by Beverly Rae
Tucker sat on the floor, holding the vampire’s restraints in his hands. “He tied her up.”
Daniel and the rest remained silent, knowing better than to answer. Instead, Daniel nodded, giving Tucker the time to digest the horror of what had happened in this room.
“I have to find her.” Tucker’s fangs sprang forth to replace teeth. He called on his wolf, giving him more control over the human side of him.
“You will,” Daniel vowed. “We will.”
Tucker surged to his feet, still holding the rope in both hands. “Everyone take a good whiff. Her scent is the sweet smell.”
The men crowded around him with Daniel waiting to take another turn. Once each shifter had committed Mari’s scent to memory, Tucker flung the rope aside. “Spread out. I want every inch of this hotel searched, including the employee’s offices. Check the garage, check the backrooms, check everywhere.”
The werewolves glanced at their alpha, needing Daniel to give his consent to the orders. Daniel nodded, and as a group they spun around and hurried from the room.
Tucker started to follow them but was stopped when Daniel thrust out his arm to block his way. Anger erupted in a snarl, but Daniel held his ground.
“You need to be prepared.”
Tucker met his leader’s gaze, then turned away, unwilling to see the message in his eyes. But he couldn’t escape Daniel’s warning.
“I’ve seen what happens to those who tangle with vampires. I’ve seen the damage they can do. What you find might not be pretty.”
Tucker couldn’t let himself think of the possibilities. Had the vampire erased her memories even before the tournament had begun? Would she remember him? Or would he be a stranger among all the other strangers?
“She’s all right.” A rush of fear shook him. He looked at Daniel, knowing the alpha would see the panic in his face. “She has to be.”
Daniel gripped his shoulder, giving him an encouraging squeeze. “Then think. Is there anywhere she might go? Someplace where she would feel safe? Someplace she might find comforting?”
Tucker could almost hear the words Mari had said when he’d surprised her with the romantic rose-filled night. “Have you seen the rose garden here? It’s like an oasis in the desert.” Her smile had said it all. If any place existed where she could feel safe, that would be it.
He dashed to the door, calling out behind him. “Follow me. I know where she is.”
Mari plucked a petal from the red rose. “He loves me.” Another petal fluttered its way to the garden floor to land on the pile forming at her feet. “He loves me not.”
A tear cascaded down her cheek and dropped on her arm. Does he love me? She frowned, the ache in her chest pinching her heart like a mean child poking her with a stick. Who loves me? Does anyone love me? She whimpered, her mind reaching out for a memory that wouldn’t hold still long enough to grasp it.
The gray haze swirled around her, revealing only the wrought-iron bench she sat on. In some places, the mist would grow thicker, in others it would thin out. Every once in a while, she thought she saw things beyond the mist. Then the mist would grow heavier and her peek into the other world would be lost. Air particles, pushed by the swirling fog, formed interesting patterns only to break apart and drift away. But it didn’t matter. More patterns would come.
She plucked another petal. “He loves me.”
A vision of a face flashed before her, and she reached out, certain that if only she could touch the face, she could stop the man from leaving. His white-blond hair fluttered in an unseen wind, and he looked at her, an incredible sadness etched in his expression and in the dullness of his amber-flecked blue eyes. She reached out, but it was too late.
Plucking again… “He loves me not.”
Another tear fell to join the first. Please, please make him love me.
But why? Why did she care so much that this stranger loved her? The pain inside her heart grew stronger.
Something deep inside her urged her to fight. To think. To remember. She closed her eyes, willing her brain to function. To demand answers. Sweat broke out along her brow, and she reached out with her mind, calling to the stranger, calling for someone, something to appear.
Cold black eyes drove at her, and she inhaled, terror gripping her heart. Fangs flashed white beneath the chilling glare. Then, as she watched and held her breath, a single drop of blood dripped from the tip of one fang. Laughter that held no warmth, no humor took away her hope. Only the promise of darkness remained.
“Noooo,” she moaned. She pushed out with one arm, the rose gripped in her fist, and struck the face with all her might. The evil face shattered into shards of black glass and she rejoiced.
But her joy was short-lived as a hand grasped her arm, then another took her other arm. She struggled, fighting to get away from the evil face, the monster in the mist. Fear clogged her throat, and a heavy weight crushed her chest.
Still, she kept fighting, desperate to get away from the terror gripping her. “No! Let me go!”
As though her words held power, the monster released her, and she jerked back, then hugged the rose to her chest. Trembling, she stared at the flower, took a deep breath and plucked another petal.
“He loves me.”
Tucker released Mari and stood back, horror tightening his chest. “What the hell’s wrong with her?”
The clothes she’d had on last night were dirty and disheveled. Her usually neat hair was mussed, and one cheek had turned blue-black from a large bruise. Thorns pricked her hands and fingers, trailing thin lines of blood over her palms. But it was the faraway gleam in her eye that frightened him the most.
“I’m sorry.” Daniel’s tone was filled with defeat. “Looks like Bascom did what he said he would if you didn’t throw the game.”
He couldn’t think straight and he hated the whine coming from him. “But why? I did what he wanted.” He reached out, wanting to comfort her, wanting to wipe away the two puncture wounds on her neck.
“You really didn’t think he’d keep his word, did you?”
How could he feel so much at one time? Fury ran side by side with shock while love pushed him to not give up. Mari rocked back and forth, continuing to pull petals from the rose. Once she’d taken all the petals from one bloom, she picked up another flower from the large pile lying next to her on the bench.
He’d kill Bascom for hurting her. For biting her.
“He loves me not.”
Please, make her stop. “Why does she keep doing that?” Anger bellowed within him, howling for him to set the beast inside him free. Free to find the bastard that had hurt his woman.
“She’s in a trance, Tucker. He’s put her under his control.” Daniel turned to him, and he saw the amber in his leader’s eyes. “You’ve got to take her back. You have to break the trance he’s put her in.”
Tucker could sense his eyes changing, turning amber. “But how?” Groaning, he squatted in front of her and tried to take her arms again. She screeched, jerked away, then resumed plucking the petals from another rose. “How do I fight this? I could break his neck with one swipe of my paw. I could dig my claws into him and shred his skin. But how do I fight this?”
“He loves me.”
Placing his hands next to her, one on top of the pile of roses, he leaned closer. He could smell the sweetness of her breath and sense the terror within her.
“I do love you, Mari. Do you hear me? I love you. Come back to me.” His voice broke with his final declaration, and he bowed his head. He closed his eyes, struggling to draw in one ragged breath after the other.
“What am I going to do?” Twisting around to look up at Daniel, he told him what he feared she would never hear. “I can’t live without her. I love her. Hell, I need her.”
Daniel’s face hardened, his jaw working. “I think I know a way.”
Tucker sprang to his feet and clutched Daniel’s shirt. “Why didn’t you say so? Tell me. Now, before she gets worse.” But could
she get worse than she was?
Daniel studied him as though trying to decide what to say. Drawing in a big breath, he let it out slowly. “Bite her.”
Chapter Nine
Fold ’Em and Run
Tucker released Daniel and stared at him. “What?”
“I said, bite her. Don’t you see? You love her, right?”
“I said as much, didn’t I?” He didn’t know why he couldn’t help but direct his anger at his leader.
“He loves me not,” Mari murmured.
“Then you were planning on making her your mate, right?” Daniel’s amber eyes shifted, bringing back more of his usual dark brown color.
“I don’t know. We hadn’t talked about it. Yet.” True enough, he’d wanted to discuss the possibility. But taking Bascom out of the game had come first. Then, after the tournament, he could have, would have, asked.
“You’ll have to make the choice, Tucker, but the only chance you have of bringing her back is to break the vampire’s hold over her. The only thing I can think of that might do the trick is for you to bite her. Shock her out of the trance. For her sake and for yours.”
Tucker knelt beside her again. What would Mari want? Was she in love with him? Even if she was, would she want to become a werewolf? Then a paralyzing thought struck him. “Can she become pack?”
“I assume she could. Why do you think she can’t?”
“He loves me.” Mari let the petal float to the floor.
He hadn’t told Daniel everything about her. Hadn’t thought it important. But now it was everything. “She’s a witch. Can a witch go through the Change?”
Daniel took a long time to answer. Or had time stood still? At last, however, Daniel cleared his throat and spoke. “I don’t know. I’ve never heard of a witch-werewolf hybrid. But again, what choice do you have?”
Daniel was right. He had no other option. He had to take the chance. Closing his eyes, he let the wolf go, giving him just enough freedom to bring out his fangs. He felt his face change slightly, taking on wolf-like characteristics with fur sprouting along his jaw line. The world around him warped, losing its color to adopt a yellow glow. He growled, softly, trying not to frighten Mari.
She picked another petal from the rose and let the wind take it. “He loves me not.”
Oh, but I do love you. Enough to do this.
Widening his mouth, Tucker lunged forward and grabbed her. Mari screamed and beat her fists against him. He held on, hating to take her by force, then sent her a silent plea for forgiveness as he sank his fangs into her neck.
Mari stiffened, her body going rigid. She gurgled, a terrible sound that usually meant death was near. He held on, driving the changing fluid into her body. Her body trembled, spasms shaking her, then she suddenly grew still. She relaxed, falling against him.
Tucker held her close, as tightly as he thought she could withstand. Drawing the wolf back inside, he shifted and closed his eyes. He stroked her hair, too afraid to say anything.
Several minutes passed until he felt her stir against him. She pushed away from him, a rose still clenched in her hand. Tears ran down her face as she took the last petal from the rose and let it fall.
“He loves me.”
Tucker gazed into her eyes, searching for any sign of the Mari he loved. “He does love you. I love you.”
Mari tilted her head, her eyes clearing, and studied him. “I love you, too, Tucker.”
A strangled cry broke free from her and Tucker pulled her to him again, pressing his lips to hers. They lingered over the kiss, savoring each other’s taste until he had to look at her. To make sure she was all right.
“You remember me.” The words rushed out on a breath of relief.
“Yes, I remember you.” Her smile wavered, then she touched his cheek. “I remember everything about you.”
“So when do you think it’ll happen?” Mari rushed through the front door of The Hole in the Wall Hotel and Casino two steps ahead of Tucker.
“What?”
She made a face at him. “The Change, of course. What else would I be asking about? When will pigs fly?”
He reached for her hands and ran his thumb over the smooth skin already healed by his bite, then pressed his lips to her palm.
“Tucker, you’ve looked at my hands several times today.” She placed the palm he’d kissed on his cheek. “I’m fine now.”
The pain he still felt for what Bascom had done to her shone in his eyes. “Just checking.”
She put her hand in his and together they strode through the lobby. “Why aren’t you answering my question?”
“You could’ve been asking when I thought we’d catch up with Bascom.”
“No. I can sense we’re close.” She glanced around the casino searching for the high stakes poker tables. “Plus, we got lucky that the waitress at the last place recalled seeing him here.”
Tucker scanned the other side of the large room. “The bastard may have slipped away from the Bellissimo Hotel before we could catch him, but he didn’t get far. I’d bet on it.”
He turned toward her, and she could see amber flecks in his eyes. “As for the Change, I can’t say. It’s different for everyone. But judging from how fast your hands healed, it should happen soon.” He narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure you want to do this? After what he did, no one would blame you for keeping your distance.”
Mari could almost feel Bascom’s fangs on her neck, and she rubbed her wrists. The bruises hadn’t disappeared yet, but each day they faded a little more with the help of Tucker’s bite. Too bad his bite couldn’t erase the memory of what had happened. “I have to do this. I have to take back what he took from me. Do you understand?”
“Yeah, I do. Still, if you change your mind, just let me know and we’re outta here. Doing what’s best for you is more important than nailing the bloody bastard in his coffin.” The mix of fury and guilt she’d seen so many times since the day he’d found her in the garden swept over his face. “Again, I’m sorry for what happened, for not finding you in time, for not being able to ask you if it was okay, if you wanted me to—”
She pressed two fingers to his mouth. “Tucker, I told you before. I understand. If the situation had been reversed, I would’ve used any spell to help you. Believe me when I say if I could’ve answered the question I would’ve told you to bite me.” She couldn’t keep the smile from her face. “To tell you the truth, the more I think about becoming—” she checked around her for anyone who might overhear, “—a you-know-what, the more excited I become.”
“I’m just glad it didn’t affect your powers.”
“Me, too.” Her gaze slid past him to a table almost hidden in the corner of the casino. Suddenly she found it hard to breathe. “There he is.”
Tucker whirled around, seconds before Mari managed to grab him and pull him behind a slot machine. “Hang on.”
Tucker’s eyes sparkled with amber. “Are you kidding me?”
“We have to keep our heads and think. What do you think you’re going to do, jump him in front of all these people?” The freezing grip Bascom had put on her blew through her again, making her teeth chatter. No. she wouldn’t let it take her over. She rubbed her arms and shook off the terrible sensation.
“I’d rather do that than let him get away.”
Keep it together. “He’s not going to get away. But we need to get him alone. Should we call Daniel and the pack?”
“No. They’re searching the outlying casinos on the other side of Vegas and wouldn’t get here in time. Besides, I want this creature all to myself.”
“And me.” She peeked around the edge of the machine and spied on the vampire. Bascom stood, then looped his arm around a beautiful young brunette woman dripping with diamond jewelry and wearing designer clothing. “Although getting him alone might be a problem.”
“What’s going on? What’s he doing?”
Tucker eased against her to see around the edge, but she held him back. “This is an
interesting development.”
“What is? Is he leaving?”
“I think our evil vampire has a crush.”
“A crush? No way. You have to have a beating heart to feel an emotion like love.”
She stifled a giggle. “Sorry, but I think you’re wrong. He’s practically drooling over her.”
“Maybe he’s just hungry.”
Eck. The thought of Bascom draining blood from the pretty woman made her sick. She cringed, her stomach flipping over as she remembered Bascom sliding his hands over her own breasts… No! Stop it! “I think it’s more than that. The way he’s lightly brushing her hair away from her eyes, the tender expression on his face… Nope. This is love.”
“I think my lunch just visited my throat.” Tucker shook himself. “What woman would want a vampire for a lover? Especially a vampire like him?”
“Beats me. Stay close. They’re leaving.” Mari hurried after Bascom and the woman with Tucker on her heels. Using the slot machines scattered around the room, she dodged from one to the other. Bascom and his woman stepped into an elevator and the doors slid closed.
“Crap. We’re going to lose them.” Tucker rushed to the elevators, then slammed his hand against the closed door.
“Not necessarily.” Mari pointed to the panel of numbers lighting up as the elevator ascended. “Let’s see which floor they end up on.”
“How much do you want to bet it’s the penthouse? Or whatever serves as a penthouse in this joint.”
Mari watched the numbers light up the panel one floor at a time until the top button finally lit up. She signaled for the next elevator. “When you’re right, you’re right.”
They hopped into the elevator and punched the button for the twelfth floor. The door whooshed open, and Tucker peeked his head around the corner. “Okay, the coast is clear.”
The marbled floor had seen better days, but the door to the penthouse was polished to a shine. Mari and Tucker stood before the door, studied it for a moment, then turned to each other.