by Elisabeth Naughton, Cynthia Eden, Katie Reus, Alexandra Ivy, Laura Wright, Joan Swan
Paul had moved to peer through the series of spy holes located along the room’s perimeter. “Or he will be.”
Now Devon finally showed emotion. Confusion. “What?”
Paul whistled. “That wolf is cutting right through the demons. Slashing every last one. Never seen anything like this…”
She shoved him aside and stared through the spy hole. Her gaze locked on the wolf, a wolf that was bigger than he had been last night. The giant black beast turned around and Jace’s bright stare flew past her as he snarled.
His teeth and claws were covered with blood.
“He’s not supposed to be that big,” Devon muttered. “I’ve seen him shift before, he’s not—” Devon broke off as he caught her arm and jerked her toward him. “You let him drink from you.”
Her shoulder seemed to burn, and she remembered his bite. “You know the rules of a werewolf mating. He had to drink.”
But Devon started shaking his head. “I didn’t realize…the bastard knew!” His hands wrapped around her shoulders, and he hauled Morgan off her feet. “Don’t give him anymore blood.” Spittle flew from his mouth.
“What? Look, you know you don’t have to worry about me turning him. Werewolves can’t become vampires.”
The transformation from human to vampire was brutal. The victim had to be near death, a heartbeat away from the afterlife. The vampire had to drain her prey and then force him to drink her own blood.
Only…werewolves had never transformed. Vamps had tried to change a few of them, centuries before, but it hadn’t worked. Their beasts were too strong to die. They couldn’t transform.
Devon had told her that. He’d been the one to “experiment” on those unlucky wolves in the past.
Did Jace know? Did he realize that Devon had captured wolves over the centuries and sliced them apart to see how much pain they could take? To learn how fast they’d regenerate?
Know your enemy. One of Devon’s favorite phrases.
Asshole.
He’d ruled the vampires in this area for too long. But now he wasn’t the strongest vamp in the room.
I am.
Devon didn’t even seem to see her as he said, “They can’t become like us…” His gaze stared at the past. “Fucking animals…should have seen it…didn’t think…” He spun around and his fist slammed into the wall. “They can become more.”
The screams stopped, but the howls didn’t. They grew louder. Wilder.
The wolves had won. Vanquished the demons.
“More will come,” Paul said and she knew he was right. The flood of demons wouldn’t stop, not until that doorway was blocked.
Time to shut that door. If a demon was left alive, they could force him to show them the entrance to hell.
“You can’t, Morg. You’re not strong enough,” Paul said. Ah, Paul, he knew her so well.
She glanced over at him. “Guess we’ll see about that.”
He flinched and there was no missing the worry on his face.
It had been three years since she’d turned him. He was the only human she’d ever turned. Sometimes, she wondered…did he wish that she’d just left him to die?
“You can’t let him drink from you again!” Devon was still screeching as she marched away from him. “Morganna! Do you hear me? You can’t?”
She threw a hard glance back at him. “You forget yourself, Devon. You can no longer tell me what I can or cannot do.” She bared her teeth at him. “I’m not part of the vampire nest anymore.”
His lips parted.
“I’m wolf.” So shove that down your throat and choke on it.
“You don’t understand. I didn’t realize—he’ll become more!”
She yanked open the door and the scent of hell hit her. “He already is.” And he’s mine.
Morgan strode into the sunlight. The big, black wolf stood in the middle of the carnage. When he saw her step out of the compound, his body tensed.
But the battle was over. His men were already shifting back to their human forms.
He began to shift as well.
And that was when the other two demons dropped from the sky behind him.
Demons…so tricky. So deceptive. They’d waited until he was weak. His attention divided.
Because of me.
“No!” She screamed even as they slashed at Jace. Their claws sank into his back.
She moved faster than she’d ever moved in her life. She grabbed the first demon and twisted his head. The snap barely slowed her down. She turned for the other hellspawn—
But Jace’s men had already ripped him apart.
She spun back around. Jace stood before her, naked, body heaving, blood pouring from him. Fear tightened her throat. “Jace?”
His eyes were blind, not seeming to see her at all. She stared down at his chest. The demon’s fist and claws had ripped right through him, back to front, and, oh, no, please…
The demon had cut through his heart.
Chapter Five
Morgan caught Jace before he fell. A scream ripped from her as she held him as tightly as she could.
And she knew what she had to do.
She’d found Paul like this. He’d been beaten, bleeding out, dying in a dirty alley all alone. He hadn’t been able to speak because a knife had been stuck in his throat. His lips had trembled and he’d mouthed, Help me.
She had. A stranger, and she’d given him forever.
She’d damn well save the man she’d taken as husband.
She lowered Jace gently to the ground. The pack closed in around her, nearly blocking the light. Louis stood right beside her. She grabbed his hand before he could stop her. His claws were still out, and she sliced them down the length of her throat.
“Cher, no, what—”
Blood dripped down her neck and wet her shirt. She leaned over Jace. His eyes were open. On her. “Drink from me.”
A slight flare of his pupils. She put her throat against his mouth. “Drink.”
His lips parted. His tongue licked her skin. The edge of his teeth scraped over her neck.
Then he drank. Slowly at first. So slow.
After a tense moment, his hands rose and wrapped around her. He pulled her closer, held her tighter.
Tighter.
She felt his canines expand and push into her skin. Morgan held her body still. He needs this. His mouth worked on her flesh. Lips. Tongue. Teeth.
He took.
“Stop!”
Devon’s scream. Over Jace’s shoulder, she saw the Council leader trying to shove his way through the pack.
They shoved him back.
“Morgan, no! He’ll destroy you! All of us!”
But Jace had saved them today. She closed her eyes. She’d begun to feel the heavy pull of the sunlight, like a weight upon her skin. Pressing against her.
Devon stopped screaming.
Her fast heartbeat slowed. Her breath sighed out of her.
Still Jace held her. So very tight.
He…he should have enough blood now. She brought her hands up and pushed against his chest.
He didn’t stop. Fear tightened her stomach.
Then Jace swiped his tongue over her throat and his growled whisper reached her ears, “More.”
She wondered just how much more he would take.
***
Devon stumbled away from the wolves. Fucking animals. Any minute now, they might rip into him.
He hadn’t forgotten the alpha’s order. The bastard had ordered his death as carelessly as he’d order dinner. Kill them.
When the alpha’s strength came back, Devon had no doubt that he’d give the same order once more.
The way the alpha was gulping Morgan’s blood, his strength would be back in seconds.
Should have realized…so blind…
He rushed through the compound, winding down deep into its hidden tunnels. Escape tunnels—because the vampires always had to be prepared.
He snaked through the tunnels, mov
ing perfectly in the pitch blackness. To the left, to the right…
He punched in the combination to the door in front of him. The heavy lock opened with a hiss, and he hurried inside.
There wouldn’t be time to waste. Kill or be killed.
Once Jace finished off all the demons, there would be no stopping that alpha. He’d want total control of the area.
And Devon wasn’t about to bow down to an animal.
“Let me the fuck go!” The shout from his captive echoed in the lab.
His lab. His playroom.
Devon grabbed a scalpel from the table. Its edge gleamed so perfectly in the light. When he’d first started his experiments, Devon had always used his hands.
Then he’d realized the others thought he enjoyed the work too much.
Because I do.
So now he used the surgical instruments to make it look more…clinical.
Still the same. They bleed. I smile.
No one was in the lab but his latest specimen. If Morganna knew that he hadn’t stopped the experiments…
Oh, well, the bitch couldn’t stop him now. No one could.
He crossed to stand in front of the wolf. “You’re going to be very useful to me, Mike.” If Morgan’s strength had increased with a few swallows of wolf’s blood, just how strong would he become if he drained a whole wolf?
Strong enough to fight off the alpha. Strong enough to rule.
The wolf glared at Devon. “Go fuck yourself.”
Devon sliced across the wolf’s throat with his scalpel. Then he caught the flowing blood in a cup.
He wouldn’t dirty his teeth on the wolf’s flesh.
The wolf strained against his chains as his blood poured from his body.
Devon smiled.
***
Jace’s men carried in the demon that Morgan had attacked as the wolves pushed inside the vampire stronghold. The guy’s head was twisted and hung at a sagging angle. Not for long, though. A broken neck wouldn’t kill a demon.
But when I take that neck from his body…
Dead demon.
Jace had never been inside the vampire mansion before. He’d stalked outside plenty of times. Come killing close, but never actually walked the hallowed halls. But, yeah, it was as high-priced as he’d figured. Fancy furniture. Marble tiles. Big, glittering chandeliers.
Money.
Class.
And…a blood fountain.
He turned away from the fountain and found Morgan staring at him. Even paler than before, but she still met his gaze. Her lips weren’t red now. Instead, they were the lightest shade of pink, and the gold had faded from her eyes.
Took too much.
Her blood and the rush of power that came with it were addictive. He’d have to be more careful with her. Far more careful.
“How long?” Jace asked Louis.
Vampires lined one side of the room. Wolves the other. Jace stood in the middle. Morgan…she waited next to the vamp he’d been itching to slay. The one who touched her far too much. Paul.
“Ten minutes. Maybe five.” Louis shrugged. “Could be sooner. You know they never stay out long.”
Not much time, but… He strode forward and took Morgan’s hand. When he touched her, he caught the deepening of her scent. Not with arousal.
Fear.
Took too much.
Louis had needed to pry her out of Jace’s arms. He clenched his teeth as pain ripped through him.
If Louis hadn’t stopped me…His breath rushed out.
Another debt I owe that wolf.
“We need to be alone.” The blood had dried on her throat. Her wounds were closed already, but dark shadows lined her eyes.
“No, wolf,” this came from the fool who would be her protector. “That’s the last thing you need.”
The wolves shifted, inching forward, and he could feel their aggression level spiking in the room.
Because his aggression level was damn well spiking. “Don’t get between us again.”
But the vampire stepped forward. “I’m not afraid of—”
“Death?” Jace finished silkily. “You sure about that? Because one fine dark night, in an alley that smelled of blood and vomit, you sure seemed afraid to me.” Jace wasn’t exactly sure how it had happened. Vampires were the only ones who were supposed to be able to drink memories.
But when he’d taken Morgan’s blood moments before, he’d seen her life.
Seen her transform this one—Paul—even as she cried and whispered her apologies.
She hadn’t wanted to make him into a monster, but she hadn’t been able to let him die, not when he’d wanted to live.
“You asshole—” Paul lunged at Jace with bared fangs.
“Stop.” Morgan’s quiet voice. Her hand touched Paul’s shoulder.
The vampire stilled instantly.
Morgan tilted her head back and met Jace’s stare. “How do you know about that night?”
No point lying. Besides, he didn’t want to lie. Not to her. “I drank your memories, princess.”
Instant murmurs of disbelief came from the vampires. Paul shook his head. “No, no way, that can’t happen. Plenty of humans have tasted our blood and seen nothing.”
“I’m not human.” Jace stated the obvious. “Those rules don’t apply to me.” And in their blood past, all those long centuries of hate that stood between the vampires and werewolves, well, his kind hadn’t wanted to spend time tasting a vampire’s blood. Ripping them apart. Beheading them.
Not sampling the blood supply.
“The game has changed now,” he said as the vampires and wolves eyed each other. He didn’t know if that was good or bad. Behind him, he heard the snap of bones.
Jace glanced back. That snap hadn’t come from one of his own shifting. The demon’s neck was popping back into place. Not much longer.
“Hold him,” he ordered Louis. “Don’t…start until I get back.”
Torture would come. Anything, everything that he had to do in order to make the demon talk.
Then he glanced back at Morgan. “You need me,” he told her.
“Why?” From Paul again. “Do you really think she needs someone to drain her dry?”
The bastard was begging for a beating. Begging. But…Morgan cares for him. “The way you did when she changed you? How many days did she sleep after that because you took too much? How many—”
“Enough!” Morgan’s shout froze them all. She looked like a breeze would topple her then, but her voice packed a punch of undeniable fury. “You.” She jabbed her finger at Paul. “You were desperate, changing—you had to take my blood. I offered it to you.”
Paul smirked. Begging.
“And you.” She exhaled as she shook her head and focused on Jace. “What did you think I was going to do? Let you die in front of me?” Before he could answer, she ran a shaking hand over her neck. “You might be an alpha asshole, but you’re mine, and I wasn’t letting you go without a fight.”
“And I won’t let you go.” Ever. His hand lifted and rubbed lightly over the marks he’d left on her flesh. “Now you need me…let me help you.”
Her tongue snaked out and licked over her lower lip. He knew she understood his meaning because her fangs started to grow.
“The battle’s coming. You have to be strong.” A strength she’d get from him. He eased back and offered his hand. “Come with me.”
But she was shaking her head. “This isn’t your place, wolf.”
A stiffness filled his chest. Pain.
“It’s mine.” She grabbed his hand. “So you come with me.” Then she led him away from the vampires and wolves. Led him up a spiral staircase and into a room without windows. A room that smelled of her.
Before the door closed, he had her in his arms.
Five minutes.
Not even that. Not now.
His lips took hers. Jace thrust his tongue inside her mouth. She kissed him back with no hesitation, even though the scent of
fear still hovered on her skin.
He stroked her with his tongue, caressed with his lips, but the scent remained.
Jaw clenching, he lifted his head. “Stop.”
Her lashes rose, and she blinked at him. “Why?”
“Because you fear me.” He stalked away from her. It was either step away or pounce, and he wanted to show her that he could have restraint. It won’t last long.
They were in an apartment of sorts. A leather couch. A TV. Bookshelves. Then toward the right…a bed. A big, four-poster.
Morgan, in that bed…
An image too tempting to resist. Let the demon wait. The vamps and wolves could keep him…entertained.
He reached for Morgan’s hand. Entwined his fingers with hers and led her to the bed.
She sat down on the edge of the mattress and stared up at him. “I can’t figure you out, wolf.”
“You’ve tasted my life.” Now he truly knew what that meant. “How can I possibly have secrets from you?” He lowered onto his knees and positioned his body between her spread legs. Then Jace tilted his head and offered his throat. “Drink.” The ultimate pose of submission. For her, only her.
She’d nearly traded her life for his. Louis, we’ll name our first son after you—because you fucking saved my ass.
If he’d gone too far, taken too much from her…
Her eyes seemed so wide as she gazed at him.
“Don’t fear me,” he’d meant the words as a plea but they came out sounding like an order. Dammit. He cleared his throat. “It won’t happen again. I give you my word it—”
“You were already pulling back before Louis dislocated your shoulders.”
He blinked.
“You kept your control. And the blood—it was freely given.”
She wasn’t drinking from him. Why the hell not?
Her hand slid down his shirt. Pressed against his heart. His chest was bare. After the shift and the fury, the wolves had dressed in their back up jeans, but most hadn’t bothered with shirts. Her touch seemed to burn right through his flesh.
She stared down at her hand. At his chest. “What separates the man from the beast?” Morgan asked softly.
He forced his jaw to unlock. “There is no separation.”
Her hand dipped lower. Found the snap of his jeans. “When you’re a wolf,” her voice grew huskier, “do you still have the mind of a man? Some stories say no. Others say yes.”
