by Jessica Snow
Wincing at the pain in her shins, McKenzie jumped to her feet and rushed over to the front of her cage, peering out at the pale woman. "Let me go, I’m begging you! I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong. Just let me place a call to my sister so she can come pick me up, and I’ll forget this ever happened."
Amusement showed in those purple orbs as a cold chuckle bubbled from the woman’s red-painted lips. "He will see you soon...that’s all you need to worry about."
The skin on McKenzie’s forehead crinkled with confusion. "Who? Who will see me soon?"
The woman smiled evilly. "Your new Master."
Chapter 19
Underneath a full moon and a sparsely clouded sky, Katerina Headley stopped at a busy intersection and sniffed at the cool night air. McKenzie’s scent was fading fast. She had been tracking it for the past hour, confident that she would soon find her little sister and the crazy bitch-wolf that had kidnapped her. But now McKenzie’s scent had dissipated in several directions, confusing Kat’s ultra-sensitive sense of smell. The wind must have shifted. Damn it.
As soon as she had read the kidnap letter left on McKenzie’s bed by Crystal an hour earlier, she had left the Headley home in an unthinking rage, transforming into her bear form. This had proven disastrous. Screams of terror had rocked her neighborhood at the sight of such a wild beast on the loose.
After some of her rage had abated, she had returned to her human form, evaded Animal Control and the cops, found some decent rags at a nearby Salvation Army, and continued the desperate search for her sister. She was just glad after that crazy adventure that she had been able to change back at all. While being in bear form had its perks, Kat was unlikely to get anything done with everyone hot on her trail.
Still, being a werebear was a thrilling new experience to Kat. One that she would love to explore. But for now, it would have to wait. Finding McKenzie was of paramount importance.
Honking cars whizzed by as Kat stood on the corner, muddling her senses. With the smell of the many food businesses, cars, dumpsters, shops, and chattering people nearby, there was too much pollution in the air. It would be almost impossible to pick up McKenzie’s trail now. This realization filled her with frustration.
Damn that whacked-out bitch to hell! she raged.
If she had known that being with Liam would result in his ex seeking out revenge on her little sis, Kat would have never gone through with coupling with the hot stud. Well...maybe eventually. Once she had taken out his sister with an elephant gun.
What made matters worse was the fact that she did not know Liam all that well. She had only known him for little over a month. It’s what I get for being desperate and walking right into a rebound...even if Liam is hot as all hell. What the hell did I know about the mating of wolves anyway? I’m barely a cub myself.
Still, the sex with Liam had been mind-blowingly hot. Hotter than anything she’d ever experienced. Just the thought of his hard, sexy body pressed against hers sent thrills up and down her thighs.
Ashamed to be thinking of such things while her sister was in danger, she quickly pushed away naughty thoughts of the golden-haired hunk and sniffed at the air again.
This time, underneath the smell of the exhaust pipes of the speeding vehicles and a nearby sewer, she smelled something strange. She could not quite put her finger on it, but she had smelled it one time before. She just did not know where.
She whipped her head around, scanning down the sidewalk. The faces of Bone City’s nightlife greeted her. She saw trashy-looking hookers, young, excited men who were probably hoping to get laid, and young girls dressed up for clubbing.
Her eyes quickly settled on a handsome, tall blonde guy who stood talking to a group of girls that looked underage. The girls appeared smitten by the stud. They were staring up at him with starry eyes, engaging him with flirty chatter.
After a moment of study, Kat’s eyes narrowed. There was something about the way the guy was standing. To an outside observer, the man appeared to be non-threatening, his hands stuffed casually in his jean pockets. But he was at least in his twenties, and she was sure those girls still lived with their parents. That alone would have unnerved her, but to Kat’s eyes, now enhanced by her werebear perception, she recognized the man for what he truly was; a much more literal kind of predator.
And if my suspicions are correct about what this guy really is, maybe following him will lead me back to McKenzie’s trail. Kat began making her way towards the group to get a better look, trying to act inconspicuous. She wanted to find out more about this mystery man.
Ten bucks says he turns around and spots my big ass from a mile away, Kat grumbled to herself as she ducked behind a tall man walking with his girlfriend. But she was lucky. He didn’t look her way. She could get closer, stopping to look in the clothing store window as the group stood nearby.
"Oh, this is so pretty," she muttered, pretending to ogle a sparkly red dress that was about ten times too small for her. Why can’t these stores ever have something for us plus-sized girls? Kat thought with disdain as she eyed the window display. No, they have to stock them with clothes that are for girls built like freaking Crystal. She continued to pretend to be preoccupied with the clothes while she eavesdropped on the snippets of conversation between the hunk and the girls.
Tom, probably a fake name he used for convenience, was looking for a good time and wanted the girls to come with him to a club where he would buy them all the drinks they wanted. Later, they would go back to his place, a mansion of course, and could have their fill of his best alcohol.
And wind up dead in a ditch the next day, Kat thought darkly.
Of course, those dangerously inexperienced girls were excited about the offer. Who wouldn’t want to be bought drinks by a tall, dark, and handsome stud? The girls went back and forth with each other for a minute in token resistance, before they took the man up on his offer.
They reminded her so much of McKenzie begging her to sneak her into nightclubs that it hurt. Don’t do it, kids.
But they did. As soon as the girls started moving down the street with him, Kat began following at a distance. But worry about McKenzie distracted her. Half-way down the block, Kat accidentally ran into a group of rowdy guys.
"Sorry," she muttered, her face flushed.
"Hey, baby," one of them, a blonde with short hair and a bottle of Heineken in his hand, called as his friends giggled and pointed at her. "You know how to drive a shift?" He lewdly grabbed onto his crotch and wiggled his eyebrows at her.
"Not when that shift is a limp dick that I would need a magnifying glass to see," Kat retorted with a roll of her eyes and kept walking past. The guy gaped at her as if astounded that she had shot back instead of flinching or taking the bait. But she couldn’t be bothered. She was far more worried about finding her sister to waste her time on some dick-brained college kid.
She continued following the group for several blocks before they finally arrived at what looked like a club. A red neon sign with the word Anemia hung over the red steel doors of the large, dark building, blinking off and on. A line of people dressed in dark clothing stood outside, waiting impatiently to get in, while a big-bellied bouncer stood sentinel at the front of the line.
Obviously not one to stand in line like the rest of the peons, the blond took his group of underage clubbers to the front of the line. He spoke quietly to the bouncer for a few seconds, and then the bouncer nodded and let him in. The people in the front of the line were none too pleased by this, but judging by the fierce looks on the bouncer, they knew better than to open their mouths and say anything.
Kat eased her way in the back of the line behind a chick that had a spiked blue mohawk and several piercings, one in her nose. The girl rolled her eyes when she saw Kat. Kat did not know what the ugly bitch’s problem was and didn’t care. The line was slow moving; Kat resisted the urge to shove people out of the way and demand immediate entry like the blonde had done. She kept it pulled together, ignoring the p
unk’s nasty glances. Eventually, she got to the front of the line.
"I need to see your I.D.," the bouncer demanded when Kat stood before him.
Kat glanced at his arm that looked as big as one of her thighs. It was lined with snake tattoos. "Seriously?" Kat complained. "You let that blonde dude in here with a group of underage girls and you try to card me? I’m frickin’ twenty-three years old for Christ’s sake!"
The truth of the matter was, Kat had left home without any belongings and did not have her I.D. with her.
The large man stubbornly crossed his arms. "Rules are rules. Obey them or leave."
Kat glanced behind her. The line had grown large and people were staring at the scene she was causing. She was about to step away when her conscience called. McKenzie needs me!
Steeling her resolve, she advanced on the bouncer, putting all her inner bear strength into her words. "Listen here, big boy, I’m royally pissed off right about now and if you don’t let me into this Goddamned club, I’ll rip your balls off...after I find them that is!" Placing her hands on her large hips, Kat glared up into his eyes. "Now how’s that for rules?" she growled.
The big man’s eyes widened as he stared down at Kat. He was probably shocked at Kat’s nerve, thinking he could easily snap her neck with his bare hands. But then something happened. A look that resembled fear crossed his face. After a long pause, he nodded towards the double doors. "You may go in." A note of respect had entered his voice.
It worked! Gonna have to remember that trick. Kat gave the big man a gleeful wink and then walked into the club. Inside, the place was packed and ghoulish music played in the background. The room was done up in fake flagstone like an old church, and saturated with green, red and purple lights hanging from the ceiling, providing the perfect gothic ambiance.
Kat scanned the crowd for the blond man and his victims but saw no sign of them. What she did see was a bunch of pale-faced, overdressed bimbos of either sex. A lot of the club’s inhabitants looked like they had never been touched by the sun.
She was about to move towards the bar to continue her impromptu investigation when an overpowering smell hit her. Having just taken up eating raw meat, she recognized it immediately; the smell of blood...the human kind.
Alarmed, she began looking around for the source of the smell. After a couple of sniffs, she saw it. Almost every other person held a glass of thick, red liquid in their hands. Kat’s eyes fell on a dark-haired young man who was talking to a young girl. The girl appeared to be pretending not to notice that the man she was talking to was holding a glass of blood.
That’s when the realization hit Kat like a cold bucket of ice water. This was no ordinary club. The porcelain-skinned people were not ordinary humans. They were vampires. She had walked herself into a blood-sucking vampire den. Ah, hell.
Chapter 20
He had committed the unthinkable. He’d betrayed his pack earlier that night. But that did not matter much to Liam Greyson. He had found the girl of his dreams...or so he told himself. The truth of the matter was, he hardly knew Katerina, and to choose a mate so fast was unnatural to a wolf.
But so was being forced to mate with someone I didn’t love, he told himself. At least I can get to know Kat, and am heavily attracted to her.
It was like trying to justify a one night stand...which Liam had indulged in many times. Lust was never something he wanted to confuse with love, but his lust for Kat knew no bounds. Even now, his mind was filled with the curves his hands had been roaming over just hours earlier.
His blood rushed into his groin in response, and Liam’s jeans became uncomfortably tight as he pulled into the Greyson mansion driveway.
"Enough," he told himself, struggling to banish thoughts of Kat’s body from his mind. "I’m in enough trouble already." Father may literally want to kill me for this.
He pulled to a stop and jumped out of his white Porsche. He intended to go into the manor, quickly grab a few things from his room and leave. With packs of wolves out in full force looking for him, he needed to be swift.
Liam ran up the walkway and entered the mansion. He was just closing the door behind him when a shrill voice startled him. "Liam!"
He spun around to the sight of his younger cousin, Carly, standing in the foyer. Her pixie hairstyle was all over the place and her large doe eyes were wide.
"Where on earth have you been?" she demanded, wringing her hands with worry. "There are packs looking all over for you."
"I know," Liam replied calmly.
Carly scowled and placed her hands on her hips. "What the hell? What’s with the nonchalance? You’re in serious trouble, Liam. I don’t know why you would stand your mate-to-be up like that but—"
"I’ve found someone else to mate with."
His cousin’s jaw dropped in surprise. "Huh? But what about the agreement between our clans and—"
"That doesn’t matter to me, Carly." Liam scratched the back of his neck. "Listen, I don’t have time to stand here and tell you all about it. I’m only here to grab a few things, and then I’ll be gone."
"You can’t just leave like that! This is very serious, what you’ve done—" Carly paused and studied him for a moment, noting his stony expression. Then her lower lip began to tremble. "You can’t just leave me here alone with them, Liam."
Liam felt sympathy pull at his heart. "Just let me sort everything out first, and then I’ll be back to get you."
Carly took a slight step forward. “But—"
Liam pressed a finger to his lips. "No arguing. Just be a lookout for me while I grab my stuff, okay?"
Carly dropped her gaze to the floor and sniffed. " ’Kay."
Sighing with relief, Liam took off for his room. Once inside, he got a duffel bag and began stuffing it with his most prized possessions. When he was done, he looked over his room once before shouldering the bag. I’m going to miss this place.
On the way out, his eyes fell on a photo that he and Crystal had taken together. In it, she stood by his side, a devilish smile on her face while Liam grinned. He remembered how had it had been to force that grin while she was touching him. It’s all for the better that we’re not together, he thought.
Then he flipped the light switch off and left the room, quickly returning to where he’d last left Carly. "Okay, Carly, just wait until everything dies down and I’ll be back to get you—" Liam froze at the sight before him.
Looking like he’d been to hell and back, his father stood next to Carly, a furious scowl on his lips and his powerful jaws clenched. He took a menacing step toward his son. "Do you know what you’ve done, boy?" Lance roared, the veins standing out on his neck.
Not this again. The last time he and his father had gotten into a fight, Lance had choked Liam into unconsciousness. But Liam had not been ready. As terrified as he was of his father, he knew: This time would be different.
"Yeah," Liam replied, casually shifting his stance. "I gained my freedom."
His father paused, shocked. "Freedom? You might have just cost us the family’s business."
Liam smiled, displaying his sharp, white teeth and said, "Fuck the family business."
With a roar of rage, Lance launched through the air at his son, shoving Carly to the side.
Tossing his duffel bag aside, Liam met his father head on and their hard bodies collided together. Their powerful muscles standing out on their forearms, their wolf claws extended from their fingertips, both men began grappling with each other, snarling in each other’s faces.
Then with a mighty roar, Liam head-butted his father in the face. He was rewarded with a satisfying crack and a cry of pain. Taking advantage of Lance’s shock, Liam swung his paw at his father’s bloodied face. But his father was not as shocked as he appeared. He blocked the swing with his left arm while at the same time swinging a fist into Liam’s unguarded stomach.
The air left Liam’s lungs and he bent over. Lance grabbed a fistful of Liam’s golden hair, delivering a solid punch that blackene
d Liam’s eye and left claw marks down the side of his face.
Shaking off the vicious blow, Liam rushed forward, shouldering his father’s midsection and pushing him backward. They slammed into the foyer wall, shattering portraits and other expensive finery and causing a large crack that sent up a plume of dust.
"Guys, stop it!" Carly shrieked. “You’re supposed to be family!”
But the two men were beyond hearing. Liam swung his fist at his father’s face. At the last second, his father ducked his head. Liam’s fist slammed into the wall, creating a large hole. With a savage grunt, his father picked Liam up by the stomach and slammed him into the ground. Liam gasped with pain, hearing several bones in his back crack and break.
Immediately, relief began to spread through his spine as the werewolf regeneration began to work. Lance had no intention of giving his son any quarter, however. He slammed his palm into Liam’s face, breaking his nose. The room spun around Liam, as sharp pain quickly shot up between his eyes and blood spilled down his lips.
"Uncle Lance, stop, you’re going to seriously hurt Liam—"
Carly was suddenly beside the two men, trying to pull her uncle off her battered cousin.
Without blinking an eye, Lance backhanded his niece. "Stay out of this, you stupid girl!"
A shocked cry escaped Carly’s lips as she went flying into the wall from the force of her uncle’s savage swing. On the way down, her head struck the edge of a wooden stand that sat against the wall. Her eyes rolling up, Carly crumpled to the floor and lay still.
Liam was suddenly filled with a dark rage. "You heartless son of a bitch!" Letting out an enraged roar, Liam balled up his fist and struck his father in the face, sending him tumbling backward onto the floor. Searing pain from his tender bones shot up his side as Liam deftly rolled over on top of his father, straddling his midsection.
Then with cold precision, Liam began methodically pummeling Lance in the face. "I don’t give a crap about the deal we have with Crystal’s family. Nor do I give a shit if the family business fails because of my decision. You’re so fucking greedy that you’d hitch me to a law-breaking, crazy man-eater just to make a buck, and I’m not having it. I don’t have to listen to you, mom, or anybody else when it comes to my destiny. Do you understand me?" Liam snarled into his father’s dazed and bloodied face while delivering another brutal punch. "I am my own master!"
