Rule

RULE

Marko Delacroix #4

Best Selling Author

Alaska Angelini

RULE

Marko Delacroix #4

Best Selling Author

Alaska Angelini

Copyright © 2015 by Alaska Angelini

ISBN:

All Rights Reserved

All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is strictly coincidental. The snugabug scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal, and is punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

Prologue

Axis Headquarters

“Breaking tonight. Riots plague the streets of Los Angeles. From what started out as a peaceful demonstration to bring awareness to the growing vampire violence within the United States and the World, turned into complete and utter chaos.

Good evening, everyone. I’m Jane Branson.

Blood fills the streets of downtown Los Angeles. Where not hours ago, a large group of gatherers held hands and chanted for peace—tonight, bodies of those protesters line the sidewalks, waiting to be identified.

It all happened shortly after sunset. Greg Mathers is here to tell us more. Greg?”

“Thank you, Jane. It wasn’t a few minutes after eight o’clock when the first vampires began to take their place on the other side of the street from those demonstrators. Although they held similar signs aimed toward the unity of the two races, what no one expected was the massacre that quickly ensued.

“Reports gathered so far aim toward the vampires being the ones who initiated this latest outbreak of mayhem. We came across a witness who was at the scene where it all began. Sir, can you tell us what you saw?”

“Man, it was crazy. One minute we were standing there, doing our thing, the next, this vampire starts walking across the street, right at us. His eyes … they … they just started getting all dark. Like, the colored part turned black. He was staring at us all evilly, hissing, and then … he just like … blurred at a fast sprint. All hell broke loose. People were screaming and trying to run. I thought I was going to die.”

“Can you to tell us what happened after the vampires rushed the protesters?”

“I just did. They all started attacking us. People were getting their throats ripped out—women, dudes … even this little girl who wasn’t far away from me. They just killed her—dead. Shots started going off and tear gas was thrown in and set off right in the middle of all of us. I couldn’t breathe. But it didn’t stop them. They kept coming. Kept…”

“I can clearly see you’re getting upset. Thank you.”

“Damn right I’m upset! The cops couldn’t do shit. They don’t die! We have to stop them before it’s too late. We have to—”

“Thank you, Greg. Be careful out there.”

“You just heard from our reporter and a witness, on scene. You can clearly see their emotions run high tonight. As do all of ours for the families that lost their loved ones.”

“The growing debate on whether our government made the right decision to allow vampires to walk unimpeded amongst us continues, as does the death toll on both sides. While some push for the benefits the vampire race provides to our sick and dying, others say the consequences far outweigh the medical positives of their blood.”

“Tonight, we’ll discuss those benefits with Dr. Rekel Chilou, as well as get the opinion of retired Lt. Colonel Dan Rutgers on his take of these recent riots. And that leads us to our top story tonight. Will the riots in New York, Chicago, and now Los Angeles get a reaction from our silent White House, or will the whispers of a war between the two races continue to grow?”

Chapter 1

Marko

Silence was never truly devoid of sound. Even when you eliminated outside sources and got close to reaching the desired state, there were always things like the heart that still thrummed. The steady rhythm was impossible to stop, just like thoughts. The two together were the loudest of all things when you wished to make everything stop. And I did want it to cease—the beating of my aching heart, my agonizing, mournful, grieving cries that screamed to me from within for peace.
Silence.
The act wasn’t for the weak. Although, I
was
weak at the moment.

I was heartbroken.

“Master Delacroix…it’s time.”

My head lifted, rising so I could glare at Bufar. From where I was sitting on the edge of my bed, he stood a good ten feet away. He suddenly knew it wasn’t nearly far enough. The aura around me was just as toxic as the taunting voices that begged me to obliterate everything I could. To kill everyone within my reach so their loved ones could feel the crippling sensations that festered within me. Why should they get to have what I’d never feel again? It wasn’t fair. None of this was.

Bufar backtracked more toward the door as I tried to rein in the need to destroy him for interrupting me. Did he not know what I was going through? Did he not care for his leader enough to grasp that I’d just lost the only woman I had ever loved? That she was dead and never coming back?

“The meeting today is cancelled,” I managed. “Send me Margo.”

Bufar’s eyes narrowed as he gave a quick shake of his head. “I…” Another shake. “Master Delacroix, I told you yesterday, she’s gone.”

I blinked through the confusion. My mind wasn’t right. It hadn’t been since I had found Tessa on the floor with the dagger in her chest. Had Hunter’s brains not been blown across my floor, there would have been no hesitation on my part to tear him to shreds for what he’d done. But they had been, and all my focus had been on my bride … still in her wedding dress. The one I’d put such care into having designed and made just for our special day.

Dead.
I couldn’t bring myself to believe it.

“Send me Marie.”

Again he paused. “She’s at Axis with Margo. There needed to be a witness to report the accident.”

“Murder,” I exploded, pushing to my feet. “Tessa was
murdered
, right here in our fucking room. Right there!” I pointed. “On our bonding day. She would have been my concubine. My—” I quickly stopped. Boiling was taking over my insides, teasing the power within. To unleash would have been heaven in the hell I was living. Was this what I had to bear for the rest of my life? Hundreds of years of more suffering? God, what was I going to do without her?

“Yes, Master. Murder. I apologize.”

My jaw clenched as I continued to take him in like a meal. I could kill him so easily. He was my second and I could have eaten him alive. I knew it, just as I knew my power continued to grow at an alarming rate.
Especially now.

“Tell the other members I will go to them when it is time. Do not bother me again.”

“Yes, Master.”

Bufar slipped out of the door at a fast pace and left me to the loud voices that reappeared in my head. I sat back down, leaning forward to stare back at the spot where Tessa had taken her last breath. I could still see it as clear as the moment it happened. I’d been crying. Me … crying. I never thought I’d see the day, but the tears had poured from my eyes in a constant stream while I prayed to a God I wasn’t sure even existed.

“No.”
My head shook as she stared up at me with fearful eyes
. “Don’t you dare say you love me as a way to say goodbye. You’re not going anywhere, ma minette. I won’t let you. God…”
Talking was almost impossible through the sobs that kept pushing their way free. Maybe I knew even then that no amount of my blood would save her from a wound that severe. The dagger being blessed had been her undoing. She wasn’t powerful enough to survive a direct blow like that.

I’m…sorry. I…love you. I do.”

I cried harder, holding her tighter in my arms. Margo was talking with Marie. About Hunter, I had assumed, but I heard nothing but each beat of Tessa’s heart. I held to the rhythm like nothing else mattered. And it didn’t. Her life was mine.

“Let me have her.”
Margo’s dark brown eyes connected with mine as she knelt before us. My head shook as my arms held Tessa tighter.

“She stays where she is.”
I wasn’t going to let her die alone, and without me holding her or communicating with her, she would be alone.

“Master Delacroix, give her to me.”

Movement had me looking over her shoulder to see collectors taking Hunter’s body away. I growled, snapping my focus back on Margo.
“If you’re going to help save her, do it as you are now.”

“Ma-rko?”
Deep breaths became rapid and broken up. My pulse jumped to a dangerous speed as desperation and panic began to set in. I recut my exposed wrist, trying to force down more blood, but it was pointless. The coughing began and then came her own blood, filling her mouth.

“Marko Delacroix!”
Margo’s voice echoed in my head. Her call and threat warped into one. Over and over I could hear one of the high leaders yelling my name. I wouldn’t let myself think past that point. I couldn’t see Tessa die again. I couldn’t relive that.

Fucking Hunter. I should have known. He’d been a God damn mess when I had left them that night. The guy had just lost his uncle the priest because of Tessa. How could I have assumed he wouldn’t retaliated against her?
How?
Because I thought his love wouldn’t allow him. Mine wouldn’t have. Then again, vampires didn’t feel the same about death as humans did. Emotions were involved with the living. After hundreds of years, we rarely felt anything. Especially grief. Although … I was feeling it more than I ever had now, alive or dead.

Hunter. Hunter.
I stood in my rage, walking in circles, doing my best to avoid the area where the two of them had died.

My steps faltered, only to continue in my perplexed state. I didn’t like that I hadn’t gotten closure. Hunter’s body had been moved out so fast, it made my head spin. Not to mention my floor sanitized. They were scrubbing the area so thick with bleach and water, I could still smell the remnants days later. Days … how many days had it been? Two? Three? Fuck, I didn’t even know.

I groaned, running my hands through my hair. It was probably for the best. If I had to have been left with his body in here for long, there was no telling what I would have done. Still…why did I feel off? Was I still in shock?

Burning laced my throat and I closed my eyes at the renewed surge of misery. The trigger to feed was nothing more than a reminder that I’d never taste Tessa again. Why had I let myself accept happiness in that small amount of time she’d chosen me? My dreams, my wishes, they all suddenly had been answered. I let myself imagine only feeding from each other—surviving from each other. She and I were going to be pure of other contaminants. Of other suppliers. We would have been
one
in the true sense.

Deep pants left me as both of my hands laced in my hair. I gripped tightly, suppressing the need to scream at the top of my lungs. Pain flared in my knees as I hit the ground, but I didn’t care about the pain. Nothing would ever surpass the hole that was now in my heart.

Why?
Was this payback for all the evil I’d done throughout the centuries? It had to have been. I had always thought that I would be rewarded for the hell I had gone through. What I neglected to see was that although I had suffered, I’d also made others endure just as much. It was a never-ending cycle, repeating in never-ending bouts of despair. And I had to learn to accept that.

Chapter 2

Far away laughter brought my eyes open. I’d been dreaming. Even as I went through the motions of watching Tessa run toward me, I knew what I was seeing wasn’t real. It hadn’t even happened when she was alive. Not like that. Not outside, above ground during the day. For one, we weren’t human. For me to have dreamed of something as stupid as going into the sunlight to find her spoke of just how far I had fallen. And how much I’d lost my mind.

A groan came from my mouth as I turned on my side. The cement was cold against my cheek. I was getting sick, I knew that, but I didn’t care. My eyes connected with where Tessa had last been and I stared ahead in a daze.

Had I really let them take her away from me?

My memory skipped over her death, refusing to let the smallest detail in, while I focused on what happened afterward. Something…

The more I tried to conjure the events, the more I blinked. Slowly, I pushed to sit. Where
had
they taken her, and why had I allowed it?

The fog was finally starting to clear as I pushed to stand. If she was dead, surely her body would be somewhere. A coffin in the memorial room? Julius would be there. All leaders and royalty had a place, and Tessa had been The Black Princess.

Why hadn’t I thought of this before?

I broke from the room, trying to ignore the sweat that had my shirt sticking to me. Nausea was damn near debilitating. It was hard to run. Hard to breathe with the fire that singed the back of my throat.

Light opened up at the end of the tunnel and I staggered into the heart of the underground city, jolting to an abrupt stop at the flowers that rested along the perimeter of the large room. The sight crippled me. Had I almost convinced myself that Tessa wasn’t dead? After all, I couldn’t see her body. I didn’t have it.

Stares turned to me and I sidestepped toward the nearest tunnel. It was Tessa’s old tunnel. No, I couldn’t go in there to disappear. I shouldn’t be hiding for these people,
my
people, but I just couldn’t face anyone yet.

“Master?”

I took a deep breath, smelling Natalia before I saw her. The power of her blood called to the killer in me. My fangs shot down and I immediately threw up a wall to block out the scent.

“Marko?”

I turned, facing her. From the widening in her eyes, I couldn’t imagine what she saw. I hadn’t looked at myself in days. If I appeared as sick as I felt, no doubt my skin was paler than normal and my eyes, bloodshot to hell.

“Master, we have to get you to your room. I’ll call a supplier … or three.”

My head shook and I took a step, only to stop. What was I doing? Tessa, yes. I scanned the heart of the city, trying to remember where the correct tunnel was. I couldn’t and it left me spinning even more. This was my home so why did I feel so lost?

“I want to see Tessa. Where is she?”

Valencia approached with John, stopping next to Natalia. My head cocked to the side as I watched them look me over. I knew they were preparing for some sort of outburst or attack on my part. Did they really think me that far gone? Hell, I couldn’t blame them. I didn’t even know what day it was, or for how long I’d been locked away in my room. Time didn’t exist in my world.

“Where’s Tessa?” My voice was more demanding. More impatient as they stared.

“She’s gone,” Valencia said, softly.

“I know she’s gone,” I snapped. “Where’s the memorial room? That’s where she’s at, isn’t it?”

The three vampires looked at each other, confused. It only made me even more pissed. “Master, she’s not here in the city. Margo took her to Axis. She was the last of her line. She rests in
their
memorial room, where she should.”

My heart felt as though it dropped free from my chest, right into my stomach. Burning increased and I tried not to collapse from the weakness.

“I … must have forgotten that, too.”

“You’ve lost your bonded,” Valencia continued. “We know you’re going through a hard time right now.”

Tessa and I hadn’t technically been bonded, but almost. Regardless, we were mates, and I’d always refer to her as my concubine. That’s who she was, vows or not.

“You need to feed, Master. Let’s go to your room and I’ll allow you my vein. You need someone with strength. Humans will not do for as far gone as you are.”

“No.” I shook my head, wildly, at the thought. No vampire deserved to take Tessa’s place. It would have to be a human. Their blood was weak. It would dilute faster, which is what I wanted. “I’ll take a supplier. After…” I looked at the tunnel that held the collectors. “After I check on something.”

“Down there?” Natalia was following my gaze and it was clear she knew. “You want to see the human? He’s been dead for over a week.”

A week. Was that all it had been? It had felt like an eternity.

“I have to see.”

She gave a nod, but lifted her hand. “If you’ll please allow me to call in a supplier before you do.”

My lids closed slowly though my aggravation. “I am fine. I will see Hunter and then I will feed. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” I turned, trying to keep my posture straight while I made my way to the tunnel. The moment darkness surrounded me, my shoulders caved, but not for long. Movement headed in my direction. Two humans. They were collectors. My knowledge came from Julius’ blood within me. There wasn’t anyone’s history in the underground city that I didn’t know. Their names, ages, even their personality types filtered through and I focused on it long enough for them to pass. My claws were extended, as were my fangs. The demon inside of me went wild and it took every ounce of restraint I had to make it through the door at the end. The moment I broke through, lightheadedness slammed into me. The smell of death was so overwhelming it was sickening.

Bodies were piled in the corner. The closer I got, the more their identities began to register—suppliers, collectors, four vampires … humans who didn’t belong here. But not Hunter.

My eyebrows drew in for only a moment before anger flared. Someone was taking humans from the top and bringing them underground. It wasn’t allowed. Not for kills. Kills were meant to stay above. From the looks of things, someone had grown comfortable breaking the rules.

“Master Delacroix?”

I turned, eyeing the collector who stood a good distance away.

“Where’s the human? The one who committed suicide.”

The tall blond man glanced to the side before his lips parted. “The soldier?”

“That’s right,” I said, walking closer. “Where’s his body?”

Confusion masked his features before he glanced to the far left at the furnace. “Sir, we burn them. The human was here, but I only saw him once. I assume he’s already gone.”

Gone.
The word kept crawling under my skin, enraging me past the point of sanity.

“How often are the bodies burned? Once a day? A week?”

I could have easily pried into his memories … his knowledge. If I wasn’t feeling so weak, perhaps I would have. Even through death hung heavily in the air, I could smell the collector’s blood, teasing the vampire in me.

“Usually every other day. Sometimes three can go by before the collector on duty gets around to disposing of the bodies.”

I nodded, reaching up, tempted to pull at my hair. Nothing was going as I wanted. If I could have seen Hunter, maybe a part of me might have been able to move forward. Now all I felt was more frustrated than ever. And I’d never move past this. At least not anytime soon.

“Thank you.” I turned to leave, catching something glistening from the opposite side of the room. My steps faltered and I switched my route, heading toward the small reflection on the floor. The closer I got, the sicker I felt. The pure aura warned me back, but I couldn’t stop. I knew what I was looking at. I knew who it belonged to.

Sitting by the exit of the room lay Hunter’s rosary. Everything in me wanted to lower to pick it up, but I knew better. Normally, I could have touched it, but in my state, the relic would have burned right through my skin like acid. And probably at a faster rate. I turned, waving the collector over who was still staring at me.

“What is this doing here?” Even as I asked, I took in the barrier that blocked off the tunnel. It had a door in the middle. Anyone could come through or leave from it. Not that I thought Hunter would have been doing much walking. Not in his condition. No human could withstand a gunshot wound to the head. Not even if Tessa’s blood would have still been within him. She hadn’t been that strong. It would have taken… My head shook. It wasn’t worth thinking about. Or perhaps my mind was grasping at straws for some form of closure or revenge. Hunter was dead. Even if by some off the wall chance he’d taken blood from someone more powerful … like Sayer … he wouldn’t have survived. He couldn’t have.

“Never seen it before,” the collector said, picking it up.

“I have. It was the human’s. Why would it be all the way over here?”

The man shrugged. “Must have fallen out when we were transferring the body.”

“We? You mean to tell me you were one of the men to take him from my room?” Fury was seeping back in. Seeping back, because I couldn’t remember. My attention had been on Tessa as I soaked in her last moments.

“Yes, Master. I was one of the men.”

Before I could stop myself, I was lunging toward him. A hiss left my mouth, muffling as my fangs sunk into his neck. Memories and more information of who he was all barreled into me. The bright colors of days flashed and I sped through his life before the underground at astronomical speed. I could feel myself soak in who he was like a sponge, feeding me strength that normally wouldn’t have done anything for me. Yet, in the moment, they were a shot of speed to my weak self. My adrenaline raced, making my pulse slam hard into my chest.

I felt the moment the human received the internal call on that horrible day. It wasn’t from me, but Marie. The man instinctually grasped the connection and raced toward my room with every ounce of devotion he held for this dark, fucked up place. Footsteps pounded behind him—another collector. The moment he came through my door, I could see the scene through his eyes.

Resting on the floor not feet away, I held Tessa while Margo and Marie looked on. The collector’s heart grew tight in grief. The emotion was so real in the moment that I almost pulled back and sobbed. It was Marie’s words that kept me hanging on.

“But he lives.”

Margo looked down at Hunter with disgust, then back to me and Tessa. Ultimately, she returned her gaze to Marie.
“His heart may still beat, but not for long. He will
not
survive. Let him die outside of this room, alone. He should
never have been among us to begin with.”

The collector I was living through stepped forward at Margo’s gesture. The attraction I felt for her was immediate. Her dark skin and even darker eyes called to me, promising of nightmares I’d bask in. I knew what I was feeling wasn’t me, but the collector’s. The headdress she wore draped gold braided stands over her forehead and he kept looking, curious about her status. I pushed through his thoughts faster, jolting to awareness as he and the other man came up and began to lift Hunter. A gasp escaped the soldier, tugging at my temper as I continued to watch a
steady
repeat of breaths.

“He smells of Sayer,”
Marie whispered.
“He is here, isn’t he? I haven’t seen him.”

“He was,”
Margo said just as lowly
. “I feel he’s dead now. His blood
…
it
….
rest on the human. Such a waste. This whole situation. Aetas will not be happy.”
She grew quiet, waving us collectors to hurry. I felt the impatience through the man as he struggled with the mass of Hunter’s weight.

The door opened as Reggie came in with cleaning materials. Although I knew of him, I wasn’t aware of his name until the collector thought of it. The tall, thin Native American held the large wooden door as we rushed away. Warmth was beginning to run onto my forearm. I didn’t feel my stomach turn at the fact that it was blood. Quite the opposite.

“This bastard weighs a ton.”
The bald man on the other side of Hunter groaned as he shifted. I could feel myself nod, but otherwise I stayed quiet. My mind was on the dark skinned woman whose blood made me want to bow and serve. I’d become immune to the fearful sensations the vampires put off. Now all I focused on was my addiction.

Heads in the heart of the city turned toward us as we shifted through at a relatively fast pace. Whispering ensued, a hum of shocked tones, but the large crowd stayed back. Darkness once again engulfed us and my arm flexed against Hunter’s back. What sounded like a groan echoed around us.

“Te-ssa?”

A growl roared through the vision, escaping through my thoughts and into the collector’s. How could he speak? How could he dare to call her name after what he did? None of it made sense except that I was seeing the last moments of a dying man. One who was suffering through his end in great pain, or so I hoped.

“He’s still alive?”
The bald man faltered in his steps, but managed to make it inside the waste room. The door shut behind us and we lowered him to the ground next to the other pile of dead bodies.