Dark Passion Rising (6 page)

 “Do you take me for a fool?  I have known you all your life, do
you think I don’t know when you are lying to me?”  His voice snapped like a
whip in the quiet room, disappointment clear on his face.

 “I am telling you the truth, Miguel.”  Tambra’s voice shook but
she kept her eyes firmly on his, her heart thudding heavily in her chest. “That
is all I remember.”

  “And the name of this esteemed citizen of yours?”

  This at least was something that she could give him.

“Marcus Valerian.”

 For one brief second something seemed to flicker across his
face, but was gone so fast Tambra was unsure if she had even seen it.

 Miguel’s voice was cool as he spoke, not quite meeting her eyes
as he made his way back to his desk.

“I want you to take the next two weeks off.  During that time I
will look into what this Mr. Valerian has to say.  You will be taking this time
unpaid.”

 “You can’t do that!  I need to work, Miguel.  Don’t take that
away from me,” Tambra pleaded.  All she had ever known was being a cop, the
idea that there could be a real possibility of her losing her job had never
occurred to her until now.

“There will be a review on this in two weeks.  I suggest you use
this time to remember exactly what happened with your missing time.”  His voice
cut through her like a knife in the heart.

  Tambra left Miguel’s office with a heavy feeling of certainty
that nothing would ever be the same again.

  She spent the rest of her morning, and most of the afternoon,
coming to terms with the sudden turn her life seemed to be taking.  The
disappearance of the wounds she had sustained only three days ago loomed large
in her mind.  What if Marcus was not crazy?  She had seen the beast that had
attacked her.  She knew she had come across something supernatural that night.

  By the time a knock on the door roused her from her musings, it
was three in the afternoon.  She opened the door to find Cody leaning against
the door jamb, a crooked smile playing on his handsome face.  Dressed in worn
jeans and a white tee shirt, he looked rested and full of energy. 

Since Tambra had spent a restless night between dreams of Marcus
and dreams of turning into a werewolf, and then topped it off with her
disastrous meeting with Miguel, Cody’s demeanor grated on the last nerve she
had left.

“You’re late. What did you find?” she barked, before turning,
walking to her coffee pot, and pouring herself another cup.

 “Nothing.  Your boy is not just clean, he’s a ghost.”  Cody
shrugged.  “Got another cup somewhere?”

 Tambra pulled another cup down from the cabinet, poured the
remaining coffee into it, and offered it to him.

“What do you mean ‘a ghost’?  There has to be something, he owns
a house for Christ’s sake!”

 “Hey, don’t shoot the messenger here.  There is no Marcus
Valerian on record anywhere, and if he owns a house it’s under a different
name.”  Cody straddled a chair, took a sip of the coffee, and grimaced.  “Damn,
Tambra, that has to be the worst coffee I’ve ever tasted.”

 “Don’t drink it then,” she snapped.

 “You must have seen Suarez.  Given your mood.”

 “Yep.  He has me on a suspension for the next two weeks.” Tambra
sighed, her gaze focused on her cup.  “Unpaid.”

    “What happened to you, Tam?  I mean, what really happened?”   His
voice bled concern. “You wouldn’t believe it.”

  “You would be surprised at the shit I’ve seen, cher,” he
scoffed.

  Tambra’s eyebrows rose in surprise.  “And what
exactly
have you seen, Cody?”

“Freaky shit that I just can’t explain.  Yet.  I will get to the
bottom of it though.  There is always a logical explanation for everything.” 
He shrugged it off before turning the conversation back on course.  “If you fed
the Captain the same line you gave me last night it’s no wonder you have time
to kill.  Come on, tell me the truth.  I promise not to interrupt,” he cajoled.

“Look, I don’t know what really happened.  I need more time to
sort it out, okay?”

 Cody gave her a hard look before he nodded.  “Fine, but I’ll
only wait for a little while, and then I expect complete honesty no matter how
unbelievable it sounds, agreed?”

 “Agreed.  Now how about we get something to eat?  I’m starving. 
Then afterward we need to trace my steps back to his house.”

 Tambra was already at the door, purse slung over her shoulder.

 “I’m not in the mood for one of your veggie restaurants.  I need
meat,” Cody grumbled, rising from his seat.

 “Actually, I think I want a steak.”

 Shock registered on Cody’s face and his eyes narrowed on her.

“Do you feel alright?  In the three years we’ve known each other
I have never seen you eat meat.”

 “I feel better than ever.  Just listening to my body, and my
body craves protein.”

It was true.  She had never felt so strong, even with the little
sleep she had managed to get.  She felt as if she could run a mile without
breaking a sweat.

“Alright then, let’s go sacrifice that cow for your dinner shall
we?”

 She paled in reaction to Cody’s quip.  Marcus’s words,
You
can’t leave unless you want the blood of innocent lives on your hand
s,
filled her mind.  Would she look at Cody like a source of food?

 He frowned at her.  “Hey, cher, it was just a joke, no need to
look like the world is coming to an end.”

Dread filled her and her stomach churned.  How long did she have?
 How was she supposed to protect innocent lives when she did turn?  There were
too many questions and only one source to get answers from.  Whether she liked
it or not, she was going to have to confront Marcus.  But this time she was
going to be prepared.  She just hoped she could trust Cody, because she had no
choice but to turn his rational world upside down.

****

White marble floors with gold vein glowed under the afternoon
sunlight in Temple Fox’s office.  An impressive display of swords and knives
hung from one wall across from an ornate, cherry wood bookcase filled with
ancient tomes.  A massive sofa and two reclining chairs surrounded a black
marble coffee table.  Temple Fox stared out at the panoramic view of Las Vegas
with unseeing eyes, a frown marring his handsome features.

He had built a vast empire from the ground up, took control of
the half starved Lycans, and built them into a force to be reckoned with.  Something
to be respected.  And it was all slipping through his fingers.  The latest pack
member to go feral was a Pure Blood, practically unheard of since Pure Blooded
Lycans were noted for their self possession.  Now Fox had the Tribunal’s
Enforcers to answer to, and that was unconscionable.

Oren’s sudden death weighed heavily on his mind.  Though he had never
cared for the uppity Lycan, Oren had been a powerful alpha and had held
influence within his pack.  Only days after the Pure Blood’s death, Temple was
already hearing rumblings of dissatisfaction with his leadership.  Temple
needed to diffuse this situation before emotions ran too high.  He knew far too
well how deeply passions ran within his Breed.  Only through control could they
repress the beast within.  Losing Oren could set into motion circumstances that
could explode into violence and destroy his kind and everything Temple had
worked too hard to build.

Tambra Ellis could very well be their salvation, if only he could
get his hands on her without the interference of the Tribunal and their
arrogant Enforcers.  Rarely had a Pure Blood turned a human.  Only a human
bitten by a Pure Blood could control the three different aspects of the Lycan. 
The chance of her not only surviving the Rising but being able to shift from
human, to a humanoid blending of the human and wolf, and then to the wolf would
be something the pack could rally around.  If Tambra lived through the change,
and could successfully shift in the Lycan way, Temple could take her as mate
and lead the pack through these dangerous times.  He wouldn’t know until her
first change, which was just one more reason he needed to find her.  If Temple
could be the one there to ease Tambra into the new world that awaited her, the
one that helped her through the transition personally, convincing her to be his
mate would be that much easier.  

There was a soft knock at the door, rousing him from his train of
thought.

“Enter.”

 Lucien, his second in command, moved into the room with
surprising grace for someone so large.  He was a full head taller and a good
thirty pounds of muscle heavier than Temple.  A nasty scar ran from the corner
of his eye to his mouth.  Triumph lit his light gray eyes, as he stood by Temple’s
side, staring out the window.

     “We have located Tambra Ellis,” Lucien announced.  His deep
voice reminded Temple of ground glass.

 “I want her monitored very closely.  Do not make contact at this
time.  She must be kept unaware of our presence.” Temple eyed his second.  “It
would be better if you put one of your less conspicuous Weres on her.”

 Lucien snorted.  “Bastian is already on it.  Right now she is
with her partner, but I will be informed when she is once again alone.”

 “Excellent.  I think it’s time for us to meet Miss Ellis.”

“The Enforcers won’t like that.”

 “They cannot prevent me from meeting Oren’s progeny.  I’m within
my rights as leader of the Lycan pack to do so,” Temple spoke softly, belying
the hard edge beneath the words.  He may not be able to whisk Tambra away, as
his instincts demanded, but he could entice her to come with him willingly.  He
was a man with no small amount of appeal when it came to women, and quite adept
at seduction.  Given a little time, he was sure Tambra would succumb to his
obvious charms.

 Satisfied that an advantageous conclusion would soon be reached
in regards to the female, he addressed the much more serious problem at hand.

“Has there been any word on the missing Weres?”

 “They have been captured and destroyed.”

  Temple sighed with regret.  “What a waste.  Please put the word
out that we need more recruits for our cause.  I want to see at least five new
Weres within the next two days.”

 “Do you think that wise?  With the Enforcers sniffing around, it
is getting more difficult to keep them believing the virus theory.”

 Temple brushed Lucien’s concerns off with a shrug of his
shoulders.  “Even if they question the virus, they will be unprepared to stop
what has already been put into action.”

 Lucien’s jaw tightened, his expression troubled as he glanced at
Temple.  “I have a bad feeling about all this.  There is too much that can go
wrong, too many variables for my comfort.”

  “Just do as ordered Lucien, let me worry about the rest.  Get
me those Weres and watch the others carefully.  At any sign of loss of control,
destroy them.”

 Weres, unlike Pure Blood Lycans, were not born but made.  Humans
bitten by Weres could only shift on a full moon and could only retain one shape,
the “werewolf” form, which was a humanoid form with fangs and claws, a mix of
wolf and human.  Only Lycans, or Pure Bloods as they were most commonly called,
could shift between three forms, their human form, the werewolf, and wolf. 
They could also shift at will, not restricted to the pull of the moon, and they
could control their baser instincts with less effort than Weres.

Temple had done everything short of incarcerating the Weres to control
their emotional imbalance.  The need to hunt and feed was the only thing
compelling them.  Feral Weres were stronger than the regular Weres, and the
longer they remained out of control, the less restrained by the moon they
became, until they too could shift at will.

 Temple needed his new army easily controlled.  He would let the
Enforcers think whatever they wanted.  Diseased ferals or an uprising, either
way it was much too late for them, and for the old regime of short sighted
Tribunal members.  Temple was in a battle for the survival of his Lycan Breed,
there was nothing he wouldn’t do, no crime too great.  He would be instrumental
in the downfall of the Enforcers and the Tribunal. He would herald a new form
of government.  And he would have Tambra Ellis at his side.

Chapter Six

 Marcus couldn’t escape the images as they played out.  Even
though centuries had passed, the dreams still haunted him, binding him in a
relentless grip that he was powerless against.  A fine sheen of sweat covered
his body as he tensed, muscles straining against the wave of remembered pain
and death.

 
Blood ran in small rivers, marring the pristine white sand of
the coliseum floor, pooling around the bodies of the fallen.  The metallic tang
of it clogged Marcus’s nose.  He could taste death in the back of his throat. 
As he raised his bloody sword in victory, the crowd went mad, surging to their
feet, his name on their lips in a chant that vibrated through the air.     
Marcus Valerian, adored gladiator, fierce warrior, proud Spartan, and slave to
Rome.  

  The vision blurred into a swirl of colors, coalescing into
the rich silks of blue, red, and green that surrounded him as he lay on a
pallet of pillows and sheets.  He had been summoned here many times, a common
practice with the elite citizens of Rome.   The popular gladiators were treated
well, their every need seen to, and Marcus was the most popular of them all.

 
Nadia parted the silks, her skin like burnished gold as the
flames from the oil tapers played over the curves of her bare body.  Her full
breasts rose proudly, topped with nipples as ripe as pomegranates.  The heady
smell of jasmine filled the room as a slight breeze from the open patio stirred
the silk drapes. 

Nadia smiled invitingly as she moved her body over him, her
lips brushing softly over his as his arousal hardened against her. He opened
his lips for her darting tongue, her exploration building a fire in his belly. 
He stroked her long, black hair away from her face.  Her dark eyes were free of
any kohl liner, her full lips tasted of honey.  He was compelled to taste
deeper as his tongue dueled with hers.  Her small, elegant hand stroked down
his chest until she held him in her palm.   A groan rumbled in Marcus’s chest,
his hips moving with the rhythm she set. She broke the kiss, nibbling her way
down his jaw to his neck, the scrape of her teeth sharp as she dragged them
against the pulsing vein.