White Hot Kiss (The Dark Elements 1)

“No.” I was quick to answer. “He tried to kill me, but he— Zayne, you’re shifting.”

Zayne was on the verge of losing complete control and going into full gargoyle mode. His skin had taken on a gray tint. While humans were accustomed to seeing them around at night, I doubted they’d expect one in front of the Smithsonian on a Monday morning.

“How did you find me?” I asked, hoping to distract him.

His wild gaze landed on me. “What?”

I squeezed his arm with as much force as I could. His skin was already hardening. “How did you know I was here?”

A few seconds passed. “It was a last-ditch effort. I checked everywhere and then I remembered how much you liked it here.” He blinked and his eyes returned to normal, skin becoming more golden by the second. “Hell, Layla-bug, I’ve been out of my mind.”

“I’m sorry.” I threaded my fingers through his. “I couldn’t go home and I didn’t have a phone. I just...”

“Don’t apologize.” He reached out, trailing his fingers around the corner of my lip and then feathering across the bruise on my jaw. “I’m going to kill that son of a bitch.”

I dropped my hands into my lap. “That won’t be necessary.”

“The Hell it won’t be!” Fury sharpened his voice. “This isn’t okay. Breaking his jaw won’t make it better. His father—”

“He’s dead, Zayne.” I twisted my fingers together. “Petr’s dead.”

Silence. So much silence that I had to look at him and my stomach dropped. He had that wild look in his eyes again. “I didn’t kill him,” I said in a rush. “He came after me while the Alphas were here. It was like he was sent to kill me, Zayne. It wasn’t just him messing with me and it getting out of hand.” I told him everything Petr had said, barely taking a breath. “And I would’ve died, but—”

Zayne took my hand—the one with the ring—and I flinched. “But what, Layla?”

“I didn’t kill him.” That much was true. “A demon showed up. He came out of nowhere and he killed Petr.”

He grew very still.

Lying to Zayne sucked. It made my chest feel raw and achy. “I don’t know why. I don’t know who it was. I don’t even know what he did with Petr’s body.” Fear rose on a breath of cold air. Very real considering what the Wardens would do if they learned I’d taken Petr’s soul and what they’d do to Roth. “And afterward, I was so confused and I knew what the Wardens would think—what Abbot would think. I’d be blamed, because Petr is a Warden. So I just—”

“Stop,” Zayne said, squeezing my hand gently. “You’re not going to be blamed for what Petr brought on himself. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. You should’ve come to me. You didn’t have to be out here, dealing with this by yourself. I would’ve—” He cut himself off with a low moan.

“I’m sorry,” I said, because I didn’t know what else to say.

“God, Layla, don’t apologize.” A haunted look crept into his eyes right before he averted his gaze. He leaned back, thrusting fingers through his hair. It looked like he’d done that many times already. “Did you try to call me afterward?”

I knew immediately what he was getting at and my heart ached. “No. I was calling you before...before it happened.”

Zayne swore swiftly. “If I had answered—”

“Don’t,” I pleaded.

He shook his head, brows furrowed as if he was in some kind of pain. “If I had answered the phone, this wouldn’t have happened. I knew you had no place to go, but I was still so angry with you. Shit! No wonder you didn’t come home. You must’ve been so scared. Layla, I’m—”

“You couldn’t have done anything.” I wiggled closer. Who knew what would’ve happened if Zayne had answered his phone. Petr may not have gotten me alone, but there would be other chances. “It would have happened no matter what. He wanted to kill me. He needed to kill me. That isn’t your fault.”

Zayne didn’t respond immediately, and when he did speak, his voice was gruff. “I’ll tell my father what you’ve told me so you don’t have to go through this again, but he’s going to want to talk to you. He’s going to want to know exactly what Petr said to you and what the demon looked like.”

Unease blossomed into thick apprehension. “I know.”

He sighed and looked at me. Dark shadows spread under his eyes. “Everyone has been so worried. Father’s been beside himself—the whole clan. Let me take you home.” He held out his arm as he stood. “Layla?”

I rose on shaky legs and went into the shelter of his body. Zayne held me close as we walked back to his car. When I looked up, he smiled, but the haunted look was still there and I knew that no matter how many times I reassured him that he couldn’t have prevented this, it wouldn’t make a difference. Just like Zayne could call the house I’d spent the past ten years living in “home,” but it would never mean that to me again.

* * *

Most of the clan was moving about the house when Zayne brought me home, and it was hard looking at them and wondering if some of them were disappointed that I was still standing.

Goes without saying that Elijah and the members of his clan had vacated the compound the moment Zayne had called his father and told him that he’d found me and what had happened. Two of the clansmen were currently looking for them, but I doubted Elijah would be found, or that anything would happen to him.

Trying to kill a half demon, even unsanctioned, probably only earned a Warden a smack on the hand.

Besides Morris, who’d squeezed me to death when I got out of Zayne’s car, Nicolai was the first to break ranks. With a genuine smile of relief, he hugged me. “I’m glad you made it back to us.”

I believed him. Even Geoff looked relieved, along with Abbot. The rest...eh, not so much. Then again, I wasn’t really close to the others. We were like ships passing in the night.

Zayne had been right about his father wanting to question me. Most of what happened came from Zayne, but Abbot wanted to hear the details of the demon intervention from me. Lying to Zayne made my skin feel itchy and wrong, but with Abbot, it made my paranoia hit an all-new high. Luckily, it was just the three of us, so it didn’t completely feel like an inquisition.

“And you’ve never seen this demon before?” Abbot asked. Sitting next to me on the couch, he didn’t look convinced as he stroked his beard.

I decided to throw a little more of the truth out there. Parts that couldn’t hurt. “The demon didn’t look normal.”

Zayne’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“He sort of looked like the Wardens.” I really hoped there was some OJ in the fridge.

“An Upper Level demon,” Zayne said, looking at his father.

“So maybe I have seen him before, but not in that form.”

Abbot stared at me for several long moments. “Why don’t you head upstairs. I’ll send Jasmine up to take a look at you, make sure everything is okay.”

Sweet relief shot through me even though I knew this wasn’t the end of the conversation. I was free for the time being. “I’m sorry for any trouble this—”