Undying Hunger (13 page)

Moving with preternatural speed, Markus targeted the one on his right, meeting the creature head-on. The addict reared up onto his legs, claws and fangs extended. Before the bastard had a chance to sink either into his flesh, Markus grabbed the back of its head with one hand, his chin with the other…and jerked. The beast slumped to the street.

A roar unleashed from the remaining DEAD. Reaching deep inside for one more burst of power, Markus spun, his own claws extended, driving them deep into the other male’s neck. The wounded vampire staggered, a crimson fountain erupting from his open artery. Like a great oak that had finally succumbed to the logger’s ax, the DEAD toppled.

“Damn!” Guerin hissed.

Markus jerked around, his breath coming in harsh pants. The broad fellow Italian vampire and his mate had taken care of their mob of addicts and were surveying the remains around Markus’s boots.

“I don’t know what the fuck you’re doing out here.” Guerin’s upper lip curled as if he’d detected something rotten. “But…thanks.” The word left his mouth in a rush, as if he had to get it out as quickly as possible before the poisonous spines surrounding the syllable pricked his tongue.

Whatever.

The Enclave’s second-in-command flipped his dagger, blade over hilt, then proceeded to snuff the carcasses.

“I don’t need your gratitude,” Markus huffed, and rushed back to Alexandria’s side. Helping to save their asses hadn’t been the primary point of his arrival. The woman bleeding out before his eyes was his main concern. Hell, she was the only reason he hadn’t walked into the sun’s rays before now. He stared down at her still form, his insides a quivering mess. She had no idea how beautiful she was to him. Not just her looks. Even though they were stunning. Her spirit for life and her sharp mind enthralled him.

Markus slid his arm underneath her neck. His fangs pierced his bottom lip, stinging the soft flesh with his effort to be gentle. Her head wobbled. “Shit,” he bit out the curse.

“What are you doing?” Eve dropped to her knees on the other side of Alexandria. Reaching over Alexandria’s shoulders, stilling him from moving her farther, she glared up at him. “We’ll take care of her.” As if she had every right to claim possession.

“Like you did tonight?” he spat, his own stare never wavering, matching her fire for fire. “I don’t think so.”

“She wanted to be out here, Markus,” Eve said. “And she did an amazing job. No one expected an ambush like this.”

“Why didn’t you hit them with that famous sonic blast of yours I’ve heard about? Rumors are you took out five men when you and Guerin were under attack in Germany.” Markus slid another arm under Alexandria’s legs, lifted, then cradled her next to his body. She didn’t flinch from the change in position—didn’t utter a sound. His heart jerked, the thump a physical punch to his breastbone. “You could have prevented this.” Eve’s eyes widened, but he couldn’t tell if it was pain or guilt clouding the blue in her irises.

“Enough, Markus!” Guerin snapped.

Eve eased back, and they both stood.

“Don’t ever speak to my mate with that tone again.” Guerin strode closer, pressing his chest to Markus’s shoulder. “Or I’ll make sure you look like what’s left of those DEADs,” he said, the words coming out as if dragged over sand.

Markus hissed, clutching Alexandria a little tighter. “Don’t fucking threaten me.”

“I couldn’t risk it,” Eve said. “If I’d used my mental pulse on them it would have taken out the DEADs, but it could have injured Guerin and Alexandria, as well. Not to mention that it would have left me drained and unable to protect myself or anyone else if more of the bastards had shown up.”

“Guerin!” another male voice called out, one Markus didn’t need to look up to identify. Kenric had arrived. More than one pair of boots thumped against the pavement sounding their approach. Arran had probably joined the Enclave commander as well.

Fucking hell.

He had to get Alexandria out of there and heal her wounds. Her injury appeared deep, and she’d lost a great deal of blood. But hopefully, the blade hadn’t done major internal damage that couldn’t be repaired by replenishing her blood supply.

“We’re out of here,” Markus muttered and began to step away.

Guerin’s head snapped back around. “Hold up,” he ordered. “We’ve got this. I’m taking Alex back to the Enclave and to her sister.” Guerin reached for her.

Heat flared up from Markus’s chest, a fiery burst of rage so primal that it took even Markus by surprise. “Mine!” The single word erupted from Markus’s throat.

Guerin snatched his hand back. “Markus…what the hell are you doing?”

The Enclave’s second-in-command’s words echoed inside his head as Markus phased and the world faded to shimmering particles.

Chapter Fourteen

Sweet God in heaven!

Alex couldn’t get enough of the honeyed elixir flowing across her tongue.

She moaned. Gulped. Unable to stop the process if she tried, her throat convulsed on the fluid and another moan bubbled up. What a delicious way to wake up.

The rich, intoxicating essence filling her mouth warmed her from the inside out. More than that, it electrified her. Made her squirm; her core ached from the excruciating emptiness. Breaking the seal of her lips on the warm flesh, she gasped, desperately in need of air.

Only one other source had ever affected her this way. But after their last encounter,
he
was off-limits. He couldn’t be here.
This was…
Alex beckoned the image of her current donor to her mind, yet nothing appeared. Wait. She searched the sluggish stream of memory again.
Nothing.
How and when she’d started her current feeding was a total blank.

Why couldn’t she remember?

Panic swamped her senses, making her head spin and her stomach roil. Her heart lurched into a staccato beat.

Inhaling deeply through her nostrils to quickly still the contents of her stomach and pulse, Alex dragged her eyelids open. One small crack. Whoever had their wrist in her mouth apparently hadn’t wanted her dead—yet—but to be on the safe side, she didn’t want to alert her mystery donor that she was fully conscious.

Blurry tan walls, dimly illuminated by a soft glow, filled her vision. No pictures decorated the plain surface. She glanced lower. A dark blue sheet covered her lower half.
Dear God…where am I?

As if her brain cells were lagging a second or two behind her nose, the scent lodged in her nostrils finally registered: chocolate laced with cinnamon.

Recognition flung her eyelids wide.

Markus.

The thick liquid in her mouth stalled in her throat, choking her. Alex coughed. Gasped, and coughed again.

“Easy,” he crooned and removed his wrist from her mouth.

Maybe if she closed her eyes again, squeezed them really tight, it would all somehow be a dream?

“Alexandria…?” Her donor rose from the edge of the bed, rocking the mattress.

Nervously licking away the traces of his essence on her lips, she watched for his movements in her peripheral vision.
Damn.
Why did he have to taste like heaven iced in a coating of sweet sin?

A moment later, he came into view. He’d covered his broad torso with a solid black T-shirt that left his colorful tattooed arms bare. Unable to resist, she lifted her lashes to take in the rest of him, meeting his gaze. Lines she’d never noticed before fanned out from the corner of his gray eyes, and shadows formed dark circles beneath them. If she didn’t know better, Alex would have sworn he looked like a man who’d been up for hours worrying about his female. But the idea of Markus sitting vigil at her bedside was ridiculous enough to make her laugh. And if she weren’t so damn tired, she might have done so at the thought.

“Hey there, Vixen,” he said, his mouth twitching. “You with me?”

“I’m here, aren’t I?” she rasped and grabbed for more of the linen, tugging it up over her chest. Through the cotton, she detected her clothing was still in place. Yet the extra material between her and the overwhelming presence of the alpha male in the room somehow made her feel better. “Speaking of here,” she added, “where the hell am I?”

“You’re at my place,” he said as if it were perfectly normal that she was there and in his bed.

“Your place?” Alex flickered her gaze from one side of the drab room to the other. “Your ‘place’ is in the Enclave mansion, and this is not your room.” She reached down, pressed the heel of her hands into the firm mattress, and pushed herself up. This was craziness, and she was getting out of here. Sharp pain cut through her side and caught her by surprise, stealing her breath. “Shit!” She gasped, froze, and braced her palm over the ache.

“Take it easy,” Markus demanded. Before she could blink he had his arm around her. “You’re not completely healed yet. Lie back down.” He gently pressed against her shoulders, as if she’d readily submit to his orders. Nice try.

Alex shrugged, dislodging his hands.
Healed?
Anger sent her fangs punching from her gums. “What did you do to me?” she snarled.

Straightening, Markus peered down at her. “News flash, Vixen. I pulled your ass off the street after a DEAD tried to gut you.” He crossed his arms over his chest as if he were some kind of hero.

Yet a cold chill ran down her spine from his story. Twisting her fist inside her sheet, she mentally pounded at her brain for proof of what he was telling her.

Think, Alex!

Eve’s face flashed before her. She’d been with Eve. Yes. And Guerin. They were on patrol, and it had been her first time out. Suddenly, as if the tab holding back her memories had been pulled, images of that night spilled out like a raging flood. Everything made sense again right up until the point where she’d been stabbed. Markus hadn’t been out with them that night. So when, and why was she with him and not back at the Enclave? Did that mean…? Oh, God… A crawling, sickening dread swelled up from her stomach.

“Where are Eve and Guerin?” Alex threw back the sheet covering and despite the tearing pain in her side, swung her bare feet over the edge of the bed. “Are they…?” Grabbing hold of the headboard for support, she pushed up from the mattress.

“Hold up!” Markus grasped her upper arms, holding her in place. “Don’t push yourself.”

“Answer me!” she shouted, knocking his hands away. “Just answer me.” She lowered her voice, doing her best to stay sane and not take his head off before he gave her an answer. “Are Eve and Guerin still alive?” Alex swallowed hard, forcing the wave of nausea back down. They couldn’t be dead. Life just couldn’t be that cruel. The thought of never seeing her friend, hearing her laughter, watching the way her eyes lit up with love and mischief every time her and Guerin’s eyes locked…

“Last time I saw them, they were very much alive,” he said.

The lungful of air she had no idea she’d been holding rushed from her. “Oh, thank God,” she uttered. Before she could think twice, Alex reared back and slammed her fist into Markus’s shoulder. “Why didn’t you just say that?”

The impact sent a jarring pain arrowing through Alex’s joints, rocking her. Another twinge in her side had her grasping her abdomen. “Son of a…”

Plopping her rear back onto the mattress, she sucked in a stabilizing breath.

“I told you that you weren’t completely healed yet,” Markus grumbled, his tone scolding.

“Please spare me.” Alex rolled her eyes and scooted farther back onto the bed. Gritting her teeth against the strain on her wound, she began lifting her legs. But before she could get far, Markus’s wide palm circled her calves, taking their weight. Even though she still wore her leather pants, his touch sent an electric hum through her nervous system. “What are you doing?”

Too freaked out by her body’s reactions, self-preservation had her yanking free from his assistance. The additional effort tugged on her freshly healing abdomen muscles, but she’d rather take the pain. Pain was simple. Uncomplicated. One dealt with it until it was gone. And if you were lucky, the affliction left you unscarred.

Alex wasn’t sure she could say the same about prolonged contact with Markus. Would she escape unmarked?

Stepping back a couple of inches, Markus glared down at her, his gray eyes darkening into a brewing storm. God, she could almost picture the hairs on the back of his neck rising with his temper. “I was only trying to help you get back into bed,” he chewed out.

“I’ve been putting myself into bed for years.” She gritted her teeth, refusing to allow him the pleasure of hearing her grunt as she adjusted the pillow behind her back. “I don’t need your help.”

With a slow shake of his head, the thick fan of his dark lashes drawn to half mast, he said, “You are so damn stubborn.”

Alex blinked and lifted her chin. “Oh pleasssee,” she huffed. “You could teach a master’s class on the subject.”

His nostrils flared. “Just stay put,” he bit out, and strode toward the room’s door. His fingers flexed open and closed at his sides. He was leaving. The big-ass vampire was actually walking out on her.

“Oooh, no you don’t!” she called out. Her temples throbbed. The male was beyond infuriating. “We’re not done here. I don’t even know where the hell I am.”

“I told you.” Markus paused with his hand on the doorknob and glanced over his shoulder. “This is my home. You’re safe.”

“I’m safe.” She nodded and half laughed. “That’s supposed to make everything all hunky-dory? And you can stroll away without explaining anything to me?”

“We can talk when I get back,” he said as if she were the one aggravating him. Her own imaginary hackles rose.

“Where do you have to go that’s so damn important?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“I need to feed,” he said, his fangs glinting off the soft yellow glow of the room’s lamps. She’d been so flustered and angry, she hadn’t noticed them until now. “You’re going to need more blood if you’re going to heal properly. So until you can take care of it on your own…” He faced the door once more. “I need to hunt.”

The reality of what he was saying dawned on her. Once again, Markus was refilling her with his blood. Life had gone full circle. Yet this time, he’d saved her instead of having been the one to take her life. Emotions whirled inside her head and her heart, like a spinning kaleidoscope of rage, denial, gratefulness, and affection. And she had no idea which one to settle on or feel.

“Don’t try to leave,” he added, pulling her from her mental chaos. “You don’t know this area, and as a young vampire, you’re too far away to phase back to the Enclave.”

Too far away from the Enclave? The phrase looped inside her fuzzy head until she was sure she’d understood him correctly.
I will not freak out. I will not freak out.

“What have you done, Markus?” The words left her lips in breathless disbelief.

He didn’t turn around. Even though her voice had been soft, Alex knew he’d heard her. His auditory capabilities were not in question. The vampire had at least a century on her.

“Look at me!” she yelled.

But her demand had absolutely no effect. Instead, what she got in response from him was one simple statement. “What I had to do.”

Markus twisted the doorknob, opened the door, stepped through, and closed it behind him with a sharp
click
.

Anger steamed inside her like a teakettle left on an open fire for too long. And Alex was ready to blow her top. She would never be his prisoner again. It didn’t matter that, according to his story, he’d saved her from the DEAD attack. One act of heroism did not make her his property.

Gritting her teeth, Alex made her way back out of bed and onto her feet. Hell if she was following his stay-put orders. She was no one’s trained Labrador Retriever.

After a calmer scan of the small space, she noted the absence of any windows, plus another door off to her right she assumed led to a bathroom. Images of a similar windowless enclosure flickered inside her mind: the basement room where Markus and Marguerite had kept her captive. She closed her eyes and balled her fists. History would not repeat itself.

Holding a steadying palm to her abdomen, she padded around the bed in search of her boots. She spotted them by a chair shoved in the opposite corner of the room along with her leather jacket. Dried blood coated the front as well as a jagged tear near the bottom from where the blade must have entered her abdomen. The hairs on her arm stood on end at the gory sight. She’d witnessed the other warriors returning from their patrol with similar stains on their clothing. But somehow knowing her flesh had been the one torn by the blade that had done the damage to the leather chilled her bones.

Alex tugged the hem of her black cami up, exposing the puckered skin of her wound. Markus had been right about the status of her injury. The site was closed, and she was better, but anyone could tell it wouldn’t take much to reopen the wound. Plus, the gnawing pain in her gut wasn’t from the DEAD’s blade alone. She was hungry. Despite the fact that Markus had recently fed her. A telltale sign she wasn’t 100 percent.
Dammit!

After slipping on her boots, she made her way to the door. Time to see how much of a captive she actually was in this place. With a firm grip on the knob, Alex tested the lock.

Click.

Her breath hitched, and the door opened. On a long exhale, she pulled the door wider, revealing a staircase lit by a single bulb. He hadn’t locked the door. Still gripping the dull brass-colored knob, Alex stared up at her access to freedom. Her heart thumped like a wild horse trapped in his stall. So why wasn’t she bolting up the stairs?

Dammit.
She groaned and her head lolled on her shoulders.
It shouldn’t matter.

“You’re such an idiot, Alex,” she cried out into the empty stairwell. “Why do you keep looking for some small glimmer of evidence that the vampire still has a soul?”

Just because he hadn’t locked her inside didn’t make him a good man. He’d basically kidnapped her to “save” her. At least that was his story. How many sane men did that kind of thing?

None.

That was how many.