On The Prowl (19 page)

Mine destroys the light.

In a flash, Julian jumped off the bed. He grabbed Luke and slashed his claws across the guy’s forearm.

The whole room seemed to shake—actually, it did shake. Luke’s fury blasted against him. “What the fuck are you doing?”

Trying to save her!
“Give her your blood. If he’s poison to her, then you could be the cure.
Give her your blood.
”

But Luke didn’t move. “Do you have any idea what you’re asking?”

“I’m asking for you to help the woman I love.”
Because I’m breaking apart without her.

“My blood…you don’t know what it will do to her.”

Julian looked back at the bed and his heart nearly stopped. “She’s dying already. What could be worse?”

“She could come back…
wrong.
”

What?

“You think I haven’t already considered giving her my blood?” Luke shook his head. “But I don’t know what will happen if I do. My blood…Leo’s blood…all in one person? That much power? Light and dark trapped together? She could wake up and want only death for
everyone
around her. Or she could wake up…and think that monsters like you and me—the dark ones—that we need to be eradicated.
She
could be the instrument of our destruction. The being who takes us out.
I don’t know what she’ll become.
”

“I know what she’ll be.” His shoulders straightened. “Because it’s what she’s
always
been, vampire or human. She’s no killing machine. She’s not evil. She’s not twisted. She won’t ever be. You give her the blood, and she’ll just be stronger. When bad things come her way, she just keeps growing stronger.”

Luke studied him with worried eyes. “And you think
that’s
not dangerous?”

“She’ll be on our side,” he promised.
Help her!

“How do you know that?”

And despite everything, Julian managed to smile. “She chose me.”
She chose life.
“And I chose her. She’ll come back strong and she’ll come back
right.
”

“If she doesn’t, will you be the one to put her down?”

The question seemed to echo around him.

And he didn’t speak.

“That’s what I thought,” Luke said softly. “You love her, you
can’t
kill her, but if something goes wrong, I’m supposed to just let her roam around attacking people? You know I can’t do that. And you’re the one I send when the dark ones go rogue. If you can’t handle her, then what will I do?”

Did Luke really think he was going to promise to kill Rose?

“She’s your weakness. You think I don’t understand?” Luke sighed. “I do. But I have to look out for more than just you. She could be too strong. She could be—”

“She’s dying.” And he couldn’t just do
nothing.
“This is Rose.
Rose.
She’s always been good. She never—not once—killed anyone when she was a vampire.”

Luke’s lips twitched. “She used to get so nervous before drinking that she’d nearly faint. A vampire, fainting at the thought of
taking
blood.”

“She hates using compulsions,” Julian continued, frantic. “Because Rose doesn’t like to control anyone. She wants people to have a choice.
She
chose to live this time. She was fighting for the angel. Fuck, she helped an
angel.
Doesn’t that prove she’ll never go so dark that she loses touch and hurts everyone?”

Luke’s gaze drifted to the bed. “The angel will owe her…”

“Right, yes, fine, the angel owes her. The angel can pay her back…
if you help Rose.”

“The angel can kill her.”

Julian stiffened. “What?”

“Angels are so much stronger than you realize. If your lady goes rogue, the angel can kill her. She can pay the debt back that way.” He nodded. “Fine. Done deal.”

No, nothing was done. The angel would
not
kill Rose. She’d have to rip him apart first.

Luke paced toward the bed. He put his hand over Rose’s mouth.

“Uh, yes, so glad we worked all that out.” Rayce crept forward and the floor groaned beneath his feet. “But how are you going to make her
drink?
She’s nearly gone…”

“Don’t forget, I hold dominion over the dark.” Luke was his confident self once more. “And there’s enough of her still in that bed to
hear
me. Rose…
Rose, drink my blood.”

He dripped the blood into her mouth.

Julian wasn’t so sure that she
could
hear him, so he rubbed her throat, trying desperately to make her swallow…and she did.

Luke gave her more blood. She took it, but her eyes didn’t open. And her skin was still too hot. “She’s not getting better!”

Luke gave her more. Julian smoothed her hair away from her forehead. “Keep giving her—”

Her eyelashes fluttered. “No…more.”

Luke immediately drew back.

Her breath whispered out and her gaze swung toward Julian. “I’m…okay?”

No, she was still hell hot and shaking. She was still terrifying him. But he smiled at her. “Of course. You’re better than ever.” Then he looked back at Luke and Rayce. “You two, get the hell out.”

Because if something happened, if something went
wrong
as Luke had suggested, Julian would be there for her. He wouldn’t leave her again. They’d face what came together, and he would sure as hell never be dumb enough to try and make her leave him.

The others filed out. The door shut behind them.

“So…hot…” Rose whispered.

He scooped her into his arms and strode into the bathroom. He yanked on the cold water and sent it exploding down as he stepped into the shower, still cradling her in his arms.

Steam rose when it hit her skin.

Just like before.

“Drink, love, drink from me.” His blood could dilute what she’d gotten from Leo, from Luke…his blood could link them.

Her fangs pressed to his neck. A tender bite. Her tongue slid over his skin. And she drank.

They stood like that, in the shower, the water pouring down on him, her fangs in his throat, his arms around her…for an endless time. He didn’t move. He was just happy to have her there with him.
Alive.

Rose.

And…

Her fangs slid away from his neck. She kissed his throat. “Don’t worry. An angel isn’t going to have to…put me down.”

He blinked, then looked at her.

She smiled up at him. The steam didn’t rise from her skin any longer. She wasn’t flushed. She was perfect. “And you don’t have to kill me either.”

“I
never
would.”

Her eyes were bright. “I’m not wrong. I don’t want to kill and maim everyone.”

She was okay.
His Rose was staring at him with her sweet smile and with love in her eyes. He had to choke down the lump in his throat. “That’s…that’s good to know.”

Her smile stretched. “I’m okay?” This time, it was a question.

“You’re better than okay.” He kissed her. Deep. Hard. Wild. His heart was about to burst out of his chest and he was just so—

Happy.

Yeah, that was what he fucking was. He was happy. Rose had always made him happy.

Her tongue slid against his lip. She kissed him back with the same passionate intensity and in the next moment, Julian was jerking off her jeans. He shoved her jeans to the bottom of the shower and ripped away her panties.

“Tell me to slow down,” he begged because he knew he was going too fast. Too fast. Too rough. Too wild.

She laughed—the sweetest sound in the world—and her hands reached for the top of his jeans. “Don’t you dare.”

He stilled and stared into her eyes.

“I almost lost you. I almost lost us both,” she whispered. “And you think I want to go
slow
now?” She rose onto her tip toes and nipped his bottom lip. “Not on your life, panther.”

She still owns my heart. She always will.

She lowered the zipper of his jeans. He lifted her up against that shower wall. The water was ice cold, but he didn’t care. He had his whole world in his arms.

He thrust into her. They both groaned. She was tight and wet and so perfect…

His.

He withdrew, then thrust deep. Again and again and he stroked her clit, wanting to push her to the edge before he came. He wanted her lost to the pleasure. To feel. To love.

She cried out his name. He felt her sex clench around him, and he pumped even harder into her.

Then he exploded within her. A long, hot release as his body shuddered.

Her arms were around him. She held him tight.

As tightly as he held her.

The cold water kept falling onto them. He forced his head to lift. He should move them. Get her dry. Get her warm.

But instead, he kissed her. He’d always loved her mouth.

And when he pulled back, she was smiling at him.

The most beautiful woman in the world…the woman who’d gone through hell and come back…was smiling at him and staring at him as if…

As if I’m not a monster.

“Tell me you love me,” Rose whispered.

“I love you.” He’d tell her that a thousand times. A million. Every day for the rest of their very long lives. Because maybe…when he’d first got Rose to come back as a vampire…maybe he’d made a secondary deal with Luke.

I wanted to always be around to protect her. To be there, whenever she needed me.

And Luke had given him that extended life…for a price.

There is always a price with him.

Luke’s words whispered through his mind.
As long as you walk the earth, you’ll swear to stand at my side. When the battle comes between me and Leo…you will stand with me.

He’d already planned that particular stand, so agreeing hadn’t been exactly hard for him.

“I’m not…wrong,” she said. But then he saw fear flicker in her eyes. “Am I?”

He kissed her again. “No. You are the only right thing in my world.” He believed that to the depths of his soul.

Her smile flashed again. The fear vanished.

“But, love, do me a favor, okay? Promise me…” He turned off the blast of cold water with a flip of his wrist. “Don’t
ever
drink from Leo or Luke again.”

“I promise.”

He lifted her into his arms again. He loved to hold her. He just fucking loved her. Julian gazed into her eyes.

“Julian? Are you sure…I…is something wrong?”

“No, it’s right.” Finally. The guilt was gone. The fear was gone. For them both. They’d chosen…each of them. And they’d chosen life.

Love.

She curled her arms around his neck. “Take me to bed. I’ve really had one hell of a day.”

Laughter came from him. Laughter…after everything. Only Rose could make him feel that way.

“If you think today was interesting…just wait until you see what our nights will be like.” His lips pressed to hers. The kiss wasn’t rough or wild. It was sweet. Tender.

“Promises, promises…” Her voice was a husky temptation.

But… “Yes.” He nodded once. “I do have promises. I promise, I will love you forever. I promise…I will never let go.”

Her breath sighed out. “I’ll hold you to that.”

And he’d hold her. Forever.

Two weeks later…

“You know everything about me.” Julian’s voice was deep and dark and it made Rose want to shiver. They stood on the balcony, the ocean pounding against the beach below them, and she knew she was in heaven. “The good and the bad. The dark sins that stain my soul.”

“I rather like your soul.” Her hand reached up and curved along his jaw. The rough stubble slid over her palm. “Because I love you.”

“You don’t see a monster, do you?”

Rose shook her head. “I only see you.”

“Maybe I should have stayed away from you…”

“You most
definitely
should not have.” The pain, the fear—it had all been worth it. Wasn’t love worth fighting for? Especially a love that was going to last forever.

“I saw you and I knew my world would change.”

She had to look away from him for a moment. This talk…it was so much like the one they’d had—a lifetime ago. When a panther shifter had tried to convince a human that monsters were real.

And then death had come.

“I saw you, and I knew what I’d always been missing. For the first time, I felt complete.”

That was sweet. Her gaze slid back to him. Her big, bad panther…and he was standing before her, exposing his soul.

“I
never
wanted you to fear me.”

“I don’t. I never will again.” Trust went soul deep. She smiled at him. “I think you were made for me.”

His eyes widened. Did he remember that he’d once told her that exact same thing? Julian cleared his throat. “And I was made for you.”

He
did
remember. Because those words had been the ones she’d given to him, so long ago.

It was all the same except…

This night wasn’t going to end with her dying. No bullets were flying at them. Stars glittered overhead and the scent of the ocean teased her nose and—

Julian had dropped to one knee.

She tried to fight her smile. She couldn’t. Just like she couldn’t make her heart stop racing.

“Rose, will you—”

“
Yes!”

“Marry me?” Julian finished. Then he blinked. “Wait, yes?”

She grabbed him and yanked him back up—the better to hug him and kiss him like mad. “Yes, absolutely, yes!” Marriage. Forever. She wanted it all.

They would have it all.

Who said monsters didn’t get a happy ending?

They did. They fought like hell for those endings…they fought like hell for each other.

His arms closed around her, and she knew—Rose
knew
that life was just beginning. Her life with Julian. Her life without fear.

Her life…her choice.

And it was going to be amazing.

***

Julian was laughing.

Kissing his mate, laughing, and disappearing as he led his vamp back into the house.

“Looks like someone’s happy.”

Luke sighed when he heard his brother’s sardonic voice. “No thanks to you.” He turned to face Leo, not in the mood for this shit. “We need to clear the air.”

“Is that why you summoned me?” Leo’s brows rose. “Because I thought you’d banished me from this island—”

“After you tried to kidnap the angel and you nearly killed Rose?” His arms crossed over his chest. “Yes, you’re not exactly welcome.”

Leo glanced toward the house. Luke thought he saw a flicker of fear in his twin’s gaze. Interesting. Did he fear the panther? Or the vampire?

“Is she…wrong?”

“No, I think she’s quite right. Finally.” Rose wasn’t fighting who she was any longer. She’d embraced her vamp side. She’d let go of her fear. And she was loving—wildly, fully, without reservation. She was good and so was Julian.

Luke figured they deserved their happiness…and speaking of what people deserved. “I’m missing…one of mine.”

Leo shrugged. “What does that have to do with me?”

“Simon Lorne was using a gargoyle to do his dirty work. The last time the gargoyle was spotted, well, Rayce told me that
you
picked him up and flew away with the guy.”

“He was on Simon’s side. He needed to be put down.”

Luke didn’t let his anger sweep out—it was too dangerous when he did. “If this is the gargoyle that I think it is…he was under a spell.” He had been, for a very long time. “Where, exactly, did you
put
him down at?”

Leo glanced back toward the ocean. “Stone sinks pretty quickly. If I were you, I might try the deepest depths.”

“You’re such an asshole.”

Leo smiled. “I could give you more of a map, if you were…say…willing to help me find a certain angel?”

Luke just stared at him.

“Do we have a deal?” Leo prompted.

“No.”

A faint rustle of sound came from behind Leo. It was the only warning his brother got. Leo whirled—and found himself face to face with Julian.

“I wanted to give my friend a wedding present,” Luke announced. “I figured he’d like a bit of payback.”

Julian’s claws slashed, cutting into Leo. Leo screamed and his wings shot from his back even as the blood poured from his chest. Then Leo was shooting up into the air—

But Julian’s claws caught one wing. They ripped it apart. Leo fell like lead onto the ground.

Julian started to go after him again.

“That’s enough.” Rose’s voice.

Luke smiled. “Sweet Rose, ever the voice of reason.” He strode toward his brother, and, for fun, gave him a little kick in the side. “You’re lucky she didn’t come back wrong.”

Leo groaned.

“Payback,” Julian snarled. “It’s a bitch.”

Or a very, very enraged panther.

Rose twined her fingers with Julian’s and they headed back toward the house.

For a moment, Luke just studied his brother. Then he smiled. “You’re not healing as quickly as you once did.”

Leo sat up, glaring.

“I think…you may be weaker, brother. A bite from a vampire can have repercussions, especially for someone like you.” He laughed. “You were worried about her being wrong, but maybe you should worry about yourself. Claws would never do this much damage to you before.”

Leo had gotten to his feet. He stumbled a bit, glaring. Scales began to appear on his body. He was transforming fully. The best way to heal from injuries.

Luke didn’t speak again, not until his brother had flown away. For years…
years…
centuries…there had been talk of a battle between him and Leo. He’d worried about the day when that final fight would come. Good versus evil. Blah fucking blah.

He’d worried but now…

Now he laughed again.

Because his dear twin was showing a weakness, and if there was one thing Luke knew how to do…it was exploit a weakness.

He turned and strolled back to the house. But he didn’t get far, not before a wolf shifter crossed his path.

“Glad you think the night is funny,” Rayce muttered. “That bastard is probably off, hunting down that angel right now.”

Luke clamped a hand over his shoulder. “Why not make this a challenge?”

Rayce lifted a brow.

“You have her scent. Why don’t
you
see if you can find her first?”

The wolf gave him a slow smile.

And the game was on.

THE END

###

If you enjoyed ON THE PROWL, be sure to look for BROKEN ANGEL, Book 3 of the Bad Things series, in December of 2016.