Darkness Wanes Read Online Free

want to rip it. “Stop.”
    “Then don’t make my friends spy on me!” Emily swung her fist up, connecting her knuckles with his chin. “How could you?”
    The blow had little force behind it, but his breath caught on her words. “How could I what?”
    “You know what.” Her blue eyes were full of accusation.
    Lucas had been cautious when he compelled Gabrielle. With supernaturals, he couldn’t erase their memories the way he could humans, but he could force them to do his bidding under whatever guidelines he provided them. Emily shouldn’t have been able to figure it out.
    He’d have to choose his words carefully, but perhaps he could still salvage the situation. Gabrielle had been the only method he could use to watch over Emily when he wasn’t near her. The female werewolf reported all her movements and plans. It had been an ideal setup so that he could protect her. The last thing he needed was to lose that now when Emily had strange men coming around. He didn’t know what he’d do if something happened to her.
    “You must be mistaken,” he said. Lucas couldn’t outright lie, or the young sensor would know it.
    “That is such bullshit. Why else would your number be in her phone?” Emily asked.
    This was going to be more complicated than he thought. He glanced at Gabrielle. “Go.”
    She gave Emily an apologetic look, then took off down the street. Most of the students who’d gathered to watch the fight had already left. He gave the few remaining stragglers a menacing glare and they took the hint. In less than a minute, only he and Emily stood there.
    “I gave her my number so that if anything happened to you she would know how to contact me,” Lucas said after considering his answer carefully.
    She stopped struggling and stared up at him. He couldn’t quite read her expression, but she didn’t appear enraged anymore. “And that’s the only reason?”
    “Who was the man you were talking to?” he asked, deciding the best course of action was to change the subject. Teenagers were more astute in this day and age.
    Emily averted her eyes. “No one.”
    “I don’t need your abilities to recognize when you’re lying,” he pointed out. She wasn’t half as good as she thought.
    She set her chin into a stubborn tilt and said nothing. This was going nowhere. Whether he liked it or not, she wouldn’t tell him anything until she was good and ready. Lucas had tried every tactic he could devise—short of harming her—on previous occasions with no positive results. Emily was every bit as stubborn as Melena, perhaps more so.
    “Why attack Gabrielle if you think it was my fault?” he asked, taking her arm to guide her back to his vehicle. He didn’t want to keep standing in the open where they might draw further attention. They’d already created a big enough scene.
    She clamped her lips shut and didn’t look at him. Lucas picked up the pace. He decided there needed to be a special realm far from Earth where all kids should go from ages twelve to eighteen to save their parents and guardians the grief of dealing with them. He had no idea how Melena managed to raise Emily and deal with all the supernatural problems they faced at the same time. It increased his admiration for her even more, along with the pain he felt at her absence. The world was a much better place when she was in it.
    “Are you taking me home?” Emily asked after they got into the SUV.
    “No.” He didn’t dare leave her alone in her mood.
    She stared out the window as he drove down the street. “The nerou compound?”
    “Yes.”
    She’d been there a few times when he thought she needed closer observation. The compound was a facility they’d built where Lucas and other supernaturals trained the nerou so they could become acclimated to life on Earth. He didn’t mind the job all that much. It was the only way the nephilim-sensor hybrids could remain, rather than going back to Purgatory. The archangels had mandated the hybrid