“We’re not animals, Hudson,” Marcus said. “Maybe it is what drew us to her, yes. But it’s not the only thing.”
Some of Hudson’s worry drained away. His beast was a creature of instinct, one he was constantly fighting. He didn’t want it to decide on Briar because she was genetically compatible with him.
Hudson wanted a choice, and he chose Briar. Not the vampire.
“Somewhere out there, Hud, or somewhere in time, the first vampires were born. And they had children and those children had children, all down through the ages.” Marcus spoke quickly, excited. “It’s incredible. Think about it; think about the evolution of our species. There’s nothing else like it!”
“That we know of,” Hudson answered. “I haven’t even heard a whisper of vampire children born. Not for all of my existence. Have you?”
“No. Do you think it’s possible for us to have children?” Rolling back in the chair, Marcus widened his eyes. “Jesus, Hudson, what if Briar—?”
“That’s getting ahead of ourselves, don’t you think?” Hudson stared down his nose at Marcus. “She has no idea we feel anything for her.”
“She knows,” Marcus said. “You’ve always been oblivious to things like this. But we didn’t move her into our house and walk with her to class, and analyze her DNA, because we want to be her buddies.”
“Do we tell her?” Hudson asked, glancing at the clock on the computer screen. “She’ll be back soon.”
“Yes.” There was no delay in his response. “Absolutely. She knows about us.” Marcus rubbed the muscle along the side of his neck.
Something about the movement jarred Hudson, and he stared at Marcus, trying to figure out what it was that hovered at the edge of his mind. “The medicine.”
“What?” Marcus stared at him in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“Marcus. If she doesn’t have EPP, but what she has is a genetic marker for vampirism, the medicine that works on us might work on her.”
A slow smile spread from one side of Marcus’s face to the other, reminding Hudson of the Cheshire cat. “By God, old man, I think you may be right.”
The door to the lab opened, and Sylvain held it, gesturing for Briar to pass through. She smiled when she saw them, but her eyes focused over Hudson’s shoulder. “Is that me?” she asked and hurried to the computer. “That’s me, isn’t it?” she repeated but then paused. Moving closer, she leaned over and squinted at the image. “No. That can’t be. That’s the mutation, but not—” She straightened. “What’s going on?”
Chapter 24
Marcus
“It’s complicated,” Marcus answered and earned a glare from Briar. “But it is you. It’s the reason you react to ultraviolet light, and—” He stopped himself before he could say and the reason why we’re drawn to you. Because that wasn’t true. They may have initially been drawn to her because of how this ephemeral vampire element appealed to them, but it was her who made them want to stay.
Look at them. Sylvain and Valen were poised on a knife’s edge, ready to fight if it would take the worry out of Briar’s voice. It wasn’t the scent of wildflowers that made them act like that. For goodness sake, if it did, they’d be hovering around the outside of a soap shop in a mall.
“It’s not EPP,” Briar said, distracting him. “I’ve never seen the mutation that close before. I never would have noticed it otherwise.” Along her cheekbones, her skin flushed, and she stared at the ground, as if embarrassed. Marcus reached for her hand and removed her glove. When she glanced at him, he winked and shoved it into his pocket. “Don’t be embarrassed. You didn’t have the equipment to do this sort of investigation.”
“I want to show you something,” Hudson said, interrupting. Similar to his lectures, he barreled over everything and anyone to make his point.
They crowded around the computer, even Sylvain and Valen, who wouldn’t necessarily understand what they were looking at, but who were definitely picking up Hudson’s unease.
He switched between images, showing her each of his brother’s chromosomes, and the exact spot that mirrored the mutation in her own chromosome.
“This is Sylvain.” Hudson pointed to each image. “Marcus. Valen. And me.”
“It’s similar,” Briar said, eyes wide.
“I took Briar out to breakfast, and she ate yogurt. This morning, I got her a muffin. She ate it. She’s not a vampire if that’s what you’re suggesting,” Valen interjected. He crossed his arms, a mountain of a man ready for battle.
But what was he supposed to fight? Biology?
With a flash of insight, Marcus realized that Valen had made a study of Briar. If she was upset, or somehow disgusted with what Hudson and he were explaining, Valen was ready to step in.
“If we have a similar genetic mutation, does that mean I’m part vampire?” Briar laughed then shook her head. “No. I’m kidding. What is this?” She’d hit the nail on the head, and when no one said a word in disagreement, she choked. “What? I’m right? Is this true for everyone with EPP?”
“Not everyone with EPP has this mutation, Briar. We’re the only ones with something similar.” Hudson smiled at her, and Marcus grinned in response. It was good to see his brother smiling again.
“But you don’t burn,” Briar argued. “I’ve seen you in the sun, and you don’t burn.”
“We would,” Sylvain said and knelt next to Briar when she sat back in the chair Marcus had vacated earlier. He spun her toward him and then dragged the rolling chair forward. “Hudson has made something, a medicine, and it keeps us from turning to ash in the sun.”
Eyes wide, she reached for Hudson’s arm and shook it. “Afamelanotide?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No.” Then he began to describe a series of amino acids and chemicals that had Briar nodding her head in excitement.
Even Marcus, with his Ph.D., didn’t feel the level of fascination with Hudson’s study.
“I always thought it was magic,” Valen said quietly, and Briar turned her attention to him. “I thought it was a combination of curses from my gods and magic. I’ve lived a thousand years. I’m not convinced it isn’t.”
“If turtles can live four hundred years,” Briar said. “Why not a man? Or species? Just because we don’t understand why a thing is the way it is, doesn’t mean it isn’t supposed to be that way. I think it’s a little magic.” She reached past Sylvain for Valen and squeezed his hand.
Again, Marcus’s humor failed him. He could only watch in awe as Briar found a way to astonish, and ease, all of them. Even Sylvain, in the past week, had gentled. Marcus no longer feared his brother running away should any of them make a misstep.
Her draw bewildered him. How was it possible after all this time they would all find a person to appeal to them so completely?
Unable to stop himself, he edged past Sylvain and Valen, and kneeling, pressed his lips lightly to Briar’s.
Shock reverberated through her body, but she touched him gently on the back of the neck and returned his kiss. Marcus had a second to fear her scent would overwhelm him, but she made a small sound of pleasure. Her tongue shyly touched his, and all worry left him.
His vampire was as enamored of her as he was. In fact, the vampire inside him purred in satisfaction. Marcus touched her arms, curling his fingers around her slight-boned body, and it warned him, careful.
Reluctantly, he drew away and opened his eyes. Briar stared up at him, her blue eyes glazed. Her rosy lips were swollen, and he didn’t even try to stop himself from tasting them again.
“Your scent is just the hook. It’s getting to know you that really makes you dangerous,” he whispered. “You’re the ultimate predator.”
“Marcus,” she whispered, and then her face flamed. As a human, she couldn’t sense his brothers had moved away to give them the facade of privacy. Darting a glance at them, she met Marcus’s eyes, confused. “I—”
“It’s okay,” he reassured her and peered over at his brothers. Va
len met him with a rueful grin, one that said he wished he’d been quick enough to kiss her, while Hudson narrowed his eyes at him.
But Hudson wasn’t angry. Marcus knew him well enough to know he was upset with his timing. He probably wanted to talk science with Briar for another inordinate amount of time.
Time that was much better spent kissing.
Sylvain on the other hand. Sylvain stared at them, but it was like he wasn’t seeing them. Suddenly, his face cleared, and he growled, low and long. The sound filled the lab, bouncing off the concrete walls.
Near him, Briar’s heart pounded. Marcus could feel the heat coming off her body from the blood pumping fast through her veins.
Now the scent of wildflowers and fear, a mouth-watering mix filled the air. His fangs descended, lengthening, and his mouth filled with saliva, but he fought down the vampire.
And the vampire let him. He didn’t want to frighten Briar.
“Sylvain.” Marcus stood, and his vampire flashed his fangs at his brother in warning. “You’re scaring her.”
Sylvain shook his head. “That’s why Asher’s reappeared, Marcus. She draws us to her. Like you said, the scent is her hook. It draws him to her as well.”
His vampire hissed and snarled at the threat. He’d tear Asher from limb to limb before he came close to Briar.
“He’s our maker,” Hudson said, voice tight. “Of course she’d appeal to him.”
“It’s basic biology,” Briar said quietly. “The female of one species is designed to appeal to the male. And vice versa.” Her eyes widened, and then she wrinkled her nose. “Pheromones.”
Marcus chuckled, and even Hudson smiled. Valen took a step back to her, and dipped his head into the curve of her neck, breathing in. “What are pheromones? You smell like winter.”
“That’s good, right?” Briar asked squeaky-voiced and flushed.
“Very,” Valen answered, and kissed her skin, lingering against her before he drew back. “Very good.”
“So maybe if I mask my smell, I won’t be interesting to him,” Briar said after a second. Along her forehead, Marcus could make out a sheen of sweat. All of their attention was overwhelming her.
Until now, she’d been sheltered and protected. Marcus suspected she had no experience with men, and certainly not with men—vampires—like them.
“I don’t think that will work,” Sylvain replied. “You drew him in, and before that, we were drawn to you. The combination will be too much for him to resist. The only way he’ll leave us alone is for us to kill him.” The words were matter-of-fact, but the situation wasn’t clear cut.
Asher was the most powerful vampire in existence, and even with all their knowledge and experience, he could easily destroy them all.
But they had Briar now, and if Marcus was a betting man, he’d bet on them.
Chapter 25
Briar
Briar couldn’t think of anything except having her first kiss.
Her first kisses.
Marcus, and then Valen. She’d kissed one man, vampire, and then seconds later, Valen had leaned into her, and his cool lips had pressed against her skin.
Briar touched her lips and then her neck. The ghost of sensation remained, and she shivered. Glancing up, she caught Marcus watching her with a knowing smile, and she slapped her hands to her cheeks to hide her flush. The temperature seemed to rise, and her clothes stuck to her back. She pulled her sleeve over her hand and touched her forehead to catch the perspiration beading there.
Hopefully, they wouldn’t notice.
What was she thinking? They smelled everything. Smell like winter? She hoped so, because she really didn’t want them smelling her sweat.
“—kill him.”
The words cut through her haze. Sylvain narrowed his eyes at Marcus, and one-by-one focused on each of his brothers. Nausea threatened, and Briar swallowed hard. “I thought you said the older the vampire, the more powerful they were,” she said.
Sylvain paused and frowned, but Valen interrupted anything he would have said. “Asher has a plan, and we need to know what it is. I suspect he is more interested in us than you. He thinks of us as his sons, and he wants us back.”
“You think I distracted him for a moment,” Briar said. It made sense. From what they’d told her, Asher had spent millennia creating the perfect family, only to have it splinter. It had finally re-formed, but without him. “He’s jealous. You came together again, and he wants in.”
“Jealousy will make him act without a plan,” Valen said. “He relied on Hudson for strategy. We all tempered his responses.”
“He was stronger with you,” Briar said, understanding from the little they’d told her about their maker that he’d truly recognized the brothers’ strength. And used them. “If it wasn’t for you, he probably wouldn’t have lived as long. What did you do for him? Protection? What was his purpose?”
Sylvain looked taken aback. “His purpose?”
“Yes,” Briar said. “What does he want?”
“Power,” Sylvain answered.
“I thought he had power? Age makes him powerful. So if he’s old, it stands to reason he’s powerful. Why want you so badly? I’m not trying to be difficult,” she said. “I’m trying to understand. This is a modern world. What does he want that he can’t get?”
Hudson smiled at her, and she blushed. He stared at her like she was something special. “You hit the nail on the head, didn’t you? What can we give him that he doesn’t already have?”
“His pride,” Sylvain answered. He shook his head from side to side, realization dawning on his features. “It’s always been about pride for him. He had no reason to create me, except I didn’t want to be a vampire. He hated that. The way he thinks, if he was to bestow eternal life, I should be eternally grateful. And none of us have been grateful.”
“He wants you because he can’t have you?” Briar asked. “That’s it?”
“There are other vampire families in the world,” Hudson explained. “Not as powerful, and nearly as old. It is rare for a vampire family to break apart. Like you, it’s something I’ve never heard of before.”
“And another reason he’d want Briar. A human with vampire tendencies,” Marcus said.
“You mean all the foibles and none of the cool stuff,” Briar said. “Which you still haven’t described.”
“Quick healing, strength and speed, immortality.” Marcus listed them off on his fingers, point-by-point. “Moving on.”
Briar giggled, but held out her hands. For some reason, he didn’t want to have this conversation about vampires, but it needed to happen. “Nope. Back up the truck,” she said and wiggled her fingers. “One—do you sleep? Two—where do you sleep? Three—Do you read minds? Four—Do you—”
“Do not say glitter,” Sylvain stabbed a finger toward her. “Do. Not. Say. It.”
“Sylvain, did you just make a joke?” she asked.
He narrowed his eyes then lifted the corner of his mouth. “Perhaps.”
“I think you did. I think you made a joke,” she said. “And I wasn’t going to say glitter, but I was going to say, do you turn into bats?”
“The bat shifting comes from speed,” Hudson said. “We are so fast we often blur. It gives the impression of a cloud, or fog, of bats or bugs. But no. We do not turn into bats. As for the rest—yes, we sleep, in a bed, though not as often as a human. We do not read minds, and we don’t glitter. Though some may say I have a glittering personality.”
Briar threw her head back, barking a laugh. “Two for two! First the unlikely Sylvain, and now Hudson for the win! Come on, who’s next to dazzle me?”
She edged toward the table to rest her back against it, but on her way by, Sylvain snagged her hand. With a firm tug, he pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling her shoulder.
She didn’t know what exactly had changed. The tension from earlier was gone, and now, all of them were comfortable hugging, or kissing, her.
&nbs
p; It filled a hole in her she didn’t know she’d had. Closing her eyes, she let her head drop back onto Sylvain’s chest. His heart beat slowly, and subconsciously, she began to count the beats. It was much slower than hers, or a super athlete for that matter. It was hypnotic.
“Can you hypnotize people with your gaze?" she asked, eyes still closed.
“No.” Sylvain’s voice vibrated against her ear, and she shivered.
“Mind control?”
“I think that goes along with reading minds or hypnotizing,” he said. “So, no."
“Okay. Why do you think I’m so drawn to all of you?” she asked. Oh, pooh. The thought had slipped out of her mouth before her brain even had time to process it. She opened her eyes, gazing at each guy before staring at the floor. “I mean—”
“When you say ‘drawn to all of you,’ ” Hudson said, “what does that mean?” One perfect, dark eyebrow lifted, and though he didn’t smile, his lips twitched.
Breath huffed out of her, and she relaxed until he spoke again. “Why do you think you’re drawn to us?” he asked, turning the question around, just as he had done earlier when he’d shown her his lab.
“You’re all very kind, and you go out of your way for me,” she answered honestly. Why lie? While it may save her pride, she had the sense that if she took the risk, it would be worth it. “I think—” Briar tapped her finger on her lips as if contemplating the question, but once she’d given herself permission to be honest, the reasons came easily. “Hudson drew me in with his brain, and his passion. And Sylvain with his gruff nature. The first time you said, ‘get out of my way.’ ” Briar lowered her voice to do a Sylvain impression, but tempered with a grin she threw over her shoulder. “Marcus was sweet, and funny, and he didn’t get mad when I slapped his face with my glove. I believe you still owe me a duel, sir.”
“I think I might,” he replied, bowing low. The move was so graceful and natural. It struck her, suddenly; these guys were old. Ancient. Her brain understood that fact, but until Marcus bowed, like he’d been bowing to royalty for centuries, she hadn’t really gotten it.
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