Waning Moon (2 page)

“What have we here, Gabriel? A new toy I see. Can I join in on the fun?”

Gabriel scoffed while he swung his legs off the bed and stood. “He is
mine
.”

The blond, and Gabriel’s sire, who could control him with just one look, shrugged and gave a slight laugh. “We both know I don’t have to listen to you.”

Gabriel burst as the vampire twisted one of Tony’s nipples, evicting a tiny but high-pitched mewl from the other man. “Alexander DeRaise, don’t you dare touch
my
prey!”

Alexander withdrew his hand and a serious look crossed his angelic features. “Oh, so this man now belongs to you? I guess if he means that much to you I can back off, even though I’d love to continue. I actually came here to give you a job, if you wouldn’t mind.”

He traced his index fingers nimbly along Tony’s cheek and the were-panther shivered at the feathery touch. Gabriel murmured, “Fine. What do you want this time?”

Tony remained stiff and utterly still. This was Alexander DeRaise, the Master of New York City. He gulped down his fear and faced the vampire with all his courage, and well, he didn’t have a choice now, did he?

Alexander cleared his throat. “I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the serial killer who dismembers and eats his victims is back on a killing spree.”

Gabriel scoffed. “What do I care?”

“He has recently been targeting vampires. My vampires. The ones I’m sworn to protect. My reputation is at stake and I want you to find this nut and take necessary action, understood?”

The other vampire ground his teeth. “All right. I will comply with your wishes, Master.” Gabriel spoke so formally, and only formally, when his master was present, as he respected Alexander with all his heart and soul, and the same could be said for the latter.

Alexander sneered. “Good. Now, will you please introduce me to your pet? You know that were-panthers are extremely rare?”

“I know. That’s why I saved him from a rogue group of hyenas. They were going to kill and eat him.”

“So what do you plan to do with him now?”

Gabriel smirked wryly. “Whatever I want.”

Alexander nodded. “Well, then, I’ll leave you two alone. If you’ll at least tell me your name, panther, I’d be happy to leave with just that.”

Tony replied through gritted teeth, “Tony Silvers.”

Alexander waved a hand. “Ah, I have some paperwork to finish up and then a press conference to attend. I will be back soon, though.” He hopped to the door and, as he exited, he turned his head, blew a kiss, and said, “You will find this murderer and dispose of him, Gabriel. If you don’t, I can’t guarantee your safety anymore.”

Without a final word, he left.

Tony’s heart raced as Gabriel focused his attention on him, golden orbs shimmering like dancing flames. “It’s almost midnight,” he said. “Should I chain you up again?”

Tony shook his head. “I can control it. I swear. And the Master of New York City is your sire? That’s amazing. I just don’t understand why you…” He paused hesitantly, and even though deep within he knew the answer, he asked anyway, “Why do you keep touching me?”

Gabriel sat on the mattress and crawled over Tony, legs straddling the other man’s, hands linking with his by the sides. “You’re so damn enticing, Tony. I just can’t help myself. I won’t chain you up if you say you can control your beast, but I say that if you destroy any of my property you will be punished severely.”

Tony said shakily, “Y-yeah. I get it. Will you please get off me now?”

The vampire was eerily quiet and pressed his body against Tony, crushed his lips eagerly against his. The were-panther could only focus on how indescribably cold he was, how he smelled like a freshly turned grave, death and wet soil. He tried to break away but Gabriel shoved a hand onto the back of his head and leaned into him more. He deepened the kiss, and then when Tony thought he was going to suffocate, stopped kissing him, and drew back slightly.

Tony’s whole body felt as if he were aflame as Gabriel stared at him with such a burning intensity that he thought he was staring into an infinite well of desire.

“W-w-what was that for? I’m not your boyfriend! I’m not even gay! We just met! And you can stop whatever the hell you’ve been doing! It’s too fucking weird!” Tony exclaimed irritably.

“You don’t understand,” Gabriel began in a low voice. “I have marked you as mine. You belong to me now, Tony. Me and me alone.”

Tony asked in consternation, “Marked? What do you mean by marked?”

Gabriel sighed heavily. “I partook of your blood. While I was drinking, I also marked you as mine. The scars on your neck are proof of that. Although you are a were-panther and all your wounds can heal, this is one that cannot. It’s my claim on you.”

“So let me get this straight. I’m like, bound to you now or something?”

Gabriel’s spill of ebony hair surrounded Tony’s face like a waterfall. “Yes, you are my servant,” he paused and then uttered huskily, “and my pet, little panther.”

Tony was silent. Marked? His? What the hell! How did he get into such a complicated situation? A vampire’s pet? Him?

His seemingly horrible day just leapt to a whole new level of crazy.

Shit.

In one swift motion, Tony had gotten off the bed, sprang to his feet, and darted for the door. As he turned the knob and pushed it ajar, his face drained of color as Gabriel stood facing him.

“How did you…What the fuck? How did you get on the other side?” Tony asked.

Gabriel didn’t answer but instead took hold of Tony’s arms, twisted them behind his back, and breathed coolly into his ear. “Some vampires can walk through walls. I happen to be one of them.”

The were-panther swallowed hard and said, “I just…I can’t believe this! You saved me and now you’re saying I belong to you? What kind of logic is that? I’m a human…” His voice trailed off. “I’m a were-panther and I deserve respect!”

Gabriel shoved Tony roughly against the wall and leered. “Deny it all you want; it won’t do you any good. You’re my possession now and that’s that. You can’t escape. You can’t run. I will always know where you are. And do were-panthers really have this ‘respect’ you prattle on about so well in this day and age? Look at your wrist and your driver’s license. You have a difficult time finding a job that’ll keep you. And why? Because you’re a were-beast and risk the spread of the infection. People fear people like you and I. It’s the way this horrid and ark world works.”

Tony swallowed hard and bit his lower lip. “I know people see me as less than human…but that’s because I am. I’m a monster, a fucking freak, so it’s only natural that I get those wary glances and hated looks once in a while. After all, I’m not human, not anymore. I run the risk of infecting someone else with this goddamn virus, so it’s only natural that normal people would stay away from me.”

Gabriel snarled. “Is that the best explanation you can come up with? If so, that was poor, very poor, on your part. I don’t care if you run the potential risk of infecting someone else. You’re still the same person you were before you contracted the virus, and you’re still just as human. Look at me. I’m a vampire but I work at a Hospital as a doctor. Sure, I can only have night shifts, and sure, I can deal with the cruel stares I get from time to time, but I’m still the same person I was before I was a vampire, still the same Gabriel before I was undead and had to drink blood in order to live.”

Tony digested what the vampire had said and tried to break free, but he was sorely outmatched. How could this guy say that he was the same person from before he had gotten infected with lyrianthropy? He wasn’t and hadn’t been since that horrible day…he hadn’t and never would be the same. He just wouldn’t. He couldn’t. With a scoff he said, “Just forget about what I said and please let me go. I just wanna go home and get wasted. Leave all this shit behind.”

Gabriel frowned. “I’m sorry, but you’re going to do as I say and tonight you’re staying with me.”

“I don’t wanna—arg!”

*

Gabriel quickly let go as Tony crumpled in pain and cried out as the shift began to take effect. His bones began to slither beneath his skin like snakes, snapped and creaked as they repositioned themselves and morphed, shagging black fur sprouted from his skin, and his face elongated into that of a cat. A clear liquid burst from his body and in his place stood a pony-sized black panther with glistening golden eyes.

The panther growled deeply and prowled in a slow circle around the vampire, black lips curling inward to reveal sharpened ivory fangs. Gabriel’s thoughts were solely focused on how beautiful the creature before him was, so majestic, so regal. It walked with an air of refined dignity as if it owned everyone and everything, and set its gleaming eyes on Gabriel, never looking away as it stalked around him in a perfect circle.

Gabriel held his hands up in mock defeat. The panther growled again and then in a split second it lunged at Gabriel’s throat. The vampire blocked with his arms and the enormous claws raked along his pale skin and blood began to drip onto the wooden floor. The panther gnashed its jaws in Gabriel’s face, struck again and again, until the vampire swung his fist onto the bottom of its muzzle and it immediately collapsed in a furry pile.

Tony, now unconscious, shrank back to his human form and lay naked, curled in a wet, sticky ball. Gabriel combed a hand through his hair and sighed. The panther was much stronger than he’d anticipated, and the wounds on his arms weren’t even close to healing yet. Interesting, very interesting.

He was right to have saved this man.

He bent down, scooped up Tony’s limp body, and set him gingerly onto the bed. He took his
Purell
out of his pocket and smothered it in layers onto his hands and arms. Then he strode silently to the kitchen and grabbed a blood bag from the fridge. AB+. His favorite.

With a shuddering breath, Gabriel flopped onto the couch, flicked on the TV, and started sipping his drink casually. His thoughts wandered astray and he questioned himself on his recent actions. Why did he save Tony? What otherworldly force had compelled him to mark such a strange man? A man he knew nothing about, only that his mind was clouded with despair and poisoned with grief. If he hadn’t come Tony would’ve most likely died…but why did that concern him? What did it matter if another person died compared to the hundreds of lives he’d taken over the centuries?

He rested his head back on the couch and let his muscles relax and unwind. What would he do now? He had to catch this murderer for Alexander, for one. But what about Tony? He was bound to him now, responsible, like a parent. He’d have to take care and make sure Tony was happy and healthy. He, a monster. A murderer. A cold-hearted bastard.

One that had taken many countless lives without a second thought. He who had lived in solitude for decades. Just why did he decide now to have a companion? What difference did it make? Oh, well. He’d use Tony as best as he could. Maybe the were-panther would prove to be useful somehow.

Gabriel finished his drink, set the wrinkled bag onto the coffee table, and shifted his position so he was lying on the couch. He flipped through the channels, bored out of his mind, until he came upon the local news and saw it was about a recent murder.

“Authorities are doing their best to determine the cause of death but all other details remain unknown at this time…” the newscaster droned.

So he’d killed again, huh?
Well, all the better to find and take care of him. Gabriel loved the hunt. He loved it almost as much as he loved watching the life slip away from a person’s face as they died quickly in his arms. He licked his lips, turned the channel to classical music, and listen to Chopin as he crossed his arms over his chest and nestled comfortably into the cool leather.

He had to find this killer and fast, otherwise there was no telling what kind of punishment Alexander might have for him. He hated the man with all his soul, all his being. He hadn’t wanted to be a vampire, but the man found it fun to turn and torture him for eternity, cursing him with an undying existence and a promise that could never be fulfilled.

An image of Tony naked on his bed, peering at him with pleading eyes, flossed across his thoughts as dawn approached over the horizon and he too fell into the murky depths of sleep.

*

A deafening scream jolted Tony from his peaceful slumber and he jerked awake, threw the covers off the bed, and hurriedly ran out of his room and into the kitchen. Pure terror clawed at his insides as he watched the strange man rip his arm from his mother’s chest and lick at the pouring blood. He gave a horrified shriek as he noticed his father lying on the floor next to his mother, his insides spilling out in a gory mess. The intruder’s glowing amber eyes met with his and he screamed until his throat was raw. He ran out of the house as fast as he could, but the man was far faster than him and before he knew it, he was being bitten savagely on the arm by the murderer of his parents…

Tony awoke with a sudden sharp breath of air as if he had just been resurrected from drowning. He reached for the lamp beside his bed and grasped at nothing. Then he remembered that he wasn’t in his apartment, but in some stranger’s home, a vampire’s home, and he had been mercilessly teased and prodded by the vampire and his sire before everything else went entirely blank.

He groaned and shifted beneath the covers and then stood on his feet as his head throbbed like a bitch. A sudden pain shot through his legs and his backside and he unwillingly remembered some of the events that had transpired last night.

He had sex. With a vampire.

A stranger.

A man!

With a long exhale, he made himself brush it off and padded into the living room. He then saw that he was stark naked and raced back into the bedroom and wrapped the bedsheet around him like a cloak.

The first thing he saw in the living room was Gabriel sleeping on the couch. All the windows were boarded up as if it were the zombie-apocalypse and there was no light whatsoever. Tony could see just fine, though, since he had enhanced sight from being a were-panther.