Primal Heat 05 - Darkness Reborn

as the breeze carried to him the scent he hadn't smelled in over six hundred years. He froze, his claws buried in the animal he'd just slaughtered, claws that had long since stopped retracting during the day. His muscles tensed and he swung around, frantically scenting the air as he tried to track it. Was he imagining it?
    He breathed deeply, then caught it again. That same scent of earth and humanity, of the sulfuric taint of demon and the lily-of-the-valley blessing of purity beyond words. "Jesus!" He leapt to his feet and bolted through the woods, moving so silently and so quickly that even the animals didn't notice him pass by. He brushed a deer with his hip, and the animal hadn't even managed to lift its head to look around before he was past.
    Faster and faster he ran, his legs pistoning as he vaulted over underbrush and dead trees, ducking past branches, leaping over boulders. His heart was pounding, his mouth dry, adrenaline screaming through him as he sprinted straight toward the scent he'd locked onto, desperate to get there before it dissipated—
    There!
    Luc slammed to a stop, his body becoming as still as death as he waited in the shadows, frantically searching the cluster of people around the fountain that he'd finally succeeded in drying up.
    His gaze went right toward the tallest male, the one cleaving at the earth beside the fountain with his spiked flail. "By hell's angels," Luc whispered, staring in disbelief at the warrior who was covered in scars.
    It had to be him.
    Every cell in Luc's body was screaming in response, fire burning through him so intensely that black smudges crept over his arms. It was the black taint of the hell he'd been tormented by for the last six hundred years, the one that made his skin scream with agony every minute of every day. The poison that bled through his veins, eating away at his insides like the slow onslaught of death that would never give him the mercy of actually coming for him. The agonizing thud of his heart, like a dagger being ripped through the tissue each time his heart beat. But the emptiness in his soul was a thousand times worse than the most brutal physical pain it was possible to suffer.
    Was it all over now? Was it finally going to end?
    Luc watched the warrior, his heart thudding with agonizing anticipation as he waited for the warrior to turn around. To see his face. To know.
    The warrior stopped suddenly, going utterly still. Slowly, he turned his head, scanning the woods near where Luc was hiding.
    No shit? He'd sensed him? Luc stilled his heart, going into complete stealth mode.
    Still gripping a massive chunk of rock, the warrior slowly straightened up. With a flick of his fingers, he got the attention of the other two, and all three men began vigilantly scanning the woods. The air began to hum as they reached out with their preternatural senses. The women on the ground near them went still, and suddenly they were looking around as well.
    Luc smiled, knowing that they would never find him. No one could. Not unless he wanted them to. Turn around. Show me your face.
    The warrior dropped the rock and spun around.
    Luc froze in stunned disbelief as recognition ripped through him. It was Kane Santiago. The prodigal son had returned.Raw, dark elation tore through Luc, and he dug his claws into his own palm, drawing blood.
    Kane turned his head sharply, staring directly at Luc's hiding place.
    Luc swore as the warrior seemed to stare right at him. Could he really see him? If he could, that could mean only one thing: their connection was already rebuilding itself. Kane was coming back to him. A slow, satisfied grin spread across Luc's face as he looked into the male's dark eyes. Eyes so dark they could be from only one place: hell.
    Luc's hell.
    The hell he hadn't been able to escape for six hundred years. The one that would never release him, until he found his replacement. Luc grinned, knowing that he'd found him. Welcome to hell, Kane. You owe me a lifetime, and I'm going to take it from you.
    Kane shouted sharply, and sprinted straight toward him.
    Luc swore and whirled around, bolting into the woods. He let the forest swallow him up, running hard until there was no sound from behind him. Slowly, he eased down and turned to face the direction of the old village, where Kane Santiago had come back to him.
    Luc held up his hand, and watched his flesh disintegrate into wisps of black smoke. The spirals of smoke circled in the air, twisting around,