Marked by the Vampire

Chapter Two

“We keep the vampires separated from the werewolves,” Case told her as he escorted Olivia along the stone walkway that led to the northeast tower. A new day had dawned, the storm was gone, and the sun shone brightly overhead. “If we didn’t, they’d kill each other right away.”

She looked down below. She could see a large group of men, all wearing prison uniforms, filling a small courtyard.

“We let the vampires out during the heat of the day. They’re at their weakest when the sun is high.”

Her gaze slid over the crowd. “How often do they receive blood?”

“Once every two weeks.”

That wasn’t very often. But she knew why the warden had set up that blood schedule. The more blood a vamp received, the more powerful he or she was.

Olivia licked her lips. “And the werewolves? When do they get out?”

“Right after dawn, but they always wear their silver collars.” He paused. “Are you familiar with the collars?”

A bit.

One brow lifted. “Your friend Pate created the collars.”

It wasn’t as if Eric Pate was actually her friend. Was he anyone’s friend?

“The collars are lined with tiny needles. Those needles can send silver straight into the werewolves’ blood stream. You get a wolf who tries to fight us…” Case shrugged. “And you’re looking at a prisoner who is about to get pumped full of enough silver to incapacitate him.”

Such cold words. She knew that silver in the blood stream would be the equivalent of having fire burn from within the werewolf’s body.

Case continued, “I assure you, security here is top notch. I took over last month, and I made sure Purgatory was contained.”

That was an interesting choice of words. Her focus sharpened on him. “And before that? You mentioned an incident last night.”

Case’s handsome face hardened. “A few prisoners tried to escape before I was put in charge here. Their attempt failed, and they were killed.” He shook his head. “No one escapes Purgatory.”

They entered the tower. More guards waited. Guards were everywhere at that place, and video cameras monitored every single inch of the prison. Case pointed to a room on the right. “It’s been used for interrogation in the past, but it’ll be your interview room now.”

Right. Time for her to get started. Her shoulders squared as Olivia marched inside. Her nose twitched a bit at the strong smell of bleach in that room.

“We got all the blood out for you,” Case said as he propped his shoulders against the back wall and watched her. “Thought you’d prefer it that way.”

She didn’t flinch. “Kind of you.” Just how much blood had been in the place?

His head cocked as he studied her. “Have we met before, Dr. Maddox? Because you sure seem familiar to me.”

“I don’t think we have.” She made her way around the table. Organized her files.

“Are you quite certain?” A darker note had entered his voice.

“We haven’t.” She would have remembered him.

“Um…” The guy didn’t sound convinced. Too bad for him. The warden wasn’t exactly making a stellar impression on her. There was something about him that unnerved her. And after spending so much time with killers, her nerves were usually much stronger.

Footsteps approached her little room. She knew those steps belonged to the guards. No doubt they were bringing in her first research inmate. She’d been given the list of interview subjects right after she’d gone to her temporary quarters, and unless she was very wrong about one of the names on that list—

“Hello, again, love.”

He’s here.

Shane stood in the doorway. He was smiling, flashing his fangs.

Shane Morgan. She’d read through his file. Actually, she’d read it four times. Maybe five. Shane Morgan was a vampire who’d been found guilty of killing four men in a Chicago bar. According to the notes she’d reviewed, he’d never shown any remorse for his crime.

And the prosecutor had strongly suspected that Shane had killed many, many other times before he’d been caught that dark and deadly Chicago night.

“I was hoping to see you again,” he said as his stare seemed to stroke right over her. There was definitely a sensual edge to those words.

Olivia’s hands flattened on the table. Sunlight streamed into the room, onto Shane, but he didn’t appear at all affected. “I’m here to ask you some questions.”

The guards pushed him into the room. Shoved him into the chair across from her, and locked manacles around his wrists. The manacles were attached to the heavy stone in the floor.

“Love, you can ask me any damn thing you want.”

Case stiffened and shot away from the wall. “Watch it, vampire.”

“Ah…Warden Killian, isn’t it? What a fucking unpleasure it is to meet you.”

Case’s expression darkened. “Vamp, you need to—”

“Warden, I need you to leave the room while I talk with the subject,” Olivia said quickly. The last thing she wanted right then was a confrontation between those two. No more blood on the floor! Now she was realizing why the place had been bleached.

She didn’t want a brawl right in front of her. And if Shane felt threatened, hell, he definitely wouldn’t open up to her. She had to get him to talk. Olivia cleared her throat and told Case, “I’ve found that I can get individuals to talk more freely when—”

“You want me to leave you alone with a vampire?” Case stared at her as if Olivia were totally insane.

I’m not. “The sun’s up. He’s chained. He’s no threat.”

Shane laughed softly.

“And the cameras are on.” She didn’t like them, but there they were, watching and recording their every move. “If anything happens, I’m sure a guard could be in here in less than a minute.” Because she knew there were guards watching those video feeds.

Case’s hands had fisted. “You could be dead in less than a minute’s time. Before the guards had a chance to get in this room.”

That was not an ending she was particularly planning for right then. “I’ve been alone with killers before. I assure you, I can handle this.”

A muscle flexed in Case’s jaw, but after a moment, he gave a rough nod. “Have it your way.” But he didn’t head for the door. Instead, he stalked toward Shane and stopped when he was less than a foot away from the vampire. He glared at the vamp. “Move to hurt her in any way, and I’ll throw your ass in solitary.”

“Is that supposed to scare me?” Shane asked, voice curious.

Case moved closer to Shane. “You haven’t seen my solitary confinement…yet.” The threat hung in the air.

Olivia realized that she was barely breathing.

Then Case pulled back. He nodded once more to her and headed for the door. The guards filed out after him. When the door swung shut, the clang seemed to echo around her.

“Take a breath now,” Shane advised her.

Her breath rushed out.

Shane’s lips tightened. “You shouldn’t be in this damn place.”

She sat down in her chair. The wooden chair legs wobbled beneath her, much like her own legs had a tendency to do. “I’m only here temporarily,” Olivia told him quietly, “but unless I’m wrong, I think you’re here for the next hundred years.” Give or take a decade.

He leaned toward her. The chains stretched a bit with his movement. “We’ll see about that.”

She looked into his eyes. They were strangely beautiful eyes, compelling and deep. Flecks of gold were hidden in those green depths. He was handsome, dangerously so, and she wondered if he’d used his good looks to lure in prey over the years.

“I do wish I could read your thoughts,” he murmured as he gave a slow shake of his head.

“I’m here to find out why you kill,” Olivia blurted, then her lips clamped shut in horror. She’d meant to be more tactful. Meant to lead up to that part, but, well, her nerves must have taken over and those words had tumbled out.

“Are you now?” His fingers drummed on the edge of the table. “Then let me save you some time. I kill because I’m a vampire. That’s sort of our thing.”

Lie. “Not all vampires kill their prey. Not all vampires even drink from live sources. Some drink from blood bags and never even touch live prey at all.” How did some survive so easily that way? While others seemed to love the violence and fury of murdering a human?

His green gaze held hers. “Lions don’t let their prey just wander away after they take a little bite.”

No, lions didn’t. Their powerful teeth tore into their prey. They devoured.

“Half of the thrill is in the hunt…the other half is in the victory of the kill.” Shane pushed back his shoulders. Seemed to focus totally and completely on her.

Just as she was focused entirely on him. Olivia wouldn’t make notes on their meeting. Not yet. She’d wait until he’d left her, then she’d gather her thoughts about the vampire. “You were hunted once.” She had to point that out. “That’s how you became a vampire.” She wanted to see if he could have empathy for his victims. Because, once, he’d been a victim, too.

But his expression didn’t change.

“Do you remember being afraid?” Olivia asked him.

“I’ve never been afraid.”

“Sure you were. Everyone is afraid of something.” She found herself leaning toward him. Mirroring his movements was part of her strategy. Trust building. Her subjects always talked more when they felt secure with her.

“Is that so?” His chains creaked again. “Then why don’t you tell me what you fear…Olivia.”

How had he known her first name?

“I heard the guards talking about you,” he murmured. “When a sexy young doctor walks into hell, people take notice.”

It wasn’t hell. It was Purgatory. And her muscles were too tight. “This interview isn’t about me. If you’re not going to participate in the session, I can call the warden back in here. There are plenty of other vampires I can have brought in. I don’t have to talk with you.” Pate had picked him, not her. She could find someone who unsettled her a bit less.

“Ah…so there’s an answer. You fear me.” He nodded, as if he’d just had a theory confirmed. “I thought as much.” He gave what looked like a rather sad shake of his head. “You probably shouldn’t have gotten yourself locked in a room with a man you fear. Not such a smart move, love.”

“Stop calling me love.” This was professional. An interview. Nothing more.

Nothing less.

“Love, I truly fear nothing because I have already lived through every hell imaginable.”

She believed him. The truth was in his eyes and his voice.

“Tit for tat, is that how this will be?” Shane asked. “You reveal to me…and I reveal to you?”

The last thing she intended to do was reveal her own secrets. “That’s not how it works. I’m not the prisoner here.”

“Aren’t you?”

She stared down at his files. “You killed four men in Chicago. Why?”

“Why not?”

Her right hand fisted. “There are other vampires…” She was already going to be interviewing three more. “I don’t have time to waste with you.”

Silence. She knew he was waiting for her to look up at him. So she didn’t. She kept staring at those files as if they truly fascinated her. As if—

“You shouldn’t mourn those men. They weren’t some innocent humans. They were killers, too.”

Her gaze lifted.

He’d leaned toward her even more, stretching out those chains that bound him. “Is that what you want to hear, love? That they were evil, and I only kill evil humans? Will that make the crime better for you?” His words were low, deep, wrapping around her.

Olivia shook her head. “No. I want to hear the truth.”

He smiled then. “No, you don’t. No one ever does.”

She was getting nowhere with him. Normally, she could take months to build up trust so that her subjects would talk to her. Pate hadn’t given her months. Her clock was ticking down every moment.

“What is it like when you kill?”

The chains squeaked. “You’re more blood thirsty than I realized.”

You have no idea.

Olivia had to keep pushing him. “Do you ever think about your victims or is the attack just about…you?”

The color of his eyes darkened. Vampire. “It’s always about me, love, always.”

Case turned away from the video screens. Dr. Maddox hadn’t recognized him, and that was damn good. He’d pushed her deliberately, to see if she might remember him, but she hadn’t. He’d only been in her presence once, briefly, years ago. Obviously, he hadn’t made a big impression on the woman.

But then, Dr. Maddox had always been more interested in the paranormals than the humans around her.

That was why she was there. Her interest in monsters was the reason that they were both there. He started to pace. The interview was still going on, but the vamp wasn’t telling Dr. Maddox anything new. As far as Case was concerned, there was only one reason why the paranormals attacked. They killed because that was the nature of their beasts. You didn’t need a fistful of degrees to figure that shit out.

He whirled back toward the screen. Dr. Maddox and the vampire were leaning toward one another. The vampire looked as if he just couldn’t wait to take a bite out of the lady. Shane was still bound though, still chained securely and—

Case saw the end of the chain begin to rip away from the floor.

Fuck!

When she heard the groan and pop of that chain, Olivia surged to her feet.

But it was too late. He’d ripped the first chain from the floor. The second followed an instant later.

Her breath heaved out as she waited for the vamp to go right for her throat.

Only he didn’t move.

“I told you…” Anger hardened his voice. “You’d be dead in less than a minute.” His eyes burned with fury. “So the next time you get a prisoner in here, make damn sure you have a guard with you.”

The door flew open behind him. Case rushed in, with two guards right on his heels.

Shane leapt to his feet and whirled toward them.

“No, don’t!” Olivia cried out, but the guards had already fired their weapons. The bullets slammed into Shane’s chest and he stumbled back against the table.

She grabbed for him, clutching his shoulder. His head turned and his eyes met hers.

“Why did you do that?” Olivia whispered. He’d known the others were watching. Had he wanted to get punished?

“Solitary!” Case shouted. “Throw his ass in the sun for twenty-four hours, and let’s see how he likes it!”

Shane’s eyes began to sag closed. She realized he’d been hit with tranq darts. “Remember…always…guard…”

He was trying to protect her? The cold-blooded killer wanted her to have a guard at her beck and call? What. The. Hell?

Case’s hands wrapped around Olivia’s shoulders and he pulled her away from Shane.

Then the vamp was dragged out of the room. His chains trailed behind him.

Sunlight. Burning from every wall. Burning down from the ceiling. From the floor.

“Neat little cell, isn’t it?” Case asked him as he shoved Shane into solitary. “Scientists can invent the most amazing things. I mean, it’s not real sunlight, but your kind gets weak from ultraviolent radiation, too, right? I mean, this is like one big ass tanning bed.” He laughed. “So I’m sure you can see just how much fun this place will be for you.”

The light blazed all around him. For an instant, Shane remembered another time. Another place.

He’d been tied to the ground. Wooden stakes had been driven into his hands. His chest. But the fools missed my heart. He’d been pinned there, helpless, as the sun rose.

The sunlight hadn’t killed him then.

It wouldn’t now. If the real sun can’t kill me, this fake shit won’t take me out, either.

But being tossed into solitary on his first day in Purgatory…that would help him. Playing by the rules in that place wouldn’t get him the contacts he needed. He had to prove himself as an alpha vampire, he had to be willing to take the pain that would come…and Shane had to be ready to destroy anyone who got in his way.

He tilted back his head and let the light sweep over him.

He knew the drill. After all, he’d done his research on this place. On the new warden. The guy liked to play with the prisoners. After he thought Shane had been weakened enough, the warden would toss Shane into the yard so the other vamps could have a go at him.

That’s when they’ll see I’m not their prey.

A new alpha vamp was in town, and he’d learn all the secrets that Purgatory possessed.

“I kill because I like it.” The werewolf in front of her pushed a hand through his midnight black hair. “I enjoy watching the light drain from my prey’s eyes. In that last moment, the victim knows that I have all of the power. Life or death, it’s all on me.”

Revulsion twisted Olivia’s stomach, but she kept her gaze on the prisoner before her. In the last twenty-four hours, she’d heard stories to give her enough nightmares to last for the rest of her life.

As if she didn’t already have enough of those.

She’d talked to two other vampires. Begun the process of getting them to open up with her. But the thing about vampires…they didn’t just have a few years of bad deeds behind them. The powerful vamps—the vamps in Purgatory—had centuries of horror to share. And they had…almost gleefully.

But the werewolves were different. Or at least, the other two that she’d interviewed had been. They talked about their attacks and their beasts as if they were separate entities, as if they had no control over what happened when they were in wolf form. Regret had tinged their voices.

But not this one.

David Vincent slouched in his chair. He’d spread out his legs and arms to take up as much space as he possibly could. The silver collar gleamed around his neck, a silver the exact shade of his glittering eyes. He was a man in his prime, probably around his mid-thirties, with the powerful build sported by most of his kind.

“You don’t feel that your…beast…made you kill?” Olivia asked him carefully. The sun was shining through the big, open window. Bright and hot. She could just hear the murmur of voices outside of her window. The vampires were in the courtyard below.

“The beast and I are the damn same. I do what I want.”

Alpha.

She nodded slowly. She’d suspected he might be an alpha werewolf as soon as she started reading his files. His attacks had been particularly brutal, and, since coming to the prison, he’d made a point of attacking other werewolves.

Those who challenged his power?

“You have no regrets about what you did?” The others had expressed remorse. There had been loathing in their eyes. Not a hate directed at her. At themselves.

“It’s survival of the fuckin’ fittest. I’m the fittest.” He leaned forward. “I always survive.”

No matter what he had to do.

“You were infected with a werewolf bite five years ago.” Those details had been in his file. Most humans didn’t survive a werewolf bite. But certain individuals had DNA that let them…transform. A genetic coding was there for some individuals so that when they were bitten, they didn’t die. They became beasts.

Werewolves.

Before his bite, David Vincent had been a boxer—a man who’d enjoyed the battles that came his way. A bump lined his nose, silent testimony to his old bouts, and faint scars crossed his knuckles. “What happened to the werewolf that bit you?” Olivia asked, curious about that.

“I baked him a fucking thank you cake,” David growled at her as his lips twisted in a savage smile. “What the hell do you think happened to him?”

Well, fine. If he wanted to stop the little dance, then so would she. “I think you killed him as soon as the change was complete for you. You hunted him down, and you made him pay for what he’d done to you.”

That twisted smile slipped a bit from his lips.

“Darkness grew in you after that kill. Because you liked it. You liked the way it felt to take a life. So you hunted and you killed again and again. You kept killing, kept feeling that thrill, until you were locked up…” She glanced around at the stone room. “Here.”

His chair scraped as he pushed back. Her hand slipped beneath the table. She had the remote for his collar right there, and her fingers slid over it. If he made one move toward her, she was supposed to send a surge of silver at him. Through him. But she suspected the guard standing less than five feet away would beat her to that punch.

He had a remote for David’s silver collar, too.

“If you know so much about me,” David snapped, “then why bother with your lame ass questions?”

“Because I know your crimes. I want to know you.” Her breath heaved out. “Did you try to fight the cravings? When the urge to kill came, did you try to stop? Did you spare anyone?” Was there ever any hope? Or, once the darkness came, was it too late?

David glanced away from her. His gaze locked on the window. Her body tensed. Avoidance. “David?”

“You can try to fight the dark, but when instincts take over, control doesn’t last real long.”

“So you did try to stop.” Now excitement quickened her blood. “You can still stop. You can fight what you’ve become. You can—”

His head jerked toward her. “I will kill anyone who gets between me and what I want.” Said with absolute certainty. “And I will have a fucking blast while I do it.”

Chill bumps rose on her arms.

The voices rose outside of her window. Shouts filled the air.

Her gaze jumped toward the streaming sunlight.

“Just like they’re having a fucking blast now…” David murmured. “Vamp blood is gonna stain that yard.”

The guard moved so that he could better stare out that window. Whatever he saw below made his body tense.

“Wh-what’s happening?” Olivia asked as her heart beat faster.

“My guess is…that new vamp is about to lose his head. That happens here, more than you would think.” David’s words had her focusing on him. That savage smile was back in place. “Survival of the fittest…”

The new vamp—that was Shane. It had to be him! Olivia jumped to her feet and ran toward the window.

Sure enough, she saw Shane standing in the middle of the courtyard. The other vampires had formed a circle around him, but no one was touching him, no one was attacking him, not yet. They all stood back, maybe a foot or two, as they shouted their insults and threats at him.

“Get the guards down there,” Olivia ordered. She’d brought the silver remote with her, and her sweat-slick hand held it easily.

The guard near her—Brett McKey—lifted his radio. “Courtyard. Got a 666 occurring.”

“What’s a 666?” She’d never heard that code on any police scanner before.

David laughed. “It’s a monster beatdown. But don’t worry, I’m sure the guards will all get down there in time for a nice, up-close view of the bloodbath.”

She didn’t see any guards closing in. She only saw—

The crowd attacked. A pack of big, powerful vampires lunged at Shane. They covered him completely as they took him down.

“No!” Olivia screamed. “The sun is up! They’re supposed to be weak!”

There was a faint rustle of sound behind her. “Funny thing about that…” David’s voice rasped. “Things here aren’t always how they’re supposed to be.”

“Sit back down, wolf,” Brett snapped. “Sit the hell back down, now.”

Olivia didn’t glance back at the men. Her gaze was on the battle below. She could hear the snarls and the growls and a splash of blood already stained the ground. “Stop!” Olivia yelled. “Stop!”

Then the first vampire flew back into the crowd. It was one of the men who’d attacked Shane. He was just—just thrown through the air like a rag doll.

A second vamp followed him.

So did a third…a man with blood gushing down his chest.

The crowd stopped screaming then.

She could see Shane once more. His left hand had locked around the neck of one of his attackers. His right hand had curled around the throat of another. He was holding the other vamps easily. Seeming to exert no effort at all. As she watched, stunned, Shane tossed one of the vamps straight into a stone wall. The last of his attackers squirmed in Shane’s hold, kicking and punching, and Shane just…he laughed.

“I’ll be damned,” David whispered.

Olivia jumped at that whisper. David was right beside her. She hadn’t heard him close that distance at all. She’d been too focused on Shane and the fight below.

She whirled toward the werewolf. Too late, Olivia saw Brett on the floor behind him, his body twisted. Oh, hell, no.

“Boo,” David said, and then he grabbed for her remote.

She hit the button on it even as his fingers locked around her wrist. The collar was supposed to send silver straight into his bloodstream as tiny needles shot from the collar and into his neck. He should have fallen back then. Should have stopped.

He didn’t.

He grabbed the remote from her. Smashed it in his fist.

Then he yanked her toward him. “Now…I get to ask the questions…”

The crowd was silent around him. Hell, yes, they were backing up. They should back up.

Was that vamp pack attack supposed to have been scary? Was that supposed to have been a challenge for him? Even after twenty-four hours in solitary, kicking their asses had been too easy.

He rolled back his shoulders and waited to see which fool would come at him next. Shane even started to smile—

A scream ripped through the silence.

His head jerked up. His eyes locked on the window in the west tower. The room she’d used to interview him, and he knew that scream was Olivia’s. He knew it.

The scream cut off abruptly.

Hell, no.

More vampires swarmed toward him. They must have thought it was time for round two.

He stared up at that window…

And felt hands grab hold of him.

David had yanked Olivia with him and toward the door. She thought he was going to try and escape, but instead, he shoved the table and a filing cabinet in front of the door, sealing them inside.

“That’ll buy us some privacy,” David said.

No, this wasn’t happening.

The silver collar should have worked. It hadn’t.

The guards who’d been monitoring the video feed should have been rushing to her rescue.

Were they coming? Hurry!

His grip was so tight on her wrist that Olivia feared he’d shatter the bones any moment.

“What are you?” David demanded as he yanked her closer and then he—he smelled her. Sniffed her.

Her free hand shoved against his chest, but he didn’t let her go. His mouth hovered over her throat and he seemed to be drinking in her scent.

At least he’s not ripping my throat out, not yet. “I’m a psychologist. I’m here to try and profile—”

“What are you?”

Olivia’s gaze flew frantically around the room. Brett was on the floor, his eyes closed. He was breathing, but that was about all she could say for him in that instant. “I-I’m a human…”

“Liar.” He said the word as if it were a caress. “I wonder…are you what I’ve been waiting for?”

She screamed again. Loud and long even as she kicked at him. Punched.

He just smiled.

He likes the fight. He told me…he likes it.

Olivia stilled.

His smile slipped.

“I’m human,” she said, struggling to keep her voice calm. Panic and fear had overwhelmed her for a moment, but she had to stay in control. Help would come. She just had to stay alive long enough for it to arrive.

“Let’s see about that…” And, before she could even draw another breath, his fingers—his claws—cut into her wrist.

Don’t let him bite me. Don’t.

Blood slid down her wrist. Dropped to the floor.

“I bet the vamps down there can smell your blood,” he said. “Wonder if you smell like a human to them?”

The vamps were still shouting. She was staring into David’s eyes and seeing his beast.

Where are the guards?

He let her go. Just…let her go.

Olivia stumbled back. She sank down to her knees, as if she were too terrified to stand.

“Let’s have a taste…” David lifted his hand. His fingers were covered with her blood.

Her fingers slid inside her boot.

He—he licked up a drop of her blood from his claw. Closed his eyes. Seemed to savor her taste. “What. Are. You?”

Olivia leapt up, the small silver knife held tightly in her hand. Olivia always, always, kept that knife hidden in her boot. The guards at Purgatory had never searched her, so they hadn’t known about her weapon. She drove that knife right toward David.

Just before the blade would have sunk into his chest, David’s eyes flew open. He grabbed for her hand, and the blade missed his heart. It sank into his side, and he roared his fury and pain. His claws came at her—

“Don’t fucking try it.” A low, lethal voice. One that was coming from…the window?

David froze. Then his head turned toward the window.

Olivia was already gazing at the vamp there with wild shock, and desperate hope.

Shane. Shane was in the window. She didn’t even know how the hell he’d gotten up there. Had he scaled the stone wall? But she was just so glad to see him that—

He’s a killer, too! He’s not a hero here to help you.

Her hope crashed as the voice of reality screamed in her head.

“Smelled the blood, did you, vamp?” David taunted. “Don’t worry, I’m sure there will be plenty to go around.”

Shane jumped down. His feet hit the stone floor and he started stalking toward David. “Come to me, Olivia.”

Her blood trickled down her inner wrist.

“If you do, he’ll make a meal of you,” David promised her. “The vamp will gulp you all down. The last thing you’ll ever feel on this earth will be his teeth tearing into you.”

Yeah, well, she’d already felt the werewolf’s claws slicing into her. Unlike the werewolf, Shane hadn’t hurt her. Yet. She inched toward him.

David grabbed her. “My prize, vamp.”

Shane’s gaze dropped to Olivia. “He hurt you.”

“The collar isn’t working.” That was obvious. She hated the tremble of her voice.

“It’s all right,” Shane told her softly. “He won’t hurt you again.”

David’s rough laughter rang out. “I’ve got plans you don’t even—”

Shane lunged across the room. Moved so fast she barely saw him. One instant, David was holding her tightly, his claws far too close to her throat, and in the next moment, she was behind Shane as he faced off against the werewolf.

“She’s not yours,” Shane snarled. “So don’t ever touch her again.”

The two men stood with their bodies tense, muscles locked in a battle-ready post. Both tall, strong, powerful in different ways.

But…the sun was up. David should’ve been stronger right then.

She crept toward Brett. Her hands slid over the downed guard. There was blood matting his hair, and the remote that he’d had was still secured at his waist. Fumbling, she pulled out that remote.

“You trying to claim her?” David demanded, his voice rising. “You think you know what she is? I tasted her, I tasted the power, and it’s going to be mine!”

Her head whipped back toward him. His claws were out and he was—transforming. Right then, right there, starting to shift into the deadly form of a wolf. This shouldn’t happen! Not when he’s wearing a collar! But his jaw was elongating, his bones snapping and—

She pressed the buttons on Brett’s remote. Frantically, she pushed every single button.

David screamed, an unholy cry of pain as he fell to the floor. His claws scraped over the stone even as his body arched in agony.

She hit the buttons again.

He slammed, face-first, into the stone, as his body went limp.

Shane whirled toward her. His breath heaved out and his hands were clenched into fists.

His fangs were showing.

And she didn’t have a stake handy. The sound of her ragged breathing filled the air.

He stepped toward her.

“Stop!” Olivia ordered. Right. Because that was supposed to do some kind of good. Her order to him. Shane kept coming toward her and then he—

Offered her his hand?

“Love, I told you this place was too dangerous.”

She blinked at him.

He pulled her to her feet. Held her injured wrist in his hand.

“Do not bite me,” she told him, and her voice only shook a little. Okay, a lot.

“Tempting…” His fingers held her carefully. His gaze was on the wound.

Footsteps thundered outside of the door. “Dr. Maddox!” A desperate shout.

She recognized Case’s voice. The cavalry had come.

“Your rescue party is a bit late.” Shane’s jaw locked. “That werewolf could have killed you long before that idiot and his men got inside.”

“How did you get inside? I mean, how did you get up to the window?”

His head lowered toward her. “It’s not the first time I’ve scaled a tower.”

She shook her head. That feat should have been impossible, even for a vamp. To get up that wall, so fast…

“I have to do this,” he told her then, just confusing her more. “I’m sorry, but I have to know why…” He started to raise her wrist to his mouth.

“No!” Olivia shouted as she tried to pull against him. He was even stronger than David. “Don’t!”

His eyes glinted at her. “He didn’t kill you.”

The guards were shoving at the door. She could hear their desperate efforts to get past the makeshift barricade that David had put in place.

“He tasted you…a werewolf’s senses are the most acute of any paranormal.” His eyes raked over her. “What the fuck has Pate done now?”

Her jaw nearly hit the floor. “P-Pate?”

He put his mouth on his wrist.

“Don’t!”

His lips pressed to her skin and he…he licked her. Tasted the drops of her blood there. And while his tongue slid against her skin, his eyes held hers.

The guards broke through the door.

“Get away from her!” Case yelled. “Now!” But he and the others were already running toward Shane.

“Interesting,” Shane murmured. “Very, very interesting…” He kissed her wrist. Then he let her go. He swung to face the armed guards. “It’s about time you all joined the party.”

She could practically feel the fear filling that room. The guards must have witnessed Shane’s display of power in the courtyard, and now they were afraid of him. Olivia knew they were right to fear him.

“Get the vamp in a cell! Get that damn werewolf out of here!” Case barked orders. His gaze landed on Brett. “And get a medic!”

Shane didn’t fight against the hands that grabbed for him. He did look back at Olivia, though. His gaze held hers. “Love, I like the way you taste.”

She put her bleeding wrist behind her back. Lifted her chin. “That’s the only taste you’ll ever be getting.” She could still feel his mouth against her flesh. Like a brand. Hot. No, scorching.

His laughter drifted back to her as the guards led him from the room.

Other guards dragged David out of there even as two of the medics rushed inside. Olivia backed up, trying to make room for them. She backed right into Case because he’d closed in on her.

“The vampire bit you?” His eyes were narrowed with fury.

“No.” She shook her head. Glanced toward the window. The courtyard must have been at least forty feet below them. “He saved me.”

“Bullshit.”

Brett let out a low groan.

“It’s true. David—David is the one who attacked me.” What are you? His words seemed to echo in her head. “He attacked Brett and…” Her breath rushed out. “My remote didn’t work on him.”

Case’s eyelids flickered.

“Why didn’t the guards come in immediately?” Brett was being carried out on a stretcher. “They were watching. Why didn’t they come in as soon as he attacked?”

“Because your vampire hero was causing a near riot downstairs. All hands were needed. You had a guard in here,” he gritted out as fury darkened his gaze. “We thought you were safe.”

And she’d thought her remote would work. “What happened to the remote? Why didn’t it work?”

His gaze slid over the floor. He bent then and picked up the shattered remains of her remote. “Because it’s smashed to hell and back? It’s hard to work when it’s in pieces.”

He was a jerk. “David smashed it after—”

A medic tapped her shoulder. “Miss, do you need stitching up?”

Her wrist was still throbbing. She could still feel Shane’s mouth on her skin. “Yes.” The medic carefully pulled her toward the door.

“Where did the knife come from?” Case asked quietly.

She looked down and saw the bloody, silver knife near her feet. “I had to protect myself.” When the damn remote stopped working.

“You smuggled a silver knife into my prison?”

“I had to protect myself,” she said again. The medic was still pulling her toward the door.

“Why didn’t they kill you?”

At that question from Case, Olivia tensed. But she had an answer. The only answer that made sense. “Because David likes to play with his prey. He wasn’t done playing with me.”

“What about Shane?”

She glanced back at him. “You got here in time.” Lie. There was so much more to Shane than she’d realized. The vampire wasn’t at all what he appeared to be.

That was fine. She wasn’t exactly what she appeared to be, either.

The cell door slammed shut behind Shane. They hadn’t thrown him back in solitary. Probably because they realized solitary wasn’t doing a damn thing to him.

He closed his eyes as he stood in the middle of that cell. He could still taste Olivia on his tongue. A taste that was far too sweet, like candy. A taste that had sent a surge of power flooding right through him.

He knew the taste of humans. He’d sampled too many of them over the years not to know their taste.

Olivia looked human. She smelled human. She sounded human.

But she tasted…like something different. Like something special. Something I need to have.

Olivia wasn’t human.

He knew it, and now…so would the werewolf.

David slowly opened his eyes. The collar on his neck burned because the damn thing was still pumping silver into him.

They’d caged him again. Put him in the solitary confinement area designed just for werewolves—a small, two by five box with silver walls.

He laughed as he sat in his hell.

The guards had no clue. No fucking clue.

The instrument he’d needed had just been delivered right into his hands. Finally, finally, he could start his attack.

And the humans could die.