There was a dead silence between us, as I stared at the vampire in front of me. My stomach rebelled and the urge to be sick, overwhelmed me again. “We were attacked by a lycan pack. I’d say a dozen or so. They were very adamant about me being handed over to them.”Absinthe pursed his lips and turned from me, picking up his pacing again. “Yes, I have heard the same from Rhayden. It is fortunate Vince and the team made it to the safe house in time to make sure the lycan didn’t take you, or any of the valuable items in the basement.”Absinthe turned his head, looking at me.“But what about before the attack?”I swallowed past the lump building in my throat. “Before? I do not know what you are—”He stopped his pacing and stepped forward, his hand slipping to the edge of my towel. I tried to push my thighs closer together, but his fingers were stronger, and they caressed gently over the bite marks. “This…”If I could have fled, I would have. But I knew I would not make it two feet, before
Seeing Marley prone as she had been, laying on Absinthe’s bed, near death had me worried I’d lost her. That Absinthe would never forgive me for getting his hunter killed. But seeing her walk through the door, with fresh puncture marks on her throat, broke my heart.She wouldn’t look at me. Her eyes downcast as she took the seat opposite.Absinthe cleared his throat and I looked at my brother.In the four hundred years I’d been alive, I’d never hated Absinthe. Not once.But now, I could barely contain the anger which seethed through me, and as his gaze met on mine, he faltered.“I-” Absinthe pursed his lips and looked at the files in front of him. “I have intel on the attack from the safe house.”He pushed a folder toward me, and another toward Marley. My gaze moved to her as she picked up the folder and opened it. She still didn’t look at me and all I wanted to do was confess to Absinthe what I’d done. That I was in love with his—I blinked, lowering my gaze to the table, my anger su
Watching Rhayden’s back as he sulked off, I knew what was wrong with him; and it was not the attack on the safehouse, or the fact Marley had been injured in the process.There would have been no missing the fang marks on Marley’s throat, and he had pitched a fit when he had seen them sitting brightly on her skin.He was in love with her.While I was enjoying seeing him squirm with anger, I knew I was pushing him away. We had always been close.The idea of having Marley and Rhayden get along had almost worked too well. Now they were fighting against their feelings for each other, and I did not have the heart to ruin it for them. I had never considered what Marley in the mansion would mean to anyone but myself and I suddenly realized how selfish I had been about the beautiful human woman.From the first night she had walked into the mansion, my brother had not hidden what he thought of her beauty, but he had toned it down, once he realized we were sleeping together. I should have been
Sitting in the passenger seat of the Alfa, after what had gone down between Rhayden, and I the previous night was surreal. Even more so with Absinthe’s words still rattling around inside my head.It is okay Marley, I am happy to share you with Rhayden, if that is what you want.Like… what the actual fuck? How was I going to satisfy two vampire lovers, when just being with Absinthe often left me drained? And then there was the slight weirdness of them being brothers. I mean... I wasn't so much as opposed to it... but it did feel weird. Was it a normal thing with vampires? Because I knew, in the human world, this sort of shit would definitely be frowned upon...This was not going to turn out well.“So, the killer is in a run-down two-story house, off a backroad just outside Everglades City.”I turned my head to Rhayden. He had his phone in his hand, his gaze shifting down to it while he drove. At any other time, I would have smacked it out of his hand and yelled at him for putting us
I have to get out of this car. I couldn't pretend I'm fine with what's happened in the last few days. I am far from fucking fine. All I wanted was to war against Absinthe.Tell him how I felt about Marley, how she turned my mind to mush, everytime I saw her, how my thoughts were constantly invaded by her. How I would do stupid shit, to keep her alive.And stupid was exactly what we were doing. The Everglades? Really? Why not just send us into a tiger's den? It would have been safer. With the aligators, and the leeches, and then add a vampire rogue, which killed other vampires... Yeah, I would have like to have taken my chances with the tiger. But no... I was doing exactly what my brother wanted me to do. As always. Like Mars had so eloquently put it before... I was my brother's whipped puppy. I just wondered how long I would be like that for? Surely one would go nuts, being in servitude for so long. but I had promised my mother, on her death bed, that I would not leave Absinthe'
Rhayden was gone. I looked around the car, finally seeing him leaning over the front of the car, map out on it, staring at me. I felt my face heat and I climbed form the vehicle, closing the door softly and walked up to him.“I don’t need the light, but you do.” He handed a torch to me. “We’re here.”His long fingers slid along the map and my mind instantly went to where those fingers had been the night before. I bit my lips and concentrated on the map.“This is where we need to get.”The destination was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by swampy trees. “Oh lovely.”Rhayden folded up the map and tucked it back into the inside of his pocket. “I have decent orienteering skills. But the team will have a GPS with them.”I looked down at my watch, pressing the button on the side, illuminating the time. “It is one am. We need to get this done and be out of here in th
“And you have silver nitrate bullets as well, just in case?” I watched as Vince packed another magazine into his vest pocket, on top of the other six; as if we were going to take on an entire army, and not just one rogue vampire.“Yes sir.”“Good.” I was surprised to have Vince sent to help us. Absinthe knew Marley didn't like him. Helping at the safe house had only been because his team had been closest. “I’m going to check on Marley.”“Sir.”I turned from the bigger, but younger vampire, the feeling he would stab me in the back at any moment, growing. I had not trusted him since the moment he had joined our coven and I was not about to start now and I was starting to see why Mars didn't trust or like him either. I walked over to Marley. She was holding up the thigh holster for her pistol, a confused look to her features. She still had not figured them out in the two years she had worked for my brother, and I smirked, stepping closer and held out my hand. “Do you want me to do that
Fifteen minutes into our walk and I was pissed off with the fact no one had mention the terrain I would be dragging myself across. The ground was marshy, my favorite Doc Martens were sinking into the sludge and on more than one occasion, I had had to get Rhayden to help me out of the mud.Vince’s team was a clear two-hundred feet in front of us and I could feel their beady undead eyes on me. Taste their disdain in the air or that could have just been the mold which grew on the nearby trees. They didn't want to be out here... and they definitely didn't want to be out here, with me.“I don’t want to sound like a pain in the ass,” I gripped Rhayden’s shoulder for the hundredth time in our journey and heaved my boot out of the mud. “But are we there yet?The vampire chuckled, his shoes miraculously clean and I cursed him for being so light and nimble on his feet. “Just a little further, Mars.”Mars.I grinned to myself in the dark. He was slowly coming out of his funky mood.“Team Leader,
My hand went to my mouth, and I looked at Absinthe. Tears were on his lashes, and he closed his eyes, letting the drops slide down his cheeks. “Oh my god.”“Now you know. You know why I didn’t want to tell you about Johan, or where he was. It’s not the fear of you leaving Marley. Honestly, I could live with that, to know you are safe…” He opened his eyes, his irises almost white and I heard the pain and anguish in his voice. “It’s the fear of him taking the one thing—which is worth more to me, than my own immortality. That is what scares me.”My hand reached out to him, and I gripped his hand in mine, squeezing it. “As much as I want to be angry with you, I understand why you did it. But Abe… he has to be bought to justice for what he did.”“I know, and he will. I just need time to make a pla—” The phone rang, making us both jump and Absinthe reached out, pick
My hand went to my mouth, and I looked at Absinthe. Tears were on his lashes, and he closed his eyes, letting the drops slide down his cheeks. “Oh my god.”“Now you know. You know why I didn’t want to tell you about Johan, or where he was. It’s not the fear of you leaving Marley. Honestly, I could live with that, to know you are safe…” He opened his eyes, his irises almost white and I heard the pain and anguish in his voice. “It’s the fear of him taking the one thing—which is worth more to me, than my own immortality. That is what scares me.”My hand reached out to him, and I gripped his hand in mine, squeezing it. “As much as I want to be angry with you, I understand why you did it. But Abe… he has to be bought to justice for what he did.”“I know, and he will. I just need time to make a pla—” The phone rang, making us both jump and Absinthe reached out, pick
“Abe?”Absinthe slowly lifted his eyes, looking at me. “I was wondering when you would get here.”I closed the door to the library, and leaned against it, looking at my dark-haired lover.He looked sad. Lost almost and I sighed, walking over and sat next to him. We didn’t speak for a few minutes.His gaze couldn’t hold mine… that’s when I understood, and my heart broke into a million pieces. “You knew about Johan and Johnathan.”“Yes.”He knew… I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Why didn’t you tell me?”Absinthe’s bottom lip trembled, “Because I knew you would have a one-track mind about it. That it would cloud your judgement.”“What judgement? That he is as crazy as his ancestor—”“Father.”“What?”“Johnathan was Johan’s father
It had been twenty-four hours since the trial, and while things should have been feeling fairly normal… something was niggling in the back of my mind. Something didn’t feel right.I hadn’t seen either Absinthe or Rhayden tonight, but I knew I would probably have Rhayden between my legs any time—“Hey, what are you doing?”I looked up at Rhayden, seeing him standing at the door, arms crossed over his chest. He still sported the remnants of the braids I’d done the night before, and I smirked, returning my attention to the device in my hands. “Recovering from your brother.”“Was he rough with you Mars?”There was not an inkling of concern in this ass’ voice, and I rolled my eyes at him, flipping him off, which earned a chuckle. After Absinthe had fucked me three times, and sent me insane with pleasure, we’d laid quietly and not spoken. I had been drained, not only mentally,
I waved to Othello as his entourage took him out of the mansion grounds to a hotel owned by our kind, which would house him and the other coven leaders for the rest of the night.There was no fucking way I wanted them in my mansion any longer.It had been a rough night.There were moments where I thought I would have to fight Mathias, or tear my brother off him. But in the end, justice prevailed and Marley was safe.Speaking of Marley.I turned and walked back into the mansion, seeking out her scent.I knew she would be with Rhayden. Hopefully not impaled on him again. That, I had only just barely tolerated. While I knew they fucked, I didn’t want to see it.There.Turning to one of the four parlors in the lower halls of the mansion, I stopped at the doorway. Marley was sitting a small armchair, Rhayden at her feet and she was… was she braiding his hair?I chuckled as the pure bliss on my brother’s fac
The vampire at the end of the table had everyone’s attention. Even his so-called supporters stared at him as if he had just sacrificed a small child in their presence.Mathias sat down and leaned back in his chair, looking at us all. “It wasn’t Johnathan.”Wasn’t…? this guy was just so fucking negative. What the actual fuck?“It was. I saw the tatt—”“It wasn’t.” Mathias snarled, crossing his arms over his chest. “It was his brother. Kendrick didn’t like the fact his brother had been slaughtered by Absinthe.”“I did not slaughter him. He attacked me.” Abe spat and Mathias rolled his eyes.“Whatever. Kendrick said Absinthe had no right to ruin his family’s legacy like he had. Johnathan’s final wish was to destroy his own coven, kill out the bloodline. He never liked the fact he was a vampire. Never accepted what he
You could have heard a pin drop in the room… well, you could only hear my breathing, and I thought that worse. Why the fuck did I have to be surrounded by dead things?“Mathias, you called this trial, I call for you to make the opening address.”My attention turned to the man at the end of the table. Surrounded by other vampire coven leaders, Mathias tried to look impressive as he stood. But in reality, I could see what a weak creature he really was, and I wondered if he had been like this when he had been human; because I could tell with the fang marks on his neck, he wasn’t born a vampire like my lovers.Mathias leaned forward, his knuckles going to the table as if to be intimidating, and glared at me. “This human, killed one of my Senior Coven, without evidence of any wrong doing on my member’s behalf. She needs to be punished for it. And I would gladly punish her if you cannot.”He was kidding, right
I walked beside Marlene, Rhayden on her other side, as we moved through the quietened mansion toward the library and to her fate.This was going to be a shit show.I could feel it in my bones.Never in the history of the vampire nation, had a human stood trial for killing a vampire. They were usually dealt with quicker than this. Slaughtered, or drained of their blood, or left in the wilds to die. This whole situation was unheard of and the fact it was happening to our human, set my teeth on edge.This could go one of two ways.Marley would be found not-guilty, in which she would be free and we would be able to continue on how we had been.Of she would be found guilty and her life would be forfeit; and I would not be okay with that. This meeting could potentially be the death of my beautiful lover, and I had to decide if I would stand for it.Would I allow Othello end Marlene’s life?No. I knew I wouldn’t.An
My heart fluttered. God damn it. Again?I hated serum so fucking much. My head pounded, and my eyes slowly opened.Absinthe and Rhayden were leaning over me, their hair curtaining their beautiful faces. I smiled, reaching up and stroked their cheeks, my touch melting the tension from their features as they looked down at me.“My boys…”“Marley.” Absinthe cooed, leaning down. He gently pressed his lips against mine, before Rhayden did the same.“We thought we’d lost you Mars.”“I’m not going anywhere just yet.” I smiled, moving to sit up and Absinthe helped, propping pillows behind my back.Rhayden smiled, looking to his brother as he climbed from the edge of the bed. “I’ll go tell Othello she’s awake.”Absinthe nodded, turning back to me as Rhayden closed the door. “You left a dead Lycan on Othello—”