Shade (Marked Soul book 2) Read online

  Contents

  Copyright

  Synopsis

  Shade

  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

  More to come!

  About the Author

  Shade

  Copyright © 2018 Cassa Daun

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, distributed, stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, without express permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, events, occurrences, or locales is purely coincidental. The characters and the story lines are created from the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Cover pictures from Depositphotos®

  Cover design by Q Design

  Death marked me the day I died.

  I spent most of my new life cold, never connecting, always alone.

  Until my Sight returned and the Reapers claimed me.

  My marked soul gives them strength, fills their void.

  And they give me the life I’ve missed.

  Shade was next.

  He fed me,

  consumed me.

  He promised I'd never be alone.

  1

  My life had changed in a few shorts days. One moment, I was moving through the world, through my small, isolated existence in rural Alabama, in search of a new job, a new place to live … a semi-normal life. And the next, my eyes were opened and my soul exposed to the supernatural world. I was brought to a house of four Reapers, four intimidating and incredibly sexy Reapers, all prepared to protect me, a Marked Soul.

  Years before, Death had Marked me when he chose to let me live. He Cloaked me too, keeping my soul hidden and my eyes closed to the truth. Over those years, I always felt different, felt a deeper reason my life had been lesser. I never knew the truth. Now, I’ve been brought here because of it, my soul said to hold power because of its Mark.

  So the Reaper’s house was my new residence, at least until we found answers and were sure others wouldn’t steal or kill me.

  Stretching wide, I yawned and sprawled out across Bone’s bed. He was the one who had found me at Purgatory after Dani—a vampire—had given me Sight and stripped the Cloaking away. He chose to bring me back to the house, chose to protect me. He also seduced me and connected his soul with mine, knowing my Mark was something good for them. I could give them energy, feed their partial souls, make them feel more.

  I reached out but there was no big mass of tender, hard muscle. He was gone again. To where I didn’t know. The Favored—Reapers closest to Death—had jobs keeping tabs on supernaturals and also maintaining the Wraiths—lower Reapers with no souls. He had to attend to something. I hoped it wasn’t facing repercussions from them killing Tucker and his two friends, vampires who had intended to kidnap and use me.

  After inhaling his scent inside the covers, I reluctantly pried myself from the bed and padded to the bathroom. The woman in the mirror looked every bit of a sexy mess as she felt, as if she’d been fucked so hard her whole body ached. Oh, yes. I was a wobbly mess, but the smile on my face was as solid as the cock that put it there.

  I giggled as I turned on the shower. It had been a long night following the one I’d taken at my apartment. I washed with Bone’s soap, the smell of it dull compared to his real crisp ingrained scent. Maybe it was his soul I smelled, or a memory of what he once was. They each had a unique scent, all intriguing and enticing. I’d only connected souls with Bone and Blood—after having to help him heal—but I felt a connection to them all. It was as if my soul was tuned to theirs as Shade had said. They all felt me, my emotions, especially my arousal for them. And I was attracted to them, even past their incredible looks. Immensely. Even Ash, who seemed to downright loathe me for occupying their space and messing up their lives. Though, he had apologized and thanked me for helping Blood. I hoped that meant he had at least accepted my presence in their lives.

  There were still so many things I wanted to know. At least I had the chance now. I was with them again, staying until we sorted through things.

  I finished washing, happy to have removed the tiny traces of the citrus smell still clinging on from Tucker’s attack. When I looked in the mirror again and moved my wet hair from my neck, the finger bruises he’d left behind were in clear view. I touched them gently then looked at the puncture wounds. They were already closed with no scabbing, only new scar tissue.

  I didn’t want to put on the clothes from the previous night, so I grabbed another pair of Bone’s sweat shorts, rolled them, and threw on one of his T-shirts too. Shade had gone back to my place to pick up some of my things. I needed to hunt him down.

  Daylight shone in from the windows up and downstairs. Everything was brighter than the previous day, more welcoming. I expected to find Shade in the kitchen and was surprised when he wasn’t. After snatching a banana, I took the first big bite and set off to explore the rest of the house. I passed the formal dining room and living room, and then the powder room, listening as I went. Soft beats pounded through the walls. Music. It traveled down the hallway, calling me forward, so I stepped quietly along the planked floor. An open doorway showed an open study with a vaulted ceiling like the living room. No Shade. No music. At the end of the hall, I opened a set of double doors, hit immediately with the sound of muffled hard rock beats as I stared down a smaller version of the main staircase.

  Downstairs, I passed a small office and a bathroom before opening a door to a huge gym. I finally recognized AC/DC’s “Back in Black” as it blasted from tower speakers along the side wall. The opposite wall was mirrored, corner to corner. Weight machines and benches were scattered throughout the open space as well as racks holding weight plates and dumbbells. There were also a few ellipticals and treadmills. And at the far end was a set of sliding glass doors opened to the backyard and its pool. I hadn’t realized that the backyard was on a lower level, the house set into a hill unseen from the front.

  Without thought, I took another bite of banana and moved in that direction, lured by the blue water of the pool and the surrounding landscape of stone. There was even one of those tiny waterfalls at one end.

  “Hey!” Shade’s voice called over the music just before I stepped outside.

  I turned, finally spotting him lying on a bench close to the mirrored wall, behind one of the weight machines.

  He sat up, dropping a set of dumbbells onto the matted floor. “Looking for someone?” The corners of his lips tipped up.

  Mine tipped up too as I chewed down the piece of banana in my mouth. “As a matter of fact, you.”

  “Me?” He pointed to his bare, sweaty chest, biting down on that full and sexy bottom lip of his. “Let me guess. You are in need of some clothes.”

  “What? Don’t like what I’m wearing?” I teased, tugging the shirt bottom out to show how big it was as I stepped closer.

  He ran a hand back through his damp hair and inhaled deeply. He’d obviously been working hard before I’d showed up. His muscles and veins were swelled and popping. “I’d like anything that covers your body. But I’d rather you wear nothing at all.”

  His words, his husky voice—the coolness hit me, and I wasn’t trying to hide or curb it. He was damn fine and made me feel so good.


  Shade closed his eyes and parted his lips, releasing a breath. The look on his face was of utter bliss. He felt me, and he was relishing it. Oh, was that sight arousing.

  As much as I wanted to keep going in that direction, I thought it best to stay on track and maybe get answers to those curious questions I still hadn’t been able to ask. I’d been too busy fucking Bone. Which was another good reason to ease up on the sexy talk. My girlie parts could use a little break.

  Shade opened his silver eyes and looked at me, his gaze like fire, ready to consume my body.

  Maybe not too long of a break.

  I cleared my throat. “So … uh … AC/DC, huh?”

  “Were you expecting something else? Say Blue Öyster Cult?”

  It took me a second, but then I laughed when the melody of “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” came to mind. How fitting. “Yeah, maybe.”

  He winked. “It’s on one of my favorite playlists. Rock is definitely my go-to, especially in the gym. You like it too?”

  “Yes, but I like a little of everything.” I looked around the gym, more questions springing to mind. “I wouldn’t have thought any of you would need to workout. Since you … shift forms.”

  He stood and wiped his face and neck with a towel. “We don’t have to. It’s somewhere in the middle, I guess. We don’t have to do nearly as much as a human to maintain our bodies—eating, working out, anything like that. But it’s a good thing to do, a way to feel real, and it helps to kill time. Like waiting for you to wake up.”

  “Oh,” I said as he stopped in front of me. The heat emanating from him was as fiery as his gaze had been.

  He ran his fingers down my arm then lifted my hand and kissed my palm. It had become his thing, his show of affection toward me, and I loved it. He lifted the other and bit off the last of my banana with a smile. I could only stare at him with a smile of my own.

  “Plus,” he continued after he chewed, taking the peel from my hand. “It helps with focus and energy. And if it’s something we enjoy doing, it’s good for our soul.”

  “So the humanly things you enjoy, usually the things you can feel the most … give you energy?”

  He crossed the room, tossed the peel into a trashcan, and grabbed a water bottle from a mini fridge, holding it up to offer me one. I shook my head. “Yes, in a way. It’s why we all have our interests.”

  “Interests?” I asked, moving closer to him.

  “Yeah.” He gulped down half the bottle. “Habits. Favorites. I like food—cooking it, eating it. All the smells and tastes. Also working out.”

  “Ah.” I understood perfectly. “And Bone likes tattoos.” Bone had said they made him feel.

  “Yes.” He took another drink before setting the bottle down.

  “And what about Ash and Blood?”

  “Hmm.” He bit down on his bottom lip and dragged it out from his teeth. “Probably best for them to tell you if they want to. But I will say we all favor one common thing.” His eyes roamed the bare parts of my legs and lifted up to my breasts. Even though they were hidden beneath Bone’s large shirt, they were basically on display without a bra, and his seductive gaze only made them more pronounced—my nipples hardening in response.

  “Oh, I can guess what that might be,” I replied.

  “If you guessed sex then you’d be right.” He chuckled, making me laugh too. “And now that you’re here, there’s another we can add to that list. Just being around you has heightened our feeling. But with the soul connection, Blood and Bone know even more than I do about the extent …”

  I narrowed my eyes at him, wondering if his words were simply stating a fact or if there was something else behind them. He didn’t sound upset or jealous, only curious. Still, I chose to joke about it, tease him a little. “I suppose they do. Maybe you should ask them about it.” I gave him a devilish smirk.

  His eyes flashed before he smirked back at me. “Maybe I will. Maybe I’ll ask them all about it. I’m sure they might share … their stories. Give me more things to imagine, more things to picture.”

  Oh, he was good at playing.

  “Though, I think,” he added, reaching out and grabbing hold of my waist, “they’d only tell me to find out for myself.”

  “Would they? And do you think I’d be willing to let you find out? I mean, sure you cooked a little for me, but look at you.”

  His thick eyebrows lifted as he looked down at himself, his arms and stomach muscles flexing. “Well, I am pretty sweaty and smelly right now. I suppose that’s not as appealing as food.”

  He definitely knew how appealing he was. His skin glistened, and he did smell of manly musk and sweat, though it was enticing mixed with his earthy scent. I broke my restraint and reached up to touch his chest, running my fingers over the sheen of sweat coating him, tracing the lines and indents of his taut muscles.

  “Turnoff, right?” he quipped, gripping my waist harder and drawing me closer. With a serious voice, he said, “I’m pretty sure that’s not the case. I’m pretty sure it makes you think … of how sweaty I’d get doing other things … of how much endurance I have. How long I can last.”

  Fuck.

  I tipped my head back to look at him and sighed, seeing the desire in his eyes.

  He pressed his lips to mine, unhurriedly, and I opened for him without hesitation, wanting to taste him again. His tongue swept inside my mouth, slowly, touching and matching my strokes.

  It was so sensual, my knees weakened. I gripped his arms for support, feeling just how tight his body was, how hard he had worked in the gym.

  He broke contact unexpectedly and backed away, blowing a long breath through pursed lips. “Damn, it’s hard to control myself around you, like you are holding it all and I’m just getting lost in you. The feeling is … so incredible.” He laughed and wiped a hand over his mouth. “Maybe we should go grab your stuff. I can get a shower. And then, if you want, we can get lost together.”

  2

  “So where is everyone?” I asked Shade as we passed by the living room on the way up to the bedrooms. The house felt so empty without all four of them there.

  He followed just behind me as we started up the stairs. “Ash and Bone are out redirecting Wraiths. We’re having issues with them lately.”

  “So I’ve been told,” I replied, recalling Ash’s comments about how my presence had apparently affected them, causing The Favored Four even more problems. “I guess that’s my fault.”

  “Probably,” he said with a laugh and I smacked his arm. “But they’ve been manageable for the most part. Those two are also following up with the Tucker thing, making sure no other vamps were told about you and aren’t actively searching for him and his friends.”

  “Oh. And Blood?”

  “He’s around,” he said when we reached the top of the stairs. “This way.” He pointed to the left, same side of the house as Bone’s room.

  “He’s around?”

  “Yeah. I can feel him close to the house. We can sense each other. He’s probably checking our security since we haven’t had issues in a while. The supernaturals don’t bother with us because we won’t bother them unless they step out of line. They give us no reason to act, and all is good.”

  “Let me guess,” I said with a sigh. “I’m fucking that up too.”

  “No, not yet.” He chuckled, and I shook my head. “We don’t want to take any chances after what happened last night, though. The house is protected enough with us here, but there’s always more we can do to be sure you’re safe.”

  We passed a few doors, including Bone’s, but didn’t stop until we reached the one beside the cut-glass window at the end of the hallway.

  “There’s still so much I don’t know.”

  “What can I tell you?” he asked, pushing through the door.

  “Nice room,” I said, eyeing it up. It was a large suite like Bone’s and Blood’s, with a wide platform bed and dark wood furniture. His held a more modern decor. There was a TV on an enterta
inment center and books stacked on shelves at its side.

  “Thanks,” he replied. “I don’t spend too much time here. I’m usually in the kitchen or gym when home.”

  “You sleep though, right?” I asked, fairly certain Bone had slept at least a little while with me.

  “Not much. We don’t need to unless we’ve exhausted our human bodies.” He opened a drawer of his tall dresser, grabbing clothes and setting them on top. “So, what else do you want to know?”

  “Oh, um …” I said as I rounded his bookshelves and ran my fingers along the spines, noticing a few classics and several old leather-bound books and journals. “What else is there? You all have mentioned vampires, witches, and psychics. I asked about werewolves the other night. Are they real too? And what else? Fairies?”

  He laughed and crossed his arms, watching me move around his room. “No fairies that I’m aware of. Wolves, yes. We don’t see them often. They keep houses deeper in the forests and stay off the grid. Occasionally, we have to handle some loners who roam and try to create their own packs.”

  Oh. Meaning turning humans. “And the vampires have families? You were saying Tucker was an Outcast.”

  “They stay close together in family houses, with one or two Makers running things. He strayed, didn’t obey his Maker, so he was cast out with a few others. They troll the local bars and colleges, find willing human donors, then alter their recent thoughts or memories. We’ve had some issues but they keep themselves in control. Obviously, you showing up changed that.”

  I turned away from the shelves and looked at him. “Wow. It’s odd enough to think and even more so to hear out loud.” With all that had happened, the information shouldn’t have been surprising. But it still was hard to believe. This was my new reality.

  “And they don’t just turn to dust when they die? The other two you killed simply died. But Tucker …”

  “No, they normally don’t unless they’re exposed to sunlight for too long, then their bodies dissolve into ash. That’s why we need to find if there’s something else about you, since Tucker’s death was unusual as far as we know.” He gazed at me thoughtfully. “Anything else you want to know?”