Red Moon Secrets (Deadly Beauties 3)

Deke jogs down to us, but he freezes just as we do when the roars from inside burst free and two crazy bitch lycans tear out the side of the house as they surge forth, shredding trees on their path to us.

Kane drops me to my feet as he runs with Zee toward the rabid beasts. I never wanted to see this connection. I realize his night stalker half is somehow tied to Amy's lycan, but every bit of the rest of him is tied to me.

Deke tackles Sierra, wrestling her to the ground as his night stalker blues stare into her wild oranges. Kane takes a different approach. As he circles the monstrous version of Amy, he stares into her eyes, ignoring her snarling warnings.

"Down," he says, making it a command.

She doesn't listen. She starts to charge, when a golden streak of power ties up her legs, wrapping around them like a powerful bind. She thuds to the ground, trying to break free, but it's no use. The smirk on Chaz's face is not overlooked.

Kane moves his eyes to Chaz, trying his best not to smile, as Amy roars out her contempt for the duster.

"I'd say that's a little more badass than glitter farts," Chaz mutters, rolling his eyes.

Dice chuckles beside me, but I look at Kane who places his hand on her head, stroking her as if he's petting her. Within seconds, the beast is asleep, no longer making threatening growls and roaring promises of death.

"Let's find out what this bastard knows," Chaz says, ripping the night stalker up from the ground and dragging him toward the house.

Kane stands there, hands in his pockets, still staring at me as he waits for me to make the first move. That's it? That was the big connection? He can pet her and put her to sleep? I can so live with that until we kill Castine.

With quick strides, I make my way to him as Deke finishes putting Sierra to rest. It doesn't take long before I'm in his arms, feeling him draw me as close as he possibly can.

"I love you," he murmurs against my ear, nuzzling me as he picks me up off the ground.

I feel his tension fading. Maybe I don't realize the depth of what he just had to do, but I don't care.

"I love you."

"Come on, witch and fangs. We've got a night stalker to grill," Dice chirps, strutting by us while rubbing the rock in his hand. "And then we've got a war to fight."

Chapter 23

Broken Worlds

The night stalker who has been chasing after me doesn't look so intimidating when he's bound by Chaz's restraints. After the fourth slash Kane delivers to his body, he hisses out with pain, squirming uselessly.

"Tell us who the fuck is running this!" Kane blares, gearing up for another shot of power.

Imagine being hit by thirty whips at once. That's what I can only think each one of his lashings feels like. It's starting to make me sick to my stomach.

"You're not strong enough," he says grinning, though his voice is strained and his teeth are coated with his own blood.

Kane hits him with a fifth strike, one that forces the night stalker to scream and cry out when it cuts deep inside him, spilling his blood with a generous flow.

That's all I can watch.

I turn around, keeping my back to the torture session, and grip Thad's necklace around my neck for some sort of solace. I know this has to be done, but it's brutal—more so than I'm fully prepared to see. I'm glad Drackus isn't here. The night stalker would be in disassembled pieces, but still alive. I hope Mom brings him down without any problems.

"You're too late. Even if you could stop them," he chokes out, breaking under the pain, "you'll never get there in time."

"Who, damn it?" Kane says, probably threatening another strike.

"Damon and Dragona's daughter and some others. It's starting. Just before dawn, she'll open the gates. She has the two gate keepers."

My stomach rolls at the sound of those two names. I turn around, wide-eyed and terrified. Everyone else looks paler than me because they know the true weight of those names. I've only scratched the surface.

"The gates of hell?" Chaz asks warily.

The night stalker laughs, but winces and coughs as more blood spills from his wounds and gurgles in his mouth.