What was she thinking?
Something utterly ridiculous.
But she turned back to the room and looked around some more, and she saw his private bathroom. Only, when she looked inside, it wasn’t just a bathroom but another room. And against one wall was a stainless steel refrigerator. Her heart pounded as she approached it and her hand trembled a little as she opened it.
But she wasn’t really surprised over what she saw.
She simply closed the door and retreated from Wayde’s personal space. And then she waited for him to call.
Chapter Ten
Alex stormed into the house and immediately went to the weapon’s room to look for the Blessed Blade. Seb had been adamant that it was here, but Alex turned the room inside out and couldn’t find it.
What the hell?
“Seb!” he yelled. “Sebastian! Where the hell are you?”
He stomped through the house calling out Seb’s name, but the only ones to appear were Tommy and Josiah.
“What’s going on?” Tommy demanded.
“Where’s Seb?”
Both Tommy and Josiah shrugged.
“He’s been acting very strange,” Tommy muttered. “He’s sending me out on patrol in places that make no sense.”
“And he hasn’t been sleeping through the night,” Josiah added. “Sleeping during the day, pacing all night long. Damned impolite if you ask me.”
“What case has he been working on?” Alex asked.
Again, both men shrugged.
“The last thing I know he officially investigated was that activity near Seattle,” Tommy said. “He got back about three weeks ago but I don’t remember him picking up another investigation.”
“Not even this rogue vampire?”
Tommy shook his head.
Alex frowned. An uneasy feeling slivered down his back. He had to find Seb and he had to find the Blessed Blade. It was the only weapon known to kill vampires since it had been bathed in the tears of a seraphim.
Without another word to them, Alex marched back upstairs but instead of heading to his room, he went in the opposite direction, to Sebastian’s room. The door was locked but he easy broke it open and entered. The room was pitch black, darker than usual, and Alex got a chill when he saw wood had been nailed over the window. The bed had been turned over and the blankets had been arranged to form a type of cave.
Alex backed out, not needing to see anything else.
His heart sank.
Sebastian was the rogue vampire.
Somehow…he’d been turned. The disturbance in Seattle? When else could it have been done? He’d gotten back three weeks ago, about the same time Alex had first got wind of Wayde. Self-disgust punched through him. He’d been so sure it was Wayde, he hadn’t paid attention to any other signs.
He had to track Wayde down and let him know. The man still made him furious and he had to have it out with him, but after he beat the shit out of him for making him feel things, he’d ask Wayde for help in catching Seb. Without the Blessed Blade neither he nor Tommy would be able to capture a vampire in full bloodlust.
He left without talking to Tommy and Josiah about his discovery and made a beeline for Wayde’s shop. Halfway there, he picked up Wayde’s scent and began to follow it. Ever since their little interlude in the night club, he’d been tuned into Wayde like a homing beacon. It was damn annoying and he planned to confront the man right away on whatever little trick he’d done to him.
****
Come hell or high water, he was going to catch the rogue vampire and finally get through to Alexander Malden. But this time, he would do things on his terms, his turf. He had to lure out the vampire somewhere where they wouldn’t be interrupted and people wouldn’t get hurt.
Right before he pulled the door to his shop closed, he thought of Alex’s sword and went back in to retrieve it. The blade was deadly sharp and he knew that it would take any head cleanly off with one swipe. So he better be damn sure that the rogue or Alex wouldn’t use it on him.
He tapped his coat, and the container hidden there. Wayde had emergency stashes of blood in his bedroom and at his office. Human blood, donated to him freely in exchange for sex. One of the good things about being with a companion, or two in this case, would be that he wouldn’t need to trade sex for blood. Even though it sounded exciting, and hell, for a few centuries it was, after awhile, the transaction became a little…cold. Luckily, he learned he could survive fine off animal blood and tended to go after the critters that scoured the alleys. But the emergency blood he had was human and it was exactly when he needed right now.
Turned vampires had two choices early in their reborn lives. Either give into the bloodlust driving them or overcoming it. Sure, the second choice was damn hard, and usually the maker was there to guide the newly turned. Wayde planed on using the human blood to lure out the rogue vampire.
He kept to the shadows and the outskirts of the park, where the rogue vampire seemed to like hunting. It was a big park, with many places for him to hide. Wayde squirted a few drops of blood here and there, just enough to capture his attention, like a shark in open water. And then he bit his wrist and let his own blood fall, knowing that the rogue vampire’s jealousy would ignite. He’d want to hurt Wayde for mooching in his territory.
He lay the blood path away from the city, into the forest. Once again, he found himself in shadow, only this time it was the dark umbra of the forest. Wayde had dressed in black to blend in, keeping to the base of the trees as he traveled further into the woods. He had traveled slowly so his scent would linger, giving the rogue plenty of opportunity and time to come for him.
When he finally made it into the clearing he had been searching for, he stopped and relaxed. There was no fog here and the waning moon still blazed in the sky, bathing the land in white moonlight.
He didn’t have long to wait. His senses suddenly sharpened and he tensed. His fangs came down, and he twirled the sword in his hand as he looked all around. But instead of the rogue vampire bursting through the clearing and charging, it was Alex that showed up.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Wayde asked.
“What did you do to me?” Alex demanded without preamble.
“What do you mean?”
“You put some kind of spell on me. Take it off! I can’t work if I keep smelling you!”
This wasn’t going at all as Wayde had planned. He looked into the deep darkness of the forest, trying to determine if the rogue was out there, but his senses were too full of Alex standing in front of him. “You’re smelling me? Well, that clenches it.”
Alex pulled his sword free and marched forward. Wayde took a few steps backward but brought up the sword’s twin. He wouldn’t use it against his mate. Of course he wouldn’t, but he had to defend himself long enough until Alex calmed down.
“Oh, great, my own fucking sword!”
“Put yours down and I’ll put mine down,” Wayde reasoned.
Alex ignored him.
“In the bar, you got me into the alley without touching me,” Alex said coldly. “In Tartarus I was…enthralled. So whatever spell you placed on me, take it off.”
Wayde let out a whoosh of air. He had to get Alex out of here quickly. “That’s not a spell, Alex. At first I enthralled you, yes, but the rest, well, it’s…it’s what a vampire does.”
Alex tilted his head. “What does that mean?”
“I…seem to have started the mating pheromones.”
“Mating pheromones? That sounds permanent.”
Wayde winced. “It is. My pheromones are intoxicating, mesmerizing—”
“Hypnotizing?”
Wayde nodded. “To my mate, yes.”
“Just great. When does it wear off?”
“What do you mean?”
“When. Does. It. Wear. Off?” Alex asked, practically growling the questions.
Wayde shook his head, confused. “I just said it’s mating pheromones. We’re mating. Or mated. I’m
not sure how long the process lasts, since I’ve never gone through it before.”
“Impossible! What trick are you playing at?”
“No trick, Alex. Why? What’s been happening?”
“I wish you’d stop saying my name.”
“Do you prefer Alexander?”
“Just shut up! Why—”
“Shh,” Wayde suddenly gestured and spun around. He knew the rogue vampire was coming. His fingernails grew into sharp claws. “Go away, Alex.”
“Why? God damn it, Wayde! If you—”
“Shut up,” he whispered fiercely. “And leave. I don’t want you hurt.”
“Hurt? From what?”
It was the last sentence Wayde heard as the rogue vampire plowed into him, snarling and snapping like a wild, vicious animal. He was thrown backward and the vampire landed on top of him, reaching to bite and tear his neck out. Luckily, Wayde was a little stronger than he looked and hooked his claws into the rogue’s cheek to whip the head around and off his vulnerable neck.
A second later, the rogue was flung off him and he looked up at Alex, who held a hand out to him. Wayde didn’t even hesitate. He grabbed it and let Alex help him up. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder as they faced the approaching rogue vampire.
“Sebastian,” Alex muttered. “What the fuck happened to you?”
“This creature’s name is Sebastian?” Wayde asked, panting slightly as adrenaline surged through him. His fangs came down as he waited.
“He used to be a Shade cop,” Alex said.
“So what species was he before he was turned?”
“Does it matter?”
The rogue growled at them, showing fangs that were long and sharp and evil-looking. He was dressed in black from head to toe, including black gloves on his hands.
“No, I guess not,” Wayde muttered.
Seb attacked. Even though there were two against him, his mindless bloodlust was more than a match. His claws were out and his fangs were down. He came out swinging and snapping and Wayde had to push Alex out of the way just as Seb’s claws swung. They dug into his shoulder and he yelled out as agony sliced through him. But better him than Alex. He would heal in a minute.
Wayde grabbed the rogue around the neck and flung him back just as Alex swung around with his sword. Even though it cut deep, it only managed to infuriate Seb even more and he roared as he lashed out. The sword caught his claws, but Alex fell back.
Wayde winced as his wound closed, but didn’t hesitate to jump onto Seb’s back in another stranglehold. He forced the rogue off Alex and the two fell heavily onto the ground. Seb threw his elbow back and managed to dislodge himself, but by this time Wayde’s claws were out as well and the two began to really slash at each other.
Alex watched them. He was tough and a strong fighter, but a battle between two vampires was out of his league. If only he had the Blessed Blade. It was probably the first thing Seb thought to destroy. Then something flashed at him in the top of Seb’s belt that made Alex blink.
Seb hadn’t destroyed it.
Why hadn’t he destroyed it?
And how the hell was he able to touch it since he was now, technically, a vampire?
The two vampires were vicious with each other. Blood was flying everywhere but as soon as the wounds appeared they healed. If Alex used it, he would be killing his friend, the man he’d worked beside for years.
But that wasn’t really Seb any more, was it? His friend would never have killed three people. And if he and Wayde didn’t stop him, there would be more victims, more humans caught in the Shade crossfire. It was his duty to stop law breakers like Seb, no matter if he’d been a cop before. Any reasoning with the man was long gone.
“Hold him still!” he called out.
Wayde grunted as he grabbed hold of Seb. “What…do you think…I’m trying to do?”
“I have to get the blade off his belt.”
“I can get that,” Wayde called out.
“No! No, you can’t. It’s been blessed by a seraphim.”
Wayde snatched his hand back and instead smashed it into Seb’s face.
“Hold him still!” Alex ordered again.
Wayde threw him a disgruntled look and then tackled Seb to the ground, wrapping one leg around his neck and arching while he kneed the rogue in the back. Seb roared out his pain and fury, his one free hand slashing around.
“I’m sorry, Seb,” Alex said and sunk his sword into Seb’s hand, pinning him to the earth. Seb screamed as Alex grabbed the weapon at his belt.
The Blessed Blade was a dagger that glowed with angel fire. He held it up and both vampires became transfixed looking at it. Seb, the rogue, shook his head and tried to scamper backward, away from it, but his hand wouldn’t let him leave.
“You won’t use that on me,” Seb managed to say around his bloody incisors.
“I don’t want to use this on you,” Alex said. “But you’ve killed three humans, Seb. And you won’t stop.”
Seb bared his fangs in an ugly snarl. “And the first person I’ll eat is you.”
He lunged forward, breaking free from Wayde’s hold at the same time he ripped his hand wide open from the sword pinning him down. He fell on top of Alex and both let out a grunt.
Then everything went still.
Chapter Eleven
“Alex!” Wayde yelled, panicked. “Alex!”
“I’m all right,” Alex managed to gasp out.
Wayde frowned and grabbed the dead vampire, pulling. A moment later, Wayde looked down into Alex’s wide eyes and dragged the man into his arms. He hugged him tight and didn’t want to let go.
Instead of trying to wiggle free Alex simply rested against him. They stayed like that for a long time. Finally, they pulled back and looked at Seb. He was lying face down and blood was everywhere.
“He was your friend?”
“Yeah,” Alex said sadly. “I’ll have to call the Council. They’ll take care of his…body. How was he able to touch the Blessed Blade?”
“He was wearing gloves. I know there’s a spell sorcerers can use to protect us from light-blessed items, but the bigger issue here is that he was turned and then starved,” Wayde said. “He went feral because of it. This was a vendetta against Sebastian.”
“Shade cops have a lot of vendettas against them,” Alex replied. “Again, something I’m going to let the Council handle. In fact, I’m going to ask for a leave of absence. They’ll probably reassign us all and I don’t want to leave Shade Rock. There’s too much here for me.”
“Like what?”
“Like you. Like Daphne,” Alex whispered. He groaned and faced Wayde. “I was so focused on you because of what you made me feel that I convinced myself you had to be the rogue, instead of looking at the clues around me. That doesn’t make me a very effective cop.”
“Alex,” Wayde said softly. “You are an effective cop. You protected me and you saved countless humans.”
He was close enough now to see the details of Alex’s beautiful face. They stared at each other, eye-to-eye, since they were almost the same height. Alex might have half an inch on him. He saw the cop’s gaze drop to his lips and linger. His mouth suddenly felt dry so Wayde swiped his tongue over his lips and heard Alex groan deep in his chest.
“Stop it,” he ordered and then pushed Wayde back. “Don’t stand so close to me when things need to get done. We almost died a second ago!”
“I know. You’re right. I’m sorry.”
Alex took a deep breath. “I need to call the Council. Wait for me?”
“Of course.”
The Council meant Simon. Wayde grimaced. Great. Things hadn’t gone too well at their breakup, so the reunion should be quite interesting. He watched as Alex walked a little ways away to place his call, which reminded Wayde to check in with Daphne. He dug out his own cell phone and called his condo. She answered before the first ring was finished.
“Wayde?” she asked, a bit breathless.
“Yes, sweethear
t. It’s over.”
“You…took care of the murderer? And you’re okay?”
“Yes. Actually, Alex found me and we fought him together.”
“Thank goodness! I’ve been so worried.”
“We’re worried about you.”
“Alex is with you now?”
“He’s taking care of the paperwork, I suppose you could say,” he told her. “I’ll be home before dawn.”
“I know,” she said softly. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Okay.”
Wayde hung up and pocketed his phone. He turned to look at Alex and drew his breath in sharply. The man really was extraordinary to gaze upon. He was rugged and raw, and Wayde wondered how he’d gotten so lucky to have found him. Once this little matter was cleared up, he and Alex would take Daphne to Los Angeles to see what their options were about helping her get better. Last resort, he’d change her, but he would have to be very explicit about what it meant to be a vampire.
“They’re on their way,” Alex announced. “They should be here any minute.”
“Then I only have a moment to say this,” Wayde said. “Do you remember the other night at the bar?”
Alex nodded, his whiskey eyes glowing in the moonlight.
“I was in that bar, Alex, to seduce you. It’d been a while since I’d quenched my sexual thirst and I was attracted to you.” He saw Alex’s eyes darken with desire and all Wayde wanted to do was pull him in closer, to lose himself in Alex’s body. To fuck him over and over, until they were too spent to even walk straight.
“I kissed you,” he continued. “I tasted you, and before I knew it, my mating pheromones began to leak out of me. Ever since you and Daphne came into my life I’ve been…consumed. I wanted to catch the rogue because I needed you to believe in me.”
Alex put a finger across his lip. “I do, Wayde. I’m sorry I didn’t listen. Forgive me?”
“Of course,” he mumbled around the finger.
“When this is over we’ll…talk. Right? You, me, and Daphne.”
As Midnight Loves the Moon Page 6
