CHAPTER ONE
WE HAVE PROBLEMS.
Caden MacTavish rolled his eyes. If Bram Rion thought that was news, it came two weeks too late.
Hovering on the edge of a bottle green armchair, Caden watched Merlins grandson slam the door to his palatial home office, locking the Doomsday Brethren into the edgy silence with him. Each were warriors in their own way, most magical. All had the kind of mettle that would have been welcome in the Marine platoon in which Caden had served.
Without Brams Hollywood smile, magickinds Brad Pitt looked both jumpy and grave. In fact, all the wizards, and Marrok, the former immortal and King Arthurs champion, looked grim. The tension ratcheted up, and Cadens thoughts drifted to his absent brother Lucan, a Doomsday Brethren warrior.
Please God, let this end soon.
A loud crash upstairs thumped the ceiling, shook the walls. A woman screamed, terror bleeding from her voice. On the upper floor, a door crashed open, the shrieking grew louder, and footsteps pounded above him. She was running down the stairs. Heading out the door.
Tearing out of the library, Caden raced to the shrieking blond woman, ignoring Brams shout calling him back. He grabbed the frantic witch by her shoulders. Though likely over two hundred, she looked deceptively young. Her wide green eyes were glazed with fear.
Wait. Please. He caught her anxious gaze. My brother
I cant. Her voice quivered. Hes big and feral and snarled that I smell of another man. He ripped his ch-chains. Her words broke with new tears. And lunged for my throat.
Caden closed his eyes and held in a curse. The fifth energy surrogate Lucan had frightened away in two weeks. Now what?
At the top of the stairs, Brams sister Sabelle appeared. Her lace shirt and golden hair were askew, but her demeanor was calm. I have Lucan under control. Let her go.
Instead, Caden clasped the witch tighter. If he released her, what would become of his brother? He needs her. Without the energy she generates . . .
Caden couldnt finish the sentence. The thought.
Hell die. Sabelle sighed. He misses Anka so deeply that its unhinged him mentally. My Aunt Millie says shes never seen a case of mate mourning this severe.
More dreadful news. Where was the freaking light at the end of the tunnel? Bram and Sabelle had dragged him away from his peaceful life in Dallas two weeks ago; the hell hadnt let up since. Frustration ate his gut like acid. He didnt want to fail Lucan. Years ago, hed been unable to save his younger brother. Damned if hed let his older one die, too.
If Lucan isnt taking the energy to survive from these women, how can he have enough strength to fight them?
Primal rage, Sabelle supplied. When the surrogates come, its as if hes defending an attack. Its a delusion, and we cant explain otherwise to him. All his senses, except smell, have shut down. Surrogates bring the smells of their other clients along unwittingly. Lucan fights back.
Maybe . . . its time to consider that he wants death, Bram murmured behind him.
Fury slashed through Caden. What kind of friend even thought that? Caden had held the hands of fallen comrades in Iraq and prayed for their recovery . . . even as some rattled their last breath.
My brother will not die like this! I will find Anka and bring her back.
It may be too late. Let the witch go, Bram demanded.
Please, the scared blonde pleaded.
Caden shook with rage. He wanted to crush something, punch a wall, lash out at magic, which had again screwed up his life. But the sobbing witch in his grasp shrank back in fear, like he, too, was a monster.
For about the two hundredth time since returning to England a fortnight ago, Caden cursed magic. To a human male, the loss of a beloved wife could be emotionally devastating. But as a wizard, Lucans loss had reduced a perfectly sane person to a rabid animal. The man upstairs wasnt the older brother Caden had idolized as a child.
Though hed left his childhood home a dozen years ago, and disavowed anything or anyone associated with magic, now that tragedy had struck, and he might lose his only remaining brother, a guilt seared Caden. The thought of never speaking to Lucan again? Unthinkable.
He must restore Lucans mental health. To do that, he had to find Anka and return her to his brothers arms quickly. And clearly, the witch Caden currently detained couldnt help.
With a sigh, he released her. Go.
She sprinted out and closed the door. Silence reverberated.
Come back to my office, Bram said.
Caden whirled on the wizard. I wont give up on my brother, damn you!
With a twitch of Brams finger, Caden was magically hauled back into the office. Caden seethed with resentment as Bram slammed the door behind them. He opened his mouth to give the wizard a furious earful, but Bram held up a hand.
I understand your frustration. But our difficulties arent merely about you and your family. These problems affect us all. He gestured to the other three men in the room. And the rest of magickind.
My brother is chained to a bed like a lunatic, Anka is missing, and we havent a single clue where shes gone. We cannot make Lucan whole without her return. Nothing is more important.
I wish. Our other problems are many and grave.
Ice Rykard, another of the warriors, was a big man, but when annoyance stamped his square, hollow-cheeked face, like now, sane people backed away. You summoned me here to tell me what I already know?
As Ice rose to leave, Bram blocked his path. Something new has arisen. Prudence requires that we attend to it. All of us.
Bram refused to help his brother, then sought his assistance? Caden would have laughed if he werent so furious. I came only to find my brothers missing mate
Former mate, Bram corrected. Their bond is broken.
Involuntarily, Caden stressed. Ive no doubt Lucan still regards Anka as his, and they were in love. Why would she not welcome him back? Im here to find her so they can bond again, not solve your problems.
Bram sighed. Lucan is my best friend, and I want more than anything to make him whole again. But that is a mission of mercy. The other matters are of life and death.
If you do not help me find Anka, Lucan will die!
If we fail to act on this new problem, thousands, maybe millions, will die. Including Lucan.
Sacrificing one for many. Bram had shoved this necessity down Cadens throat before. His patience was wearing thin. Exhaling, he rubbed gritty eyes. Every day, worrying. Every night, not sleepinghe often paced, Lucans mad countenance swimming in his mind. Meanwhile his brothers friends worried about everyone else.
Please. Simon Northam, or Duke, the youngest of the Doomsday Brethren, drilled him with a stare. We need you as much as Lucan. The sooner we tend to these issues, the sooner we can help him.