Undying Hunger

by Jessica Lee

  “Markus!” Kenric called out. “Where are you going?”

  “To find my female,” he said, not giving a fuck what anyone thought about his claim to Alexandria. Following the ache in his soul and body, Markus phased from the mansion into the night.

  Moments later, he coalesced onto a shadowy back street, and the grunting sounds of a battle filled his ears. Automatically, Markus dived for his back pocket and the blade he was sure to find tucked inside. Instead, his palm discovered nothing but his sweats. “Idiot,” he grunted under his breath.

  He’d been so out of his mind, he’d left without changing or grabbing a weapon.

  Scanning the immediate area, he counted about a half dozen DEADs a few feet ahead of him along with Eve and Guerin in the center of the bastards. The addicts had them walled in, their daggers flashing in a constant merry-go-round of a fight. But the duo were holding their own. Good thing, because at the moment, they weren’t his primary concern. Besides, Kenric and Arran would arrive soon and save their asses.

  Markus edged closer, his heart pounding, searching for the only person on the planet who gave him a reason to rise each night. Alexandria had to be alive. His brain couldn’t comprehend any other alternative.

  A pair of mangled human remains lay in a twisted lump near a garbage bin, but their scent along with the vibrating hum in his blood stream told him neither was Alexandria. A wave of relief swamped him as Markus swept the shadows. Where the hell was she?

  “Markus!” Guerin called out a split second before something solid came down hard across the back of Markus’s head.

  Fuck!

  He didn’t have time for this. Jarred, but not stunned, Markus spun, bringing one booted leg up in a sweeping move. His heel slammed into the DEAD’s flank with kidney-crushing accuracy. A grunt burst from the vampire as the male careened into the nearby wall. His head bounced off the brick, releasing a loud crack as the two-by-four he’d used as a bat toppled from his hand onto the street.

  Prepared for the next attack, Markus whipped back around, his fists in front of his face. That’s when he noticed the other crumpled body lying in the shadows. The lump of muscle he called a heart stuttered at the sight.

  His knees struck the pavement at her side, rattling his jaw. Yet he had no recollection of when he’d moved. A ring of crimson pooled beneath Alexandria’s back. A groan, born from the tormented depths of hell, rolled from his throat and filled his ears.

  With hesitant fingers, he reached out, aching to touch her again. He cupped her cheek with trembling fingers. Shallow, warm puffs of air left her parted lips and teased his palm.

  Enrique is responsible for this. Harsh breaths exited his nostrils, and his fingers curled.

  “I swear to you,” he rumbled to her still form. “I will make him pay. Before this is over, Enrique will experience pain he never knew possible.”

  He had to get her out of there. Markus swallowed hard against the restriction in his throat. Fuck it all. He had to take her somewhere Enrique would never look. A place not even the Enclave knew about.

  A growl reached his ears at the same moment another hard blow rammed into his back. Claws dug into his shoulders as fangs, sharp and tearing, sank into his throat.

  “Son of a bitch!” Markus roared, and surged to his feet. Swinging his arms out to his sides, he flung the bastard off him and turned on his heels. “You want a piece of me?” he shouted, his voice devolving into that of a savage primitive beast. His fangs jabbed his lower lip, aching for retaliation. “Come and take it.”

  Two of the motherfuckers stood facing him, their clothes torn and filthy. Saliva and blood dripped from their chins. Nothing mattered except their next kill, another dose of Death Euphoria screaming into their bloodstream and straight to their brain cells.

  The one to his left lunged first. More than likely, the bastard who’d jumped him—back for more. And Markus was more than happy to give it to him.

  Markus leaped, and the two collided in midair. Claws and fangs clashed, blood spraying as if two hundred–plus pounds of wingless raptors fought for dominance. Only one would come out on top, and it wasn’t going to be the hissing cocksucker with a nasty-ass drool problem.

  The ground rose up to meet them with bone-jarring intensity. Air punched from both their lungs on a hoarse grunt. Markus rolled away and onto his feet as the other vamp flipped into a crouch, his knuckles resting on the pavement. His partner in crime joined him at his side. Their features morphed, becoming half man, half wolf. Both males were too young to fully shift into an alternate form. Yet both were ready to pounce.

  Time to put an end to this grisly circus.

  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 Al
exandria 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.”