Coven's End: Kane (Coven's End Series Book 1) Read online

  I sighed as I slouched on my throne, positioned one step below hers. If she had her way, Trinity and I would take the top dais, and she’d be free to go off and do whatever it was she did when Lucifer called her back to Hell.

  Jillian’s face flashed in my mind. I closed my eyes, savoring the memory of her, because that was all she could be to me. My mate was safe—I’d paid through the nose to have eyes on her whenever she left her house. I couldn’t be with her, but now that I’d discovered her, I couldn’t let her come to harm. She was mine to protect.

  Mine to claim…

  From the moment I’d scented her years ago, I’d thought about the possibilities of ending the war and what it would be like if she and I mated and merged the vampires and lycans. An impossible fantasy. Or was it?

  I’d been researching ways to do it, but first, I had to get to the bottom of whoever attacked my people that morning. My gut told me it wasn’t the lycans. The attack was too sudden and cowardly to be anyone else. Plus, it would breach the treaty the lycans had with us. An attack would force Mother’s hand to strike back. Yet, Mother hadn’t ordered a retaliation strike. Maybe she suspected it wasn’t the lycans, too.

  I would get to the bottom of it. If I didn’t, my vampires were going to tear the countryside apart in a war against the lycans and risk exposing us all. Worse case, Jillian would be killed along with her father, the High Alpha.

  Anger rose at the thought and I fisted my hands. I wouldn’t allow any harm to come to my mate.

  We’d made it to the twenty-first century without the humans having proof of our existence. Lots of people believed we were real, but we’d managed to block all scientific evidence, and so had the lycans. If the lycans were behind the attacks, the rage of my vampires might be more than I could contain.

  It was time to visit my mate. I just wished I could do it without her realizing the same thing I had. We were fated mates, and there was no way we could be together.

  2

  Jillian

  “Hey, Daddy.” I put on my best attempt at an innocent smile as I entered my father’s office. He’d texted me, asking me to meet him, and I came right away, curious about what he wanted. I was pretty sure he wanted to talk about me choosing a mate, a subject I’d avoided like the plague. “What’s up?”

  I knew my duty was to take a mate before I stepped into the High Alpha position, but, damnit, I didn’t want to talk about it now. I had years to even think about taking over as ruler of the lycans.

  My father raised me to be a caring and compassionate ruler. Since alpha challenges were so rare, it was extremely likely I would ascend unchallenged when he eventually died or stepped down, passing the High Alpha title to me.

  The pack knew I cared about them, because I went out of my way to make sure they did. My days consisted of helping them in any way I could and having fun. Sometimes the fun included breaking a few rules.

  I really didn’t want that to change. And why should it? My dad was getting older, but he still had decades in him. Why should I marry just to follow some outdated tradition?

  It wasn’t like I was ungrateful, but the last thing I wanted to think about was mating. I was only twenty-two. Lots of time left.

  “We’ve been putting off this conversation.” He settled into his desk chair and held my gaze. My dad was born into his High Alpha position, as was his father before him, but that didn’t mean he didn’t deserve it.

  Strong, capable, and headstrong, he’d lead the pack to more wealth, success, and happiness than any Alpha before him.

  He kicked ass.

  “What conversation?” I blinked innocently and smiled. My poor father. I’d always been wild, but mostly he’d turned a blind eye. Since my mom died, he’d pretty much let me have my way, to the consternation of my sentry, Quin—who was thirteen years older than me—and his Aunt Sissy.

  Dad pierced me with his knowing stare and tapped his pen against his wooden desk. His attempt to snap me to attention failed when a smile lifted one corner of his mouth. “Jilly, you’re the end of me.”

  “You’ve told me that for as long as I can remember.” I averted my gaze and drew circles with my index finger on the arm of the chair I sat in. I wasn’t a bratty teen any longer, and I knew it was time for me to take on more responsibilities.

  “That’s because it’s true.” He stopped the tapping and scrubbed a hand over his face. “You’re old enough to start choosing a mate.”

  I bristled and tried to fight off the emotions his sentence brought up. “So?”

  “Do you want to marry?” His eyes crinkled at the corners as he watched me. What game was he playing?

  “As if I have a choice,” I muttered. I wasn’t mad at him, not really. He was the High Alpha of every lycan on Earth. He had a lot to keep up with and keeping his daughter in line should’ve been the least of his worries.

  What if I told him I’d met my mate? That I had two possible mates, and both were strong, loyal males who were perfect candidates to rule at my side. I couldn’t tell him or the two males. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to choose between them without feeling like a piece of me was lost forever.

  Nope. It was my secret for now.

  “But you do.” He sounded surprised, drawing me out of my thoughts. “Why would you think you didn’t?”

  I looked at him in shock. Did I have a choice? I’d assumed all my life that it was a necessary evil of being the High Alpha.

  “What have I said to make you think you would be forced to marry?” He frowned and sat back in his chair.

  “I… Well, nothing.” He really hadn’t. He’d said a few times that he’d like for me to find my true mate, but he’d never really pushed it. I’d thought the older I got, the more insistent he would get. Lycan tradition called for a mated pair to rule.

  “You get married if you want to. If something happens to me, yes, I would like for you to have someone strong by your side. But, if you want to go at it alone, you’ll do it. You’ve always excelled at everything you put your mind to.” He steepled his fingers under his chin, stubble ever-growing. He could shave, shower, and step out of the bathroom with stubble.

  My dad was handsome, always had been. Unattached pack females had been throwing themselves at his feet since my mom died. Of course they waited a few months, but then started showing up with casseroles and a sympathetic ear.

  My mom had been his true mate, though. He’d never looked at another woman, as far as I knew.

  “Jilly, fated mates are exceedingly rare, you know that don’t you?” he asked gently. He still saw me as his fragile little girl. Probably always would.

  Fragile was something I’d never been. They said my mother had been, and he transferred his protective nature from her to me when she died. I let him because I loved him and the attention he gave me.

  “I know, Daddy.”

  “So if you meet someone and you think you could love him, consider him. Don’t hold out hope for a fated mate.”

  I stood and walked around his desk, giving him a sideways hug. “Okay, Daddy, I won’t. I promise, I’ll keep my eyes open.”

  My eyes were open, and my heart was confused. My mind drifted to the two that I had felt the mating tug for, strongly. They were everything a ruler could be and well respected within our pack as well as others around us. However, I was scared to lose either one, and I knew I would if I was forced to pick just one of them.

  Fated mates felt an absolutely irresistible pull, but that didn’t mean other people couldn’t have a strong, mated bond.

  Speak of the devils. My best friend and sentry, Quin, entered the room with my newest guard, Voss on his heels. Instantly, my blood raced, and my wolf danced. Gods, I hoped my dad didn’t pick up on my change in emotions.

  Voss was about an inch shorter than Quin, with wider shoulders and thicker arms. He wasn’t too big, but he wasn’t lean either. He kept his blond hair short, almost military style and had the most beautiful golden eyes I’d ever seen.

&nb
sp; I hadn’t known Voss long. He’d only been a sentry for about a year, working mostly for my dad. Dad loved him, and when I’d not been totally against the idea, he’d asked me to take on Voss as well.

  I was okay with it being just me and Quin. It was easy for me to love Quin. He’d been with me my whole life. Then when I met Voss…things became difficult. Emotions ran wild, and I buried them until I could figure shit out.

  “Knock much?” I straightened and crossed my arms, teasing them.

  “Sorry, it’s an emergency,” Quin said, flashing me a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Uh oh, something was wrong. My BFF usually had a comeback to my sass.

  Quin was sinfully handsome, with light brown hair that had streaks of blond and a ready smile. He’d begun training to be my personal guard when he was thirteen, the year I was born, and the earliest the sentries entered the training academy. Although Quin never went through the academy, he trained with my dad and Dad’s personal sentry, learning everything he could to make himself my efficient and lethal protector.

  The feelings I had for Quin tickled the back of my mind, but as usual, I shoved them aside. Quin would make a great High Alpha one day, but not today. And not with me. Okay, probably with me.

  Voss saluted my father in the lycan way, with a slight head nod and a straight spine. He was formal with my dad, but much more relaxed with me. We’d become friends, of a sort, but nothing like Quin and me. However, the mating pull was still there. He would also make an excellent High Alpha.

  Stop it, Jill. I didn’t have to choose right then, thanks to my dad for bending tradition and allowing me to pick a mate for love.

  Voss eased his stance and glanced at me. Sadness and pain filled his depths and my heart sank, dreading whatever news my sentries had come to tell us. “Sir, one of our local packs was hit by a militant group in the night.”

  No! Grief gripped my heart and squeezed it in his claws. “Who? How?” I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Catching the terminology Voss used, I thought it was an odd way he described the vampires, because surely they had something to do with the attack. They were great at strategizing, but certainly weren’t militant. Who else would it be? We had no other enemies that I knew of.

  “What do you mean militant?” I flexed my hands at my side and watched both my sentries. My right hand covered the handle of the blade inside a hidden sheath in my jeans, itching to go track down whoever had hurt my people.

  “The only survivor said they were soldiers,” Voss answered. “He said they wore fatigues like soldiers in the human army, and clearly had orders to follow. He seemed sure the national military had come to kill us all.”

  I scoffed. No way the United States military knew about us. We guarded our secrets too closely, as did the vampires. If there was one thing we all agreed on, it was the necessity of secrecy. That one common ground was why we formed a treaty with the vampires years ago.

  “Maybe the vampires have been playing soldier,” I mused. But why would the vampires break the treaty by attacking? Did they want a war? It seemed too simple and cowardly of the vamps. I needed more information. “Let’s go check out the site and see if we can pick up on anything.”

  “Agreed,” Quin said with a sad smile. His eyes mourned the loss of his brothers and sisters of the moon.

  I pushed my grief aside as well. There was no room for emotions on such a gruesome mission. “Let’s go.”

  3

  Kane

  I felt Trinity’s stare boring into me from where she stood behind my right shoulder. Fisting my hands, I focused on breathing and calming my irritation with her. The weight of her friendship grew every time she tried to fuck me. Lately, being around her made my insides twist. I had to get out of there.

  There was no time like the present. I stood abruptly from my throne and stalked down the stairs from the dais. My guard was too well trained to make any noise behind me, but I knew they were there. Stopping halfway to the door, I commanded, “Stay.”

  I didn’t want company. Especially not Trinity’s.

  They listened, of course. I needed to blow off some steam, but I wouldn’t be able to do that in the manor, so I headed for the garage. My BMW sat gassed up and ready to roll. I slid into the driver’s seat and took off before anyone had a chance to stop me.

  The road down Roanoke Mountain was winding and dangerous to those who didn’t know it as well as I did. The one-lane road was lined on both sides with thick trees to obscure it from the sky to ensure privacy and security.

  Gripping the wheel tighter, I floored the accelerator, propelling the beemer down the mountain. The likelihood of someone coming up the road as I went down was slim. Besides, Hell would’ve frozen over before I let a car crash hurt me.

  What the fuck had come over Trinity? She’d pushed me several times to take our friendship to the next level, but never in front of other people like that, especially my mother. Trinity had lost her mind if she thought I’d mate with her. If she kept it up, I’d have to take her off my guard and distance myself from her all together. An ache formed in my chest. My best friend hadn’t acted like my best friend for a long time. I couldn’t pinpoint when that had changed, but it had. No longer close, and the more she acted like a lovesick teenager, the more irritated I became with her.

  I made it nearly to the city before I encountered another car, tourist season not quite upon us. It would be hopping in no time, people drawn from all around to stay in the mountains and hike.

  My local vampires made a lot of money on the tourists with shops, restaurants, nightclubs, the works. As long as we didn’t venture into the direct sunlight, we could be out day or night. The more the humans obsessed over skin cancer, the more protected we became. Wearing a couple of layers of SPF-protective clothing as undergarments, as well as hats and gloves gave us the ability to go into the direct sun for a short period of time. Without it, the sun would make us sick, like a hyped-up version of human sun poisoning. With vampires, it only took about ten minutes, depending on when we last fed.

  But not death. We could recover from anything short of our hearts being removed or heads cut off. We could survive a fire and healthy dose of garlic. I laughed, thinking about all the myths humans had about vampires. I had a reflection, pictures could be made of me.

  As I mused on the popularity of the vampire mythos, I realized I was driving past the club where I’d first encountered my unfortunate mate. I decided to run in and see if anyone had heard anything about the coven attack. Maybe I could get a lead from the inevitable gossip that seemed to travel through the coven faster than lightning. Sometimes gossip had a root in truth.

  The doors were open to the abnormally warm late-winter afternoon. We’d had a deep freeze the week before, but mother nature had bounced back and given us a couple of days of balmy temperatures. We’d probably have one more freeze before spring set in. We always did. Cold weather was another thing that didn’t bother us.

  It was mid afternoon, but the bar was open for lunch which meant there were more humans than normal inside. After parking not far from the doors, I stepped out and scented the air, gauging just how many humans were there as I entered the building. I spotted the bartender, a vamp named Joe, but he didn’t see me, too busy with customers and cleaning the bar, most likely getting ready for the evening rush.

  “Hey, Joe,” I called out, a little surprised he hadn’t noticed me as soon as I stepped out of my car. My vampires had some special ability to know when my mother or I were in their presence. To his credit, he was really busy.

  A moment later he lifted his gaze to me and frowned. Then he called toward the back of the bar for some help and walked over to me. “What can I get you, Kane?” He bowed his head in deference, something no amount of authoritative voice could get my coven to stop doing. I’d gotten them to stop calling me Sir Kane, but the formal greeting to one of the royal family would never die.

  “Information. Did you hear about the coven attack?” I asked.

  �
�Yeah, it’s awful. They even got their young and the cellist they’d recently gained permission to turn.” He shook his head, sadness creeping into his dark depths. The bloodline that had lived in the attacked home was traditional. They kept to the old ways, made their money in the stock markets—as many of us did—and kept to the night. They’d been attacked and killed at dawn, probably right after they’d gone to bed.

  “Any word on who did it? I’m heading there now, but figured you’d have a beat on the gossip.” This wasn’t the first time I’d used the young bartender for information.

  “Nothing. The only thing I’ve heard since I got here a few hours ago was that all the vamps are freaked out, and the lycans were also attacked. Nobody here thinks that’s a coincidence, but I haven’t heard any theories worth giving any weight.”

  “What have you heard? Even if it sounds crazy.” Any bit of information would help in my investigation. My gut was telling me this wasn’t a lycan attack.

  “Witches, aliens, humans. One said maybe the lycans killed their own to cover it up.” Joe made a face, which told me he didn’t believe that any more than I did.

  “Old man Gray won’t let his people be used like that.”

  “No, he’s a pretty good guy.” He shrugged. “But, maybe he doesn’t know about it.” The kid raised his eyebrows significantly, and I stifled a laugh. No theories that were worth anything, but he clearly had put some thought into it.

  “Thanks for your intel, Joe. How’s college?”

  His face lit up. He was a funny guy, and he clearly loved the field he’d chosen. “It’s great, Kane. Thanks for the scholarship. My classes are amazing.”

  “Anytime, kid. Keep it up, you’ll have that vampire sunscreen for us in no time.” I clapped him on the shoulder and gave him a small smile before turning to the rest of the room with a glare. At lunch time, a number of lycans mixed with the human patrons, many of which were close enough to have heard my conversation. No sense in letting them think I was nice enough to extend my good mood with Joe to them.