Courage (Mark of Nexus) Read online

  COURAGE

  Mark of Nexus - Book 2

  Copyright © 2013 by Carrie Butler

  COURAGE (Mark of Nexus #2)

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior permission of the author.

  www.carrieabutler.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, brands, places, and events are either a product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Cover Photo (Female) by Subbotina Anna

  Cover Photo (Male) by Yuri Arcurs

  Cover Design by Carrie Butler

  Table Of Contents

  COURAGE (Mark of Nexus #2)

  by Carrie Butler

  Title

  Copyright

  Praise

  Acknowledgements

  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 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Glossary

  Extra Information

  Praise

  "Wow, wow, wow. Carrie Butler has outdone herself. No sophomore slump here—Courage was incredible." - Krista’s Dust Jacket

  "Butler's writing is flawless and her story takes you on a sweet and suspenseful journey that will leave you craving more." - Christina Lee, Author of All of You

  "Courage is a gripping page-turner that exceeded all of my expectations! It pulled at my heartstrings and had enough twists and turns to make it nearly impossible to put down." - Brittany & Bianca Blab Books

  "Courage is a great addition to an already great series. It takes everything we love about New Adult and combines it effortlessly with everything we love about paranormal romance. It is a fresh addition to both genres and one that would be a shame to miss." - Readers Live A Thousand Lives

  "It's not often I step away from the contemporary genre but Carrie Butler makes me want to. ... If you are a fan of Paranormal romance with suspense and action thrown in then you must read this series." - Book Nerds Anonymous

  "This second installment in the Mark of Nexus series evokes just about every emotion there is. Butler expertly guides us through twists and turns in the plot that have us cheering one chapter and gasping or crying the next." - Melissa Maygrove, Historical Romance Author

  "Rena and Wallace’s love is beautiful." - Corrie the Book Crazed Girl

  "Courage is enigmatic, suspenseful and intriguing all at once. Carrie's ability to carry on the storyline leaves you wanting more, long after you've put down the book." - The Girl in a Cafe

  "The ability that Carrie has to draw you into a story and keep you there is a special talent." - Le'BookSquirrel

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  First, a shout-out to God. Without Him, none of this would have been possible.

  I would also like to thank:

  My parents, who are my best friends. My sister, who is my partner in (non)crime; my brother-in-law, who leads my security detail; my nephew, who serenades me with his trumpet; my niece, who keeps me relatively sane; and the rest of my family and friends who continue to lend their support.

  Dave Taylor, who continues to fight the beast; Melissa Maygrove, whom we know as the Goddess of Grammar; Laura Callahan Tom, who shall henceforth be known as Hawkeye McProofer; Lisa Regan, whose books you should buy; Iain Carter and Laura Carter (unrelated), who helped me write from the POV of an English character; Ava Smith and Nadia Hassan, who rocked the beta worksheets; Raina Campbell of Grapevine Book Tours, who is the greatest coordinator in the history of ever, Eric Muss-Barnes, who taught me how to format e-books; and my former publishing family, who still continues to support me.

  The rest of my beloved street team, Team CHAOS—Teresa DiLillo, Giulia Esposito, Brittany Ferrell, Taneesha Freidus, Kelly Fox, Ellen Gault, Tobi Helton, Kanettra Holmes, Magen Corrie Lirette-Chambers, Diana Long, Hannah Membrey, Diana Ramsey, Chie Relosa, Farrah Sayyed, Antonietta Nette Silveira, Tracey Spiteri, and Jovon “Junkpuncher” Tucker.

  Last, but not least, high fives to the blogging community, my NA Alley family, the #NALitChat crew, and you!

  CHAPTER 1

  “Almost there,” I coaxed, stumbling on my tiptoes as I struggled to keep my boyfriend’s eyes covered.

  Wallace grunted and bent back so I could reach as we walked. “Is this really necessary?”

  “I want it to be a surprise.” I frowned, shoving my breasts against his back in an attempt to get closer. So logistics weren’t my strong suit. We’d still make it there. “Just a few more steps.”

  “That’s what you said before we ran into the water fountain.”

  I rolled my eyes and leaned around his arm to see how close we were. “Are you still going on about that?”

  He came to a halt in the middle of the hallway, blindly tilting his head back to address me. “Baby, if you had nuts, you’d be going on about it, too.”

  I slipped my hands back, over his shoulders, and gave him a hard shove. “If I had nuts, we’d have bigger problems than this.”

  “Funny.”

  Of course, he didn’t budge.

  Wallace is a Dynari—a mortal being with supernatural abilities—and his major gift is strength. Ridiculous, accidentally-bruising strength. For the past two months, we’ve been trying to rein it in, but it hasn’t been an easy task. Whenever he loses focus or can’t keep a grip on his emotions, hours upon hours of practice go right out the window.

  Oh, and apparently I make it worse.

  Something about me augments his abilities. His, and everyone else’s who carries the Dynari bloodline—which is perfect, given that half of them are batshit insane.

  “Can I open my eyes now?” he asked, jarring me from my thoughts.

  I leaned sideways and spotted the bulletin board a few feet away. “Yeah, go ahead.”

  He scanned the hallway, completely missing the lone flyer tacked to the center.

  Men…

  I sidled up beside him and nodded toward the neon green paper. “Check it ou
t.”

  Following my gaze, he took a step forward and snatched the sheet off the wall. “A dance?”

  “Not just any dance,” I corrected, pointing at the bottom. “Half of the proceeds go to fund medical research…”

  The light swept raven hues over his hair as he jerked his chin back, eyes wide. “Research on clusters? How? Why?”

  I could understand his confusion. Hardly anyone on campus knew what cluster headaches were, let alone wanted to donate money toward their research. Hell, I didn’t even know what they were until we met in January. Back then, everyone thought Wallace was some kind of madman. They heard the screams and thuds coming from his room every night and assumed the worst—we all did. But we were wrong.

  “I have a friend in charge of one of the sororities,” I told him. “Alpha…chai latte or something. Anyway, she was looking to adopt a cause to help bury some hazing rumors—you know, before someone decides to investigate and revoke their charter—so I gave her the name of a deserving nonprofit.”

  He stared at the paper in disbelief. “You did this…for me?”

  “Well, yeah.” I squirmed, and the band on my arm cinched tighter and tighter. “Should I not have?”

  Despite his superior genetic makeup, Wallace has been a sufferer for years now. Every night at eight thirty, he bangs his head against the floor and writhes in pain like he’d rather blow his brains out than suffer another minute of it. His strength is gone for the better part of an hour, and doctors have yet to effectively treat the condition. Was wanting to help him such a bad thing?

  Before I could consider it any further, two strong arms pulled me close and the paper fluttered to the floor. “Thank you.” The words reverberated against my cheek in a low tenor, bringing with them a swell of emotion.

  That was the other weird part of our relationship.

  One of Wallace’s minor gifts, traced back to his grandmother, is empathy. At any given moment, he could tell you what anyone is feeling. He senses it, feels it in the marrow of his bones, and does his absolute best to ignore it. I guess it gets overwhelming.

  My emotions, though—he’s locked on those. Just like I, lowly human that I am, somehow channel his. See, once we figured out how we felt about each other, something crazy happened. One minute we were sharing a nightmare, and the next we were both branded with a tribal tat called the Mark of Nexus.

  Seriously. I have a dark band around my right bicep that’s all jagged lines and slick curves. Mostly, it looks like any other tattoo, but every now and then it shifts like oil on water, a glowing myriad of colors twisting over the surface.

  Wallace’s is around his left forearm, and it’s the exact inverse of mine. Like a negative image. When we stand beside each other, the two join as if they’d been coiled together. Freaky, right? From what I’ve been told, it’s extremely rare. It brands the rarest and most powerful of alliances. Whatever that means.

  I’m not sure how much of it I believe, but it did allow me to tap into his power when his crazy great-aunt was trying to kill us…

  “It means a lot,” Wallace mumbled, planting a kiss on top of my head.

  I smiled and craned my neck back, practically plastered to his chest as he held me there. “If you want to thank me, find someone to take me to the dance and hang on my arm as eye candy.”

  “Eye candy, huh?”

  “Yeah, it’s not like this is high school and I’m going to take some math geek as a pity date,” I explained, baiting my favorite accounting major. “I need someone fun to look at.”

  He regarded me carefully, his cerulean gaze aglow. “And math geeks can’t be eye candy?”

  “Hmm…” I pretended to mull it over. “I don’t know. I guess I wouldn’t mind finding out.”

  The corner of his lips twitched upward. “Is that my cue?”

  “You should know by now,” I countered and rose up onto my tiptoes.

  He met me halfway, his lips brushing mine in the faintest hint of what was to come. “I don’t know…”

  “Wallace!” I laughed and reached up to jerk on his collar.

  He complied, this time crushing his mouth to mine. Everything blurred around us in a chaotic haze as I fell back onto my heels, and he followed the movement, never breaking contact.

  I ran my hand over the tight muscles in his shoulder and grabbed a fistful of his t-shirt. We’d been together for almost three months, but every kiss felt like the first time. Magnetic, fiery, wanting. I moaned, and it was all I could do to keep from wrapping my legs around him.

  “Rena,” he murmured, a smile playing from his lips to mine. “Will you go to the dance with me?”

  Butterflies flitted about my stomach in a stupid surge of nerves. We weren’t kids, and this dance wasn’t a big deal, but the man of my dreams was asking me out. That was a big deal. “I—”

  Before I could answer, a flash seared my retinas. My heart kick-started a wild rhythm, and a barrage of garbled, underwater sounds deafened my ears. What the hell? I blinked, struggling to clear my vision, but it was no use. Each bat of my lashes brought his face in and out of focus, like two different images were fighting for dominance.

  “Rena?”

  I squeezed my eyes shut, inadvertently granting the other side just the power it needed to break through. A vision? Panic set in, and the world went black.

  CHAPTER 2

  I hovered in mid-air, staring down at clouds in the nighttime sky. They'd emerged from behind a familiar building and formed a thick purple wall around me. Silent, still, and oppressing. One by one, they began to pull like spun cotton…

  “Watch,” someone whispered.

  All at once, the sound kicked in. Howling and roaring. It was the wind. It was me, and I was…nowhere.

  A flash below stole my attention. Sparks. A fire emboldened by too-perfect conditions. I swept toward it, then around it, shattering windows in my wake. There was a scream somewhere, but I couldn't focus.

  Movement—a three-headed shadow, running in the opposite direction.

  “Wait!” I tried to yell, but there was nothing. No one. Just the wrath of Mother Nature and my soul in perpetual motion.

  We tore the roof from the familiar building and sent bricks sailing into the night. Everything blurred so fast, so intensely, I didn't have time for an escape plan. Around and around I went, until the wind changed direction.

  Shit, shit…

  I was going to crash into another building. A bigger one. It grew larger in my field of vision, concrete and unyielding. A few more seconds and—

  My eyes snapped open.

  “Rena?” Wallace asked, bending to look me in the face. “Are you okay?”

  I sucked in a lungful of air and struggled to control the anxiety growing within me. What the hell? Every time I blinked, I rejoined the storm. It was like catching glimpses of an old movie, the frames jumping in slow motion, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. “No…”

  He dropped his hands from my shoulders, incredulous. “No? What’s wrong?”

  I shut my eyes and took another breath to answer, but the same building obscured my vision. Before I could reorient myself, my soul tore through it, and silence stole the air.

  “What?”

  I pried my lids apart and stumbled back. Without Wallace's arms anchoring me, I tripped over my own feet and fell back against something hard. Pain. I couldn’t move; I couldn’t explain the terror coursing through my veins. It was too much, too fast.

  “Rena, what’s going on?” His worried voice cut through my panting. “Tell me how to help.”

  “I don’t know,” I whispered, focusing solely on him for the first time in minutes. “Honestly, I don't.”

  His clean, heady scent lulled my senses as his frantic gaze searched mine. He’d caught me. When I’d started to fall, he’d grabbed me. We were still in the hallway, the dance flyer lying at our feet, and nothing had changed.

  Except me.

  “What were you so afraid of?” he asked in a
quiet voice, helping me regain my footing. We both knew he’d lost focus in his haste to save me. There’d be bruises on my back later.

  I looked up, and to my dismay, sounded just as small as I felt. “The storm.”

  “What storm?” He straightened. “It's not doing anything outside, is it?”

  “No, not here. I was…I was caught in a storm in my mind. I couldn't escape.”

  He furrowed his brows. “How could you…?” I watched as his eyes softened with understanding. “Gail.”

  Gail is Wallace’s cousin and a major proponent of Project ERA—a group of Dynari hell-bent on forcibly evolving humans. Seriously. It’s right there in the acronym. Evolution requires action. They've spent the past however many years preparing to establish a new order, and a few months ago, we kind of got in their way…

  “This must be her sick way of summoning you, on Faye's behalf. Did you see anything else?”

  I shook my head, nauseated at the mere thought of their invitation. I’d been forced into a deal with Gail’s grandmother Faye, the woman pulling the strings behind Project ERA. In exchange for Wallace’s life, I’d agreed to take part in her scientific study. She had an interest in the Mark of Nexus, and as long as she did, there was little chance of her coming after us again.

  “No directions or anything?” he asked.

  I blew out a sigh and shut my eyes for the briefest of seconds, catching a splash of color. “Something red.”

  “What is it?” He looked both ways to make sure no one was coming and leaned in. “I’ve got you now. It’s okay.”

  I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead to his chest. “183 Terrace Drive,” I read aloud, flinching. “Cleveland.”