But it was. Her body raged with the urgency. A new, unfamiliar aching in her jaw told her there was venom waiting to render her meal cooperative, to give him a l.u.s.tful bliss more potent than any wedding night.

"I brought him just for you," said Belenos.

She looked up at her sire, and realized she loathed him: every pore, every cell, every hair of his fox-red mane. Her feelings had turned on a dime after that look on Tom's face. Shaking, her voice came out barely more than a whisper. "I don't want to play your games."

"Ah, but my games are all you have left," he said, his voice sinuous with antic.i.p.ation. "You're just a pitiful dead thing."

With one hand, he hauled Tom to his feet, with the other tilted the man's head to the side. Chains swayed and sc.r.a.ped against the stone, a sound like the gates of h.e.l.l dragging open to swallow Talia whole.

Belenos bit down, sinking enormous fangs into Tom's neck. Tom screamed, a pitiful wail of despair. Talia's insides jerked, responding to the cry of prey. Her teeth suddenly felt enormous in her mouth.

Blood sprayed all over the king's white suit as he tore out Tom's throat. He looked up, his face a mask of gore. "Are you going to join me? I've got your brother for dessert."

She couldn't remember what happened next. The reel of memory stopped short, as if it had been sheared away with a pair of scissors.

Perhaps forgetting protected her from insanity.

Talia twisted as she lay on top of the bedclothes, caught in the web of remembered imagery. She cried out, half of her already trying to wake up. A sharp sound brought her fully conscious, followed by a cold swirl of air. Her mind groped, trying to understand what she'd heard, but the unfamiliar surroundings disoriented her.

She bolted upright, aware something was in the darkened room, but not able to see it. Steeling herself, she reached out her hand toward the shadowy form of the bedside lamp. She touched the cool bra.s.s, letting her fingers slide up the base until she found the switch. Hesitating a moment, she swallowed, afraid of what she might see. That cold breeze curled through the room again, reminding her that something had opened a window.

She clicked on the light. It cast a feeble puddle of light across the bedclothes. Talia blinked, a ripple of fear slithering up her arms.

A huge shape hulked at the end of the bed. It seemed made of rags of shadow, sc.r.a.ps of it feathering away as the shape moved, as if stirred by the breath of h.e.l.l. Utterly black, it seemed more an abyss than a solid body, except for the two sparks of demon fire that were its eyes. h.e.l.lhound. Once she named it, she could make out the upright ears and long, pointed snout. The hounds weren't made to be seen by human eyes, but she was a vampire.

"Lore?" she whispered.

The savage snarl told her otherwise. Talia's hand darted under the pillow, grasping the gun she'd taken from Max. It felt hard and real in her palm, far from the magic talisman she needed to dispel this nightmare.

The hound crouched, baring teeth as long as Talia's hand. Ropy saliva trailed from its jaws, glistening in the lamplight.

"Hold it there, bud," Talia snarled in her turn, showing the hound her weapon. "Good doggy."

The hound sprang, the movement too quick for real animal bones and muscles. With a gasp of alarm, Talia fired, the gun in a two-handed grip as she rolled off the bed. Plaster exploded from the ceiling, showering dust on the bed. The hound landed with a thump that sent pillows flying, swinging its ma.s.sive head around with another ferocious growl. Its lolling tongue was scarlet against the black fur, the teeth starkly white.

Talia thought she had hit the beast straight in its chest. With a burst of horror, she guessed that the bullet had pa.s.sed through the hound without a trace. Demons!

Before it could lunge again, she dropped to the floor, rolling beneath the high Victorian bedstead. Paws thumped to the floor. Moments later a black snout pushed aside the dust ruffle, snuffling greedily.

Talia shot out from the other side of the bed, using all her vampire speed to dive into the bathroom and slam the door shut behind her. Splinters of gla.s.s covered the floor tiles, cold air streaming through the smashed window pane. So that's what woke me up.

Claws tore at the bathroom door, sending Talia scrambling for the window. The toilet tank made a good step up, but she'd shred herself on the jagged teeth of gla.s.s sticking from the frame. Suck it up. Vampires heal.

Then the scrabble of nails abruptly stopped.

Chapter 23.

Adeep baying rattled the drinking gla.s.s at the edge of the sink, stealing a sob from Talia's throat. The hound's cry was like the last moan before the sun and moon winked out.

But it hadn't come from outside the door. This one was farther away.

Her attacker answered, an awoo-woo that echoed in the tiny bathroom, making Talia feel like she was inside the dog. She shook with it, momentarily frozen.

A crash of splintering wood followed. Fresh snarls shredded the air.

Dog fight. Talia jumped off the toilet, not sure what to do. The dynamics had changed. Someone new had come.

Had someone finally shown up to help her when she needed it?

She cracked the bathroom door open, peeking out. The bedroom was empty, but she could hear the thump and crash of battle in the living area. Her gun in hand, she crept out of her hiding place. Whether or not bullets worked on h.e.l.lhounds, she wasn't going unarmed.

The room was a writhing ma.s.s of shadow, like a dark star wrestling its way to implosion. Flashes of crimson eye and white fang streaked through the blackness, but it was impossible to see where one hound ended and the next began.

Then suddenly it was Lore, his hand around a woman's throat, pinning her to the floor. His movements were fluid, too quick to be human.

The woman was dark and muscular and starkly beautiful, like the spirit of wild Arctic tundra-and about as friendly. She struggled under his grip, giving an unholy snarl of fury.

"What's going on?" Talia demanded from the shelter of the arch that joined the two rooms.

Lore's shoulders bunched with the effort of holding the woman still. His eyes flickered to Talia for a moment, but his opponent had his attention. "Mavritte?"

The female spat back in a language Talia didn't know.

"She tried to eat my face," Talia said acidly. "I think I deserve to listen in on the conversation."

Lore's expression was still more h.e.l.lbeast than man. "This is Mavritte of the Redbone pack. Beware of her."

He let his prisoner twist out of his grip. She was on her feet in seconds. Talia scanned the woman, looking for vulnerable points, weaknesses in her stance. There weren't any. c.r.a.p.

"I protect the pack," the woman said to Lore in a lowpitched, husky voice made for whispering dirty secrets. "It is you who wastes time with other species."

"How did you find this place?"

"Because I am a skilled tracker."

"Tell me!"

She spit in derision. "You left the hospital in pursuit of a pretty young vampire, wringing your hands because she was lost in the snow like a newborn lamb. I thought to ask the Castle guards who had pa.s.sed by them this night. They told me to look in the Empire."

He came looking for me. Talia's throat ached with astonished emotion. My G.o.d, he told the truth when he said he'd protect me.

h.e.l.lhounds really didn't lie.

Lore glared at Mavritte. "How did you know I was at the hospital?"

She grinned, a baring of teeth. "Not all wolves are your friends. Your professor had other visitors. Some would like to be my ally."

Lore closed the distance between them, looming over her. "If I had been a little faster, you would have never made it here alive."

Mavritte folded muscular arms beneath her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, looking like Mr. Clean's bada.s.s girlfriend. "By rights, the Alpha is mine to mate." She thrust out an accusing finger at Talia. "What fantasies do you indulge with this bloodhungry corpse? This is what you would betray us with?"

"Hey!" Talia snapped, misty longing giving way to annoyance.

Mavritte glared. "She is a breach of everything we believe!"

Lore made a grab for the other hound, but she ducked and wheeled, putting herself out of reach. He sank into a half crouch, ready to spring. "Be careful what you force me to do."

"The h.e.l.lhounds need a bonded pair. You are pack father, the fertile seed. You can't make the dead our pack mother."

"Whoa, who said-" Talia lost her words, too astonished to keep going.

Mavritte rounded on her. "You do not care for him?"

Talia dared not look at Lore. "Yeah, but grab some dignity, girlfriend. No catfights, and I don't do bikini mud wrestling."

Mavritte looked confused. Maybe h.e.l.lhounds didn't get the specialty channels. She turned to Lore. "She will not fight for you."

Talia couldn't resist a glance at Lore. He looked like he was going to explode, but she couldn't tell if he was embarra.s.sed or infuriated by the conversation. "It is not the human way."

"Then what good is she?" the h.e.l.l b.i.t.c.h asked.

Talia folded her arms, mirroring Mavritte's stance. "Hey, I'm not stopping him from finding a h.e.l.lhound girlfriend."

"Enough!" Lore interjected.

Mavritte ignored him. "Then whose fault would it be that he will not have me?"

"Gee, I dunno."

Mavritte dropped her arms, holding them at her sides, slightly away from her body. Ready to grapple. "Don't mock me, vampire."

"Enough!" He grabbed Mavritte by the arm. He looked angry, but stricken. "Leave. Leave us. And leave Talia alone."

Mavritte broke his grip with a sweep of her arm. "You have no right to throw me out."

Lore's face flushed. "I have every right to a minute of peace! I have a right to myself. To my privacy. I have the right to be with who I choose. I have done enough." He spit the last words as if he were throwing a gauntlet at her feet.

"I have the right to be heard by my Alpha."

"Hearing you is all that I've done from the moment you left the Castle!"

"If you will not have me to mate, I challenge you for leadership. I have to protect the pack."

Talia's jaw dropped. Holy c.r.a.p!

Lore's face went granite-hard. "Mavritte, don't. I don't want to fight you."

She slammed both hands against his chest. "I demand it of you. By pack law. And don't think I will be an easy victory."

Lore pushed her toward the door. "I refuse. Pack law cannot be invoked simply because you are angry that I don't want to bed you. Try this again and I will shame you in front of both packs."

"You would not dare!"

"Go, lick your wounds. Lick Grash. I don't care."

Mavritte turned. "You can't do this."

"And yet I do." Lore shut the door in her livid face.

He held the door handle a long moment, as if expecting her to burst back into the room.

Talia remembered to close her gaping mouth. "What did she just say? She wants to fight you?"

Lore held up his hand, signaling her to wait. After a long minute, he dropped his hand from the door. "She's gone."

Talia grabbed his arm. "What the h.e.l.l is going on?"

He put a hand over hers, squeezing it gently. "Mavritte is angry. No one refuses her, and now I have. Her pride is wounded. She will get over it."

Talia wasn't so sure. "I think she wants to kill me. Is she going to try to kill you?"

"She won't hurt either one of us."

"How can you be so sure?"

The look he gave her was matter-of-fact. "I am Alpha. She can't change that."

Talia let him take her hand, warming it between his own. He seemed so utterly certain of his powers.

He was sure of her, too. He took her hand, pulling her to the pool of lamplight. The movement drew them into the bedroom. Talia could see raw scratches snaking down his arm, following the swell of his muscles. Suddenly, she wanted him. She wanted her tongue on those wounds, tasting the spicy blood she always sensed just under his skin.

He was wearing another one of those tight T-shirts that showed off every one of his chest muscles. Doesn't he own anything else? she thought irritably. Her fangs began to ache, matching the slow burn deep in her belly. She wanted to kiss the place just under his ear, where even on a work-hardened h.e.l.lhound, the skin would be soft as apricots. Tasty. Yielding.

She wanted her mouth all kinds of places, and the very thought of them was making her squirm. This can't happen. He has to know the truth of who I am. What I've done.

"What's the matter?" Lore asked, cupping her face in his hands.

"No one's ever come looking for me before. In a good way, that is."

He took a step closer, sliding one hand behind her back. "Never?"