause yet.”

  Preston nodded. “There are no bodies, no trace. Then there are stories about vampires and dark mages involved with the Dales resurfacing.”

  The Dales had been a group of mostly Shadowstalkers and dark mages who took Others to fight each other like magical gladiators. They were dismantled more than a year before.

  “So Shadowstalkers?”

  “Shadowstalkers don’t seem to be the only ones involved,” Toryn answered. “I heard some slimebag bragging about the young girl he took from the cult’s stash of blood-slaves. He’s dead, but I couldn’t find the girl. And the vampire wasn’t anything special.”

  Preston glanced at the ceiling. “Wish you had told me about that. I could have looked for the girl before you slaughtered the vampire.”

  Toryn lifted a shoulder. “With another child on the way, there was no way I could leave that to ch
ance. Besides, he claimed the blood cult is nearby. Old vampires taking in new vampires to serve a higher purpose.”

  “A cult?” Brent asked.

  “That’s what he said.” Toryn gave Brent a knowing look. Bastard knew some of Brent’s darkest secrets.

  Preston turned back to Brent. “I’m hoping you will guide Amelia through the investigation. Help her understand what’s at stake and stay by her side so we can get the intel we need to find the ones abducting innocents, and put a stop to it.”

  “I’m not sure that’s such a great idea,” Brent protested.

  Toryn held up a hand. “Amelia does amazing work. She digs deeper into most stories than she should, and sure, she got herself in trouble with Yuri, but this is a different story, and you can keep her head above water. I know you can glamour yourself. I also know you’re capable of hiding your power to appear as a weak Other.”

  Brent moved to his chair and sank into it. The vampires leading either a cult or coven would expect their initiates to drink blood from specific people. And if this was anything like before, they would expect Amelia to drink from Others, and possibly another vampire higher in the hierarchy. There was only one way he knew to dampen the effects of Other blood.

  He looked from Toryn, to Preston. “We’d have to forge a bond in order for this to work. Only, she’s lost all interest in me.”

  Preston rolled his eyes. “Then don’t form a permanent bond. Consuela should be able to help.”

  “Why don’t you have Victoria and Lincoln play along?” Brent countered.

  “She’s too well recognized by older vampires,” Preston’s brow cocked. “Amelia is new, yet powerful. She’s willing to learn and to use her abilities to get deeper. She can have you guide her, since you can hide what you are. Correct?”

  And she was more powerful than the average new vampire. She gained power from Yuri, even though she only drank from him a few times, but he’d been a powerful Shadowstalker thanks to the way he became a vampire, killing those whose blood he took. And Declan’s maker, and her maker were both dead, which meant he had a power boost, and passed it on to Amelia. Even more reason to worry about her drinking from Others.

  “True, though she’ll still have to drink blood from the source in front of the vampires.” Brent leaned back. “Then there’s the problem of her reaction to Other blood, and how that could accelerate her powers beyond anything she could control. So why not Declan and Consuela, who already share a bond?”

  “Because they’ll know what Consuela is before she ever enters the building. They won’t welcome her into their presence.”

  Brent held up a hand. “And yet you wanted Consuela on the Blood Bound case.”

  “That wasn’t the same,” Preston replied. “Then, they were searching for new candidates to create new vampires. Now, they are inducting vampires into their cult.”

  “Bloody abyss.” Brent blew out a breath. “All right, I’ll talk to Amelia and warn her of the dangers. If she decides to help, I’ll stay by her side.”

  “She will,” Toryn answered.

  A part of him hoped she would. The rest of him feared the worst.

  Preston spoke up, “We wouldn’t ask if we didn’t think the two of you were the best hope to stop the disappearances. Hopefully we can find the victims before they die.”

  “Anyone I know?” Brent asked. Not that it mattered. If a cult, or even a coven were taking Others, someone he knew would eventually go missing.

  Toryn shook his head. “Not yet, but no one is safe. People are disappearing from crowded public places full of Others.”

  “Let me know what she says,” Preston stated before backing out the door.

  Toryn held out a folder. “Everything to get started. Look it over.” He followed Preston out.

  Brent sat down at the desk to go through everything they’d handed over.

  * * * *

  Eyes the color of a cerulean sky peered into her soul, pink lips stretched into a smile, flowing blond hair. Her breath caught in her throat as she got lost in his stare. Hope and desire flooded Amelia even though the dark voice whispered something she couldn’t quite hear.

  Fear tripped through her.

  Amelia woke with a start as the sun went down. His arms tightened around her, and the panic set in. The same fragment of dream she’d had for the last three months.

  “Shh, calm down, Amelia,” Tyrone murmured, caressing up her side, chasing away the phantom of her imagination.

  She fell back and sucked in one breath after another.

  Tyrone pulled her back into his arms and guided her mouth to his neck. “Drink.”

  Pulling back, she shook her head. “I drank from you before dawn. Don’t want to leave you weak.”

  “I’m fine. Besides, it feels good to have you sink your teeth when we fuck.” Too much emotion thickened his voice. He’d already learned that making love was something she didn’t want to hear.

  “You’ve given me too much blood, Ty. I need to get to work anyway.” And she needed to escape the growing complication between them.

  He caressed under her breast and murmured, “Just want to feel something besides this emptyness.”

  “This is just a temporary fix, Ty.” She kissed him quick before climbing from the bed. “You’ll find someone perfect for you. Do you really want to be fucking another woman when you do?”

  He fell back and stared up at the ceiling. “Amelia, drink from me. Skip the sex, just have some blood.”

  “I took too much this morning. I’m fine.” She shut herself in the bathroom and turned on the water. Their uncomplicated situation was quickly tangling into a mess.

  And it didn’t help she started to crave their physical connection after a few sips of his blood. Maybe she shouldn’t have taken the first sip, but she couldn’t resist.

  Neither of them could have the one they wanted, so they found comfort in each other’s arms. His heart was broken, thanks to his longtime girlfriend taking a job overseas, then telling him she didn’t want him to follow. And Brent had gone back to showing no interest.

  A month after becoming a vampire, she was at her sister’s party. Tyrone sat in a corner, a tear rolling down his face as he drank wine from the bottle.

  Amelia slid down the wall beside him and nudged his shoulder. “What’s up, Ty?”

  His deep, dark eyes locked on hers. “Samantha took a job in London. Told me it was over.”

  “Oh, Ty, I’m sorry.”

  He leaned his shoulder against hers. “You figure things out with your boss yet?”

  She sighed. “He’s uninterested. I need someone who needs me.”

  He looked around and sighed. “Want to get out of here? Neither of us is in the mood for a party.”

  Her craving amped up. “I should go home. It’s been too long since I drank.”

  He climbed to his feet and took her hands with a sad smile before pulling her to a stand. “I can help with what you need.”

  “I don’t know, Ty. That’s intimate.” Not to mention, she still wasn’t sure what she thought about drinking from the source.

  His words slurred, “Come back to my place, keep me company, and have some blood. I’ll keep the blinds down, the drapes closed. I just don’t want to be alone.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “You know where my heart is. We’re both hurting here. Let’s be lonely together.”

  The combination of his heightened pulse and the scent of his blood convinced her. She couldn’t resist.

  They started off just hanging out. After a few more feedings it got intimate, and they promised there were no strings, that it wasn’t going anywhere.

  Her heart was too tied up in Brent to take things with Tyrone seriously. And in the beginning, he was still trying to find a way to get Samantha back. He recently gave up on that, in favor of Amelia.

  She needed an assignment. A big one. One that would take all her mental capacity and drain her emotionally.

  By the time sh
e climbed out of the shower and dressed, her phone rang.

  She took a seat on the counter and pressed talk as she spun to face the mirror. Then she hit the speaker. “What’s up?”

  Zoe squealed. “I think you have your big break.”

  Amelia sighed. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  She giggled. “I overheard a conversation about your upcoming assignment. You’re going to be stuck working side by side with your favorite boss.”

  “What?” And yeah, she still felt the pull to Brent, but he clearly felt nothing. Not a damned thing.

  “I don’t have all the details, only that it requires a vampire to learn anything.”

  “Oh. Okay.” Amelia leaned her head against the wall and grabbed her eyeliner.

  “Hey, this means you have a reason to finally say something to him.”

  “He’s had plenty of chances to say what he wanted. He hasn’t. Leads me to believe he wants nothing from me.”

  “Then you don’t understand him. He told you to take your time, come to him when you were ready. You haven’t. He doesn’t think you’re all that interested.”

  “I’ve seen him out with other women,” Amelia admitted. Seeing him with another vampire was what sent her to the party that spiraled into this dark hole. Okay, one woman.

  “Who?” Zoe asked.

  “Someone he’d been intimate with before.” He’d been with Tiana the first year Amelia knew him. They split when she went to Italy, but Amelia had seen them together on three occasions in the last few months.

  “Tiana?” Zoe laughed. “Oh, that woman would love to sink her fangs into Brent, but after seeing how fucked in the head her nephew is, he wants nothing to do with her. I swear to you, he hasn’t been with her since before she left for Italy.”

  “Then why hasn’t he said anything?”

  “Because there’s real emotion where you’re concerned. And he’s a damned martyr. He wants to know you’re ready, and that you can handle everything that comes with him. Look, if it was just sex he was after, he would’ve had you and you wouldn’t work at In Other News anymore.”