[Dark Hunter-Were Hunter 2] - Night Play

by Sherrilyn Kenyon

  "Ow!" Bride snapped as her hand started burning. She pressed it up against her glass of water.

  "What's wrong?" Mina asked as she picked out another oyster to eat.

  "I don't know," Bride said. "My hand just started hurting."

  Tabitha touched Bride's plate. "Nothing's hot. Did you cut your hand on an oyster shell?"

  "No," Bride said, pulling her hand back to look at it. There was a beautiful design on her palm. It reminded her of some ancient Greek design. "What on earth?"

  Mina frowned as she looked at it. "Did you get a henna tattoo?"

  "No. I didn't do anything. I swear. It wasn't there five seconds ago."

  Tabitha leaned over to look at it. "How weird," she said. "And coming from me, that means something."

  That was very true. Tabitha Devereaux was the epitome of odd.

  "You've never seen anything like this?" Bride asked Tabitha.

  "Nope. Maybe we're all delusional. Maybe it's like Plato's theory and there's nothing there but skin. Maybe we're just seeing what we want to see."

  Mina snorted as she poured Tabasco sauce on her oyster. "Just because you live in a constant state of insanity, Tabby, doesn't mean the rest of us do."

  Bride laughed at them.

  She traced the design on her palm and wondered what on earth could have placed it there.

  Colt gave Vane a hard stare. "Look, I know you can't stand me. But I've got your back. Go see your woman and I'll cover here in the bar."

  "I don't need you to—"

  "Stop being so damned stubborn," Colt said from between clenched teeth. "You have a mate out there, Vane, and whether you're Arcadian or Katagaria, you know the one law that governs us all. Your mate's safety comes above all else."

  Colt was right and Vane knew it. The animal inside him was already straining at the human half of him. It wanted its mate. It demanded it.

  Normally the human and animal parts of himself coexisted in a delicate balance. Hormones and stress could easily disturb that balance, and then he became truly dangerous. If the animal took control of him…

  Many of his kind, both male and female, lost themselves to that animal half. Unable to handle it, they went mad from it and became ruthless slayers who killed anything or anyone who crossed them. It was similar to a rabies infection and there was no cure for it.

  That was why the Arcadians had Sentinels. Their job was to track and kill those who couldn't control their animal soul. Slayers. Of course, the Arcadians as a rule were rather liberal when applying the term "slayer" to one of his people. Pretty much any Katagari who crossed their path was usually classified as a slayer… with or without evidence.

  "Go, Vane," Colt said, urging him toward the door.

  The bear was right. There was no use fighting his nature. It was a battle he could never win.

  He handed Colt the towel and quickly left the bar.

  Out on the street, Vane made sure no one could see him and then flashed himself into wolf form. Unlike his brother, he was a solid white timber wolf. He was also bigger, weighing in at one hundred and forty pounds.

  It was why his pack mates had feared him most in his animal state. As powerful as they were, he was more so. And he didn't follow rank the way the others did.

  Animal he might be, but at the end of the day even though he denied it, he had enough human in him to refuse to follow anyone docilely.

  He was a born alpha and everyone around him knew it.

  Vane sprinted through the streets of New Orleans, careful to stay to the shadows of the darkening evening. He'd learned long ago that humans had a tendency to make him out to be a large dog if they saw him, but still the last thing he needed was a dogcatcher after him.

  He had a long history of animal-control encounters. None of which had ever been good for the humans.

  It didn't take him long to return to Iberville and the Acme Oyster House where he'd left Bride. Rising up on his hind legs to stand against the glass, he peered inside to see her seated with two other women.

  One had dark auburn hair and a ragged scar down the side of her face. If not for the ghastly mark, she would have been exceptionally attractive. The other one was a very pretty brunette who shared similar features.

  However, neither of the skinny women appealed to him.

  Only Bride did. The sight of her cut through him intensely, making him ache with need. She might claim to be human, but there was more magic in her smile than his entire wolf pack possessed.

  She was absolutely beguiling and those lips did the most amazing things to his body.

  To his heart…

  The three women were talking and laughing while they finished a platter of oysters. None of them seemed to notice anything different about Bride.

  Maybe she wasn't his mate, after all.

  But that was a futile thought. The mark only appeared after a Were-Hunter had had sex with his mate, and usually within a short time frame. Vane hadn't been with any other woman for months now.

  There was no one else it could be.

  Her hand markings should match his exactly—they were emblems that showed his parental lineage and could only be read by another of his kind.

  But then again maybe it was different because Bride was human. What if the mating mark wasn't binding on a human female?

  He went cold with that thought.

  He would be screwed. Literally.

  The only hope he would ever have for a family rested in his ability to claim his mate.

  But she must be willing…

  Bride and her friends got up and headed out of the restaurant. Vane crouched low as he tried to decide what to do.

  "I'm telling you, Bride," the brunette said as she led the way out into the street, "our sister Tia can hex anyone. Say the word and we'll turn Taylor into a eunuch."

  Bride laughed at that. "Don't tempt me."

  The scarred redhead stopped as she caught sight of him in the shadows. "Hey there, big boy," she said kindly, holding her hand out for him to sniff. "Want Tabby to scratch you behind your ears?"

  "Tabitha!" the other woman snapped. "Leave the strays alone. I swear, one day you're going to get rabies."

  "He doesn't have rabies," Bride said.

  "See," the one called Tabitha said. "And the daughter of the vet should know."

  Bride held her hand out to him.

  Vane went to her immediately and sniffed her hand. Her scent went through him, piercing and hot, along with images of what she'd looked like in complete surrender to him. The sounds of her pleasure…

  Nosing her fingers, he forced her to open them so that he could see his worst fears confirmed.

  She was marked.

  Damn.

  What was he going to do now?

  "He likes you, Bride."

  Tabitha had no idea just how true her words were.

  "I think he likes her leftovers," Mina said with a laugh.

  Bride knelt down while she stroked his ears. She cupped his head and examined him carefully. "I think he's a wolf."

  "A wolf?" Tabitha asked. "Are you nuts? How did a wolf get in the city? Besides, he's way too big for a wolf."

  "You are a big boy, aren't you?" Bride said as Vane nuzzled her face. She looked up at her friend. "Contrary to popular opinion, Tabby, wolves are the largest of the canines. But I think he might be some kind of mixed blood."

  If she only knew…

  She stood up and started off with her friends.

  Vane followed. In wolf form, it was compulsory. His human half had very little control now. He could still understand and listen, but his animal ruled him in this state.

  So long as he was in his current body, he was feral and lethal.

  Bride had the strangest feeling down her spine. She paused and looked back over her shoulder to find the white wolf following behind her. She could swear his eyes were an exact match for Vane's hazel green, and the way he looked at her…

  At them…

  It was as if he under
stood exactly what they were saying and doing.

  It was really weird.

  Tabitha and Mina walked her back to her shop.

  "You sure you don't want to spend the night over at my place?" Mina asked. "I can easily kick my guy out."

  "Or my apartment," Tabitha offered. "I have no guy to kick out, and since my twin absconded with my dog and Allison wanted to find a saner, safer bunkmate, I have all the room in the world."

  "I thought Maria was living with you now?" Mina asked.

  "Nah," Tabitha said. "Her stuff is there, but she's been spending all her time at her boyfriend's house. I never see her anymore."

  Bride smiled at their kindness. "It's okay, guys. I have to get used to being alone again. Really. I just want to curl up with a good book and put him out of my mind."

  But what disturbed her most was that all she had to do was think of Vane and all thoughts of Taylor went flying out of her head.

  Maybe her "encounter" with him had been a good thing after all.

  "Hey, just keep dreaming about the guy you met," Tabitha said, winking at her.

  Bride frowned at that spooky coincidence. Of course, Tabitha claimed to be able to read minds. At times such as this, Bride could almost believe that.

  "Yeah," Mina concurred. "Maybe he might pass back by."

  Bride sighed wistfully. "I have a feeling I've seen the last of Mr. Bodacious."

  Mina gave her a sisterly hug. "Call me if you need me."

  "I will. Thanks."

  Tabitha hugged her too and patted her on the back. "Remember, if you need Taylor's kneecaps broken, I have just the tire iron and I won't ever tell the media who put me up to it."

  Bride laughed, grateful for her friends and their kindness to her in her hour of need. "You're such a nut."

  "I'm serious, though. You change your mind, speed dial the number. I can be at his place in under twenty minutes."

  "Ha!" Mina said. "With your driving? You'd be there in less than ten and that's with a flat tire going against traffic."

  Bride shook her head at their teasing as she pulled her keys from her pocket and opened the door on the side of her building that led to the courtyard and the wrought-iron stairs in the back. Her store took up the entire bottom floor of the building, but the upper three floors had been made into apartments by her grandmother. The stairs back here led to each of the apartments above. There was one more tiny studio apartment in the back near the garage that used to be a barn back in the days before New Orleans was paved.

  Up until Taylor had talked her into living with him, she had lived in the biggest apartment on the top floor. Now all the apartments were rented except for the one studio out back. It was so small that she had never felt right about taking money for it. Instead, Bride used it for storage.

  Now it was going to be home sweet home for a while.

  She wanted to cry again, but she refused. If the worst thing that ever happened to her was Taylor leaving her, then she was truly blessed.

  Still, it did hurt. Deeply.

  As Mina and Tabitha walked off, the wolf came forward to stare up at her.

  "You are beautiful, aren't you?" she asked, reaching down to stroke his ears again.

  He licked her hand before he rubbed himself against her legs much like a cat might.

  "C'mon," she said, indicating the courtyard with a nod of her head. "I don't really want to be alone tonight and you look like you might appreciate somewhere warm and dry to sleep."

  He padded inside the gate while she locked the door and made her way over to the renovated stable/apartment.

  Her heart heavy, Bride was grateful that she had this one tiny place left, otherwise she would be in a hotel room tonight. Or worse, her parents' house. She loved them dearly, but she wasn't in the mood to answer their questions or see the look of disappointment on her mother's face as she lamented the fact that if Bride didn't get married, she'd never have any more grandchildren.

  At least here in her own place she had some comfort.

  Maybe.

  She opened the door and switched on the lights. Luckily, the water and electricity for this apartment was turned on since it ran off the same line that provided the water and electricity for her store.

  The wolf hesitated as he looked around the three hundred square feet of boxes and artwork.

  "Oh," she said playfully, "you feeling picky, huh?"

  If she didn't know better, she would swear he shook his head no before he came in and started nosing around her boxes.

  After locking the door, Bride went to the dusty desk and dropped her keys on top of it. Then she pulled the cover from the couch and coughed as she unearthed a dust bunny farm of death.

  "I really hate you, Taylor," she said quietly as she sniffed. "I hope you choke on your skinny new girlfriend's thong."

  As if he sensed her sadness, the wolf came over and rubbed against her side. Bride sank down to the floor to pull him into a tight hug.

  The wolf didn't complain at all as she let her tears fall into his snowy fur. He sat there quietly with his head on her shoulder as pain flooded her.

  How could she have been so stupid as to think for a minute that she loved Taylor? Why had she given him so much of her life and time when he'd only been using her?

  Was she really so desperate for love that she would lie to herself about him?

  "I just wanted someone to love me for me," she whispered to the wolf. "Is that so wrong?"

  Vane couldn't breathe as Bride held him in a death grip and her words tore through him. Worse, he understood exactly what she meant. Rejected by everyone except his brother and sister, he knew that the only thing that had saved him from being the omega wolf in his pack had been his willingness to kill anyone who tried to make him or Fang a scapegoat.

  Every time they had tried to pick on them, Vane had fought back, and with maturity, he'd grown to such a size that no one dared challenge him again.

  Not even his father.

  How could anyone hurt Bride like this? His heart pounded wildly as the wolf in him craved blood from the man who made her cry.

  He didn't understand what kind of man could voluntarily let her go. Once his kind mated, it was eternal. Unbreakable.

  And now that he had confirmation that she was in fact his predestined mate, he was honor bound to protect her until she either finished their mating ritual by accepting him or they parted ways.

  The latter wouldn't affect her at all. But as a wolf, he would never be able to have sex with another female so long as Bride lived.

  That was completely unacceptable to him. Vane Kattalakis wasn't meant for enforced celibacy. The idea of spending the next few decades impotent was enough to make him do someone damage.

  But how could a human ever accept an animal as her mate?

  Damn the Fates for this. They were evil bitches who lived for no other purpose than to make others suffer.

  The phone rang. Bride released him and went to answer it while Vane nosed around the small, cramped room. It was a dismal place.

  "Hey, Tabby." Bride pulled a sheet away from a table and sent a box falling.

  Vane yelped and dodged away from it.

  Bride patted his head, then moved the box. "You didn't have to do that, you know?" He could sense she was a bit irritated at her friend, but underneath she seemed pleased. "Okay, I'm coming to let you in."

  Bride hung up the phone, then grabbed her keys and opened her door. Vane followed her outside to the street where she opened the wrought-iron door to let Tabitha, who stood on the other side with a wheeled cart loaded with bags, into the courtyard.

  "Good grief!" Bride said as she saw bags. "What did you do?"

  Tabitha shrugged. "Creature comforts every woman should have." She handed a six-pack of Corona Light beer over to Bride, then wheeled her cart inside.

  Bride locked the door and followed Tabitha.

  Vane trailed behind them.

  Once they were inside the small apartment, Tabitha smiled
down at him. "I had a feeling you'd still be here."

  She pulled a bone out of the top sack and unwrapped it.

  He grimaced inwardly as she set it down on the ground. There was no way in hell he was going to chew on that.

  His gaze went to Bride. She was the only chew toy that interested him.

  Bride stood with her hands on her hips. "Tabitha—"

  "Don't, Bride. As a recent member of the I-Ain't-Got-No-Man-and-Don't-Ever-Want-Another-One Club, I know the last thing you need is to be alone tonight." She pulled a set of silk sheets out of the sack.

  "What are these?"

  "I told you, creature comforts. We have everything in here. Krispy Kreme doughnuts, beer, soda, creme horns, potato chips, dip, and enough hunk-filled DVDs to sink the Titanic. It's time for a hunk fest of men who can't break your heart." Tabitha handed her a small bag.

  Bride shook her head. "Thank you, Tabby. I really appreciate this."

  "No prob."

  Vane sat back as Tabitha hooked up the TV and VCR while Bride opened up boxes that held plates and silverware.

  "I'm glad I kept all this," Bride said as she dusted off a crate and set it up like a coffee table in front of the TV. "Taylor didn't want all my things mixed in with his. I should have known then, shouldn't I?"

  It was all Vane could do to stay in wolf form. He wanted to soothe her so much, but didn't dare. Especially not with Tabitha present.

  "Don't think about it, hon," Tabitha said as she popped the sealed top off the beer with her bare hand and handed it to Bride. "We never see the signs we don't want to see. You know? Look on the bright side, at least your guy didn't leave you because you were nuts."

  "You're not nuts."

  Tabitha gave a disbelieving laugh at that. "Yeah, right. Amanda aside, only fruits and nuts come out of my family tree. But hey, at least we're entertaining."

  Bride gave her a chiding stare. "Does Mina know you say that?"

  "Mina? She's a bigger loon than I am. Have you seen her collection of ancient vampire-killing kits? I swear she's the one who made that anonymous bid at Sotheby's for that turn-of-the-century vampire-slaying kit."

  Tabitha placed an entire doughnut into her mouth and swallowed it whole.