Page 9 of Property of Mako (Kings of Anarchy MC: Louisiana #1)

Calix stood at the edge of the arena with his arms resting on the top rail.

He was so damn good-looking it should be a crime.

I had to keep reminding myself that he was a lethal monster.

I’d seen him violently obliterate three other vampires like it was nothing.

Doing my best to ignore him, I clucked my tongue and squeezed my legs to drive Copper forward.

“I’m eight hundred and ninety-seven,” he announced as I passed for the third or fourth time.

Shocked, I drew back on the reins and spun Copper to face him. The poor stallion tossed his head and danced side to side. My mouth had to have been flopping open and shut like a fish.

The corner of his mouth lifted in the most actual smile I’d ever seen on him.

“Don’t you still have stalls to clean?” I huffed.

“Done.”

“What?” There was no way he was done with all of them.

“I didn’t stutter.”

“Well… thank you,” I begrudgingly offered.

He lifted his chin.

“So what, you're just staying here watching me? For what?” I demanded, and he looked away. At first, I didn’t think he was going to answer me.

“They know you are snooping around. I have reason to believe that they are going to come after you,” he finally replied.

I laughed in disbelief. “Me? Why? I haven’t found out anything. I’m not exactly a young girl either. I don’t fit the profile.”

“You’re thirty, Lyra. You were fourteen when Lily was born. You’re not ancient, and you’re a beautiful woman. Trust me when I say they wouldn’t need much more reason than that to take you.”

My cheeks burned at the compliment, and I forced a laugh to hide my discomfort.

He didn’t so much as crack a grin. I also wanted to ask him how he knew so much about me, but I didn’t.

Though the strange ability I’d always had to read people and “speak” to animals was screaming at me.

There was something he wasn’t saying. “What aren't you telling me?”

“Nothing. I don’t know more than I’ve told you.” He boldly stared at me as if daring me to call him out.

Yet I also somehow knew if I did, he wouldn’t give me an inch.

For the rest of the day, we surprisingly worked silently but comfortably together.

I had to force myself to stay busy, or I would drive myself crazy with worry about Lily.

With the back of my gloved hand, I wiped the sweat from my brow.

We’d been repairing a section of the fence I’d been meaning to get to for over a year.

“You need to go inside and eat something for lunch,” he insisted from his crouched position.

“I’m not hungry.”

“You’re a liar,” he shot back with an actual chuckle as he set the fencing pliers down and stood up. “I can hear your stomach growling.”

I gasped in affront as I pressed my palm to my stomach.

“Come on, I’ll take you to get something if you don’t want to make it. But I’ll need your keys unless you want to ride my bike,” he said.

“You would let me ride on your bike?” I asked, surprised.

He cocked a single elegant brow. “Normally, no. I never let anyone ride it. But since you insisted on staying here, then yes.”

The initial flutter that had stirred in my abdomen died. What were you expecting, Lyra? For him to say he wanted to feel you snuggled up to him on his bike?

“Then let’s go.”

We rode into town on his bike, and I couldn’t believe the thrill it gave me. I’d forgotten how much I loved the feeling of the wind blowing through my hair like that. Yet, the true thrill came from the feel of his hard body between my legs and beneath my hands.

The rest of the day flew by, and before I knew it, it was dark and the day was done.

That was the worst time. When everything stopped and it was quiet, I couldn’t still my thoughts. I couldn’t bury my worry that I’d never see my sister again.

I didn’t sleep. Then again, I rarely did anymore. The dark circles under my eyes most days bespoke my lack of sleep of late.

Yet neither did he. I wanted to ask if he did sleep.

We sat in the living room until long after midnight, the old record player that had belonged to my grandmother spinning blues, the lights off except for the glow of a single lamp. His leather vest hung off the chair in the corner, and the tattoos along his arms moved like whispers in candlelight.

“Why do you do it?” I asked, watching him. “Stay involved in society. If you’re as old as you say you are—wouldn’t it be easier to just… disappear? Be a lone wolf or whatever you want to call it? Not worry about anyone but yourself.”

“I tried,” he said, his voice like gravel. “Didn’t stick, I guess.”

“Because of what happened to her?” I asked, taking a shot in the dark. From little things he’d said, I had a strong suspicion that this had to do with a woman.

He didn’t answer. But the look in his eyes said enough.

“I think that despite your broody, moody exterior, you actually have a good heart,” I softly murmured.

He remained mute as he stared out the window.

* * *

Around 3 a.m., his phone rang. I rubbed my eyes, surprised that I’d actually fallen asleep. I didn’t even remember feeling sleepy.

He picked it up without a word. Listened. Eyes narrowing. A growl caught in his throat like something feral.

He ended the call and stood.

“We’ve got a lead. Someone who infiltrated the Covenant—years ago. Presumed dead. He’s willing to talk.”

“I’m coming with you,” I informed him as I bolted to my feet and rushed for my boots.

“No. A prospect is on his way. He will stay with you until I get back. Get some sleep—you’re exhausted.”

“I didn’t ask.”

His lips parted, sharp with protest, but I stepped in front of him.

“You said you weren’t going to leave me alone,” I whispered, playing low ball. “So don’t. Let me help you.”

For a few moments, he stared at me like I was the last bit of light left in a drowning world. Then he reluctantly nodded.

* * *

We met him in an abandoned chapel on the outskirts of Red Hollow—vandalized pews, stained-glass windows shattered long ago. The informant’s name was Marrow, though I doubted that was the one he was born with.

I thought I looked bad from my perpetual insomnia? He looked half-dead. Pale, gaunt, eyes sunken like he hadn’t slept in a decade. But there was something alive in his stare—something manic. His eyes darted to the corners of the room as if he expected shadows to peel off the walls and grab him.

“You don’t know what they are,” he rasped. “The Covenant. You think they’re just ancient vampires with too much money and too many secrets? They’re more. They serve something older.”

“Focus,” Calix growled. “Tell me about the auction.”

Marrow smiled faintly. “It follows the moon’s phases. Every time.”

Calix’s gaze grew sharp. “Every time?”

“Yes. I have no idea how many there have been over the years, but they are alive and well. The next one’s soon.”

“That’s why so many young girls are going missing?” Calix asked, his gaze intense.

Marrow nodded sagely.

“Where?” I asked.

Marrow turned to me slowly, and I fought the urge to shrink away from him. “That’s the thing. It’s never the same place twice. But the signs… they mark the venue with blood and shadow right before the auction. You’ll know it when you see it.”

I shivered as he grinned maniacally at me. “They don’t just take anyone,” he murmured, his voice sounding suddenly sad. “They take the pretty ones, the strong ones. The ones who can be… sold. Ones like you.”

I gasped.

Calix growled .

He turned back to Calix and opened his mouth like he was about to say something else—something important—when the window behind him exploded.

Shards of glass sprayed the room as a dark figure came crashing through the stained frame in a blur of red and black. In the moonlight, I saw two things: his sharp teeth and the blade glinting silver in his hand.

The figure hit the ground, spun so fast it was a blur, and drove a stake I hadn’t noticed through Marrow’s chest, impaling him against the wall.

I couldn’t help it—I screamed. Blood sprayed and splattered across my face and chest. As Calix pushed me back and stepped protectively in front of me, Marrow’s mouth opened—but nothing came out.

Then the dark figure beheaded him in one fluid motion. The head hit the floor with a sickening thud.

Time froze. Then it was as if it snapped.

The intruder turned toward me, eyes burning with what could only be described as hunger, his grin dripping with malice. Long fangs glistened in the dim light, and I was frozen in place.

“Lyra, down!” Calix barked.

Snapping to, I dropped as the attacker lunged for me—but Calix was already there.

Calix had moved faster than I could process. One second, the vampire was advancing. The next, Calix was on him.

They crashed through the pews, wood shattering beneath them. Fangs flashed. Blood splattered. The assassin snarled, claws out—but Calix grabbed him by the throat and ripped it open. I stumbled back at the sheer brutality of it.

Despite the dark blood staining the vampire’s neck, he was still fighting with a barbaric desperation. He stabbed at Calix, grazing his side.

I cried out, but Calix didn’t flinch.

With a snarl, he drove his fist through the bastard’s chest and ripped out his still-beating heart. Then, in one savage motion, he tore the head clean from the body.

Blood hit the wall like rain—dark and ominous.

Transfixed, I watched the dark liquid slowly begin to run down the faded and torn wallpaper. Vaguely, I was aware of the thump from the body hitting the floor.

When it was over, Calix stood panting over the corpse, chest rising and falling, blood dripping from his hands. The animalistic glowing silver in his eyes hadn’t faded.

I approached slowly, breath shaking.

He turned toward me, and I stopped dead in my tracks—and for a moment, he looked like a demon. Something monstrous and ancient.

But then I met his eyes. They slowly lost the look of mercury that had consumed them until they were the same storm-tossed sea color I’d become accustomed to. Other than the flashes of silver that sparked with each deep breath he took—he was there again.

He stepped over the corpse, blood soaking into his shirt, and as he stared down at the crumpled form, he whispered like a vow, “They took your sister. They marked her—the Covenant. We’re doing our best to track down the location and figure out when it will be. I was told Marrow knew.”

He sighed as he glanced over his shoulder to where the headless man still hung on the wall from the stake through his chest.

“We got a lead on a few places they may be holding the girls for the auction. My brothers and I are going to check them out. Then, I’m going to burn them down—brick by brick—until we get her back. I refuse to let them win again.”

Worry drew my brow tight.

“They marked her? What do you mean?”

His tortured gaze found mine again. “They set something in motion that cannot be undone, and for that, I am truly sorry. We will find your sister, but you need to be prepared because this will change everything for you.”