But Rose—she followed him. She grabbed his arm. “We aren’t done, Julian! You can’t just run away from me—”
“You don’t want to see what happens next.” His voice was rough, broken. Speech was too hard then. His bones had started to snap. In a moment, he would be on all fours, and fur would burst from his skin. He’d learned to control the shift—mostly—since coming to Luke’s island so long ago. But because of that hellish night, because of all the things that had happened to Rose, there was no longer any control left for him. He was at a breaking point. The panther loved it when the man broke.
“Julian?” Concern softened her face. “Are you okay?”
He pulled from her. “Get her away!” Julian roared to Rayce.
Rayce kept the human over his shoulder, but he bounded toward Rose. He caught her arm. “We need to go…now. Come on, lady, now!”
Rayce pulled her, trying to force her up the path, and Julian whirled, trying to flee before the change hit.
But it was too late.
He could feel the burn beneath his skin. He hit the ground, landing on all fours. The snap and crunch of his bones just got louder. An itch started along his skin—and then the fur burst out, covering him. He opened his mouth, snarling with the pain because the shift wasn’t gentle. He’d fought the beast too long for any gentleness. A mouthful of razor sharp teeth exploded. He became the panther, running and bounding forward. His paws hit the earth. His claws were ready to rip and kill and, helplessly, he looked toward Rose once more.
Only to see her staring at him in horror.
But then, that was the way she usually looked at him.
Some things never fucking change.
***
“Well…” the man next to her drawled. “That was a little awkward, huh?”
More than awkward. “I didn’t realize it hurt him so much.” His pain had been unmistakable. The sound of crunching bones would haunt her.
“Not like it’s easy to completely reshape into another being. When the fire of the shift burns through you, there are only two choices. Fight it and let it hurt worse. Or give in…and still let it hurt like a bitch.” He hoisted Francis higher onto his shoulder. The human was twitching, but not struggling…much. “There’s not exactly any winning way to do it.”
The panther—a big, black panther with seriously scary teeth—had vanished. Rose cleared her throat. “You sound like you’re speaking from experience.”
“I am.”
Her gaze jerked toward him. When he smiled at her, she saw that his canines were a little too long. A little too sharp. His face shape had altered a bit, too, becoming more angular. His eyes—a green brighter than her own—seemed to shine. “You’re a…panther?”
“Hell, no.” He turned and headed up the path. “I’m a wolf, baby. Pure blood wolf. The baddest of the bad.”
She glanced back toward the woods. The island was freaking huge—sandy beaches, thick woods, dense vegetation. The perfect playground for shifters. The panther had gone into the woods. Maybe…should she follow him? Rose took a step in that direction.
“Don’t even think it,” the wolf shifter called back to her. “Because that is just asking for trouble. Julian’s beast is in control and if he were to hurt you while the panther was ruling…” He stopped and seemed to consider things. “That wouldn’t be pretty.”
A cold chill swept over her. “I thought he stayed in control when he was a panther. That the man was always inside, guiding the beast.” So maybe she’d tried to learn about shifters. Her curiosity had been more than justified, given her history.
“Not tonight. I could see it. His control was gone.” He gave a low whistle. “Which totally begs the question…just what happened tonight?”
She bit her lip and decided that, okay, perhaps going into the woods after a panther wasn’t going to be her best plan. Rose turned and headed up the path. “Someone drugged me. And then there was a fire.” She winced. “A bomb. It blew up the boat we were searching on, and we barely got off the thing alive.” That explosion and her near-death experience had been way too close for comfort. “Uh, who exactly, are you, by the way?”
“Right. No official introduction, huh?” He kept moving. “My name’s Rayce Lovel.”
He was nearly as tall as Julian, and he had wide shoulders. But where Julian had dark hair—nearly perfect black—Rayce had thick, curling blond hair. And he just moved with an easy, almost carefree stride. He was teasing her, laughing, and…he just didn’t seem evil.
But then, he was carrying a bound and gagged human over his shoulder.
She didn’t speak again until they were in the house. House, mansion, prison…whatever. It was Luke’s domain. A massive structure that reeked of money. She stood in the foyer, glancing down at the marble beneath her feet. At least she wasn’t dripping on it, that was a plus, but her bare feet were leaving a muddy trail.
When had she lost her shoes? When she’d first gone into the water off Key West? She hadn’t even noticed they were missing until that moment.
“Be right back. Just going to get our guest settled…” Rayce marched down the hallway, but he paused and glanced back at her. “You should really just stay right…there until I get back. Don’t go exploring on your own, okay? Not exactly a safe plan.”
Then he was gone.
“Don’t hurt Francis!” Rose yelled. “He’s just a kid!” A kid who truly had seemed to be under a compulsion, just as Julian had mentioned.
Simon says…
She wrapped her arms around her body. The way Francis had been talking on the Pandora, it had certainly sounded as if Simon had been the one to give him the orders. But…Simon had been a human, right?
Just an errand boy for the Collector?
He’d seemed human.
Or had he been something more?
A big, spiral staircase led up to the next level of the house. She paced toward it and her hand reached out to slide against the smooth banister. The house felt massive. It also felt cold. Empty. Hardly a home—more like a fortress. But, really, what else would she expect from Luke? He wasn’t exactly Mr. Warmth.
“The human is safe for the night.”
She jumped. Rose had supernatural senses, but the wolf had just snuck up on her. She whirled around, heart racing, and found him standing just a few feet away.
“All snug and safe,” Rayce continued dryly. “I even gave the kid some food.” His brows lifted. “And people say werewolves are heartless.”
“Who…who says that?”
He tapped his chin. “Wait. Maybe the saying is that we take out hearts. Just slice them right out of our prey’s chests.” He shrugged. “I always get that one confused.”
She blinked.
He smiled. A dimple flashed in his cheek. He looked friendly. Harmless. Like some All-American athlete-type who should be on a cereal box.
Only he’d just talked about cutting the heart from a person’s body.
Not so All-American.
She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “When will…when will Julian be back?”
“Miss him already?”
Her eyes narrowed at his mocking tone.
But Rayce just smiled. “Why don’t you go get some rest?” He pointed to the side, down another snaking hallway. “Take the third door to the right. Use that room. When dawn comes, Julian should be back to his normal self. Sometimes, you just need to let your beast out.”
She didn’t move. “And that’s what he’s doing…letting his beast out?”
“I think it was more that his beast took over. Happens, you know. The primitive side wins.”
Rose bit her lip and glanced toward the front door. “I think I’ll wait out there for him to come back.”
Rayce laughed—a deep, booming sound. She didn’t like his laugh.
Her gaze swung back toward him.
His laughter slowly faded, but he was still smiling as he said, “Julian’s little vampire…”
Rose s
tiffened. “I’m not his anything.”
Rayce stalked toward her.
She backed up. A habit. When an unknown paranormal approached, she had a tendency to flee. She retreated until her back hit the table that was against the foyer wall. A vase wobbled behind her, and Rayce’s hands flew out, catching it before the vase could crash. Catching it—and trapping her with his body.
“Don’t want to piss off Luke,” he murmured. “That is a seriously bad mistake.” He put the vase back into position. His hands slid back to his sides, but he didn’t move away from her. “Getting on the Lord of the Dark’s bad side is never a good plan.”
“I shouldn’t be here.” She should be living a nice, safe, normal life far away from this madness. She shouldn’t have spent months being tortured and starved. She shouldn’t always be so afraid.
“Where should you be, little vamp?” His voice had changed, gone soothing.
And that just scared her even more.
“I don’t want to be like this. I want to go back to the way things were before.”
“Before?”
“Before Luke Thorne changed me.”
He absorbed that but still stared at her quizzically. “Would it be better to go back before you met Julian?”
In the distance, she could have sworn that she heard a roar. Rose jumped.
Rayce sighed. “You’re a vamp now. There is no going back. And instead of being afraid, you need to make all of the other paranormals fear you. That’s the way it is in our world. Strength is prized. Weakness is used.” His expression hardened. “You don’t want to be used.”
She wanted out of there. Her gaze darted toward the front door once more.
“Julian isn’t the only beast running wild on the island. Plenty of others are out there. You don’t want to tangle with them. Very, very bad mistake.”
She swallowed. “Who else is here?”
He took a step back. “Oh, you know, the worst of the worst. The dark paranormals that only Luke can keep in check. You make a deal with him, he owns your soul for a time…basic shit.”
“I never made a deal with him.” She’d never asked for any of this. She’d never—
“You didn’t need to. Julian traded for you. Blood and death and pain…so that you wouldn’t die.”
His words made her heart ache. Rose shook her head.
He growled. Anger thickened that guttural sound.
She stopped shaking her head.
“I don’t have many friends,” he said, his voice still deep and rumbling. “And don’t fucking tell Julian that I consider him to be one.”
Uh, okay.
“But he has walked through hell for you. And you are still afraid of him.” His lips twisted in disgust. “I don’t get it. He’s always held himself back when he’s with you. You’re probably the safest person on earth when he’s near. You’re the only one he’ll never turn his claws on. Don’t you get that? Don’t you see?”
“You don’t understand…”
“No, you don’t. You’re still clinging to your human hope. Let that shit go. Vamp up. Get your undead life together and throw the guy a bone.” He raked a hand over his face. “Do you have any clue how many people he has killed, for you?”
Her heart nearly stopped. “What?”
The front door flew open and slammed against the wall. She didn’t scream—good for her. She did whirl toward the door and she saw a naked Julian standing there. His muscles bulged, his golden eyes blazed, and his claws were currently gripping the door frame.
“Shut…up…wolf,” he gritted out, each word sounding like a struggle.
Rayce let out a long sigh. “Here we go…”
Julian shoved away from the door frame. “Your scent…is…on her.”
“Right. I can explain that. She nearly broke a vase. I reached around her and—” He broke off. “Look, I think you need to run some more. I can still see your beast.”
So could she.
Julian appeared…bigger…than before. Stronger. His face seemed carved from stone, his muscles heaved and his whole body shuddered as he stood there.
The man was fighting the beast. She could practically see it. Only…why? Why was he there? Why wasn’t he still out running? He needed that. She might not fully understand the shifter life, but it was obvious his panther was fighting for freedom.
“Heard you…” His breath rasped out. “Stop…scaring her…”
And her breath caught in her lungs. He’d come back, transformed, because he thought Rayce was frightening her?
Okay, truth time. The wolf did scare me. I don’t want Julian killing for me. I don’t want anyone killing for me. She’d had enough death to last several lifetimes.
But Rose found herself sliding away from Rayce and creeping toward the door—toward Julian.
“Uh, wait, maybe don’t do that right now—” Rayce very, very loudly whispered.
She shot him an irritated glare. “You just told me I was safe with him.”
“He is going to change again any second. Let’s not tempt fate—”
She hated fate. Fate was mean and cruel. Fate could screw off. Rose inched closer to Julian. His chest heaved as her fingers reached up, hovering over his skin. She would not look down at the lower part of his body.
Her gaze dipped down.
Okay, maybe she would.
Damn. Some things are even better than you remember.
Her fingers skimmed over his chest. “You said I’d be safe here.”
He gave a jerky nod.
“Then I won’t be afraid tonight.” A little lie, but one he seemed to need.
His nostrils flared.
“Go run. Do what you need to do.” Then come back to me. She wanted to say those words so badly, but she managed to hold them back.
His head lowered and he…he did that little nuzzle thing again. Where he rubbed his head against her neck. It was odd but sensual. She liked it. She found herself putting her arms on his shoulders. Holding him. And, surprisingly, she wasn’t afraid of him. Not of the sharp teeth or the enhanced strength—not of anything about him.
She just wanted to keep holding him.
But Rayce cleared his throat. “So, yeah, you’re naked and about to go all beast mode. This is the time when you need to step back.”
She felt the rumble of Julian’s growl.
Only…he stepped back. He stared at her a moment more, then he whirled and ran back into the night. She took a step after him, but stopped when she heard the crunch of bones. Her stomach twisted. So much pain.
She didn’t like for Julian to feel pain.
“Told you,” Rayce murmured, sounding pleased as hell with himself. “He can’t hurt you. If anyone else had gone up to him right then, Julian would have sliced them right open.”
Her hand lifted and her fingers trailed along the doorframe. His claws had left deep gouge marks along the wood. She traced them and her heart grew heavier in her chest. “How many people has he killed?”
“That’s a question for him, not me. I already did my over-sharing part for the night.” Then his hands were on her waist and he pulled her back from the doorway.
She frowned at him.
But he just gave her his slow smile. The dimple winked again. “Told you, there are plenty of other bad things out there. Let’s not go drawing them in by dangling bait in front of their faces.”
“So I’m bait now?”
“No, you’re Julian’s vamp. Thought we went over that. So if someone comes at you, he’ll freak and there will be a battle I’m not in the mood to stop tonight.” He nudged her toward the hallway. “Go that way. Get changed. Sleep. When you wake up, Julian will be back. Minus his more beastly side.”
She took a few steps toward that hallway. Then, unable to help herself, Rose glanced back at him. “He’s…talked to you? About me?”
Rayce laughed. “He’s told me as little as possible.”
Oh.
“But sometimes, you don’t need wo
rds to see the truth. And I see how he looks at you.”
Her throat went dry. “How is that?”
“Like someone who has been in hell…and just had a glimpse of paradise.”
No, he was wrong. Julian did not look at her like that.
“Sweet dreams, vamp,” Rayce said.
She turned and shuffled down the hallway. Her dreams were never sweet. They hadn’t been since she’d become a vampire. She only had nightmares. Visions of herself dying—getting shot as Julian stared down at her in horror. Visions of being trapped in a tiny cell. Hunger. Pain.
Death.
No, there would be no sweet dreams for her. There never were.
She stopped in front of the third door on the right. Rose opened the door and stepped inside. Not a room, but a suite. One with heavy, cherry wood furniture. Dark, thick curtains hung over the windows. A massive, four-poster bed had been positioned right in the middle of the suite—
A bed that had claw marks on its wooden posts. Eyes widening, she rushed toward the bed. Her hand lifted and she traced the marks, just as she’d traced the ones on the door frame before.
Julian’s claw marks.
Julian’s room.
She turned around.
Rayce stood in the doorway. She hadn’t heard him follow her. Shifters can move way too quietly. He was staring at her, a slightly apologetic look on his face. “Yeah, sorry about this…but I am going to lock you in for the night.”
“What?”
“And the room has been—well, let’s just say it’s been enhanced so that paranormals can’t get out. I mean, when Julian has his bad nights, we can’t have him busting loose. So vamp strength won’t help you. Julian wanted you safe for the night and that means we can’t risk you running around where the wild things are. So just shower, change into one of his shirts, and have those sweet—”
“I don’t have sweet dreams!” She ran for him.
He jerked the door shut before she could grab him. Rose heard the faint click of a lock sliding into place. She tried wrenching the door open. She tried slamming her body into the wood. Vamp strength. Vamp. Strength!
But nothing happened. Because the tricky jerk was right…there was some kind of enhancement in place. Still, she didn’t give up.