By Cynthia Eden
This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to real people, places, or events are not intentional and are purely the result of coincidence. The characters, places, and events in this story are fictional.
Copyright ©2016 by Cindy Roussos
Cover art and design by: Yours Truly
Copy-editing by: JRT Editing
(build 1)
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Undead Or Alive
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Author’s Note
About The Author
Prologue
“I need you to find someone for me.”
Cassius “Cass” Garvan gave a low, rumbling laugh. “Sorry, but you’ll have to get in line.” He kept his legs braced apart and his hands remained loose at his sides. Maybe other paranormals would have been quaking in their boots as they stood before the big, bad Lord of the Dark…but Cass wasn’t one of those lesser paranormals. And he didn’t fear Luke Thorne.
Why should he?
Luke slowly turned away from the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked his island paradise. Paradise, prison—whatever. To Cass, it was pretty much the same thing. He’d gotten orders to show up for this little one-on-one chat with Luke, and Cass had appeared more out of curiosity than anything else.
It had been a very, very long time since Luke had spoken to him. When you were mortal—or even immortal—enemies with someone, you didn’t call the other person up for a little casual chit-chat every day.
“You’re working for my brother.” Luke’s face tightened when he said that one word…brother. As if it were a curse. Probably because to him, it was.
Cass knew the old stories about Luke and his twin brother Leo. One brother was the Lord of the Dark, the master of all the dark paranormal beings that walked—or flew—on earth. The other was the Lord of the Light, the powerhouse behind all of the so-called “good” creatures out there.
Cass didn’t believe in good. Some days, he didn’t believe in evil, either.
He just believed in death—death was kind of his thing.
“Leo has you chasing the fallen angel, doesn’t he?” Luke stalked toward him.
Cass considered the matter for a moment. “Now that you mention it, I believe that acquiring her may be on my to-do list.” He flashed a smile at Luke. “When you’re the best hunter to ever live, well, let’s just say that word gets around. You want someone found…you call me. I mean, sure, the shifters out there tend to have pretty good noses, but we both know they are nothing compared to me.”
“Arrogant asshole.”
“It’s not arrogance if it’s true.” He’d never bothered much with modesty. Cass understood exactly what he was, and what he was not. “We both know I have a very particular skill set.”
A muscle jerked in Luke’s jaw. The Lord of the Dark was getting pissed—Cass could feel the air around them starting to heat up.
“The angel is taken care of,” Luke gritted out. “And Leo will not be getting her back.”
Cass gave a low whistle. “I hate to break it to you, but I think you’re wrong. That guy is dead set on getting back his girl—”
“She isn’t his.”
When the angry voice spoke from behind him, Cass stiffened. Dammit. He hadn’t heard the other guy approach. Cass glanced over his shoulder and saw the big, currently glaring werewolf—Rayce—standing in the doorway. “So…you are as powerful as they say,” he murmured to Rayce. He’d heard the rumors, but…he didn’t tend to believe rumors, not until he’d checked things out first-hand.
The tales about Luke and Leo? All true. Every blood-stained detail.
The rumors about Rayce being the most powerful werewolf to ever live? Still debatable, but the fact that he’d just snuck up on Cass…I’ll be watching you, wolf.
“The angel is taken care of,” Luke said again. “You don’t need to waste your valuable talents on her now.” His eyes gleamed. “Rayce has her in his sights.”
“Damn right I do,” the werewolf growled.
Cass rolled back his shoulders. “Why do I feel like this is an ambush?” Because it sure seemed that way. Luke was right in front of him. Rayce was at his back. “Did you invite me here so you could try to rip out my heart?” He waited a beat, then added, “Again?”
Luke laughed—not a good sign. “Don’t tempt me.”
Cass eased out a slow breath. “If you think you’re bad enough…”
Luke’s eyes began to glow. “We both know I am.”
For just a moment, Cass could have sworn he saw the shadow of wings behind Luke’s back. But when he blinked, the wings were gone. Luke had gotten himself back in control.
“I need you to find someone for me. Someone very, very important.”
More important than a fallen angel? Curiosity had always been his weak spot and Luke was making him curious. But… “Before we say anything else, I want the wolf to move from behind me. I don’t like having an enemy lurking at my back. Makes me…twitchy. And when I get twitchy, people get hurt.” Cass thought that was a fair warning.
Luke inclined his head. Immediately, Rayce moved to the Lord of the Dark’s side.
“I need to know you won’t be in my way,” Rayce fired at him. “I don’t want to be tripping over the Reaper while I’m on my hunt.”
The Reaper. Some titles just stuck. Cass raised his eyebrows. “Can’t handle a little friendly competition?”
“Enough.” Power hung in that one word from Luke—so much power that heat lanced over Cass’s skin, but he didn’t so much as flinch. He’d learned at a very young age never to show his pain.
He’d been six when he first learned that brutal lesson.
“You won’t find the angel,” Luke continued flatly. “She’s not your mission, Reaper.”
Ah, now Luke was calling him by the title, too. Definitely meant it was business time.
Luke’s gaze seemed to bore into him. “I will pay you very, very well if you can bring the one I seek back to me.”
Cass cocked his head to the right. “How well are we talking? Because your brother is offering me some very powerful magic in exchange for the angel—”
Luke laughed. The sound held no humor. “My brother is planning to betray you as soon as you deliver the angel back to him. He’s learned the deadly mistake that can be made when you barter with magic, and he’s not going to make that error again. He’s promised you plenty, but Leo will deliver nothing to you. He’ll lock you away in a cage—remember what that was like? I bet you do—and then he’ll only pull you out when he needs you again.”
“Like I’m supposed to believe you?” Cass drawled. “You lie as easily as you breathe.”
He saw Rayce’s claws flash out.
“Careful there, wolf,” Cass warned him. “You don’t want to get on my bad side.”
“And you don’t want to get on mine,” Luke replied before Rayce could speak. “I’m offering you a deal—a real one. And I’ve always kept my deals with you in the past.”
Actually, that part was true. Luke might be a dangerous bastard, but he’d never broken a deal he’d made with Cass.
r />
“I need you to hunt for me,” Luke told him. “And unlike my brother, I will pay you in magic. Tell me what you want, and it’s yours.”
Temptation was there. Dark and twisting because it had been so very long for him. Too long. He looked down at his gloved hands. Always have to be so careful. Always have to be alone. Always…
“Get the wolf out of here, and we’ll talk.” Because okay—maybe Cass would make a deal with Luke. Maybe he would piss off Leo. Like he cared about the Lord of the Light. It had been a dull week—a dull decade—and he could use some excitement.
Cass could use a change.
“Before I leave, say you’re not going after the angel. Say that first,” Rayce ordered him.
Like he took orders from a werewolf? “Can’t stand the competition, huh?”
“You will not touch her.” Rayce took an aggressive step forward, but Luke’s hand flew up, and his arm blocked Rayce before he could lunge for Cass.
Cass raised his chin. My touch. That was what so many feared and with good reason. “If Luke here can give me what I want, then I’ll find his prey first.”
First.
After he’d collected this bounty, then he’d turn his attention to Leo’s job. “So you have a bit of a head start on me,” Cass allowed. “Better use it.”
Rayce growled again—and truly looked as if he’d like to use his claws to skin Cass. Been there, done that before.
“Go, Rayce,” Luke said. “We have terms to make.”
Still glaring, the werewolf left.
And then Cass was alone with the Lord of the Dark. They stared at each other. And Cass murmured, “I hear you’ve found love.”
That muscle jerked in Luke’s jaw again. “If you ever so much as come near my Mina, I will obliterate you.”
Oh, wait—had the guy thought he was threatening him? No, Cass hadn’t meant that part as a threat. Hell. “Even someone like you…” Someone who had a soul that had to be stained with blood. “You found a mate.”
“Mina is special.”
Mina must be insane, but whatever. Maybe Luke found insanity appealing. “I want that.”
Luke grabbed him. His hand curled around Cass’s throat and he heaved Cass up into the air—
“Not…her…” Cass choked out. “I want…my…own…mate…”
Luke threw him against the wall. Sheetrock spit into the air as Cass’s body left a sizeable dent in the surface.
“Why didn’t you say that?” Luke shook his head. “You should be more careful with me.”
Noted. Cass brushed the dust off his shoulders. And his gaze dropped to his gloves once more. Gloves that had come to him—courtesy of Luke—very long ago. Cass had been hoping Leo would be able to give him an upgrade when he delivered the angel, but perhaps Luke could give him something far more valuable…“I want a woman who can stand my touch.”
Now it was Luke’s turn to laugh. “Why don’t you just ask for a fucking unicorn? Because that would be easier—”
“I want a woman who can stand my touch. No gloves between us. No magic stopping my power. I want a woman I can touch…” His hands fisted. “And not kill.”
Reaper.
Because that wasn’t what he was—it was who he was. He was Death. He touched and he killed and no one could get close to him.
No one got close and survived, anyway.
Cass exhaled slowly. “If you can’t do this for me, if you can’t find a way, then I won’t find the person you seek.”
Silence.
“You got your Mina,” Cass snarled when the silence stretched too long. “I’ve been on this earth for centuries. It’s my turn. I am due. I want to touch—I want more than death.”
Luke rubbed his chin. “Let me make sure I understand the terms of this deal…you want me to make sure there is a woman in this world who can survive your touch—and in turn, you’ll bring me the person I seek? You’ll turn her over to me, no questions asked and just walk away?”
“Yes.”
Luke’s hand flew out. “Deal.”
Cass blinked. That had been…too easy.
Luke’s hand just hung between them—waiting. Luke quirked a brow at him. “We must shake to agree. Just got to know you accept my terms and we can get this plan in motion.”
Cass’s gloved hand met Luke’s. He shook. Another deal with the devil. “We didn’t shake last time.” He’d always wondered…would his touch kill Luke? If it didn’t, he was sure that Luke would kill him, so Cass had never pushed that particular point of curiosity.
“Last time, I could have changed my mind on the deal.” Luke smiled, a quick flash that showed no real humor. “But, lucky for you, I didn’t.” He freed Cass’s hand and stepped back.
The deal was done. Cass exhaled slowly. He was eager to get hunting. The sooner he hunted, the sooner he had his mate. “Dead or alive?” Cass asked.
That was usually his first question when he took a job. With his particular skill set, dead was always the easier option.
“Alive.”
So easy wasn’t the word of the day.
“Who’s the guy?” Cass wanted to know. “And sorry to be a dick, but why can’t you find him? I mean, I thought you just snapped your fingers most days and all of the dark creatures had to do your bidding.”
Doesn’t work that way for me, though. Another deal…very long ago. Luke didn’t control him.
“The prey you’ll be seeking isn’t dark. At least, not completely.”
Interesting.
“And I never said you were hunting a man. You’re after a woman. A very, very important woman.”
“Does your Mina know this?” Cass murmured. Luke wanted him to find a woman—a very, very important woman—and bring her back alive? That was just—
Luke’s eyes narrowed. “There is no sexual relationship between me and this prey.”
Jeez. The guy actually sounded offended. “Whatever floats your boat, man.”
The temperature in the room notched up again.
“Easy,” Cass murmured.
“There isn’t anything easy about me,” Luke fired back. But he sucked in a sharp breath and seemed to regain his control. “Your prey is light and she is dark. A blend of both paranormal worlds.”
Now that wasn’t a combo Cass saw every day. “Give me a name. And if you have something of the woman’s, that’d be helpful.”
“Her name is Amber.”
He waited. Nothing else came. The guy wanted to give him a challenge, huh? “And you have nothing of hers that I can use?”
Luke turned away. He paced toward his desk and opened a drawer there. For a moment, he just stared inside.
Cass tapped his foot.
Luke reached into the drawer and pulled out a small object. Then he headed back toward Cass, his fingers fisted around his prize.
Cass lifted up his gloved hand and held his palm out toward Luke.
Luke dropped a small, golden chain into Cass’s hand. Even through the glove he wore, Cass could feel the heat of power. That chain—a bracelet—held powerful magic. His heartbeat stuttered a bit, a damn odd reaction for him, and he focused his gaze on the token he’d just been given.
He didn’t have an enhanced sense of smell like shifters. He didn’t track his prey that way. Instead, he relied on magic—on the imprints that people had left on objects they’d once possessed. Those objects acted as homing devices for him, pulling him straight to his prey.
Cass lifted his left hand, and with his teeth, he pulled off the glove. Then he shoved the glove into his pocket. His left hand—no longer shielded by anything—then reached for that bracelet. As soon as his fingers touched it, Cass let out a low hiss.
Pure power hit him.
But…
More than that. She hit him. For just an instant, her image flashed in his mind. Thick, long blonde hair. Eyes so gold and pure—seeing straight through him. She was tall and slim, her face unforgettable. She stared at him. He felt her.
W
arm. Feminine.
And he wanted.
He’d never wanted a woman just because he’d touched an object that had once belonged to her. He’d never had a vision so strong. Never had his whole body react, but he was reacting. He’d gone into overdrive. Every single muscle in his body had clamped down. Desire beat in his blood, and Cass’s heart galloped in his chest.
“Problem?” Luke demanded, watching him closely.
This time, Cass’s hand was the one to fist around his prize. “I’ve got her.” The woman with the golden eyes was in his mind now.
“Then bring her to me.”
“And you’ll give me what I want?” Cass asked the question automatically but…
The blonde woman’s image flashed through his eyes once more. Amber.
“Absolutely.” Luke smiled.
Cass grunted.
If you couldn’t trust the devil, who could you trust?
Chapter One
The monsters were out in full force.
Amber Fortune—she’d recently picked the last name just because she liked the sound of it—took a moment to gaze around the packed bar. She counted five—no, six—vampires perched close to their would-be prey. The vamps were sporting fangs and even a bit of blood on their chins. They must have thought the blood was a sexy touch.
A werewolf was to her right, and his fur pushed out of his shirt. He wasn’t sitting. Instead, the werewolf stood at his full height and every few moments, he let out a little howl.
Interesting.
There were some witches out there, oh-so-sexy witches with tight little skirts, high heels, and brooms at the ready. Their light laughter drifted in the air and invited others to join in with them.
“Another drink.”
Amber’s gaze swung to the mummy who’d appeared in front of her. His bandages were looking a little worn as he gave her a wide smile.
“Beer,” he said, and his dark gaze slid over her. “Why aren’t you dressed up? I mean…it’s a Halloween party, right? Everyone is supposed to be dressed up?”
It was actually a pre-Halloween party since October 31st wouldn’t be hitting for a few more days. But in New Orleans, the parties always started early.