by Maggie Walsh
Fane recaptured his lips and Marlo instantly opened for his mate, wanting more of his attention and taste. As Fane’s tongue slid to the back of his mouth, Marlo’s knees weakened and he leaned heavier against Fane. His mate didn’t disappoint and held him tighter, making Marlo feel safe.
The sound of a deadly growl came a second before Fane was ripped away from him. Marlo stumbled, hitting the steps hard, and he cried out in pain when his tailbone crashed on the edge.
Marlo looked up to see what had happened, and his eyes went wide when he saw his mate fighting off some stranger. The man had red glowing eyes and fangs that dropped down over his lips as he hissed and threw himself at Fane. “A vampire,” Marlo gasped, then tried to stand, but his feet slipped on the ice and he crashed down again.
Fane countered the attack and was able to grab the vampire by the throat and lifted him off the ground. The vampire’s legs thrashed about and he pounded his fists against Fane’s arms and shoulders trying to get free, but Marlo could see his face turning blue. The man couldn’t breathe, which shocked him. Marlo didn’t think vampires needed to breathe.
“Enough!” A loud command come from a few feet behind Fane and the vampire. Marlo shifted his gaze past them to find a very attractive, but fierce-looking man standing there. His gaze was focused on the two and when they didn’t immediately adhere to his command, the man's eyes flashed red as well, and he hissed. The sound threatening and deadly. Then Marlo saw his fangs too.
“What the he... Oh shit, we need to call the alpha,” Nelo said from behind him.
Marlo turned his head in time to see Nelo come to him, crouch down and take his arm. “We need to get inside, Marl. Come on,” Nelo said, as he tugged on Marlo’s arm.
“I can’t leave my mate. Go call Dell,” Marlo replied in a hurry.
Nelo’s eyes widened at his declaration of mate, but he quickly recovered and nodded, then rushed back into the house.
Marlo turned back to see that Fane had released the first vampire, who was bent over and panting, but Fane just stood there, rigid, staring down the sexy one, his mate’s breathing was hard and sharp as if he was trying to control himself.
Just as the sexy vampire opened his mouth, the first one, who had attacked Fane, moved quickly and jumped at his mate. Marlo’s heart flew into his throat and he couldn’t breathe. Before he knew what was happening, Marlo shifted into this wolf and took off after the man. He leapt into the air, and right before the vampire made contact with his mate, Marlo clamped his jaws around the vampire’s arm and bit down hard, breaking skin. Blood pooled in his mouth as the man screamed, but Marlo wouldn’t release him.
He shook his head as his paws hit the ground and he pulled back, trying with all his might to get the man far away from what was his. The vampire screamed angrily right before he landed a heavy punch to the side of Marlo’s head. Marlo saw stars as his vision blurred and his jaw loosened. Then, he felt himself flying through the air and he howled in pain as his body came down heavily onto the frozen earth.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
He had been having the best night of his life with his mate in his arms, kissing him back and submitting to Fane like a dream. Fane had been filled with thoughts of their nights together, cuddled up in front of a fire as they made love and he fucked Marlo for hours as his mate begged him for more. As cold as he was, he hadn’t wanted the moment to end, but at the same time he wanted to drag Marlo into the house and strip him bare, then lick every inch of his delectable body. And he knew Marlo had an amazing body.
He hadn’t seen his mate nude yet, but he did see him in his tight jeans and button-down top twice that day and Fane could tell his mate had a tight little body, one that would be perfect for him to move around and position as he wanted as he tormented Marlo with pleasure.
Fane had found himself falling into Marlo as if in a trance or under a spell as his mate wrapped his arms around his neck and pressed their bodies together. The feeling of finding home and knowing he was where he belonged surprised him for a moment, but Fane let it in and didn’t fight it. He loved how it felt almost as much as he loved the feel of Marlo in his arms and having his mate submitting to him. He knew he would never be able to cause his mate pain in any way, but the thrill of Marlo submitting to his wants and desires filled him and suddenly he couldn’t get close enough to the smaller wolf. A flash of love touched his heart, shocking him, but Fane was helpless against it. His soul sang from the realization that he had found his other half, and they would soon be one again.
Then, he was suddenly, violently, pulled away from his mate and at first Fane had been stunned, but when he heard Marlo cry out in pain, Fane saw red, and before he could stop himself, he attacked the one who caused him to lose hold of what was his.
The first punch to his chest did nothing to him, but when his gaze landed on who was responsible, Fane’s vision filled with raw rage and he attacked. He had no idea how Silvan was able to find him, but he would not let this piece of crap anywhere near Marlo.
Then when he heard Julius’s voice command them to stop, his knee-jerk response was to obey his leader’s command, and he dropped Silvan to the ground, but the rage inside him was still there and he couldn’t pull it back. He needed to protect Marlo from any threat, including a man he respected and once called friend.
Shock like he had never experienced before filled Fane when Silvan suddenly came at him again, but within the blink of an eye, a white wolf leapt at Silvan, attacking him and bringing the man to the ground. Marlo. His mate was fierce and wouldn’t let Silvan go as he bit his arm, causing blood to run freely. His mate tried to pull Silvan away from him. His sweet, omega mate was trying to protect him and that knowledge filled him with pride and... love?
When Silvan punched his mate in the temple, the rage that was already inside him built to an all-consuming, living entity. As he quickly took a step to get to his mate, Silvan scraped his large clawed hand down Marlo’s side and tossed the wolf away like he weighed nothing. In that moment, Fane lost all control and grabbed Silvan around the waist and began beating the man. He had Silvan on the ground beneath him, raining blow after blow into Silvan’s face and body. The vampire screamed in pain over and over again with each hit, and Fane could hear and feel bones breaking, but he didn’t give a shit. This man... thing... had harmed his true mate.
Large hands gripped his shoulders and yanked him off Silvan, and Fane quickly spun around to face whoever was trying to stop him. He came eye to eye with his ex-leader, but didn’t back down. He had heard this man threaten to kill him and he wouldn’t let that happen. He also wouldn’t let anyone near his mate.
Fane shifted into his massive wolf and moved back to stand over Marlo’s still form as he growled and snarled at Julius, warning him to back off. Silvan slowly got to his feet, swiping blood from his face with the back of his hand, and shot daggers at Fane with his eyes. Silvan hissed at him and took a step in his direction, but an extremely large wolf came out of nowhere and brought Silvan back to the ground hard.
“Wait!” Julius called out, and Fane watched the large wolf stop from ripping Silvan’s throat out, but he didn’t move away. The beast just stared at Julius as a deep, deadly growl rumbled from his chest.
“I apologize for our intrusion, great Alpha, but I ask that you not kill that stupid fuck. I am Julius Valerian, nest leader of the Valerian Clan. I have come here in search of Fane and Oberon, but not to harm them as I am sure they think. If you would please humor me and have a meeting with me, I am sure we can straighten all this out,” Julius said calmly.
The wolf shimmered right before he shifted and Alpha Dell stood there, his face a mask of rage, his chest heaving. He looked down at Silvan and growled, “Stay!” he commanded, then looked back to Julius. “You never informed us of your arrival or intended visit, Leader Valerian. As per our laws, I could have you both stripped of your flesh and hung on a pike to die slowly. I should do that to this one anyway for attacking two of my pack members, one an
omega. For that alone I could torture him for years before I take his pathetic life.”
“And I agree with you, Alpha. You are within your rights to want to take Silvan’s life, and I won’t stop you if you still choose to do that after we talk.”
“What? No!” Another voice came out of the darkness and Fane saw Cyrian, Silvan’s witch mate running toward them.
When he reached Dell’s side, Cyrian stopped dead and stared at the intense alpha. From the look in Dell’s eyes, Fane finally understood when Dell had warned them not to take his appearance in the way he dressed wrong, or to mean that he was weak. What Fane saw before him in wolf form and human form was one of the deadliest beings he had ever come across. Dell’s beast was a lot bigger than his own, which was pretty fucking big, but even in human form, being as angry as Dell was in that moment, the alpha was downright scary as fuck and Fane didn’t want to ever piss the man off, or get on his wrong side.
Tears filled Cyrian’s eyes as he looked to Dell. “Please, Alpha, don’t kill my mate,” Cyrian begged.
Dell took a deep breath, then released it and replied, “I will not kill him... for now. I will allow Leader Valerian to say his peace, and then we’ll go from there. But, I warn you, Witch, it is not up to me whether your mate lives or dies. He has violated two of our most sacred laws by attacking an omega, and a true mate. The final decision of sparing his life will come from Marlo’s mate, who has every right to seek retribution, and that is Fane,” Dell announced, and Fane was sure he heard a bit of vengeance in the alpha’s voice.
Cyrian’s head snapped in his direction and his eyes went wide. Fane could see the terror within them. He had no problems with Cyrian. Fane actually liked the man, and had felt sorry for him that he got stuck with Silvan as his mate, but Fane wouldn’t let Silvan’s actions today go unpunished.
Fane shifted back and knelt down beside Marlo, then gently picked him up into his arms and stood. “You can talk all you want, but I need to tend to my mate. Thank you, Alpha,” he said, and bowed to Dell. “If you would allow, I would like to take Marlo inside and make sure he’s okay.”
Dell looked down at Marlo’s still form in his arms and his features softened. He looked back up and met Fane’s gaze and gave him a slight smile of approval. “Take care of Marlo and I’ll call for you when or if we need you.”
“Thank you, Alpha,” Fane said again, then turned toward Marlo’s house. As he reached the stairs, a small man with short blond hair opened the door and stepped out, then motioned for Fane to enter. This must be Nelo, the roommate Marlo spoke of. He thought as he nodded to the little man and walked into Marlo’s home.
CHAPTER 10
Nelo showed Fane to Marlo’s room and Fane carefully laid his mate down on his bed, then began to assess his injuries. Marlo was still in wolf form, which helped in a way, because he could see where all the red blood was on the white fur, but it also made it a bit harder in a way because Marlo’s injuries looked bad with all the blood.
Nelo ran back in with a bowl of warm water and towels and Fane gave him a grateful smile and nodded. He would have verbally thanked the man, but he was finding it hard to speak with the knot in his throat from seeing his mate in this condition.
Fane grabbed a towel and dipped it into the water, then gently ran it over the soft white fur, washing away the blood. He needed to get a better look at the wounds so he knew how to help Marlo best. He didn’t want to cause Marlo any more pain, but he knew he needed to work quickly in case those damn vampire claw marks were more serious than he could see.
When Nelo sat on the other side of the bed with another bowl of warm water and a fresh pile of towels and reached out to help him, Fane couldn’t stop the immediate warning growl that fell from his lips. When Nelo’s hand froze and he stared at Fane with wide eyes, Fane felt guilty when he saw the fear in the smaller wolf, knowing he had caused it. His wolf didn’t want anyone else anywhere near what belonged to him, but Fane had to fight the beast and remember that Nelo was Marlo’s friend and roommate, and he had only been helpful and showed concern, so Fane needed to control himself and accept the help.
He sighed and looked at Nelo apologetically then nodded. Nelo let out a relieved sigh, then dipped a towel in the other bowl, and slowly, gently, began to help him clean the blood away.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Dell watched as Fane carefully carried Marlo into his house and was pleased to see that Fane was treating Marlo as if he was a precious gift. He had seen the surprise and pride in Fane’s eyes as Marlo shifted and attacked the vampire. Hell, Dell had been so surprised himself that it had stopped him in his tracks momentarily.
He had always known that Marlo wasn’t like any other omega, and had been part of Marlo’s training while the cutie was growing up, teaching him a lot of the things he had also taught Caleb, Bo, and Alex, like fishing, hunting, and archery, but also how to protect himself. Dell as well as his dad and Jude all loved Marlo like family and wanted him to know how to stay safe, to keep himself protected in case a time came that he would need to, or before they could reach him.
So, they agreed that it didn’t matter that Marlo was an omega. They would treat him just as they treated the other boys. They knew they wouldn’t be able to train Marlo exactly like the others because as an omega he was just built differently, even in mind and spirit, but that didn’t mean he needed to be helpless. Now Dell had seen with his own eyes that they had been right, but Dell had never expected to see the omega, his little brother, so viciously attack a damn vampire, and to do it to protect his true mate. Damn, it was a beautiful sight and made Dell so proud.
But, when that damn bloodsucker struck Marlo, Dell saw red. In the blink of an eye, Fane had shifted and attacked, defending and protecting his mate, but at the same time, Dell had also shifted and run toward the group. Seeing not only a vampire on his lands unannounced, but a Clan Leader vampire, had Dell ready to do battle and kill them both before they even had a chance to take a damn breath.
Once Fane and Marlo disappeared into Marlo’s home, Dell turned his gaze on the head vampire and his whole body tightened up. His wolf was ready to come back and strike at a moment’s notice to protect his pack. He knew the look he shot the man was cold and deadly, but he didn’t give a shit. These three men standing before him came onto his lands without his permission and harmed two of his pack. It didn’t matter that he had only taken Fane into his pack earlier that day, Fane was now one of his men and he would receive Dell’s protection just as much as all the others.
“Follow me,” he ground out through clenched teeth, as he turned his back on them and began to walk away. He knew the move would surprise the men, but he wasn’t concerned. Turning your back on the enemy without concern was a show that he didn’t think they were worth being worried about, and it could be seen as an insult. He didn’t care. Dell knew if they did attack him with his back turned, they would all be even more shocked when he killed them all.
Dell was a descendant of two of the original wolf lines, and because of that, like his father before him, and Ridge, their wolves were much bigger than any other, as well as more cunning and powerful. Most outsiders were stunned when they saw Dell’s wolf for the first time and didn’t know how he could be that large.
“Y-you, do know y-you’re naked, right?” The witch stammered as the three men walked behind him.
“Yup,” was all he said, and continued toward the Community Center.
He would have this meeting with them there, making it more official and showing them that he didn’t respect them enough to have them in his personal home. Another block up, he spotted Jude jogging in their direction, holding a stack of clothes for him and Dell smirked as he shook his head. He knew it had nothing to do with Jude being offended by his nudity or wanting to cover him up. They were shifters, nudity was just a part of their lives and none of them had any problems with it. Dell knew Jude was doing it out of concern for him literally freezing his balls off. With all his flesh exposed
to the extremely cold temperatures, it was a real threat.
When he had received the call from Nelo, Dell hadn’t even said a word to anyone and just instantly took off out of the bar and ran as fast as he could. Hearing Nelo say vampires were at his and Marlo’s house and they were attacking Marlo’s mate, filled Dell’s veins with dread and fire. He immediately knew who the threat was from and knew he needed to act fast.
As he approached Jude, his friend must have seen the pure rage in his eyes, because he stopped and stood stiff as if at attention, and put his hands, containing the clothes, behind his back. Jude’s gaze flicked over Dell’s shoulder, then back to his and he nodded slightly, knowing that no matter how fucking cold Dell was at this moment, no one would be able to pay him enough to put some damn clothes on.
Silently, he continued to walk through town, fighting against the need to run and get out of the cold. Without even looking, Dell knew Jude would take up position behind the witch and vampires, making them even more uncomfortable, and to watch Dell’s back.
Once into the Center, Dell made his way to his public office there and walked around his desk. He motioned for the head vampire to sit, but only him, then held out his hand to Jude who had come in last and closed the door. Jude stepped forward and handed him the clothes, then moved back to take up position at the door.
Dell placed the garments on the desk, then dressed in front of his guests in his worn, loose-fitting blue jeans that hung low on his hips and a black long-sleeve Henley that was a bit tight on him and showed off all his muscles. He kept his feet bare and looked into the desk drawer. Pulling out a hair tie, he adjusted his long tresses in his normal man bun at the back of his head. When he was done, he sat in his chair behind the desk, then, and only then, did he look to the head vampire and met his gaze.
He didn’t get into any pleasantries, or show any respect to the man when he simply said in a rough voice, “So, start talking.”
