Climbing the stairs, with six vampires behind me had been daunting enough. But splintering off with Vince on my own, while the others went the other way, I might as well have advertised the fact I was scared. I could only imagine the stink of fear which would be oozing out of my pores right now and how it was permeating around the dilapidated house.And of course, being with a hunting team of vampires... I could only imagine the amplification of my scent.I was a fucking idiot for being her, with only one person to protect me...We checked the rooms on either side of the hallway as we moved along, until we came to one at the end. I stopped in front of it, turning my gaze to Vince. His dark gaze met mine and he took one step back. Putting himself between me, and the stairs... “After you, team leader.”I was starting to hate the way he was referring to me and I sucked my tongue over my teeth, making a mental note to have Absinthe speak to him when this shit was over.Turning to the doo
“Vince! Drop her!” My vison cleared a little and I shifted my gaze to Rhayden. He was standing in the doorway, gun raised, pointing it at Vince.The vampire who had me growled and stepped back, away from the other vampire, his arm coming around my neck.“Ah, ever the bad-boy hero.” Vince’s grip on me changed, his arm being replaced by a clawed hand, and I grimaced as one of his claws dug into my flesh. Wetness slid down my neck and Vince chuckled as Rhayden’s eyes changed to copper. “Smell that, Rhayden? This human bitch’s blood. Have you had a taste yet? Have you betrayed your brother’s trust and dipped into her honey pot?”Vince’s other hand came up, and he dragged a finger through the blood which slid from the puncture mark and lifted it to his mouth. His moan of appreciation had my heart beating with fear. “Oh fuck, she is sweet. No wonder you and your brother can’t get enough.”Rhayden stepped forward, his pistol still trained on the vampire holding me and I just wished he would
Almost sunrise, and I was running for my life. I’m not going to make it. That was what ran through my head, every single step I took toward the location of the Everglades house.How had I been so ignorant to see it?A viper in my own mansion. A poison which had been infecting my coven from the inside.Vince had been the one who’d called in eighty percent of the mated killings. He’d been the one to hand me the folder on the where abouts of the killer, telling me it was from a reputable source.|Yeah, his own fucking mouth. the lying snake.No wonder he was so eager to be one of the leads on the killings. He was the one to hand me the information, first hand. I should ahve seen through his smugness and known something was wrong from the moment he notified me of the first killing. But I had been so blind, and full of sorrow for those I had lost. A mated pair I had been good friends with.I could hear Tony running beside me, keeping pace as we utilized our vampire speed and flung ourse
“We found a storage locker, registered to Vince.” Tony sat opposite me, flipping through pages upon pages of photos and documents. His gaze lifted to mine, and he grimaced. “He had an unnatural obsession with Miss Brennan.”My stomach fluttered. “What?”I looked at Absinthe, who nodded to Tony and the head security guard handed over an A4 photo. I took it with shaking hands and looked down at it.It was just a basic storage locker. No bigger than ten by ten. But the walls were lined with weapons, and photos of me. My heart hammered with the red string, which linked me with various places and vampires.The places I’d hunted, the names and photos of the rogues I’d killed. Photos of Absinthe and Rhayden. Pictures of inside my apartment.Tony slid another photo over to me.A table of objects; all belonging to me.Underwear, jewelry, knives I’d thought I’d lost. Photos of my family when they were still alive. My sister’s urn.I shoved the photos away and looked at Absinthe. “You had this
By fuck, I still hurt. The gashes which I had received from Vince were healed, but I ached. My anger was not diminished either. How could we have been so blind?Abe had shown me the folder. The obsession Vince had with Marley was sickening. He even had Lynda’s urn. I could only imagine what Marley would be feeling right now, as she found out and there was nothing I could do to help.She’d be comforted in my brother’s arms.Pacing my room wasn’t helping my mood either. My mind kept returning to Marley and my emotions wrecked over themselves to be heard. Anger, sorrow, lust; all clashed. I was almost to the point where I’d happily fight my brother, for even the chance of having the human beauty just once.A knock at my door and I stopped pacing, turning my attention to it.A heartbeat, but two presences. I stared at the door for a few moments, until Marley’s voice called out. “Rhayden, open the door.”In the two years since she had kicked and screamed into our lives, I had never bee
Nothing had ever felt so right, as when Rhayden slammed his mouth onto mine, our tongues dueling, as we let go of the restraints which had been holding us back for almost two years... Because it had been the whole time I'd been in the Raynes mansion, I'd been denying the attraction I had for not only Absinthe... but his little brother as well.Being with Absinthe had always felt normal, from the moment we’d first fucked, he’d been my safe harbor, my calm and compassionate. My security and protection. He had always been the one I ran to, when I needed help.But Rhayden... the one Absinthe sent to help me in hunts, to guide me on missions and to be a general pain in the ass... He was my storm.The insanity in my life. The fight, the need to rebel, the feeling of being the kick ass hunter I was. He was the one who taught me to be a better hunter... to be more independant from Abe...He was the other half of the coin, which was the Raynes. There was no one without the other.Rhayden's u
Sweet lord.As my fangs pierced Marley’s throat, I could taste the sweetness which came from her blood and the opioid effect of her pleasure. Hot blood washed into my mouth, warming me through, sitting heavy in my belly. My pace increased, my hips ramming against hers as I plundered her beautiful body.She was mine. After two years of pining after the one woman I couldn't have, Marlene Brennan was finally mine.Marley lay under me, moaning; back arching; on the verge of an orgasm and I was the cause. That delerious thought, dancing around in my head, making this all the more exciting, and unbelieveable.Her fingernails scraped along the backs of my shoulders, adding a tinge of pain to the pleasure and I tore my mouth away from her flesh, as my orgasm ripped through me.A couple of more thrusts and she was right there with me... Marley’s core clenched around my cock, milking me and I buried my head against her neck, riding out the wave of pleasure.Her heart thudded erratically agains
It would be sunrise in an hour... where would she sleep?In the arms of my brother? Would my Marley come back to me?Had I lost her to him?While Mozart played loudly to drown out the sounds of my brother and Marley having sex, it didn’t drown out the visions which came to mind.Was he a gentle lover? Did she act differently with him? How would they be doing it? Missionary, cowgirl, doggy-style…Growling to myself, I walked back to my desk. There was absolutely no point in me thinking about that. I would very quickly send myself insane. It was bad enough I was having second thoughts about the idea of my brother putting his hands on my lover. "No... you siad you were fine with it." I admonished myself. And I wasn't one to lie. I had promised Marley and Rhayden I was okay with the idea of them being together... I was okay with them being together. There was a knock on the door of the library, and I lifted my gaze, as Tony entered the room. Putting my hand out, I turned down the dial
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—”