Marked by the Vampire

by Cynthia Eden

  He did something to me. That was the only explanation. Vampires could control their prey after they took blood from humans, and he must have been controlling her.

  “Bastard,” she whispered. She’d thought he was a hero, that he was saving her, when all along he’d just been manipulating her. “Vampire bastard!”

  “Ah, love, now why are you so pissed at me?”

  Her breath choked out and she whirled at the sound of his voice. He rose from the water, easily, fluidly, and the water slid over his powerful, bare chest. He was wearing a pair of pants, nothing more, and looking too damn sexy.

  He’s still controlling me.

  She put her hands in front of her. “Stay away from me—and get out of my mind.”

  He shoved his fingers through his wet hair. Frowned at her. Advanced. “I haven’t been in your mind. Just your body.”

  Asshole. He came closer. Closer—

  She punched him.

  Or, she tried to, anyway, but the vamp caught her fist in his hand and held her easily.

  “Not quite the greeting I was expecting, not after last night.”

  Her cheeks burned. “What did you do to me?”

  His thumb brushed lightly over her knuckles as he kept holding her hand prisoner. “Fucked you. I thought that was obvious.”

  Her other fist flew out. He caught it too. Shook his head. “Olivia, sweet Olivia…” He leaned in close toward her. “Don’t you think it’s a little soon to say we made love? I mean…it was rough and it was hot and it was fucking, so I don’t know why you—”

  “You used mind control on me.”

  His face hardened. “The hell I did.” He still held both her hands in his grip.

  “I don’t…that wasn’t me,” she told him, frantic, her heart galloping too fast. So fast it hurt.

  “Climaxed so long and hard you nearly drove me out of my head?”

  How was this happening? “Let me go.” Her voice was hoarse.

  He hesitated.

  “Let me go,” she said again.

  “Only if you promise not to punch me.”

  She nodded. Mentally crossed her fingers.

  Slowly, he dropped her hands. “I didn’t use mind control on you. You had sex with me because you wanted me.” Anger roughened his words. “So maybe you’re just having some morning after regret because you screwed a vamp, and you always thought you were better than that.”

  Better? No, that—

  “We’re good enough to be your lab rats, the experiments that you study so carefully, but you never thought you’d be begging one of us to take you.”

  Had she begged? She didn’t remember that part, but a lot of the specific details about last night were kind of blurry.

  This nightmare would never end.

  Olivia retreated a bit, and her back bumped into the rocks. “You did something with your bite. You…”

  “Made you climax?” He stalked closer, but didn’t touch her again. “Because you did. You came—twice—just from my bite.”

  “You made me.” The only explanation that made sense. “You compelled me—”

  “If I could control you, I’d be doing it right now.” Flat, brutal. Scary. “I’m not. I don’t force women to do anything they don’t want to do,” he said with a barely banked fury. “Now I realize you’ve had some bad fucking hours at Purgatory, but watch your step, love. You don’t want to push me too far.”

  She was trapped in a cave with a big, too-powerful vampire. Her fear was a living, breathing thing inside of her, but Olivia wasn’t backing down. “Then what happened? If you didn’t control me, why did I want you so much?”

  He growled. “Because I’m dead fucking sexy?”

  Her lips parted in surprise. But wait, yes, he was.

  His hand lifted and skimmed down her cheek. Her racing heartbeat actually stopped in that moment. “Do you know what you are?” Shane asked her, his voice a rumble that sank beneath her skin.

  Lost. Terrified. Mildly turned on. Olivia shook her head.

  His finger slid down her throat. His thumb rubbed lightly over the spot he’d bitten the night before. Pleasure pulsed through her at that caress.

  Maybe more than mildly turned on.

  “You’re a vampire’s wet dream. A woman who craves the bite so much that it brings her to release.” His hand tightened a bit around her throat. “No wonder you like to study the monsters so much. Deep down, you want us.”

  No, that wasn’t true. Deep down, she was terrified of the monsters, but she did her job because there was no choice for Olivia. She had to do it.

  I won’t be like them.

  His head began to lower toward hers.

  “D-don’t bite me again.”

  His eyes held hers. “Afraid you’ll like it too much?”

  Yes. “Just…don’t.” She also wanted his hand off her. Wanted his body away from her. The man’s scent seemed to surround her, and her hands had clenched into fists because she was not going to touch him, even though part of her wanted to so very desperately.

  It was the part that Olivia always kept chained up, locked deep inside of herself. The part that thrived on danger, that longed for the rush of wild, hot sex. The part that enjoyed the darkness…too much.

  It was Olivia’s secret side, a side that had terrified her for as long as she could remember.

  It was a part that could be dangerous. Lethal.

  Just like my father.

  “Fine…” He smiled at her, and Olivia caught the glint of his fangs. “I’ll keep my teeth away from your lovely throat, until you ask for my bite.” He pulled away. Turned from her. Took two steps. Then glanced back. “And you will ask.”

  “Don’t count on that.” She wrapped her arms around her stomach.

  “You liked the bite too much not to want it…me…again.”

  Her stomach clenched. “I just want to get out of here.”

  His gaze turned shuttered. “Is that what you truly wish? That you could leave Purgatory now?”

  Coming there had been one serious mistake. “What I wish is that you’d tell me what’s going on. Who you really are. What the hell is happening at this place. And yeah, after all that, I wish that we could get out of here. That we could just prance out of this cave and find a seaplane waiting to jet us to safety.” She sucked in a ragged breath when she realized that her words were rapping out at a frantic pace. “That’s what I wish, okay?”

  He stared at her, then…shook his head, as if confused by her. “I told you…Pate sent me.”

  She stepped toward him. Her legs were all shaky and she could actually still feel the man inside of her. Inside. Outside. All around her. “You’re FBI?”

  He nodded.

  “Since when does the FBI hire vampires?”

  “Since I owed Eric Pate a blood debt, and this was my way of repaying him.”

  Oh…um, okay.

  “I’m part of the Seattle Para Unit,” he continued, his voice fully devoid of emotion. “When Pate’s targets are too big for his normal resources to handle, I step in.”

  She ventured another step closer to him. “Shane Morgan…is that your real name?”

  He shook his head, and her humiliation deepened. Wonderful. She’d had sex with a man without even knowing his real name.

  “Shane Morgan is the name I use for my cover here at Purgatory. I’ve been Shane August. Shane Elliott, Shane—”

  Olivia held up her hand. “I really get the idea.” She stared at him. “What is your real name?”

  “Just Shane is close enough. That’s the name I’ve used the longest.”

  He was driving her crazy. “What’s happening in Purgatory?”

  “That’s what I was supposed to find out.” One blond brow lifted. “But then I got distracted by saving your sexy ass.”

  Did he think her ass was sexy? She almost glanced back but didn’t. “Do you know a way for us to get off this island?” That’s it—just keep talking. Don’t think about the sex or the
bite. Just think about safety.

  “Maybe.” His voice was mild. “But that’s going to depend.”

  Another small step had her nearly touching him. “On what?”

  His eyes narrowed. “On just how badly the people in Purgatory want you back.”

  The knots in her stomach were getting worse.

  “I answered your questions, now you answer mine.” He cocked his head. “Who sent you to Purgatory?”

  Uh, they’d just covered this. “Pate. Eric Pate, you know—”

  “Pate got orders from above that you were supposed to be shipped in. How’d you work that? Who sent you?”

  Olivia shook her head.

  “Don’t play games with me.” His face hardened as he stared at her. “If I’m risking my life for you, I want to know the risk is worth it. Because if you’re playing me…”

  “I’m not!”

  “Then you’ll pay.” Flat. Cold.

  “Look, I’m—”

  He leapt toward her. Put his hand over her mouth and pulled her tightly against him.

  She struggled, but he just held her tighter. She tried to—

  A rock fell down from overhead, crashing against the side of the cave and ricocheting before it sank into the water. “They’re close…” Shane whispered in her ear. His warning was a breath of sound. “Too close.”

  She couldn’t hear anything but the desperate thunder of her heartbeat.

  “Don’t move.”

  His head slid back from her, and he glanced up. Another rock fell down, barely missing Olivia’s foot.

  She held herself perfectly still, too afraid in that instant to even breathe.

  ***

  “They aren’t here!” Case yelled at David. The werewolf was proving himself to be a total waste. They’d been all around the island, and the wolf had turned up nothing so far.

  Case’s head tilted back as he gazed at the water that surrounded the island. They were at the highest point on the island, a stony hill that gave them a vantage point to survey the area around them.

  But we still haven’t found the vampire.

  “Alphas are supposed to be better than this,” Case snarled. His fingers tightened around the collar’s remote. Maybe it was time to find a new alpha to use on this hunt.

  “In wolf form, I’d find them instantly.” David’s voice was low, tight with anger. “The wolf is always the stronger hunter.”

  Case frowned. He actually knew that bit was true, but… “You seriously think I’ll let you take off that collar so you can change?” Did he look like an idiot?

  David whirled toward him. “I’m close! I can catch the faintest hint of the vamp’s scent…of her…” He shook his head. “But I won’t get any closer, I won’t find more unless I shift!”

  Case shook his head and he hit the button on the remote—the button that would send a powerful surge of silver right into the werewolf’s blood.

  David gave a guttural cry of pain. “I…can…find them!”

  “So can another wolf. One who doesn’t have to shift in order to get the job done.” He’d go through every werewolf in the place if he had to do it. Every single one.

  Pain twisted the werewolf’s face. “Others…can’t…find them. Vamp was…smart. He went underwater…that-that cloaked…scent.”

  Yes, the vampire had been more resourceful than he’d expected, and Case still wanted to know how the vampire had known about the tunnel under Purgatory.

  “The…only way…is if I shift…”

  Case eased up on the remote and the silver concentration surging into David slowed. “You realize if I take off that collar, the only option for containing you will be death? If you make one wrong move, my men will be forced to pump you full of silver bullets.”

  Actually, the more he thought about it…

  That idea works.

  Case had planned to discard the werewolf, anyway. He couldn’t let David go back and tell the others about the tunnel. Someone else might try to escape.

  Not on my watch.

  And if he were to spread the story that David had attacked his men or tried to flee, without his collar—everyone will think his death was justified. The only recourse left to my men.

  “You won’t have to…to contain me.”

  No, he wouldn’t. Case would just kill him, if he had to do it. “Fine.” Case nodded and motioned to his men. But they hesitated, and didn’t move forward. “Unlock his collar.”

  One guard began to inch toward David.

  Case pulled out his gun. Checked the silver bullets. Then aimed the weapon at David. “One wrong move, and you’re dead.”

  David nodded.

  ***

  “We need to get out of here,” Shane rasped. He’d caught the werewolf’s scent, and that jerk David was far too close for his peace of mind.

  With wide eyes, Olivia nodded. He saw her stare dip toward the water.

  “Yes, love, sorry, but that’s our only option.” She was afraid of the water, he knew that. But better to face the water than a pissed-off werewolf. He caught her hand. Twined his fingers with hers. “It’s all right. I’ve got you.”

  She bit her lip. The woman should not be doing that. When she nibbled that plump lower lip, it made him want to bite, and he’d just sprouted that BS about how he could easily hold off on biting her, how he’d wait for her to ask for his bite.

  “Olivia…” Shane began, but then his head jerked to right at the distinct popping he’d just heard. A pop. A crack. A…growl. Every muscle in his body stiffened right then. No, oh, hell, no, that sound had better not be what he suspected it was.

  “Shane?”

  He heard the crack once more. “Bones are breaking.” He hauled her toward the water. “That fool warden is letting the alpha shift.”

  “Y-you’re saying a shifted werewolf is coming after us?”

  They were at the edge of the water.

  “He’ll find us. Wherever we go on this island, the werewolf will find us.” That was why they had to get off that island, right then. “You wished for the seaplane, right?”

  “What?”

  “You want the seaplane.” His fingers tightened on hers.

  “Ouch! Yes, yes, I want the seaplane. I wish it was waiting for us. I want it—”

  “Hold your breath.”

  She did.

  They jumped into the water.

  ***

  The change from man to beast was brutal. Vicious. Painful to see, and probably agony to feel.

  Case kept his gun aimed at David as the werewolf shifted. The snapping and breaking of the wolf’s bones seemed to go on forever, but in reality, he knew the transformation only lasted for a few moments. Just a few precious moments and then—

  The shifted werewolf started clawing at the ground.

  Case frowned at him. “What are you doing? You’re supposed to find the vampire!”

  The werewolf kept clawing, digging into the earth, digging down and down, as if he were trying to make a hole right beneath him.

  Understanding hit Case. Caves. He’d heard there were a few caves scattered around the island, but they were only accessible from the sea.

  And that vamp Shane had gone into the water when he’d fled Purgatory.

  “Help him dig!” Case shouted to his men. “Help him!”

  But then Case heard another sound on the horizon. At first, it was like the buzzing of a bee hive. But that sound grew louder, stronger.

  No, no, not now!

  He could just see the shape of the seaplane in the sky. Heading right toward them. That plane shouldn’t have been there right then. There was no damn reason for the plane to come early. He fumbled for his radio and had to lower his gun. “Tell that pilot not to land! Get him out of here!”

  As Case shouted, the werewolf’s head turned toward him. Saliva dripped from the beast’s mouth—a mouth bursting with razor sharp teeth.

  The gun!

  Case tried to aim his weapon once more, but the were
wolf leapt for him. The beast’s claws tore into Case’s shirt. Blood soaked him. “Sh-shoot!” Case yelled as he tried to fight the werewolf.

  The beast’s teeth closed around his wrist. Sank in deep. Case cried out in pain.

  Gunfire blasted.

  The werewolf shuddered, jerked back, then raced away.

  “After…him!” Case yelled as he tried to sit up. But the men didn’t run after the werewolf. They crowded around him. “What the hell are you waiting for?” Case snarled. Blood pumped from the slashes in his chest and from the wound on his wrist.

  “Sir…” One guard spoke, his voice little more than a whisper. “You’ve been…bitten.”

  He knew he had—he’d felt the werewolf’s teeth tear into him.

  “It’s poison, sir,” that guard continued. “Y-you know that.”

  Case shoved to his feet. Staggered.

  “The bite either kills you…or changes you.”

  Case’s blood covered fingers tightened around his gun. “I said…go after that bastard werewolf!” He took a step forward, and agony ripped through him.

  The guards kept talking, but he couldn’t hear them any longer. He was screaming because Case felt as if he were burning alive.

  The bite either kills you…or changes you.

  Chapter Six

  When she crawled up the beach, Olivia heard a low, droning hum sound. Her gaze jerked upward even as her fingers sank into the sand and she saw the seaplane heading toward them.

  Relief had her shaking.

  “Fucking figured…we are both screwed,” Shane muttered as his hands closed around her hips and he hauled Olivia up to her feet.

  “Screwed? We’re saved!” She threw her arms around him and held on tight. “We’re going to be all right! We’re going—”

  She heard a howl then. A long, angry howl from a wolf.

  Shane lifted her into his arms in an instant, then he took off, moving with that vamp agility and speed, and she was so happy to be out of the water and heading toward the seaplane that she didn’t even kick him for carrying her around like a sack of potatoes this time. He’d tossed her over his shoulder as he ran and she did her best to hold on as he rushed toward the droning/whirring sound of the seaplane’s engine.