Poison's Kiss (Deadly Beauties 2)

talkers we both had an issue with has gone into hiding."

Relief fills me. Kane and his crew is enough of a threat. The fewer night stalkers I have on my ass, the better.

"Why?"

He looks up, smirking. "Because my council threatened a war. They've been shredding our kind. They want something, but no one knows what. Now the night stalkers who are in charge are scrambling to locate these rogue killers and bring them to justice before they have to get their hands dirty. If the bloodsuckers' council can't clean this up, they can be tried by the fey community."

"That's the best news I've heard all week," I say through a relieved sigh. Then inspiration strikes. "Can't you do that weird window thingy to find them?"

He laughs, seeming too amused by my poorly worded question. Jackass.

"Weird mirror thingy? You mean the viewing portal my dark, scary magic opened?" he asks, obviously being a jerk.

I roll my eyes before narrowing them at him, visually chastising him. "Yes. That thingy," I snark.

"No," he chuckles out. "My window thingy only shows events from the past - events seen by a dredger usually. The dredger finds the memories in the minds of the living or the dead, and then they share them with us. In this case, the guy was dead. You saw a memory, not a current event."

I grumble under my breath, ignoring his mocking laughter. I stare idly out the window, wondering how I ever ended up in such a screwed-up place. A dark user is on my couch, a night stalker took my innocence, and a changer is my best friend.

I've lost my mind. That's it. I need therapy... or a spell to make me forget the last few months of my life.

"So, I did a little recon on the rest of Kane's crew." He says his name so casually, breaking me out of my silent reverie, and I cringe upon the very mention of the blood-drinker I loved. It's still so new, so fresh. "You're right about Sierra. She's lycan. Apparently, Amy is new to their pack. She's also new to her change. She was bitten in Moscow while on a backpacking adventure. The lycan that turned her was a vicious brute looking for a bride. Fortunately for her, lycans aren't bound to their sires the way night stalkers are to theirs.

"Sierra ran across her just after the red moon forced her change. She saved her from slaughtering a town, and carried her back home to train her... so to speak. They lock her up in their downstairs dungeon on nights when the dark takes her over - which is often. Her change is still in its early phases, so it'll take her a while to master the control Sierra has.

"Zee and Deke are both night stalkers from powerful sires; though they’re not bonded to them in the respect they can be controlled. Zee's sire is actually missing or dead. Just like Kane, Deke severed almost all his ties. The Dray guy is still a mystery. Whatever he is or does, he doesn't do it in front of eyes connected to mouths that talk. That worries me a little."

I lived with a coven of deadly beauties for a month and never knew it. How stupid am I?

A sigh of disbelief flitters through my lips before turning into an exasperated groan. I soak up all of the information as I drop down beside him. Right now, Gage is the closest thing to a friend I have besides Thad. The only reason I'm not huddled in the fetal position and squalling like a baby is because I don't want to fall apart in front of anyone.

Since he never leaves, I'm forced to stay strong.

"Dray is the one they called the second Kane lost it on Heath. He has to be tied to them somehow. How did you find out all that stuff on them?"

He flips through something on his phone, answering me while continuing to be distracted.

"Personally, Heath is one creep I wouldn't mind seeing a night stalker drain dry. As for the info, I might've broken into their house and done some digging. They're a little careless with their home. They should at least use protective grid stones to keep people out while they’re away.

"The girls keep excellent diaries. I was able to retrieve most of my information that way. I took pictures of every single page."

He hands me his phone and I shudder when I see Amy's diary page open to my eyes. I start flipping through his pictures until my eyes land on one page that holds my name.

Kane just found a girl to play with. Alice or Alyssa or something like that. I know it's temporary. He's fighting our destiny the way Deke fought his feelings for Sierra so long ago.

Sierra keeps me hopeful. She told me Deke wasn't receptive at first, but eventually he fell for her. Kane will fall for me, too. He has to.

Before the rebellion, night stalkers and lycans were united all the time, or so I've read. After the rebellion and the division of immortals, night stalkers began to view us as lesser-than creatures.

It's still hard for me to accept this monster inside me as my fate, but I know it was done with purpose. The hound within me is drawn to Kane, just as the woman within me is. It's not for nothing. It can't be. Fate's not that cruel.

I stop reading and shake my head. At least now I know why they always summoned him to deal with her tantrums. I've heard of the bonds between night stalkers and lycans. Eventually the evil duo will most likely unite.

Bile taints my mouth, warning me I'm close to being sick. It pains me to even think about the two of them together, but then again, I'm the sick freak that fell in love with my mortal enemy... well, immortal enemy, only to learn I was a pawn in his scheme to bring down another woman from his past. Freaking wonderful.

I forward the entire roll of pictures to my phone, and then I hand Gage back his own phone. He frowns as he watches the files being sent.

"I might've had some pictures on there I didn't want you to see," he says jokingly, though his eyes read with seriousness.