Authors: Doris O'Connor
“You’re how old?” Marnie could not have heard
him right; he did not look a day over thirty-five, if that.
His eyes grew thoughtful as he studied her. “My
age isn’t really important here. The point is, no wolf is going to put me down,
especially when I’m this well fed.”
The coldness of that last statement seeped into
her bones and she bit back the bile in her mouth.
“Well fed? So, this is all I am to you? Fast
food?”
“Chere, that’s not what I meant. You
misunderstand me.” Lucas’s immediate denial, coupled with a disarming smile as
he tried to reach for her, made her slap his face. The sound was loud and
violent in the stilled room.
“Do that again and you’ll regret it!” he
growled.
“Get out, NOW.” Adrenaline made her move fast
and she managed to scramble away off the bed, dragging the sheet with her. But
before she could head out onto the balcony, he was on top of her, spinning her
around and crowding her against the wall. He blocked her raised knee with a
small laugh and a shake of his head. The soft click of his fangs descending
made her screw her eyes shut, whilst still desperately struggling to free
herself of his grip. She froze at the scrape of his teeth against her neck,
tears falling freely now, her denial an agonised whisper. “Please, no.”
He released her so abruptly she slid to the
floor, dimly aware of the blur of air, before he pulled her back to her feet.
He was dressed; his expression, murderous.
“I told you I would never hurt you. I meant it.
If all you were to me were some convenient feeding tool, I would hardly have
had to come all this way. Trust me, chere, I am not short of willing females
only too eager to share their body and quench my thirst.” One hand grasped her
chin in a firm grip, forcing her to look up at him whilst he was talking.
Marnie’s fear levels increased a thousand fold at the deadly expression in his
usually oh-so-compelling eyes. “Are you listening to me, Marnie? This is what I
am; it’s what I do. It’s how I survive. If you can’t deal with that, then maybe
you are better off with our furry friend.”
“At least he doesn’t need me to feed on.”
The cold laugh chilled her further.
“Oh no, he’s a regular boy scout our Ion.
Wouldn’t hurt a fly. Just changes into a wolf whenever it suits him and hunts
little fluffy bunnies.”
“Don’t––please, don’t. I know he’s a killer.
Animal attack, the papers said… I’m not stupid and I may not remember what
happened that night, but I know I was there and that man is dead because of me
and I can’t be responsible for any more deaths.” He let her go then, his whole
body very still, his eyes drawn together.
“You think it was he who killed that bastard?”
The odd note in his voice made her look up at
him. “Who else would it have been? The man was torn to shreds and drained of
…Oh my God!”
Sheer terror filled her. It hadn’t been Ion,
had it…it had been him. The man…thing standing in front of her and watching her
as casually as though they were talking about the weather, not the brutal end
of another human being. The man she had allowed… She barely made it to the
bathroom before being violently sick. No, this couldn’t be real. It just
couldn’t.
When Marnie finally stopped shaking she became
aware of the quiet presence behind her. Lucas stood with his arms crossed,
leaning against the doorframe watching her through hooded eyes, his features
unreadable.
“Feeling better now after that outburst?”
“Why? Why would you do that?”
“The bastard was trying to rape you. Would you
rather I’d have let him have his way with you?”
“Of course not, but you didn’t have to kill
him. And you let me believe that Ion…?”
“Oh, spare me.” His voice dripped with pure
contempt as he pushed away from the doorframe. “The wolf will get over the dent
in his reputation, I’m sure. What’s really bothering you, chere? The fact that
I didn’t declare my undying love and devotion to you after we had sex, or that
you were so responsive to a complete stranger?”
“I… I never…”
Another harsh laugh made Marnie flinch.
“Never what, chere? You weren’t a virgin, so
don’t act like one and don’t pretend you didn’t enjoy it. We had a connection,
you and I––don’t deny it. Maybe we could have had more in time, but you’re just
another hypocritical human, unable to deal with what she doesn’t understand.
Can’t believe I let myself get sucked into all this crap again. And I wouldn’t
hold my torch to Ion either, if I were you. He may want you for sex, but that’s
all it’ll ever be. He’s been well and truly cured of any romantic entanglements
with humans and if he hasn’t he will be when he sees you in the morning. Think
our wolf is going to like it that I got there first?”
Marnie withdrew into herself, letting the cruel
words feed her own anger. How dare he? How dare they both? Forcing herself to
stand on her wobbly legs, she faced the vampire head-on, earning herself a
grudging look of respect.
“Have you quite finished? For your information,
I am not holding a torch for anyone. Perhaps I allowed myself to be fooled into
thinking that what we shared, this connection as you put it, was more than just
physical. Well, more fool me. But excuse me for feeling a little freaked out at
the thought of werewolves and vampires and god knows what else lurking out
there, and your complete disregard for human life. Have three thousand years
made you so jaded, that you cannot see how wrong that is? And as for me being
hypocritical, I have no idea who hurt you so badly in the past…” His low growl
of warning stopped her as his eyes grew colder still, and he looked every inch
the ruthless killer.
“Nobody hurt me, human. I wouldn’t give them
the satisfaction. So spare me your psychological mumbo jumbo. I don’t need
rescuing.”
Marnie couldn’t help the stab of pity she felt
at the rigid way he was holding himself, his big shoulders slumped, the tension
in the room so palpable she could hardly breathe. His next growled words made
her eyes widen.
“This is not getting us anywhere. You’re
exhausted and need to sleep. Ion will keep you safe, and if he doesn’t he’ll
have me to deal with. But––one thing. Don’t ever refer to him as a werewolf.
He’s a shifter, not the stuff of popular fiction and nightmares, but he may act
like it if you call him one.”
“I don’t understand…”
“Of course you don’t, chere. That’s half the
problem; at least you know now, and shouldn’t feel the need to throw yourself
in front of a train. Don’t think our furry friend could cope with that again. I
sure as fuck couldn’t.”
And before she could even blink, Lucas was
gone, leaving Marnie more confused than ever. Bone-tired, she only just managed
to crawl back to bed before passing out again.
Chapter Seven
Ion emerged from the edge of the forest as the
first rays of sun turned the night sky golden, his body exhausted, muscles
screaming; his wolf, for the moment, at peace. Not caring about his naked
state, he jogged across the clearing towards the main house. He needed a shower
and some sleep and then maybe he would be able to deal with the frightened
woman he left behind. The mere thought of Marnie made his wolf growl in
appreciation and Ion cursed under his breath. What the fuck did he have to do
to shut his beast up for longer than five minutes? The scent, carrying through
the flowerbeds Louisa was so proud of, stopped both man and wolf in an instant.
Ion crouched low, his head raised to sniff the air. He was under his bedroom
window, where Marnie was supposed to be sleeping. Her scent was too weak,
completely overshadowed by the dry smell of ancient vampire. Lucas had come
then, as he had known
he would, and left some time ago. So why was
Marnie’s scent so weak? One smooth leap carried him effortlessly across the
flowerbed, another one saw him crouch on the balcony, all his senses on high
alert. He could just about see her bare back atop the bed. Ignoring his wolf’s
low growls, he proceeded cautiously into the dim interior.
Marnie was lying on her side, the sheet barely
covering the essentials, one rosy nipple standing proud in the chilly morning
air. Ion ground his teeth at the angry, red puncture marks just above her
areola. Damn Lucas to hell and back. Of course he wouldn’t have been satisfied
with just healing her; he had to have it all. The barely noticeable rise and
fall of her now unblemished ribs did little to reassure the anxious yipping of
his wolf, and he forced himself to step around the bed, better to see her face.
Bile churned in his gut at the sight that greeted him. She was too pale, her
luscious mass of hair spread out over his pillow a stark contrast to her
pallor, dark purple smudges under her eyes testament to a hard night of… fuck.
He shouldn’t have left her. He never should have brought her here, leaving her
at the mercy of Lucas. The puncture marks on her neck screamed his guilt at him.
Right now he wanted to hunt the vampire down and tear him limb from limb.
Her soft moan as she stirred in sleep shot
straight to his groin, and he covered his nakedness with one of the spare
cushions. Her eyes fluttered open. The sleepy expression in those chocolate
depths made him harden further, and he couldn’t stop his answering groan. When
her eyes slowly focused on his, all his protective instincts kicked in with a
vengeance at the instant blush staining her cheeks. Marnie’s slender hand
grabbed for the sheet to cover herself. The wince of pain she couldn’t quite
stop, as she tried to shift up the bed, had him reaching out to help her.
“What the fuck has he done to you, little one?”
She froze in his arms, the slight tremble
telling him all he needed to know and he propped her up against the cushions
with infinite care, tucking her hair behind her ear, better to see her face. At
least her hair smelled like her and he indulged himself for a moment, taking
one handful of the soft mass and inhaling deeply.
“Ion please … Don’t.”
His wolf’s angry growl made her flinch and he
made himself release her. Of course she didn’t want him this close––she made
her choice, after all––and wasn’t this what he wanted? Lucas had claimed her;
his bite marks on her body a clear signal to his wolf that she was off limits.
It was just as well; humans weren’t for him, especially this one. Even
now––polluted, by someone he called a friend––she called to him as clearly as
though she was wearing his mark. He ground his jaw together, the urge to
release his fangs almost overwhelming the self-control he was so proud of.
However, all that anger evaporated in a puff of
smoke when a trembling hand settled on his arm to stop him from leaving.
Instead of the contempt he was expecting to see in her face, her expressive
eyes shimmered with tears. Her other hand went to cover the bite marks on her
neck, silent tears falling down her cheeks as she shook her head.
“Please don’t look at those. I was such a
goddamn fool.”
A glimmer of hope settled in his chest like a
hot poker at those whispered words and his body reacted in typical fashion.
Marnie’s eyes widened when she noticed this, her breathing growing shallow.
Against his better judgement, Ion had to smile at the ridiculous position they
found themselves in. What the hell was he going to do with her? His wolf’s
growled suggestions in his ear made his voice gruffer than he intended it to
be. “It happens; Lucas can be very persuasive. If he hurt you, I shall hunt him
down and…” The silent tears running down her cheeks––her eyes, as wide as
saucers––stopped his outburst.
“No, please, no. I couldn’t stand anyone else
dying because of me.”
She went so pale Ion thought she was going to
pass out on him, before she raised her chin to look at him. The sight of her
small teeth biting her bottom lip was the only indication of the nervousness he
sensed in her, mixed with steely determination. He balled his hands into fists
to stop himself from crushing her to him and tasting that lush mouth.
“He didn’t do anything, I…I… hell, I don’t want
to talk about it.”
“Good, ‘cause I don’t need to hear how he
fucked you senseless in my bedroom.” Her soft gasp at his growled response had
Ion shooting off his bed, throwing the damned cushion across the wall with such
force that the painting fell to the floor with a loud crash. “The girls will
have breakfast ready soon. Make sure you wash his stench off you, before you
come down, or I can’t vouch for the reaction you’ll get from the pack.”
And then, not waiting for Marnie’s response,
Ion stalked from the room, slamming the door shut on his way out.
“Everything okay, boss?”
Jenkins’ sudden appearance out of one of the
spare bathrooms did nothing for Ion’s mood, and his beta had the good sense to
duck his head and make himself scarce. Entering the room, Ion cursed at his
reflection in the mirror. Covered in mud and leaves, he looked every inch the
wild animal he was, the eyes of his wolf looking back at him. If she hadn’t
known what he was, his appearance like this in her room would have made it
perfectly clear to her. It was a wonder Marnie hadn‘t run away from him
screaming in terror.