A Lost Paige (Hidden Kingdom Trilogy Book 2) Read online

  A Lost Paige Copyright © 2019 by L. Rose

  Cover Designer: Cover by Juan

  Editor: Hot Tree Editing

  Interior Designer: Under Cover Designs

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this eBook or book may be used or reproduced in any written, electronic, recording, or photocopying without the permission from the author as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution, circulation or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author's rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly. Thank you for respecting the work of this author.

  A Torn Paige is a work of fiction. All names, characters, events and places found in this book are either from the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual events, locations, organizations, or persons live or dead is entirely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Sneak Peek: A Final Paige

  More Books by L.Rose

  About the Author

  It had been two weeks since we buried my hellhound. Two weeks and I couldn’t mend the gaping hole in my chest. It remained raw and open from the loss—from the thought of never seeing Ezra, who had been there from the start. He’d been by my side, right from when I climbed out of the grave the former ghoul queen had buried me in. He’d taught me to hunt, to feed, to live, and to fight.

  How was I supposed to go on without him?

  He wasn’t just any hellhound. He’d been mine. He was smart, cheeky, and fierce.

  I wanted him back.

  Back rolling his eyes or laughing at me. Back with his knowing looks every time I got aroused by my bonded mates.

  Yasmin, my sister, sat on the couch beside me. She tucked a stray blonde strand behind my ear. “You don’t have to do this,” she told me.

  But I did.

  I wanted to go to the dungeons where Patrice, Odin, and Barrett were being held. Where they’d been suffering and starving. I wanted to go in there so I could question them myself.

  I’d let myself have time after burying Ezra to mourn, and even though my heart remained broken, I wanted answers. They’d caused this hole inside me. They’d killed my hellhound. I wanted them to pay a hell of a lot more than they were. They’d taken someone I cared for away from me. There was no chance I’d let that go unpunished.

  “I do,” I answered, my voice cold.

  “Paige, please let your mates handle it,” she pleaded.

  I stood, shaking my head. “I’m the queen, Yasmin. If I want answers, I will do the work to get them. They took Ezra. They broke a piece of me. They will suffer by my hand, and it will show others what will happen if they try to take from me again.”

  After a moment, she stood, nodded, and took me in for a hug. “Okay,” she whispered.

  After I returned her embrace, I faced my mates at the door to my family’s suite and walked to them. Alex was the first to reach out and take my hand. They had been amazing since… since we lost Ezra. I hadn’t as yet finalized the bond with Nate or Alex, like I already had with Asher and Thorn. But they never pushed me. They knew I wasn’t in the right frame of mind. Instead, my sweet, amazing men held me when I cried, comforting me all the time. They even distracted me when I needed it. Nate did it by pissing me off. Alex when he showed me some magic. Thorn and Asher when they spoke of things happening around the castle. They’d even worked out with me daily on new fighting tactics. Nate had been the one to suggest it, saying I needed to gain some muscle on my puny body. We’d sparred right away after that comment, and I realized how good it felt. Not only did it take my mind off things, but my body also ached in a way that exhausted me. It was that night I slept for the first time.

  My mates were perfect.

  Especially when they were dealing with an overemotional woman.

  But I wasn’t sure I would ever get over losing Ezra. The loss had darkened me inside, and I held onto it, that blackness, because I refused to move on and forget him.

  As Asher opened the door, he called back to Yasmin, “We’ll have her back soon.”

  “Take care of her,” she said.

  “Always,” Thorn replied before he stepped out the door first. Then I went, still holding Alex’s hand. Asher and Nate walked out after me. Outside of the room, Thorn’s men, my personal guards, surrounded us as we silently made our way down underneath the castle’s floors and into the cold, damp dungeons.

  Some of the guards stayed at the entrance while one opened the locked gated door and we walked in. He shut the door and stayed by it. We traveled to the end of the hall. I wanted to start with Patrice first. I had a feeling she would be weaker than Odin or Barrett. Along the way, I happened to glance into a cell and saw Malvina, the ghoul who’d disrespected me and had wanted Thorn for herself. I sent a questioning glance at Thorn, who was looking at me. He said, “No one speaks to you that way, my queen.”

  I nodded. “Get one of the guards to see if she’s learned her lesson. If he thinks she has, set her free but keep an eye on her.” After all, I had a feeling her disrespect was rooted in her love for Thorn. I couldn’t fault her for that. Although, if she didn’t learn to back off and leave him alone, knowing we were bonded, then things would be hard for her.

  He dipped his chin. “Yes, my queen.”

  As I stood by the door, I stared in through the silver bars to Patrice. No longer was she made up to perfection. Now she wore a tattered dress. Her messy hair hung limply around her dirt-caked face, and smudges of grime painted her body. But it was her glowing eyes that told me she was starving for blood. She hadn’t had any in over two weeks. She was young for a vampire, which I’d learned meant she had to feed more regularly.

  The door opened, and she flinched as I entered. Asher and Nate were at my back while Alex and Thorn stopped near the inside of the door, in case she got by the three of us first. I doubted it completely. There was no way I would allow it.

  Stepping close to her, I looked down in disgust and unfiltered hate. “Who else was in on this?”

  She laughed dryly. “No one.”

  “Patrice, one last chance. Who else was in on this?”

  Her upper lip rose. “You’re pathetic.”

  Bending, I gripped the knife I’d stored in my boot, lifted it, and sliced it across her neck. Her blood sprayed out, covering me. Her eyes widened, and she gagged on her own blood.

  “Bag,” I ordered. Someone dropped a blood bag into my waiting hand. I slapped it to her mouth, and she drank greedily. Her neck knitted back together. “Who else, Patrice?”

  “Fuck you,” she rasped.

  In response, I threw the bagged blood on the dust-covered ground. She cried out, until I sliced her newly healed neck open again. That time, I waited. I let her suffer by carving her neck open over and over while it tried to heal.

  “Bag,” I clipped. Another was deposited in my hand. “Who else, Patrice?”

  “Selma,” she whispered.

  Before she drank all the blood down, I took it from her and dropped it t
o the floor.

  “No!” she cried.

  I shook my head. “You shouldn’t have been a part of it. You should have stayed well away from me. Instead, you took from me. You helped kill Ezra. For that, you will suffer.” I turned and walked away, catching a guard’s eyes. “Keep doing what I was. Until I say otherwise.”

  He bowed. Respect shone in his eyes. “Yes, my queen.”

  “And send someone after Selma. I want her down here.”

  “As you wish, my queen,” another guard answered, and three of them peeled away from the wall outside Patrice’s cell to do as I bid.

  I would make a mockery of them and make sure no one wanted to deal with my wrath again while I was at it.

  As I moved toward Barrett’s cell, worry seeped into my mind. Already I’d hardened myself to a point where a part of my innocence withered away. There were vile creatures out there, even within these walls, and it was up to me to deal with them. I had to be strong; I had to build a steel fortress around my own emotions sometimes. What worried me the most about it, about this newer unbreakable side to me, was if my mates would despise seeing me like that and the queen I was becoming? Would they hate me? Would they find what I did disgusting? I could have had them handle this for me. They would have. They were used to fighting, killing, but I didn’t want them to touch her. To have spoken with her. Did they understand why I had to deal with these vermin myself? I wanted to make them hurt, like I had the people I’d killed to feed, the ones with evil intent, and the ones Ezra had taught me to hunt.

  Ezra. My chest speared with sorrow. I bit my bottom lip to stop the emotion taking hold.

  Did my mates, the men who were made for me and me for them, understand I bloodied myself for Ezra? He had to be avenged, and I had to be the one to do it.

  Would they think of me differently because of these events?

  “Never, love,” Asher answered quietly. “You are beautiful and amazing. No matter what side you show us, we will always want you.” Lately, he and Thorn kept their emotions locked away from me since I’d already been feeling so much, but they opened themselves wide. Hope, love, pride, even arousal crawled over and inside of me from them.

  “Thank you.” I let my gratitude show in my voice. I doubted there would be a day I wouldn’t feel lucky to have my mates. Yes, even Nate.

  Another guard opened the cell door. Stepping through, I looked down at Barrett on his cot in the corner of the room. He was in the same shape as Patrice, but being a mage, he hungered for food and water instead. He sat up quickly and curled into himself.

  “Leave me alone!” he cried. I glanced at his ankle. It still held the device that took away his magic.

  I shook my head. “I can’t. I won’t. Ezra was mine, and you killed him. Where do you think that leaves you?”

  “Y-You can’t kill me. I was protecting the people from that beast.”

  Lies. I could scent it. “No one knew what he was. As far as people knew, he was a dog. And mine,” I said, low and harsh. “Why did you kill him?”

  He shook his head.

  When I stepped closer, he shouted, “What did you do to Patrice?”

  “You’ll find out if you don’t talk, because I’ll do the same to you.” I gestured down my body. “You see her blood. Do you want yours to join hers?”

  He quivered. His scent shifted. Sweat and fear. He opened his mouth and said quietly, “Since your family was safe, I tried to take matters into my own hands. The spell wouldn’t work on your mates—”

  “You tried?” I bellowed. My powers surged, my eyes glowed, my claws and teeth extended.

  He whimpered and tried to scuttle back, but he was already in the corner. I enjoyed seeing and scenting his terror. He deserved it.

  “They were safe. You were safe. I couldn’t touch anyone but the mutt.”

  “Shit,” I heard Alex curse behind me.

  Facing Alex, I saw dread dipping his brows, darkening his eyes, slumping his shoulders. “What?” I asked.

  He bowed his head, eyes to the floor. “It’s my fault, my queen.”

  “Look at me,” I ordered softly. He straightened. “What are you saying, Alex?”

  I could tell he wanted to move his gaze away from me. Guilt flickered in his eyes, but his focus stayed on me when he said, “I layered a spell over us and you. I should have for Ezra, but I didn’t think.” His jaw clenched. “It’s my fault he got to him.”

  “No,” I stated, resolute. I took the steps to be in front of Alex and cupped his cheeks, staring into his agonized gaze. “It’s not your fault. Never your fault. It’s theirs. They wanted to hurt me, hurt all of my mates, but couldn’t because you protected us.”

  “But I should have—”

  “Don’t take on that blame. Please. It’s not your fault.” Truth carried my words. I wouldn’t blame Alex and didn’t want him to blame himself either. I could only hope he heard the certainty in my voice. I would have shared it in my emotions with him, but we’d yet to finalize the bond. Something that would change and soon; I needed my mates. It would be safer for all of us to be connected completely. I wanted all them to know that even through my grief, they’re mine, something I hadn’t shown them since we’d lost Ezra. They needed to know I would protect them, I would love them, and I would kill for them.

  It was Barrett, Odin, Patrice, and Selma’s fault. They were all guilty for the event.

  “Okay,” he said on an exhale.

  Smiling, I nodded. “Okay.” Leaning up, I brushed my lips against his. His heart galloped from the first touch of my lips.

  “Hellhounds should be able to repel magic thrown at them. Why didn’t that happen?” Thorn interrupted; I was sure it was more to himself than everyone. However, it had me turning back to Barrett.

  He shook his head. “I don’t know how it worked. I don’t.”

  Maybe Ezra was different from any other hellhound. It was all I could think of.

  Brushing the thought away, for now, I moved back toward Barrett and called over my shoulder, “Asher.”

  “Yes, my queen?”

  “I need you to help me with something because I have a feeling he won’t tell the truth, no matter what I do.”

  Asher stepped to my side as we stopped in front of Barrett. “Make him tell me if he’s romantically involved with Odin.”

  Barrett let out a noise and buried his head into his knees, crying over and over, “No.”

  I was glad when Asher’s eyes bled to green, and his fangs dropped. Thankfully, my libido didn’t kick into hyperdrive—it certainly wasn’t the time. The room chilled as his power thickened throughout.

  Asher leaned forward a little. His voice was soft, almost lulling when he said, “Look at me.”

  Barrett shook his head repeatedly.

  “Look at me,” Asher’s voice deepened.

  Slowly, Barrett lifted his head and gazed into Asher’s eyes. “Is Odin your lover?”

  “Yes.”

  Asher sucked his power back in, and he returned to his human appearance as he moved back. Barrett blinked over and over, coming out of the trance Asher had put him in.

  “I thought so,” I said.

  “What? You talk about changing things, and you’re against me loving a man?”

  I laughed humorlessly. “No. You have it wrong. I’m all about people loving whoever they want. But… you took someone I loved.”

  His eyes widened as understanding registered. He paled, and his heart beat erratically. “No.” He gasped. “This is different. He was just a damn hellhound.”

  “Ezra was family!” I yelled, my hands balling into fists. Over my shoulder, I ordered, “Bring Odin in here.”

  “Please, no. Please don’t do this. I love him.”

  “I love Ezra. If I’d begged, would you have dropped the spell? Would you have let me save him?”

  His lips snapped closed.

  Yeah, I didn’t think so.

  “Stop, unhand me,” we heard shouted. “You can’t do this
to me. I have rights. I am an adviser.”

  I turned enough to see Odin being forced through the doorway by two guards. He looked in the same state as his lover. His ankles and hands were chained together. Only he still held a note of stubbornness, or arrogance and distaste. His face screwed up at the sight of me. “What’s the meaning of this?”

  With speed behind me, I swiftly moved behind Odin, gripped his head, and using my queen strength, I ripped it from his shoulders. More blood sprayed out, coating me. Barrett started screaming when Odin’s body fell to the floor. I threw Odin’s head over near Barrett.

  “A life for a life,” I called loudly. Barrett keened and rocked on his bed. I didn’t sense any repulsion from Asher or Thorn. I even glanced to Alex and Nate, but to my shock, they showed understanding. Nate nodded.

  “My queen,” someone said.

  Turning, I saw Felnick standing in the doorway. “Yes?” I asked.

  “You have a call. It’s important.”

  “Now?”

  “Yes, my queen.”

  “Who is it?” Thorn asked.

  “Lucifer.”

  What the fuckety-fuck?

  We strode to the meeting room where I would take a call from Lucifer. “Are you sure it’s the devil himself?” I asked again.

  Felnick nodded. “Yes, my queen.”

  “As in The Prince of Darkness?” I queried and wondered if this was an actual dream. Then I glanced down at myself and saw the blood coating my hands, body, and probably face. It couldn’t be a dream. Dammit.

  “Yes, my queen,” Felnick answered.

  I glanced at Asher beside me. “What would he want with me?”

  “I’m unsure, love.”

  Then to Thorn, I asked, “Was the former queen acquainted with him?”

  Him.

  The devil.

  Lucifer.

  I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact the devil was on the phone waiting for me. It was another moment where, if I still peed, I would be filling my leather pants about now.

  “I had heard she’d spoken with him on a few occasions,” Thorn said.

  Laughter bubbled up, but I clamped my lips together to stop it from exploding. The former queen spoke with the devil on a few occasions.