Hunger (Witches of the Big Easy Book 2)

by Ts McKinney

  What in the hell was he doing to me? On top of that, something else weird was happening—something I couldn’t begin to explain, but I loved the feeling. When Poppet had forced me to come with him, I’d been terrified of what would happen to me. Would I have some sort of massive panic attack and slip back into a coma? Dom had suggested it might happen. Would Dom beat the shit out of me when he did find me? More than likely.

  I should have been terrified, but as each mile had passed, separating me from Dominic, I’d felt better. My fiancé had some sort of hold over me—he had to in order to make me stay with him—but that hold had gotten weaker and weaker as the distance between us grew. Now, locked up here, magically strapped to the softest damn bed I’d ever lain on, Dom’s ability to control me simply snapped and broke. I no longer cared what he thought, why he thought it, or what he might do to me when he did find me. Nope, no thoughts of Dominic…my thoughts were saved for the man sitting next to me on the bed, the man holding me captive.

  Suddenly, he stood up and started messing with my hair, turning it every direction except the right one. “What are you doing?” I snapped. I’d like to say it hurt or that it pissed me off for him to be touching me, but the truth was quite the opposite. I knew my hair was a strange color, but regardless of how often Dom tried to dye it, to cover the odd lavender shade, it remained the same. It was something I couldn’t help and didn’t really give a flying fuck if Poppet liked it or not. I was afraid of one thing, though. I was afraid that if he kept touching me, my dick would get hard and there would be no hiding that one.

  “Checking for surgery scars,” he murmured as he kept inspecting my head. Dammit, my hair was going to be a mess when he finished. Vanity had never been my thing but where Poppet was concerned, I suddenly wanted to look my best.

  Finally, he sat back and looked me square in the eyes. “No scars, Darkness. Wouldn’t brain surgery require a scar? I’m certain it would. Care to explain why you don’t have one?”

  Frowning, I realized that I’d never really looked for a scar. I’d just taken Dom’s word about everything. Oh, and there was the total lack of any memories thing I had going on. “No, Poppet, I can’t explain why there isn’t a scar. I’ve only told you what’s been told to me. Remember that part about me remembering nothing? Well, translated, that means, I don’t remember a fucking thing! When I woke up, Dominic was there, taking care of me. I didn’t really see any other choices available for me. No money, no memories, no family. My options were a bit limited. Judge me all you want. It’s what you’ve done ever since you walked into Dom’s store.”

  Following my heartfelt testimony, Poppet’s face changed absolutely not one bit. He still didn’t trust me. He still thought I was involved with some murders. And I was still unable to move my arms and legs. So much for trying to shoot straight with him. Trying another tactic, yet still the honest to God truth, I said, “It isn’t safe for you to keep me here. Dom has some mean friends, and they’ll find me. When they do, things won’t end well for either of us.”

  “You think so, do you?” he asked with a smirk. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head over that for a minute. I’ve got it covered. I have wards in place to block anyone from being able to find you.” He leaned closer to my face. “There’s no one coming to rescue you, Darkness. You’d might as well be honest with me. Things will go much easier on you if you do.”

  “Are you threatening me?”

  “Sure, I am.”

  “But-but you’re the one who abducted me! What makes you think I could be the one in trouble? You’re clearly the nutcase between the two of us!”

  He laughed. “I didn’t abduct you, Darkness. I’ve taken you into custody.” He held up some sort of ring in front of my face. “Surely this is familiar to you? The ring the Législateurs wear. You, a participant in dark magic, should quiver in fear when you look at it.”

  I shrugged. “It seems nice enough, but I’m not really into man-jewelry. I mean, I’m not judging you or anything like that. It just isn’t my thing.”

  His head tilted to the right. “This ring really means nothing to you, does it?” He frowned. “What are you, Darkness? Everyone knows of the Législateurs and our power, yet you don’t seem at all worried about it. Why is that?”

  “Uh…because it’s pretend. You know, like the poppets we sell at the shop?” I stared up at him and was fascinated by the anger dancing within his gray eyes. I’d made him angry, and I had no idea why. As I continued to look up at him, another thought slithered through my mind. This one was dangerous. My eyes focused on the slight tick of his heartbeat against his neck. The room grew quiet as we looked at one another…and I could hear his heart beating. I could hear the rush of his blood in his veins. Frightened by my own thoughts, I quickly looked away from him.

  What in the hell had I been thinking?

  Chapter Three

  Julian Montague

  Julian stormed through his fortress, growling at anyone stupid enough to try and slow his progress. He needed to clear his head, to try and grasp what was happening to him. There had to be a reasonable explanation for the gushing waves of possessiveness suddenly consuming his soul, or it would be if he still had one, of course. He’d sired many vampires over the past seven centuries, had even become very attached to some of them, but the pull he currently felt was much stronger than anything he’d experienced before.

  Even stronger than the first time he’d felt that pull, which was now nearly a century ago.

  Growing more frustrated and agitated with each passing second, he stormed into his private suite and slammed the door. His beloved, Valen, was out on the balcony, overlooking the younger vampires practice-fighting in the courtyard below. While Julian’s temperament was more take-no-prisoners, Valen remained cool and calm in the face of a crisis. That’s why Valen was in charge of daily activities and all training for the Montague vampire clan. Julian brought the vengeance, and they ruled the clan together.

  This was a fucking crisis, and he needed Valen’s fucking coolness.

  When he stepped onto the balcony, Valen turned to him, flipping his long, golden hair and immediately asked, “What has gotten you so agitated, lover? The smell of your frustration radiates throughout the entire compound.” He turned to face Julian, the smile on his gorgeous face telling his lover that he wasn’t at all intimidated by him. “I almost considered jumping over the balcony and making a run for it.”

  Julian growled. “Very funny. Save the running for later. I need you too much now.”

  “Oh, Julian,” Valen mused. “You’ve had me since the first night I laid eyes on you, darling. I’ll never run.” He motioned for them to go back inside. The vampires below were young and weak, but their hearing still ranked as supernatural. While there was no question as to whether he and Julian could destroy every vampire down there without breaking a nail, they would prefer not to. Once inside, Valen sat down, fingering a platinum curl and asked, “Now, tell me, lover. What’s troubling you?”

  Julian paced the room. “It’s happening again. Like before—the same ribbon wrapping around me…calling out to me. A vampire’s blood is calling, and my body demands I respond.” Pushing a hand through his own dark hair, he continued, “I haven’t sired a vampire in over a hundred years, so why now? Who would be trying to link with me now?”

  Frowning, Valen asked, “Like before, you say?”

  “Even stronger.”

  Before referred to the same connection calling out to him nearly a century ago…then disappearing before he could locate the vampire mysteriously linked to him. All those years ago, Julian hadn’t understood what the link meant or where it came from, and things hadn’t changed one damn bit.

  Valen walked over to his lover and held both sides of his face. “You know I’ll do everything I can to help you find this vampire, just as I did the first time, but I need to know Julian—is your connection to this vampire something I need to worry about? Will he or she come between us?”


  Without hesitation, Julian responded with, “Absolutely not, Valen. I can’t begin to explain what this connection feels like, but I do know it isn’t an erotic feeling. It’s more…protective. It makes me think more of a newly sired vampire, only so much fucking stronger. There’s an innocence about it. And, since we both know I haven’t turned anyone, male or female, in over a century, my feelings don’t make one damn bit of sense. Oh, and there’s absolutely nothing innocent about me.”

  Valen’s eyes narrowed. “Do you have a child, Julian?”

  Julian made a huffing sound. “Since I’m well over seven hundred years old, I would seriously doubt any child I might have produced before being turned would still be living, Valen.”

  Valen cocked a questioning eyebrow at Julian.

  “For heaven’s sake, Valen, we can’t procreate once we’ve been turned, you know that. I haven’t been unfaithful to you. My last affair was with a female and that happened further back than I care to recall. Even if this woman and I had created a child together, it would either be long dead or a three-hundred-year-old vampire—not the innocent I’m sensing.”

  “A trick, perhaps?” Valen questioned. “Remember the last time this happened, the warlocks in New Orleans were running rampant with dark magic. It was before the batons arrived, wasn’t it? Maybe they are trying to lure you back to their city?”

  When Julian had first felt the connection, it led him to New Orleans before vanishing without a trace. Valen was right; many of the warlocks had been practicing dark magic and trying to form alliances where alliances didn’t need to be formed. Neither the Gaudet family nor any of the ruling vampire clans in the United States had been pleased with his and Valen’s sudden appearance in America. “But to what end? What would they hope to accomplish by drawing us back to New Orleans and close to their coven?”

  “I don’t know, Julian,” Valen drawled, “maybe they hope to destroy two of the strongest and oldest vampires walking the Earth? That would certainly grant them bragging rights that just might lead to more of those unholy alliances they were working on before.” He straightened Julian’s tie. “I don’t know about me, but you are quite the catch. If they were to destroy Julian Montague, they’d have every vampire in the country bowing to them.”

  “None of those stupid warlocks would have a chance against us,” Julian growled.

  “What about the Législateurs?” Valen asked.

  “If they don’t get into our business, we won’t get into theirs,” Julian answered. “Seems like a fair agreement to me.”

  “I doubt they will agree with that, but I guess we’ll find out soon enough, won’t we?” he asked with a wicked smile. “They certainly weren’t happy with our first visit.”

  “Hmm,” Julian answered. “They’ll have to deal with it. If I don’t get this connection under control and find out where it’s coming from, I’m going to lose my mind.”

  “I understand,” Valen answered with a slight bow. “Give me an hour to issue leadership roles during our absence, and then I’ll be ready to leave with you. If he’s yours, Julian, we’ll bring him home.”

  *****

  Gabriel

  “Okay, Gabriel, let me see if I understand you correctly,” Nic said, his voice almost crackling as the connection popped and faded in and out. Gabe wondered if his magic was doing all that. “A voodoo priestess and a powerful warlock have been murdered in our territory. You tracked the poppets left at each scene to a shop of a known practitioner of dark magic. While there, you totally ignored the idiot that you know to be in violation of our laws and, instead, took a…a creature of unknown origin back to your suite and you’ve kept him there for the past twenty-four hours or so. Does that about wrap it up?” Sarcasm dripped off my brother’s voice.

  “You forgot to mention that I’ve cloaked the hotel so no one else can find him, Nic. There’s no need for you to get so upset or be a dick about it. I’m handling the situation. I could have not told you about it at all,” I remarked dryly. Nic would always and forever be the older brother, adamant about protecting me from all harm. The fucker refused to admit that I was as powerful as he, or almost as powerful. As the oldest brother and head of the Législateurs and our family, he outmatched me and all the rest of us. Not by much, but enough.

  “For fuck’s sake, Gabriel! You don’t even know what he is! This could be a trap of some sort. He could hurt you. That’s it. We’re leaving now to come back home. Our New York business can be handled once our problem at home has been taken care of.”

  Anger raced through me. “You’ll do no such thing, Nic. I mean it. I can handle this. I can handle Marchand. He’s harmless.” I wasn’t certain that last part was true. One second Marchand appeared harmless and then that damn scent of his would send out warning signals to me—signals almost as strong as the pheromones he sent out.

  “Oh…Marchand, is it? You’re on a first name basis with the creature now?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Stop calling him the creature, Nic, like he’s something out of the Black Lagoon. Just because he has the scent of a vampire but doesn’t act like one does not make him a monster of some sort.” Hell, maybe he was a monster. A damn good-looking monster with the sexiest smile on the earth. No, Marchand wasn’t a monster; it wasn’t possible.

  “What does he look like? This ‘not-a-creature’ that has captured my baby brother’s attention. And don’t let your voice go all dreamy when you describe him.”

  “You truly are an asshole. How does Thibeau put up with you?” I asked.

  “He puts up with me because he’s in love, baby brother. You should try it on for size one day, just not with this creat…this boy. Now, describe what he looks like. Vampires generally have specific features, which you should recognize, but obviously you’re looking at him through rose-colored glasses.”

  “I’m not a complete novice, Nic. He doesn’t have the features of a vampire. Lavender hair and lavender eyes—swears he doesn’t dye the hair and I know it’s not contacts. Before you say anything, yes, I checked. He walks in daylight without having any type of a magical token allowing it. If he needs blood, it isn’t a craving he must fulfill regularly, because he hasn’t taken any, and he can control it.”

  “And we know this how?”

  “I might have had food delivered to my suite this morning and the boy who delivered it might have accidentally gotten cut when he dropped a juice glass. Hell, Nic, he didn’t even acknowledge the guy was bleeding. He just went over to help him clean up the mess.”

  “Damn, Gabe, but that was a dangerous game you played with one of your employees,” Nic countered. “If you’re wanting rid of somebody, just fire them next fucking time.” Nic cleared his throat and growled. “So this creature spent the night in your apartment? In your bed, Gabriel? In your fucking bed?” His voice had risen to a shout.

  “I would have stopped him before any damage was done, Nic. I’m able to control Marchand with the simplest of spells. He didn’t even understand that he was trapped in magical cuffs. As for where he slept, brother, that’s no business of yours. I’m perfectly capable of handling myself, in or out of the bedroom.”

  “Come on, Gabe. Thibeau and I are going to come home and help you with this,” Nic said.

  “No. Please stay in New York. I don’t need any help. Really. If I need you, I promise I’ll call.”

  “Promise, huh? You know I can’t lose you, little brother.”

  “Stop calling me that. I’m a grown man and a powerful Législateur. I won’t be outdone by someone with lavender hair.”

  “Are you making fun of my hair?” Marchand whispered in my ear. I jerked away, nearly dropping the phone in the process. Hell, I hadn’t even known he’d finished his shower and made his way into the living room. I’d removed the magic restraints this morning to do my blood trick with the breakfast server and then allowed him to take a shower.

  “What was that?” Nic demanded. “Was that him? Please tell me you aren’t allowing him the run o
f your suite, Gabriel!”

  “I’ll see you in one month, Nic. I promise everything is under control here,” I added as I disconnected the call without answering. Turning to Marchand, I said, “Don’t sneak up on me like that. It’s dangerous.”

  He grinned. “Maybe I like danger.”

  The hungry look in his oddly colored eyes went straight to my cock. The scent of my soap lingered on his body, making me fucking jealous of my bath wash. Not even the faint vampire aroma did anything to squash my desire for him.

  “I doubt it, Darkness,” I answered as I forced myself to back away from him. With the cockiness that I already found myself smitten by, he pursued me. It wasn’t aggressive, not in the least. It was purely sexual.

  He shrugged, walked over to my couch, and collapsed onto it. He was wearing some of my sweatpants that he must have found when he rifled through my belongings without my permission. No shirt and no socks. I arched my brow when he propped his feet on top of my coffee table and looked around the room.

  “Oh, I borrowed some sweats. I hope it’s okay,” he said in a way that told me he really didn’t care if I thought it was okay or not.

  They were a bit loose on him, but that only succeeded in causing them to ride low on his hips, giving me a glorious view of the sexiest V I’d ever laid eyes on. They would also be very easy to yank off him…if a reason arose, of course. One never knew when stripping him of his clothing would be absolutely necessary—in my capacity as a Législateur, of course.

  “No, it isn’t okay,” I snapped because my feelings for him irritated me. Since I refused to blame myself, I decided to lay all the blame at his feet. “It’s rude to dig through my personal belongings. I should punish you.”

  He tilted his head to the side and looked over at me. “Really? Punish me?” Lavender eyes sparkled. “What kind of punishment did you have in mind?”

  “Stop flirting with me, Darkness. I don’t like your games and I don’t like you. You’re against everything I stand for.” The lies tumbled from my lips.