He'd hoped the Daimons had merely absconded with Vane's and Fang's powers. He should have known he wouldn't be so lucky.
"You will have to catch them outside the perimeters of Sanctuary. Take a patrol and"
"Father, you can't."
Markus turned to see his youngest adopted daughter, Matarina, standing behind him. Barely fifty years old, she looked to be no older than a human teenager. She was young, and hopelessly devoted to the two half-human sons he had once fathered on his Arcadian mate.
Matarina would never believe that Vane and Fang posed a threat to their pack.
Only he knew, and he intended to keep it that way.
"They have to die."
"Why?" she asked, moving forward. "Because of Anya? That was an accident. I know Vane would never have allowed her to die. He loved"
"Enough!" Markus roared. "You know nothing of it, child. Nothing. They were charged with seeing her pups safely home and instead they let them die. I will not allow such abominations to live while Anya and her pups lie in their grave."
By the look in her eyes, he could tell she knew he was lying. Revenge for Anya was only one of several reasons he needed Vane and Fang dead. So long as Anya had lived, he'd had partial control over his two werewolf sons.
With her death they would be uncontrollable. Unstoppable. Zeus have mercy on them all if Vane ever came home.
He turned back to Stefan. "Take a tessera and go finish their death sentence. Kill anyone or anything who tries to stop you."
"And the Peltiers?"
"Only if necessary and never on their home ground. If you kill one, hide it, but don't hesitate to do whatever is necessary to finish this."
Stefan inclined his head before leaving to follow Markus's orders.
Markus took a deep breath, but it didn't help him relax. Every animal instinct he possessed told him that sooner or later Vane would be back to exact revenge on them all.
He was, after all, his mother's son.
Vane laid her carefully on the bed. He was extremely glad tonight that he'd paid the movers to set up her furniture. It was going to make this a lot easier than trying to share that old couch with her.
He pulled the pins from her auburn hair and let it fall down around her round face. She had such a delicate, beautiful face. Placing his cheek against hers, he inhaled her fragrant scent.
She pulled the jacket from him while he savored the softness of her body under his.
She tossed his jacket to the floor, then ran her hands down his back. Vane drew his breath in sharply as intense pleasure consumed him. He knew why he hated being human. If he dared use his powers, they would both be naked in an instant and he could feel every inch of her. Flesh to flesh.
But that would most likely terrify her.
So instead, he leashed his powers and shielded his body marks from her, especially his palm. For once in his life, he would be with a woman not as a wolf or a warrior.
He would spend tonight with Bride as a man.
Bride savored the feel of Vane pressing down on her as he pulled her shoes and then her pantyhose off with consummate skill. His muscles rippled under her hands while her tongue danced with his. Ummmm this man knew how to kiss like nobody's business.
She would never get tired of the way he tasted. It was raw and decadent. Desirable and hot.
He held himself up on his arms while she slowly unbuttoned his shirt to reveal, inch by inch, that lean, strong chest. She untucked the silk to let it fall open while she ran her hands over the tanned flesh. She raked her fingers carefully through the masculine hairs that dappled his chest and abdomen, then ran them over his lean ribs.
His kiss deepened and she felt his heart pounding under her hands. He nipped at her lips, rubbing his body against hers in a way that heightened and teased her to incredible arousal.
Bride looked up at him and saw the unadulterated hunger on his face. How could a man like this want her so badly?
Part of her told her to have more confidence in herself, but it wasn't a lack of self-esteem that made this so hard to believe. She was a realist. Men who looked like Vane didn't date women who looked like her. They just didn't.