Jax (Immortals of New Orleans Book 7) (11 page)

“Go get a drink. Don’t leave her alone,” Jax ordered.

Jake’s mouth closed tight, his lips pursed in anger. Finn’s temple pulsed in concern but he didn’t challenge his Alpha. Finn gestured for Katrina to follow Jake.

Jax expected her to obey, to allow them to talk without her. Katrina’s anxiety rose as she debated her next action. Defying Jax twice would further anger the Alpha. Quintus called her name, requesting her presence, and without asking, she stepped forward.

“She stays. Tell them, Alpha.”

Katrina noted the amusement in Quintus’ eyes even though his mouth revealed no emotion. Jax nodded in acknowledgement, his eyes going to hers. Although he didn’t speak, she sensed his irritation with the vampire.

“I’m fine,” she assured Jake, in the hopes he’d go willingly with Finn.

Jax sat next to Quintus, in a set of matching intricately carved mahogany chairs. The plush leather seats, embroidered with fleur-de-lis, reminded her of New Orleans. With no room to sit, she stood in front of the small round coffee table, protectively crossing her arms.

“Shall we begin again?” Quintus tapped the wood with his fingers and smiled up at Katrina. “Which one of you would like to tell me the nature of your relationship? How exactly does the sister of the Lyceum Wolves’ Alpha come into the company of Jax Chandler?”

“Katrina and I are together because we both were kidnapped,” Jax explained.

“That may be true but there is something else. Now what could that be?” Quintus extended his hand to Katrina. “Come, bella.”

Afraid to look to Jax for approval, she allowed the vampire to take her palm in his. As he pressed his cool lips to her skin, her wolf growled in warning. Katrina attempted to jerk her arm away but he held tight.

“Quid pro quo, my friends. I shall help you in exchange for the truth. And,” he gazed at Katrina and then to Jax, “a taste of her blood.”

“No fucking way.” Jax lurched to his feet. “We’re leaving.”

“Jax, please. We need to know. We need his help,” Katrina pleaded.

“Have you lost your mind?” Jax gritted out, his eyes flared in rage.

“I can tell you about the demons who seek to steal her magick.” Both Jax and Katrina were silenced by his statement, and focused on him. “That’s right, my friend. Her magick.” Quintus brought her palm to his nose and sniffed. “She’s strong this evening, but she’s filled with
your
energy.”

“No, that can’t be,” Jax protested.

“Ah, it’s true, isn’t it? You’ve been feeding on his strength, haven’t you? Maybe unable to control it? You’re sucking it up like a beautiful little sponge, but sadly,” he reflected, “your own magick, the very essence that makes you shift, come alive into the beautiful creature you are… it’s weak.”

Katrina’s eyes blurred with tears as Quintus confirmed what she’d suspected. She’d felt stronger but it was Jax who’d invigorated her being. She drew on his power, and without him, she’d be unable to sustain her own magick.

“I don’t know what’s happening,” she admitted, her response quiet.

“No, don’t listen to him, Kat. He just wants to feed from you.”

“Indeed I do,” Quintus quipped. “She’s lovely.”

“She’s my mate,” Jax declared.

Katrina shook her head no, wishing he hadn’t provided the information to Quintus.

“Really now?” Quintus laughed in amusement. “But you haven’t mated? She’s unmarked. You didn’t claim her right away. Hmm…well, now, what does that say?”

“It says nothing.” Jax shook his head in annoyance. “It says we’re still trying to figure out what in the hell is going on. Look, Quint, if you can’t give us answers, we’re done here.”

“No,” Katrina interrupted. If they didn’t get the answers they sought, they might never be free. Even in New Orleans, where she’d been less visible to the demons, she suspected they’d eventually find her.

“I said, no. We’re leaving,” Jax replied.

Quintus released a hearty laugh. “The Alpha has indeed met his match. Refreshing to see the almighty Jax Chandler challenged by such a lovely creature. This tells me she must be deadly.” His expression went serious as his gaze washed over Katrina. “You must be careful, my friend. Like many of the world’s most beautiful plants, she could be lethal.”

“This is over. Come on, Kat. We’ll go to New Orleans.” Jax stood.

“No, please.” Katrina tugged her hand away from Quintus and slowly reached for Jax. By the time her palm touched his face, her body hummed with his energy. “He’s right about me. This is your magick you feel, not mine. I need answers. We’re running out of time. Let him bite me. Anything I feel, I will only ever feel for you. It’s not real.”

“I can’t let you do this.” His forehead pressed to hers.

“That’s the thing, Jax….you don’t
let
me do anything. As much as I want you to be, you aren’t my Alpha yet. I know you don’t want me to get hurt, but I can’t let these things kill you or me. We need answers. And if that means sacrificing, then I need to do this. Please understand.”

“This isn’t a good idea.” Jax’s focus went to the vampire as he considered her argument.

“I want to be free,” she maintained.

“Jesus, this isn’t right. But if we do this, I’m going to be right here with you.”

Katrina gave Jax a small smile as he reluctantly granted his permission.

“Quintus, I give you my blood only. Nothing else, do you understand? Don’t force me to shift,” Katrina warned, unsure what would happen if she panicked. The demons had changed her, and the incident in the woods with Jax served to remind her that they’d infused her with whatever evil they held.

“Jax, you can’t let her do this,” Jake called, hearing every word of their conversation. Finn held him back, and while she understood his concern, there was no turning back.

“Jake, stop.” Katrina held her hand up to him, and focused on Jax. “Stay with me. Don’t leave my side. Quintus won’t hurt me.” Katrina paused, catching the delight in the vampire’s dark smile. “Will you?”

“As a man of honor, I swear it. There’s one thing you should know about me, and I’d think my friend Jax would know this by now; no action is without reason. And your blood,” Quintus reached for her wrist and brought it to his nose, “it’s no different. You saved me once and I save you in return, bella.”

“Tell me now. How do we kill these things?” she asked.

“We’re agreed, Alpha? Knowledge for blood?” Quintus asked, continuing to press his nose to Katrina’s skin.

“Katrina…” Jax began.

Katrina sensed his hesitation. As her eyes locked on his, she attempted to push her magick back at him. Hoping he could feel her strength, she prayed he’d trust her. Although not marked nor bonded as mates, she knew his wolf would likely go feral having any man touch her. But with little choice, desperation sliced through her chest.

“It’s just blood,” she said, her tone confident. No matter how shaken she was inside, she’d never show fear.

“Just blood,” Jax confirmed. “Do not touch her, Quint. It will be the last thing you feel before you die.”

“Agreed?” the vampire asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Jax bit out. “Go. What do you know?”

“Circe,” Quintus stated.

“What?” Katrina asked, confused.

“It’s a who. Greek mythology,” Jax responded, his focus trained on the vampire.

Quintus laughed. “Ah, I always knew you were a smart one.”

“A goddess,” Jax continued.

“Of magick. It was said she turned men into animals. Which is interesting, as you shifters are animals.” Quintus smiled up at Katrina and licked his lips.

“Would you stop with the cryptic answers,” Jax demanded.

“Circe worshippers. They harbor magick, stealing it.”

“But why would anyone do that? Why not just go to witches? They conjure it naturally, both good and bad.”

“Who’s to say they aren’t witches? Some say witches. Some say demons. Not much is known. What you see is an illusion. They shift, indulging in the deception. The torture they practice, the pain and fear, the energy it elicits. They use it.”

“What in the hell for?” Jax asked, scrubbing his chin.

“They have a dark master, one who hasn’t been able to break free of the underworld.”

“Circe? But she can’t be real,” Katrina countered.

“I cannot say one way or another.” Quintus’ tone resounded low and rough. “Whispers. Rumors. Blah. In the end, all the three of us know to be true is what we saw in there. And even then, the illusions…they’re so very real.”

Katrina’s arm broke out in gooseflesh as the chilling tone of Quintus’ voice rolled over her. “Why take me? I’m just a wolf.”

“An Alpha’s daughter,” Quintus told them, his words slow and deliberate. “An Alpha’s sister.”

“An Alpha’s mate,” Jax finished his sentence.

“But that happens sometimes. It’s not unusual to be all three,” Katrina stated.

“An Alpha’s daughter or sister? Yes, that’s fairly common. But for you also to be the mate of an Alpha? All three? Not so much,” Jax countered.

“There may be something else. Something about you. Assuming there are others, why do they come for you? Why Jax, for that matter?” Quintus pondered. “Perhaps your family hides secrets.”

“Tristan wouldn’t do that. I’ve told him what happened,” she protested.

“But he hasn’t stopped it, now has he?” Quintus pointed out.

“My brother’s a busy man. He has many things to attend to on any given day. Tris might not have completely believed me, but he’d never lie to me.”

“Well, now, I’m no expert on Tristan Livingston. But I saw you the night I was captured. I saw what they did to you. The bruises,” Quintus reflected with a lilt of compassion in his words. “No one could withstand what they’d done to you. Yet not only did you survive, you fed me.”

“I’d shift,” Katrina argued. “I was never gone for long. A day at most. Sometimes only hours.”

“Something about your magick. It’s special to them. Potent.” The vampire once again reached for her hand and turned it over, inspecting her palm.

“Why let me go then? Why not drain me dry?” Katrina questioned. Her voice grew louder as she tried to contain her panic.

“Because they are letting you heal,” Jax told her.

“They sow the field and wait for it to grow again. Then they come back to yield the crop. But like an overplanted field, your ability to replenish grows weak. But there is something unusual about the Alpha. Why do they attack him? Why risk the wrath of his pack?”

“How do we kill them?” Jax interrupted.

“Tricky business. I suppose you must figure out a way to stop them from sucking away her essence.”

“You mean like a vampire?” Jax raised an accusing eyebrow at him.

“Now, now…no need to toss around insults.” Quintus brushed the back of Katrina’s palm over his beard. “We are not so different, after all. You know full well that vampires are born of the same magick as wolves. Immortality. Our ability to transform. Unlike wolves, who thrive on the cycles of the moon, vampires drink the blood of humanity itself. Their magick, however, is neither good nor evil. It simply exists.”

“So what are these things? Like drones?” Jax growled, his eyes on Katrina’s hand. “Get to the short of it.”

“Testy aren’t we, Alpha?” Quintus laughed and continued. “My guess is that they’re like mages, driven by the demon itself, working collectively to escape. They seek the assistance of witches who need favors.”

“What kind of favors?”

“The kind of favors that lie deeply entrenched in black magick. Spells that are so very difficult on their own, they seek the help of the demon. The price is high, I imagine.”

“What kind of a demon has the power to control these things from the underworld?” Katrina asked, as a chill ran up her spine.

“That is the question, my sweet dove. Something strong. Destructive.”

“Something or someone,” Jax added. “What’s your part in this? Why were you there with Katrina?”

“Simply put, I danced with a witch, a very nasty one. But that’s neither here nor there. The creature that appeared to me that night…” His voice trailed off, and Katrina noted the sadness that flushed his expression. As if someone had slapped his face, he blinked and continued. “She appeared…it appeared as someone I’d known long ago. I should’ve known better but sometimes matters of the heart can obscure reason.”

“What’s the name of the witch? Who did you fuck with, Quint?”

“Doesn’t matter,” he grumbled. “No need to speak her name. The last time I saw her in New Orleans…”

Katrina startled as Quintus jerked her arm; her feet stumbled back.

“I’m afraid we’re out of time.” The ancient vampire’s eyes flashed red, his voice lowered into a whisper. “Your Katrina is like a beacon. They’re coming.”

“What do you mean, ‘they’re coming?’” Jax rushed to Katrina, wrapping his hand around her waist.

“No more time, Alpha. I need her blood now. I will get us out of here.”

“How are you going to do that?” Katrina yelled. “What is happening?”

“They’re here. Come. I’ll get you out. But first…her blood?” Quintus sought the approval of the Alpha.

The room began to quake, and Katrina fell back onto Quintus’ lap. Bits of cracked bricks sprayed from the ceiling in the far corner, and a small tunnel of light poured onto the dirty stone floor. Jax fell to his knees in front of her, and his eyes met the vampire’s.

“Do not touch her. Blood only,” Jax repeated.

Katrina’s pulse raced at the realization that they’d come for her again.
You can’t have me again.
She tore at her blouse and ripped the fabric, exposing her shoulder. With her gaze locked on Jax, she grabbed tight to his hands.

“Do it now!”

She screamed as the vampire’s fangs pierced her flesh. The room spun, suction at her neck. The searing pain transposed into desire. With her hands on her mate, she moaned in ecstasy.

“Jax,” she cried. “Please help me.”

Clutching at his lapel, she pulled him to her. As his lips met hers, her world went dark.

Jax fought the nausea as they materialized onto his bedroom floor. He blinked, and checked his surroundings, quickly realizing that Quintus had transported them back to his penthouse. Although the shifty vampire had saved their lives, his fangs remained lodged in Katrina’s shoulder.