Black Heart (10 page)

****

Marcus
Steele’
s
bored expression had not altered much since he arrived at the pub
an hour ago. He didn’t know why he came to Bennington Bay. Deegan’s
threats still buzzed in his brain, the threats of staying well away
from him. Maybe he had to be near him as close as he dare in the
same town. Also, his brother, Devlin, was driving him crazy. He
would not shut up about the breeding.
Why haven’t you got any of the chosen
bitches with pup yet?

He was sick of the talk of
it.
Those
Thrope terms for women and children did not sit well with him. As
head of their Thrope pack, Devlin focused on breeding, hence the
reason he had Marcus turned, to infuse Vampire blood into the
Thrope line, to make a powerful hybrid. It seemed to have backfired
on a lot of levels. Devlin was not aware of Marcus’s preference for
men before he had him turned.

Homosexuals were not tolerated
in the Thrope world
. They were useless as breeders, and when they were exposed
they were put down, destroyed. They were considered an abomination.
The rule seemed medieval and backward in Marcus’s eyes. Any gay
Thropes lived in secret, forcing themselves to breed with females
though the act was abhorrent to them. It destroyed their souls and
their very essence. Most left the pack and became lone wolves or
Rogues. He was considering doing the same thing when his brother
demanded he offer himself up as an experiment for the sake of the
pack. How could he refuse? He was the Second.

Frankly, his
domineering brother
made him a little afraid. Deegan Black turned him, and turned him
on. Was he in love with him? It was hard to judge, as it could be
just the pull of a newly turned Vampire to his maker. He knew he
was young and inexperienced, just had his twenty-first birthday a
couple of weeks before being turned. Now he would be twenty-one
forever, in body anyway. Already he felt ancient and weary in his
mind and his soul.

He took a long pull on his bottle of
Alexander Keith’s ale. Nickelback roared from the speakers. Things
were happening with his body and his mind since Deegan Black turned
him. He could no longer shift into a wolf, no matter how long and
hard he concentrated. He also found that female flesh was not
entirely abhorrent to him any longer. The few times he mated with
the bitches this week, he found he rather enjoyed it. Could he
become Vampire-like in his sexual preferences, able to be with
either gender? Astonishing. His stamina, always off the charts as a
Thrope, was even more so with the Vampire blood in play. He could
fornicate for hours and not break a sweat. One night he
experimented. He went to Halifax to a private club that hosted
orgies. He outlasted everyone and fucked anything that moved.
Still, he wanted more.

A woman walked up to him and tried to
engage him in suggestive conversation, but he waved her off. Not
sure what he was in the mood for tonight. He inhaled. Deegan’s
musky oceanic scent—was he here? He looked around the pub
expectantly, and his keen gaze stopped on a woman standing by the
door. Ah, the woman from Deegan’s house that afternoon in his
study.

She was drenched in
Deegan’s scent, and
Marcus could tell she’d recently had sex with him multiple times.
His mate, perhaps? He inhaled. God, he was jealous, and he wanted
that scent all over him. Deegan’s rejection of him stung. How
delicious to get back at him by fucking his woman. He remembered
the way the lady had stared admiringly at his naked form that day.
What
was
her name?

Only one way to find out. He
downed the rest of the India Pale Ale
, slammed the empty bottle on the bar, and
strode toward her. The closer he moved, the more he sensed the
intense and conflicting emotions that emanated from her. This new
development occurred many times since being turned. He could sense
from Deegan’s woman anger, heartbreak, sadness and an overwhelming
grief that almost brought him to his knees. This also was a
revelation. Thropes were cold-blooded beasts, and emotions did not
factor into their lives, not even when they bred. And family units?
Forget it, no warm fuzzies with Thropes. Children ran wild, most of
the time not knowing who sired them. Compassion, empathy, and mercy
were not the Thrope way. Very few mated for life or admitted to
love.

S
ince being turned into a Vampire, he was
drowning in feelings and emotions he never had before. He had never
sensed them in others before either, yet he did now. The sensations
were overwhelming at times. He fought back the compassion he felt,
because he wanted raw revenge.

“
Remember me?” He smiled
wickedly.

The woman’s
gaze went straight to his
crotch. He felt his cock jerk to life in response. Oh yeah, she
remembered.

“
Marcus, isn’
t it?” she replied with no
emotion.

“
Marcus Steele, and you
are?”

“
Raylene.”

“
A rare and beautiful name.” He
leaned in and inhaled. “Deegan’s scent is all over you. Are you his
mate? Or just his bed warmer for the night?”

Her gaze narrowed. “Jealous?”

He laughed. “Maybe, I won’t deny I desire
him. Is it the pull of a new Vampire to his maker or Formator,
whatever it is called? I’m not sure. I’m not certain of a lot of
things lately.” He sobered. He had not meant to expose so much. Her
face softened in understanding.

“
It must be quite an adjustment
for you.”

He reached out and touched her cheek. “Why
are you so unhappy, Raylene? You are grieving.”

She did not pull away from his touch. In
fact, she leaned into his hand.

“
Yes, I am grieving, for so many
things.”

Nickelback wailing about rock
stars over the speakers soon changed to the slower “Far
Away”
.
A
few couples moved to the small dance floor. Marcus backed away and
held out his hand.

“
Let’s dance,
Raylene.”

She hesitated, then took his hand and
followed him. He pulled her close, his hand gently holding her head
against his chest. They moved in tandem to Chad Kroeger’s poignant
singing. She felt luscious, feminine, and more enticing than he
imagined she would be. No wonder Deegan marked her. He
instinctively knew it. His other hand was splayed on her back.
Marcus could feel the burning from a raised mark above her shoulder
blade. His cock was full and hard, and he let her feel it. She
moved closer to him, rubbing herself against his erection. Another
slow song from Nickelback. They did not break apart, just kept
dancing.

She winced, as if in pain.

“
The mark, it’s
burning?”

She nodded. She must be turned on by him.
How gratifying. Both his hands dropped behind her, cupping her ass
and bringing her in tight against his cock.

“
Feel me, feel how I want you. I
saw the way you looked at me in Deegan’s study. You liked what you
saw, didn’t you, Raylene?”

“
Yes. What does it
matter?”

“
We can do something about
it.”

Marcus ground his hips in a decadent sway.
A small moan slipped from her lips. Ah, Vampire blood. It didn’t
take much to arouse one. Should he kiss her? His thoughts of
revenge were soon conflicting with his compassion. She was
vulnerable and grieving, and he would be the worst sort of scum to
take advantage of her. While he argued with himself internally, her
hand snaked its way down his chest until it brushed past his cock.
Raylene grabbed him and squeezed hard. He ground his hips into her
hand, encouraging her to take more. It was then the deep raspy
voice growled loudly. The tone sounded full of menace, so much so,
the few couples nearby froze in their tracks.

“
Raylene!”

“
His master’
s voice,” he whispered to
Raylene. He felt her stiffen in his embrace, and she dropped her
hand immediately.

Deegan Black. Great, this was not quite
the way he imagined this playing out—he could not form another
thought, because in a flash Deegan moved across the floor and had
him by the throat. Deegan dragged him, his feet not even touching
the floor, and damn, the man was strong. He slammed him against the
wall. The wood panel split behind him from the impact. The hand
around his neck squeezed, while Deegan’s other hand grabbed his
throbbing cock through his pants.

“
You ever go near or touch my
mate again, I will rip this wolf-stick from your body and nail it
to the wall, you follow?” His voice dripped with murderous
intent.

He tried to talk, but all that came out
was a dry croak. Deegan loosened his grip. Raylene tried to get
Deegan to stop, but he wasn’t hearing her. His glowing red eyes
were firmly fixed on him.

“
We were consoling each other,”
Marcus managed to sputter. “We both love a man who is unable and
incapable of returning our feelings.”

Deegan slammed him against the wall again.
The bartender was pulling on Deegan’s arm.

“
Deegan Black, that’s enough! I
won’t have this in my place. Take it outside!”

“
Stay out of this, Hammond. Walk
away—now.”

The bartender must have heard something in
Deegan’s voice because he backed off.

Deegan leaned in close, his fangs flashing
with deadly purpose.

“
Listen to me, boy, I don’t love
you. I don’t love anyone. Get that through your damned
head!”

Marcus heard the gasp that came from
Raylene at Deegan’s cruel words. She turned and walked
away.

Deegan yelled,
“Wait for me
outside, Raylene. Do not
dare
leave without me!”

Deegan let go of his cock at last. Now
both hands were around his neck. Shit. He didn’t know what
possessed him to say what he said next, nothing like provoking an
enraged Vampire.

“
You’re a cruel bastard. You
don’t deserve her love—or mine.”

He wasn’
t sure, but he could have sworn
he saw hurt flicker in those reddened eyes ever so briefly. If so,
it disappeared. Deegan finally let go of his neck.

“
You are young and impetuous.
You need guidance and training. I have been neglecting my duties as
far as you are concerned. As your Formator, it is my sworn
honorable oath to see it done. I have been too preoccupied.” Deegan
backed away, the red glow fading from his eyes. “Marcus, there will
never be anything between us. It is simply idolatry on your part,
nothing more. It will pass.”

Marcus rubbed his neck. It felt like those
long fingers were still squeezing.

“
Don’t tell me what I feel. You
know nothing of what I am going through.”

“
You’re right, I
don’
t. What
about your brother?”

Marcus laughed gruffly, his voice
scratchy from having his voice box all but crushed.

“
Do you mean does he have some
cunning plan to build a powerful army of Wolf-Vampire hybrids to
take over dominance in the Shadow World? The answer is no, Deegan.
He guesses I can no longer shift. I am about to be expelled. I
don’t know who or what I am anymore, thanks to you and my damned
brother.”

Deegan rubbed his neck in annoyance. “If
he banishes you, come to me. Rest assured, you will be looked after
by the Blackthorne Clan, my Blood Oath on that. You are one of
us.”

“
Am I? How
comforting.”

“
Stay the hell away from my mate
in future. You are not to even look at her.”

Deegan turned on his heel and stormed
out of the pub. A small group of people looked at him with wide
eyes.

“
Show’
s over,” Marcus snarled.

The people scattered.

****

Deegan took sharp intakes of breath as he
walked toward the exit of the pub. He lost all control. Something
he had been doing a lot of lately. He hated losing control. Being a
Vampire, emotions could run high, overheat and eventually bubble
over. While he drove around looking for Raylene, the mate mark on
his cock burned like someone had slapped his prick on a damned open
flame. He had never been marked before by a mate, but he had heard
some of the other Vampires talk of it.

If your bonded mate were with
someone else, aroused
by that person, the mate mark would burn
painfully. Almost like a warning system. Theirs would burn as well,
to warn them they were about to violate the Mate Bond. He pushed
through the door with a great deal of force and scanned the
darkened parking lot. Raylene was leaning against the Thunderbird,
her arms crossed. Her expression was cold, a hot fury burning in
her eyes. Actually he was surprised she’d stayed. He would have bet
a chunk of change she would have driven off.

He strode toward her.
Grabbing her
shoulders, he whirled her around and tore her cotton shirt at the
sleeve, exposing her back. The mate mark glowed red and appeared
inflamed.

He pushed her away in
disgust.