"Guess vampires can feel more than hate for the wolves."
Hailey took a long breath in. "I suppose wolves can desire after the bloodsuckers they purport to hate."
She realized she couldn't hear any muted sounds from the bar anymore as he peered down at her. There will be no more thuds. There were no screaming.
His palm was red-hot against the mark on her skin as he clasped her hand in his. When she'd only experienced the cold for so long, wolves were scorching.
"Come."
Make it happen. Go. Now is not the time to back down. She couldn't run away just because she'd tasted the wolf and knew that controlling him might not be as simple as she'd hoped.
He pushed open the door. She was overcome by the stench of blood. But it wasn't the usual sweet, enticing aroma that called to her kind.
Rancid. Brimstone. Hell.
Demons.
Their remains were strewn throughout the floor. Their heads had been severed, and their eyes glared straight up at her, as crimson as the hell they'd escaped. Two demons have been exorcised...
"How?" She exhaled the word with a sigh of amazement. The vamps took hours to kill demons, but the wolves only took minutes to decapitate these two.
Mike, the wolf shifter Jace had named, raised his hand. His claws glinted in the light. "We have the ability to cut through anything." His eyes seemed to pierce hers. "Anything," she says. In his gaze, there was an unmistakable threat.
That wolf would be a nightmare to deal with. She may have no choice except to kill him shortly.
Jace took her hand in his and ran his fingers in it.
The killing, on the other hand, would have to wait. Because she'd have to marry her alpha wolf first.
Hailey enjoyed biting. In fact, she was a natural at brushing her teeth. She, on the other hand, was not fond of being bitten.
She knew she'd have to sacrifice her neck as she stood in the midst of Howling Moon, congealing demon blood growing dangerously close to her boots.
She was encircled by wolves. Jace had a deceptively soft grasp on her hand.
"This is Hailey Rambeaux." Every wolf in the area became silent as Jace's voice rang out. When an alpha spoke, you paid attention.
Morgan's ears were filled with the pounding of her heart. "She's my mate," he whispered, keeping his gaze fixed on her.
"Oh, the fuck no!" The instant denial came from Mike. She'd expected that outburst. What she hadn't expected—
Jace tore away from her and buried his claws into the wolf's shoulder in an instant. "Oh, the fuck, yes," he snarled right back. "And if you can't accept her…" He yanked out his claws as Mike stumbled back.
Wolves are vicious creatures. Another warning from the Council.
"Get out of my pack if you can't accept her," Jace continued.
Mike's face was etched with deep lines that were broken by pain. "A vampire? You've tied yourself to a bloodsucker—"
She was itching to claw him now. The wolves continued to act as though Jace was the one who was selling down. Dude. Princess of the vampires.
She walked over to the body of the demon who had died. The blood had made its way into her boots, and there was no way to get it out. "They'll annihilate you."
Everyone's attention was drawn to her now because of her voice.
Mike puffed his bloodied chest out. "We did a great job of annihilating them."
They had, in fact. And she was impressed, but she had no intention of expressing it. "You took two..." Her eyes darted across the room.
"With twenty to two odds, I should hope you'd win the match."
Jace cocked his head to look at her.
She braced her legs and pretended to be a badass. "What are your plans when there are 2,000 of them...and there are only twenty of you?"
"Didn't she just say two thousand dollars?"
"Two thousand?" says the narrator.
The shifters' faces were covered in shock. Mike, too, appeared jittery. Jace, on the other hand, did not. He just kept his claws out and kept observing her.
"You're being pursued," she said. "In the previous few weeks, how many wolves have the demons killed?"
They didn't respond, but she noticed the exchange of quick glances between the pack members.
"They're attacking us as well," she added. "For the first time, the vampires and werewolves have a common foe."
They were all looking at her now, their eyes focused and their features taut. "Believe me, if we don't get rid of these scumbags, they'll ruin us. They've got the odds in their favor. They have the ability..."
"So what you might ask." Mike was adamant. "An alliance?" you might wonder. He gave Jace a furious gaze. "Is this just a cease-fire till we kick everyone's ass—"
"It's a mating," Jace explained flatly. "It'll go on forever."
Until death do us part. "A portal between hell and earth has opened, and the demons are slipping straight through," Hailey explained. Each day, more hell spawn entered the scene.
"Close the darn door!" exclaims the narrator. Mike became enraged.
Jace's fingers spread out, as if he wanted to reclaim the wolf with his claws.
Maybe he was.
"We will," Jace said simply. "The wolves and the vampires will send them back and close the door."
They had to collaborate. They'd both have to bleed in order for the portal to close. She'd be the one who'd have to give up the most blood.
And it would be Jace who would have to face hell.
The bar was filled with murmurs. The wolves finally seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation. Their target wasn't a vampire. Instead, their alpha's mate was turning a vampire.
Jace returned to her side. Morgan didn't flinch when his hands rose to her throat, still pointed with those lethal claws. His knuckles skimmed over her skin as he swept her hair back.
The wolves were closing in on us now, keeping an eye on us, and some of them were already transforming. Mike muttered something and walked away. He stomped his way to the front door.
"Don't be afraid," Jace's voice was directly in front of her. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her skin.
"I'm not," she said, her own voice was hushed, similar to his.
His claws slid down the back of her neck. "Liar."
Wolf has a keen sense of smell. Was he able to detect her terror?
He inquired, "Have you ever been bitten?"
There were so many people looking at her. She'd anticipated that the biting would have to take place in public. One of the pack's rules was that. Claims had to be made in front of the public. The biting had to be seen by witnesses. Witnesses are present, exactly as they are in human marriage ceremonies.
Because that's what a marking was in the first place...marriage. He claimed her after a male wolf bit his female in front of the pack.
"This is something I'm capable of." He told her.
It would be nice if her knees weren't trembling.
She gave him the truth, "No." No one had ever bitten her.
"Good." Too much satisfaction purred in the one word.
"Don't forget," her voice was way too breathless. She wasn't actually looking forward to this, was she? "I get my turn later."
"I'm counting on it."
Oh, for God's sake. She closed her eyes and titled her head, arching her neck. She wouldn't look at the other people while he was doing this. She'd just close her eyes and act as if I wasn't sacrificing my life to a werewolf.
His lips were the first to make contact with her skin. She had anticipated the bite. Teeth have a stinging sting to them. Werewolves were believed to be untamed creatures.
Animals are no better. That's what the Council said, and that's exactly what happened—
Hailey gasped for air as his tongue licked her flesh. Even as her body clenched, her breasts tightened.
She didn't even blink. I'm not interested in seeing them.
He licked her flesh and sucked it, but he didn't bite her just yet. His arms encircled her, his body shielded her, and he established eye contact with her. Worse, the jerk made her desirous.
Because her skin was too delicate, his lips were too devilishly adept, and if a vampire had a sweet spot, it was the neck. She was holding back a moan after only a few licks.
The edge of his fangs then brushed across her skin.
"Do it," she pleaded with him.
"Are you willing to accept me?"
Hailey smiled and nodded.
"Say it, Hails; I'm in desperate need of words." You've got to say—"
"You have my acceptance!"
His teeth dug into her flesh. The curve of her shoulder, not her neck. The pain was pulsating and blinding hot. Then she felt a rush of pleasure. She yelled out and opened her eyes as a flood of ecstasy washed over her.
And she saw a huge white wolf charging at her.
The groom's family was already after her before she was even a bride.
When Jace heard her scream, he raised his head and said, "Mike!" as he shoved her back. Her spouse then leapt into the air. His bones cracked and popped, and his fur shattered against his flesh. An enormous black wolf attacked in mid-air after the man vanished. Morgan felt the slick feel of her blood on her shoulder. Although her skin hurt, she knew it was already healing.
Healing abilities of vampires.
The two wolves twisted and snarled together. Claws slashed the air, and razor-sharp teeth snarled. Their fur was matted with blood, and their growls filled the room.
She lunged forward, but she was stopped by a firm hand around her arm.
"Easy, there, cher. " The man's voice had a Cajun accent, which she remembered from Mardi Gras in New Orleans. "Don't get caught between the wolves." If Mike wants a challenge, Jace will provide it.
The other wolves circled and howled as she stood there watching. The white wolf was ripped apart by Jace. There's more blood. The smell made her nose twitch.
Didn't they realize it was a bad idea to saturate a room with blood when a vampire was present?
As her teeth extended in her mouth, they began to burn. What would it be like if you could? To be able to drink wolf blood? Would it be as effective as the Council claimed?
Jace rushed for the throat of the white wolf. His muscular jaws snatched.
Mike sagged beneath him as the struggle drew to a close. Surrender.
Submission.
Jace cocked his head to the side. His wail echoed throughout the establishment.
The black wolf then turned around and glanced at her. His teeth were stained with blood. His pupils were dilated. What exactly have I done?
The Council was incorrect. She'd never be able to keep him under control. There were wolves everywhere now, some human and some animal, and it was chaos. As he got closer, Jace changed. The fur had evaporated. Bones began to shift. He was a man by the time he reached for her.
Even if his stare was still the wolf's fierce stare. He approached her, took her hand in his, and said, "Mine."
She realized it was too late to flee.
Mike dashed away from the bar, his ears ringing with Jace's howl. Bastard.
He'd hated that asshole for years and now Jace was pairing up with a vampire?
Another reason to hate the SOB.
Mike had shifted, transforming in order to heal. Jace had sliced him too deep. Even now, the blood spilled down his neck.
"So sweet…"
Mike slowed down as he heard the whisper. He cast his sight across the black shadows. On the left, a row of crumbling structures awaited. Empty. Faded.
His nose flared and he detected the aroma of... bloodsucker.