Tempting Darkness(Darkness Series)

Chapter 1

Aleera

One month earlier,

Their heavy footfalls on the ground behind me are getting closer. I have been running through this godforsaken city for nearly two hours, trying to lose the wolves chasing me. Fae blood is addictive to werewolves, and the moment I stepped into this city, they welcomed me with this hunting party. There is nothing more welcoming than being given the opportunity to become a werewolf chew toy. Stupid mutts!

As I turn up yet another darkened street, I nearly lose my footing on the wet ground. I hear the howls in the distance as more join the chase. Shifters can smell a fae easily; they can even smell the power in my veins, even as weak as mine is right now. I knew I should never have tried to get into the city at night. But I was desperate and hadn’t eaten in four days. All was made worse by the fact that every water source outside the city I found is polluted.

This has turned out to be a mistake because now I am being hunted by werewolves and god knows what else through a city with which I am unfamiliar. This is not part of the plan.

How was I supposed to know that it was a shifter city? It isn’t like they have a huge-ass neon sign at the city limits saying “Shifters Only.” However, it certainly explains the stench of wet dogs!

The light coming from the full moon lights my way. While helpful, it is also the worst time to be in a werewolf city surrounded by savage beasts that love nothing but the chase and killing for sport.

Running past some garbage bins, I twist my wrist, letting my magic flow from my fingertips. It explodes, sending rubbish everywhere, hoping to slow them down. Puddles splash my legs, and my clothes are drenched, making running harder. Technically, since we are all fae, you would think we would get along just fine. Nope, were-fae are savages, and my scrawny ass is about to be dinner.

Ninety percent of the world is dark fae. A plague killed off all the white fae, leaving only their dark brethren and variants like these were-fae that are hunting me. So, let’s just call them werewolves. It’s easier to remember and essentially what they are. Most of us tend to stick with our own kind, but mine no longer exists. I am the last of my species, a unique blend of fae that have been gone for years. Magic is inherent in all fae, and some, like myself, have the potential to possess enormous power.

My mother was a white fae. She should have died, but my father was a dark fae, and when the plague hit, her entire bloodline died out except for her. Dad said it was because she was pregnant with me, and I became the last harmony fae in existence. I am the Light and the Dark, the last of my kind. I am the ultimate weapon when fully powered. However, when our magic runs out, we are essentially human.

I can hear the snarling beasts as they chase me down, getting closer with each step while I get weaker. Plus, I have a stitch and rolled my damn ankle two streets over. I really need to up my cardio, which is funny, considering how long I have been on the run. You would think I would be used to the running part by now.

Growls tear out behind me, and I hear one knock something over as it gives chase. I feel its aura as it tries to gain on me, yet adrenaline keeps my feet moving despite wanting to pass out. I fight the urge to give in and accept my fate. My magic fizzles in my fingers as I search for another way to lose them. Yet there is no escape.

Unfortunately, these monsters aren’t the only thing I have been running from. I have spent the last six years on the run from my mates. I swore I would never be theirs and that I would get revenge on them one day. They burned my house with my parents trapped in it to the ground. Only recently did I realize why they’d spared me. Now I am actually considering calling on them for help.

The snarl that leaves one as he pounces has me instantly ducking. The wolf just misses, jumping clear over me, and slides across the ground. A shriek of fear leaves my lips at the motion as he smashes against the wall of a building. There is no way I can outrun these monsters chasing me. I don’t have enough power to save myself from being torn to pieces or, worse, taken back to their Alpha and subjected to unimaginable horrors for crossing into the wrong city.

I realize there’s only one way out of this. All I have to do is send a flare of magic to them, alert them to my location, and pray they will come and not ignore it as I have ignored their calls. With my magic running this low, I have no other choice.

They will come, that I am sure of. My mates need me to reach their ultimate power. As long as we have magic and our mate - as it turns out I’m cursed with not one but four- none of them is a good option. Unfortunately for me, to maintain power, I also need them.

Fae power is shared with their other mates. That is how we remain strong, and I am the link to all of them. I’m their keeper. Without me, they are powerless, or they’re supposed to be. Power keepers like me are the anchor, the only ones that can transfer their magic and mine, sharing it equally among mates. It is how we stay in power, the keeper constantly circling and recycling magic. Basically, I am their battery source.

My mates should have run out years ago, yet somehow they had found another way because they remain strong. Strong enough to still rule over the fae, strong enough that everyone feared their names.

Just when I think my luck can’t get any worse, the street turns out to be a dead-end. Slowing down, I glance at my options for escape, finding none, so I spin around, hoping for some miracle. There is no getaway. And it is at this moment that I realize they have herded me here. f**k!

A growl shoves me into reality again, and I spin on my heel. Nine werewolves are closing in around me. Oops, make that ten. I don’t see the one on the roof drooling down its chest, wanting to munch on me like a damn chew toy. I am about to become chum dog food because I still couldn’t bring myself to let off a flare of my magic that would bring them to me. Neither option is appealing, but now is the time to decide. My life was doomed either way.

Cornered, the wolves circle around me, trying to get behind me to jump me, and I keep turning while trying to watch them all at once. Their silver eyes size me up, yellow teeth snapping in my direction. They seem to wait for me to attack, yet I have barely any magic to use in my defense. Certainly not enough to save me.

The wolf on the roof jumps down and lands behind me. With a thud, the wolf’s big, heavy paws land on the dumpster. Please, fates, don’t let me die! I want to live, not die a virgin, cold and hungry. Aren’t I supposed to get a last meal? If you’re going to kill me, at least feed me first. Seriously, if fate wanted to f**k me, at least do it gently, ease in, and would it kill them to add some damn lube?

My fingers twitch toward the mark with their four names branded into my skin. I will have to call on them, which feels like a low-frequency buzz over every inch of my body, making me want to go to my mates. I have ignored that buzzing feeling for six years, and now it feels more like an itch. One I just can’t reach to scratch.

A growl behind me makes me jump, and I watch my entire life flash before my eyes in that split second as they close in.

Lifting my hand, I place it over the markings and send a spark of my magic into it. Each of us has the same markings. Yet they only appear when our powers manifest. My wrist burns painfully, making me scream and clench my teeth. The sheer agony in my voice makes the wolves back off, clearly wondering what has gotten into me.

The mate symbol glows red and throbs. I know it only hurts like this because I waited so long to answer their call for me.

The world around me spins violently, and the force knocks me to the ground. Both my hands and knees are driven into the road painfully. My power has become too low. A few more minutes, and it will fade out entirely.

Teeth bared and snarling; a big black one rushes at me. I close my eyes and wait for my death. The surrounding air ripples, and the turbulent noise makes me cover my ears. I recognize the whooshing sound of a portal opening up. Keeping my head down, I open my eyes and focus on breathing.

Four sets of feet hit the ground around me, and the colored light of their magic is suddenly all I can see. It swallows my vision. Their closeness makes my reserves shudder, and I have to stamp down the urge to pull on it before they realize it. Flames miss me by millimeters, the heat so hot, I cry out when it burns the flesh on my arms as it rushes past me.

When the howls and whimpers stop, everything falls silent except for the sound of my heart pounding in my ears. Their domineering auras surround me threateningly as they take up each side of me and make me want to flinch away.

Can I take it back? I choose death. I choose f*****g death fates. Nothing good would come out of me calling on them. The angry ripple of energy surrounding me tells me they were more than livid, and these men are not the ones you wanted to anger.

Paralyzed by fear, I remain frozen until the thud of boots stops next to me. I clench my hands into fists to prevent them from trembling. They step closer, caging me in with their legs, making me feel tiny where I am sitting at their feet.