Virtue: A Knight World Novel (Fireborn Wolves Book 2) Read online

  “On the contrary, I’m impressed with your success. Who knew an antique shop for magical artifacts would do so well in the vampire district?” He rubbed the ache at the back of his head. “No, I’m not here about my investment.”

  The demon gestured toward the store. “Then what can I do for you?”

  “I have a problem, and I think you might have a solution. But I need you to promise to keep this confidential.”

  Ryker’s ears bent forward slightly. “We are alone. Your secrets are safe with me. I assure you, I have many.”

  “Well, yes. I assumed. That’s why I came to you. I need your help. I have a problem with a dragon fae.”

  With a step back and a hiss, Ryker shook his finger. “Dragon fae are not my area of expertise. If you’ve offended the female, I suggest you apologize.”

  “How did you know I was talking about a female?”

  “Because the only dragon fae to be in this city in a century is female.”

  “You’ve seen her?”

  “No. But I’ve heard.”

  “I had a relationship with her.”

  “A physical relationship?”

  Jason lowered his chin and gave an almost imperceptible nod. “And now she’s haunting me.”

  The incubus’s long tapered fingers lifted to his mouth to conceal a chuckle. “Even I wouldn’t risk an affair with a dragon.” Ryker’s barbed tail twitched behind him.

  “For your information, I didn’t know she was fae when I was, er, drinking from her teacup. And now she’s possessing women I’m with and saying that every time I have sex I’ll trigger some kind of curse that will make me her slave.”

  The demon inhaled through his teeth.

  “I need a way to break her curse.”

  Ryker took another deep breath and let it out slowly. “The only way to break the curse of a dragon is to remove her heart.”

  “As much as I’d like to do that, first I’d have to find her, and then I’d have to have a plan for removing said heart. That might take a while. In the meantime, you must have a talisman or an enchanted gem that will disconnect her from my… business?”

  The laugh Ryker let out was gritty as though his throat was lined with hot coals. “I am not a doctor or a witch… or a witch doctor, for that matter.” He quirked an eyebrow. “I’m a demon, an incubus to be exact. I don’t know for sure the nature of this dragon’s curse. Only another fae would know for sure. But the fact that she possessed a woman you were with and didn’t simply pop into your bedroom does tell us something.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like there’s probably a reason she can’t come to you physically,” he said. “She’s cursed you to come to her because she can’t come to you. That’s likely why she used your vice.” Although Ryker used a matter-of-fact tone when he said the word “vice,” Jason scowled. “You didn’t think I was aware of your vice? I feed off sexual energy, Jason. I smelled it on you the moment we met. Your reputation filled in the gaps. My presumption is, when you had sex with the dragon fae, she cursed your vice.”

  “Just my vice?”

  Ryker pointed at Jason’s cell phone poking from his suit pocket. “From what I’ve been told, a dragon’s curse can act like a virus someone e-mailed to you. Every time you click on the link it runs a program that accomplishes something nefarious in your device. Magic can attach to things, be introduced to a host in various ways. You are both man and beast but your vice is the lowest common denominator between the two. The dragon fae left you a gift where it counts. Every time you get busy, she gets busy. A curse like that could be used to track your whereabouts, visit you through the body of your partner, influence your mind, even mess with your chemistry. All from the comfort of whatever hole she’s hiding in.”

  “Mess with my chemistry?”

  “Have you noticed your vice growing stronger? Harder to manage? You’ve got a monkey on your back for sex, my friend, and I’m willing to bet that monkey is about to get much heavier.”

  “So she makes my vice worse but every time I indulge it, the curse brings me closer to being her robot.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Fucking fantastic.” Jason took a deep breath. “You need to help me. You have magical objects from every corner of the earth in here. There must be something that can extract a dragon fae curse.”

  He rubbed the smooth skin of his chin. There was a rumor that incubus demons were completely hairless aside from their eyebrows and the tops of their heads. Jason tried not to think too much about it or about how the man survived as an incubus.

  “There is something…” Ryker said, eyes darting around the shop.

  “Please.”

  “I have procured a demonic object with promising capabilities, but there is no record of a werewolf ever using it. Your kind is more human than my kind. There could be side effects.”

  “Tell me more.”

  Ryker coupled his hands behind his back and made his way through the stacks toward the office door behind the counter. He fished something out of a case on the desk.

  “Once there was a demon who fell in love with a human. She wanted exclusivity. Silly. My kind is incapable of monogamy. But the desperate demon commissioned this from a witch.” He held out a box with a carving of a serpent eating its own tail on the lid.

  Jason flipped the box open, revealing a shiny platinum snake, body straight as a pin. “What does it do?”

  “It mutates sexual desire into another form. For this male, sex became hunger. It worked for a while. He took sexual nourishment only from his mate and filled his lust for others with food.”

  Jason reached for the box. “So then why is it here and not on some incubus living happily ever after?”

  “The female left him. The demon, in his grief, refused to take off the ring. He ate himself to death. At least that’s the rumor. I can’t be responsible for verifying the stories of every treasure in this place.”

  “But if I wear this, I can avoid having sex. And if I avoid having sex, I avoid Nickelova.”

  “Nickelova! You are in deep. I was not aware it was the princess of the Siberian dragon fae who was gracing us with her presence.”

  Jason sighed. “How much for the ring?”

  “You’d do better to visit a witch familiar with your kind. This might not be safe for you.”

  “How much?”

  The demon considered him for a moment. “Forgiveness of my remaining debt to you should do it.”

  Pausing for a moment, Jason did a quick calculation in his head. It wasn’t much by his standards, and the royalties on his investment far exceeded the investment itself. “Only relief of debt. No change in ownership percentage.”

  Ryker bowed his head slightly in agreement.

  “How do I use it?”

  “Put it on your finger.”

  Instead of asking how he was supposed to wear a straight piece of jewelry like a ring, Jason poked the silver serpent. The snake came alive, inched over his knuckle, and coiled itself around his pointer finger. Immediately, the dull ache he constantly carried between his legs eased. Or maybe it just changed into something else. The heavy weight of sexual need was now a feeling of nausea, like he was in the first days of a stomach flu.

  “I think it’s working,” he said.

  “Good.” Ryker narrowed his eyes at Jason, a cross between concern and self-preservation coming through his features. “As a precaution, don’t leave it on all the time. Have you heard of Maison des Étoilles?”

  Jason snorted. He knew Maison des Étoilles well. His brother, Silas, had dated the madam of the famed bordello. “I’ve heard of it.”

  “It’s run by celestial fae. If there were a group as powerful as dragon fae, the celestial variety would be it. Not only are they resistant to another fae’s possession, they have protections on the building that may prevent the activation of Nickelova’s curse. Think of their magic as antivirus software.” He pointed at Jason’s phone again. “Go regularly. Take the ring
off and feed your wolf.”

  “Thanks for the advice, but I’ve never had to pay for sex before and I don’t intend to start now.” He’d also rather not frequent a bordello run by his brother’s ex—who still occasionally chatted with his big bro. The farther he could keep this problem from Silas and Laina the better.

  Ryker shook his head. “Jason, about this ring…” He trailed off as if considering whether to share more.

  “What about it?”

  “It’s a temporary fix. It stores up all the wanting, all the desire you feel while you wear it, and channels it into something else. But the moment you take it off, everything you were avoiding comes back exponentially stronger than before. Make sure you are in a safe place to vent your pent-up desires.” Ryker handed him the wooden box the ring came in. “Also, keep it in this when you’re not wearing it. Could be dangerous in the wrong hands. It’s your responsibility now.”

  Jason accepted the box, a stiff sweat breaking out on his upper lip. “I think I need some air.”

  “Hmm.” Ryker dissolved into a dark fog and blew through the store, reforming at the entrance to hold the door open for Jason.

  Feeling feverish and more than a little woozy, Jason made his way through the stacks to meet Ryker at the exit. He stumbled toward his Bugatti.

  “Oh, and Jason…”

  “Yeah?”

  “Are you fucking crazy driving that thing in this neighborhood? Count yourself lucky you still have four wheels.”

  With a two-fingered salute, Jason slid behind the wheel and headed for home.

  Chapter 6

  The ring was working. Jason hadn’t had a sexual encounter since Nickelova and was still semifunctional, thanks to the silver serpent. Unlike the ring’s previous owner, Jason’s sex drive hadn’t channeled itself into hunger. On the contrary, he couldn’t bring himself to eat a single thing. Instead, the enchanted object had caused a perpetual state of lethargy and periods of fever as if he were fighting off a human illness. But with twelve hours of sleep and the maximum allowable dose of pain medication, he felt almost normal as he proceeded down the aisle at his sister’s wedding as planned, the offering to the goddess balanced on his palms.

  Alight with fireflies, the forest brimmed with dancing woodland fae who sang from the branches of their trees. Flower petals spiraled through the night sky over their heads, to the delight of the guests who sat in white folding chairs on either side of the aisle. Jason set the offering on the altar and took his position to the side, next to the other groomsmen.

  Laina made a beautiful bride. Her off-the-shoulder gossamer gown seemed to float around her as she strode down the aisle. A canopy of bright green branches blossomed with glittering fairy magic above her head. And when she reached Kyle, it was clear the groom only had eyes for her. His hands wrapped around hers, entangled fingers a physical symbol of the sacred vows they were about to recite. How lucky she was. It was a goddamned miracle to be loved, really loved, and to give love back to someone in return.

  Once the vows were exchanged, Laina detached the specially designed sleeve of Kyle’s tux for the tattooing ritual. The bicep-tricep combo on the guy was as big as Jason’s head. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear Kyle was a mature shifter, not a dormant as he was known to be. Clearly, his size and general appearance placed him in the more-than-human category.

  Which made Jason even more aware of how less-than-werewolf he was at the moment. His normally muscular upper body had grown thin and wiry over the last few months. Not because of his vice per se, but because he never ate anymore. He couldn’t remember the last time he sat down to three squares in a day unless you counted copious amounts of alcohol as a meal. And considering his increased metabolism—most wolves ate the equivalent of four humans—Jason’s occasional cheeseburger was barely keeping him from starving to death.

  Artemis pressed the fang of Fireborn pack’s Primary ancestor to Kyle’s right shoulder, carving the tribal phoenix tattoo that denoted their pack. It was said the magic of the artifact caused the actual staining of the skin, but Jason always assumed it was a trick: ink stored inside the hollow of the massive tooth. With that symbol on his shoulder, werewolf or not, he’d be one of them now, bound to protect and be protected by the pack. The Preotka shifted for a better angle and Jason’s gaze fell on Selene.

  His mouth bent into a grimace. Why did she vex him so? She was kind enough and beautiful… astonishingly beautiful. In any other scenario, he’d be trying to get her into his bed. Only Selene was fine china. Aside from her celibate role as a religious acolyte for the pack, everything about her was pure and delicate. Untainted. He was afraid to speak to her for fear his words might pollute her ears. When she looked at him, he was sure she could see every grain of filth he hid behind his expensive clothes and brash attitude. And the thought of touching her… If there were anything good left inside him, he’d never sully her with direct contact.

  Once again she was staring at him. Probably judging him. Yep, he was the one addicted to sex. With a sigh, he looked away, straight at the rows of guests. The witch, Grateful Knight, was in the second row with her husband, Rick, a young boy bouncing on his hip. That must be their son, Lucas. Cameron James was there too. Nice of him to come, given he’d been the one in the tux at the altar with Laina only a few months ago.

  Why was this taking so long? The familiar crawling feeling had begun again, like an army of ants rushing beneath his epidermis. He scratched his wrist. A breeze rustled the trees overhead but he was melting inside his tux. Rocking onto his heels, he tugged at his collar.

  Anxiously, he twisted the serpent ring on his finger and a wave of nausea came over him. Everyone was clapping. Why was everyone clapping? Oh, his sister. Artemis had announced the happy couple as officially married. Jason put his hands together in a delayed clap.

  A buzz started in his ears, growing loud enough to drown everything else out. At first, it was white noise. Then the buzz took on a familiar rhythm, words he’d hoped had gone away came flooding back into his head. Come to me. Come to me. Nickelova’s voice haunted him with every throb of his cranium. Louder and louder. It stabbed into his gray matter, constricting his vision.

  Laina and Kyle walked down the aisle to whoops and howls of celebration. He was supposed to do something. Silas nudged his elbow and he realized he was supposed to follow. He fell into step, working his way up the aisle between the chairs.

  The voice grew louder and faster. Come to me. COME TO ME. Jason pitched forward, grabbing his head as a lightning strike cut through his brain. He moaned.

  “What’s wrong? Jason? Jason!” Silas was by his side, but there was nothing his brother could do. The horizon tilted and his cheek slapped the white cotton runner. A woman screamed. Silas bent over him, shook his shoulder.

  But Jason couldn’t respond. All he could see was Nickelova’s face. All he could hear was her voice. Come to me. And all he could see was a road, a river, and a space between two mountains. This time he recognized the road. Route 9. And that was the Stone Eagle River winding under it. He could go to her. It would be easier if he’d go.

  His eyes rolled back in his head and his back arched off the soft cloth runner, and then, mercifully, there was nothing.

  Selene reached Jason’s fallen body about the same time everyone else did. At the back of the impenetrable crowd, she craned her ear in his direction for any information on his condition.

  “His vitals are normal,” Grateful Knight said. That’s right, she was a nurse as well as a witch. “There’s nothing physically wrong with him. This is something magical, Silas.”

  There was a swoosh and the crowd parted slightly, giving Selene a view of the witch and her glowing purple sword. Grateful Knight was no ordinary witch. She was a Hecate, a demigoddess with an immortal soul charged with policing the supernatural. Selene gasped as she lowered her weapon toward Jason’s body, causing his skin to illuminate.

  “When Nightshade touches him, he lights up like a lightbulb,�
�� Grateful said. “What the hell?” The tip of her sword glided down his arm, moving as if of its own volition. It stopped at his finger. Selene leaned forward to get a better look. The sword tip pointed at a serpent shaped ring. With a short jab, Nightshade’s tip connected with the object.

  An ear-piercing shriek emanated from the jewelry. The silver dropped from Jason’s skin and inched away through the grass. Grateful raised her sword above her head and stabbed the silver serpent. With a shriek, the worm disappeared in a puff of smoke.

  “What was that thing?” Silas asked.

  “Whatever it was, it was enchanted with very dark magic.” Grateful returned to Jason’s unconscious body, the sword glowing to life again. “It isn’t just the ring, although I’m sensing it was exasperating his condition. There’s something inside him. It’s like… It’s almost as if…”

  “He’s been cursed,” Gerty said.

  “Yes, cursed.” Grateful nodded. “Do you know who might have done this?”

  “I do,” Gerty said. She glanced at Silas, Laina, and Kyle, the last of whom was rubbing his new wife’s shoulders in a way that seemed to be the only thing propping her up.

  There was a long pause, followed by frantic whispering. Selene strained to hear, but the whispers drifted away on the spring breeze. Artemis stepped beside her, a look of supreme concern on her face.

  “It appears you were correct about Prince Jason’s aura,” the older woman whispered. “There is more amiss than a simple vice.”

  She was interrupted when Silas spoke. “Let’s move him somewhere safe. Somewhere we can assess him properly.” The crowd parted and Silas hoisted Jason into his arms.

  Laina placed a hand on her stomach, whispering something to Kyle over her shoulder. He nodded in agreement. “Bring him to the cabin. It’s closest.” There was an exchange of whispers between the royal family and Grateful Knight, and then all of them scattered.

  Selene let out a deep breath and slumped her shoulders as the group disappeared into the woods, following the pathway back to the parking area.