Stained Hearts Read online

  Stained Hearts

  Serena Akeroyd

  Helen Scott

  Copyright © 2019 by Serena Akeroyd and Helen Scott

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  1. Kieran

  2. Gideon

  3. Marcella

  4. Marcella

  5. Keiran

  6. Gideon

  7. Darius

  8. Marcella

  9. Keiran

  10. Darius

  11. Marcella

  12. Marcella

  13. Keiran

  14. Marcella

  15. Gideon

  16. Darius

  17. Marcella

  18. Marcella

  19. Keiran

  20. Gideon

  21. Marcella

  22. Gideon

  23. Keiran

  24. Darius

  25. Marcella

  Also by Helen Scott

  Also by Serena Akeroyd

  1

  Kieran

  The male was short, bald, and nervous. He also sweated worse than a pig, and his stench was enough to have me grimacing—never mind Barclay. Sheesh. I felt sorry for the shifter’s enhanced senses because that was nasty. It was like someone had set off a stink bomb in the area.

  The air around us was clouded with the human’s scent, and combined with the way he shifted his feet and looked around the area nervously, I had to admit, Harold Kinnock was starting to piss me off with the way he was putting me on edge. The jerk was one of the men the pursang council used to intercede on their behalf with human matters such as purchasing properties and dealing with bills and the like. That wasn’t why he was a jerk though. Dude was a traitor, and his sorry ass knew he was in danger every second he was dancing with the devil—i.e. us.

  In my Brotherhood, I think I’d always been considered the calm and rational one. It made sense considering my world was that of dreams and sleep. I worked to a different rhythm than most other people, but I was naturally chilled.

  Cade was a stresshead. My exact opposite. He wore a constant scowl that had nothing to do with the fact that, to access his abilities, he had to stare up into the sun or the moon to control time. He was just that kind of guy—always fucking frowning over something.

  Gideon was sort of rational, but he was the boss. Unelected, or so we told him, but the head of our ‘gang’ nonetheless. He was a druid, which meant he had a similar kind of zen air about him as he connected with the Earth and runes inked onto his body to gain control of his powers, but he was under pressure to keep the five of us in tune and that took its toll on his good nature.

  Raven was pretty bat shit. When he walked through minds, twisting shit here and there as he looked through someone’s head like it was a filing cabinet in need of reorganizing, he did it with a smile of enjoyment. He relished being difficult, and was our rebel in many ways.

  Lastly, there was Barclay. The shifter. He was a total pup. Cheerful and bouncy. He was the most happy-go-lucky of us all. Even if that had been dented over the last couple of days.

  Brotherhoods were nothing without their Sixths, the conduit who tied their abilities together, making them stronger, a solid team, and a month ago, we’d found ours.

  Or, that’s to say, she’d claimed us, and we were all on the run as a result.

  “For fuck’s sake,” Cade growled, his impatience with waiting obviously hitting a peak. “When’s the other guy getting here?”

  Stinkbomb dude swallowed. “Gerald said he’d be here by now.”

  Gideon reached up and rubbed his temple, a skull tattoo peeked out on his wrist as his coat sleeve drooped. “Explain why we need Gerald again?”

  “Because he’s my partner,” Harold half-whimpered, shaking in his boots at Cade’s glower.

  “Yes, but we don’t need two of you to take us to the safe house,” Raven retorted. “Can’t we make a move? Some of us are exhausted here.”

  Cade grunted. “I think what he’s trying to say, is that he doesn’t trust us not to kill him and would like a witness.”

  I rolled my eyes at Cade, but Marcella, our Sixth, was the one who huffed. “For Maker’s sake, Cade, are you trying to scare the shit out of him?”

  If one of us had said that, he’d have flipped us the bird. Because it was Marcella, he grinned at her. “If it makes him shift ass, then yeah, I’ll scare the shit out of him. No problem.”

  “Only person shifting here is me,” Barclay grumbled, rubbing his nose as his olfactory senses evidently started to object to being bombarded by Harold’s very powerful, and very pungent, BO.

  “You do realize, Harold,” Cade remarked, his tone conversational, “that we could just kill Gerald too. If you’re looking for safety in numbers, I mean, then you’re going about it the wrong way.”

  Harold squeaked and took a few steps back. “You promised no trouble!”

  Gideon grunted. “And we’ll offer you no trouble if you’ll just guide us to the property.”

  It was evident to everyone here that Gideon’s patience was wearing thin, and honestly, mine was too.

  A discomfited feeling settled inside me as Harold’s unease made itself known, when beads of sweat began to pop free of his pores.

  The situation didn’t warrant such a stressed response, even if Cade had just joked about the guy’s demise. Unless Harold had some kind of blood pressure issue or whatever else human males suffered from when they hit three hundred pounds and were in their fifties, I just couldn’t understand why he was reacting this strongly.

  Nudging Raven in the side, I murmured, “This is weird.”

  His nostrils curled. “Something definitely is.”

  “I’m not talking about his stench. Well, I guess I am. Don’t you think it’s a bit much?”

  “My nose does,” he confirmed drily.

  “I mean, don’t you think his response to our being here far exceeds our request?”

  Raven shrugged as he turned his back on Harold. We’d pitched our voices low enough that the male would never be able to hear us unless he’d been bitten by a radioactive spider at some point in his life, but reading our lips wasn’t something we could evade. “He’s acting on our behalf when he knows the council has put a warrant out on us. That could explain why he’s acting so bizarrely.”

  Maybe.

  It just seemed a little over the top to me.

  Brotherhoods were the supernatural community’s version of a police force.

  They combined five warriors, each with distinct and unusual talents that complimented one another, who worked together to control the criminal elements in our supe society.

  We were controlled by the council who, when they deemed us ready, granted us the promotion of becoming a Sixth-Brotherhood. This elevated status meant we found, claimed, and were bound to a Sixth—the conduit, I mentioned earlier.

  We were now a Sixth-Brotherhood, but the only trouble was, the council sanctioned which Sixth went with which Brotherhood—a fact that we’d confirmed recently. They liked to tell us that we had a choice when we didn’t.

  Case in point, the clusterfuck currently going down.

  Marcella had bonded us, albeit accidently, while the council had insisted another Sixth bind herself to us—a bitch by the name of Lily Addams.

  Because of the fact we were an unsanctioned unit, we’d decided that the best option was to go rogue until the council either decided we were too useful to have running around the country evading them, or until…

&
nbsp; Well, none of us were trying to think of that.

  At the moment, we were just trying to protect Marcella, and we were focusing on making it one day at a time.

  Right now, that involved us trying to get to a safe house in Phoenix.

  Which wasn’t going according to plan.

  I ran a hand through my hair as I looked at Marcella. She was tucked into Cade’s side, his arm over her shoulder as she studied Harold like he was something on a Petri dish.

  Not because he stank. Not because he was ugly and had a comb-over that was fooling no one. It was because he was a traitor.

  Just seeing her made something inside me settle.

  I was concerned as hell about her.

  The Headmaster of Westbrook Academy, where she’d been trained, had threatened her safety, and as a result, I’d done something pretty bad to him.

  Truth was, I still couldn’t believe I’d done what I had. It wasn’t in my nature to be like that, but she brought out another side of me. A side I didn’t trust, didn’t like, and yet had to embrace if it meant keeping her safe and by our side.

  “Raven, look into his mind,” I insisted, my thoughts forcing me to act. “I don’t trust this piece of shit.”

  “Then you’re not totally soft in the head,” Raven retorted with a snort. “Keir, if you think I haven’t been keeping an eye on him since we got here, you’re fucking crazy.”

  I frowned. “You’ve been in his mind?”

  “Of course.”

  “And you saw nothing?”

  Raven shrugged. “Lot of porn I’ll never unsee, dude likes to dress up in diapers, but nah. Nothing much else.”

  “Why’s he so freaked out, then?” I shook my head. “That makes no sense.”

  Because Raven could read people’s minds, it made him a bit shortsighted sometimes. At least, I thought so.

  And, okay, by shortsighted I totally meant arrogant. I wouldn’t put it past him to scan once then not look again.

  “What doesn’t?” Barclay asked, leaving the conversation Gideon was having with Harold and joining ours.

  “The way he’s reacting to our presence,” I explained, hoping Barclay would get it. “Raven says there’s nothing going on up here,” I tapped my temple with my pointer finger, “but the guy’s betrayed the council once—we know he has a price.”

  “And that’s how we’re getting him to act on our behalf,” Barclay said, speaking slowly enough to make me want to punch him in the face.

  It was like I didn’t speak fucking English or something.

  Maker.

  Which part of this was so hard to understand?

  With a growl, I grabbed Barclay’s forearm and hissed, “We know he has a price. What if he’s double-crossing us?”

  “And you’re jumping to this conclusion because he stinks?” the shifter inquired, cocking a brow at me.

  “He stinks, his brow is gleaming with sweat, and you can hear his heart, dammit. Surely you know I’m right. This is far too excessive for what we’re asking of him.”

  “He might just be frightened that we’ll involve the council,” Raven pointed out. “I know if I was in his shoes, I’d be anxious.”

  I thought about that for a second and shook my head. “No. Not when he knows we’ve got a warrant out on us too. What’s that BS the humans spout? No honor among thieves? He’s not waiting on Gerald. He’s waiting on someone else.”

  “What are you three talking about?”

  I turned back to Harold and saw he was on the phone with someone—I seriously wasn’t sure if I’d seen anyone sweat that much. It was pouring off him in rivulets. Maker help me, he looked like he was melting.

  “Keiran’s being paranoid,” Raven informed Gid, and I grunted at the comment.

  “I totally am not,” I countered. “I’m being logical.”

  “I already told you, I walked in his head. He’s hiding nothing.”

  “And what if someone on the council covered it up? You’re one of the strongest, Raven. We all know that, but you’re young, and this is the council we’re talking about. They have walkers ten times older than us who could cover shit up.”

  “Not without leaving behind a mark.”

  See what I meant about arrogant?

  This wasn’t a new development. The SOB had always been self-assured in his powers. Truthfully, we all were. We were all very strong, and had been the top of our classes back at Eastbrook Academy, where we’d been trained from a very young age to become warriors worthy of a Brotherhood. But ever since shit had gotten real with Marcella? He was worse than ever. I knew that was because with each male she linked herself to, the more our own gifts manifested.

  With her acting as our conduit, our gifts and the nascent bond between us was like a hand blender with a turbocharge button—I like to cook. Sue me. Except, with her around, it was like the button was constantly held down.

  I’d felt the shockwaves of her gift in my own powers, and had committed a crime against the council because of it. If anyone knew how Marcella’s presence in our lives could be a detriment to us, it was me.

  And Raven’s arrogance was only more proof of that.

  “Look, I get that you think you’re the hot shit mind walker, but there’s always someone better than you. Didn’t they drill that into our heads at Eastbrook enough?” What had always seemed like a mantra that was meant to self-limit us, meant to make us feel worthless, now felt as though it had a point.

  They’d been preparing us for this moment.

  The moment when we were bound to our Sixth. When things changed, when we started to feel like we were fucking invincible. But no one was invincible. It was a dangerous fallacy, and I didn’t want us to get burned.

  Raven tugged at his collar. “Look, what do you want me to do? I walked through his mind and saw nothing.”

  “This is shady as fuck,” was all I said, my gaze on Gideon as I half-implored him to believe me.

  “He is acting a little strangely,” was all Gid commented as he rubbed his chin.

  “A little? More like a lot.”

  This wasn’t the first time we’d met Harold, and even though we’d busted his ass four years ago, he hadn’t reacted like this.

  Calling in our favor seemed to have put him under an immense strain. I just wasn’t sure why.

  The council relied on humans to maintain our safe houses. The humans didn’t know they were working on the behalf of a council led by pureblood Vampires. It was more likely that they believed the ‘council’ was mafia.

  Still, the last time we’d been this way, we’d realized Harold was allowing criminals to use the safe house. For a very nice fee.

  We’d decided to call in the favor—one that enabled him to keep on walking around the city with his head attached—in exchange for using the safe house without council approval.

  “This is really bugging you, isn’t it?” Gideon queried, studying me with a frown.

  I shrugged. “It’s weird. He’s giving me bad vibes.”

  I watched as he rubbed his chin again, slowly pondering the situation. “What’s the alternative if we don’t use this safe house?”

  “We stay in motels.” Barclay shrugged. “I don’t mind. It’s not like we don’t have the money for them. Safe houses are innocuous though. Five men and one woman hanging around a motel could inspire curiosity.”

  “That’s because you’ve a dirty mind,” I told him drily. “Most people would just believe she’s a friend.”

  Barclay shrugged. “Maybe. But it sticks in your head, doesn’t it? If the council asked around for a woman fitting Marcella’s description with five guys fitting ours, they’re going to remember.”

  Gideon nodded. “You’re right. Do we split up?”

  “What? No!” I barked. “Fuck that. We can’t—”

  “Wait a second,” Gideon inserted with a smirk. “I only meant we could split up as we approached the motel. Not appear en masse, but over a few hours.”

  Barclay nudged me
in the side. “It’s nice to know you want her close too, Mr. Ice Man.”

  I scowled at him. “I’m not made of ice, Barclay. I’m just a pragmatist.”

  “Apparently not if you can’t bear the prospect of being without Marcella,” he chided, with a sparkle in his eye that really pissed me off.

  Grunting, I decided it was easier just to flip him the bird. Seriously, the dude was too cheerful for his own good sometimes.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Marcella’s husky voice sent shockwaves down my spine. I’d always like the raspy note at its base, but ever since she’d started binding herself to us, it had more of an effect than usual.

  Barely refraining from shuddering, I turned to her. “I think Harold has ratted us out to the council.”

  Her eyes flared wide. “Why would he do that?”

  Barclay elbowed me in the side again. “Why the fuck would you tell her that?”

  “Because she’s our Sixth, idiot. We can’t keep her in the dark.”

  Gideon nodded. “Keir’s right, Barclay. Marcella is one of the guys when it comes to the decisions we have to make as a unit.”

  He winced. “I don’t think I can think that way.”

  Marcella curled her hand through his arm and clung to his side. “I’m with my Brotherhood. I’m safe.”

  We all knew Barclay was feeling a shifter’s propensity toward over-protectiveness where his new mate was concerned. It was to be expected, and even though I’d bitched about him being overly cheerful earlier, I didn’t like the taut way he held himself because of his concern for Marcella.

  He released a shuddery breath as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. I looked away when he closed his eyes, his heart was on his face, and it was too intimate a moment to intrude upon.