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Yet, the pain was real. The burning sensation crept from her wrist up her arm and higher until her chest was aflame.

Stop! Please stop!she begged whatever mysterious force was in charge. Gasping for breath, she fumbled at her wrist clumsily until she finally unclipped the bracelet and threw it across the room.

The pressure and fire vanished the second it left her hands.

Something smacked into her, as if she’d been hit by a flat wall flying at sixty miles an hour. Her body flew backwards as searing pain exploded along her front.

Chapter Four

Fuckinghell!

Marek snapped his power back. He hadn’t expected the sudden withdrawal of the magic assaulting him. With a burst of speed, he caught Olivia right before she smashed into the wall.

For a second, they stood there, frozen. Her breaths coming in shallow gasps while his body came alive at the feel of his mate in his arms. His chest continued to ache from his heart’s resumed beat, the muscle unused in centuries.

Mate. She was his mate. The void where his soul should be yearned for its return. For the light and love of his mate to make him whole.

His missing piece.

“Let me go!” His mate’s furious shout snapped him back to the present. She thrashed in his arms, one of her flailing fists catching his chin.

Marek grunted, more out of surprise than pain, for she didn’t have the physical strength to hurt him.

Since his body and his vampire lit up as though her struggles were meant to arouse him, he dropped her unceremoniously and backed away from her.

He had no business desiring someone who worked for his enemy, who treated his kind like lab rats. Who was, apparently, also a witch, except she didn’t smell like one. But there was no doubt she’d used magic. So, she was a scientist and a witch? In his experience, the two normally didn’t mix. His mate was becoming more perplexing by the second.

Olivia yelped as she fell to the ground. He wouldn’t feel sorry for her. Mating made vampires unreasonable and stupid, and Marek prided himself on being neither of these, at least not for the last five centuries. The days where his cock did his thinking were long gone.

The woman struggled to sit up. Her arms were visibly shaking, pain filling her wide honey-colored eyes.Don’t let her fool you.Marek hardened his heart. When she glanced at the door, he growled, frustrated by how much her struggle bothered him. “Stay where you are.”

He retrieved the glittering piece of jewelry she’d tossed to the other side of the room. It was still warm and smelled heavily of strong magic. When Marek touched it, a slight shock buzzed into his palm as though it was miffed.

“You can’t keep me here,” she said, her voice wavering despite the jut of her chin. “My boss is expecting me. My coworkers, my family, they’ll look for me.”

The reminder of her job soured his mood further. To think his mate was a scientist working for the Organization studying vampire blood to create stronger Hunters. When he’d found her ID, he’d ordered Sascha to dig into her background.

Olivia Rodriguez, age thirty-five. Her chocolate hair was cut into a no-nonsense bob, framing an oval face with striking features. Both her parents had died when she was eighteen. She’d raised her younger sister, supporting themselves by working two jobs. After her sister turned eighteen, she’d put herself through college, obtaining her Bachelor’s and Master’s before earning her PhD. She started working for Zylotech a year ago.

If he weren’t choked with rage, he’d be impressed. Who was he kidding? He was impressed. But her accomplishments only made her more dangerous and less trustworthy.

His grip on the bracelet tightened. “They won’t find you. Tell me, where did you get this?”

“I’ve always had it. Give it back.” She reached out with her palm flat, waiting expectantly.

He scoffed and stuffed the bracelet in his pocket. “Do you take me for a fool? To hand you the only weapon you have against me?”

“Weapon? It’s a bracelet,” she said like he was slow in the head.

“Really?” He raised a brow. “Why did you fling it across the room?”

“I didn’t. It fell.”

It was a blatant lie and they both knew it. “Right,” he drawled out the word.

She lunged to her feet and at him, or he thought that was her plan. He even braced for the hit. Except, her knees bent, and her body tilted to the side.

Marek caught her on instinct with an arm around her waist. Spears of electricity slammed into him. The rushing of her blood drowned out everything else. He rubbed his nose into her temple and inhaled. His vampire purred at the scent of arousal. God, she smelled good. His fangs ached to drop and taste her.