King of Tides (The Immortal Iron Brothers #3)

Chapter 9

Our Time

I hate weakness. Since I was a boy, I’ve learned to find it and cut it out. My master can’t count on me if I allow weakness to distract me from the course I’m on.

The fact that I’m still chasing this task because somehow, I’ve been made blind to where those bastards are digs in deep, but I will never give up. It is my life’s mission to find them and free my lord once and for all.

Once he’s free, we can right all wrongs that have manifested over the course of time. Everything has gone to shit. My kind aren’t the only ones who have suffered. There’s no longer a species that’s pure among us.

I bare my teeth as I get lost in my thoughts and not the release I’m supposed to be enjoying. I grab Azar by her red hair and tug her head back.

“I summoned you for business. You offered this release to relieve the stress. Can’t you do better?” I snarl as I glare into her eyes.

“You have to allow me to do better. You’re making me work without my hands. Relax, focus on me. Not what needs to be done. We will get to business once I give you a much-needed release,” she purrs.

“You used to be able to get it done without your hands. Figure it out,” I hiss.

Azar is one of those weaknesses I need to get under control. If not for that curse, I wouldn’t even have a mate. I wanted to ignore her from the first time I ran across her. I didn’t have time for her then and I barely allow myself to indulge now.

I already know I can’t trust her fully. Never again will I allow myself to let my guard down around her. If I didn’t know I would be ending my own life, I would have taken hers then.

I nearly did until I realized my life force was draining with hers. That’s when I healed her and allowed her to flee back to the fairy realm. That incident is where I got the idea of finding the mates of those bastards.

I don’t know if their kind has the same weakness—probably not, as Tanr? has granted them exceptions the rest of my people never had. And here lies the problem. They have never been held to proper standards.

Even if I can’t use their mates to kill them. Once I find them, they will lead me to them. Most importantly, I will also have the child. The child is the key to freeing my master.

“Argh,” I groan as Azar places more vigor into her task, effectively pulling me from my thoughts.

Placing a hand behind her head, I push her head down further. She begins to choke, bringing a smile to my face. I groan when she relaxes her throat and takes me deeper.

My resentment rises as I feel myself about to come. How I allow this fairy to reduce me to this, I will never know. As my rage boils over, I tug her from my cock and force her to stand.

I bend her over the desk and thrust into her treacherous cunt. She moans like a whore as I seat myself. This bond may force me to desire her, but I don’t have to like it.

I take her body with the force of my anger. My hips slap so hard against her ass, her front is knocking against the desk. I’m sure she will have bruises later.

That’s nothing new. It’s par for the course for our trysts. Always rough, never after I’ve ingested anything around her, and I finish on her and not in her. She will never trick another being from my loins.

“Shut up,” I bite out as she begins to moan and keen loudly.

“Please, more, please,” she begs.

I hadn’t planned on stopping anytime soon. However, I do need to slow my pace to throw up a sound barrier. I don’t need one of my hunters to hear her.

They need to continue to believe I have no weaknesses. I have served the church for centuries to hide my true purpose. It has suited me well. And then I met her. Her tempting lips and supple skin drew me in like a weak-minded dog.

The fever of the mate bond made me sick for a week before I gave in. That fever is treacherous. I’m counting on that firsthand knowledge for my plan.

I know if I have control of their mates, I will own them. Even the sons of Tanr? will be no match for the mate bond. I’ve had more than one witch tell me they will find their chosen ones, including this one squealing beneath me.

She stiffens against the desk, at the same time, I feel a shift in the ethers. I know right away she’s felt it too. I pause and pull out.

“You felt that?” I say. “What has happened?”

Azar has made herself useful to me. When I needed a witch to assist me in my mission, I went to the coven she was raised in. That was when I first saw her.

A week later, I destroyed the village but took her with me. She was skilled enough to do all I needed and as she was my mate, her powers were heightened, causing me to have no need to mingle with those poor excuses for witches.

I’ve never told her that my powers were diminished as punishment for my part in the wars. I honestly didn’t think I had anything left to share with her.

However, there was just enough left for her to gain. While I had to use alchemy and other dark methods to restore myself, she’s been able to wield my powers for her own effortlessly. I’m sure our spawn would be just as gifted wherever she may be—if I had not locked her powers away at birth.

“A veil has been lifted. You must find their mates now. The ones who have kept us blind are weakened. One of them is gone,” Azar says.

A smile comes to my lips. I wasn’t the only one blocked. It’s as if everyone had been made blind to them, if not within their circle.

“Are we not going to finish?”

“No. We are done. It’s time you do your part. I need my army ready. We are coming upon the hour. Don’t come back until you have managed your tasks.”

“But—”

“I said go,” I snarl.

I don’t even wait for her to leave before I fix my clothes and head to my prayer quarters. No one would ever suspect what I have hidden in this room.

Before the war, Master Harb gave me a source stone. It’s the only reason I didn’t completely lose my powers when he was sentenced and locked away. I have used the stone to communicate with my lord.

I grin when I enter the space, and the stone begins to glow. Even my master can feel the time growing near. He shall be free soon.

I kneel before the stone and bow my head. It doesn’t take long before I’m pulled through the ethers to the realm between here and where my master is imprisoned. Always just out of reach.

“My Lord, I can feel your power increasing. The time is coming.”

“Yes, I can do more to influence emotions and thoughts now. I feel it. It is time you use Eden and Asher. Their gift will serve you in this hour. You have to be quick.

“Send them to inhabit the ones who hold trust. You will see who I mean as you return. Play every angle you have to succeed.

“I am sure Tanr? is watching your every move. Do not become complacent in this hour. You are right. I have grown stronger.

“He has to know this as well. However, he will be too late to stop me once you unlock this cage. I will push my energy to help as much as I can,” he says.

“I will not fail you, my lord. I will have Eden and Asher do our bidding right away.”

With that, I open my eyes and stand to my feet. I will not waste valuable time. In my mind’s eye, I see exactly who to send the twin hunters to.

Their gift of invading bodies and minds will come in handy. They are invaluable as they are able to take over a being completely and harness their memories and mannerisms.

My top hunters all have special purposes. Their gifts were chosen to play a part in this mission. They are the first line in this war.

“Yes, this is war. We will finish what was started,” I say as I move to find Sister Eden and Brother Asher.

Pauly

I jump out of my sleep and look around. My heart is racing. Something doesn’t feel right.

Reaching for my chest, I rub at it and take a deep breath. I furrow my brows and try to gather my bearings. What the fuck is going on?

Turning my head, I look down at my Gianna. She looks like she’s still asleep. Good, I don’t want to wake her.

I can’t believe this woman is still with me. Marrying into the Ricci family hasn’t been so great to her. Money doesn’t fix all things. I’ve caused her hurt I never intended to—things I can never fix.

Pursing my lips, I shake my head. I’ve put her through enough. This is why I have to ensure Candido doesn’t fuck this up.

I can’t take this life away from her. What will all her pain be for if it all disappears? We lose the Iron Brothers; we lose this cushy life and all that comes with it. One way or another, we have to turn this around.

I might hate summoning those biker fuckers, but they have done their part to make sure my family has been prosperous. I can’t deny that. However, the one thing Gianna wanted, I couldn’t get from them.

This woman has allowed me to bring a child into our home to raise when I couldn’t give her one of her own. A child who hates us both. Charlie Ann has looked at us with scorn from the time she was a baby.

“Never should have agreed to any of this shit,” I mutter under my breath.

I turn to roll out of bed to head to my office. I know I’m not going back to sleep. As I roll from the bed, it groans and creeks loudly under my weight.

Annoyed, I grind my teeth. They don’t make furniture like they used to. This thing has been making more and more noise lately.

“What’s wrong, Pauly?” Gianna murmurs sleepily as she stirs from her sleep.

“Forget about it. It’s nothing, go back to sleep.”

“You want me to make you a sandwich? I can heat up some pasta or something. I made some of Ma’s gravy last night.”

“No, thanks. I’m fine.”

My phone rings before she can say anything else. I grab it from the nightstand and move from the room to answer. Still rubbing at my chest, I know something is wrong.

“Hello.”

“Pauly, it ain’t good,” Marko says on the other side of the line.

“What happened? He didn’t lose them, did he?”

I’m going to hurt Candido if he causes this bond to be broken because of his stupidity. He always calls me the slow one. I don’t have to be quick to see what’s coming from his actions.

“No … no, but I can’t tell you what just happened. I ain’t never seen no shit like it and I’ve seen some crazy shit working for you guys.”

“Just spit it out. What has Candido done now?”

“We were down at the docks to make that deal with Lombardo work. He was trying to meet with the brothers’ guy down there. Some other shit went down and the met went sideways.

“Feds were there, and we almost got busted. We escaped but I couldn’t tell you how or what the fuck happened,” Marko says, sounding completely confused.

I’ve had Marko watching my brother for the last three years. I don’t trust Candido not to fuck this all up. He’s getting us into some shit I don’t know if either of us knows how to get out of.

Fucking with those genies was just one of his dumbass ideas I know will come back to bite us. His desperation is a problem. He’s making bad decision after bad decision. I need eyes on him.

“I knew him wanting to make that deal was going to be a problem. He’s grasping at straws to keep those bikers under our thumb. He is going to cost us everything with this reckless bullshit.”

“I thought you would want to know,” Marko says.

“Good job. You made the right call. Keep me posted,” I say and hang up.

I pinch the bridge of my nose. I knew something wasn’t right. Candido is going to get us both killed.

“ Fuck ,” I roar.