The Dark-Hunters (210 page)

She blew him a raspberry. “I’m too old for birthdays. I’d rather see you enjoy your youth while you still have it.”

“Yeah,” Kyle Peltier, the youngest of the bears, said as he joined them from the back room with a large rack of clean glasses. Just Nick’s age, Kyle was barely out of puberty since Were-Hunters didn’t mature until their twenties. “Why don’t you enjoy the six seconds you have left of your youth, Vane?”

Vane flipped him off, then urged Cherise toward her purse. “Go home, Cherise.”

“But—”

“Go,” Vane growled, “and have a good birthday.”

She sighed, then patted him on the arm. “All right.” She grabbed her sweater and purse from under the bar.

“I’ll punch you out,” Kyle said, lifting the bar counter for her so that she could step out.

“Thanks.”

Vane started pulling the glasses out of the rack and putting them away while Kyle went to help Wren bus the tables.

Colt Theodorakopolus sauntered up to the bar. The Ursulan Arcadian stood even in height with Vane, who felt an instant dislike for the were-bear. Though, to be honest, Colt seemed decent enough. His mother’s mate had been killed while his mother was pregnant with him. Knowing she would die as soon as her cub was born, she’d come to Sanctuary and begged the Peltiers to raise her son for her.

To Vane’s knowledge, Colt had never met another Arcadian bear member. As a Sentinel, Colt should have one side of his face covered by Sentinel markings—strange, geometric designs that appeared as a birthmark once the Sentinel reached maturity. But Colt, like many Sentinels who lived outside of their clans or in seclusion, chose to hide them, along with his powers.

No one knew how powerful Colt was until they crossed him. Then it was too late.

A hiding Sentinel was a most dangerous thing.

Unlike the other bears, Colt had short black hair and looked remarkably clean-cut.

“Give me whisky,” Colt said to Vane. “And hold the human hair.”

Vane nodded at the phrase that meant Colt wanted the hard liquor that would completely inebriate a human with one shot. Since their kind had a higher metabolism, they could handle a lot more alcohol.

He poured a large shot glass, then placed it on the bar in front of Colt. The instant he pulled his hand back, he felt a strange burning sensation.

Hissing, Vane blew across his palm. He moved to one of the bar lamps to see what he’d done to it.

As he looked, a strange scrolling design seared itself onto his skin.

“Oh shit,” he breathed as he saw it take form.

Colt ducked under the bar and came up behind him. His jaw went slack. “You’re mated?” he asked incredulously. “Who’s the lucky she-wolf?”

Vane couldn’t breathe as he saw the marking. How could this be?

“It’s impossible.”

Colt laughed. “Yeah, right, you sound like Serre when he got mated. Trust me, it happens to the best of us.”

“No,” Vane said, meeting the bear’s gaze. “She’s human. I’m a wolf. I can’t be mated to a human. It’s not possible.”

The color faded from Colt’s face as the full impact of Vane’s situation hit him. “You unlucky bastard. It’s not often that an Arcadian mates to a human, but it does happen.”

“I’m not Arcadian,” Vane snarled. There was nothing human in him. Nothing.

Colt grabbed his hand and held it up to Vane’s line of sight. “Argue with this all you want to. But face it, Vane. Your three weeks are ticking. Either you claim the human or you’ll live out the rest of your life without ever feeling another female’s touch.”

*   *   *

“Ow!” Bride snapped as her hand started burning. She pressed it up against her glass of water.

“What’s wrong?” Mina asked as she picked out another oyster to eat.

“I don’t know,” Bride said. “My hand just started hurting.”

Tabitha touched Bride’s plate. “Nothing’s hot. Did you cut your hand on an oyster shell?”

“No,” Bride said, pulling her hand back to look at it. There was a beautiful design on her palm. It reminded her of some ancient Greek design. “What on earth?”

Mina frowned as she looked at it. “Did you get a henna tattoo?”

“No. I didn’t do anything. I swear. It wasn’t there five seconds ago.”

Tabitha leaned over to look at it. “How weird,” she said. “And coming from me, that means something.”

That was very true. Tabitha Devereaux was the epitome of odd.

“You’ve never seen anything like this?” Bride asked Tabitha.

“Nope. Maybe we’re all delusional. Maybe it’s like Plato’s theory and there’s nothing there but skin. Maybe we’re just seeing what we want to see.”

Mina snorted as she poured Tabasco sauce on her oyster. “Just because you live in a constant state of insanity, Tabby, doesn’t mean the rest of us do.”

Bride laughed at them.

She traced the design on her palm and wondered what on earth could have placed it there.

*   *   *

Colt gave Vane a hard stare. “Look, I know you can’t stand me. But I’ve got your back. Go see your woman and I’ll cover here in the bar.”

“I don’t need you to—”

“Stop being so damned stubborn,” Colt said from between clenched teeth. “You have a mate out there, Vane, and whether you’re Arcadian or Katagaria, you know the one law that governs us all. Your mate’s safety comes above all else.”

Colt was right and Vane knew it. The animal inside him was already straining at the human half of him. It wanted its mate. It demanded it.

Normally the human and animal parts of himself coexisted in a delicate balance. Hormones and stress could easily disturb that balance, and then he became truly dangerous. If the animal took control of him …

Many of his kind, both male and female, lost themselves to that animal half. Unable to handle it, they went mad from it and became ruthless slayers who killed anything or anyone who crossed them. It was similar to a rabies infection and there was no cure for it.

That was why the Arcadians had Sentinels. Their job was to track and kill those who couldn’t control their animal soul. Slayers. Of course, the Arcadians as a rule were rather liberal when applying the term “slayer” to one of his people. Pretty much any Katagari who crossed their path was usually classified as a slayer … with or without evidence.

“Go, Vane,” Colt said, urging him toward the door.

The bear was right. There was no use fighting his nature. It was a battle he could never win.

He handed Colt the towel and quickly left the bar.

Out on the street, Vane made sure no one could see him and then flashed himself into wolf form. Unlike his brother, he was a solid white timber wolf. He was also bigger, weighing in at one hundred and forty pounds.

It was why his pack mates had feared him most in his animal state. As powerful as they were, he was more so. And he didn’t follow rank the way the others did.

Animal he might be, but at the end of the day even though he denied it, he had enough human in him to refuse to follow anyone docilely.

He was a born alpha and everyone around him knew it.

Vane sprinted through the streets of New Orleans, careful to stay to the shadows of the darkening evening. He’d learned long ago that humans had a tendency to make him out to be a large dog if they saw him, but still the last thing he needed was a dogcatcher after him.

He had a long history of animal-control encounters. None of which had ever been good for the humans.

It didn’t take him long to return to Iberville and the Acme Oyster House where he’d left Bride. Rising up on his hind legs to stand against the glass, he peered inside to see her seated with two other women.

One had dark auburn hair and a ragged scar down the side of her face. If not for the ghastly mark, she would have been exceptionally attractive. The other one was a very pretty brunette who shared similar features.

However, neither of the skinny women appealed to him.

Only Bride did. The sight of her cut through him intensely, making him ache with need. She might claim to be human, but there was more magic in her smile than his entire wolf pack possessed.

She was absolutely beguiling and those lips did the most amazing things to his body.

To his heart …

The three women were talking and laughing while they finished a platter of oysters. None of them seemed to notice anything different about Bride.

Maybe she wasn’t his mate, after all.

But that was a futile thought. The mark only appeared after a Were-Hunter had had sex with his mate, and usually within a short time frame. Vane hadn’t been with any other woman for months now.

There was no one else it could be.

Her hand markings should match his exactly—they were emblems that showed his parental lineage and could only be read by another of his kind.

But then again maybe it was different because Bride was human. What if the mating mark wasn’t binding on a human female?

He went cold with that thought.

He would be screwed. Literally.

The only hope he would ever have for a family rested in his ability to claim his mate.

But she must be willing …

Bride and her friends got up and headed out of the restaurant. Vane crouched low as he tried to decide what to do.

“I’m telling you, Bride,” the brunette said as she led the way out into the street, “our sister Tia can hex anyone. Say the word and we’ll turn Taylor into a eunuch.”

Bride laughed at that. “Don’t tempt me.”

The scarred redhead stopped as she caught sight of him in the shadows. “Hey there, big boy,” she said kindly, holding her hand out for him to sniff. “Want Tabby to scratch you behind your ears?”

“Tabitha!” the other woman snapped. “Leave the strays alone. I swear, one day you’re going to get rabies.”

“He doesn’t have rabies,” Bride said.

“See,” the one called Tabitha said. “And the daughter of the vet should know.”

Bride held her hand out to him.

Vane went to her immediately and sniffed her hand. Her scent went through him, piercing and hot, along with images of what she’d looked like in complete surrender to him. The sounds of her pleasure …

Nosing her fingers, he forced her to open them so that he could see his worst fears confirmed.

She was marked.

Damn.

What was he going to do now?

“He likes you, Bride.”

Tabitha had no idea just how true her words were.

“I think he likes her leftovers,” Mina said with a laugh.

Bride knelt down while she stroked his ears. She cupped his head and examined him carefully. “I think he’s a wolf.”

“A wolf?” Tabitha asked. “Are you nuts? How did a wolf get in the city? Besides, he’s way too big for a wolf.”

“You are a big boy, aren’t you?” Bride said as Vane nuzzled her face. She looked up at her friend. “Contrary to popular opinion, Tabby, wolves are the largest of the canines. But I think he might be some kind of mixed blood.”

If she only knew …

She stood up and started off with her friends.

Vane followed. In wolf form, it was compulsory. His human half had very little control now. He could still understand and listen, but his animal ruled him in this state.

So long as he was in his current body, he was feral and lethal.

Bride had the strangest feeling down her spine. She paused and looked back over her shoulder to find the white wolf following behind her. She could swear his eyes were an exact match for Vane’s hazel green, and the way he looked at her …

At them …

It was as if he understood exactly what they were saying and doing.

It was really weird.

Tabitha and Mina walked her back to her shop.

“You sure you don’t want to spend the night over at my place?” Mina asked. “I can easily kick my guy out.”

“Or my apartment,” Tabitha offered. “I have no guy to kick out, and since my twin absconded with my dog and Allison wanted to find a saner, safer bunkmate, I have all the room in the world.”

“I thought Marla was living with you now?” Mina asked.

“Nah,” Tabitha said. “Her stuff is there, but she’s been spending all her time at her boyfriend’s house. I never see her anymore.”

Bride smiled at their kindness. “It’s okay, guys. I have to get used to being alone again. Really. I just want to curl up with a good book and put him out of my mind.”

But what disturbed her most was that all she had to do was think of Vane and all thoughts of Taylor went flying out of her head.

Maybe her “encounter” with him had been a good thing after all.

“Hey, just keep dreaming about the guy you met,” Tabitha said, winking at her.

Bride frowned at that spooky coincidence. Of course, Tabitha claimed to be able to read minds. At times such as this, Bride could almost believe that.

“Yeah,” Mina concurred. “Maybe he might pass back by.”

Bride sighed wistfully. “I have a feeling I’ve seen the last of Mr. Bodacious.”

Mina gave her a sisterly hug. “Call me if you need me.”

“I will. Thanks.”

Tabitha hugged her too and patted her on the back. “Remember, if you need Taylor’s kneecaps broken, I have just the tire iron and I won’t ever tell the media who put me up to it.”

Bride laughed, grateful for her friends and their kindness to her in her hour of need. “You’re such a nut.”

“I’m serious, though. You change your mind, speed dial the number. I can be at his place in under twenty minutes.”

“Ha!” Mina said. “With your driving? You’d be there in less than ten and that’s with a flat tire going against traffic.”

Bride shook her head at their teasing as she pulled her keys from her pocket and opened the door on the side of her building that led to the courtyard and the wrought-iron stairs in the back. Her store took up the entire bottom floor of the building, but the upper three floors had been made into apartments by her grandmother. The stairs back here led to each of the apartments above. There was one more tiny studio apartment in the back near the garage that used to be a barn back in the days before New Orleans was paved.

Up until Taylor had talked her into living with him, she had lived in the biggest apartment on the top floor. Now all the apartments were rented except for the one studio out back. It was so small that she had never felt right about taking money for it. Instead, Bride used it for storage.