by Bianca D'Arc
She lost track of time and space. All she knew was the strength of Gabe’s arms around her, the feel of his strong body against hers. He kissed like a dream. Like he really cared about her.
That thought gave her pause and drew her out of the kiss. Margo moved away, and he let her go, though she could feel the reluctance in him as she pulled away from his embrace.
“You’ve got to stop doing that,” she mumbled as she took her seat at the table and began the busywork of serving herself from the dishes he’d laid out.
“Why?”
She could feel him staring at her. Challenging her. She just didn’t know if she was up to that challenge, which made her inner wolf fumble.
She was an Alpha wolf. An Alpha woman. No man had made her unsure of herself since she was a little girl. Margo knew who and what she was. Her self-image was secure. So, then, why was her footing so shaky when faced with Gabe?
She knew he was waiting for an answer, but frankly, she didn’t have one for him. She didn’t have an explanation for herself, either. Her mind was confused as her body trembled, wanting nothing more than to go back into his arms. But she couldn’t. Acting on impulse had never been a good idea for Margo. Impulses got you into trouble. Instinct… Now, that was another matter.
Margo had learned early to follow her instincts, but Gabe confounded her on every level. She was no longer sure what was instinct and what was wishful thinking where he was concerned. She looked up at him and decided to lay her cards on the table, so to speak.
“You confuse me,” she said plainly. “You don’t fit into any hierarchy that I’m familiar with. You confuse my wolf, and that’s never good. You have to stop kissing me like—”
“Like it’s the right thing to do?” he interrupted her tirade with a challenge of his own.
“You can’t know that,” she insisted.
“Can’t I?” He took off the silly apron and chucked it toward the kitchen counter, then took his seat opposite her at the table. “Honey, I feel things for you I’ve never felt for another woman. I’m glad you’re confused because you confuse the hell out of me, too,” he admitted, though he was smiling. “Hell, I’ve been walking around in a daze since the moment I first saw you.”
Her breath caught at his candid words. Had he really?
“As for the hierarchy thing. I get it. I really do. We have hierarchies within our family, too. It’s probably a little more subtle than in the werewolf Pack, but believe me, we know who the Alphas are.”
“And you’re going to tell me you’re one of them?” She raised one skeptical her eyebrow.
He sat back in his chair, seemingly relaxed. “I’ll do no such thing. Sad as I am to say this, you’re going to have to figure that out for yourself.”
Huh. She relaxed a bit in the face of his confidence—and the fact that he was going to let things develop naturally. Dominance wasn’t something that could be unilaterally declared. It had to be earned. Often that meant repeated observation over time.
In her Pack, they’d all grown up together. They had sorted out the dominants from the submissives when they were children, but the perceived ranks within the Pack structure changed every so often. As Pack members proved themselves worthy of elevation through their actions, they moved up in the power structure. It was a natural progression.
For the first time, she started thinking about how that same dynamic might work in a family of mages. They probably had a similar situation. The members of the Clan would gain strength and skill as they aged, moving their rank within the family. The concept was intriguing to her. She’d never considered that other races of magical folk might have parallel systems.
She kept thinking as they ate. He’d served her a steak while she’d been contemplating his words, and she began eating when he did. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable. On the contrary, she enjoyed being in Gabe’s company, even when they weren’t talking. That was a new experience for her. Usually, she grew impatient in the presence of anyone not of her Pack, but Gabe had a calming effect on her that was totally unprecedented.
About the time she was running out of food on her plate, Gabe rather pointedly looked at his watch. “I think we’re going to have to get back on the road soon, if we want to make our meeting. It probably isn’t a good idea to keep a Master vampire waiting.”
“Have you ever met one before?” she asked him as she finished the little that was left on her plate.
“Can’t say that I have,” Gabe replied, standing with his empty plate in his hands. With a gesture, he offered to take hers, too, and she handed it to him.
They worked together to clean up the table and the kitchen then headed out to the vehicle he’d left parked in front of the house. Gabe was the last out, securing the place for their return. She noticed he paused a moment and waved one hand in the direction of the doorway. A little frisson of magical energy passed by her—a sensation like sparkles against her fur, though she was in human form.
Was that his magic? She couldn’t be certain, but she was going to keep an eye on him for further episodes. She wanted to learn the flavor and strength of his magic. Her wolf was getting desperate to figure out where he fit in the hierarchy. He gave many indications of having a strong Alpha personality, but did he have the power to back it up?
They worked well together, conversing easily as they headed back into town. Margo was glad that Gabe was familiar with the area. She’d never traveled much in the States, though she had worked with Collin Hastings on several cases in the southwestern part of the country. If they’d been a few hundred miles south, she could’ve acted as tour guide, but the Pacific Northwest was a bit beyond her experience.
She liked what she’d seen of it so far, though. The piney scent of the air gave way to the tang of the ocean as they left the higher elevation where the cabin was situated. City smells took precedence as they headed closer to Seattle proper, and as the sun set, she began to see that the city had a magic all its own.
“Pretty skyline,” she mused as he drove past a scenic spot.
“It’s a basically nice city. Master Hiram runs a tight ship for all his rumored eccentricities,” Gabe told her.
She glanced away from the enticing skyline to look at Gabe. “What have you heard?”
“The reason I’m so familiar with this area, and this city, is that my family has business interests here. My cousin, Brian, is part of that, though he doesn’t spend all his time working, obviously. My older sister, Barbara, pretty much runs the show here. She’s had dealings with Master Hiram on occasion. Like I said, he runs a tight ship. Our business couldn’t really move into high gear here until he gave the okay, so Barbara had a series of meetings with him.”
“And?” Margo made a face at him, impatience getting the best of her.
“Well, I’m not so sure how much I should tell you. It might be better to let you walk into this with no expectations.”
“Better, how?” she challenged.
“Safer.” He emphasized the word. “I don’t really know what to expect here. I only have stories from when Barbara met with him. The dynamic might be totally different since there are a pair of us, and we’re a mixed set.”
“Why? What did he do to your sister—try to seduce her or something?” Gabe’s mouth drew into a tight line, and Margo realized she might have hit the nail on the head. “No way.”
“According to Barb, he’s very charming, and he did try, but he also took a polite no for an answer. Not that he didn’t keep trying.”
“The cad.” Margo felt the sudden courage to tease him, quickly grasping the situation.
Gabe didn’t like it when some guy hit on his sister. This sign of his protective instincts was a point in his favor in her books.
“You can laugh, but I can only imagine that it took some powerful determination on Barbara’s part not to fall prey to an ancient like him.”
“Have a little faith in your sister. She seems like a reasonable woman. She can probably take care of he
rself if she managed to stand up to a Master vampire and live to tell the tale.” Come to think of it, Margo was impressed.
She’d met Barbara in Pennsylvania, of course, but they hadn’t interacted much beyond basic greetings. Hearing this, Margo was more intrigued, and if given the chance, she’d probably enjoy getting to know Barbara better. She sounded like the kind of person who would make a good friend.
“Just don’t let your annoyance about your sister bleed over into this situation,” she cautioned him. “We need this guy’s help.”
“I understand. I won’t make trouble.”
But the look on his face was fierce. She hoped he calmed down before they got to their destination.
When they arrived, Margo was duly impressed. The façade of the building was that of a trendy nightclub. They walked in through a back entrance that was almost indiscernible from the building itself, but was guarded from within by several burly men with bulky weapons.
The guards checked their identification and passed them through a short hallway to another set of guards. These were less bulky and more magical. The trio of two women and one man seemed to examine Gabe and Margo from the inside out, gazing at them with eyes that saw within, to the magical core of her being. At least, that’s how they made Margo feel. Maybe it was all in her imagination.
The trio let them into an elevator with only one destination. There were no buttons on the panel, but the car began to drop as soon as the doors closed. They were going down into the vampire’s lair. Margo felt a certain amount of trepidation seep into her bones. She’d never been in quite this kind of situation before. She was well aware that shifter blood was a delicacy for vampires, but she fully intended to walk out of here whole, with every last corpuscle intact.
When the elevator arrived at its destination, the door opened to darkness. Not complete darkness, but definitely a very dark corridor that led to a very dark room. Werewolves had excellent night vision, so Margo took the lead.
She walked straight down the corridor to the larger room beyond. What she could see of the furniture in the dark was opulent. Lots of antique-looking carved wood and rich fabrics. The whole place had an aroma of old blood, but it wasn’t strong. It was as if the resident of this domain liked things kept immaculate. In fact, she didn’t scent or see a single mote of dust, but who knew what would be revealed if the Master deigned to turn on the electric lights she could see in fixtures overhead.
He must have some reason for keeping them in the dark. Psychological warfare or a test of some kind.
“Ouch,” Gabe cursed under his breath after stubbing his toes on a protruding piece of furniture. Damn. She should’ve warned him. Sometimes, she forgot he wasn’t a shifter.
That thought would give her pause later, right now, she had to focus on the bloodletter. He was in the room beyond the corridor. She could sense him there, though she couldn’t say exactly how.
The second time Gabe stumbled and almost fell, Margo realized she’d fallen down in her guide duties again. What was so compelling about what lie ahead that she forgot to help Gabe? Damn. She shook her head.
“He’s using some sort of compulsion,” she whispered to Gabe, hoping he might be able to help her…somehow.
“That’s it,” Gabe sounded pissed. “Two can play this game,” he muttered. A second later, there was a flare of golden energy that originated in Gabe’s hand. He held it aloft—a light to guide their path.
Then, it split in half, and one part of the golden orb sped ahead of them, out of the corridor and into the larger room, illuminating everything in its path. Margo could now clearly see a man in casual dress from another era lounging at the point in the room opposite the corridor entrance. He was watching them with critical eyes.
There was another man—a younger man—standing off to one side, a dark computer tablet clutched in his hands. He wore what looked like a custom-tailored suit in dark colors. Neither of the men seemed disturbed by Gabe’s show of power, even as the orb he’d sent into the larger room split in four and stationed itself at the cardinal points near the ceiling.
“Well, at least I now know for certain which one of you is the mage and which one, the shifter.” The vampire’s voice came to them in lazy tones as he continued to watch them approach from the ease of his throne-like chair.
The wooden back of the large chair was ornately carved, though Margo couldn’t make out much of the design while Master Hiram sat in it. The fabric he’d chosen for the cushioning was a rich burgundy velvet. And speaking of burgundy, the vampire held a half-filled glass of the wine in his hand, the bottle open on a small table at his side. Margo could tell by its strong scent that it was, indeed, a very expensive burgundy.
CHAPTER FIVE
“I’m Margo Mahigan, and I’ll thank you to pull back your compulsion, sir.” She tried to sound both polite and firm, but her words drew a smile from the ancient vampire.
“I would if I could, pretty Margo, but alas, it’s been drawn in as far as it will go. There are certain things that expand with age.” He waved a negligent hand in some kind of old-world gesture of nonchalance that she found annoying.
What did he mean, he couldn’t control it? That sounded like a lame excuse to her, but she did notice that as her annoyance rose, the compulsion seemed to dissipate. Whether he was doing it or she was overcoming his vampire mojo on her own, she wasn’t sure.
Either way, she was glad to be free—at least for the moment—of the pressing need to get closer to him. That she’d been tempted by his aura at all was something that shocked her. She’d thought she was made of stronger stuff than that.
“So, if you’re Margo, that must make you…” Hiram’s powerful gaze settled on Gabe. “The lovely Barbara’s little brother. I see the acorn doesn’t fall far from the oak. I have known many of your ancestors, Gabriel, and you definitely have the Llewllyn flair for the dramatic.”
“Look who’s calling who dramatic,” Gabe replied, keeping his magic orbs aloft, lighting the scene, though he allowed the one remaining in his palm to fade away.
“Touché.” Hiram lowered his head slightly, acknowledging the verbal hit. “Forgive me my little quirks. When you have existed as long as I, there are few pleasures left in life. Making the younger generations squirm is a prerogative of the old, is it not?” The vampire didn’t seem to expect an answer to his question but went on speaking after a short pause. “I am, as you must have surmised by now, Hiram. I was surprised by your request for an audience enough to grant it. Tell me your tale, and let’s see if you can continue to entertain me.”
Margo wanted to growl at his impudence, but they were on his territory. They had to play by his rules. After feeling the power of his mojo, she certainly didn’t want to have to fight her way out of this one. The bloodletter was scarily strong.
“As you probably know by now, I work for Collin Hastings. He received information that you had interacted with a rogue mage known as Mathias Bolivar. We are hunting him on behalf of our families. He has caused great harm to the Stony Ridge Pack, and my Alpha has put a price on his head.”
“He’s also caused big problems for the Llewellyn Clan, and we want him, too,” Gabe put in. “Margo and I are working together to bring him to justice.”
The vampire seemed to think about their words for a long moment. He steepled his hands in front of his face then eyed them both carefully before finally lowering his fingers and speaking.
“I do, indeed, know of Mathias Bolivar. He is a nasty piece of work with formidable tricks up his sleeve. I regret to say that he is no longer in my domain. If he were, I would deal with him myself, but he has fled, and good riddance to him.”
Darn it. Margo was both elated to find out that this trail had led to an actual sighting of her prey and disappointed to learn he had gotten away. Still, it was something.
“Do you have any idea where he might have gone?” Gabe asked before she could.
The vampire paused and seemed to consider them before spe
aking again. Finally, he relented when her nerves were stretched about as taut as they could go.
“I believe there is a man you need to talk to in Grizzly Cove,” Hiram said, his tone mysterious and certain. “Many things have been happening since those crazy bears decided to set up their own town down the coast from here. One recent development has been the downfall of one of the most notorious shifter crime kingpins on the West Coast. A nasty piece of work named Jonathan who was responsible for the destruction of nearly an entire mer pod. He imprisoned the wife of its leader and subjected the daughter to virtual house arrest. She grew up in isolation from her people, but she got away a year or so ago and joined another pod. That group of merfolk now resides in the waters of Grizzly Cove.”
Margo couldn’t really believe the candor with which the Master vampire was speaking. He knew things about shifter activities that, in the normal course of business, he should not have been able to discover.
“I see I have shocked you, Miss Margo,” Hiram gave her the ghost of a smile. “I assure you that I do not share such information lightly, but there have been many signs and portents about your arrival here,” he surprised her by saying. “For several months now, I’ve been looking forward to this visit—yet another signal that dire times are ahead for all of us.”
The Master stood and began a slow circuit around the room, glancing at them from time to time. It made Margo uncomfortable, but she tried not to show it.
“You two were not alive the last time we who serve the Light faced the evil that is Elspeth. I was.” His words astounded her. Exactly how old was this guy? “I was there from the very beginning,” he went on. “I saw how it started. I remember the ramp up to a war that lasted the whole of what mortals now call the Dark Ages. I remember the final victory. And I remember the way the races of fey, shifter and even vampire came together.” He turned directly under one of the orbs of Gabe’s golden light to pin them with a blatant stare. “As they are doing again, for the first time in centuries.”