Night of the Fallen (Dark Tides, Book Two) (4 page)

She stepped out of the house even before the sun was completely out and despite Tom’s protests. She promised him she’d stay near the entrance, close enough to run back inside if she saw something moving. It was all an illusion, of course. If she actually saw something moving, if she managed to catch a glimpse of something nearby, it would already be too late. But Tom and everybody else in the house were still holding on to that illusion: that it was possible to avoid the monsters, that if you saw them coming, you could run or hide or protect yourself.

All a lie.

For the first time since the invasion, escaping the walls of the farmhouse felt liberating. It was a strange feeling, suddenly craving the night and its arms around her. 

She stood by the door for a minute or two, savoring the soft rustle of the night. In those moments, it was easy to forget the world was dead. The night was supposed to be silent, sleepy,
smoky. It was only when the sun came up and the silence continued that you were reminded of the desolation and death all around. So she closed her eyes and breathed in the whisper of the shadows, trying to pretend everything was fine. Her mind rebelled against the idea furiously.

She swiveled to look towards the window. Although she
couldn’t see anything through the shutters, she knew Tom was watching her from the inside, counting the minutes until the crackle of daylight was back touching every corner of the farm. She could stay there and wait with him, but that meant more time alone with her thoughts. After an entire night of rustling and turning, she couldn’t stand it anymore, so she simply starting walking away and towards the barn.

Of all the outbuildings, the barn was the only one that
wasn’t completely boarded up. Not due to lack of trying, but because it was too run down. They had tried for months to do something about it, but the gaps between wood boards were too pronounced, which meant both light and their own scent were filtering through constantly. In the end, it had been Shawn who had made the call to give up trying. The barn was now a sort of holding space, full of tools, spare gasoline and pretty much anything else useful they could find on their scavenging trips.

Once upon a time, when they had first arrived at the farm, looters had been a concern. What if somebody came upon the barn and decided to take off with their supplies?
What if they had to fight one of their own to protect those supplies? It hadn’t taken long to realize nobody was coming. In a way, that was an even harder reality to swallow.

Nobody was coming because there was nobody left to come.

She knew there had to be survivors around the country, hiding in small pockets here or there like her group. But that wasn’t enough to guarantee a future for the human race and it certainly wasn’t enough to warrant the fear of looters.

She pushed the barn door open. It creaked but gave in without much effort. The soft light of sunrise was moving in, but it was still dark enough that the barn
was enveloped in shadows. She waited for her eyes to adjust to the shadows and then closed the door behind her. The air was rich with the tang of oil and metal and old wood.

There was less gas than she expected piled up in the corner.
Five, six, seven jugs
. That was barely enough for a few scavenging trips, especially if they were now driving farther away to find something useful. She took inventory of the other things in the barn and quickly realized there was less of everything. What would happen when they ran out of places to search? They’d had dreams once of settling somewhere where they could grow their own food, get a resemblance of civilization going. But that day was far away, and moving farther with each passing minute.

She closed her eyes and pushed her back against one of the barn walls.

“Belle…”

The sound wrapped around her, holding her tight. Her heart stopped, then took off on a mad race. Her eyes darted around the barn, looking for him with a desperation that both excited her and scared her.

All the queasiness that had taken hold of her body over the past day was gone, fire taking its place. The pull of his immediacy was urgent, unavoidable. Almost like a call. 

When he stepped out of the darkness, impossibly beautiful and strong, all she could do
was run to him. Not that she had any doubts about what she felt for him, but the second his arms wrapped around her, all the pieces fell into place. It felt right. Electric. She didn’t belong anywhere else but in those arms.

“Marcus, I wasn’t sure if you were OK…”

His lips closed on hers, soft first, then hungry, his tongue licking her lips before parting them to push in. Claiming, taking her in, sharing the fire and igniting every inch of her body. Her arms went up around his neck to draw him closer, molding into him.

“I shouldn’t have let you out of my sight,” he said between kisses. “If anything had happened to you…”

And then his hands were under her shirt, the movements both hurried and longing as he touched her. There was pain and love and need all rolled into one as his hands roamed over her skin. A hunger so raw it brought tears to her eyes—because she felt it too, burning inside her. Making her feel so… wanted. So needed. It was as if he was trying to melt into her, become one with her body.

His teeth ran over her lower lip and she sucked in a breath, her entire body trembling. She pushed into him harder and he
groaned when his length pressed against her stomach.

She was mildly aware of the fact that daylight was approaching and people would be walking out of the house at any moment. Anyone
could walk into the barn and find them there. She tried pushing away from him for a second, desperately fighting the fog hugging her mind. His body didn’t budge.

“Marcus, it’s not safe here, somebody could come in…”

“I need you, Belle. It has to be now,” he breathed. “I need to be inside you.”

The words made her pulse roar. How could she say no?
Especially when her entire body was on edge from his touch. Starving for him.

She reached for his shirt, her fingers trembling as she unbuttoned it. Then she saw the fading lines of scars, melting away by the second but still there.
He’d been hurt. Badly. Her chest contracted with a mix of pain and fury as she slid her fingers over the marks.

“What happened?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said, his voice feverish. “I’m here now.”

That was when she realized his hunger must have been at a point of ultimate pain. If
he’d lost a lot of blood and not been able to feed, his body would be weakened. Excruciatingly demanding to be fed so it could restore itself.  

She turned her face to the side, exposing her neck. His eyes darkened, his chest expanding on a quick breath. 

“No,” he said and his voice was so deep and raw, she could almost feel the pain oozing through. “I want you. The hunger can wait.”

The words rippled through her. She reached for the buttons of his pants as he was pushing hers down. The barn filled with the smell of her arousal and the sounds of desire coming out of both of them. She wanted to tell him to be quiet, that they needed to hide his presence, but she
wasn’t sure how much of the moaning was hers.

“Marcus…”

He answered her plea by pushing her against a wooden column, lifting her legs off the ground and wrapping them around his waist. As soon as she was off the floor, he buried himself right inside her, one deep thrust that sent spikes of fire through her entire body. He filled her completely, throbbing and thick and deliciously painful. 

His lips searched for
hers, devouring her as he started rocking against her, his fingers digging into her buttocks so he could reach deeper, slide tighter all the way into her. It was bliss having him inside her again, animal need devouring both of them until they became one, until there was no line dividing mortal and beast. She cried out and pushed against him, heat and need biting harder into her.

His, she was his
.

He moved slowly, his body radiating as much heat as it did hunger. Her skin was burning everywhere where their bodies connected, a tingling of sensations spreading down her legs and awakening every cell in her body. He pushed in deeper, stopped for a second to savor how much her body was stretching to accommodate him. The pulsing inside her grew tighter, wetter, and she could feel the tingling of the orgasm inching closer. It
wouldn’t take her long to come.    

She closed her eyes and moaned. The air was heavy with the smell of lust, thick around them and on their skin. She could hear the soft fraying of his control breaking, the
groan at the back of his throat growing louder. And she wanted more. “Marcus, please, move…”

He grunted and slid back before slamming into her once, then again. Her entire
body shook at the invasion, but she moved against him to allow him full access. He moved again, pounding harder, deeper, with each thrust.

His thumb found her clit, moving in soft agonizing circles over it, applying just enough pressure to send ripples of pleasure into her very
core. She breathed out hard and searched for his lips again, biting softly into the skin. He bit back harder and she felt the metallic tang of blood on her lower lip. His tongue darted over it and his entire body buckled into hers, throbbing against and inside her.

The
sound that came out of him was almost painful. If the hunger was pulling in him as hard as she imagined, the teasing was probably testing every bit of control he had left. She nibbled on his lip again, her hands reaching down and finding his cock as it slid in and out of her. Her fingers glided over the sensitive skin, feeling the heat intensify as he thrust inside of her and against her hand.

“Ah, Belle, you fit me so perfectly,” he
groaned and pushed in again, hitting every sensitive nerve inside her.

She managed to open her eyes and the beauty of his body against hers assaulted her senses. Taut, perfectly chiseled, his control gone. He was lost in the thrill of ramming into her, of possessing her. Shameless in the pleasure he took out of her body. He was never as beautiful as he was in moments like these, when she could see hints of the beast taking over, when the need to have her was so undeniably devastating he had to fight to keep control.

The image was too much and her muscles clenched tight around his arousal, her head falling back in bliss.

“Look at me, Belle,” he ordered
. “I want to see your eyes when I make you come.”

The words were so powerful
, she unraveled. As the orgasm hit her, his teeth sank into her neck, intensifying the ripples of the climax rushing through her. She pushed against him, wanting to melt into his body, into him. Become part of the blood rushing past his lips and into his veins. The waves of pleasure were sharper and longer than she’d expected and the grunt escaping her throat melted into a whimper as one orgasm
flowed into the next.

He moved away from her neck then and drove himself into her again, any hint of humanity now gone from his face and his movements. Harsh, brutal, grinding until he was so deep into her, she felt pain and pleasure twisting together, overtaking everything.

“Mine,” he groaned and the word echoed inside her, rolling with a force that made her shiver.

“Yours,” she answered with a moan.

She pushed against him again and he tightened, exploding hot and thick into her, the roar of the beast shuddering through him and over her. His body jerked against her, raw moans rolling out of him as he emptied himself inside her. He seemed to pulse inside her for minutes, filling her as she tightened around his cock.

Slowly, the weight of his body relaxed against hers, his chest rising and falling as she laced her fingers in his hair. He stayed inside her, still hard despite a mind-shattering orgasm.

“I love you, Belle,” he said against her lips as they both slid back down to reality.

“I love you too,” she whispered.

He moved his head back, their bodies still connected in all the right places. For a moment, he just stood there, his eyes locked on hers, tied into her with such powerful force it made her soul flutter.

“Are you sure?” he whispered and the intensity of his eyes tore into her.

She smiled softly. “I’m pretty sure, yes.”

He kissed her again, breathing hard into her mouth. It was a kiss of possession, of claiming.
So much the same and still so different to that first kiss a lifetime ago. His lips lingered on hers, his tongue sliding softly over her lips as he tasted her, savored her. “I can still hear your blood roaring.”

“That’s what you do to me. I know I shouldn’t want it, want you…”

“Don’t.”

Before she could respond, she heard the very human steps approaching on the other side of the door and her stomach fell.

Somebody from the group, searching for her
.

Panic raced down her spine, grabbing at her chest.
Oh, God, not now
. Marcus eased her down onto the ground and she pulled her pants up, rearranging her clothes. She could smell the mix of their sex in the air, the heat still radiating from his body.

She put a hand on Marcus’ chest and tried to push him back into the shadows, but his body remained motionless. He looked composed and satisfied, an aura of power washing over his beautiful features
.  

“Please, hide,” she said, and somehow knew what his answer would be.

His eyes were tight and alert. “No.”

“I don’t want anybody to get hurt.”

“Nobody will. But I’m not hiding either.”

He reached for her neck and pulled her close, his lips closing on hers quickly, hard. The kiss lasted a flash of a second, but it sent a rush of longing into her blood. Was there anything she
wouldn’t do for him? Anything she wouldn’t risk? When he let her go, his jaw was tight. “Don’t forget you’re mine,” he whispered with searing intensity and took a single step back.

A single step that was more than
he probably wanted to take. For her.

She had a second to breathe before the barn gate slid open and Shawn stepped in. Of all the people she wanted to avoid, Shawn was at the top of the list. How could she explain this to her brother?
He’d never forgive her.

She turned around to face Marcus one more time. He
was halfway hidden by the shadows, his steely eyes concealed by the darkness. And he was still, waiting for her to make the first move.

“There you are,” Shawn said, walking towards her. “Tom said you came out before sunrise. I know daylight is not safe either, but still…”

His words trailed off as he caught movement behind her and realized they weren’t alone. His face twisted in surprise, his body still relaxed. She knew what he was thinking immediately, his thoughts of hope showing on his features. His face lit up and a smile formed as he took another step towards her.

“Shit, you found another survivor? We haven’t seen anybody for months.”

The entire world slowed down. She was just a spectator, watching the frames of an old movie flickering by in front of her.

Tick.
Tock.

Shawn stepped forward in a welcoming gesture, his hand extended towards the newcomer.
And that was when Marcus moved. She didn’t hear him, just felt him, a touch of electricity wavering in the air around them.

One step
. Two.

Then the silver of his eyes was out of the darkness and in full view.

And the world as she knew it was over.

“I’m not here to fight,” Marcus said softly and she felt a silly urge to laugh.
Fight? Shawn wouldn’t survive a minute, a second, if Marcus made a move.

Her brother’s face went through a dozen different emotions in a matter of seconds.
Shock. Disbelief. Incredible terror. The excitement that had just grated his face was completely gone and she could see his mind racing to accept the new reality. They had spent the last few years fearing an encounter with one of the monsters. Trying to figure out what they would do to defend themselves.

She had always feared that if the time came for that encounter, that they would do neither of those things. That they
would, just like Shawn at that moment, just freeze. 

Shawn stumbled backwards, the slow motion becoming more real, speeding up to meet with reality. By the time he seemed to remember the gun hanging from his shoulder, he was almost near the door.

That was when she realized that none of them had ever stood a chance. If this had been a rogue vampire, Shawn would have been dead before the horror had time to sink in.

As he fumbled to raise the gun, Isabelle rushed forward, her hands up in front of her.

“Shawn, wait, put the gun down. He’s not here to hurt us.”

Her brother seemed caught in his own stop-motion picture, because his whole body moved in flashes of unevenness. One second he was standing frozen looking at them, the next his arms were twitching as he held the gun towards them. His index finger was trembling on the trigger. Just a further twitch, an unexpected jerk, and the finger wedged on the trigger would end it all.

Her eyes searched for his but found them locked away. “Shawn, listen to me. Shawn!”

Then her brother’s eyes returned to her face.
There was a vulnerability there that pained her, a mix of desperation and fear that made him look like a little boy lost. It shattered her heart, maybe because it was her fault they were right there, facing the unthinkable.  She had brought this moment on them.

“It’s OK,” she assured him.

He seemed to consider her words for a second, then took another step backwards. “Are you fucking kidding me? He’s a vampire. Get out of the way!”

Oh, he’s so much more
, she thought, and immediately realized the fact that Marcus was the king needed to remain a secret. Not only from Shawn, but from everybody. He was too valuable. Too hated.

“Shawn, believe me, if he wanted to kill us, we’d both be dead by now.”

Understanding washed over Shawn’s face. “You know him?”

She took another step forward. “Put the gun down.”

Marcus remained still just a couple of steps behind her. Tension crackled around her. She didn’t dare put herself closer to the muzzle of the gun. If Marcus thought she was in danger, he would sprint into action and she wasn’t sure what would happen then. Would he hurt Shawn if he thought she was in danger? Maybe not at first, maybe not until her brother started fighting back. The risk was just too big.

“Belle…” Marcus whispered, and the sound reached out and embraced her, pulling.

She turned to face him. “Marcus, no, he’s my brother. I’ll do this.”

He nodded and
remained still. She was grateful he was giving her the chance to do this without violence, without him jumping over and disarming Shawn, taking whatever dignity Shawn had left along with it.

“Belle?”
Her brother’s voice crackled. “Is he the one…? Did you let him fuck you?”

The words stung more than she expected.
She fought the mix of tears and apologies dancing inside her. This wasn’t how things were supposed to be. Not that there was any better way for any of it to happen, but this wasn’t it either.

“Please, calm down. Let’s talk about this.”

Shawn aimed the gun in Marcus’ direction, eyes frozen on the king. “Did you?”

“Yes,” Marcus answered. “But I didn’t take anything that wasn’t given willingly.”

“Bullshit.”

Belle stepped in front of the barrel, her hand reaching to rest on her brother’s arm. Just a slight touch, but he jumped anyway, the aim of the gun wavering.

“He’s telling the truth, Shawn.”

Shawn flinched, the words obviously hurting.

“Just put the gun down and I’ll explain.” She motioned towards Marcus. “We’ll explain.”

Shawn’s shoulders came down then, in a gesture that was as much surrendering as it was agony.
And for a brief moment she wondered if she had lost him forever.

Then the gun came down too and he turned towards her, his neck corded and his brows pulling in. “Was it all part of the plan?”

She took a deep breath, the back of her throat dry and thick. “I didn’t plan this part, Shawn. You have to believe me.”

“Which part?”

She shook her head. “What I feel, what –”

“Don’t say it,” he
said, his hand up to stop her. Then he turned towards Marcus. “Why is he here?”

“I’m here for her,” Marcus answered, even though the question
wasn’t exactly for him. “Belle’s coming with me.”

“Like hell she is.”

“You don’t really believe I’m going to leave her here, do you? How do you plan on protecting her if a horde of rabids comes rushing in?”

Belle sighed with exasperation. It was almost like two boys playing tug of war, both laying claim to something they believed it was rightfully theirs. “Don’t I get a say in all this?”

She could almost see the word “no” in Marcus’ eyes when he turned his head towards her. There was no indecision there, no maybes. He knew exactly why he was there. “I’m not letting you out of my sight again, Belle. Even if I have to drag you along with me.”

Shawn’s gaze cut into her. “Are you telling me you’re actually considering leaving with… him?”

How strange it was, after everything that had happened. The lines between monster and prey were no longer carved on the ground. Those lines were now just drawn on sand and a quick movement, a slight misplaced step, and the lines were suddenly misaligned. She looked down at her feet. She had been the one to blur them. All those years of hard lines, of clear sides. All gone thanks to her own steps on the sand.

She looked back to find Marcus’ gaze on her, his eyes reaching deep into her soul. Did he know that she would do anything for him? His body was
all stone, all power, but there was a warmth behind his steely eyes. Maybe a warmth just for her. “What about them?” she asked him. “I can’t leave them here unprotected. You said there’s a chance the rabids are coming this way.”

“You’re not going anywhere, Liz,” Shawn whispered.

It had been a very long time since her brother had called her Liz. Way back then, the biggest thing he’d had to defend her against was a third-grade boy with a crush. Maybe not much had changed in that sense. He was still looking out for her, making sure she wasn’t giving her heart away to the wrong guy.

Except
that times
had
changed and it was too late. She had already lost her heart to someone much more dangerous than third-grader Justin. “Shawn, I have to, I can’t…” And what she wanted to say was
I can’t bear the idea of being away from him again
.

Marcus nodded, just for her. “There’s a small compound about eight hours south of here. Even by foot, you should be able to reach it before it gets dark.”

Shawn hesitated. “Surrendering ourselves?”

“I’ll ask them to keep you away from the rest, in a private area. You won’t be touched.”

Shawn scoffed. “And you want me to believe that? What makes you think they’ll listen to you?”

Oh, they’ll listen
, she thought.
Of course they’ll listen
. “Shawn, he’s right. Trust me. You’ll be safe there. Take everybody.”

Shawn lowered his head towards her, almost as if he was trying to let her in a secret. “So you’re going to choose him over us?”

She was. She had to. Because the idea of being away from Marcus was tearing her apart. Because she couldn’t bear the thought of losing him again, not knowing where he was and whether he was safe. And because she owed it to humanity to continue the research so they could maybe find a cure, start over. Live on.

“The research I mentioned… I have to go back and help gather the data…”

“No, you don’t,” Shawn interrupted her. “I’ll go in your place.”

She shook her head a bit too harshly and felt dizzy. “You wouldn’t know what to take or what my notes look like. And if you don’t take the right stuff, then it’s all for nothing.”

While she desperately wanted to tell him that was the entire reason she had to go, it wasn’t. The truth was deeper, darker. She wanted the king, his heat wrapping around her and whispering against her skin.

“She’ll be safe,” Marcus added, and she knew it was true. He would die protecting her.

Shawn flinched. “Who’s going to protect her from you?”

Marcus’ eyes were blazing. “I would never hurt her.”

Shawn must have heard the intensity in the words, because he froze in place, his eyes digging into Marcus. She could almost hear the questions forming in his mind, the storm of words fighting to get out. And then Shawn turned towards her and she could see it clearly. The path splitting into two roads, inching away from each other—and Shawn and her walking in opposite directions. The tie that bound them so tightly for many years stretching to the limit, close to snapping.

And
there was nothing she could do to stop it.

~ * ~

The second Belle stepped away to check on supplies, Shawn’s eyes were on Marcus. Shawn studied him with interest, almost as you would a specimen in a lab, something that both fascinated you and disgusted you. Marcus guessed that for many humans, getting this close to a vampire was a… disquieting experience. He would have normally used the word “horrifying,” but after the initial few minutes, Belle’s brother seemed fine with the situation. Just like Belle, he seemed like a natural around vampires.

In a way,
Marcus admired that defiance. The war would have been very different if the enemy had been this well put together, rather than running around in shock and terror. Then again, it was this defiant behavior that would get you killed around vampires. Patrick would have loved to find himself in this position—able to bring the human to his knees, break him down into terror and desperation. Humans like Shawn and Belle would be an absolute delight for Patrick.