I Hunger for You Read online

  “Then why was the Clan male there when I sent you for the woman?”

  “A blood call, is my guess. I think he drank a little too deep, and the craving hadn’t worn off yet. He was trying not to return to her, in typically noble Clan fashion. So he was hanging around moping, and got in my way instead.” Laurent snorted in disgust. “He assumed I wanted her for myself because he’d had her first, which was better than guessing the truth. But now all the Clan allies have closed ranks to protect the woman. They’ve taken her to the Shagal citadel.”

  Justinian hissed, and looked around at his small Manticore pack. “How am I to get my prey out of such a guarded place?” He glared at Laurent. “How are you?”

  “I have more news, before I get to that.”

  “More? Worse, you mean.”

  “Another complication, at least. It seems that the Clans are on one of their noble quests to root evil out of the world. They’re looking for some mortal bad guy who calls himself the Patron. Sounds sort of like a Tribe title, doesn’t it?”

  “The Patron, eh?” Justinian chuckled. “Do they know about Garrison?”

  “Not yet. We have the advantage there, and I think we’re going to have to use it. You see, the Clans are planning on turning the information about our being in town over to the vampire hunters.”

  Justinian drew himself up in outrage. “They’d deal with humans against their own kind?”

  Yeah, well, boss, the times they are a changin’. “My sources tell me that old Tony Crowe had an appointment to talk to the hunter leader yesterday, but events at the Shagal place prevented him from keeping it,” Laurent said.

  “What events?”

  “I haven’t a clue, but every Clan member in town is gathered there. And some flew in from Idaho. I’m guessing your prey is involved. No doubt Tony plans to reschedule the meeting. That’ll leave the woman with the Clans, and the hunters on our tails. We need to act fast.”

  “What would you have us do?” Belisarius demanded. “Raid the Citadel? Battle the humans? Run?”

  Running would have been Laurent’s first choice, except for the promised payday. He kept his attention on Justinian. “I do have a suggestion.”

  It involved using brains rather than fangs, so there was no guarantee this lot would go along. But the only one who had to was the pack leader. The others would obey without question. Such blind obedience had never made much sense to Laurent. Right now, he wondered why he was tempted to reclaim any place in the Tribe. Maybe when this was over, and he was rich, he’d reevaluate his social ambitions.

  Justinian considered him in silence, and tension grew in the room. The other Primes were not at all happy that the pack leader had brought Laurent into their midst. They itched for any excuse to fall on him and tear him to pieces. If Justinian repudiated him now, there was going to be a lot of bloodshed here tonight—though Laurent was the only one who wasn’t certain most of the blood was going to be his. He felt mental probes from the others, telepathic taunts and threats, and ignored them. It was the silent, unmoving Justinian he concentrated on.

  After a long time, just when Laurent could feel the boys getting ready to pounce, Justinian finally spoke.

  “All right: what do you suggest I do?”

  “As you desire.” Mia paced back and forth in the bedroom, muttering furiously as she walked. “What did he mean, as you desire? Who the hell is that woman? What does she mean by bonding ceremony? Who is she to give orders? Since when does Colin Foxe take orders from anybody?”

  “He takes orders from his matri,” Domini answered.

  Mia spun around on the deep plush carpet to face the vampire woman. Domini was seated on one of the chairs near the bookcase, her legs drawn up, looking calm and ever so slightly amused. She’d accompanied Mia back to the bedroom—apparently to wait with her while some sort of wedding ceremony was being cobbled together.

  “I’ve been through this,” Domini had said when they’d come in. “I can help.”

  Mia had ignored the offer in favor of angry pacing. She’d been so intent on fuming that she’d forgotten Domini’s presence until now.

  “And only his matri, at that,” Domini went on. “Colin’s a stubborn one. That’s one of the reasons Serisa sent for Anjelica. She knew he’s in too crazy a state right now to answer to anyone but the head of his clan. When a matri gives an order, Primes obey. They’re matriarchal, and the only thing that keeps those big, bad boys in line is a strict code of honor and respect for women.” She grinned conspiratorially at Mia. “And we women must only use our powers for good.”

  Mia digested what Domini told her, and ventured, “So Anjelica rules the—Primes—of Colin’s clan.”

  Domini nodded. “That would be Clan Reynard. Serisa is head of Clan Shagal. Clans contain houses, and each house is headed by a daughter, aunt, sister, or female cousin of the matri. So a Prime, say my Alec, would introduce himself as Alexander Reynard, House Anjelica, Clan Reynard. It’s complicated, like any culture. It has a certain old-fashioned charm, but somebody really ought to write a manual for new vampire inductees.”

  “Joss Whedon, maybe,” Mia suggested.

  Domini laughed, then grew serious. “Advice: no pop culture vampire jokes around the older generations. They rarely get it, and if they do get it, they think it’s disrespectful.”

  Mia filed this tidbit away. At least someone was finally telling her something about vampires, even if it was a vampire. “Okay. How do I tell the older generations from the younger, when they’re all immortal?”

  “Hardly immortal, just long-lived, and that’s a good question. You just know after a while. It’s not polite to ask a vampire’s age, but speech patterns and personal style give clues. When I first met my grandmother, she was wearing a lace bustier instead of a leather one, and that’s how I could tell the difference, even though she looked about twenty-five.”

  “I don’t plan to be around long enough to tell.”

  Domini’s expression was sympathetic, but slightly impatient. “Get over it, Mia,” she advised. “Bonding is always meant to be. Nobody asks for it. You belong in Colin’s world now.”

  “You mean I belong to Colin.” Fury bubbled in Mia. “Maybe you don’t see anything wrong with a mortal being some sort of blood slave to a vampire, but the mortal isn’t happy about it.”

  “Blood slave?” Domini asked. “That’s a Tribe term. How do you know about the Tribes?”

  “My family are vampire hunters,” Mia blurted out, and lifted her head proudly. “The Garrisons.” If they could have their clans and houses and whatnot, she had an ancient ancestry, as well. “I’m from an old line of vampire hunters.”

  “Really? Me, too.”

  “I thought you were a vampire.”

  “My grandmother’s a vampire, but my…Wait a minute, does Colin know about your affiliation? You haven’t killed any—”

  “No. No one in my family’s hunted in generations. I only vaguely knew that vampires existed, before the blond one attacked me.”

  Domini twined a strand of long, dark hair around her finger and looked thoughtful for a moment. “This should be between you and Colin, and you’d better tell him soon.”

  “Why? Will the shock be too much for him? He’s already ashamed enough to be involved with a mortal.”

  Domini shook her head. “It’s hard on both of you that the matris decided to make your situation so public, but they were worried that he’d broken some very strict laws about bonding. They felt it was necessary to confront him like that, since he’s young, stubborn, and more head-strong than most Primes.”

  “Oh, that’s a joy to hear.”

  “If they’d thought for a moment that he’d forced you—”

  “He didn’t.”

  “See, you care for him. Or you wouldn’t be so quick to defend him.”

  “He doesn’t want me. And I don’t want him…to be a vampire.” Mia sighed dramatically. “But I suppose it’s too late, on all counts.”

&n
bsp; “That’s the spirit,” Domini said with false cheer. Growing serious, she added, “Remember that he belongs to you, too. Don’t let him get away with any shit.”

  Mia couldn’t help but smile. “You sound like my friend Courtney. Oh, my God! Courtney!”

  Domini jumped up from the chair. “What’s wrong?”

  “Courtney’s going to kill me!”

  Domini’s hands landed on her shoulders. “Where? How?”

  Mia realized that the woman was taking her literally. “Sorry. I—Courtney’s my best friend. We’ve known each other forever, and we promised to be each other’s maid of honor. And I don’t want to marry Colin, I mean, not like—But since I have to, well, I just can’t get married without Courtney being there! I mean, I don’t want to have a wedding ceremony without having any say in the arrangements. Which sounds totally hysterical,” she added.

  “Yeah.”

  Mia felt unaccustomed tears well up. Not only was it impossible to contact her best friend, but it certainly wouldn’t be right to bring Courtney into a lair of vampires. And it hurt terribly to be cut off from her friend. From her family. She had no friends here, no one she could really believe and trust. Not even Colin, who so clearly didn’t want a human mate.

  “So much for my special day,” she murmured, and turned away from the other woman.

  She took a deep breath. Domini was right: she needed to get over it, get on with it, and figure what to do with what she had to work with. Maybe she could come up with some way of escaping during this blood bond ceremony, or at the reception.

  Mia began to laugh as she wondered what sort of wedding reception vampires held. Domini looked at her, but there was a knock on the door before she could say anything.

  The door opened, and Alec stepped inside. “We have a new wrinkle in the situation. The ceremony might be a little later than we planned.” He gave Mia an uncomfortable glance.

  “What did Colin do?” she asked.

  “He just smashed Tony over the head and fled the Citadel. It looks like we’re going to have a search party instead of a bachelor party.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Mia was aware that someone spoke to her, that someone touched her shoulder, but it didn’t matter. There was a landscape painting on one wall of the bedroom. It looked like maybe it was a view of the Italian countryside, a warm, sunny place far, far from here. Mia stared at it and wished herself away.

  “Anywhere but here,” she murmured

  He didn’t want anything to do with her. He’d abandoned her. Left her in a den of vampires. Even if he was a vampire too, at least he was her—

  “Mia. Mia, focus.”

  The voice belonged to Alec. The tone was one that expected to be obeyed. Mia ignored him.

  “Mia, where is he?” Domini asked gently.

  This got her attention, and Mia finally turned back to the couple. “Gone,” she said, looking at Alec. “You said he was gone.”

  “But where is he?” Alec asked. “It would help if you told us.”

  “What’s he talking about?” Mia asked Domini.

  “You’re bonded to him,” Alec said impatiently.

  Domini put a hand on his shoulder. “She really doesn’t comprehend what it means yet. You are psychically linked to Colin,” Domini told her. “You’re psychic.”

  “No, I’m not.” She remembered sharing thoughts with Colin. She knew that kind of communication came from both of them and wasn’t just because he was a vampire. “Unless—Is being able to share thoughts with one person psychic?”

  “It’s a beginning,” Domini said. “Your talent must be latent. Mortals tend to put up natural barriers to their own gifts, but one day your full potential will just explode. It’ll develop as your relationship with Colin grows.”

  “But right now we need to find Colin,” Alec insisted.

  “What relationship? Hell, if the man wants to go, let him. Leave him alone. And I don’t want to be here, either,” she reminded the vampire couple.

  “You can’t be left alone. The matris have declared—”

  “I don’t answer to yo’ mama!”

  Alec’s mouth hung open in shock for a moment.

  Domini put a hand over her mouth, but her eyes sparkled with laughter. “Twenty-first century, my darlin’ bondmate,” she said when she had her amusement under control. “Young people these days, and all that.”

  Alec shook his head. “Mia, we of the Clans are a civilization with ancient laws and strict codes of conduct. Colin has agreed to the bonding ceremony. For him to go back on his word given to his Clan Matri is punishable by death. Twenty-first century or not, Colin’s life is forfeit if he breaks his word.”

  Mia gasped, and this time she couldn’t stop the tears, or from shaking as sobs wracked her.

  “What’s the matter?” she heard Alec ask. “Ow! What?”

  “You just told a woman that a man would rather die than marry her,” Domini said.

  “I didn’t say that! Besides, he can’t not want to marry her. There must be something else going on.”

  “Tony’s convinced that unconsciously bonding has made Colin unstable.”

  “Tony is currently unconscious. And when he wakes up, everyone in the Citadel is going to know that Colin’s gone. Then Serisa and Mother are going to hit the roof, and the shi—”

  “You mean you haven’t told anyone else yet?” Domini asked.

  “He managed to get out without anyone but me noticing. That’s why I need your help, Mia. You, Domini, and I can leave the Citadel to find him.”

  “Shopping,” Domini suggested. “They’ll understand Mia wanting a dress for tonight.”

  “Once away from the Citadel, Mia can lead us to Colin, then we can bring them back here.”

  “Or we could leave them alone to work through their problems,” Domini suggested.

  “It can’t happen that way,” Alec answered.

  Mia registered Alec’s sounding all adamant and stern, and Domini’s pragmatism, and she almost laughed. As insane as this situation was, the couple sounded so normal in the way they dealt with each other. Then it registered with her that Alec thought Colin was behaving this way because he was sick. Guilt and concern overrode the tearing pain of abandonment.

  “Did I make him sick?” she asked, turning back to them. Or is he just a jerk?

  Either way, he was still a vampire. Why did she keep forgetting the intrinsic evil of these people? Probably because she had Colin’s blood flowing through her veins.

  Abomination. The ugly word swam up from the few things she’d learned from her grandmother. It was the term vampire hunters used for those who consorted with the enemy.

  She pulled herself together. She wanted to get away and they were offering her a way out. Once she was away from the Citadel with only these two guarding her, she’d be able to find a way to escape.

  “I’ll help you find Colin,” she told them. “Let’s hurry.”

  Colin stood in the shadow of the low stucco building and waited while the woman crossed the small parking lot. He didn’t know where she lived, but he knew where she worked, so this was where he’d come to find her. It wouldn’t have been prudent to barge in and grab her, so he stood outside and telepathically called until she came outside.

  If he’d had his cellular phone with him this would have been easier, but his fellow clansmen had deprived him of his modern possessions.

  The young woman he wanted was slender, long-legged and blond, young and attractive, and wearing a short blue print dress that showed off all her best assets. She wasn’t his favorite person in the world, even though he appreciated looking at her. In fact, he considered her an inconvenience, but it wasn’t as if he’d made an effort to get to know her. Right now she was important to him.

  He waited until she was at her car before he made his move. He was standing behind her before she could open the car door. When he touched her shoulder, she jumped and turned, and her eyes went wide in surprise.

&
nbsp; “What the hell are you doing here?”

  He smiled, cocking his head to one side. “I came for you.”

  She frowned at him and started to protest.

  But Colin looked into her eyes and slipped past her weak mental barriers with ease. I can explain everything. And you’re going to love this.

  “What the hell does he think he’s doing?”

  The sudden jab of possessive anger that went through Mia caused as much physical pain as mental pain. Enough to make her screw her eyes shut—which only gave her a disturbingly vivid image of the couple standing next to a red car. She knew the car, and the woman.

  “What’s he doing with her?”

  Mia’s head hurt so much she was barely aware of Domini sitting beside her in the backseat.

  “Colin?” Domini asked.

  Alec stopped the car so quickly she was thrown forward against the seatbelt. The jolt broke her concentration, but not so much that she wasn’t aware of the connection linking her to—

  “That cheating son of a—”

  “Colin,” Alec said.

  Mia looked at Domini. “I’ve felt when he was with other women before, and told myself it was imagination. But I just saw him.”

  Domini nodded encouragingly. “The more blood you share, the closer you become.”

  They were surrounded by heavy traffic on the busy street. Many car horns sounded, and Alec responded by driving slowly on. “Where is he?” he asked Mia. “Which way do I go?”

  Mia put her head back against the seat’s plush headrest and closed her eyes once more. The air conditioner hummed, and cool air slid over her skin. Domini’s hand was warm on her arm. All these sensations were easy to block out. When she let herself concentrate on it, she became exquisitely aware of where Colin was.

  She’d been fighting the hunger to be with Colin for months. In fact, the struggle not to find him had become a habit, one that had driven her nearly crazy.

  It was time for her to give up the fight. The vampires wanted to find Colin. And she needed to.

  And when she did, all her instincts urged her to whomp his ass for daring to be with another woman.