Mating Bite by Cynthia Eden (16)

Lauren’s eyes opened. She sucked in a deep breath. Her heart beat steadily. Her skin was warm. She felt…strong. Energized. And…

Something was on top of her. Someone was on top of her. A woman with long, tangled hair.

The Dealer.

Horror rushed through Lauren. She shoved at the woman, and the Dealer’s limp body slid off her. The witch…she wasn’t moving at all. Lauren put her hand to the Dealer’s throat. No pulse. She’s so cold.

Lauren crouched beside the body. The other woman had been attacking her. Lauren’s blood had been soaking her clothes as the knife sank in her. She was still covered in blood.

The witch had been trying to kill her, so Lauren had bit the Dealer. She’d sunk her teeth into the other woman, and she’d taken the witch’s blood. She’d kept drinking until the Dealer had dropped the knife.

And then…

Then the sun was up. And I don’t remember what happened.

Lauren’s trembling fingers rose to her mouth.

I killed her. She’d taken a life, and there was no going back. “I’m so sorry,” Lauren said. Then she gave a wild yell as emotion surged through her. I didn’t want to kill you! “Shit, why did you attack me? Why? I never did any damn thing to you! I never hurt you! I never—”

The Dealer’s eyes flew open.

“Holy shit,” Lauren breathed.

The Dealer stared at her in absolute shock. “What did you do to me?”

Lauren slid her tongue over the edge of her razor-sharp fangs. “What did we do to each other?”

***

The werewolf stronghold stood behind the gate, towering and dark. Guards were near the entrance—big, strong wolves who waited just inside the gate. They were in animal form, and judging by the tenseness of their bodies…

“They know we’re here,” Lauren whispered.

The Dealer grunted. “And why are we here? Because coming to visit a pack of wolves is not a good plan for two vamps.”

“Seriously, stop it.” They’d had this same argument before. Multiple times that night. “We’re going in.” She turned to glare at the Dealer—well, Natalie Kingston. The woman’s throat had healed from Lauren’s bite. She’d actually healed from more than just the bite—all of her burns were gone, too. Her skin was flawless and her eyes gleamed. “Don’t make me kill you.”

“Again?” Natalie snapped back. “You mean don’t make you kill me again?”

Natalie’s voice had been anything but quiet, and the wolves near the gate had heard them—even though the women were huddled a good fifty feet away. The wolves surged over the gate and bounded toward them.

“Oh, hell,” Lauren breathed.

“And I have zero magic at my disposal,” Natalie said as she grabbed Lauren’s arm. “Thanks to you. So let’s get out of here before they rip us apart.”

No, she wasn’t leaving. Not until she saw Carter. Not until—

“Lauren!” The roar had come from behind the gate. And at that booming cry, the charging wolves froze.

Lauren took a deep breath. She slipped from her hiding spot even as Natalie cursed. Ignoring the other woman, Lauren began walking toward the werewolf stronghold. Toward Carter. Toward the man who was her mate.

There is no going back now.

Her steps were certain as she headed toward him, and she was aware that Natalie was creeping behind her. She didn’t look back, though.

Carter shoved open the gate. He ran to her and yanked her into his arms. He was warm and strong and solid against her—he was everything that she’d wanted. He was the man she’d been afraid she’d never have.

“You’re here. You’re fucking here.” His arms were steel bands around her body, so tight that she could barely breathe, and Lauren didn’t care. “You left…oh, shit, baby, don’t ever leave me again. We’ll make it work. I’ll find a way. I can find a witch, I can find someone to take away my wolf—”

“Uh, no,” Natalie spoke from behind Lauren, her voice sharp. “That doesn’t happen. You don’t just wish away your werewolf. You do that, buddy, and you die.”

He stiffened against Lauren. Then, slowly, his head raised. He stared over her shoulder. “You’re dead, Dealer.”

Lauren didn’t look away from him. His jaw was so strong. His eyes so beautiful. His body so warm.

“I am dead, thanks to your um, baby, there.” Natalie was definitely disgruntled. So what?

If you don’t like the consequences, then maybe you shouldn’t have hunted me down and attacked me. Attack a vamp and you get bit.

“No.” Carter shook his head. “You died in Georgia. Your throat—the fire—”

“I worked a spell, okay?” Her footsteps shuffled closer. “I would live…as long as Antoine did. So, yes, I survived that nightmare at the motel. I wasn’t about to leave this world and let that bastard still be here. You have no idea what he did to me. I wasn’t going to stop until he was gone.”

“Yeah, well, Lauren and I took care of that shit,” Carter threw at her. “You’re welcome.”

Silence. Carter was still glaring at the woman, obviously suspicious of her.

Lauren understood, she really did.

“The spell ate away at my mind.” Now Natalie sounded quiet. Subdued. Regretful. “I…lost myself, okay? That’s what happens when you use dark magic. It takes you over. In order to extend my life, I had to dip into some very, very dark magic. And I couldn’t see past my rage and fury. That was all I knew. It was why…why I attacked Lauren last night.”

“Why you did what?” Carter tried to surge past Lauren.

“No!” Lauren held him tighter. “I’m okay.”

His frantic gaze came back to her. And his gaze dipped to her mouth. She knew her fangs were peeking out behind her lips.

Pain flashed on his face. “Oh, sweetness…”

“I killed her last night,” Lauren explained quickly. “She was stabbing me, and I bit her. I took her blood until she stopped—”

Fury hardened his face. “She looks fucking alive to me.”

“Undead,” Lauren whispered back. “That’s what Natalie is now. Just like me.”

His eyes widened. “You transformed someone?”

Yeah, how about that? “Beginner’s luck?”

If anything, his expression grew darker.

Natalie’s sigh drifted on the night wind. “I know how transformations work, okay? Trust me, I understand plenty about vamps. An exchange is needed for the transformation. I must have gotten some of Lauren’s blood in me during the attack.”

“There was, um, a lot of blood,” Lauren murmured.

The wolf’s fury flashed in his eyes.

“Don’t.” Lauren shook her head. “Don’t attack her. There has been enough of that. When she woke up, the dark magic was gone. She was herself again.”

“Lauren, um, she helped me.” Natalie had crept a little closer.

Lauren winced. She wasn’t so sure helped was the right word, but…whatever. She looked over at Natalie. It wasn’t like the two of them would ever be besties, but she could understand the other woman’s pain. Antoine had been a fucking monster, and Natalie—she’d become a monster herself as she tried to get her vengeance. That was Natalie’s cross to bear. With the dark magic gone, Lauren could see a glimpse of what the other woman had been like…before.

What would Natalie be like in the future? That was going to be Natalie’s choice. She had a month to live the undead life. If she took a life during that time…

Lauren shivered. It’s the Dealer’s choice.

Lauren cocked her head to the side and studied Natalie again, but with a hint of suspicion this time. There was a faint smile on Natalie’s face. A bit of satisfaction?

Had the witch attacked Lauren out of rage or…had the Dealer worked one last deal?

“You wanted him, didn’t you?” Natalie asked her quietly. She gave Lauren a quick, sad smile. “Humans can’t be with werewolves, and a werewolf can’t give up his wolf.” She turned away and began walking into the night. She was humming softly.

Holy shit. Did she play me?

“Wait!” Lauren called out.

Natalie paused. Her head cocked as she looked back and said, “The first night we met, I was wrong to attack you in that alley. But back then, I was so broken inside I barely knew what I was doing.”

Lauren couldn’t believe this. “But last night when you found me in the casino, you knew exactly what you were doing, didn’t you?”

Natalie just shrugged. “You came to me originally because you wanted to be human. In the end, though, that wasn’t really what you wanted most, was it?”

“No. What I wanted most—it was Carter. It will always be Carter.” Truth.

“And now you have him.” Natalie ran her tongue over her fangs. “Though this undead bit was an unexpected development I hadn’t counted on. I really thought I’d just…die. Now, I have to figure out what the hell I’m doing next. Oh, well. Life and death are full of surprises.” She gave a little wave. “Keep the wolves away, would you?” She walked into the night.

Lauren watched her go. Her heart was drumming far too fast. The other werewolves were still there, and she could see the tenseness in their bodies. Carter still had one arm around her, as if he were afraid to let her go. She understood—she never wanted to let him go, either.

“Go back to the gate.” Carter’s sharp order sent the wolves running.

Lauren stayed right in front of him. She almost couldn’t believe it—this was the ending they would have. They could stay together. She wouldn’t have to live without him.

“I’m sorry.” Pain roughened his voice. “I know you didn’t want this.”

“You’re wrong. This…a life with you, it’s exactly what I wanted.” There was a price for that life—she understood that truth. Vampirism. A blood diet. It wasn’t exactly picture perfect, but it was a life she’d take because they would be together.

“I love you,” Carter told her and she actually felt those words slide through her. No one had ever looked at her the way Carter did. No one had ever stared at her with such raw emotion. As if she truly were his world. “I was going to give up my wolf. I would give up everything for you. I want to make you happy, I want to make—”

She rose onto her toes and kissed him. Kissed him deep and passionately. Kissed him with the raw joy that pulsed inside of her.

Was she a monster? No, Lauren didn’t think she was. She thought she was a woman who loved a man—and who was loved in return. They’d make their lives work.

He kissed her back. There was a desperation in his kiss, as if Carter couldn’t quite believe that he had her in his arms. But she’d returned to him. And she wasn’t going to let him go again.

It wasn’t about mating.

It was about the heart. Love.

A love that had been found between a man who was far more than a beast…and a woman who enjoyed a good bite.

The End

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