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  “Cher, no, what—”

  Blood dripped down her neck and wet her shirt. She leaned over Jace. His eyes were open. On her. “Drink from me.”

  A slight flare of his pupils. She put her throat against his mouth. “Drink.”

  His lips parted. His tongue licked her skin. The edge of his teeth scraped over her neck. Then he drank. Slowly at first. So slow.

  After a tense moment, his hands rose and wrapped around her. He pulled her closer, held her tighter.

  Tighter.

  She felt his canines expand and push into her skin. Morgan held her body still. He needs this. His mouth worked on her flesh. Lips. Tongue. Teeth. He took.

  “Stop!”

  Devon’s scream. Over Jace’s shoulder, she saw the Council leader trying to shove his way through the pack.

  They shoved him back.

  “Morgan, no! He’ll destroy you! All of us!”

  But Jace had saved them today. She closed her eyes. She’d begun to feel the heavy pull of the sunlight, like a weight upon her skin. Pressing against her. Devon stopped screaming.

  Her fast heartbeat slowed. Her breath sighed out of her.

  Still Jace held her. So very tight.

  He…he should have enough blood now. She brought her hands up and pushed against his chest.

  He didn’t stop. Fear tightened her stomach.

  Then Jace swiped his tongue over her throat and his growled whisper reached her ears,

  “More.”

  She wondered just how much more he would take.

  ***

  Devon stumbled away from the wolves. Fucking animals. Any minute now, they might rip into him.

  He hadn’t forgotten the alpha’s order. The bastard had ordered his death as carelessly as he’d order dinner. Kill them.

  When the alpha’s strength came back, Devon had no doubt that he’d give the same order once more.

  The way the alpha was gulping Morganna’s blood, his strength would be back in seconds. Should have realized…so blind…

  He rushed through the compound, winding down deep into its hidden tunnels. Escape tunnels—because the vampires always had to be prepared.

  He snaked through the tunnels, moving perfectly in the pitch blackness. To the left, to the right…

  He punched in the combination to the door in front of him. The heavy lock opened with a hiss, and he hurried inside.

  There wouldn’t be time to waste. Kill or be killed.

  Once Jace finished off all the demons, there would be no stopping that alpha. He’d want total control of the area.

  And Devon wasn’t about to bow down to an animal.

  “Let me the fuck go!” The shout from his captive echoed in the lab. His lab. His playroom.

  Devon grabbed a scalpel from the table. Its edge gleamed so perfectly in the light. When he’d first started his experiments, Devon had always used his hands. Then he’d realized the others thought he enjoyed the work too much. Because I do.

  So now he used the surgical instruments to make it look more…clinical. Still the same. They bleed. I smile.

  No one was in the lab but his latest specimen. If Morganna knew that he hadn’t stopped the experiments…

  Oh, well, the bitch couldn’t stop him now. No one could.

  He crossed to stand in front of the wolf. “You’re going to be very useful to me, Mike.” If Morganna’s strength had increased with a few swallows of wolf’s blood, just how strong would he become if he drained a whole wolf?

  Strong enough to fight off the alpha. Strong enough to rule. The wolf glared at Devon. “Go fuck yourself.”

  Devon sliced across the wolf’s throat with his scalpel. Then he caught the flowing blood in a cup.

  He wouldn’t dirty his teeth on the wolf’s flesh.

  The wolf strained against his chains as his blood poured from his body. Devon smiled.

  ***

  Jace’s men carried in the demon that Morgan had attacked as the wolves pushed inside the vampire stronghold. The guy’s head was twisted and hung at a sagging angle. Not for long, though. A broken neck wouldn’t kill a demon.

  But when I take that neck from his body…

  Dead demon.

  Jace had never been inside the vampire mansion before. He’d stalked outside plenty of times. Come killing close, but never actually walked the hallowed halls. But, yeah, it was as high-priced as he’d figured. Fancy furniture. Marble tiles. Big, glittering chandeliers. Money.

  Class.

  And…a blood fountain.

  He turned away from the fountain and found Morgan staring at him. Even paler than before, but she still met his gaze. Her lips weren’t red now. Instead, they were the lightest shade of pink, and the gold had faded from her eyes.

  Took too much.

  Her blood and the rush of power that came with it were addictive. He’d have to be more careful with her. Far more careful.

  “How long?” Jace asked Louis.

  Vampires lined one side of the room. Wolves the other. Jace stood in the middle. Morgan…she waited next to the vamp he’d been itching to slay. The one who touched her far too much. Paul.

  “Ten minutes. Maybe five.” Louis shrugged. “Could be sooner. You know they never stay out long.”

  Not much time, but… He strode forward and took Morgan’s hand. When he touched her, he caught the deepening of her scent. Not with arousal.

  Fear.

  Took too much.

  Louis had needed to pry her out of Jace’s arms. He clenched his teeth as pain ripped through him.

  If Louis hadn’t stopped me… His breath rushed out.

  Another debt I owe that wolf.

  “We need to be alone.” The blood had dried on her throat. Her wounds were closed already, but dark shadows lined her eyes.

  “No, wolf,” this came from the fool who would be her protector. “That’s the last thing you need.”

  The wolves shifted, inching forward, and he could feel their aggression level spiking in the room.

  Because his aggression level was damn well spiking. “Don’t get between us again.”

  But the vampire stepped forward. “I’m not afraid of—”

  “Death?” Jace finished silkily. “You sure about that? Because one fine dark night, in an alley that smelled of blood and vomit, you sure seemed afraid to me.” Jace wasn’t exactly sure how it had happened. Vampires were the only ones who were supposed to be able to drink memories.

  But when he’d taken Morgan’s blood moments before, he’d seen her life. Seen her transform this one—Paul—even as she cried and whispered her apologies. She hadn’t wanted to make him into a monster, but she hadn’t been able to let him die, not when he’d wanted to live.

  “You asshole—” Paul lunged at Jace with bared fangs.

  “Stop.” Morgan’s quiet voice. Her hand touched Paul’s shoulder. The vampire stilled instantly.

  Morgan tilted her head back and met Jace’s stare. “How do you know about that night?”

  No point lying. Besides, he didn’t want to lie. Not to her. “I drank your memories, princess.”

  Instant murmurs of disbelief came from the vampires. Paul shook his head. “No, no way, that can’t happen. Plenty of humans have tasted our blood and seen nothing. ”

  “I’m not human.” Jace stated the obvious. “Those rules don’t apply to me.” And in their blood past, all those long centuries of hate that stood between the vampires and werewolves, well, his kind hadn’t wanted to spend time tasting a vampire’s blood. Ripping them apart. Beheading them.

  Not sampling the blood supply.

  “The game has changed now,” he said as the vampires and wolves eyed each other. He didn’t know if that was good or bad. Behind him, he heard the snap of bones. Jace glanced back. That snap hadn’t come from one of his own shifting. The demon’s neck was popping back into place. Not much longer.

  “Hold him,” he ordered Louis. “Don’t…start until I get back.”

  Tortu
re would come. Anything, everything that he had to do in order to make the demon talk.

  Then he glanced back at Morgan. “You need me,” he told her.

  “Why?” From Paul again. “Do you really think she needs someone to drain her dry?”

  The bastard was begging for a beating. Begging. But… Morgan cares for him. “The way you did when she changed you? How many days did she sleep after that because you took too much? How many—”

  “Enough!” Morgan’s shout froze them all. She looked like a breeze would topple her then, but her voice packed a punch of undeniable fury. “You.” She jabbed her finger at Paul.

  “You were desperate, changing—you had to take my blood. I offered it to you.”

  Paul smirked. Begging.

  “And you.” She exhaled as she shook her head and focused on Jace. “What did you think I was going to do? Let you die in front of me?” Before he could answer, she ran a shaking hand over her neck. “You might be an alpha asshole, but you’re mine, and I wasn’t letting you go without a fight.”

  “And I won’t let you go.” Ever. His hand lifted and rubbed lightly over the marks he’d left on her flesh. “Now you need me… let me help you.”

  Her tongue snaked out and licked over her lower lip. He knew she understood his meaning because her fangs started to grow.

  “The battle’s coming. You have to be strong.” A strength she’d get from him. He eased back and offered his hand. “Come with me.”

  But she was shaking her head. “This isn’t your place, wolf.”

  A stiffness filled his chest. Pain.

  “It’s mine.” She grabbed his hand. “So you come with me.” Then she led him away from the vampires and wolves. Led him up a spiral staircase and into a room without windows. A room that smelled of her.

  Before the door closed, he had her in his arms.

  Five minutes.

  Not even that. Not now.

  His lips took hers. Jace thrust his tongue inside her mouth. She kissed him back with no hesitation, even though the scent of fear still hovered on her skin. He stroked her with his tongue, caressed with his lips, but the scent remained. Jaw clenching, he lifted his head. “Stop.”

  Her lashes rose, and she blinked at him. “Why?”

  “Because you fear me.” He stalked away from her. It was either step away or pounce, and he wanted to show her that he could have restraint. It won’t last long. They were in an apartment of sorts. A leather couch. A TV. Bookshelves. Then toward the right…a bed. A big, four-poster.

  Morgan, in that bed…

  An image too tempting to resist. Let the demon wait. The vamps and wolves could keep him…entertained.

  He reached for Morgan’s hand. Entwined his fingers with hers and led her to the bed. She sat down on the edge of the mattress and stared up at him. “I can’t figure you out, wolf.”

  “You’ve tasted my life.” Now he truly knew what that meant. “How can I possibly have secrets from you?” He lowered onto his knees and positioned his body between her spread legs. Then Jace tilted his head and offered his throat. “Drink.” The ultimate pose of submission. For her, only her.

  She’d nearly traded her life for his. Louis, we’ll name our first son after you—because you fucking saved my ass.

  If he’d gone too far, taken too much from her…

  Her eyes seemed so wide as she gazed at him.

  “Don’t fear me,” he’d meant the words as a plea but they came out sounding like an order. Dammit. He cleared his throat. “It won’t happen again. I give you my word it—”

  “You were already pulling back before Louis dislocated your shoulders.”

  He blinked.

  “You kept your control. And the blood—it was freely given.”

  She wasn’t drinking from him. Why the hell not?

  Her hand slid down his shirt. Pressed against his heart. His chest was bare. After the shift and the fury, the wolves had dressed in their back up jeans, but most hadn’t bothered with shirts. Her touch seemed to burn right through his flesh.

  She stared down at her hand. At his chest. “What separates the man from the beast?”

  Morgan asked softly.

  He forced his jaw to unlock. “There is no separation.”

  Her hand dipped lower. Found the snap of his jeans. “When you’re a wolf,” her voice grew huskier, “do you still have the mind of a man? Some stories say no. Others say yes.”

  The zipper hissed down. “It’s…both.” Man and beast.

  Her fingers curled around his aroused flesh. “How do you see me then? As prey?”

  “No.” The wolf had only wanted to protect her. As did the man. Her thumb slid over the head of his arousal. “As what?” Her eyes held his.

  “As everything.” Because that was what she’d become. Had it started that long ago night? Started with bloody tears and culminated when he’d taken her flesh?

  Didn’t matter. To him, she was…all. Everything.

  “Good answer,” she whispered as she leaned forward. “Very, very good.” Her fangs sank into him—not in his throat, but at the curve of his shoulder. The exact place he’d marked her for their wolf claiming. She was—she was claiming him . Pleasure exploded through Jace at her bite. White-hot, pulsing. Inside, his wolf howled even as Jace wrapped his arms around Morgan and held tight.

  They tumbled back on the bed. Her mouth stayed on him. He shoved off her jeans. She hadn’t bothered with underwear. Good. That made things so much easier. Her tongue swiped over the small wound she’d made on his flesh. He shuddered against her. “Oh, damn…” His head rose, and he stared down at her. She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen in his life.

  No way would he be heading into hell without having her once more. Jace thrust into her in one long, hard drive. Her gasp filled his ears, made him all the wilder, as her legs wrapped around him. Morgan arched her body and met him, thrust for thrust. Faster, faster.

  Their eyes held. Their breaths heaved out.

  Her body was tight and slick, and Jace’s thin control slipped away with every sensual move of her body.

  He took her mouth even as he took her body.

  Nothing was as good as this.

  Her sex clenched around him when she came, and he felt the ripples of her release all along the length of his cock. Still he thrust. Deeper. As far as he could go—

  “My turn,” Morgan whispered.

  In the next instant, Jace was on his back, and she rose above him. Then she rode him, her movements as wild as his, and he knew, he knew he’d never find anyone else like her. He heaved up and took her breast in his mouth. The nipple was pink and sweet, and he scored her flesh with his teeth.

  They both liked to bite.

  This time, when she came, he erupted with her. Pleasure had him going nearly blind. He held onto her as tightly as he could.

  The drumming of his heartbeat filled his ears. Morgan gasped his name, and he was pretty sure he’d shouted hers.

  The pleasure faded slowly. The ravenous need met, they stared at each other. Jace realized this moment was important, but damned if he knew what he should say to her.Morgan didn’t climb off him. She stayed there, and her pale skin seemed to shine. From the pleasure? His blood?

  “If we keep this up,” she finally said as her hands slid over his chest. “You could get me pregnant.”

  That was the plan. Or it had been. To have a child with a vampire’s immortality and a wolf’s brutal strength. A child to rule them all.

  But now…

  Was that ever really the true plan? Or just an excuse he’d made to have her?

  “Could you love a child that was part vampire?”

  I already love her mother. I have for years. Instead of answering her, he asked, “Could you ever love an animal?”

  She blinked. Now her fingers rose and traced just under his jaw. “I don’t see an animal.”

  The woman could break him.

  Fuck, how had this become confession tim
e? “Hell’s waiting.” As much as he wanted to ignore the devil at the door, he couldn’t. Slowly, he eased away from her body. He rose, snagged his jeans, and dressed. His eyes couldn’t seem to stay off her. She climbed from the bed. Didn’t dress, but did grab his arm. “I’m not letting you go in alone.”

  His body iced. “That wasn’t the deal.” He knew. He’d been the one to go to the Council and lay out the scheme. “I’m the one who goes in, who closes that bitch from the inside. You were the one who was supposed to—”

  But she gave a sad shake of her head, interrupting him, and confessed, “I was the one who was supposed to betray you and make sure that the doorway closed with you trapped inside.”

  Chapter Six

  Sonofabitch. He’d wondered…and had known that the vampires gave in too easily to his demands. “Let me guess—Devon’s plan?”

  “Devon hates wolves.” A faint shrug lifted her shoulders. “He told the others I would go in as an assassin. Fool you, take your blood, and get strong enough to close the door.”

  His claws were out. “So why are you confessing to me? Seems like one fine plan.” And he’d been such a blind fool. Wanting her, needing her so much, and she would have just—

  “Because it was never my plan.” Her gaze locked on him. “But maybe those memories haven’t come to you yet.”

  What? “I only saw you change Paul.” He’d seen it, like a living nightmare in his head. Her, running into that alley. Finding the bloody mess that was Paul, with stab wounds all over his body and a knife shoved into his throat.

  He’d wanted to live…

  “When we find that doorway,” she told him, voice calm, “I am going in with you—and we’re both coming out. That’s the new deal.”

  He swallowed. “Why?”

  “Because I won’t let you face hell alone.” Now her expression changed. Softened. “And if I need to, I’ll haul your ass out myself. I just found you, wolf, and I’m not about to lose you.”His fingers slid under the thick weight of her hair as he tilted her head back. “You won’t.” He kissed her. Long, hard, hot. Kissed her and wanted her again. Soon… soon he’d have her forever.

  If he managed to survive the night.

  ***

  The vamps and the wolves hadn’t killed each other.