Dark Secrets Unveiled (The Children Of The Gods Paranormal Romance Book 45) Read online

  Dark Secrets Unveiled

  The Children Of The Gods Book 45

  I. T. Lucas

  Also by I. T. Lucas

  THE CHILDREN OF THE GODS ORIGINS

  1: Goddess’s Choice

  2: Goddess’s Hope

  THE CHILDREN OF THE GODS

  Dark Stranger

  1: Dark Stranger The Dream

  2: Dark Stranger Revealed

  3: Dark Stranger Immortal

  Dark Enemy

  4: Dark Enemy Taken

  5: Dark Enemy Captive

  6: Dark Enemy Redeemed

  Kri & Michael’s Story

  6.5: My Dark Amazon

  Dark Warrior

  7: Dark Warrior Mine

  8: Dark Warrior’s Promise

  9: Dark Warrior’s Destiny

  10: Dark Warrior’s Legacy

  Dark Guardian

  11: Dark Guardian Found

  12: Dark Guardian Craved

  13: Dark Guardian’s Mate

  Dark Angel

  14: Dark Angel's Obsession

  15: Dark Angel's Seduction

  16: Dark Angel's Surrender

  Dark Operative

  17: Dark Operative: A Shadow of Death

  18: Dark Operative: A Glimmer of Hope

  19: Dark Operative: The Dawn of Love

  Dark Survivor

  20: Dark Survivor Awakened

  21: Dark Survivor Echoes of Love

  22: Dark Survivor Reunited

  Dark Widow

  23: Dark Widow’s Secret

  24: Dark Widow’s Curse

  25: Dark Widow’s Blessing

  Dark Dream

  26: Dark Dream’s Temptation

  27: Dark Dream’s Unraveling

  28: Dark Dream’s Trap

  Dark Prince

  29: Dark Prince’s Enigma

  30: Dark Prince’s Dilemma

  31: Dark Prince’s Agenda

  Dark Queen

  32: Dark Queen’s Quest

  33: Dark Queen’s Knight

  34: Dark Queen’s Army

  Dark Spy

  35: Dark Spy Conscripted

  36: Dark Spy’s Mission

  37: Dark Spy’s Resolution

  Dark Overlord

  38: Dark Overlord New Horizon

  39: Dark Overlord’s Wife

  40: Dark Overlord’s Clan

  Dark Choices

  41: Dark Choices The Quandary

  42: Dark Choices Paradigm Shift

  43: Dark Choices The Accord

  Dark Secrets

  44: Dark Secrets Resurgence

  45: Dark Secrets Unveiled

  46: Dark Secrets Absolved

  PERFECT MATCH

  Perfect Match 1: Vampire’s Consort

  Perfect Match 2: King’s Chosen

  Perfect Match 3: Captain’s Conquest

  SETS

  The Children of the Gods books 1-3: Dark Stranger trilogy—Includes a bonus short story: The Fates take a Vacation

  The Children of the Gods books 4-6: Dark Enemy Trilogy —Includes a bonus short story—The Fates' Post-Wedding Celebration

  The Children of the Gods: Books 1-6—includes character lists

  The Children of the Gods: Books 6.5-10—includes character lists

  TRY THE CHILDREN OF THE GODS SERIES ON

  AUDIBLE

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  Copyright © 2020 by I. T. Lucas

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

  Dark Secrets Unveiled is a work of fiction!

  Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any similarity to actual persons, organizations and/or events is purely coincidental.

  Contents

  1. Sari

  2. Kian

  3. David

  4. Sari

  5. David

  6. Eleanor

  7. Sari

  8. David

  9. Sari

  10. David

  11. Sari

  12. David

  13. Richard

  14. Stella

  15. Richard

  16. Sari

  17. David

  18. Sari

  19. Kian

  20. David

  21. Annani

  22. David

  23. Annani

  24. David

  25. Sari

  26. Annani

  27. Sari

  28. Kian

  29. Annani

  30. Eleanor

  31. David

  32. Sari

  33. David

  34. Sari

  35. Eleanor

  36. Sari

  37. David

  38. Eleanor

  39. David

  40. Sari

  41. Kian

  42. Annani

  43. Sari

  44. David

  45. Kian

  46. Kalugal

  47. Eleanor

  48. Richard

  49. Stella

  50. Sari

  51. Kalugal

  52. Syssi

  53. David

  54. Sari

  55. David

  56. Sari

  57. David

  58. Sari

  59. Kian

  60. Sari

  61. David

  62. Sari

  63. David

  64. Sari

  The Children of the Gods Series

  The Perfect Match Series

  FOR EXCLUSIVE PEEKS

  1

  Sari

  Fear is the enemy of reason.

  Sari had reached that profound realization while lying awake in bed and staring at David. Her eyes were burning from the lack of sleep, but she hadn’t dared to close them and doze off even for a minute.

  What if she woke up and found him dead?

  Talk about overreacting, but no amount of self-talk could quell her anxiety.

  What if he started transitioning and slipped into a coma while she was asleep?

  She needed to watch him closely, listen to his heartbeat and monitor his breathing, and check his forehead for fever. The moment he started to exhibit symptoms, she would transfer him to the clinic and have Steven hook him up to the monitoring equipment.

  Why was she gripped by such intense anxiety though?

  The induction ceremony had gone well, and like most inductees, David had woken up from the venom trip about half an hour later, feeling a little woozy but none the worse for wear. She’d been so relieved when he’d opened his eyes that her fear had subsided, but the reprieve hadn’t lasted long.

  After the ceremony, they had returned to her apartment and gotten busy with the pampering she’d promised him. The moment David had fallen asleep, though, the fear had returned in full force. Fortunately, her guy was a sound sleeper, and he hadn’t woken up when she’d checked his fever, which had been every five minutes or so.

  Unable to help herself, Sari did it again, but David’s forehead was just as cool as it had been all the other times.

  Was it possible to lose consciousness without showing any of the other symptoms of transition?

  Maybe he was unconscious already?

  Panic seizing her, she shook
his shoulder. “Wake up, David!”

  His eyes popped open in alarm, and he bolted upright. “What happened?”

  Sari let out a relieved breath. “Nothing other than a minor panic attack. I wanted to make sure that you are just sleeping and not unconscious. How are you feeling?”

  “I’m perfect.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and plopped back down on the bed, pulling her down with him. “I’m just tired.” Holding her close against his warm body, he caressed her back in leisurely up and down strokes. “What time is it?”

  “It’s a little after six in the morning.”

  He eyed her from under his long, dark lashes. “Did you get any sleep at all?”

  “I couldn’t.” She kissed his bare chest. “I was watching you.”

  He smiled. “I know that I’m a good-looking fellow, but that’s no reason to lose sleep.”

  “You are so full of yourself. I was listening to your heartbeat, monitoring your breathing, and checking your forehead for fever.”

  His eyes softened. “Oh, sweetheart.” He hooked a finger under her chin and lifted her head so their lips were aligned. “Give me a kiss.”

  When she didn’t respond quickly enough, he fused their lips for a closed-mouth kiss, probably because he was concerned with morning breath.

  Sari couldn’t care less about that, and she wanted more kissing, more caressing, more of everything, but to start something now would weaken David, and he needed his strength. Reluctantly, she pulled away. “I’m sorry for waking you up. You should go back to sleep.”

  “So should you. You’re exhausted.” He patted his chest. “Put your cheek right here so you can listen to my heart while you sleep.”

  The offer was too tempting to refuse, and even though Sari knew that sleep was not going to come, she closed her eyes and let herself enjoy the closeness.

  David dozed off in no time, and his deep, even breaths combined with the steady beat of his heart were like a lullaby, luring her into the oblivion of sleep.

  Feeling herself drifting off, Sari forced her eyes open.

  “What’s wrong?” David’s hand on her back resumed its slow caresses.

  “I can’t sleep.” She pulled out of his arms. “I’m going to make myself coffee. You should go back to sleep, though. You need to preserve your strength.”

  As she got out of bed and reached for her bathrobe, David’s eyes roamed over her nude body. “How can I possibly lose consciousness and miss waking up to this magnificence?”

  “Regrettably, it’s not up to you.” She shrugged the robe on.

  When she closed the two halves and tied the sash, David let out a disappointed sigh. “I’ll join you for a cup of coffee.”

  “Stay in bed. I’ll bring it to you.”

  “Only if you bring yours here as well. I like having my morning coffee with you. But first, nature calls.” He flung the comforter off, got out of bed, and stretched his arms over his head.

  With his perfectly-shaped physique and impressive morning erection on display, she couldn’t help but stare.

  He was a fine male specimen and, given the way his lips curved in a satisfied smirk, he was well aware of his effect on her.

  “Do you like what you see?” He sauntered up to her and pulled her into his arms.

  “You know that I do.”

  The feel of his hard length pressed against her soft belly evoked a jolt of desire, but as tempting as it was to push him back on the bed and have her wicked way with him, Sari couldn’t act on her impulse. As it was, she’d taken a risk making love to David last night. She shouldn’t have drained his energy when he so desperately needed every little bit of it to transition successfully.

  “Go.” She pushed on his chest. “You said that you needed to answer nature’s call.”

  “I do.” He let go of her and walked toward the bathroom with an exaggerated swagger.

  “Show-off,” she called after him.

  Glancing at her over his shoulder, David smiled and flexed his butt muscles. “Are you sure that you don’t want to join me in the shower?”

  “I’m sure.”

  “If you change your mind…” He flexed again before closing the bathroom door behind him.

  As she waited for the coffee to brew, Sari wondered how she would survive the next few days. While David was awake and she was with him, the fear subsided, but she couldn’t be with him every second of the day or keep him awake all night. Both of them needed to sleep.

  Perhaps she could ask Steven to hook David up to the medical monitoring equipment at night? Those things sounded the alarm when something went wrong, so she could sleep without worrying that she wouldn’t wake up in time.

  But that meant spending the nights in the clinic and sharing a narrow hospital bed with David.

  Perhaps she could move her bed down there?

  Everyone would think that she’d lost it, including David, but Sari didn’t care. The most important thing was to keep him alive, and everything else was secondary to that.

  Once the coffee was ready, she took their two mugs to the bedroom.

  David was already back in bed, and he’d even shaved.

  “Here you go.” She handed him a mug and climbed into bed holding hers. “Now that you are awake, tell me how you are really feeling?”

  “Excellent.” He took a sip from the coffee. “Kalugal’s bite was one hell of a trip. All through the night I kept dreaming about the things I saw while floating on the euphoric cloud his venom bite brought about.”

  “What things? I’ve never experienced the venom’s effects. I’m curious.”

  As Sari’s imagination supplied the information she was missing, arousal coursed through her and her traitorous nipples puckered under her silk robe, giving her away.

  David’s eyes hooded with desire. “I can’t wait to give you everything that you crave.”

  Sari put her mug on the nightstand and crossed her arms over her chest. “Both of us will have to be patient. First, you need to transition. Then, you need to grow fangs and venom glands, which is no fun and takes up to six months. Only when your fangs and glands are fully functional, will you be able to give me the coveted venom bite. Provided that you transition in the first place that is.”

  “It will happen.” He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Assume the win, true?”

  “Correct.” Sari turned to pick her mug up and hide the tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. “So, what did you see when you were floating on a cloud of euphoria?”

  David rubbed a hand over his clean-shaven chin. “It was similar to what I experienced on Ayahuasca, just better and without the nasty physical side effects. I didn’t have a care in the world. I was floating over beautiful landscapes and alien cities, and everyone I encountered there was friendly.” He smiled at her sheepishly. “I don’t know if Ayahuasca works on immortals, but if it does, you could give it a try to get an idea of what the venom bite is like.”

  She shook her head. “I’ve never tried hallucinogens, but I was told that their effect is very short-lived on immortals. Our bodies metabolize them too quickly. How come you did that, though? Isn’t it illegal?”

  “It was part of my PTSD research. Until recently, Ayahuasca wasn’t legal in the US, so I had to travel to South America. I talked with researchers there and looked into their data on the drug’s effectiveness in curing or diminishing the severity of PTSD symptoms. Naturally, I got curious and decided to try it myself.”

  “And?”

  “It was a fascinating experience, but not one that I would want to repeat.” He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. “It’s a shame that female immortals don’t have fangs. I wouldn’t have minded many more venom trips if they came from your bite. But even though the bite was necessary to induce my transition and the trip was extraordinary, I don’t want Kalugal’s fangs anywhere near me ever again.”

  2

  Kian

  “Your phone is vibrating.” Syssi yawned. “Who can be
sending you a text message this early?” Then her eyes widened. “Maybe it’s about David? Can he be transitioning already?”

  Doubtful. Kian could recall only one instance when his own bite had sent a male Dormant directly into transition without even waking from the venom induction. Usually it took a couple of days, and sometimes even longer.

  “It could also be from home.” He reached for the device and read the message. “It’s from Alena. My mother is inviting us for breakfast in her suite.”

  “When?”

  “In half an hour.”

  Syssi groaned. “This early? What time is it?”

  “Six-thirty Highlands time. Ten-thirty at night back home.”

  “I’m on vacation.” She stretched her arms over her head. “I don’t want to get up yet. And if I do, it’s to make love to my husband.” Smiling, she wrapped her arms around his middle and pulled him on top of her.

  “Half an hour is plenty of time.” Bracing on his forearms to keep his weight off her pregnant belly, he kissed her softly and then nibbled on her lower lip. “So damn tasty.”