Dark Power Unleashed (The Children Of The Gods Paranormal Romance Book 51) Read online

  Dark Power Unleashed

  The Children Of The Gods Book 51

  I. T. Lucas

  Contents

  1. Kian

  2. Cassandra

  3. Margaret

  4. Syssi

  5. Kian

  6. Annani

  7. Kian

  8. Onegus

  9. Bowen

  10. Margaret

  11. Cassandra

  12. Margaret

  13. Eleanor

  14. Emmett

  15. Eleanor

  16. Emmett

  17. Eleanor

  18. Onegus

  19. Cassandra

  20. Onegus

  21. Margaret

  22. Bowen

  23. Margaret

  24. Bowen

  25. Margaret

  26. Cassandra

  27. Kian

  28. Margaret

  29. Onegus

  30. Margaret

  31. Cassandra

  32. Onegus

  33. Bowen

  34. Margaret

  35. Bowen

  36. Eleanor

  37. Margaret

  38. Annani

  39. Kian

  40. Syssi

  41. Margaret

  42. Onegus

  43. Kian

  44. Cassandra

  45. Onegus

  46. Eleanor

  47. Cassandra

  48. Kian

  49. Cassandra

  50. Margaret

  51. Cassandra

  52. Margaret

  53. Onegus

  54. Emmett

  55. Eleanor

  56. Emmett

  57. Cassandra

  58. Eleanor

  59. Cassandra

  60. Onegus

  61. Cassandra

  62. Onegus

  63. Cassandra

  64. Onegus

  65. Cassandra

  66. Onegus

  67. Cassandra

  68. Onegus

  69. Cassandra

  70. Onegus

  71. Cassandra

  72. Onegus

  73. Cassandra

  74. Onegus

  75. Cassandra

  76. Onegus

  77. Cassandra

  The Children of the Gods Series

  The Perfect Match Series

  Also by I. T. Lucas

  FOR EXCLUSIVE PEEKS

  1

  Kian

  Six o’clock in the morning was too early for a smoke, but since Kian hadn’t actually slept, it could be argued that it wasn’t really morning for him. Syssi was in the shower, and while he waited for her to get ready for breakfast, he could sneak outside for a few minutes and get his fix.

  As usual, too much was going on all at once, and his mind was spinning in circles trying to make sense of it.

  What were the damn Fates up to this time?

  “Good morning, master.” Okidu bowed. “Would you like a fresh cup of coffee? It has just finished brewing.”

  “Yes, please.”

  A steamy mug of coffee in hand, Kian opened the living room sliding doors and walked out into the backyard. Sitting down on his favorite lounger, he put the mug on the side table and picked up his box of cigarillos.

  Lighting up, he took a grateful puff and leaned back.

  The Fates had played another of their games, bringing yet another Dormant into the clan’s fold, and not just any Dormant, but Wendy’s long-lost mother.

  The text message from Bowen had arrived a couple of hours ago.

  The Guardian probably hadn’t expected Kian to read it right away, so he hadn’t elaborated beyond the basic facts. But Kian could piece it together from what he already knew.

  The irony wasn’t lost on him.

  Margaret had been under their noses for nearly two weeks, but Bowen had figured it out on the same day Vlad and Richard had traveled out of town to have a talk with Wendy’s asshole of a father and find out what he’d done with the mother.

  If Bowen had figured it out a day earlier, he would have saved them the trouble.

  Had Wendy’s bastard of a father been left to sully the earth with his presence for another day?

  If Vlad had managed not to kill him, the kid had much better self-control than Kian. If he were in Vlad’s shoes, Kian would have torn the jerk’s throat out, and no one would have been able to stop him. It wouldn’t even have mattered if Wendy’s father had killed her mother or not. He deserved to die for the abuse he’d inflicted on his family. But Vlad was a gentle soul, and he’d made a promise to Wendy not to kill her father, so maybe the scum was still alive.

  In any case, Kian wasn’t going to ask or even hint that he knew about Richard and Vlad’s trip.

  Plausible deniability and all that.

  Then there was Onegus and his unconventional request to bring a date to Sari and David’s wedding. The chief had met the lady at the annual charity ball, and it seemed like he was seriously smitten, which was uncharacteristic of him. Onegus was a player who never hooked up with the same woman more than twice, which was how it was supposed to be for immortals engaging with humans.

  As Kian heard the sliding door open, he turned and smiled at his wife. “That was quick.” He extinguished his cigarillo.

  “Isn’t it too early for a smoke?” She lowered herself onto his lap with effort, her pregnant belly nestling against his. “What’s troubling you?”

  “Nothing major. Just many little things.” He wrapped his arms around her to keep her warm. “Isn’t it too cold for you out here?”

  Syssi leaned her head on his shoulder. “Not when I’m lying on top of you. You are like a furnace.” She lifted her eyes to him. “Are you nervous about Sari and David’s arrival?”

  Their flight was scheduled to land at LAX at twelve-thirty in the afternoon, and instead of them taking a taxi to the newly renovated building across from the keep, Syssi had insisted on picking them up at the airport.

  “I’m nervous about most of the clan being here for their wedding. It’s a logistical nightmare to keep everyone’s arrival unnoticed. But that’s just one in a long list of things keeping me awake at night.”

  “What else? The Kra-ell?”

  “Yeah. That too. I want to get a move on it, but I have to wait until after the festivities. On top of that, Onegus has invited a human date to the wedding, and I was so shocked by the request that I said okay before thinking it through.”

  Smiling, Syssi cupped his cheek. “It was nice of you to allow it, and it’s not a big deal. Gerard’s human crew is serving at the wedding, and their minds will need to get wiped at the end of the night. One more human will not make a difference.”

  “True. But that’s another annoyance. There will be too many humans working in the bowels of the keep to prepare and service this wedding, and later, having their memories wiped. Then there are the Chinese crews building our village, who will have to be wiped as well.”

  “You had every one of them checked for responsiveness to thralling, so it’s not like some might be immune. You’re fretting for no good reason.” She lifted her head and kissed his cheek. “Relax, enjoy. These are happy times for us and for the clan.”

  Kian shook his head. “I feel like I’ve become complacent, and I’m taking too many risks.” He ran his hand over her back. “The Kra-ell are wise to keep their communities small. They can pick up and go with ease.”

  “Perhaps they are nomadic in nature.” Syssi put a hand on her belly. “I like staying in one place, and despite being an introvert, I love having a
big community of people to interact with when I’m in the mood for it. I think I would have gone nuts with just a couple dozen people to talk to. For some reason, that seems more intimate and more intrusive.” She rubbed her belly again.

  “Is Allegra kicking?” Kian put his hand over hers.

  “She’s sleeping. I just like touching her. It’s so cool that I can feel the contours of her little body through my belly.” Syssi shifted, finding a more comfortable position. “Onegus’s date must be special if he invited her to the wedding.”

  “He claims that he can sense some sort of strange energy from her that intensifies when she gets angry or excited. He says that her mother emits similar energy, but not as strong.”

  “Fascinating.” Syssi sat up and put her hands on the small of her back. “I’m going to ask Lisa to sniff Onegus’s date out at the wedding. After all, she was right about Anastasia being a Dormant.”

  Kian moved Syssi’s hands aside and started massaging her back. “She was, and I regret not sending her to sniff out Anastasia’s friend as well.”

  It was a gentle way to break the news to Syssi. He didn’t want her getting overly excited in her condition.

  “Why? Is she a Dormant too?”

  “Confirmed.”

  Syssi turned wide eyes to him. “Did she transition and no one told me?”

  There was no way to soften the delivery of what he had to tell her, so he attempted a softer tone. “Margaret is Wendy’s mother.”

  Syssi gasped. “Impossible. How?”

  “Apparently, she escaped her abusive husband when Wendy was a baby and has been hiding in Safe Haven ever since. Bowen somehow connected the dots, mother and daughter had an emotional reunion last night, and Bowen is bringing Margaret to the village today.”

  Syssi tried to push out of his arms. “We have to prepare lodging for them.”

  He tightened his arms around her. “There is no rush. Ingrid is too busy to deal with that right now, and if we let someone else do it for her, she’ll throw a tantrum. Bowen and Margaret can stay with Vlad and Wendy for a week or two. I’m sure Wendy and her mother have a lot of catching up to do.”

  2

  Cassandra

  Cassandra glanced up at the rearview mirror to check her makeup. She’d been in a rush this morning and it showed. There wasn’t much she could do about it while driving, though, except perhaps fixing her lipstick. Reaching over the central console for her purse, she was rummaging for the tube when her phone rang.

  The familiar number popping up on her car’s display brought a smile to her face. “Did you forget something?”

  “Are you driving?” Onegus sounded like a stern schoolteacher, displeased with her supposedly reckless behavior.

  “Yes, but don’t worry. I’m not holding the phone, my hands are on the wheel, and I’m looking at the road.”

  Given that she’d had her hand in her purse and was about to apply lipstick while driving, Cassandra had been guilty of intent but not of actual infraction. So technically, she hadn’t lied.

  He chuckled. “How did you know that I was worried?”

  “Your tone. You sounded like a policeman or a schoolteacher about to give me a lecture.”

  “If it turns you on, I can get into either of those roles with ease.” His tone was teasing, but his voice had dropped by half an octave, stirring interest in her lady parts.

  “I bet.” She shifted in her seat.

  On the face of things, Onegus appeared charming and easygoing, but she could sense the steel he was hiding under all those panty-melting smiles of his. He had a dominant streak, which would normally put him on her do-not-call list, but he wasn’t overbearing and seemed more concerned with her pleasure than his own, so she didn’t mind.

  In fact, it was a big part of the attraction.

  He was the kind of guy a woman could lean on, rely on, and he certainly wasn’t a man who would fold under the slightest pressure.

  Besides, he could handle her and wasn’t intimidated by her, which was no small feat.

  “Did you tell your mother about the wedding?” he asked.

  “I didn’t see her this morning, so no, I didn’t tell her yet.”

  “Don’t tell her or anyone else about it. It’s crucial that the event stays confidential.”

  “Are you worried about paparazzi?”

  He sighed. “I wish that was the extent of my worries. Our family has enemies, old feuds that go generations back. They would love to find out that nearly the entire clan is gathering in one location.”

  What the hell was he talking about?

  Mafia wars came to mind. “You are kidding, right?”

  “I wish I was, and before you jump to the wrong conclusion, it’s not a mafia turf war. It really goes back many generations in time.”

  Onegus had a very slight Scottish accent, but Cassandra wasn’t aware of any active feuds between Scottish clans. Then again, she wasn’t a history buff, and what she did know came from her mother’s Highlander romance novels. Not the most reliable source of information.

  “Should I be worried?”

  “Not with me by your side. I’ll keep you safe.”

  She chuckled. “A warrior billionaire. It sounds like the title of a bodice-ripper.”

  “What’s a bodice-ripper? It sounds intriguing.”

  “It’s a sexually explicit romantic story that takes place in a historical setting. Highlanders are very popular in that genre.”

  “Is that so?” He let his Scottish accent come out full force. “I’m up for ripping your bodice anytime and in any setting.”

  She laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind when shopping for a dress to wear to the wedding. No bodice.”

  “That sounds even more intriguing and fashion forward. But then I’d have to kill all of my male family members for looking at your breasts, and that would ruin everyone’s fun.”

  “We don’t want that.” She chuckled. “A dress can cover up everything without having a bodice. How formal is the event?”

  “As formal as they get. But you don’t have to get a new dress. You can wear the same one you wore for the gala. You looked stunning in it. I’ll be the envy of all my bachelor cousins.”

  She couldn’t help the grin splitting her face. “Just the bachelors?”

  “Yes.” His tone changed from teasing to gruff. “We are a very traditional and loyal bunch, and mated males don’t stray, not even with their eyes. Once we commit, it’s for life.”

  “That’s commendable, but I doubt it’s factual. Forty percent of marriages end in divorce.”

  “Not in our community.”

  Cassandra had no idea what the official religion of Scotland was, but she was pretty sure it wasn’t Catholicism.

  “Are you Catholic?”

  “It has nothing to do with religion.”

  “A code of honor then?”

  “It’s just the way it is. You will have to make do with just the bachelors' admiration.”

  He sounded cold, and Cassandra didn’t like it. She liked the smile in his voice, his light-hearted banter. Had she put her foot in it again?

  Perhaps Onegus had a history with an unfaithful girlfriend, and it was a sore point for him.

  “I was just teasing. I hate players and cheaters with a passion, which was why I got so mad when I thought that you didn’t want to be seen with me. That’s the number one sign that a guy is dating several women at the same time. They don’t want to get caught, so they find excuses for not going out.”

  “Has it ever happened to you?” His tone had warmed up a little, but he still sounded serious.

  “Yeah, there is no avoiding it. It’s not like guys have it written on their foreheads or in their dating app profiles. But as soon as I noticed the signs, I booted the two-timers out so fast that they didn’t know what hit them.”

  “Good for you.”

  “What about you? Did you ever have a two-timing girlfriend?”

  “I’ve never had a girlf
riend.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Fine, a lady friend then, a woman you’ve dated. I don’t care what you call them.”

  “I’ve never been with the same woman more than once, so the only terms that apply are one-night stands and hookups.”

  Great. So, he wasn’t a two-timer, just a serial player. It was almost as bad.

  “Fear of commitment much?”

  “I just haven’t met the right woman before.”

  Oh, he was smooth. “And I am her?”

  “You are the first one I’m willing to explore the possibility with. When I commit, it’s forever, Cassandra. I need to make absolutely sure that I’m committing to the right woman. My one and only.”

  3

  Margaret

  Margaret stayed in bed long after waking up, afraid to go out of the room and face the others.

  What if it had all been a dream? Or a drug-induced fantasy?

  Except, she was clean. She hadn’t touched opioids in over a week. Margaret also wasn’t creative enough to dream up what she’d learned the day before. Somehow, Wendy had been turned immortal, and so had Bowen, Leon, and Anastasia, but Margaret didn’t know how it had been done. Last night, she’d been too overwhelmed to ask.