Poison's Kiss (Book 2 Deadly Beauties) Read online

  Deadly Beauties

  Poison’s Kiss

  Published by C.M. Owens at Smashwords

  Text copyright 2014 by Christie M. Owens.

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. Characters, names, places, events, or incidents are products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to places or incidents is purely coincidental.

  *Some content may not be suitable for readers under the age of eighteen.

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  Chapter One

  The Enemy

  "It's been three weeks since Mom got back, and she's still refusing to see me? What the hell, Frankie?" I gripe while staring down the tired warlock.

  He sags against the back of my couch as he shrugs. "She was pretty beat up and battered when she crawled through the great halls of the light council's chambers. She still doesn't know who her captors were, and they've been working on healing her ever since she showed up. She will hardly speak to anyone, including me."

  This is killing me. My mother and I have never spent this long without talking, and now she's back, refusing to speak to me. It boils my blood to know how terrible someone has been to her, especially since I don't even know who's behind it.

  "Three more days, Frankie. That's all I'm giving her before I show up and force her to see me. She doesn't have to play strong for me. I'm her daughter. If anyone can be there for her, it's me."

  "I agree, Alyssa. Just give her time. Calypso is a hard one to let her guard down. She hates for people to see her pain. Until then, I need to get back. The light council is taking this a little more seriously now that they've seen the damage done." He starts to walk away, but turns back with hesitance in his eyes just before he reaches the door. "Has he tried contacting you at all since the diner?"

  My heart folds and breaks even more than it is already broken. My chest grows heavier, weighing me down all the more. I really didn't need a reminder.

  I try to act unaffected by the mere mention of the night stalker I so foolishly fell in love with. I wish I could stop missing the man I thought he was and start loathing the monster he really is.

  "No. If he knows what's best for him, he won't. When is Thad coming back?"

  Frankie smirks, a secretive grin spreading. "Needing new socks, eh?"

  I flush instantly, realizing there are some things I will never again share with Frankie.

  "No. I just want an extra set of hands available, should Kane decide he wants to finish what he started."

  Seriousness takes over the playfulness in his eyes.

  "I won't let him touch you, Lyss. You know that. If he tries, I swear I'll show him how incredibly tough light ones can be."

  Sighing out, I start to tell Frankie about Castine. It's a topic I've avoided. Frankie will surely put me on lockdown, and I'll feel like a turtle that is unable to poke its head out of its shell.

  "Frankie, I-"

  Before the words can escape, Gage materializes in the room and flops down on my couch while reading something on his phone. He's way too comfortable in my home these days, but he definitely makes me feels safer.

  "What the hell?" Frankie scolds, making Gage's head snap up in realization. "Why is there a dark-"

  "It's a long, long story. He's keeping me safe," I grumble, interrupting Frankie's will to rant.

  Gage tenses as he stands up, coming to take a place behind me. It's smart to put me between the two of them, but I don't exactly enjoy playing Mom to a dueling duo.

  "I can keep you safe, Lyss. He's not-"

  "He can keep me safer. He can vaporize me without killing me, and he can get me out of here, should the time arise for such a need."

  "Nothing can get in here. I've recast the protection spell. Apparently, I should cast it again."

  The venom in Frankie's eyes is apparent, and the dark user who has held his tongue finally gets sick of being Mr. Nice Guy.

  "I'm the one who kept her safe while you left her to the mercy of a damn night stalker. I'll be the one keeping her safe when Castine returns."

  Frankie's face is suddenly ashen with fear. His whole body tenses, proving Castine must really be one hellacious bitch. Just what I need.

  "Why the fuck is Castine coming?" Frankie asks, his voice trembling.

  My eyes scold the foolish dark user for being so careless with his tongue. He just offers me a he-needs-to-know look in response.

  Very briefly, I give Frankie the rundown, while omitting the part about this being Castine's home.

  "Lyss, you have to get out of this toxic town. It's one hotshot immortal after another gunning for you now. Just find a hotel until you find a new home. I'll pay."

  As if having Gage breathing down my throat to get out wasn't bad enough. I hate, hate, hate our world.

  "I've got plenty of money. I'm just sick of having to haul ass out of a town because of an immortal with a grudge. My whole life has been like that. I swore I wouldn't do that once I started living my own life. I'm not suicidal. I will move, but I won't run. I'll find a place that I intend to live in and stay in. Hell, I'm already using the trust my father gave me that I promised myself I'd never use, simply because the fucking crazy life I have refuses to let me keep a job."

  Frankie leans over, not really giving a damn about anything coming out of my mouth right now.

  "I don't like this, Alyssa. I wish you'd just go right now. It's not running - it's surviving, sweet girl. Sometimes, that's how our life is. There are good days and bad days. This just happens to be one of those bad days."

  It's all a bad day lately.

  "I plan on moving, Frankie. I don't have a death wish."

  Frankie rubs his temples as if I'm giving him a migraine.

  "I'll get her out of here if trouble arises. I can swear that to you. I've already got a few friends keeping an eye out for Castine. If she makes a move, I'll know about it," Gage interjects, seeming calmer now.

  Frankie looks back up to him and narrows his eyes while bringing his finger to point at him very deliberately. "If you do anything to her, I swear I'll unleash hell's wrath. I may not be overly fond of her father, but I can swear to you he'll not let his daughter's death go without being avenged, and I'll be by his side."

  Gage walks back over to the couch, sitting down on the arm of it as he relaxes a little.

  "I know perfectly well what Drackus would do to me. That alone should give you peace of mind."

  Frankie's eyes widen as his gaze falls on me. "Alyssa, you can't tell people who your fucking father is!"

  "And you can't use him to threaten people if you don't want them to figure it out on their own. Just go, Frankie. See the light council and let me know what's going on."

  He scowls at me, but he finally vaporizes to start his journey. He leaves behind the echo of ranted curses.

  "Sheesh. I thought he'd be gone by now," Gage grumbles as he drops off the arm of my couch and makes himself comfortable once more on the cushion.

  "Maybe you should try knocking every once in a while."

  I cross my arms, staring at him very sternly, but he simply brushes off my words as though they don't hold any value. I suppose they don't.

  "My council called," he says, not acknowledging my sardonic remark. "The gang of night s
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.

  "Then you shouldn't have trusted me with your phone. I need to learn what I can about them. Why does Kane think we want a shot at Castine?"

  Or is that just the jerk's way of fucking with my head all the more?

  He shivers at the mention of her name. I swear her name gives him more pause than my father's. That's obviously a little disconcerting.

  "Kane figured out who I was the night of the trap. He saw me with you as Little Red, and then he saw you bleeding at the trap. At the time, I didn't know he was the lead in the rescue expedition. I'm still not sure what that was about. I can only assume it was because of some beef he had with Isolis. To cut to the point, he knows I hunt and trap his kind. He's claiming to think this was all part of a ruse to lure Castine out of hiding. There's a massive bounty on her head. Most everyone wants her dead for their own set of reasons. No one wants her dead as badly as he does, and he doesn't want me to take away his opportunity. He planned to use you to make that possible, but he too is saying he feels used. I read that in Sierra's diary."

  "Stop calling them diaries. That seems so... invasive and wrong. Call them... journals or something," I huff, discreetly trying to shift the subject.

  He laughs a little, and then he stands up while pulling me with him.

  "Come on. We have to get to that party. Then we've got that horrid Halloween masquerade ball to attend in two days."

  I roll my eyes, and then I glance out at the setting sun.

  "I hate parties. Why do we have to go to either?"

  "Because that's where all the good tips and gossip are. The party tonight is hosted by one of the most notorious chanters in the immortal world. I told you this place is a hotspot for immortals. If we can get him talking, he might be able to give us a lead on who took your mother. We need to find out what they wanted. Is she still refusing to talk?"

  I nod as tears sting my eyes, and his whole stance softens as he tilts my chin up.

  "We'll find them. She's safe now. They can't touch her, and the light may have their faults, but they won't let someone waltz in and take her again."

  That gives me little solace since she was taken right out from under them to begin with.

  "Fine. Why do I have to go to the party?"

  "Because I'm not leaving you alone, and no one else is here to stay with you."

  "Okay... So why do I have to go
to the masquerade ball?"

  "Because I need a date. That thing is going to be crawling with desperate women. In case you haven't noticed, I'm eye candy. I can't be fighting off girls while seeking out information."

  His cocky release forces me to laugh, and he offers me a smile of triumph. He's worked incredibly hard these past few weeks to make me laugh. That's the best he's succeeded thus far.

  "See? A party is a good thing. It'll cheer you up. This town is buzzing with too many entities. Let's hit these parties, and then let's hit the road."

  I nod, though it's reluctant. I have drug out my stay too long. Why? I don't know.

  I guess I just keep hoping this is all one bad dream. I keep expecting to wake up and find out my mom was never taken; Kane is really a sweet, untainted human; and I'm just the same naive, happy girl I once was.

  "Why do you think this town is a hotspot?" I ask as I slip on my jacket.

  "Beats me. There could be a number of things drawing our kind here. It's subtle, and whatever it is, it doesn't want us finding it. Let's not worry about that part. We've got too many irons in the fire as it is. Right now, let's party."

  With the thudding music offering only vibrations instead of sound, it's obvious this home belongs to an immortal. I can feel the ground trying to cover its ears as the vibrations rattle it to the core.

  "What exactly does a chanter do?" I ask absently, subtly eyeing the party with a wary gaze.

  "Really? Did you learn anything at all when you were growing up?" Gage lightly gripes as we near the house exuding the tingling release.

  "Yes, but not about some creatures. There're are a lot of different types of immortals, you know."

  He laughs softly while taking my hand in his when a few guys start checking me out. This super-blond color only seems to be getting lighter, which draws in unwanted attention. I'm starting to turn into Wicca Barbie.

  "Chanters are strong. They cast spells just as effectively as our own, but they don't have the hidden powers we all do. They've been known to swing for both sides - light and dark I mean - never aligning themselves with either. They have the best protection spells one can offer. I should have thought of that sooner when you were struggling... or when I thought you were struggling."