Forever Bound Series 1-4 Part 2

Yes, they had. And she was impressed, but she wasn't planning to show it. "You took out two..." Her gaze swept the room. "With twenty to two odds, I should hope you'd win the match."

Jace lifted a brow and watched her.

She braced her legs and tried to look all kick-a.s.s. "What are your plans when there are two thousand of them...and still just twenty of you?"

"Did that b.i.t.c.h just say two thousand?"

"Two d.a.m.n thousand?"

Shock coated the faces of the shifters. Even Mike looked nervous.

Jace didn't. He just kept watching her, and he kept his claws out.

"You're being hunted," she told them. "How many wolves have the demons taken out in the last few weeks?"

They didn't answer, but she saw the swift glances that pa.s.sed between the pack members.

"They're also attacking us," she said. "For once, the vampires and the werewolves share an enemy." Now they were all focusing on her with narrowed eyes and tense faces. "If we don't take these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds out, believe me, they will destroy us. They've got the numbers on their side. They have the power..."

"So what?" Mike demanded. "An alliance?" He fired a fierce stare at Jace. "Is this just some truce 'til we kick the a.s.s of all-"

"It's a mating," Jace said, voice flat. "It's forever."

Until death. "A doorway opened between h.e.l.l and earth, and the demons are slipping right through that door," Morgan said. More of the h.e.l.l sp.a.w.n came through each day.

"So close the d.a.m.n door!" Mike snapped.

Jace's fingers stretched as if he were itching to plunge his claws back into the wolf. Maybe he was.

"We will," Jace said simply. "The wolves and the vampires will send them back and close the door."

They hadto work together. In order for that doorway to shut, they'd both need to bleed.

Only she'd be the one giving up the most blood.

And Jace would be the one to face h.e.l.l.

Murmurs swept through the bar. The wolves finally seemed to realize just how serious this night was. A vampire wasn't their prey. Instead, a vampire was becoming their alpha's mate.

Jace came to her side again. When his hands-still tipped with those deadly claws-rose to her throat, Morgan didn't flinch. He swept back her hair and his knuckles brushed over her skin.

The wolves closed in now, watching, and some-some were already shifting.

Mike swore and turned away. He stomped for the door.

"Don't be afraid," Jace's voice, right at her ear. She felt the whisper of his breath on her flesh.

"I'm not." Her own voice was just as soft as his.

His claws skated down her neck. "Liar."

Wolf senses. Could he really smell her fear?

"Have you ever been bitten?" he asked.

So many eyes were on her. She'd known the bite would have to be in public. It was one of the pack rules. Claimings had to be public. Witnesses had to see the bite. Witnesses-just like in human marriage ceremonies.

Because that's what a marking was...marriage. When a male wolf bit his female in front of the pack, he claimed her.

I can do this.

It would just help if her knees weren't shaking.

She gave him the truth, "No." No one had ever bitten her.

"Good." Too much satisfaction purred in the one word.

"Don't forget," her voice was way too breathless. She wasn't actually looking forward to this, was she? "I get my turn later."

"I'm counting on it."

Oh, d.a.m.n.

She tilted her head, arching her neck even as she closed her eyes. She wouldn't look at the others as he did this. She would just close her eyes and pretend that- That I'm not giving my life to a werewolf.

His lips touched her skin first. She'd expected the bite. The sharp sting of teeth. Werewolves were supposed to be wild.

No better than animals. That's what the Council said, that's what- His tongue licked her skin, and Morgan lost her breath. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s tightened even as her body tensed.

She didn't open her eyes. Don't want to see them.

He sucked her skin, licked her, but didn't bite, not yet. His arms surrounded her, his body sheltered her, and he made her wait.

Worse, the b.a.s.t.a.r.d made her want.

Because her skin was too sensitive, his lips too wickedly skilled, and if a vampire had a sweet spot-okay, yes, they all did-it was the neck. Just a few licks there, and she was choking back a moan.

Then she felt the edge of his teeth on her skin.

"Do it," she told him, desperate.

"You accept me?"

Morgan nodded.

"Say it, Morgan, I need the words. You have to say-"

"I accept you!"

His teeth sank into her. Not her neck, but the curve of her shoulder. The pain was white-hot, pulsing. Then pleasure whipped through her. A wave of pleasure so intense that she cried out and opened her eyes.

And saw a giant, white wolf leaping right at her.

Barely a bride, and already, the groom's family was gunning for her.

Jace lifted his head at her cry and he roared, "Mike!" even as he shoved her back. Then her husband jumped into the air. His bones crunched, popped, and fur broke over his skin. The man vanished, and a giant black wolf attacked in mid-air.

Morgan touched her shoulder and felt the wet warmth of her blood. The skin ached, but she knew the flesh was already healing.

Vamp healing power.

The two wolves were a twisting, snarling ma.s.s. Claws flew, razor-sharp teeth snapped. Blood matted their fur, and their growls filled the air.

She lunged forward, but a hard hand wrapped around her arm.

"Easy, there, cher." The man's voice rolled with a Cajun accent she'd once heard during Mardi Gras in New Orleans. "Don't go gettin' between wolves. If Mike wants a challenge, then Jace will give him one..."

As she watched, the other wolves circled and howled. Jace tore into the white wolf. More blood. Her nose twitched at the smell.

Didn't they know better than to fill a room with blood when a vampire was around?

Her teeth began to burn as they stretched in her mouth. What would it be like? To have that fresh, wolf blood? Would it truly be as powerful as the Council said?

Jace went for the white wolf's throat. His powerful jaws caught the flesh, caught, held...

Mike sagged beneath him, the fight gone. Surrender.

Submission.

Jace tossed his head back. His howl filled the bar.

Then the black wolf turned and stared at her. His teeth were b.l.o.o.d.y. His eyes wild.

What have I done?

The Council was wrong. There was no way she'd ever be able to control him. The wolves were running around now, some human, some animal, and it was chaos.

Jace transformed as he approached. Fur melted. Bones shifted. By the time he reached for her, he was a man.

Even if his stare was still the wild gaze of the wolf. He came to her, caught her hand, and said, "Mine."

She knew that it was too late to run.

Mike raced away from the bar even as Jace's howl filled his ears.

b.a.s.t.a.r.d. He'd hated that a.s.shole for years and now Jace was pairing up with a vampire? Another reason to hate the SOB.

Mike had shifted, transforming in order to heal. Jace had sliced him too deep. Even now, the blood spilled down his neck.

"So sweet..."

The whisper had Mike slowing. His gaze swept the dark shadows. A row of broken buildings waited on the left. Empty. Faded.

His nostrils flared, and he scented...bloodsucker.

Mike slapped a hand over his throat, and he began to back away. Normally he wouldn't run from a vamp, but...but he'd already gotten his a.s.s handed to him once tonight. "Stay away from me!" He shouted.

Laughter floated in the air.

"No..." The voice was closer now. "I saw you...I watched it all."

Mike spun around and came face-to-face with the vamp. Tall, as pale as the woman had been, but muscled.

And the vamp's fangs were out.

"You were going to kill the female, weren't you?"

Talk about being screwed. He should have known the b.i.t.c.h hadn't come in alone.

"No." He could be honest here. Maybe it would help his cause. "I was going to kill him."

More laughter, and then the vampire closed in. Mike didn't even have a chance to scream.

"This is...ah...your place?" Morgan paced in front of the fireplace. "It's not quite what I was expecting."

Jace pulled his gaze off her a.s.s. The rush from the shift still fueled his body. No, not just from the shift. From her.

He had her taste now. Knew the feel of her body. Knew the sound of pleasure on her lips.

He wanted more.

"What did you expect?" His voice was rough. Always was. Like sandpaper when hers sounded like silk.

Morgan stopped her pacing. She slanted him a quick glance from beneath lowered lashes.

"A cage?" He tossed out.

Her small jaw tensed. "And I suppose you never once wondered if I slept in a coffin?"

He laughed. "No, princess, I know better." She just needed to stay out of sunlight because the light made her weak, almost human. Not because it set her skin on fire. That was just a Hollywood myth.

"And I know better, too." Her voice came even softer than before. She turned to stare at the heavy bookshelves that lined his walls. "But I did expect pin-up queens and at least one big screen TV."

Yeah, well, they were all on the other side of the house. Jace shrugged. Then he took off his t-shirt.