Omega
Authors: Charlene Hartnady
OMEGA
Demon Chaser
(Book 1)
By
Charlene Hartnady
Copyright
©
December 2013, Charlene Hartnady
Cover Art by Melody Simmons
Copy Edited by Kimberly Reichmann
Produced in South Africa
Published by Charlene Hartnady
PO BOX 456, Melrose Arch,
Johannesburg, South Africa, 2176
OMEGA is a work of fiction and characters,
events and dialogue found within are of the author’s imagination and are not to
be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, either
living or deceased, is purely coincidental.
With the exception of quotes used in reviews
no part of this book may be reproduced or shared in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including but not limited to digital copying, file
sharing, audio recording, email and printing without prior consent in writing
from the author.
Demon Chasers…
Protectors of humanity. Sworn to uphold the peace. Oath bound to
keep the existence of demons a secret.
Katy is an ordinary girl living an ordinary life…or at least, that’s
what she thinks right up until she’s abducted and for no apparent reason.
Demon Chaser Cole rescues Katy from the claws of the Alpha of a
resident demon wolf pack. Hunted by Bain and his pack he must try and find out
why the wolves are willing to risk a two hundred year long standing agreement
with the Demon Chasers in order to have her.
The Chaser suspects that Katy is not as innocent as what she seems.
Cole had better move fast though because the longer he’s with the raven haired
beauty the more impossible he finds it to resist her.
Katy felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Pulling in
a frightened breath, she turned to scan the deli.
Probably just the after
effects of too many cups of coffee
. She held her breath awhile longer before
letting it out slowly. Even though she knew she was being silly, it didn’t stop
her eyes from darting around the room, moving from one patron to the next. From
the guys in the queue behind her, most of them familiar faces she had seen here
before, to the customers seated at the small number of tables. Adrenaline continued
to surge through her veins even though there was nothing out of the ordinary.
It took some effort to force herself to look back towards the service counter
as it was nearly her turn to order.
It happened so fast, all the noises in the deli became secondary to
the sound of her own heartbeat. One minute standing in the queue, and the next
knocked clear across the room. The trip took no time at all, but in her shocked
state it seemed to last a lifetime. Her back connected with the far wall
leaving her winded and dizzy. She struggled to force air back into her tortured
lungs and barely registered being picked up and bodily carried out the door.
When she got together enough energy to look up, Katy immediately wished she hadn’t.
The man was frigging huge and unnervingly familiar even though she had never
seen him before in her life. Shaggy brown hair, rough angular features, he was
a mean looking son of a bitch and he was abducting her.
Panic rose up in her as his enormous strides ate up the pavement. It
was lunch hour in Boston, the streets were crowded with people but no one seemed
to notice she was being kidnapped. Katy pulled in a lungful of air.
“Don’t even think about it,” his voice so threatening she swallowed
back a scream. The man pulled her closer, her feet almost came off the ground
as they turned into a deserted side ally and made towards a black SUV. Her
abductor paused as they neared the vehicle, he nuzzled into her hair. Her skin
crawled as she realized he was sniffing her.
Oh God...sniffing…I’m being abducted by a psycho.
Allowing herself to be taken like this was not an option because if
this ‘loony tune’ got her into his car, somehow, she just knew…he’d do terrible
things to her. Things she best not dwell on right now. Difficult as it was,
Katy had to force herself to stay calm and focused. She tried to remember a
talk show she’d seen the other day on what to do in situations like this.
They’d mentioned something about weak spots. Her mind raced through all the
possible options.
The sound of her heels scraping along the pavement caught her
attention, thank God she’d put them on in a fit of madness this morning. They
made her over six feet tall so she often opted for their lower cousins. Not so
today, which made her next move possible. Instead of allowing the giant to drag
her any further, she lifted the spike closest to him and drove it down as hard
as she could onto the top of his foot. Although he didn’t make a sound, he did
release his grip a fraction allowing her enough room to elbow him in the solar
plexus. Before she could turn to run, he back handed her. Katy flew several
feet crashing on the asphalt behind her. Once again, all the air in her lungs
was knocked out and she struggled to breathe. Stinging pain had her eyes
watering. His wild eyes narrowed in on her, and for just a second she knew what
it must feel like to be prey with the hunter closing in.
He took a stride towards her, stopped and turned his head to one
side, his mouth twisted into a cruel smile. “I wouldn’t if I were you,” his
eyes were trained on the wall ahead.
Was he talking to her?
Turning his face upward, he sniffed the air. His hair brushing
almost to his shoulder blades as he did. His laugh came out in a forced bark
that had her cringing. “A human and an Omega. What chance do you stand against
me?” he paused, his lip curling into a vicious smirk. “Pathetic! Leave now and
I’ll let you live.”
A man and a woman entered the ally. Her sigh of relief was cut short
when her kidnapper reached down picking her up by her hair. Katy cried out. He
turned, taking her with him so that now they faced the challengers head on.
What
the hell?
Things like this didn’t happen to people like her.
“This has nothing to do with you. It’s pack business,” her abductor
snarled.
Katy stood up on tiptoes trying to keep the burning pain on her
scalp as bearable as possible.
“She’s a human Bain. The Lores are clear,” the man answered. His
voice so low and dangerous, she felt, for the first time since this ordeal
started, that she might survive. “By taking the girl, you put the agreement in
jeopardy. Hand her over and we’ll call it even. Everybody goes home, agreement
intact, no harm done.”
“No can do,” he said as his grip tightened on her head.
As much as she hated it, another cry was torn from her throat. The
challenger let his head hang down, his chin almost resting on his chest. He
stayed this way for several long beats, her desperation mounted with each and every
one. His eyes lifted, ice cold chards of green bore into her abductor through a
mass of dark, unruly hair, Katy felt that being rescued by the likes of him
might be the equivalent of stepping from the frying pan into the furnace. The
woman with him pulled a mean looking hunter’s blade from deep inside her trench
coat. First there was relief as the stinging grip on her hair was released and
then more pain as she pummeled head first into the dumpster. Katy crumpled onto
the garbage strewn floor. Her vision blurred as she struggled to stay focused
on the whirl of activity. Her abductor was moving fast, quivering, he looked
like he was…changing…
Dizzy, her head slumped onto her forearm. She could still hear their
shouting or was it growling? She swore she could make out a menacing snarl…then
she blacked out.
The first thing she managed to focus on were those hard, narrowed
eyes. So deadly she felt her blood drain and her breathing hitch. She was on
the back seat of a car sprawled across his lap. His hands moved down the length
of her body and although he didn’t linger, he touched her everywhere in firm,
even strokes.
Even though she wanted answers, she scrambled up and tried to get
away from this stranger. Her head pounded from the sudden movement, she
scrunched her eyes shut to ward off the dizziness.
“Shhh,” he gripped her tighter with one hand while the other moved
to cup her chin. It was big, warm and calloused. His eyes had softened to olive
tones, they eased up with…concern. “Stay still. Besides some cuts and bruises,
I think you’ll live.”
There was no other option, so she allowed herself to lean back into
him. Despite everything, she felt herself relax.
“Who are you? What just happened?” the words left her lips in a
whisper.
“That’s Ash…” he pointed to the blonde woman behind the steering
wheel, “…and I’m Cole, but the question of the hour is who are you?”
Cole…Ash…they had to be fake names. Why would they give her fake
names?
Who the hell were these people?
Best she play nice…they had saved
her but could just as easily throw her back to the wolves...the thought clawed
at her memory but his insistent gaze forced her to let it go.
“Katy Devon. I’m a bookkeeper. I work for Cowley and Associates. I
was standing in line waiting to be served when out of nowhere…,” she was
babbling like a nervous idiot and bit down on her bottom lip instead, “What
just happened?”
“I’m going to lift you up now.”
She nodded, careful not to bring on another wave of dizziness. The
man she now knew as Cole helped her up slow and easy, she slid off his lap.
“Lean back against the seat for support,” when she complied he
continued. “Maybe you should start by telling us why Bain was after you,” his
eyes hardened back up. “Who are you really?”
“Wait just a minute,” she sat upright, turning to face him. Not
caring that it hurt like mad or that she felt a little queasy. “That was the
first time I’ve ever seen that man…Bain.” Something in her subconscious
prickled. Then she noticed the speed at which the car was travelling. “Where
are you taking me?” her voice sounded calm and she realized that she wasn’t
scared even though she should be. These people knew her abductor and that
couldn’t be good.
“We’re being followed,” Ash turned her head to look back as she
spoke.
“Is it him…?” A surge of unexpected panic hit her like a wave. “Oh
my God! What are we going to do? Where are we going? How are…,” her words
melted one into the other. One big incoherent mess, but she found that she
couldn’t stop. The realization of what had just happened and how close she’d
come to death or worse – she could still feel that psycho sniffing at her head.
Katy twisted banging at the door, she had to get out. “I need to get back to
work, I have things I have to do. We’re busy with a major audit.”
Cole slid both hands onto her shoulders, he squeezed for just a
second before turning her to face him, taking his arms back as soon as she
stilled.
“I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”
The panic drained from her body. She felt her lip quiver…oh boy…
this was way worse than panic. Not able to stop herself, Katy burst into tears.
Cole’s jaw worked. He looked away, uncomfortable. Just when she’d given up on
any type of comfort from him, he put a reassuring hand on her arm. Right now
she needed contact with another human being. Her pride be damned, she leaned
into him. At first he stiffened but then he slid his arms around her and pulled
her in close. It felt good to cry. She really was losing it big time because it
felt good to be in this stranger’s arms.
****
Oh hell! What was wrong with him?
Last
time he checked he still had a pair of balls. All this lovey-dovey hand holding
was getting in the way of business. More to the point, he hadn’t just made a
promise he would probably never be able to keep had he? The daggers Ash shot
him in the rearview mirror told him that he had. One thing was for sure,
something didn’t add up, he smelled a rat and his nose never lied. He may not
trust the woman in his arms, but she sure as hounds felt good.
It had been important to check for serious injuries and to make sure
she wasn’t armed. He’d be damned if it hadn’t been impossible not to notice
that hiding beneath a no-nonsense knee length skirt and matching grey jacket,
were curves enough to put a playboy model to shame. He must be one sick bastard
because the torn up stockings and dirt streaks had only helped add to the
appeal. It was rare for him to be instantly attracted to trouble, and this
woman was trouble with a capital T. Besides the killer body, she wasn’t his
type. She was either a regular girl with a regular life who’d got herself mixed
up in something nasty or she was a serious liar. Tempting as she was, he didn’t
do regular and he didn’t do liars.
Katy had stopped shuddering and spluttering but she still held on to
him as if her life depended on it which at this point it did. Finally, she
pulled away, using the back of her hand to wipe her nose and then the tips of
her fingers to wipe away the mascara streaks.
Damn, her bottom lip still
quivered.
Cole had a ridiculous urge to smooth it down with the pad of his
thumb.
“Please just tell me what’s going on. I need to know.” One look into
those crystal blue eyes and he was sorely tempted to believe her whole regular
girl act. Believe that she knew nothing about what was happening and why. It
wasn’t going to be that easy, he’d been fooled before by sexy-save-me packaging
that turned out to be first degree evil. It wasn’t going to happen again. He
needed to get to the bottom of this. Fast.
Cole moved back, trying to put some space between them. Needing to breathe,
to think straight, which was difficult when he could feel the warmth radiating
from her body. When he could smell way beyond her perfume and catch the
enticing scent that was uniquely hers. All woman. Experience had taught him not
to trust, it had also taught him how to gauge if someone was lying.
Cole took a deep breath, “My sister and I are demon chasers and Bain
is a demon wolf.”
Katy’s mouth dropped just as Ashlyn expelled a hard cuss.
“What are you doing?” Ash’s voice was as sharp as her blade.
“I knew something was different about him. Something was happening
to him just before I passed out,” Katy said.
“You knocked your head, you were seeing things.” Ashlyn was trying
hard to defuse the situation.
He was graced with another bout of serious eyeballing in the mirror
instructing him to shut the hell up.
“Um…Bain is the ring leader for a gang that calls themselves ‘The
Demons’ and—,” Ash couldn’t continue because Cole talked over her.
“Bain
is
a demon wolf. Creatures similar to mythical werewolves
except demon wolves are the real deal. Bain was erupting…changing just as you
lost consciousness.” This resulted in another string of hard words from behind
the steering wheel.
“Have you lost your mind?” Ash glanced back for a second as she
spoke. “You don’t even know her.”
Her head snapped back a second time, blonde hair flying and he got
the feeling that if they weren’t racing to get away from Bain’s pack, he would
have been punched right about then. His sister might be a pint sized woman, but
she could fight better than most men he knew.
“Trust me. You drive, I’ll handle this.”
“Cole if…”
“Trust me okay?” He said his last piece through clenched teeth, not
once taking his eyes off the woman on the seat next to him.
Ash released a pent up sigh, “You’d better know what the hell you’re
doing.”
“Bain is the Alpha of a demon wolf pack that runs in your neck of
the woods. Do you have any idea why he wants you?”
She shook her head, her wide eyes staying firmly on his as she
spoke, “You said you chase…demon wolves?”
“Nope. We hunt and kill rogue demons, there are more than just the wolves,
but we have, or should I say
had
, a standing agreement with the wolves,
and a few others. Point being, the agreement with the wolves has lasted for
generations. They stay out of our way and we stay out of theirs. Until today
that is. A two hundred year long agreement is in serious jeopardy.”
It was weird, the wolves generally kept to themselves. There were
sometimes incidences within the pack, but it was the Alpha’s responsibility to
deal with it. The agreement meant that the Demon Control Agency left the wolves
alone to govern themselves and to handle any rogues. Bain was an Alpha, he was
also the one causing all this shit which put them in a serious predicament.
“Protecting humans is our main focus. Abducting you would have been,
not only against the agreement, but also against Demon Control Agency rules.
Just for clarity sake—” Aside from looking a little pale, it was unbelievable
how well she was taking this. Most people would have either freaked or have had
a hard time believing it at all. She was either a really good actor
or…something else entirely. “—I need to ask,” he felt like a class one dick but
it had to be done. “You weren’t going with Bain of your own free will were you?”
She gasped staring at him in disbelief.
“For the record, is that a yes or a no Katy?”
Her eyes sparked with defiance, “Hell no!”
He didn’t know why he felt that he needed to reassure her at this
point, but the words came out before he could stop them. “I promised to protect
you and I will.”
“I can’t believe this is happening to me.”
“I won’t let him get you. We’ll figure this out.”
“You talked about different types of demons, could there be more
kinds after me?” She rallied on before he had time to answer, “Why does Bain
want me? I take it he’s still alive if he’s after us?”
He tried to respond but she cut him off. “What’s this whole demon
thing anyway? Werewolves I can kind of understand but demons?”
Cole put a hand up. “Calm down. I realize that you’re scared. To
answer your questions, I don’t really want to get into it too much. I’ve taken
an oath as a Demon Chaser to protect the fact that demons exist from humans but
since you are already involved…,” Cole paused not sure how much to tell her. “Basically
it is like being possessed. There are humans out there who have
something….inside of them. Something as in demons, there are different types of
species of demons. In the case of the wolves, the demon is similar to a regular
wolf. It is inside of the person and exerts itself and its traits on the human.
Bain and his pack are demon wolves. There is more to the world of demons, but I
can only give you information at this point that directly pertains to your
situation.”
She shook her head, her mouth gaping and her eyes unblinking. Maybe
he’d gone a little too far.
Hounds, was it possible to look so wide eyed and
not be innocent?
So far she was passing all of his tests. He still had a
nagging feeling in his gut though. “You asked why Bain wants you and the truth
is I have no idea. There have been rumors about him messing around with human
women lately. Been a bit rough on one or two occasions which is why Ashlyn and
I were following him in the first place.”
“Lucky for me. Did you at least manage to slow him down a little?”
“I’m not sure”—for whatever reason he was reluctant to tell her how
Bain had almost kicked the crap out of him—“back in the ally, well, we were
doing okay…”
Ash chuckled, “You wish Cole. We were barely holding on. Demon wolves
are strong but that was insane. It was like Bain was on something.”
“It’s a full moon tonight which would explain some of that extra energy.
Anyway, we were doing
alright
when a lone wolf jumped in. He managed to
distract Bain long enough for us to get away. One thing is for sure though,
we’re being followed by more than one demon wolf. In fact, our sources tell us
that the number of wolves chasing us keeps on growing. We need to find out the
real reason why and soon or…,” he felt it was better not to elaborate at this
point.
“Why are you helping me?” Katy asked.
Cole realized that she was probably struggling with trust issues
herself. “Like I said, as Demon Chasers it’s our duty to protect humans.” And
he needed to find out how she was involved in all of this. “I mentioned the DCA
earlier. It’s an Agency similar to the CIA except we specialize in demons.”
“Enough Cole,” said Ash. Her hands were white knuckled around the
steering wheel as she continued, “That’s confidential information. Need to know
only. She sure as hell doesn’t need to frigging know.”
Damn it but Ash was right. It wasn’t like him to dole out this type
of information to someone he didn’t trust, especially since he’d made that
mistake before.
“You are humans aren’t you?” Katy’s question was barely audible and
unexpected.
“As human, as human can be,” piped up Ash, her lips quirked up to
the side in a rare smile.