Seeking Pack Redemption (24 page)

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Authors: Eve Langlais

BOOK: Seeking Pack Redemption
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Recoiling
violently from his next thought, Marc struggled to keep his balance on the
roof. However, once whispered, even in his mind, the words wouldn’t go away.
If they stand in our way, we’ll kill them.

 

*
* * *

 

The plan
to contact the vamps worked better than expected. By sunset, on the day the ad
emerged in several print publications around the country, Nathan’s new
disposable cell phone rang. For like the thousandth time.

“If you’re
thinking of fucking with me,” Nathan snarled in the receiver, “then hang up now
before I come through this phone line and shove your head where the sun will
never kiss it again.”

“Seeing as
how the sun hasn’t kissed me in centuries, I don’t see the point of your
threat, dog.”

The cool
humor and fluid tones, made Nathan tense. “Who is this?”

“Wouldn’t
the better question be what am I? Although given your rather public and gauche
attempt at contact, I would assume you already know.”

“You’re a
vampire.”

“Give a
treat to the dog.”

“I didn’t
place the ad so you could call and insult me,” Nathan growled.

“Really?
I’m sorry, perhaps I should skip right to the point and kill you for being such
a fucking idiot.”

Nathan
blinked as the speaker’s tone turned harsh and commanding, enough to make him
pause before replying. “Excuse me?”

“While we
can easily handle the trite media portrayals of our kind, glittering like
diamonds indeed, it is quite another for you to post an open challenge in the
public where humans can see it.”

“Oh,
please. They all think it’s some big fucking joke. Trust me. I’ve been the one
taking the calls. Your secret is still safe. That is if you are who you say you
are.”

“Ah, the
dog shows some sense. You do well to doubt. But I assure you I am the real
thing.”

“Prove
it.”

Again, the
low chuckle sounded, and Nathan resisted an urge to fling the phone across the
room. “You mean the fact I know you’re a
Lycan
isn’t
enough? What if I say the name Roderick? He is why you’re calling, isn’t he?
Does someone miss his daddy?”

The
mocking tone didn’t help his frayed temper. “Rotten fucking undead bastard.”

“My, my.
What foul language.”

“What did
you expect considering you turned my father into a bloody monster?” Then again,
his father wasn’t exactly a prize before his turning. Sentenced for crimes
against the pack, Roderick and his broken mind should have died those many
years ago. Instead, a sick man was turned into an even sicker vampire.

“Yes, that
was quite unexpected. And unfortunate for the queen.” The speaker’s tone seemed
to imply, however, that it was anything but.

“That’s
all you’ve got to say? It was unexpected? How about cleaning up the fucking
mess you guys created? Roderick’s been causing havoc for years now. Killing my
people. Making them do horrible things.”
Scaring
me, not out of fear for my safety but that of my family.
Totally
unacceptable.

“And your
point would be?”

“Fix it.”

“Why?”

The
question emerged sounding so sincere that Nathan couldn’t speak for a moment.
“What do you mean why? Because he’s a vampire, that’s why.
And
a fucking psycho.
Don’t you guys have some kind of laws or police to
deal with his kind of out of control behavior?”

“Yes, but
again, why should we get involved? According to our sources, he’s restricted
his actions to
Lycans
. Why should we care if he rids
the world of some flea-bitten curs?”

“You
should care because he’s not just hunting us. He’s
hunting
humans
.” Nathan left out the part about them being dormant
Lycans
. The guy he spoke to didn’t seem too sympathetic to
his kind.

“Are you
sure?”

“Oh, yes.
Humans girls, actually.
I can send you the news clippings if
you’d like. He’s doing things to them while pregnant, which I’m sure the media
will love once they get their hands on this story.”

“As if
anyone will believe a tale of a vampire torturing women,” the vampire scoffed. “They’ll
call him a serial killer, one who will move on with no one the wiser.”

“How can
you be so fucking nonchalant about this? Aren’t you worried at all about what
he’s doing? One of his victims said he claimed he was making an army.
An army
for who do you think? He’s already pretty much
proven he can play with my kind pretty much at will. So who do you think he
needs a rabid and loyal group of
Lycans
for? His own
football team?”

“Excuse me
a moment.”

A click
sounded in his ear, but the line stayed open and silent. Nathan drummed his
fingers on his desktop. The vampire returned.

“What do
you wish from us?”

Nathan
didn’t sigh in relief even if some of his tension eased. For a moment, he’d
worried he couldn’t convince the blood drinkers to help him. “Tell us how to
kill him.”

A dark
chuckle made him clench the phone tight. “Just that? Haven’t you read the
legends?”

“Holy
water and crosses are for the movies. We can’t get close enough to him for a
stake or decapitation, and we don’t know if sunlight will harm or kill him
because we can’t seem to find him during the day.”

“So how
does knowledge on killing our kind help you if you can’t find him?”

“Because
we’ve got bait. We can draw him out.” Or so he hoped. “But it does us no good
if we can’t finish him off.”

A murmur
too indistinct to make out made the vampire pause before answering.

“You’ve
already got the right idea.
Decapitation, followed by fire or
sunlight.
We regenerate rapidly, and with his
Lycan
heritage, Roderick even more so.”

“What
about a stake to the heart?”

Again the
chilling chuckle echoed through the earpiece. “Legend. Actually, even
decapitation won’t truly kill us. You need fire to dull the vampire’s abilities
and keep him too busy regenerating making it impossible for him to call his
minions. Then, even if you think he’s dead, you need to place him in direct
sunlight for several hours. The UV rays will destroy any living particles left,
and your vampire will stay dead.”

“Fuck. If
you guys are so damned hard to kill, how come you’re not more in evidence?” Or
running the country. Seriously, with that kind of almost immortal status, why
remain hidden?”

“Humans
are prolific and superstitious. Not to mention, we are not as easy to create as
the media portrays. Our numbers are small, and we like it that way.”

“Thank you
for your help.”

“Oh, this
information isn’t without cost.”

“Excuse
me?”

“Did you
really think we’d hand over that kind of knowledge and not expect something in
return?”

“Considering
we’re the ones who are
gonna
clean up your mess, don’t
you owe us?”

“Ah, but
you’re the one who has issues with Roderick. To us, he is family.
A crazy member, perhaps, but still one of us.
As such, you
will owe us a favor.”

“I don’t think—”

The line
went dead in his ear. Calling back proved
impossible
as the number was unknown. Cursing, Nathan threw the phone at the wall.

What the fuck does that bloodsucker want?
Nathan feared the
answer, but consoled himself with the fact that at least now they knew for sure
what would work. If only it didn’t seem so impossible.

Chapter Thirteen
 

Talk about
a passion-filled night.
Thea
woke in the morning
alone, but stretching her senses just a tiny bit, the familiar sensation of
Darren and Trent tickled her and let her know they’d not gone too far.

This new
ability and what it meant should have freaked her out. Instead, it made her
smile.
A closeness
like she’d never imagined existed between
her and the men. And not just because of the sex, which was unbelievably
explosive. No, the warmth she felt went beyond the physical. She trusted them.
Knew on a level that transcended her gut instinct they wouldn’t hurt her.
That they truly cared for her and wanted only to see her happy.

A heady feeling for a girl who’d not so long ago thought she would
die horribly, or worse, live
a life of pain and misery.

She’d not
said the
L
-word to them yet, though,
despite her burgeoning feelings. She didn’t really have to because she knew
they felt her emotions too. Why did she hold back? She’d committed herself to
them, and despite the short courtship already felt like she knew them better
than she’d ever known David or anyone else.

So what am I waiting for?
For
them to declare themselves first?
Hadn’t they shown their affection in the way they
worshipped her body? Darren with his passionate lovemaking, his bright blue
eyes boring into hers as he stroked into her hard and deep, crying her name as
he came into her, her own body climaxing along with him. How about Trent, did
he not prove it when he slid into bed in the middle of the night, his hands
waking her with sensual caresses, his mouth hot on her neck, his lovemaking
slow and languorous, leading into a climax that made her see stars? Did they
both not prove it with gentle promises of protection, their care of her, the
smiles that lit up their whole faces for her and her alone?

A knock on
the door followed by Marc’s grin and tousled red hair peeking around the edge,
brought her musings short. An automatic smile graced her lips, and yet,
something had changed. For the first time since they’d met, she didn’t feel a
thing in his presence. Not even a teensy tiny tingle.

Modesty
saw her gathering the sheet tight to her body, and that simple action caused a
shadow to cross his expression. A shiver went through her as she wondered at
his reaction and at her lack of one. Initially, Trent seemed to think, and she
couldn’t have disagreed, that Marc would also claim her as mate. Her inner
voice seemed more or less certain of it as well. But mated already to two men,
the tug she’d previously felt toward her third rescuer had disappeared.

It seemed
she was content with two men in her life, which was already one more than she’d
expected to settle down with. She just hoped that Marc wasn’t too upset and
that it wouldn’t affect his friendship with Trent and Darren.

“Morning.
I brought you some coffee,” he said as he held up a steaming cup.

“Thank
you,” she replied, one hand holding the sheet snugly over her breasts while
reaching with the other.

She didn’t
miss the flick of his gaze at her covered torso, a look that still stripped her
bare and made her cheeks flush, but not in heat.
A
self-consciousness
about her lack of clothing made her uncomfortable. A
first since she’d met them. Perhaps, she’d not lost all her morals after all.
“Where are Trent and Darren?”

Again, a
shadow crossed his features, and his lips tightened—in anger or
disappointment? She couldn’t really tell before he turned away.

“Darren’s
grabbing some grub, and Trent’s hashing over the plan with
Jaxon
for him to meet his mate.”

“So he’s
going to do it?”


Jaxon’s
not happy about it, but he is. He wants Bailey out
of here before the shit hits the fan. But he’s got to meet her in a way that
won’t have her other mates lining up to rip his head off.”


Lycans
are a violent bunch,” she stated.

“Very,” he
replied in a flat tone.

While he
didn’t look at her when he said that single word, she couldn’t help a shiver.
What was wrong with him today? Or was it her?
Paranoia, the
bane of anyone’s existence.
“So what’s my role during this secret
rendezvous?”

“You,
beautiful, will stay out of harm’s way,” Trent answered as he strode into the
room with a pair of steaming cups. “I brought you coffee.”

She held
up the cup Marc brought her. “Too late. Marc beat you to it.”

A frown
creased Trent’s forehead as he eyed his friend. Marc shrugged. “You seemed busy,
and Darren was gone. I thought she might like some while it was still fresh.”

Before
Trent could say anything, Darren entered with a box of doughnuts. “Breakfast of
champions,” he announced, holding it up.

Trying to
keep ahold of her sheet while eating a powdery doughnut proved interesting,
especially when Darren flanked her on one side and placed an arm around her
possessively. She leaned into him, trying to ignore how Marc’s nostrils flared.

Why, oh,
why, did she feel so uncomfortable around him now? Had the mating with Darren
changed her so much, because she’d not felt like this after joining with Trent?

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