On The Prowl (13 page)

“Hey, angel…”

Lila was sitting on the floor of her cell. Her wings had wrapped around her body. She was so cold. Her shivers wouldn’t stop.

“What does it feel like…” The muse stood near the bars of her cell. “When he takes your feathers?”

Lila glanced at her wings. “Pain.”

“Yeah, okay, I guessed that…but…
what
exactly, is the pain like?”

Lila hadn’t known any pain, not until a few months ago. Now it was all she knew. The first thing she’d ever felt—pain. The thing that would forever mark her now. “For you, I imagine…it would probably be like getting chunks of your skin cut away.”

“Oh, hell.” The witch scrambled toward the bars of her cell. “That bad? But… you don’t make a sound when he takes them.”

No, she didn’t. “Am I…supposed to make a sound?” She rose and moved closer to her own bars so that she could better see the other women.

The witch’s voice gentled as she said, “When it hurts, it’s okay to cry out.”

“No!” The muse made a sharp denial. “Don’t give him the satisfaction, you hear me, angel? You keep that pain inside. You don’t let him hear your pain. Freaks like him get off on that. They
like
making others hurt.”

She touched her wing. “Is that why he’s doing all of this? Because he…likes pain?”

The muse pressed her forehead to the bars. “No. No, as crazy as this may seem, he believes what he’s doing is for love.”

Lila shook her head. “
This
is love?”

“It’s not.” The witch’s voice seemed to echo around them. “I
know
love. Love is good and strong and it doesn’t hurt. It makes you better. It makes everything in your whole world better.”

Now the muse sighed. “Are we going to hear about your husband again?” She was mocking. She often seemed mocking. Not cruel but…not exactly kind.

The witch didn’t speak.

Lila sank down onto the floor once more.

“Because I want to hear about him,” the muse continued quietly. “Tell me again how your Thomas convinced you to marry him. Tell me about him again…so that before I die, I can know that at least
someone
was happy, once.”

“You aren’t going to die,” the witch told her.

The muse laughed. “What else would he do with us? For his love to come back, you know we have to die.”

They both
knew
more than she did. They’d been in their cells when she was first brought to the facility. She should question them but…she didn’t want to know if death was all that waited. Not right then. “I’d like to hear more about Thomas,” Lila whispered.

How long had it been since they’d had food? None of the guards ever came in to check their cells. The Collector had left strict orders that no one was to enter this domain. He’d been gone for days. If he didn’t come back soon…

He will, though. He’ll come back and the pain will just start again.

Her head lowered. “Tell me about love.”

Because all I know is pain.

“I met Thomas when I was sixteen…” the witch began, her voice soft. “And the first thing I did was curse him.”

Leo pressed his hand to the human’s forehead. Instantly, she awoke, jerking upright and gasping.

“Nice trick,” Rayce muttered, and he actually meant that.

Leo didn’t look back at him. His eyes were focused on the woman—the woman who appeared increasingly terrified as her frantic stare flew around the room.

“Who are you?” she demanded. “Where am I? What’s happening?”

Leo touched her forehead again. “Your name.”

Rayce rocked forward on the balls of his feet. “Yeah, so, the last human that Simon got—he’s still locked up in a cell, by the way—we needed vamp blood to break the compulsion that controlled him. So you might just want to hold off on the question and answer session until Rose is back in fighting form.”

“I don’t need Rose. Humans are under my dominion.” Then Leo muttered something low—something that sure sounded like some kind of spell.
Mind be free, respond only to me.

Rayce’s eyes narrowed.

“Tell me your name,” Leo ordered.

The terror vanished from the woman’s face. “Keri.”

“Keri, what were you supposed to do when you reached the island?”

“Shoot anyone who wasn’t Rose.”

“And just who gave you that order?”

“Simon. Simon says…
find the vampire. Shoot the others…
”

Rayce was getting real sick of old Simon. “How’d she know what Rose even looked like?”

Keri blinked. “I saw her picture. He showed me, on his phone.”

Rayce’s hand raked over his face. “Right. Of course. His freaking phone.”

“I was supposed to call him if she’s here.” Her words tumbled out quickly, easily, as if she
had
to speak them. “Simon says he’ll fly in. Simon says they won’t hurt me. I’m human… They won’t hurt me.”

“See?” Leo glanced back at Rayce, smirking. “I told you, she’s under my dominion. I can control—”

“
Simon says death.
” And the little human had just yanked a knife from her boot. “
Simon says kill if anyone gets in my way.
” She drove the knife straight at Leo. Blood flew from his neck, but when she came at him again, he knocked the knife from her hand.

It clattered across the floor.

“
Sonofabitch.
” Leo glared at the woman.

Her face was slack once more. “
Simon says kill.
”

Rayce wouldn’t let himself smile. Oh, hell, why not? It was his turn to smirk as he said, “You should really consider waiting on Rose. That vamp blood might come in handy after all.”

Leo grabbed the woman’s arms and pulled her up.
“Mind be free, respond only to me.”

“Yeah, that didn’t work so well the first time…”

But Leo ignored him. “Tell me the plan. When you find Rose, what are you supposed to do?”

She blinked her wide, blue eyes. “Don’t have to do anything. He’s already coming…I already told him she was here. Saw her from my boat.” And then Keri smiled.
“Simons says…we will all die.”

***

“Julian?” She had him on the bed. He’d stumbled out of the shower with her then collapsed on the mattress. His eyes were closed and he barely seemed to be breathing…and he was
terrifying
her. “Julian, wake up.”

Her shaking fingers pressed to his throat. The wounds she’d made with her bite were still there. They usually faded—he usually healed so quickly.

But he’d been tranqed today. And I…I took too much.

Guilt ate at her soul. She knew she’d taken too much. But she’d been caught in some kind of firestorm. She’d seen herself from a distance, and she hadn’t been able to stop. She’d fed and fed and the fire inside of her had demanded more. It had demanded that she keep taking.
Taking
. Until nothing was left.

A tear slid down her cheek. She brushed her mouth against his. “I’m sorry.” She’d hurt him. But she could make this right. He was still breathing. His heart beat…it was just slow.
I have to make this right.
She bit her wrist and then forced it to his mouth. He’d take her blood and he
would
get stronger. It had worked before for them. It would work again.

“Julian, drink.
”

She kept her hand shoved against his mouth. Her blood trickled inside his mouth, but he wasn’t swallowing. She was straddling his body, and while she kept one wrist at his mouth, her other massaged his throat, forcing him to swallow. She
made
him take her blood. She wasn’t just going to watch him die on her. That wasn’t ever going to happen—

Oh, my God.

As she just realized what she’d thought, her heart stopped.

I can’t watch him die…just like he couldn’t watch me die.

Then his eyes flew open. Julian’s stare burned with power—with the force of his beast. His golden eyes were glowing and she felt his canines lengthening. Then
he
was biting her. His hand flew up and held tightly to her wrist, forcing her even closer to him. He bit, he drank, and he…

“More.” His hands curled around her and he brought her down closer to him, putting her neck right in front of his mouth. “I want to taste more.” And he bit her again, this time, right on the curve of her neck and the pleasure/pain of that bite had her hips rocking against him.

She was naked and so was he. She rocked against him, pushing her neck closer to him, pushing her sex against him, and the friction just made her desire mount.

For vamps, bloodlust and physical lust always went hand in hand. The more blood you took, the harder your lust burned. The hotter. The darker.

Her hand pushed between them. His cock sprang toward her, fully erect and ready. Thick. Hard. She wanted him
in
her. She wanted his teeth in her neck and his cock in her body. She lifted up her hips, positioning him even as he continued to drink, and then she came down on him, taking him all the way inside and gasping because he felt so good.

So right.

Her desires were darker now. She never would have thought drinking and fucking were a combination she wanted. She never would have thought her dream lover was a man with a savage side.

She’d been thinking all wrong for far too long.

His hand slid down her body, his claws were out and he raked her skin—didn’t hurt her, but he had her gasping and arching toward him. She was so sensitive and he touched her—he touched her
everywhere.

His mouth slid from her neck. He nuzzled her again. “Never letting go…” His gaze glowed at her. “Remember that.” A warning.

Then…

Then she felt his control shatter. His hips withdrew, then slammed hard against her. The bed jerked beneath them. A feral growl came from him and he rolled her on the bed. He trapped her beneath him, yanked her legs up high so they were over his shoulders…

And he took.

And she took.

And they both moaned at the raw pleasure. His thrusts sent his cock over her clit, every fierce drive heightening her need. Her nails raked down his back and she didn’t use the care he had. She
wanted
to mark him. He was hers, and she wasn’t letting go. Her nails sank into his skin. He laughed and thrust even harder.

“Mine.” His word, but it could have been hers. That moment was so primitive, so basic. It was a claiming. An owning, and there was no going back.

He’d given her his blood.

She’d given him hers.

He’d taken her body.

And she wanted his heart.

The release hit her first, blasting through her and sending pleasure bursting inside of her. Her sex spasmed around him, contracting against his cock, and she felt his release as he surged hotly inside of her. When he came, he kissed her, thrusting his tongue past her lips, and she swore she could taste his pleasure. Her heart thundered in her chest, her body quaked, and Julian was all she could feel and see. Julian with his bright eyes, his feral smile. Julian, with his beast inside.

Her beast.

Her Julian.

Hers.

And that thought was utterly terrifying. She’d spent so much time running from the one man that she wanted most…because he was the one man who held the power to destroy her completely. He’d done it before. Could she trust him never to do it again?

A sharp knock sounded at Julian’s door. “If you two are done in there…” Rayce’s voice bellowed. “I need your asses out, ASAP. I’ve got a pissed off Lord of the Light down here…and a human who could seriously use some vamp blood.”

“I’m going to kill him,” Julian muttered as he raised up onto his forearms.

But Rose smiled. “No, you’re not. You care about him. You don’t kill those you care about.”

If only that were true. “You don’t know panthers.” He pulled from her body, hating to let her go, but knowing there wasn’t a choice. Rayce’s footsteps had retreated, but he couldn’t ignore reality—and his reality was currently one big nightmare.

A faint furrow appeared between Rose’s brows. “You’re right. I don’t know panther shifters. You’re the only one I’ve ever met. So maybe you should tell me…what am I missing?”

He stalked to his closet and yanked out a pair of jeans. A t-shirt. He dressed quickly, his movements tight and jerky. He grabbed a pair of shoes—

“Julian?”

He looked back. She was standing by the bed, naked, her body a perfect temptation. He would have loved to get her back in that bed. To get her under him. Over him. To spend hours tasting every single inch of her.

But the danger wasn’t going to wait.

“You want to know about us? We’re brutal. Savage. When we attack, there is no other beast that can match us. Our favorite way to kill?” His voice sounded cold. He felt cold. “We stalk our prey, never making a sound. We kill large prey—prey like other paranormals or…humans—with a bite to the back of the neck. That bite severs the spinal cord, so there is no chance for the prey to fight back.”

She didn’t make a sound. He raked a hand over his face. Enough fucking sharing. “Panthers are brutal. We’re beasts to our core. And
that’s
what you really need to understand.”

“I think…I think there is more to you than that.”

Then you’re wrong.
He dropped his hand. “How are you feeling?” he asked, and his voice was still cold. Cold and curt, but that was just how he sounded, not how he really felt. Looking at her…he felt good right then because Rose
appeared
okay. No, she looked way better than okay.

“I don’t feel like I’m burning up from the inside, so I figure that’s a good sign.” She made no move to cover her body because, obviously, she liked causing him pain. “What about you?” And the furrow between her brows deepened. “You’re the one who got drained dry.” She stepped toward him. “Why? You should have stopped me. You had to know I was taking too much. You got so weak—”

“For all I knew, Leo’s blood was poisoning you.”
Killing you.
“I had to make sure you survived, and the more of my blood I gave you…hell, I thought it might dilute whatever was in his. I just wanted…” He heaved out a breath. “I had to make sure you were all right.”

Her hands lifted and pressed to his chest. “I was out of control. I could have
killed
you.”

“It wasn’t that close.”

Her gaze searched his. “You’re a liar.”

“Only every day…” He turned from her, went into his closet, and pulled out clothes that he knew would fit her. He handed them to her. “Don’t want you walking into the room nude when we see Leo and Rayce again.”

She looked down at the clothes, then up at him. “Okay, this is the second time you’ve pulled out clothes for me.” Her head cocked. “Which means…you keep women’s clothes in your closet?”

“Cute. I keep clothes for you in there, okay? Don’t make a big deal out of it.”

But Rose shook her head. “For me?”

“Yeah, shit, I had some stuff on hand, okay? Just in case…”

“Just in case—what?” Rose prompted. “I wound up naked on the island?”

“Just in case I was ever lucky enough to have you back,” the words exploded and he could feel his cheeks heating. He cleared his throat and tried to sound a bit calmer as he said, “I wanted to make sure you had what you needed. It’s not a big deal.”

“You’re lying again. I think I can tell now when you do…”

“Because my mouth is moving?” He needed to get away from her. The blood exchange—the sex—
the mating.
It had all been too intense, and she didn’t even realize the ramifications of what had just gone down. Mostly because he hadn’t told her.

More lies. Shit. He should have told her what it meant for him to take her blood—for him to bite her neck and her shoulder. And he hadn’t just done that mating bite once—oh, no, this was the
second time
he’d marked her that way.

She had no clue what he’d done. He should tell her. Right then. But he…he didn’t want to change the way she was looking at him. Some of the tension was gone from her gaze. Her expression seemed softer. As if she might be…hell, maybe thinking about giving him another chance.

Too bad he’d already screwed that chance up for them.

Julian marched for the door. “When you’re dressed, join us.” He stopped and glared back at her. “Seriously, when you are
dressed.
If you walk out naked, I’ll have to knock Rayce unconscious.”

“I don’t…understand you.”

What wasn’t to understand? “When it comes to you, I’m a jealous bastard. Always have been. I…consider you mine.” That was as close to an admission about the marking and mating as he could get right then.

Her lips parted.

“Because you are.” Truth. The biggest truth he’d ever given her.

“Julian—”

“Get dressed.” He yanked open the door and hurried into the hallway. Julian tried to breathe without tasting her, but she was in his blood—literally. Under his skin. Branded on his soul. He stomped his way down the hallway and joined the others and when Rayce took a look at his face, he winced.

“Tell me it’s not that bad,” Rayce ordered.

“It’s worse.” Because he’d mated with her—mated
for life—
and she had no clue. He’d let his beast go, their blood had melded, and there was no going back. At least, there was no going back for him. But a mating only worked for a shifter. He would be tied to her forever, but Rose didn’t
have
to know. She wouldn’t be forced to feel the same connection that he did. She could be free.

While he was trapped in hell without her.

“How could it be worse?”

His gaze cut to Leo and he gave a little growl. This wasn’t sharing time, especially not with Leo and the wide-eyed human watching them. Rayce got the message and gave a little nod. Finally. Exhaling, Julian glanced over at the woman who sat on the couch. The trigger-happy one. He rubbed his chin and she paled. Julian frowned. “Is that blood on her shirt?”

Coughing a bit, Rayce said. “Yes, there was an…altercation.”

Leo’s face hardened. “I don’t have time for this crap. Get the vamp in here, let’s break the compulsion, then we are going after the angel.”

“Jeez, man, I get that you want your girlfriend back, but chill out.” Rayce shook his head. “Despite what Julian here may have led you to believe, you can’t go around thinking with your dick.”

“She
isn’t
my girlfriend,” Leo snapped. “Lila is an angel. Don’t you get what that even means? She’s never known pain. Never known hate. Never known rage.”

Rayce’s face went dark. “Good fucking deal for her. Maybe she’s long
overdue
then—”

“No!” Leo roared. “She’s never known them because she’d feel them too intensely. A thousand times worse than what it would be like for a human—a hundred times worse than what it would be like for someone like you.” His shoulders sagged. “It will break her. Splinter her mind. Drain who she is until
all
that she has is the darkness of that pain. She will be lost, and when an angel is lost…” He licked his lips. “The whole world suffers for it.”

Silence.

Julian’s gaze slid to the doorway. He’d heard Rose coming down the hallway. He’d been tuned to her even as Leo spoke.

“Well…from the sound of things…” Rose squared her shoulders. “It seems we have an angel to save.”

“An angel, a muse, and who the hell knows what else.” Julian didn’t move toward Rose.

“Sounds like the start of a really bad joke,” Rayce cut in. “An angel, a muse, and a werewolf walk into a bar—”

“
This isn’t a joke!”
Leo bellowed. “She’s
dying.
Lila will lose her wings and then there will be no going back. I get that you two don’t care about her pain.” He cast a dismissive glance toward Julian and Rayce. “But what about you?” Leo stared at Rose. “Don’t you care that an innocent is suffering? You’ve been imprisoned before. You’ve been tortured. How can you just let another woman suffer that way?”

Julian saw the sympathy fill Rose’s eyes. “I can’t,” she said. “I will help them. I swear—”

“Rose—” Julian thundered.

Too late.

Leo grabbed her hand. “Deal. A promise is a promise.” A faint light appeared above their joined hands. Julian knew exactly what that light meant.
A sealed deal.

Rose pulled back her hand and stared down at her palm. “What just happened?”

“You made a deal,” Leo told her. “You promised to help.”

Rayce surged to her side. “And you promised
nothing
to her! What in the hell kind of deal is that supposed to be?”

But Leo’s gaze cut to Julian. “Not true. I’ve already promised plenty.” He nodded, once, hard, as if satisfied, then he turned his stare back to Rose. “Now, go give the human your blood. Break her compulsion tie and get her to tell us what’s happening next.”

“Please,” Rose muttered.

Leo frowned at her.

“You can at least say
please
instead of bossing everyone around. It makes you look a lot less like an asshole.” She headed toward the woman on the couch. Rose brought her hand to her mouth and bit into her wrist. For a moment, her gaze darted toward Julian, and he knew she was remembering all that they’d just done.

He clenched his jaw when her gaze darted away. She put her hand to the lady’s mouth, forcing her to drink.

“So how long will this take?” Leo demanded, impatience written on his face. “Because we need to know—”

“What does Simon have planned?” Rose asked as she stared into the other woman’s eyes. “Tell me.”

“Uh, her name is Keri,” Rayce offered helpfully. “We learned that already. You know, before that deep compulsion reared its ugly head and she tried to slice open Leo. Not that I blame her, not even a little bit.”

Leo glared at him. “We are going to have issues.”

“We already do.”

Rose seemed to ignore them as she focused on the woman before her. “Tell me, Keri,” she encouraged. “Tell me what Simon Lorne is going to do.”

Keri’s expression had gone slack. “Your guards will be unconscious.” Her voice was slow, husky. “Either they killed me when they saw me…or they let me pass, thinking I was just a lost human.”

Rayce started pacing. “
This
is why humans can’t be trusted.” He pointed to Leo. “You think they’re these innocent lambs. They aren’t.”

“I was to shoot them,” Keri continued quietly. “Give them the tranq. Then shoot you. When you were all out, I was going to wait for Simon to come for us.”

Julian saw a trickle of blood slide down from Rose’s wrist.

Rose lifted a brow. “Can’t help but note…Simon
isn’t here.
Were you supposed to call him?”

Keri nodded. “I called him from the boat. Radioed him when I saw you on the beach.”

“Then why isn’t he already storming the island?” Rose shook her head. Her brow crinkled. “He must have seen something…something that made him hesitate. He had to rethink his little master plan and—” She whirled and pointed her index finger at Leo. “He saw you.”

Leo’s eyes widened. He looked offended. He looked…guilty.

“Hard to miss a guy with giant wings flying through the air,” she snapped. “When you grabbed me and flew up into the air, he must have been watching. It fits the timeline Keri just gave us. She tipped him off, he would have started closing in—since he’d gotten confirmation of my location—but then you pull your dragon routine and he backed off. The guy could be running right now, going away far and fast
because of you!
”

Keri shuddered. “Did you say…d-dragon?”

Rose didn’t glance back at her. “We can’t just stand here and keep waiting. Keep hiding. If you want to rescue the others, then we’re doing it.” She nodded decisively. “But on
my
terms. Got it? Because it’s my deal now.”

The guilt was gone from Leo’s face. “I don’t think you understand who it is that you’re talking to.”

“I don’t really give a shit who you think you are. All I care about…well, it’s that we work together on this. I said I’d help find those other paranormals, and that’s what I’m going to do.” She cast a quick glance over her shoulder, peering back at Julian. “Though you might not like all my methods…”

“Rose…” Julian began, voice grim.

“We’re going to take the
Devil’s Prize
, and we’re going back to Key West.” Her shoulders were squared, her spine straight, her chin up. “We think Simon has a base somewhere in the Everglades, right? So we need to get him to show us his hiding spot.”

“What do you think I’ve been
trying
to do?” Leo snarled as he threw his hands into the air.

“You haven’t been trying with the right bait.”

Julian bounded toward Rose. He caught her shoulder and spun her around to face him. “No.
No.
”

She smiled. “Yes.
Yes.
”

A growl broke from him.

“I’m not the damsel in distress, Julian.”

What the fuck? Who’d ever said she was?

“I’m not the woman who gets to hide from the dark. I see all of that now. I
am
the dark. I’m the vampire. I’m the bad thing that others should fear.”

She wasn’t bad. That was the problem. She’d always been good, straight to her soul. Far too good for someone like him. He’d known that truth the instant he met her, but he hadn’t been able to stay away.

“I’m the thing
he
should fear. Simon thinks he’s going to
collect
me? Terrorize me? Hurt my friends? No, this is ending. He wants me…” Her smile flashed, showing her white, sharp fangs. “Then he’s going to get me.”