Black Scar (11 page)

But, thanks to
these Vampires, his life was now irrecoverably altered. Granted, he agreed to being
turned, but everything that had happened to him after that? How could he cope
with the Blood Lust here with the Thropes, or his feeling a Mate Bond toward a
woman who did not want him? How to handle this damned Bloodling stage? There
were so many questions with no answers. Why did he sleep so much some nights
and other nights not at all? Why he did not feel the effects of the sun? Come
to think of it, how was it Deegan could walk around at one in the afternoon? A
bolt of pain shot through his injured leg, and he shifted his stance.

He could not cope
here if he stayed. Devlin and his brothers would not be any support. Thanks to
his being turned into a Vampire and his injuries, he would be looked upon as a
freak. Devlin would use him to breed. That’s if he could even impregnate a
woman now. His body chemistry had altered so much these last weeks. He felt it
deep inside. He did not need anyone to tell him.

Marcus faced his
brother. “I am joining the Clan.”

Devlin curled his
lips in disgust. “Go then, become a filthy blood-sucker. You are never to
return here.”

“If that is how
you feel about Vampires, why in the hell did you offer me up as an experiment?”

“You were chosen.
You were expendable. It did not turn out the way we planned.”

Marcus leaned on
the desk. “Who is ‘we’?”

Devlin laughed.
“You are no longer entitled to that information. Leave at once, all of you.”

Marcus
straightened and faced the Blacks. “Apparently, I impregnated two women here.”

Deegan stepped
forward. “You were not going to share that information, Steele? As far as I am
concerned, the scales remain unbalanced. Give us one of the women, and
retribution for outstanding insults will be dismissed. It is more than fair.
Your Pack still has one, and now so will the Clan.”

“You will breed
him now?”

Deegan shook his
head in disbelief. “No, Steele. We will make him part of our family. I doubt
the lad could get anyone pregnant at this stage. The Vampire blood has all but
taken over. So you see his usefulness to you is at an end. Accept the deal, and
we part in peace.”

Devlin’s eyes
turned yellow, his feral beast stirred. Marcus knew his brother was moments
away from shifting into a wolf.

“We will take the
woman named Daniela McCann,” Marcus interjected.

The yellow in
Devlin’s eyes faded. “Then take her, and all of you get out.”

Lucius stepped
forward and clasped Marcus’s forearm. “My brother, welcome to the Clan.”

Marcus returned
the brotherly gesture. Tristan and Deegan stood on either side of him and
clasped his shoulders. In this one moment he felt more connected, more accepted
than he ever did with the Pack.

****

Logan paced back
in forth in the spacious living room of Brennan’s cottage. The men had been
gone for close to three hours. What was the delay? They should be back by now.
She wanted to go with them, but they politely declined her offer. She had
tamped down her annoyance when they explained the Thropes hold women in low
regard and did not want her presence to muddy the conversation. Alpha
wolf-beast bastards. Blessed sea mother, she loathed any Wolfen.

Marcus had been
gone for less than two days, and already she felt the aching loss deep in her
soul. How could she deal with this confusing swirl of emotions if he decided to
remain with his Pack? Another heartache to endure, another loss to accept. Her
early morning swim had done nothing to calm the raging mess of emotions inside.

She stopped and
cocked her head. Her fine-tuned hearing picked up the familiar rumble of
Deegan’s Escalade. She ran to the front window and sure enough, the vehicle turned
into the circular driveway.

Deegan climbed
out of the front passenger seat and Marcus, dressed in gray sweats, stepped out
from the rear. Her joy could not be contained. She opened the door and ran
outside straight into Marcus’s arms. He seemed shocked at first and did not
react. His arms soon encircled her and brought her flush against his muscular
body. She felt his growing arousal. Nuzzling her neck, he whispered hotly in
her ear, “Jesus, I missed you.”

Deegan coughed.
They parted, and he handed the duffle bag to Marcus.

“I will leave you
alone. I gather you both have much to discuss.” He climbed into the passenger
seat and slammed the door. The Escalade disappeared in a puff of exhaust.

Marcus stepped
forward and faltered. He cursed and grasped his upper thigh.

“Are you in pain,
Marcus?”

“The leg. Can’t
go without the cane it seems. Something else is in far worse pain.”

His one-eyed
stare darkened with desire. Logan moved her gaze downward. She could not miss
the rampant erection pushing against his sweatpants.

“Oh. The Blood
Lust?”

“Yes, and you,
Logan. I need you.”

His voice had
deepened, his words rasped with want.

She laid his arm
about her shoulders and helped him through the door. Deegan spoke the truth.
They did have much to discuss. Where to begin?

As they stepped
through the threshold, Marcus dropped his bag and kicked it. Grasping her hand,
he swung her around until her back rested against the wall. He kicked the door
shut with his foot. Before she could form words, he had her pinned. His knee
spread her legs, and his rock-hard cock pressed against her feminine core. He
captured her lips with his in a desperate, hungry kiss.

All at once he
surrounded and possessed her. His evocative scent hung in the air, hoisting her
desire. One of his hands trailed up her bare leg, his fingers reaching beneath
the silk of her panties. He groaned when he came in contact with her wetness.
His kiss deepened, his tongue dancing with hers in a heated embrace. Logan
found herself overwhelmed with a myriad of feelings. Desire, confusion and raw,
unfiltered passion.

Marcus plunged
three fingers deep, moving them in and out of her at a fast pace. His tongue
thrusts matched his finger movements. This was a frenzied, passionate
encounter. Her climax burst into shards, her scream could shatter glass.

“I need to be
inside, Logan. Now. Deep.”

She ran her hands
through his tousled, thick locks. “Yes. Now.”

Marcus reached in
his sweats and pulled out his stiff prick. He lifted her higher, her ass
resting on his hands. He plunged in, high and deep, and pummeled her with
sensations. Her back hit the wall with every deep thrust.

“Drink me,
Marcus,” she whispered.

His fangs,
already extended, entered her neck with a slick piercing. He drank deep, fucked
her hard, and she screamed her bliss to the heavens. Marcus’s climax followed
right behind hers. She felt his hot seed splash deep inside, as if marking her.
This could have been a Mate Bond it had been so intense, but they did not speak
the words needed to seal the deal.

They stayed
joined, and Marcus took great gulps of air to try to calm his breathing.
Slowly, he lowered her until her toes made contact with the wood floor. He
licked the punctures on her neck with his hot, talented tongue.

Logan laid gentle
kisses on his scarred cheek. Marcus stepped back and almost stumbled. Logan
adjusted her panties and lowered her skirt. She reached for the nearby cane and
handed it to Marcus. Leaning on it, he nodded his thanks.

Without speaking
a word, they walked into the living room and sat on the sofa. Marcus looked
weary and worn.

“What happened?”
she asked.

“My brother
thought he was rescuing me. The little time I spent there made it obvious I no
longer fit in. When Deegan, Tristan, and Lucius showed up and asked me to
choose, I chose the Clan. Pack life is now part of my past.”

Logan reached for
his hand and laced her fingers though his. “I am sorry. You will be leaving
your family behind. Your roots.”

Marcus leaned
back and exhaled. “It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Listen, Logan,
my life is in for more changes. We have brought a woman with us. She is
pregnant with my child.”

Ice formed around
her heart. Logan pulled her hand away. “I see...”

“No, you don’t.
When I was first turned, I did not feel much different. Inside, I considered
myself a Thrope. One that drank blood once in a while. Part of my turning was
tied in with breeding, so I did what any Alpha Second would do. I bred.”

She could not
stop her lip from curling with revulsion. Thropes and their animal mating.
Breeding and fucking with no consequence. And she had just allowed Marcus to
spill his seed inside her for the second time. Not that anything would come of
it, but it stated a giving of a trust she was not sure she now felt.

“Of the group of
women I ... bred with, two became pregnant. The Pack is keeping one, the other
came with us. She will be staying at Deegan’s for now. Her name is Daniela
McCann.”

Logan crossed her
arms. Jealousy spread through her like a cold chill on a winter’s day.

“Why does she not
stay here with you? Take her as your mate and you can play happy families!” she
bit out.

Marcus shook his
head. “I didn’t even know her name or what she looked like. What does that tell
you?”

“That Thropes
make me sick. How do you even know she is pregnant?”

Marcus winced at
her statement. “I don’t, but Deegan laid his hand on her and said she spoke the
truth. How he knew that, I don’t understand.”

Logan did. She
knew of Deegan’s status as a Primoris. He was a first or original, which meant
he’d been made, not turned, and possessed powers that no one could comprehend.

“So what are you
saying, Marcus?”

“That the child
will come to me. I will be its sole parent. I’m not ready for any of this.
Jesus, there is so much going on inside of me, changes I can’t comprehend,
emotions I have no control over. I was attacked, disfigured; I’m dealing with
the Blood Lust, and this fucking Bloodling thing whatever the hell that is.
Now, I’m going to be a father? What in fuck else has to happen to me? What
about us?”

The rapid changes
in topic sent her head reeling. The poor lad did have a lot to contend with. A
child ... who could be part human, Thrope and/or Vampire. If she followed her
heart and the Mate Bond, she would be a mother to a hybrid beast. A shudder of
distaste snaked up her spine.

“I dinna know
about us. I canna deny there is something between us. You are not the only one
dealing with issues, Marcus. Maybe the Mate Bond is not a good idea right now
... if ever.”

As soon as she
spoke the words, a slice of pain tore through her insides. She had not meant to
say that. She did want him and not only because of the Mate Bond.

He looked at her,
incredulousness clearly etched on his scarred face. “So the only reason you ran
to my arms not long ago was the pull of the Mate Bond, nothing more? It’s the
only reason you let me take you hard and fast against the wall, right? You feel
nothing beyond the Vampire connection? Perfect. Fucking perfect.”

A ball of emotion
lodged in her throat. “I never said that. I think we need time...”

Marcus grabbed
her arm and pulled her toward the door. “Get out.”

“What? We need to
talk this through...”

He leaned down
and hissed in her ear. “Get out of my sight before I tear this house apart and
do or say something I will regret. Get. Out. Don’t come back until you are sure
you want me.”

Marcus pushed her
through the entrance and slammed the door on her heels. She stood rubbing her
chest where her heart pounded furiously. Inside, she heard the roar of a man in
pain.

Chapter Twelve

Marcus spent one
of the most miserable nights of his short life. One thing he had decided during
the long, cold hours of darkness, he had enough of the emotional roller coaster
he’d been on. No more tears and recriminations, no more rages and destruction.
If Deegan and the others could control themselves, so could he.

He placed a call
to Deegan. Raylene had informed him Deegan was deep in slumber and would stop
by after he awoke around four or five in the afternoon. Whatever. He never
asked after Logan.

He wanted fucking
answers. If he was part of this Clan, he deserved to be told everything.
Leaning on his cane, he hobbled to Brennan’s kitchen. Snapping on the satellite
radio, he found a station he could tolerate. He opened the fridge and peered
in. Food held no interest for him at the moment. Nor did the bags of blood
plasma piled up on the top shelf. He reached for the orange juice and poured
himself a glass.

“The Unforgiven”
by Metallica played in the background. He stood at the counter and listened. “
New
blood joins this earth, and quickly he’s subdued. Through constant pain
disgrace, the young boy learns their rules...”