Inception Read online

  Table of Contents

  Part I

  Part II

  Part III

  Part IV

  Epilogue

  The story so far…

  Hope

  Aaron

  About the Author

  Also by Laxmi Hariharan

  Inception

  Laxmi Hariharan

  Contents

  The story so far…

  Part I

  1. Hope

  2. Aaron

  3. Hope

  4. Aaron

  5. Hope

  6. Aaron

  7. Hope

  8. Aaron

  9. Aaron

  10. Aaron

  Part II

  11. Hope

  12. Aaron

  13. Hope

  14. Aaron

  15. Hope

  16. Aaron

  17. Hope

  18. Aaron

  19. Hope

  20. Hope

  21. Aaron

  22. Aaron

  23. Aaron

  24. Hope

  Part III

  25. Aaron

  26. Hope

  27. Aaron

  28. Hope

  29. Aaron

  30. Hope

  31. Aaron

  32. Hope

  Part IV

  33. Hope

  34. Aaron

  35. Hope

  36. Hope

  37. Aaron

  38. Hope

  39. Aaron

  40. Hope

  41. Hope

  42. Aaron

  43. Aaron

  44. Hope

  45. Aaron

  46. Hope

  47. Aaron

  48. Hope

  49. Aaron

  50. Hope

  51. Aaron

  52. Hope

  53. Aaron

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Also by Laxmi Hariharan

  The story so far…

  In 2014, Ruby Iyer triggered tsunamis that destroyed many big cities around the world.

  Forty-nine years later, shifters and vampires, once banned from Bombay, are learning to co-exist with humans.

  Five immortal warriors called the Ascendants have adopted Bombay as their home. Their mission is to help the Council of Bombay to protect the city.

  Having wiped out the threat of Daniel, the vampire leader, as well as Noah, an Ascendant who had tried to wrest control of the city, the Council is focused on growing the economy.

  But a new threat arises in the form of the Elysians—a psychic collective of immortals who are stronger than the Ascendants.

  Now read on…

  Part I

  1

  Hope

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  Twenty-four hours into her break from being a sentinel of the dragons of Mauritania, Hope had walked into that bar in Bombay.

  She wasn't supposed to be in that city.

  The dragons had flown under the radar for so long. They'd kept away from people until they had all but faded from memory.

  She was taking a major risk by being there, but she hadn't been able to resist.

  The city had always called to her, and for once, Hope couldn't soothe her dragon out of the urge to visit.

  A few weeks more, and she would be bonded to a fellow dragon shifter. She was looking forward to it.

  Liar.

  Sweat trickled down her spine. The scents of the shifters, vampires, and humans in the bar, entwined with the smell of her desperation, made her throat close.

  Her fingers tightened around the glass she held until it shattered, the liquid splashing onto the bar counter.

  As one of the seven born to the dragon who founded her clan, it was her duty to mate with another dragon and continue her bloodline.

  No other species could survive the psychic impact of bonding with a dragon shifter. So, she was screwed.

  Likely, this was her last night of freedom, and she had to make the most of it.

  When she was out flying through the air or winging through the seas on her boat, she could be herself. That was when she felt free to do what she wanted, without fear of letting down her family.

  It was also the reason she kept breaking the rules of her clan.

  It was childish of her, but these occasional bouts of rebellion were what kept her dragon sated. Enough to allow the woman to stay in control in human form.

  "Non-alcoholic ambrosia, please." She peered up at the bartender from below lowered eyelashes.

  The man's eyebrows flew so high they disappeared under the hair that fell over his forehead. "Let me guess. You're a dragon shifter, the only species who don't like alcohol."

  A jolt of fear ran through Hope. The heat of the enclosed space inside Alex's bar weighed down on her shoulders. Had she been found out?

  Then she saw the teasing glint in his eyes.

  She relaxed and raised her fingers to her mouth, pretending to yawn. "Do I look like a dragon shifter?"

  The bartender ran his eyes over her features, down her chest, to her waist, then back. "Hmm. You're curvy and tiny and too sexy to be one."

  She recognized his harmless flirting and decided to play along. "What does a dragon shifter look like anyway?"

  "Large, fire-breathing, with wings." He flapped a palm in the air. "Never seen one. They're almost extinct, right?"

  "Right." She flashed a smile.

  Had the satisfaction of seeing him blink.

  Oh, he was interested all right, and cute and friendly. Only… she wasn't looking for any complications.

  "By the way, it's not like dragon shifters don't like the occasional alcoholic drink. But when you’re a fire-breather, alcohol tends to add fuel to the flames. Know what I mean?"

  Hope clamped her lips shut. Hell! She shouldn't have said that. But her dragon had insisted she set the facts right.

  Dragon 1. Woman 0.

  Stupid game! But it was so much more fun to keep her dragon and woman in balance this way.

  Her animal was too damn close to the surface. She never had managed to rein it in. Very early, Hope had realized that unlike the others, her dragon took a lot more to control.

  The bartender didn't hear her muttered comment. He was too busy shaking up a concoction.

  A crash from the other end of the bar had her turning that way. The hair on the back of her neck prickled. Both dragon and woman were riveted.

  The clinking of the glasses, the conversation of the couple next to her… all of it faded. All she saw was him.

  The man who had her attention rose to his feet, only to stumble.

  She didn't even realize she was moving until she found herself next to him.

  The feel of the rock-hard muscles of his shoulder bunching under her fingers sent a thrill of awareness rippling through her.

  She was in so much trouble.

  2

  Aaron

  Five minutes earlier

  "Non-alcoholic ambrosia?" Aaron stared into his glass, hunching his shoulders. Sounds of laughter, conversation, the clinking of glasses… all of it washed over him. Aaron wrapped the noise around himself, craving to lose himself in the anonymity.

  "That's all you'll be getting from me for the rest of the evening." Alex, the bar owner folded his hands over his chest. "You've already had five drinks in less than an hour."

  A record, even for someone who'd decided to make the bar his second home in the past few months.

  But it was not enough.

  Not when Aaron could still hear the screams of his twin, Zayn, as that bastard Noah had sliced the sword through him. Noah. An immortal warrior, a fellow Ascendant, had gutted his twin three months ago.

  In
doing so, he'd torn out the other half of Aaron's soul.

  Zayn was gone. In his place, all that remained was a black hole. A darkness that had grown since the moment Zayn’s light had blinked out on the psychic web shared by the Ascendants.

  With every passing day, his grief expanded, until it twisted his insides. Until he'd become a creature he couldn't recognize anymore. A twinless twin.

  Just thinking about it sliced a pulse of keening grief through Aaron.

  Throwing aside the ambrosia, he reached across the counter toward the bottle with the amber colored liquid he craved. It was the only thing that helped numb his emotions, blotting out any sign of who he was. Aaron Garcia. The youngest of their group of immortal warriors, since the death of his brother.

  Before Alex could protest, Aaron tilted the glass back, letting the liquid burn down his throat. It hit his stomach with a sickening thud that did little to douse the emotions warring there.

  Then, just as he’d intended, a veil of blankness crashed between him and the ever-threatening grief that threatened to overwhelm.

  Aaron still felt the pain, but it was a little duller. Only a burning twist of a knife's blade that carved out his heart, leaving him numb.

  The harsh sound of Zayn's breathing as he lay dying was muted. He would never forget the feeling of his twin's life seeping out.

  It should have been him, the cynical older brother, who had died. Not Zayn. Not the one who had so much life. Every time he stepped into a room, he lit it up. No one who met Zayn remained unaffected by his pure joy of life.

  Zayn's vibrancy had provided that much-needed link to everything that was bright.

  With his death, Aaron had no anchor.

  He reached for his glass, only to miss it. His hand brushed the glass, which toppled over and hit the ground, smashing to pieces.

  Without missing a beat, Aaron grabbed the almost-empty bottle, raising it to his mouth.

  Alex tore it out of his hand. "Enough!" He didn't approve of Aaron trying to drink away his grief.

  Neither did his fellow immortal warriors.

  Tired of being told off, Aaron had moved out of his barracks in the mayor's complex and into a room just above the bar.

  Alex hadn't turned Aaron away. Probably because it was easier for Alex to keep an eye on him that way.

  Not that it mattered, as long as Alex kept his tab running and kept the liquor coming every night.

  The alcohol had done its job. Aaron didn't feel anything. Not even his legs as he got to his feet… and almost collapsed. Reaching out, Aaron grabbed the bar counter, as if it was his only support in a world gone wrong.

  Someone touched his shoulder. The scent of vanilla and sunshine laced with something hot and spicy tugged at his senses.

  "You okay, Guardian?"

  Aaron turned, and the world tilted.

  Golden sparks flashing in green eyes pierced the fog in his head.

  She angled her head, and the dark cloud of auburn hair around her face kissed the honey-brown skin of her neck.

  The amber pendant nestled in the dip between her delicate collarbones caught the light from above, throwing her face in relief. Cheekbones slanted down to meet a heart-shaped chin.

  She was sensuous yet had just a hint of obstinacy in those eyes to make her intriguing. Those luscious, unpainted lips made him want to sink his teeth into them.

  Aaron had wanted to shut out the world since Zayn's death. He hadn't thought that when he decided to face reality it would be like this.

  Months of holding back all emotions shattered, and the feelings he'd tried to smother for so long rushed to the forefront.

  "Guardian?" That husky voice shivered over his skin, calling him back to the present.

  She was addressing him. His black pants and shirt with the armband were a dead giveaway that he was part of the mayor's elite team of Guardians of the city.

  His senses reached out to her. A flare of silver zinged between them on the psychic plane, before disappearing so fast he was sure he'd imagined it.

  Heat slammed into his chest, and the breath whistled out of him. "Who are you?" He reached up to rub the spot over his chest where it throbbed.

  "Hope."

  3

  Hope

  He looked at her, and the pain in those eyes sliced through her as if it were her own.

  Those cobalt-blue eyes drew her in, inviting her to drown in them. Piercing eyes that saw straight to her soul, to who she was.

  If she let him, he'd strip away her barriers.

  His unleashed dominance thrummed against her nerve endings, and Hope felt her will dissolve.

  She wanted to reach out and pour herself into him, to push away the grief that dragged down his spirit.

  "Hope?" His voice shivered over her skin, setting off little sparks of awareness in their wake.

  He chuckled, and the sound tugged at her lower belly, reaching parts of her they had no business reaching. "I've been looking for hope."

  "Oh?"

  The man nodded, eyes intent, framed by hair that he wore long and flowing down his back. Cheekbones jutted out before sloping down toward an unruly beard that clung to his features.

  Hope wasn't partial to beards or to unkempt men, but the look somehow suited him. He felt untamed, wild… and so sexy.

  Her dragon shifted, restless, jolting a pulse of heat through her.

  One side of his lips twisted, in a smile or a sneer, she couldn't tell. He looked like someone who was trying to hold on to his control. Or someone who was trying his best to not fall over.

  He was drunk.

  Even in his inebriated state, those glazed eyes held an edge of threat. The black T-shirt he wore molded itself to his chest, outlining rippling muscles that marked him out as a warrior. Tattoos ran up the side of his right arm before disappearing into the sleeve. He looked dangerous.

  Yeah, this man had a mind of his own.

  Reaching out a finger, he brushed her cheek.

  Sizzle.

  A jolt of electricity coursed through her. His touch arrowed straight to her core.

  On the psychic plane, her dragon lunged for him, anxious to get close, to wrap her wings around this man and inhale his essence. Her dragon recognized this male. Wanted to bond with him.

  She reined in her beast.

  If she let things progress, they'd sleep together, and Hope knew it would be not be casual. The Guardian’s life was in danger. From her.

  Her dragon felt connected to Aaron somehow.

  It would only make the parting—and they'd have to part—that much more difficult, for both woman and dragon.

  Best to stop it before it started.

  Besides, she didn't want to hurt him.

  She didn't know this man, so why was she so affected by him? Enough to care about his emotional well-being. It didn't make sense at all.

  She pulled back, her action so sudden she bumped into the person behind her.

  "There, there, darlin’." Hands gripped her waist, straightening her.

  Hope turned and looked up, and up. The man was so tall he could only be a shifter.

  He grinned down at her. The smell of alcohol from this one was so strong she could have lit his fumes on fire.

  There was a growl from behind. The Guardian slid his body between her and the other drunken male.

  A warm and very masculine arm shoved her behind his back.

  Awesome. Typical male domination.

  The two were getting ready to go head to head in a bar. Not quite conducive to the low profile she'd been trying keep.

  The scent of eucalyptus and pine surrounded her. It was as if she was transported to an open hillside. A wildness to the smell sank deep into her soul. It called to that untamed part of her. The one that had her breaking rules to come to this city.

  Faced with a back so broad it blocked off the rest of the bar from sight, she watched the muscles bunching under his shirt. She flattened her palm against those muscles and felt them shift u
nder her touch.

  "Get your hands off her, Cain," the Guardian growled at the shifter male.

  His voice rumbled, setting off tiny vibrations over her skin.

  Hope peeked around in time to see Cain fold his arms over his chest.

  He was as tall as her Guardian and broader. The shifter was an absolute tank of a man.

  "Says who?"

  Anger was clearly a sobering emotion. Both males stood tall, chests out and ready to beat the hell out of each other.

  "Says me."

  Hope came around to stand at right angles to both.

  Slapping a hand on each of their chests, she shoved. Muscles straining with the effort, she managed to hold both of them back.

  Each man was bigger than her, yet she'd stopped them. She'd given away how powerful she was even in human form.

  Hope's eyes darted from one man to the other. Their eyes were fixed on each other, fists curled by their sides.

  The breath whistled out of her in relief.

  They were too engrossed in their macho game of one-upmanship to notice her.

  Amber eyes glowing bright, Cain's gaze dropped to her. He canted his head, nostrils flaring.