Page 57 of In the Mouth of the Wolf (Of Wolves and Kings #1)

57

MARLOWE

I locked the door to my nest and rushed towards the landline on my nightstand. I had laughed at Cam insisting I have one, but with my cell phone downstairs, I made a mental note to thank him for his foresight.

I dialed 911 but nothing happened. The line was dead.

Well, never mind, Cam, my thanks has been rescinded. Of course, if they cut power they would have cut the phone lines, too.

My wolf was ramming herself into the gate in my mind, demanding to be released so she could join the battle raging downstairs, but I denied her. I was just as likely to get myself killed or distract my pack as I was to make any difference. I couldn’t trust myself or her instincts.

Dammit! I was more than useless up here.

Every snarl, every scream, every thump of bodies caused me to flinch, and I held back the tears and my own whimpers from giving away my location. If Elias had sent me up here to be safe and away from the fray, I was going to listen.

I ran into the walk-in closet and closed the door, backing up into the corner and curling up into a ball on the floor. The only way I could help was to bring back Nolan. I channeled all of my thoughts towards him, begging him to come back quickly.

We’re under attack! Nolan, please…

Heavy, familiar footsteps came down the hall and stopped in front of my nest.

“Marlowe…”

His voice ran its nails down my spine, and my blood froze in my veins. The sound of my name from his lips had once brought me joy and comfort, but now it was simply terrifying. The door knob jiggled for a moment until the whole thing came crashing down.

His footsteps came closer to where I hid, my heart beating so loudly there was no way he couldn’t hear it.

“Marlowe, why are you hiding from me? After everything we’ve been through, do you really doubt my love for you? Do you have any idea what I’ve sacrificed to get you back?”

The closet door opened and I moved as far back in the corner as I could go. Mike’s large frame, dressed completely in black, blocked my only way out. He took a deep breath. “Lunessa, I missed you so much.”

“Get the hell away from me!” I screamed. “I don’t want anything to do with you. Call your men back and leave!”

He stepped forward, crouching down in front of me. He tilted his head, and his violet eyes, shining in the dark, were filled with hurt as he inspected my neck. “You bonded with them?” he asked quietly, his rage building slowly. “But you barely know them.”

I covered my bond marks to protect them. “I was with you for years and barely knew you.”

He sighed. “You just didn’t know what I was. Now that it’s all in the open, we can live as our true selves. And whatever those mutts may have told you, I promise – vampyrs are not your enemy, and you being a shifter doesn’t matter to me. I love you for you.”

“This has nothing to do with you being a vampyr or them being shifters. You lied to me! You cheated on me!” I yelled.

His hand circled my throat, his thumb running along my skin as he closed his eyes. “And I will spend our whole lives trying to make up for that. I won’t betray you again, I promise. Just please, come with me. Let’s go home.”

I shook my head in defiance. “I am home. This is my pack, and this is where I belong.”

“No!” he hissed. I flinched as he continued, his hand now grabbing the collar of my sweater to bring me closer to his face. “You belong with me . I considered letting them live, as a thank you for taking care of you in my absence, but now they’ll have to die. It’s the only way to sever a shifter bond.”

He grabbed my arm and snapped a silver cuff over it, then dragged me out of my room. I kicked and screamed, clawing at every purchase my hands could make, but it had little effect against his armor and bulk. He picked me up and jumped off the walkway into the middle of the living room.

“Finish them!” he commanded the other vampyrs as he ran with me outside into a waiting car.

My pack howled in anguish, trying to fight back against the onslaught of vampyrs and get to me.

Now was the time to shift. Against a group I couldn’t do much, but just Mike? My wolf could at least escape him. I opened the gate in my mind, but nothing happened. My wolf was just... gone. I reached back deeper, and the cuff on my wrist began to burn.

“What did you do to me?” I wailed, grasping at the metal as he shoved me into the back seat. I reached over for the other door but it was locked, and the driver sped away as soon as Mike was inside next to me.

“I can’t have you shifting, Lunessa. Not until you’re under my control again.”

The car raced through the dark streets of Maiingan Hollow, making its way back to the interstate.

“I don’t love you anymore, Mike, and I never will. I swear, if you kill my pack, I will devote my life to making you regret this day until I kill you. I will tear your throat out, I will...”

Mike grabbed my face and kissed me, crushing his lips into mine. I cried out, trying to push him off but I was pinned down, and even beating my fists against his back didn’t stop him. His lips moved down my neck and his hands grabbed my wrists with such force I yelped in pain.

“You will submit,” he hissed. “You are my Lunessa, and I am your master!”

The orange glow from a streetlight illuminated his growing fangs, and I screamed as he sank them into my neck. A burn spread under my skin when he latched his mouth over the wound and drank deeply. My vision glazed over and he pulled back, licking drops of my blood off his lips. “Lunessa,” he sighed. “I’ve missed you so much. You taste... divine.”

Something dark slithered into my bloodstream – a call to obey, to acquiesce to Mike’s demands. My body listened, but in my mind I resisted, planning all the ways I would destroy this male for what he’d done to me, what he was doing to my pack. I watched in vain as he lowered himself to bite me again.

A pair of headlights approached from behind much too quickly, and I braced myself when they swerved at the last second, clipping the corner of the car and forcing us to spin off the road.