Bloodrites: Blood Prophecy Series

By Kathi Huggins

With the location of Jades Incubus mate now known, she would do anything in her power to make him hers. Without him Jade could never have Michael and that was something she would not accept.

If the Incubus didnt want her or refused to be her mate, would she be able walk away? Even if Jade did everything that the prophecy said no one really knew what would happen. She would make her family happy above all else. Michael was suppose to be her last mate but if the Incubus didnt want her she would not walk away from Michael, nor he from her. Michael was way beyond a want or a need, he was a must have no matter what. Jade craved Michael in so many ways it was hard to think of anything but the day they could finally be together.

The battles in the past have been for Jades life but this one would be for her future. The future that she wants with the mates she has the one she still wants. This could turn out to be the biggest fight of Jades life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9781503536937

Kathi Huggins

Kathi Huggins lives outside of Calgary with her husband Truman, teenage children, William and Victoria, and her pet pug, Storm. Kathi loves to travel and see new places with her family and write in her spare time. Kathi is also the author of Bloodlust, the first book in the Blood Prophecy Series and the upcoming next novel in the series, Bloodrites.

Book preview

Copyright © 2015 by Kathi Huggins.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2015901374

ISBN:      Hardcover   978-1-5035-3691-3

               Softcover      978-1-5035-3692-0

               eBook           978-1-5035-3693-7

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 04/25/2015

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Contents

Prologue

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

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

This book is dedicated to

everyone taking this journey

with me while reading along.

Thank you.

Book One—Bloodlust

Book two—Bloodstar

Book Three—Bloodrites

Prologue

It had been six months since the babies were born: two girls—Spike’s daughter, Hope and Cin’s daughter Angel, and two boys—TJ’s son Christen and Cam’s son Jonny. Summer and Alec were now almost a year and a half old; they were a year older than their siblings, and now on the move; they were walking and running everywhere. It kept Marcus and Hawk very busy while the new dads still had the luxury of their kids staying still.

I was telling the kids a story to put them to bed before going back to see the witch. We had been trying to figure out how to break the bond the witch was in, but without knowing exactly what she was bonded to, it was almost impossible. Was she lying to us? Most definitely. Would she ever tell us what we needed to know? That was the question.

We have had her locked up for a year now, and it seemed that while in a cell to block her powers it also blocked whatever had her bound from reaching her. But we were not sure if it had to do with the cell or the spell protecting the island; so far, we had no luck in being able to help her, and therefore, she would not talk.

We had no luck on our own finding the mountain range she had been talking about, so we needed her to tell us, which means we needed to free her. Or at least let her think she would be free. I didn’t think a person like her could ever turn back to being a good person. But maybe it was too early to judge.

I think they’re asleep, Reaper said.

They are. I just like being with them. It seems like time is going by so fast. Look at Summer and Alec. It feels like they were just born. Before we know it, they will be grown and moving on with lives of their own.

You still have some time before all that. I am going to head out tonight to the new mountain range we found. I just wanted to say bye. I’m not sure how long I will be gone.

You won’t be that long though, will you?

It’s a large mountain range, so it could take some time to check it all.

Who is going with you?

Blaze and Rocky will be with me.

Okay, good, just don’t be too long.

If it’s as big as I’m told, it could be a few months to check and clear it. We don’t want to rush it and miss something important.

True, you have three months though, no more.

Why?

Your child will be here in four months, and I want you here.

My… what… child…

Reaper stood there in shock. It had been a busy few months since the fight. We had to go through all the lycians to know that the witch had been only fighting us because of the lies they had been told and witch was trying to stop the prophecy.

There had only been a few that had to stay locked up; the rest had been set free to go back to their colony. Saber was keeping contact with them as well as Lily, which made them feel better; they were now free from the last council.

A group of them had stayed here with us wanting to help us with our plans. Most of the ones that stayed were single and younger ones, but Sara and William stayed along with one other mated pair.

Yes, your son.

So many things had been happening that I didn’t even know I was pregnant until just a couple days ago. Reaper was still speechless at the news; we hadn’t been sure whether or not I would have a child of his. The way the prophecy was there would be a child for each mate, but did it mean the original eight or all nine? Guess it meant all nine.

Maybe I should stay here. Someone else can go instead of me.

It’s okay. Go and do this, just be back in three months to either be done or switch out for someone else. You were here when I was pregnant with the babies. Nothing exciting happens until the end.

Are you sure?

Yes, just keep in contact.

Of course, I will be checking in a few times a day.

I’m sure you will. Don’t worry, everything is fine.

I helped him get a backpack together of what he would need. It would be more like a hiking trip through the mountains so it was a lot of camping gear. Rocky could come back for food and supplies when needed, so they only took what they would need for a week.

Once they left I headed over to see the witch; she wouldn’t tell us her name; after all, there really was power in knowing a name when it came to witches. We had tried many things but still could not find a way to break the bond she was in.

One of the problems was we only had guesses of what species could have trapped her. It was hard to cure when you didn’t know the cause.

We still have no new ideas on helping you. I assumed that was what she wanted.

I know you are doing all you can, but maybe you need a witch to help you.

You are not leaving this cage until you are no longer a threat to us, which means this bond is broken.

I did not mean me, although it would be nice to be free. I meant your witch.

Tristan has been in a coma ever since you put him there. We also had Storm, but she had tried to figure out what caused this and couldn’t.

I can tell you how to wake him, but it requires dark magic. He may have enough strength to get through this, but the longer you wait, the less likely it is that he will ever come out of it.

You think I can find another witch to do this? No one will turn dark, not even for me. And for your sake, you better hope he comes out of this.

They don’t have to turn dark. There is no life sacrifice involved, so they will be fine.

Then how is it dark?

They will need a blood offering, but it does not involve death. There is more power in this that they may like and not want to go back to good magic.

You don’t know that.

You’re right, I don’t, but I thought I knew myself when I had to do the same thing for someone. I wasn’t strong enough to go back. I kept going further until it was too late. It was too late. I couldn’t go back. It doesn’t always work how we think it will.

She was telling the truth. This may not have been a dream of hers to be a dark witch but she was. If it was this hard to turn away once you had a taste of it, then there was no way I would have any witch try it. But that was something she did not have to know.

I understand. Tell me how to do it, and I will see about finding a new witch to break this.

She told me step-by-step what had to be done, but I could tell she was lying about what this spell would really do. I knew some dark witches back in the demon realm, so I would look into what this really did first. She seemed to think I believed her and was quite happy; little did she know it would not last long.

The dark witches I knew were dark. They used blood offerings for their spells. But the difference was they had never offered a sacrifice, had never taken a life. That was the point of no going back. If you could stay in that balance, then you could use both types of magic, but it was a hard line not to cross. So I had been told anyway.

One witch I knew that went by Sabrina had a demon guard with her at all times. She worked for my father but did not even trust herself not to turn, so Lou made her a deal. If she worked for him then he would give her a guard that made sure she never sacrificed so much as a fly for a spell.

So far it had been working. It worked so well for her that her demon and she were in a relationship. I couldn’t imagine that being an easy one with her being human and destined to live so short a life, and her demon being almost immortal.

This witch had been giving just enough truth mixed in with lies that most would believe her, not so for me. I could tell if even part of a sentence was a lie while the rest was true; the mountain range was true. We were still searching every range we could find in any realm we could get to.

It had been taking longer than we thought it would, so we would keep this witch around until she was of no use to us. Dad was already off talking to other witches to break this spell she had Tristan under. There were two I had grown up around that liked me enough to want to help me.

Sabrina was willing to help, but knowing her there would be a price she would ask. She may be trying to hold onto herself enough not to fall off the edge into being fully dark, but she still made sure to watch out for herself first.

Soon this witch would outlive her usefulness for us.

Chapter 1

One Year Later

It was a beautiful day on the island. Saber was working with William and a few of the other tigers that had stayed with us. They were learning how to fight and protect so when they went back to the colony they could protect it. There were three groups that switched out; one was with us and two stayed to watch the colony.

We knew there had been others involved in the attack on us and did not want the ones living there to be left unprotected. So far, they had been left in peace, but that didn’t mean it would stay that way. Once they were able to fully protect themselves against anything that came their way, we would step out of it.

Lily was their queen and would always been there for them, and they would always be able to reach her. While she was still young, she would stay with Saber and TJ on the island. I was sure once she grew up she would want to be there with her people, and I knew both Saber and TJ would hate it. They would not want her put at risk like that, but it would be her choice. Would I be as understanding when it was one of my own kids wanting to go out in to the world? Probably not.

Cin came into the room to tell me of what he had found. He had just got back from looking into a new mountain range. It was starting to look like they would never find the one they were looking for.

Are you sure? I asked.

Almost positive, Cin said.

Cin had been the last of my men out trying to find the mountains when he had come across a labyrinth of tunnels. Thanks to being fey, he could feel the energy in the ground and know his way through; otherwise it would have been a death trap, designed to get people lost never to find their way back out again.

He had been inside the tunnels for almost two days before he had gone deep enough to come across other people. He had seen four guards, two demons—type unknown but of mixed blood and not overly powerful—along with a vampire that was more powerful than the demons. There was also a were-bear equal in power to the vampire; on their own they would be no match for the rescue party that would be coming in here.

Inside the room they were all standing outside of, there was a man they seemed to be guarding. He was more powerful than them all but was very weak and suffering. This was what we had been searching for. It had to be; everything about it was what we had been looking for.

Cin went on to explain all he had found while there; he did not do anything to alert them to his presence. He just observed their habits and routines and listened to all they had to say.

If it is not who we are looking for, then I don’t know who is. It matches all we have been told, Cin said.

Now we just need a plan.

It had been more than a year and a half that they had been looking through mountains, searching for the incubus. They would take turns going out anytime they learned of a place that had not been checked; even then they would recheck other places just in case they were on the move.

Maybe now they had found what they had been searching for. Tonight all the men would be back, and they would come up with a plan of how to save him.

Jade, this is the only thing we can do. If we do not try it, then how do we know whether or not it will work? Lou asked.

What if it is not the right spell? What if this hurts him more or, worse, kills him? It has been getting close to two years and nothing?

Exactly. This could be what will awaken Tristan. I am going to take him back to the demon realm, and the witches will do their spell, and hopefully he will wake up.

I sat and thought about this. Sabrina was sure she had figured it out, and it had been a spell that was so simple she had not even considered it at first. She was sure she could wake him, but the only thing was if she tried this to wake him and she was wrong. Trying a counter spell on the wrong spell would probably kill him.

You’re right. He would not want to stay like this. Let me know when it is done and what happened.

I will not leave until after we have decided who goes and what we plan to do about this incubus.

What do you mean what we are to do about him? We are going to get him out of there.

Jade, if he has been there for over forty years being starved, then you cannot just walk in and take him with you. He will need to feed, and I am not talking just a little bit. He would need a few people to drain just to hopefully bring him back to his right mind.

I know, but how do we decide who that will be? I can only think of one to take him.

The one I was thinking of was the witch that had put him there, the spell she had given us to wake Tristan was really a beacon. It would have killed Tristan to be her sacrifice and called her master to her and to us. She had hoped we would go ahead and try it, and she would have been freed after he arrived. No such luck for her.

She had stopped talking after that and only warned the guards of how she would be free one day and be sure to see us all dead. I was going to make sure she was the first one I gave to the incubus; someone had to die, and it would be her. Unfortunately, being a witch meant she was human and would not give him as much power as he needed.

We had to have more than her with us for him to feed from; he had to be back at full strength before he could be tied to me. Once we were mated, it would only be me and anyone else that was in bed with us that he could feed from. I was not sure if he could feed from anyone else but me; maybe if it was a species I wasn’t? My other mates couldn’t; they could only be with me. But even if he could that did not leave much open.

"There are others back in the demon realm waiting on death row. They are to die anyway. This would be a kindness for them to go out this way. There is no pain in the arms of an incubus or a succubus.

Sounds good to me. Pick a couple that can be transported without any chance of escape.

Oh, I have a plan for that as well.

What?

Spike.

Right.

All Spike had to do was get a taste of their blood, and he could control every move they made. I could do the same but had not had much practice at it; my emotions usually ruled my powers. That would make feeding him easier, now just on to the rest of the plan.

Grampy!

Grampy!

I stood there laughing as Summer and Alec came running into the living room. Lou hated being called Grampy, but there was no way he could tell them that. They were now just over two and a half and had him wrapped right around their little fingers. There was nothing that he said no to and was always around for them.

There’s my little darlings.

He turned and scooped them both up as they laughed and squirmed around. As much as I had been worried about how this would all go, so many mates and trying to keep everyone happy, it had been great. All except for Michael; he did not come around much but always checked in with me.

I could not wait to tell him we may have found the incubus. Once he was mated to me, then Michael could be as well. I had missed him being around so much, but I understood why he stayed away. He always came if I needed him, but other than that only though our bond and even that was not as much as I would like.

Reaper’s son was born a week early but was a very healthy little guy. He reminded me of Reaper as a child. He was the smallest of all my babies. We named him Vincent after Reaper’s grandfather, but I usually called him Vin. I knew from what happened to Reaper that once he hit puberty, he would change and literally grow into his powers. So I didn’t worry about him being small now.

Vin was now eight months old, and I had been enjoying not being pregnant. It seemed for the last three years I had been pregnant. As soon as I would give birth, it would not be long until I was pregnant again. I knew there would be two more babies to come and I was looking forward to them, but it was still nice to have some me time.

Thinking of me time, while Dad had the oldest kids and the rest were either having their nap or with Storm, I thought it would be a good time to grab a shower. Reaper was out on a little walk giving Vin some fresh air, so I headed for the stairs and went up to my room.

After checking on the kids to make sure they were not about to wake up, I headed toward my bathroom, taking clothes off as I went. It had been a long day. The kids were up early, and I had no time for me yet so had to sneak it in whenever I could.

The hot water felt great. I could stand here for hours, but I knew the kids would be up soon. So I quickly washed my hair and was about to get out when I felt I was no longer alone.

Were you just planning on watching me? I asked.

No, I came to talk with you but got distracted.

Well, I could use a hand washing my back.

You don’t have to ask me twice.

I hope you were not going to tell me you wanted me to stay here while the rest of you went to the mountains.

It was my hope, but I knew what you would say to that.

Marcus, you need me there.

He is very weak we can get him here to you without you being there. I just don’t like the risk to you.

So you think it would be better to bring him here where the kids are before we know anything about him? No, Marcus. I will be going with you, and we can go from there.

This conversation is not over.

Yes, it is. Why is it we need to fight about everything? I don’t fight with any of my other mates.

Your other mates are sheep. Everything you want they do no matter what.

And that’s a bad thing?

It can be.

Just because you are stubborn about everything does not make them sheep. They choose not to argue with me over every little thing I do. They may have more confidence in me than you do. Ever think of it that way?

Jade, I have plenty of confidence in you, but I know you maybe better than you know yourself. If anything happened to you because of a choice you made, how would you feel? If someone died trying to protect you, how would that affect you?

He was right, and I hated to admit it. Marcus was the most outspoken of what he thought of my choices. My other mates would go along with just about anything but would protect me with their lives. If any of my mates or guards died protecting me, I would never forgive myself.

Now what? I felt like I had to be there, but we would have no idea what we were walking into. I guess this conversation wasn’t over after all.

Okay, you’re right.

I’m sorry. Can you say that again?

Sure, right after I dry off before I become a prune.

Once we finished washing, we both got out and dried off. I grabbed my fluffy bathrobe to pull on and headed to the fire place in my room. I wanted to be comfortable for the rest of this conversation.

We talked for the next hour of my feeling of needing to be there and his need for me to be safe. We came to an agreement of me going along as long as I did exactly what he said. I was not sure how that was going to work, but I would try. Now we were just working out the details.

Jade, you will not go anywhere near him until he has fed, and we know he is safe.

Marcus, he will not hurt me.

He may not mean to, but it could still happen. You can’t be sure what he will or will not do. He will not be in his right mind.

I don’t know why, but I feel that very strongly. He will not hurt me.

If you feel this strongly, I will trust you, but you must promise to at least be cautious. Nothing can happen to you.

You have trust in me, and I will have trust in you. If you tell me to do something I will listen.

I will hold you to that.

Chapter 2

Come on, you can do better than that, Cin said.

We had been out in the yard for a couple hours working on my skills and ability to defend myself. It was getting easier to call on my powers as I wanted them, but it took concentration. And in a fight I did not always have that luxury. I needed to use my powers more until it became second nature to call on them. My emotions still played a big part, and that had to end.

Just give me a minute.

I had to get my head back in the game; we had been doing this every day for the past six months. I was much better than when we started, but I still let my emotions get involved way too much. The guys always worried I would get hurt, not wanting to hurt someone else. They may be right. I held back not wanting to hurt them, which also meant I did not know what I could really do.

In a fight you won’t get a minute. In a fight you could have people coming at you from different directions, and you need to be able to deal with it, Cin yelled.

He was always very serious about fighting. It had been his career for the past couple decades and was very good at it. Whether it be fighting, defending or being there and never being seen he could do it. I wanted to do better just to show him I could.

What do you want me to do?

Everything and anything you need to. I want you to protect yourself at all costs. If someone is coming at you take care of it, kill them. Before they kill you.

Why can’t I just put them unconscious?

Put me out right now. Go ahead.

Then I realized what he was getting at. Cin could not be knocked out by me. The elements would heal him right away. I may not know what species was coming at me to know what will and what will not work. So, therefore, anyone coming at me I should be trying to kill. At the very least severely wound them.

I get it.

Do you? I know you don’t want to kill if it is not necessary, but this is war. Anyone coming at us is going to be trying to kill us. You even more so. Now let’s do this again.

Okay.

We were in the clearing by the lake, and it was late evening. We did this at different times. I was told the enemy didn’t always attack during the light of day, so you had to train in all situations to be ready. Also, different species were stronger at different times of day, so I had to know when I should be calling on which species in me.

Cin had brought in some fog to make it even more difficult on me. They had been changing the terrain, the weather, and the number of attackers. It was something to have a group of people coming at you in the middle of a storm.

As it was, there had been five of them I think, attacking just one of me, not the best odds. I would be better if I wasn’t trying to hold back all the time so I didn’t hurt them. That was one positive in this situation, if anyone did attack me there would be no holding back.

Now I want everyone that can shift to do so. Jade, I want you to put them all back to their human bodies once they attack.

At the same time?

I had only ever tried this on one person at a time; now he wanted me to do it to… how many were out here? I only had my senses to go on. I couldn’t see shit through this fog. I would be lucky to turn one back.

Just then a huge trail of fire shot into the air, burning off some of the fog. It was either Cam or Saber out there, or both. Saber loved his dragon shape; once he started using it he couldn’t get enough. He was glad he had made the wish and loved flying through the clouds.

Saber was bloodred in colour with massive wings tipped with claws. The end of his tail was a mass of spikes no one would want to get hit with, as well as more spikes on the top of his head. He was made for fighting and sexy as hell. He may not be a mate or even a lover anymore, but I could still appreciate what he had to offer.

Yes, the same time.

How many are there?

That I am not going to tell you. You won’t get any cliff notes before a fight either.

You are so funny.

Shall we?

Cin then walked back into the fog, and it was quiet, way too quiet. They were taking their time to throw me off. The sad part was it was working. I was overthinking it. I had to relax before I started to see things that weren’t there.

I closed my eyes and opened my senses. I could then feel them; there were more of them than I thought out here. Saber and Cam were both here along with TJ, and a were-wolf that was one of my dad’s guards. There was another as well, but I also sensed Rocky out here. So there was someone being blocked by him, but who?

I didn’t have time to ponder that when I felt the first of them move toward me. It was Cam. He would be the easier of them. He always held back if we were sparing. He always said he didn’t want me hurt, so I always won because I would not hold back as much.

He came out the trees on the ground walking toward me, but his wings were open so he could take off at any moment. I was feeling around to see if he was the only one moving, and he was for now. Guess I should take care of him first. Just as I was about to strike I felt something moving behind me.

It was whoever Rocky was shielding; they were coming