Forever Claimed

by Rachel Lee

  Five minutes later, he heard the sounds of Jude and Terri coming down the hall. From the speed of their arrival, he guessed Jude must have carried Terri on his back and traveled at top speed. Terri, clad in evening dress covered by a heavy parka, looked windblown.

  As they crossed the threshold, their gazes fixed on the woman on the couch. Terri’s bright blue eyes widened, and she sped across the room with a rustle of sapphire silk to kneel beside the victim. As a forensic pathologist, she was also a trained doctor.

  “My God,” she whispered. “She’s almost dead.”

  “She’s been almost dead since I found her.”

  Jude, dressed as always in elegantly tailored black beneath a long black leather coat, looked at Luc. “What happened?”

  “Vampires.” Luc shrugged. “I could smell them in the area. But the woman is just evidence, Jude. I came to warn you. There are those who don’t like the way you drove them out of this city, who don’t like your rules about not harming humans. They’re coming back to take vengeance, they’re bringing others who feel as they do. And from what was done to that—” he waved toward the woman on the couch “—I suspect they may already be here.”

  “That,” Chloe interjected sarcastically, “is a human being.”

  Luc shrugged. None of this was his problem, beyond delivering his warning so Jude could prepare. He had done what he set out to do, and could leave.

  Except for some reason he didn’t. He just kept sitting there, almost as if waiting for something.

  “I should get her to the hospital,” Terri said, her fingertips pressed to the woman’s throat. She hadn’t even yet removed her jacket. “I don’t know if there’s time, but she needs a transfusion, a lot of stitches, maybe even surgery, depending.”

  “There isn’t time,” Jude said with unusual gentleness. “Trust me. I sense it. She’ll be gone in a couple of minutes.”

  Terri swore softly and settled back on her heels. “Do you know how much it goes against my grain to sit by while someone dies?”

  “Do you want me to try to turn her?” Jude asked. “There might be just enough time.”

  Terri’s blue eyes fixed on him. “You’d turn a stranger, but not me?”

  “She’s a stranger. I love you. I don’t want to make you something you might regret for eternity.”

  Terri simply shook her head, apparently having no retort.

  Luc watched as Jude went to place a hand on his human mate’s shoulder. “Trust me, Terri, this woman is better off dying. I know what it’s like to be turned without a choice. Without knowing and understanding.”

  Luc was the last person to argue that being a vampire was good. He was suffering the torments of the damned because of a vampire trait he’d been unable to escape: claiming. The beauty of a claiming was undeniable. But so was the obsession, and the madness that followed if you lost what you had claimed. He wouldn’t wish that on anyone, not even his worst enemy.

  Jude turned to him, his golden eyes intent. “So they’re coming after me? And you think they’re already here?”

  “I think this woman—” he emphasized the word for Chloe’s benefit “—is the opening salvo, if you will.”

  “Do you know what their plan is?”

  “A reign of terror designed to draw you out in such a way that they can terminate you.”

  “They could just come knock on my door.”

  “But what fun would that be?”

  Chloe shuddered. “I knew there was a reason I don’t like most vampires.”

  Luc ignored her, knowing full well he was the reason she didn’t like other vampires. Her liking for Jude and for his friend Creed was obvious enough. He didn’t care. Chloe was just another human, low on his radar of importance.

  “They are going to take over the city,” he said. “They are either going to kill you or make it impossible for you to remain here. One way or another, they’ll sabotage the authority you’ve been exercising in this city. They’ll make sure another vampire never heeds your rules.”

  “I’m not the only one with those rules.”

  “True, mon ami, but this group is completely rogue and they’ve been whipped up by some of those you forced out of this city in the past. You’re just the first target among what I suspect will be many.”

  Jude leaned back against Chloe’s desk and folded his arms. “I don’t have to tell you, Luc. Most of us have always tried to avoid creating situations that draw attention to our existence.”

  Luc nodded. “I have helped remove rogues before. A certain amount of careful coexistence is necessary. All-out war between vampires and humans would benefit neither of our kinds. But that is what this group wishes.”

  Chloe spoke. “Why the hell should you care?”

  Jude spoke, silencing her. “Have you never thought, Chloe, what would happen to my kind if there were no food left?”

  Luc knew a moment of dark amusement as Chloe’s expression changed. Evidently she didn’t think of herself as a food group. But why would she when Jude restricted himself almost entirely to blood from blood banks? She probably hadn’t thought about where all that blood came from.

  Suddenly Terri gasped. Luc looked at her and saw her face filled with astonishment. “She’s healing,” she said. “My God, her wounds are closing.”

  Jude bent swiftly over the woman and looked. “You’re right. No ordinary human.” He straightened and looked at Luc. “What did you bring into my home?”

  Apprehension chilled Luc, the first he had felt in a long time. Rising, he moved swiftly to look at the woman. Her clothes were still blood soaked and ripped, but he could see that her wounds had closed just since he brought her here.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “Mon dieu, I don’t know.”

  “Hell,” said Chloe, who always had two cents to add. “If it’s not vampire and it’s not human, then what the devil is it?”

  Dani Makar woke suddenly, knowing she wasn’t alone. Worse, the first thing to assault her nose was the smell of vampires. She kept her eyes closed and tried to maintain a slow, steady rhythm in her heartbeat, even though she knew it was probably useless. Those bloodsuckers would have smelled it, heard it, the instant she awoke.

  But she tried to keep up the pretense anyway, hoping against hope. She knew what had attacked her. What she couldn’t figure out was why she was lying on something soft instead of the hard ground, and why she smelled humans, as well.

  She hurt from head to toe, but knew that would pass quickly. Despite all the things she had failed to inherit from her family, she had inherited two things: an acute sense of smell and quick healing from wounds.

  She’d also inherited a loathing for bloodsuckers, one which had been amply proved in the park. Now, as near as she could tell, they held her captive. She expected no mercy from their kind.

  Waiting for the instant she could no longer pretend to be unconscious, she tried to figure out how many were in the room. Listening, she was sure she heard two females and two males, though she couldn’t tell which of them were vampire and which were human. Her nose was clouded with their scents.

  The presence of humans and vampires together didn’t shock her. She had been taught about the hypnotic effect vampires had on humans. What she didn’t know was whether she was susceptible. She had, after all, been forced to resign herself to life as a normal without being fully normal.

  But after the attack that had nearly killed her, why would they want to keep her captive now? It didn’t make sense.

  “She’s awake,” said a deep voice.

  Then she heard a rustle and smelled the odor of human come closer.

  “Can you open your eyes?” a woman’s gentle voice asked.

  “Stand back,” said the same deep voice. “We don’t know what she is or how she’ll react.”

  That gave Dani her opening. If they were wary of her, she might be able to take advantage of it.

  Instantly she sprang up into a crouch and snarled, her gaze moving from one t
o the other. Even as she did it, she knew how pathetic she must look, like a puppy pretending to be a full-grown wolf. But maybe it would be enough.

  “It’s all right,” the familiar woman’s voice said.

  Dani glanced at her, taking in a tiny, dark-haired beauty wearing a sapphire cocktail dress. Her expression was kind. The other woman regarded her with consternation from eyes surrounded in entirely too much makeup.

  Then there were the men. In an instant she knew they were the vampires. One wore neatly tailored black and stood leaning against a desk. The other was seated and also wore black, though he looked a bit more disheveled. And like too many vampires, they were handsome, almost as if their change transformed them into objects of dark beauty.

  “We rescued you,” said the blond vampire, his voice slightly accented. “I found you in the park and brought you here.”

  Dani gave him another snarl. Like she was going to believe a bloodsucker?

  For long seconds, no one moved. Then the elegant man with the dark hair said, “You can leave if you’d like. I’ll show you the door.”

  She doubted that and didn’t move. Besides, she hurt all over and wasn’t yet sure how far she could walk. Her clothes were torn and covered in blood. She wouldn’t make it far before the police stopped her, and then she’d have to make up some lie about what had happened because normals absolutely didn’t believe in vampires, and she didn’t want to get committed.

  “It’s all right,” the woman in blue said again, her voice remaining gentle. She moved closer and Dani smelled vampire all over her, but also the scent of human. She might be in league with the bloodsuckers, but she was still a normal.

  The woman edged onto the couch beside her, moving slowly.

  “Terri,” said the dark vampire warningly.

  “It’s all right, Jude. She’s frightened. After the way she was attacked, how could she be anything else?”

  The woman called Terri smiled at her. “I’m Terri, and I’m a doctor. I’m both amazed and thankful at the way you healed. We thought we couldn’t save you.”

  Dani didn’t answer, choosing to reveal nothing.

  “I’ll give you something to wear so you can leave. I’m afraid my clothes might be a bit small on you, but at least they’ll cover you so you don’t have to answer questions.”

  Fear immediately spiked Dani. How could this woman know she didn’t want to answer questions? Then the answer came to her: she had healed too fast from nearly fatal injuries. Of course they knew she might have something to hide.

  Uneasier than ever, she edged away and adjusted her crouch, ready to spring if necessary. One hand felt for and found her necklace, the crystal wolf’s head that hung by a leather thong around her neck. It was all she had left of her old life, and her heart squeezed with relief when she realized she still had it. It had been her last gift from her mother, and she would probably never receive another. She drew a steadying breath and refocused on her enemies.

  Then the blond vampire with the faint accent spoke. “My advice would be to remain here until just before dawn. There are rogues on the streets, the ones who attacked you. You don’t want to encounter them again.”

  Dani finally spoke. “How do I know it wasn’t you, vampire? You and your friend?”

  Instantly she wished she could recall the words. She had just revealed too much, that she could tell they were bloodsuckers, and in so doing had made herself a threat to them.

  “Très intéressant,” said the blond one, revealing the source of his accent. “She knows what we are. So she must be able to smell us.”

  “I can smell you, all right,” Dani said forcefully, hoping to hold them at bay with a show of strength, however false. “Your stench fills the room.”

  “So you know what we are. Perhaps you can tell us what you are.”

  “I’m a human,” Dani said, catching herself just before she revealed more by saying she was a normal. “Can’t you smell it, bloodsucker?”

  He shrugged and turned his head away from her, as if losing interest. That offended her, that he considered her such a small threat he could ignore her. Even if it was true.

  The woman, Terri, reached out and touched her gently on the arm. Dani pulled back.

  “Let me explain some things,” Terri said. “That man over there? That’s Jude, and he’s my husband. Whatever you may think about vampires, he doesn’t condone what happened to you, and now I’ll have to endure the anxiety while he sets out to hunt those who hurt you.”

  Almost in spite of herself, Dani looked at her. “What are you talking about?”

  “Jude,” said the other woman, “is a bit of an avenger. He usually deals with demons, but now I’m quite sure he’s going to look for the rogues who attacked you.”

  “Chloe,” the dark one called Jude said in a warning tone.

  “Well, it’s true, boss. Besides, you’re not going to be able to avoid looking for them, not with the news that St. Just brought us.”

  Jude frowned at her, but said nothing.

  The blond one suddenly rose and in an instant was bent over, his face inches from hers. His black-as-ebony gaze was mesmerizing, and the only way she could fight it was to pull back as far as possible.

  “She’s human,” he said, “but not quite. I don’t care what you are, ma cocotte, but I know what you were used for. You were attacked on purpose. You are a declaration of war against Jude and any other vampire who forswears harm to humans. It was simply your misfortune to be there when they decided to make the declaration. But I will tell you this, they are still out there, still hunting to create more mayhem. Since you healed, you can now attract them once again. Especially since you reek of blood.”

  Her heart skittered, and she found herself wondering what to believe.

  “Stay here until dawn. Then go home and stay there, because the attack on you is a mere taste of what these rogues intend to inflict on this entire city.”

  “Why should I believe you?”

  He shrugged and drew away. “I don’t care what you believe. I don’t even care what you do. I did what I needed to, I brought you to Jude to prove these rogues have arrived. Beyond that…” He shrugged.

  He seemed about ready to walk out the door, then he settled in the chair once again, looking angry and despairing all at once.

  Dani had to drag her gaze away, appalled that she found him so magnetic. A bloodsucker magnetic? Every fiber of her being rebelled. It came as a relief when she looked at the one called Jude and realized she didn’t feel the same pull toward him. So she wasn’t utterly lost.

  “How about some introductions,” Jude said. “I’m Jude Messenger, and you’re in my office. Terri already told you she’s my wife. This other lady is Chloe, my assistant. And that’s Luc St. Just, the one who brought you here and came to tell me the rogues are on the march. And you are?”

  She hesitated, then decided to see where this led. They had already told her she could leave. Did they really mean it?

  “Dani Makar,” she said.

  “Nice to meet you, Dani Makar,” Jude said. The two women echoed him. Luc, on the other hand, seemed to have sunk into a dark mood. He made no acknowledgment at all.

  “Luc was right,” Chloe said. “Much as I hate to admit it.” She shot daggers his way, but Luc appeared oblivious. “You’re safer going home at dawn. If vampires are going to fight, mere mortals don’t want to be in the way.”

  “But why should they fight?” Dani asked. Something was askew here and she wanted to understand it. Having been attacked once, she needed to know enough to protect herself. “You’re all the same.”

  At that, Jude laughed. A genuine laugh. “That’s about as true of us as it is of mortals. Some of us don’t believe in harming humans. Others of us would rather not control our impulses.”

  Chloe spoke again. “About seven years ago, Jude drove a group of vampires out of town because they, um…” She hesitated.

  “Overindulged?” Jude suggested with heavy sarc
asm.

  “I guess you could call it that. And from what Luc tells us, they’ve come back for vengeance. They may even want to start a war between Jude’s kind of vampire and the ones who just take whatever they want.”

  “But why should you care what you do to humans?”

  At that moment Luc rejoined the conversation. “It’s simple. Life is ever so much easier for us if no one believes we exist. And the only way to ensure that is never to take what we want unless it is offered freely.”

  This was an entirely new view of vampires, and Dani was reluctant to swallow it whole. “So you wouldn’t have attacked me the way they did?”

  “Not I,” said Jude, firmly.

  “Nor I,” said Luc, his black eyes burning. “Not unless you wanted it.”

  “Why would anyone want that?”

  “You’d be surprised what some people want,” Luc said flatly. Then he stood so quickly Dani hardly saw him move.

  “Jude, I must dine.”

  At once Jude straightened and led him toward the door on the wall near the couch. He punched in a code quickly on a keypad, then swiped a card. Only then did he push the door open. The two vampires disappeared inside, leaving the three women alone.

  “Dine?” Dani repeated.

  No one answered her. Not a soul.

  Fear shuddered through her again. Her voice smaller than she would have liked, she finally said, “I’ll take those clothes.”

  She needed to get away. Now.

  Chapter 2

  Jude pulled a bag of blood out of the refrigerator in his office and passed it to Luc. He also put out a glass in case Luc didn’t want to drink from the bag.

  Luc looked at the glass, remembering the times he had drunk blood from fine crystal goblets. Times spent with Natasha.

  “What’s the story?” Jude asked.

  “I told you.”

  “No, I meant with you. Vengeance didn’t help you?”