by M. A. Church
Hunter rested his hand on the small of Mark’s back as they entered the living area. Dear goddess, there was a whole lot of brown in there. Mark settled on the couch, but he sat right on the edge. Hunter sat next to him. Paul took one chair, and Nicholas took the other. Andy climbed into Paul’s lap.
“Why don’t you start, Mark?” Paul asked. “I should tell you that we’ve been searching for you. Michael kept after the police, but they weren’t getting anywhere concerning your disappearance.”
“You want my life story now?”
“I do, yes.”
Mark rumbled.
Paul held up his hand. “Please understand, Michael is our friend.”
“I’m his brother.”
“Who was shot, kidnapped, and missing for five months. Now you’ve returned, you’re no longer human, you’re mated, and an Alpha—a bitten Alpha werewolf. That shouldn’t be possible, yet here you are. I know Michael. I don’t know either of you. And being brothers doesn’t mean there can’t be ill intent.”
Andy nodded vigorously. “Got that right.”
“How do you know I’m an Alpha?” Mark asked.
Paul shrugged. “Any paranormal who meets you is going to know. Number one, you’re very powerful like an Alpha. Number two, there’s a distinct humanness to your scent. Born werewolves do not have that. I can tell the two of you are fated mates because I can see the silver thread that ties the two of you together. One of my powers as a Guardian is reading auras.”
“But—”
“The sooner he’s convinced you aren’t a threat to Michael, the sooner you’ll get the answers you want.” Hunter scooted forward enough he could rub his hand up and down Mark’s back. The muscles were a knotted mess.
“But it’s ridiculous to think I would harm my own brother,” Mark pointed out, glaring over his shoulder at Hunter.
“Blood is not necessarily thicker than water,” Paul said.
Hunter didn’t know what to make of that. Outside of Mark, Zane was the most important person in his life. He’d do anything for his brother. There had to be a hidden meaning in Paul’s words, but damned if Hunter could figure what it was.
Hunter cleared his throat. “How about I start? My name is Hunter Day, the co-Alpha of the Day Canyon pack. We’re located about forty-five minutes west of Las Vegas. Zane is my brother and the other co-Alpha.”
Paul raised an eyebrow before he finally nodded. “Day, huh? I’ve heard of you. It’s a big pack, one that owns a ski resort and the town of Dayville. You and Zane are well-known and well-liked. It’s said your pack is very progressive and also financially strong.”
“We are. We take care of our wolves. Okay, so, about five and a half months ago, two werewolves robbed some businesses in Dayville. Zane and I retrieved the video surveillance, but the two were careful. We didn’t have a clear image of their faces. But one did slip up, and the camera caught his profile. They were big, muscular white men with shoulder-length brown hair who favored jeans and T-shirts.”
Paul didn’t move, but Hunter noticed he seemed to be more focused.
“We had our best guys working on trying to figure out who they were. We tracked them to Las Vegas, and I took a Beta, named Brax, and went there. Brax and I had followed them into an alley. We stumbled into the middle of a robbery.” Hunter stopped the back rub and dropped his hand on Mark’s knee. “You okay?”
“Yes.” Mark hunched his shoulders. “I’m in control, but you tell them. I can’t.”
“It was Mark and his parents. All three had been shot, but Mark was the only one still alive. There was a rogue in the area, but she disappeared. I didn’t bother her. As you know, major metropolises are neutral grounds.”
Paul nodded.
“I would’ve liked to talk with her, but Mark needed me more. You see, he was my fated mate… and dying.”
“That’s horrible.” Andy gulped. “You must’ve been freaked out.”
“That’s putting it lightly. I took him and left. I don’t regret that.” Hunter made eye contact with each man in the room. “Halfway back to Dayville, his blood pressure dropped. I was losing him, so I did the only thing I could think of—I bit him to start the transformation. I also claimed him as my mate. I hoped that by tying us together, it’d be enough to save him.”
“That was very brave of you,” Nicholas offered. “My understanding is if he had died, there would have been a good possibility you would have too.”
“That’s true, but he’s my fated mate.” Hunter squeezed Mark’s knee. Mark glanced at him, a small smile on his face. “He’s my light,” Hunter said.
Chapter Twenty-one – Mark
“IF IT hadn’t been for Hunter, I probably would have died,” Mark admitted. “Still, though, it wasn’t smooth sailing. I lived, yes, but I was also scared out of my mind. Some stranger had kidnapped me, as far as I was concerned, and ran off with me to who knew where.”
“He was delirious for pretty much the first day,” Hunter said.
“Once I got past that, I find out this stranger had dug a bullet out of me. Considering I was in his bedroom, and not in a hospital, I was slightly worried about infection.”
Andy snorted.
“At the time I didn’t know that wasn’t a concern. Then Hunter dropped the bomb that he was a werewolf, that he had bitten me, and guess what? Now I was going through some kind of transformation and would be a werewolf also. I had a bit of a problem accepting that.” Mark settled back on the couch.
“You really are a master of the understatement, aren’t you?” Andy asked.
Mark smiled slightly, then turned to Hunter and winked. “We got past it. To make a long story short, Hunter and I worked things out. Yes, I’m a bitten wolf who’s an Alpha. Yes, that’s supposed to be impossible, but I exist. Folks are just going to have to fucking deal.”
Andy grinned at Paul. “I like him.”
Paul cleared his throat. “As an Alpha, do you have the hybrid form?”
Hunter smiled proudly. “Yes, he does. Mark is a full-fledged Alpha.”
“On the other hand, the hybrid is why it took me so long to come find Michael,” Mark added. “It took me a while to get control of that form.”
Andy’s eyes widened. “But you have control of it now, right?”
“Yes, I do. There’s no way I would’ve gotten within a hundred miles of Michael if I didn’t,” Mark said. “So, here we are. I’m no threat to my brother, so please tell me where he is. I really need to speak to him. Like, seriously, it’s important.”
“Oh? Why?” Paul asked.
Mark glanced at Hunter, who nodded subtly.
“Fine,” Mark said. “Hunter and I stopped at a gas station not far from Mystic Bay. When we left Orlando, we saw that we had forgotten to get gas and were running on fumes. When we finally found a place, it was out in the middle of nowhere and questionable-looking.”
“As soon as I got out of my truck, I knew immediately something was off,” Hunter added. “I asked Mark to stay with the truck while I went inside. That way, as soon as I paid, Mark could start pumping. I wanted to get gas and get the hell out of there. When I entered the convenience store, I smelled blood.”
“Aw shit,” Andy muttered. “You walked into the middle of a robbery, didn’t you?”
“We certainly walked into the middle of something. My wolf was agitated. The clerk came out from the back, and I told him I needed gas. I got the impression he wanted me to leave, but I was out of gas. I couldn’t leave. Next thing I knew, he pulled a gun. It wasn’t until he shimmered that I realized he wasn’t human but a shape-shifter.”
“Dammit.” Andy tossed a look at Paul.
Mark noticed it. Unease begin to creep over him.
“We fought, and I killed him. Brutally. And I’d do it again.”
“He ripped that fucker’s heart out and fed it to him,” Mark crowed. Man, he wished he could have seen that.
“Wolves, man.”
Paul poked Andy in the ribs. “Be nice.”<
br />
“I was! That was a compliment.”
Paul shook his head. “Anyway, a shape-shifter, you say?”
“Yes,” Hunter answered.
“While that was going on with Hunter, I was waiting to pump the gas, like Hunter said. My wolf was uneasy because damned if I didn’t feel like I was being watched. Then I heard the gunshot. I started toward the convenience store to see what the hell was going on. I barely cleared the front of the truck when I was attacked by a vampire.”
Nicholas scowled.
“I managed to get my arm between my neck and his fangs. He got some of my blood.” Mark glanced down at the still-healing wound. “This fucker knew Michael. He licked his lips, said something about it not being possible, and then asked me if I believed in fate. He muttered ‘the brother’ and laughed. He fucking laughed.”
“Wait,” Paul asked. “Are you sure he said brother?”
“Son of a bitch.” Andy hopped off Paul’s lap and started pacing.
“I’m positive. Then that fucker said that my blood tasted nearly as good as Michael’s. He called me by my fucking name and asked if I scream as sweetly. I freaked, lost control, and my hybrid form took over. We fought. Hunter showed up shortly thereafter.”
“I guess the vampire decided two werewolves in hybrid form were more than he wanted to deal with. He misted out of there,” Hunter continued. “But he left a mess for me to clean up, which I did as best I could. Do, ah, Guardians deal with that kind of stuff? Because it was a bloodbath.”
“I will,” Paul said. “Do you know the name of the place?”
“No, but I can give you the exit I took. It’s two miles off the Interstate. Oh, and I buried two bodies in the woods. The vamp killed the human clerk.” Hunter rattled off the exit number.
Paul pulled out his cell and made a call. He spoke for a moment, then hung up. “It’ll be taken care of by another Guardian. Thank you for telling me.”
Andy stopped in front of Paul. “Could it be?”
“Could it be what?” Mark demanded.
“Mark, could you please describe what the vampire looked like?” Paul asked.
“He was built and had broad shoulders, muscular arms, and a trim waist. Kind of a squarish jaw that was covered in dark stubble, high cheekbones, and skin as pale as milk. He had jet-black hair that was on the short side.”
“Fuck,” Andy swore.
Paul fiddled with his cell for a minute. Finally, he stood and held his cell to Mark. “Could this be him?”
Mark glanced at the picture. His wolf snarled in his mind. “Yes. That’s him.”
Paul glanced at Nicholas. “It’s Jackson.”
Nicholas pursed his lips, and the room temperature dropped slightly. “I did tell you he was still here.”
Mark glanced between the two, then noticed Hunter was staring at him. Well, that certainly isn’t good.
I know.
“I know,” Paul said, echoing Hunter’s private communications with Mark.
“Well, I don’t know,” Mark griped. “Obviously you know this asshole. So, can you tell me why a vampire is stalking my brother? And by all that’s holy, does Michael know this? Is he protected? For that matter, you say you’re his friends. Does he know what you guys are?”
“I think Michael could answer those questions better than us, but yes, he’s aware there is a vampire after him. He knows what we are too. And yes, he’s as safe as possible. Give me just a few minutes, and I will have him here.”
“Thank you!” Mark laid as much sarcasm as he could to the two words.
Hunter gave him a look, but Mark was fast reaching the point he didn’t care. It was nice that Michael’s friends went to such lengths to protect him, but Michael didn’t need protection from his own damn brother. The sooner Michael got there, the sooner Mark could tell him what he was, help Michael get over the shock, and get him the hell out of there.
Mark checked the time on his cell frequently. No one seemed to be in the mood to talk, and that suited Mark just fine. An eternity passed before he finally heard a car door shut. There were footsteps on the outside stairs and voices. His heart beat faster. He’d know Michael’s voice anywhere.
“Why am I smelling werewolves? It’s really fresh too.”
Mark’s stomach dropped. How the hell could Michael smell anything from outside? And how the hell did he know werewolves existed, much less what they smelled like?
“Oh, fuck,” Hunter whispered.
“I hate that smell. Actually, I hate the whole species. Fucking werewolves. And good Lord, I’m beginning to sound like Andy.”
“Language, beautiful.”
Mark didn’t recognize that voice. Who was with Michael?
“Maybe Paul rented to one.”
“I sincerely hope not, especially since I spend a lot of time here visiting Paul and Andy,” Michael muttered.
The blood rushed from his head so fast, his head spun. Hunter grasped his hand. Maybe his mate thought that’d make him feel better, but it really didn’t. Mark surged to his feet, pulling Hunter with him. He glanced at Andy, who had a sickly smile on his face. Mark’s eyes burned, and he blinked frantically. Fuck, fuck, fuck. This wasn’t going how he’d hoped.
There was a knock at the door, and Andy opened it. He sighed dramatically. “You’re really going to wish you’d kept your mouth shut, but too late now. Come on in.”
Michael strolled inside, wrinkled his nose, then hissed. His eyes turned black, and his fangs dropped. “What the—” Michael gasped. “Mark? Mark!”
Andy closed the door.
Mark’s vision sharpened. He didn’t have to be told that his eyes were yellow. Fucking hell, he’d seen eyes that color, and not too long ago too. It was something he’d hoped not to see again anytime soon. “What the hell are you?” But he knew, he just didn’t want to accept it.
“No. No, no, no. Please tell me you are not a werewolf.”
“Fuck. You’re a vampire.”
Mark’s world tilted. Michael not only knew what Mark was, Michael was also a paranormal himself—a fucking vampire. It also sounded as if Michael hated wolves. How the hell was he supposed to deal with that? He and Michael stood there, just staring.
“Annnnd it looks like I get to be the voice of reason yet again.” Andy gleefully pointed out from beside Paul’s chair.
“And yet again I will say, heaven help us,” Paul mumbled.
“Now that we’ve got that out of the way, why doesn’t everyone have a seat?” Andy snarked. “You know, like the adults we are. Michael, your brother is alive and well. You’ve been worried sick over him. Don’t you have something to say other than he’s a werewolf or are you just going to stand there, staring?”
“I… I… Mark.” Michael’s fangs disappeared, and his eyes changed back to their normal color. “I’ve missed you. I’ve been so worried. I tried, I really tried hard to find you, but….” He wrung his hands.
Everything in Mark yearned to throw his arms around Michael, but he didn’t move. Michael hated werewolves. He was a werewolf, for fuck’s sake. So now what?
“Mark? I’m sorry for what I said,” Michael whispered. “I’ve just had some really bad experiences with wolves.” Michael took a tiny step forward but stopped. “Ignore what I said, okay? I didn’t know.” Michael glared at Paul. “Someone didn’t tell me.”
Paul climbed to his feet. “You should know by now that I won’t out a paranormal.”
“Think you could’ve made an exception this time, by God.” Michael turned back to Mark. “I’m sorry. Can we just start over? Please?”
Hunter squeezed Mark’s hand. “Babe?”
Mark gulped. “Jesus.” His eyes also changed back. “Okay, that hurt, but damn, I’ve missed you too.” Mark’s voice broke. “So damn much. I’m sorry you had to bury… had to bury them alone, and…. Fuck.”
Michael sobbed loudly and rushed across the room, throwing his arms around Mark. Mark dropped Hunter’s hand and caught Michael, huggin
g him just as fiercely. All the fear, all the pain—all of it was so much easier to handle now that he was with his brother again.
He was the only blood family Mark had left. Yes, he had Hunter and the pack, but… Michael was different. So he was a vampire. And okay, he drank blood. Mark’s one and only experience with a vampire hadn’t been the best, but this was his brother. He’d get over it.
Finally, Mark moved back. “Michael? This is my fated mate, Hunter Day.”
“Hello, Michael.”
Michael nodded to Hunter, then he turned and held out his hand. “Mark, I would like to introduce my soul mate, Clayton Night.”
“Hello, Mark.”
The man who stepped out of from behind Michael had broad shoulders and muscular arms that strained his dark shirt. A trim waist narrowed down into powerful thighs clad in black jeans.
Mark’s gaze traveled back up, his heart beating faster. He studied the familiar square jaw covered in stubble, high cheekbones, and pale skin. His jet-black hair was cut short and spiked on top.
“Fucking hell,” Mark swore harshly.
“Goddess!” Hunter quickly rested his hand on Mark’s shoulder.
Michael raised an eyebrow between the two. “Um, not the response I was expecting.”
Mark swallowed the snarl threatening to escape. The similarities were unmistakable, but there were differences—the main one being the lack of insanity shining in Clay’s eyes. “Do you happen to have a brother who’s also a vampire? A psychotic brother, by chance? Because if you do—and I’m pretty sure the vampire who attacked me is related to you—I’ve met him tonight.”
Chapter Twenty-two – Hunter
HUNTER HAD to hand it to Mark, he sure knew how to get attention. There was guttural hissing from Michael—and goddess, that was a sound he hoped to never hear again. Talk about sinister. The hair on his neck stood on end. It also made his wolf respond with some deep rumbling growling of his own.
“Jesus, can the two of you stop that shit?” Andy rubbed vigorously at his arms. “I got goose bumps, and not the good kind. Swear to God, if I have nightmares, I’m gonna make Paul levitate every last one of you guys.”
