The Devil's Kiss - By Stacey Kennedy Page 0,3

stood. “Let’s go to them now. We cannot waste any more time.”

Within a blink of an eye, we were out the door and heading down the castle’s hall. My five-foot-five legs were nothing matched to the lengthy strides of the two men ahead of me. Every few steps I had to run a little to keep up with them.

After rounding the corner, we were in the Council’s foyer. A King’s Chamber was always a better description I thought, but who was I to put up a stink about a name. Within five steps from the men—and twenty of mine—we entered the Council’s Hall.

All four Council members sat in their throne chairs, which were in the center of a spectacular Gothic Cathedral. Large stained-glass windows, marvelous stone sculptures and heavily detailed pillars were only the beginning of the beauty held here.

The Council is the governing body of the Otherworld—the Leaders, Masters from each of the Supernatural races. Guardian, Witch, Vampire and Werewolf. Everything had to go through the Council first or heads would roll—literally. However, rules around here were few and far between. The only one that remained the most important…never take a human life.

Those guilty of that offence, died¯no questions asked.

Once we reached the chairs, Valor gave them the rendition of the story he’d told Kyden and I. He was more stressed about this situation than he was letting on. Tension rolled off him. I couldn’t help but wonder why. This wolf obviously held importance to him. He wouldn’t do this for just anyone. To go to such lengths to ensure her safety seemed a bit over the top. There had to be more to this than we were being told. When Valor finished, silence sat around us. Expressions of confusion ran across each of the Council members’ faces.

“What caused the wolf to attack her?” Zade, Master of Vampires, asked Valor. His dark eyes clearly questioning as his dark hair dangled on his face.

“It took time to find him. The Alpha spent a day searching and when he killed him, he said he was wildly out of control. We are unsure at this time what exactly took place, but we are looking into it. I have some of my pack out investigating and meeting with the Minnesota pack to find out the details.”

“It has been some time since we have heard of an incident with a wolf,” the Master of Weres, Brax said. His soft, sweet features of long dark hair and kind eyes were nothing but a front. He was scary as hell when he wanted to be.

He was right too. The last time we had a problem with the wolves it revolved around a cruel vampire, Lazarus. Just another memory I’ve chosen to block out, which since joining this world, were increasing dramatically. It didn’t thrill me to hear about wolf attacks. But knowing that the wolf attacked a human, some of my worry settled immediately.

This wasn’t someone else out for revenge or anyone with a Nexi target in mind. Living in my happy bubble of protection was exactly where I wanted to stay.

Valor continued, “The Alpha has confirmed that this is the first of any problems within his territories in some time. He knew nothing of the wolf in question and gathered his wolves to discuss the matter. We are not anticipating any further trouble in this regard.”

“Well, that’s good,” I noted. “I’ll help one wolf, but if this turns into a ‘Nexi therapy session’, I’m not volunteering.”

Laughter rippled through the Council’s Hall. This Gothic Cathedral always did have such an echo to the room. The emptiness of it—four throne chairs sitting in the middle of this huge architectural masterpiece—didn’t exactly make it homey.

“How long do you expect this to take?” Talon, the Master of Guardians, asked Valor.

He didn’t look pleased to be losing Kyden and I. He may be the top Guardian in the Otherworld, but he’s also Kyden’s father. Sure, he’s a sexy devil with a glorious muscular body and jaw-dropping face, brown hair and the same eyes Kyden had but when I looked at him, I saw a dad—plain and simple.

“I am unsure how long this will take,” Valor replied. “I can only hope that it works at all. The young wolf is terrified—lost.”

Brax stood, approached Valor, and rested a hand on his shoulder. “You have done much for us, Valor. We will help you in any way we can.”

“What’s going on?” Haven’s voice said from behind me.

I spun around as Haven and Finn