Cain's Identity (Scanguards Vampires Book 9)

by Tina Folsom

  Cain grunted with displeasure. “While we’re on that subject, I would also advise you to stop alluding to things as if they were the truth.”

  Abel puffed up his chest and fisted his hands at his hips. “Are you saying I’m lying?”

  Cain clenched his teeth. “I’m saying you should be careful what you say about Faye. Spread any more rumors about what she did or didn’t do and I’ll have to reconsider what relationship you and I will have in the future.”

  Abel leaned closer, his jaw tight, his eyes pinning him. “You need me, brother. Lots has changed during the time you were gone. You don’t know who you can trust. And the men you brought with you, do you really think they can protect you? They haven’t got the slightest clue about what’s going on in the kingdom. Hell, they don’t even know who’s allowed on the palace grounds and who isn’t. They can’t protect you.”

  “Are you threatening me?” Cain ground out.

  “I’m cautioning you. You have enemies. We all do. And it’s unwise to leave yourself open to attack.”

  “While we’re on the subject of enemies: why did you convince me to invite the Mississippi clan?”

  Abel’s forehead furrowed. “What has that got to do with anything? We need to make peace with them to safeguard the kingdom. You know that just as well as I do.”

  “Damn it, Abel, do you have any idea what those bastards are doing to their own people?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Last night two vampires came to us. They’d fled their clan in Mississippi.”

  “Those two down and outs who are housed in one of the cottages?”

  How did Abel already know about them? Cain hadn’t mentioned them to his brother when he’d informed him of his decision to ban Baltimore from the premises. “You’ve seen them?”

  Abel shrugged. “Not personally, no. But one of the guards mentioned them.”

  Cain should have known. Nothing escaped his brother. This was his turf more than it was Cain’s at the moment. But that was something he was planning to change. “Anyway, did you also hear what has been done to them?”

  “How should I know?”

  “They were defanged by their clan. Do you understand what that means?”

  Abel showed little surprise. “I’ve heard of the practice. I’m sure there were grave reasons and they deserved it for whatever crimes they committed. Surely, you’re not going to continue to give shelter to some criminal elements. Make them leave, before they draw us into a renewed feud with our neighbors.”

  “How can you be so callous?”

  Abel shook his head. “I’m not any more callous than you. You know what’s at stake. Why get into the middle of things that may jeopardize our plans? Taking sides has never been a good thing. And interfering in a neighboring clan’s business will only cause more problems than we need right now.”

  “So you’re still interested in making peace with Mississippi despite their brutal practices?”

  “I won’t be swayed by something so insignificant. I see the bigger picture, but it appears, my dear brother, that you’ve gotten soft during your absence. You’d better make sure nobody notices. Nobody likes a weak king.” Abel turned on his heel and stalked to the door.

  Before he reached it, Cain responded, “Nobody likes an evil king either.”

  A snort was Abel’s answer before he shut the door behind him, leaving Cain to stew over their antagonistic exchange.

  He turned to the window and stared out into the garden surrounding the palace. The lawn was illuminated by flood lights. Faye was outside, tending to some plants. He let his gaze wander over her body. In her tight jeans and equally tight tank top, her voluptuous curves were even more enticing. Clearly, other men had thought so, too. Just remembering the little she’d told him the night before made his blood boil. He hadn’t dared ask any more questions, knowing his lack of knowledge of the events would have made her suspicious. Instead he’d made love to her again, making sure she knew that he would protect her now.

  He knew he should return to the stack of papers—notes from his interrogations of the guards—to see if he could find any inconsistencies in their statements, but the need to take Faye into his arms was greater.

  He opened the French doors that led to the wrap-around porch and stepped outside. When he jumped over the railing and landed on the soft grass below, Faye turned to look over her shoulder and smiled.

  With long strides, he walked to her.

  “Taking a break from your work?” Faye asked.

  He pulled her into his arms. “I wish I didn’t have to work at all and could spend the entire night in bed with you.”

  “Mmm.” Her lips brushed against his. “But what would your subjects say if they found out how lazy their king was?”

  “I wouldn’t call it lazy,” Cain deflected. “After all, I wasn’t planning on sleeping. I would be engaging in plenty of strenuous activity.”

  When she laughed, he captured her lips and kissed her, first gently, but when her arms came around his neck and pulled him closer, he tilted his head to the side and slipped his tongue between her parted lips and tasted her.

  Faye pulled her head back. “Cain, not here, everybody will be able to see us.”

  “I don’t care,” he murmured and tried to draw her back.

  “But you do,” she insisted. “You’ve never wanted anybody to see us being intimate with each other.”

  “I’ve changed my mind.” He wanted everybody to see that Faye belonged to him.

  She gave him a curious look. “Whatever happened to you while you were gone, it seems to have changed your outlook on many things.”

  What else had she noticed? “Is that a bad thing?”

  “No, no, not at all. It’s just that you used to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, but now . . .”

  “Now what?” With his finger under her chin he tilted her head up.

  “You seem so much more relaxed, as if all your worries were gone. Which is so odd because being locked up for so long generally causes the opposite.”

  He caressed her cheek with his thumb. “Maybe I discovered during that time what’s really important.”

  Faye smiled hesitantly. “Tell me what’s important to you now.”

  He opened his mouth to answer when a door slamming made him snap his head to the side. Thomas, a concerned look on his face, was rushing out of the palace.

  Instantly alert, Cain released Faye. “What’s going on?”

  “It’s Eddie!” Thomas answered, already sprinting down the driveway that led away from the palace.

  Having recognized the alarmed tone in his voice, Cain ran after him. As he closed in on Thomas, he shouted, “What’s wrong?”

  Thomas didn’t even turn his head and continued running toward the end of the driveway. “Eddie needs help.” Then he veered to the right and ran into the forest.

  Cain followed, his hand already reaching to his belt where he kept his silver dagger in a sheath. Ever since arriving at the palace it had become his constant companion. He gritted his teeth. If the guards had ignored his orders to give his friends from Scanguards free passage to the palace, some heads would roll tonight. He’d advised them of Eddie’s and Blake’s imminent arrival, not wanting a repeat of how he, Haven, Thomas, and Wesley had been received.

  A sound behind him made him whirl his head around.

  “Fuck!” Cain cursed when he spotted Faye chasing him. He wanted her nowhere near any danger. “Go back to the palace!”

  But she wouldn’t be deterred and kept running his way. “Maybe I can help.”

  Not wanting to stop to argue with her, he continued running after Thomas who was now disappearing behind some trees. “Damn it, Faye!” He slowed briefly to give her a chance to catch up with him then accelerated again, and together they followed Thomas into the thicket.

  A few minutes more, and Cain could smell the brackish water of the bayou, but it wasn’t the only thing his superior
sense of smell picked up. Human blood was in the air. Instantly on alert, he ran faster, his ears picking up sounds now. Grunts, splashing water, branches breaking. Evidence of a fight.

  Cain tossed a concerned look at Faye who was still keeping up with him. “You should have stayed back.”

  “I’m nearly as strong as you,” was her reply.

  He doubted that. Yes, as a vampire female she was stronger than any human, but she was no fighter. She wasn’t trained, not like him.

  But before he could contradict her, his eyes perceived movements in the dark. He focused on it. Thomas had already reached the spot and now cursed, “Christ!”

  Cain and Faye reached him two seconds later.

  “Help!” Blake called out as he spotted them, while he was dragging himself out of the murky water, his legs kicking at an alligator whose massive snout with its fangs was snapping at him.

  Cain’s head whirled to where he heard water splashing and to his horror he saw Eddie engaged in a fight with another alligator, this one even larger than the one chasing Blake.

  Thomas was already lunging toward the alligator whose mouth was veering toward Eddie’s arm as the young vampire lost his footing in the shallow bank of the murky waterway and stumbled backward.

  “You stay here,” Cain ordered Faye and jumped toward Blake, grabbing him under the arms and pulling him from the reach of the attacking animal just as its jaws snapped shut, hitting air.

  Cain blindly tossed Blake behind him and lunged toward the alligator, his hands having already turned into claws. With them, he dug into the animal’s jaw, one from the top and one from the bottom, and ripped its mouth open. A row of deadly canines gleamed in the moonlight that filtered through the trees.

  The animal thrashed, its tail whipping back and forth, whirling up the water and splashing it so high and far that Cain was instantly doused in the dirty liquid. But Cain didn’t let go and continued to spread the alligator’s jaw wider until he finally heard it snap and go slack. He’d disabled the animal’s primary weapon, but its massive tail continued to thrash and was just as much a danger as its teeth.

  Cain grabbed the alligator behind its head and pulled. Had he been human, he wouldn’t have been able to move the easily three hundred pound animal even an inch, but with his vampire strength he swung the alligator into the air, making a hundred-and-eighty degree turn. The alligator’s body slammed against a tree with such force that the trunk of the tree cracked.

  Having temporarily dazed the alligator, Cain jumped onto its back, ripped its head upward and sliced his claws across the animal’s throat. Blood spilled, the stench of it filling the night air. Cain tore at the head, ripping it off the body. Beneath him, the thrashing stopped. The alligator was dead.

  Breathing heavily, his eyes searched for Blake. He found him sitting up against a tree stump, while Faye ripped one of his pant legs open, exposing a wound, where the alligator had gotten to him before Cain had arrived.

  At the sound of another splash in the water, Cain whipped his head toward it and saw an alligator drop into the water, seemingly lifeless.

  “Fuck!” Thomas cursed and reached for his mate. “Are you okay?”

  Eddie breathed heavily, but nodded and waded out of the water, Thomas by his side. “There were three of them. I managed to kill one.” He pointed to a spot on the banks where Cain now noticed another dead alligator. “But then these two attacked, and I tried to keep them off Blake.”

  Thomas pulled him into a hug. “Thank God you contacted me.”

  Eddie smiled at his partner. “Can’t beat telepathy between blood-bonded mates.”

  “You scared the shit out of me.”

  “I’ll make it up to you later.” Eddie pressed his lips to Thomas’s and kissed him.

  Cain looked away and walked to Blake. He crouched down to him and looked at the wound. “Are you all right?”

  A bolt of jealousy hit Cain when he noticed Blake only reluctantly pulling his gaze away from Faye.

  “Pain’s a bitch.”

  “We’ll take care of it,” Cain assured him. “Can you walk?”

  “With a little help.” Then Blake turned back to Faye. “Cain, don’t you wanna introduce us?”

  He’d rather not, but given the circumstance, he didn’t have a choice.

  “Faye, that’s Blake. Blake, this is my fiancée.” He glared at his human colleague, making sure he understood that she was off limits, but Blake didn’t even look at him and already held his hand out to her.

  “Bond,” he said with a smile. “Blake Bond.”

  Cain rolled his eyes. Did Blake really have to lay it on that thick again? Did he not realize that his 007 routine wouldn’t earn him any points in view of the fact that he’d only moments earlier screamed like a little girl?

  “Faye Duvall.” Faye shook his hand briefly.

  Footsteps on the soft ground told him that Thomas and Eddie were joining them. Cain glanced at them. “That was bad luck,” he said, nodding at Eddie.

  Eddie scoffed. “I wouldn’t call it bad luck.” He glared at Blake. “I’d call it downright stupid!”

  Blake straightened and thrust up his chin. “How was I supposed to know?”

  “What happened, Eddie?” Cain interrupted.

  Eddie pointed at Blake. “Stupidity happened. This idiot here says, oh, let’s take a shortcut. We’ll just wade through the water. It’ll save us a half hour.” He let out a frustrated huff. “Shortcut my ass! I warned him not to go into the water when he couldn’t see what was ahead of him. But, no, smartass Blake here had to know better, didn’t he?”

  Blake tried to pull himself up, but his attempt was shaky at best, and his face contorted with pain. “It wouldn’t have been a problem if you hadn’t shouted at me and woken up the alligators!”

  “Woken them up? Don’t you know anything? Alligators are nocturnal. They don’t sleep at night! They hunt for food. And had I not saved your stupid ass, you would have been on the menu tonight! Next time I’ll think twice about helping you when you disobey my direct orders.”

  Blake opened his mouth for another retort, but Cain slapped him over the back of his head.

  “Another word out of your mouth tonight and I’m going to send you straight home. Are we clear on that?”

  Blake’s eyes shot to Cain. For a moment he thought the human would try to fight with him, too, but then Blake nodded silently.

  “Good. Let’s get back to the palace. And if you’re behaving, then maybe one of us will even give you some vampire blood to heal.”

  “It sure ain’t gonna be me,” Eddie grunted. And by the look Thomas gave Blake, Thomas wouldn’t be a willing donor either, since it was Blake’s action that had endangered his mate.

  Cain helped Blake up, putting one arm around his waist, and draping Blake’s other arm around his shoulder while holding onto his wrist.

  “Thanks, Cain,” Blake murmured, all bravado now gone from his voice.

  Maybe this incident would teach the kid some common sense. And instill some fear. Because without fear, there was no such thing as bravery.

  27

  Faye walked next to Cain as they made their way back to the palace, Cain helping the injured human, virtually carrying him when he became weaker from his injury. She’d ripped a piece of fabric from Blake’s T-shirt and wrapped it tightly around the wound, stopping blood from gushing from the incisions the alligator’s teeth had made.

  Ahead of them, Thomas and Eddie walked hand in hand. She’d seen them kiss after they’d defeated the alligator and heard them mention a blood-bond. She’d never met a same-sex blood-bonded couple. Hell, she hadn’t even realized that Thomas was gay when he’d first arrived at the palace. He didn’t seem effeminate at all. Neither did his partner.

  “How do you know all these people?” she now asked Cain.

  He turned his head to her. “They’re from a security outfit called Scanguards. They helped me.”

  “A security outfit? You mean they’re ac
tually professional guards?”

  Cain nodded. “Bodyguards. The best money can buy.”

  The revelation stunned her. Somehow she’d suspected that maybe the men he’d brought with him had been imprisoned with him and they’d mounted an escape together, and that was why he now trusted them.

  “How did they free you?”

  “Let’s not talk about that now.”

  Disappointed that he was yet again refusing to talk about anything related to his kidnapping, she pressed her lips together. After the day they’d spent in each others’ arms, she’d thought that he’d finally open up to her and tell her what had happened to him. But again, she met with a wall of silence.

  “So you’re Cain’s girl, huh?” the human suddenly asked, shifting his head so he could look past Cain’s chest. He was a good looking guy, but from the interactions she’d observed so far it was clear that he was immature. He couldn’t be older than twenty-five. Maybe in another ten years he would have grown into a real man.

  Cain growled, and in Faye’s ears it sounded like a warning. “Yes, she’s mine. Any other questions?”

  “Cain,” she chastised softly, both thrilled that he’d called her his, and at the same time horrified that he would talk to Blake in such a menacing way. “Your human friend is just making conversation.”

  “He’s not going to be a friend much longer, if he comes on to you once more,” Cain shot back, then stopped himself as if he hadn’t wanted to say it.

  To calm him, Faye gently stroked her hand against his hip. His eyes immediately sought hers and began to shimmer golden. His vampire side was simmering right under his skin, ready to burst to the surface at any moment should he feel that somebody was threatening his territory.

  “My love,” she murmured under her breath.

  The words seemed to soothe him, and he severed the eye contact and continued following the two gay vampires.

  It took only a few minutes until they reached the driveway leading to the palace. Several guards were already rushing toward them, weapons at the ready. Clearly drawn by the scent of Blake’s blood, they were expecting trouble and ready to meet it head on.