On The Prowl (6 page)

He wasn’t surprised to find Rayce Lovel waiting on the island’s dock. The wolf shifter would have heard the boat’s approach, and Rayce—being Rayce—would have come down to see just what was happening.

After all, Rayce and Julian had both been left to guard the island in Luke’s absence. If anything happened to the place while their buddy was gone, there would truly be hell to pay.

“Didn’t expect to see you back so soon,” Rayce called out. His blond hair glinted beneath the light on the dock. “Poor hunting night?” Then his gaze darted to Rose—a very quiet Rose. “Or perhaps, a very, very good hunting night?”

Julian growled. He didn’t like the way Rayce eyed Rose. The wolf needed to tone that shit down.

“Why do wet women keep being brought to this island? Not that I’m complaining,” Rayce added as he caught the line that Marcos threw to him. “Quite the contrary. I just—”

“Get the human off the boat. He needs to be taken into containment until morning.” Francis had woken up on the ride out to the island. His terror had turned into screams—screams that had stopped when Julian gagged the fellow. “I am not in the mood to deal with him now.”

No, what he needed right then…it was a run. A wild, fast and furious run across the island. He had to let his beast out. Too much had happened that night—

Two times. Two fucking times death tried to take Rose.

His control was razor thin. The beast demanded his freedom, and the man wasn’t going to be able to hold him back much longer.

“A bound and gagged human?” Rayce bounded onto the boat and eyed the kid. “Definitely an interesting hunting night.”

Julian grunted. “I think he was under a compulsion. He doesn’t seem to remember jack shit right now, but I am hoping with the right…tools…” Tools the human would
not
like. “With the right tools, I’m hoping that will change.”

Rayce easily slung Francis over his shoulder. “I know just the cell for him.”

Because, yes, Luke’s island paradise came complete with its own prison. Luke truly believed in being prepared.

But before Rayce could leave the boat, Rose stepped into his path. “He’s a kid, okay? Not some prisoner. He doesn’t belong in a cell. He’s confused and scared and he has no idea what’s happening.” Her words tumbled out, fast and husky. And…shaking. “You can’t just lock him up. You can’t hurt him.”

They could. “The cell is for his protection, Rose. Rayce and I aren’t the only monsters on the island right now.”

At that one word—monsters—she flinched. Then she turned the full force of her big, green eyes on him. “Locking him up…how does that make us better than the ONS? How does that make us any better than—than this Collector guy that you keep worrying me about?”

“It doesn’t make us better.” He’d never said he
was
better and, hell, he was almost out of time. He could feel his muscles jerking and stretching. In just a few moments, he’d be doing a full-on shift right in front of her. He didn’t want her to see that.

Shifts weren’t pretty. They were brutal and they were vicious and, sometimes, if he wasn’t very, very careful…his panther could take over completely.

There was a reason he had no pack to call his own. A reason he’d gone rogue long ago.

He was a killer. Someone who could never be trusted. Especially not around humans. Especially not around…

Someone like her.

I knew that from the beginning, but I couldn’t stay away from her.

“Take Rose to the main house,” he ordered Rayce.

Rayce just lifted his brows. “What? Do I look like some errand boy to you? Drag the human…” he muttered as he turned away, heading up the winding path that led to the house. “Get the girl. Do all my shit for me because I’m Julian and I can’t handle—”

“
Rayce.
”

His friend—friend, general jack-ass, trouble-maker, whatever—turned back toward him. And whatever he saw on Julian’s face had Rayce tensing.

“Rose,” Rayce said her name flatly. “Bring that sweet ass of yours up here with me, now.”

“I don’t like him,” Rose muttered.

Julian clenched his hands into fists. He jumped off the boat. He had to get away from Rose. He had to get away from them all.

But Rose—she followed him. She grabbed his arm. “We aren’t done, Julian! You can’t just run away from me—”

“You don’t want to see what happens next.” His voice was rough, broken. Speech was too hard then. His bones had started to snap. In a moment, he would be on all fours, and fur would burst from his skin. He’d learned to control the shift—mostly—since coming to Luke’s island so long ago. But because of that hellish night, because of all the things that had happened to Rose, there was no longer any control left for him. He was at a breaking point. The panther loved it when the man broke.

“Julian?” Concern softened her face. “Are you okay?”

He pulled from her. “Get her
away!”
Julian roared to Rayce.

Rayce kept the human over his shoulder, but he bounded toward Rose. He caught her arm. “We need to go…now. Come on, lady,
now!”

Rayce pulled her, trying to force her up the path, and Julian whirled, trying to flee before the change hit.

But it was too late.

He could feel the burn beneath his skin. He hit the ground, landing on all fours. The snap and crunch of his bones just got louder. An itch started along his skin—and then the fur burst out, covering him. He opened his mouth, snarling with the pain because the shift wasn’t gentle. He’d fought the beast too long for any gentleness. A mouthful of razor sharp teeth exploded. He became the panther, running and bounding forward. His paws hit the earth. His claws were ready to rip and kill and, helplessly, he looked toward Rose once more.

Only to see her staring at him in horror.

But then, that was the way she usually looked at him.

Some things never fucking change.

***

“Well…” the man next to her drawled. “That was a little awkward, huh?”

More than awkward. “I didn’t realize it hurt him so much.” His pain had been unmistakable. The sound of crunching bones would haunt her.

“Not like it’s easy to completely reshape into another being. When the fire of the shift burns through you, there are only two choices. Fight it and let it hurt worse. Or give in…and still let it hurt like a bitch.” He hoisted Francis higher onto his shoulder. The human was twitching, but not struggling…much. “There’s not exactly any winning way to do it.”

The panther—a big, black panther with seriously scary teeth—had vanished. Rose cleared her throat. “You sound like you’re speaking from experience.”

“I am.”

Her gaze jerked toward him. When he smiled at her, she saw that his canines were a little too long. A little too sharp. His face shape had altered a bit, too, becoming more angular. His eyes—a green brighter than her own—seemed to shine. “You’re a…panther?”

“Hell, no.” He turned and headed up the path. “I’m a wolf, baby. Pure blood wolf. The baddest of the bad.”

She glanced back toward the woods. The island was freaking huge—sandy beaches, thick woods, dense vegetation. The perfect playground for shifters. The panther had gone into the woods. Maybe…should she follow him? Rose took a step in that direction.

“Don’t even think it,” the wolf shifter called back to her. “Because that is just asking for trouble. Julian’s beast is in control and if he were to hurt you while the panther was ruling…” He stopped and seemed to consider things. “That wouldn’t be pretty.”

A cold chill swept over her. “I thought he stayed in control when he was a panther. That the man was always inside, guiding the beast.” So
maybe
she’d tried to learn about shifters. Her curiosity had been more than justified, given her history.

“Not tonight. I could see it. His control was gone.” He gave a low whistle. “Which totally begs the question…just what happened tonight?”

She bit her lip and decided that, okay, perhaps going into the woods after a panther wasn’t going to be her best plan. Rose turned and headed up the path. “Someone drugged me. And then there was a fire.” She winced. “A bomb. It blew up the boat we were searching on, and we barely got off the thing alive.” That explosion and her near-death experience had been way too close for comfort. “Uh, who exactly, are you, by the way?”

“Right. No official introduction, huh?” He kept moving. “My name’s Rayce Lovel.”

He was nearly as tall as Julian, and he had wide shoulders. But where Julian had dark hair—nearly perfect black—Rayce had thick, curling blond hair. And he just moved with an easy, almost carefree stride. He was teasing her, laughing, and…he just didn’t
seem
evil.

But then, he was carrying a bound and gagged human over his shoulder.

She didn’t speak again until they were in the house. House, mansion, prison…whatever. It was Luke’s domain. A massive structure that reeked of money. She stood in the foyer, glancing down at the marble beneath her feet. At least she wasn’t dripping on it, that was a plus, but her bare feet were leaving a muddy trail.

When had she lost her shoes? When she’d first gone into the water off Key West? She hadn’t even noticed they were missing until that moment.

“Be right back. Just going to get our guest settled…” Rayce marched down the hallway, but he paused and glanced back at her. “You should really just stay right…
there
until I get back. Don’t go exploring on your own, okay? Not exactly a safe plan.”

Then he was gone.

“Don’t hurt Francis!” Rose yelled. “He’s just a kid!” A kid who truly had seemed to be under a compulsion, just as Julian had mentioned.

Simon says…

She wrapped her arms around her body. The way Francis had been talking on the
Pandora
, it had certainly sounded as if Simon had been the one to give him the orders. But…Simon had been a human, right?

Just an errand boy for the Collector?

He’d seemed human.

Or had he been something more?

A big, spiral staircase led up to the next level of the house. She paced toward it and her hand reached out to slide against the smooth banister. The house felt massive. It also felt cold. Empty. Hardly a home—more like a fortress. But, really, what else would she expect from Luke? He wasn’t exactly Mr. Warmth.

“The human is safe for the night.”

She jumped. Rose had supernatural senses, but the wolf had just snuck up on her. She whirled around, heart racing, and found him standing just a few feet away.

“All snug and safe,” Rayce continued dryly. “I even gave the kid some food.” His brows lifted. “And people say werewolves are heartless.”

“Who…who says that?”

He tapped his chin. “Wait. Maybe the saying is that we take
out
hearts. Just slice them right out of our prey’s chests.” He shrugged. “I always get that one confused.”

She blinked.

He smiled. A dimple flashed in his cheek. He looked friendly. Harmless. Like some All-American athlete-type who should be on a cereal box.

Only he’d just talked about cutting the heart from a person’s body.

Not
so All-American.

She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “When will…when will Julian be back?”

“Miss him already?”

Her eyes narrowed at his mocking tone.

But Rayce just smiled. “Why don’t you go get some rest?” He pointed to the side, down another snaking hallway. “Take the third door to the right. Use that room. When dawn comes, Julian should be back to his normal self. Sometimes, you just need to let your beast out.”

She didn’t move. “And that’s what he’s doing…letting his beast out?”

“I think it was more that his beast took over. Happens, you know. The primitive side wins.”

Rose bit her lip and glanced toward the front door. “I think I’ll wait out there for him to come back.”

Rayce laughed—a deep, booming sound. She didn’t like his laugh.

Her gaze swung back toward him.

His laughter slowly faded, but he was still smiling as he said, “Julian’s little vampire…”

Rose stiffened. “I’m not his anything.”

Rayce stalked toward her.

She backed up. A habit. When an unknown paranormal approached, she had a tendency to flee. She retreated until her back hit the table that was against the foyer wall. A vase wobbled behind her, and Rayce’s hands flew out, catching it before the vase could crash. Catching it—and trapping her with his body.

“Don’t want to piss off Luke,” he murmured. “That is a seriously bad mistake.” He put the vase back into position. His hands slid back to his sides, but he didn’t move away from her. “Getting on the Lord of the Dark’s bad side is never a good plan.”

“I shouldn’t be here.” She should be living a nice, safe,
normal
life far away from this madness. She shouldn’t have spent months being tortured and starved. She shouldn’t always be so afraid.

“Where should you be, little vamp?” His voice had changed, gone soothing.

And that just scared her even more.

“I don’t want to be like this. I want to go back to the way things were before.”

“Before?”

“Before Luke Thorne changed me.”

He absorbed that but still stared at her quizzically. “Would it be better to go back
before
you met Julian?”

In the distance, she could have sworn that she heard a roar. Rose jumped.

Rayce sighed. “You’re a vamp now. There
is
no going back. And instead of being afraid, you need to make all of the other paranormals fear
you.
That’s the way it is in our world. Strength is prized. Weakness is used.” His expression hardened. “You don’t want to be used.”

She wanted
out
of there. Her gaze darted toward the front door once more.

“Julian isn’t the only beast running wild on the island. Plenty of others are out there. You don’t want to tangle with them. Very, very bad mistake.”

She swallowed. “Who else is here?”

He took a step back. “Oh, you know, the worst of the worst. The dark paranormals that only Luke can keep in check. You make a deal with him, he owns your soul for a time…basic shit.”