Dark Passion Rising (13 page)

“Then you are a fool.  Do you really believe the Senate will
release them with your death?  Even now they prepare Elyssia for the slave
market.  Your brothers are fighting in the arena as we speak, they have promise
as gladiators for Rome.”      

“No!” Marcus rasped, struggling weakly against the chains that
bound him.  “I will see you dead, Nadia.”

“I offer you a chance for vengeance, Spartan.  You can save your
siblings, but only if you agree to what I offer.”

 “I am to believe you?” Marcus sneered.

“You have the power to save your family.  You only have to say
the words.”  Nadia’s voice turned steely.  “Your time is short, decide now.”

 Once again the image shifted.  Tambra heard Marcus scream in despair.
 It chilled her to the depths of her soul.  He sat on a white marble floor,
holding the body of a small woman close to his chest.  A bloodied dagger laid
only inches from him.  Tears ran down his grief ravaged face.  The sight tore
at Tambra’s heart as she watched, helpless to offer any consolation.  Then the
room tilted.  Lights flashed wildly and she found herself huddled on the bed,
her face wet with tears as she stared at Marcus’s horrified expression.

“What have you done?” Marcus’s voice shook.

 “Oh, Marcus, I’m so sorry.”  There was no pity in her voice,
only empathy.

“What happened to your siblings?”

  “They are gone.  I was… unable to save them.  I wasn’t there
when it counted.”  

She moved closer to him.  His body stiffened as she placed her
hands against his cheeks and turned his head to meet her eyes.

“What happened?” she asked quietly.

His dark gaze held hers.  His words came fast, forced out on a
shuddering breath, clearly he had never shared any of these painful memories with
anyone.

“Calais and Anton were killed in the arena, they never had a
chance.  I found Elyssia, she had been sold.  Her
master
had a penchant
for torture.  The sick bastard had already raped and beat her to the point of
death when I finally found out where she was.  She thought I was dead, she had
lost all hope.  She stole a dagger, turned it on herself.  I found her that way,
with that sick fuck gloating about all he had done to her.  I killed him slowly
for the anguish and pain he had caused Elyssia, but it wasn’t nearly enough for
the crimes he had committed.”

 “It wasn’t your fault.”

 “I went back to Nadia, the one who made me, that very night,” he
whispered, brushing the tears from her face with a gentle finger.

 “The black haired woman I saw in your cell?”

 “Yes.”  A dark scowl creased his forehead.  “I removed her head
for her many betrayals, left Rome, and never went back.  After several
centuries of wandering the world, the Tribunal found me in Spain, offered me a
position as an Enforcer, and I have been carrying out the laws for the Breeds
ever since.”

 “I’m glad you took her head,” Tambra said savagely.

She leaned into him and kissed him.  Soft, tender, and
heartbreakingly sweet, she slowly explored him, reveling in the taste of him on
her tongue, his dark, earthy scent surrounding her like a soft caress.

 Tambra’s world narrowed down to only Marcus’s lips on hers and
the soul shattering depth of his kiss.  With him she felt more than safe, she
was
home
.  Whatever came next she knew she could face it with Marcus by
her side.  Her dark warrior.  Here was a man of honor, who dedicated his life
to serve and protect.  A battered soul singing out a siren’s song she was
compelled to answer.  His kiss, like a promise of rain on the parched desert of
her soul, filled her, completing her in a way that went beyond anything she had
ever felt.  Reluctantly, she broke the kiss, needing to tell him the words
demanding release.  

Her lips parted on a quick intake of air that stuck in her
throat.  Her body convulsed as waves of agony seared her from inside.  A scream
ripped from her lips.  She flailed on the bed, perspiration covering her body
as her limbs contorted.  Golden fur rippled across her skin one moment and was gone
the next.  Her body shuddered under the assault of the Rising, before
succumbing to the darkness.

****

 Marcus flew into his jeans, wrapped her in the comforter, and hurried
down into the lab, bellowing all the way for his men to meet him there.  Tambra’s
Rising was happening more quickly than anticipated.  He wondered if his blood had
triggered the dormant genes.

He stopped dead in his tracks as he came into view of the
laboratory doors, a growl vibrating up from deep in his chest as his eyes
narrowed on Temple Fox standing inside the glass structure.

“What the
fuck
are you doing?” Marcus demanded between
clenched teeth.

“I am claiming my rightful place by her side during her Rising. 
As is the right of pack leader.”

 “Marcus, he is within his right,” Tegan interjected, placing a
warning hand on Marcus’s shoulder before turning to Temple. “And because she is
still under Enforcer Protection, it is Marcus’s right to stay if he so wishes.”

“You don’t understand.  She is not just a Pure Blooded Lycan, she
took my blood,” Marcus ground out.  “And she is my Consort.”

 A stunned silence greeted Marcus’s admission.  The air grew
thick with the promise of violence as Temple’s face contorted into a mask of
rage.

“You will die for that, Valerian,” he hissed as long, deadly
claws tore free of his knuckles.

Chapter Twelve

An agonized scream splintered the air and Tambra struggled within
Marcus’s embrace.  Christophe stepped between Marcus and Temple, a dark promise
of retribution clear on his face as his attention narrowed in on Temple.

“First we see to Tambra’s Rising, then we will address your death
wish, my friend,” Christophe stated firmly, just a hint of hardness to his
words.

 Slowly, Temple nodded, retracting his claws and stepping further
back into the confines of the lab.

“Very well.  We will play this your way.  But I
will
stay.
 And, so we are clear on this, we are
not
friends.”

 Marcus quickly moved inside the lab and placed Tambra on the
stripped down hospital bed.  All equipment had been moved out, leaving only a
wide empty space.  He held Temple’s gaze with a look of challenge.

“You stay, I stay,” he declared flatly, clenching his hands into
fists at his sides in an attempt to keep from tearing Temple apart.  “Secure
the door, Christophe.”

Without a word, Christophe did as he was ordered.  By the looks
on Tegan and the other Enforcer’s faces, they were not at all pleased by this
new development in their leader’s life.

An animal howl rent the air, reverberating against the glass
panes in the lab.  In a blur of superhuman speed, Tambra streaked off the table
and into a corner of the room, huddling and shivering with her arms crossed
around herself.

“Leave Marcus, please,” she begged in a voice more animal than
human.  “I can’t control this and if I hurt you…” she broke off with another
scream as her body contorted.

The muscles in her face tightened, then elongated, forming a
muzzle.  Canines, long and sharp, formed in her mouth.  A thick pelt of golden-white
fur rippled down her body as sharp claws cut through her knuckles.  She rose on
the pads of her feet, her body lithe and powerful.

“How magnificent you are!  Yes, Marcus doesn’t belong here does
he?” Temple taunted as he slowly stripped out of his clothes.

A low growl rose menacingly from Tambra as she swung her head
toward Temple, sharp white teeth bared in a vicious snarl.  Temple barely had
enough time to shift before Tambra was on him with fangs and claws, scoring
bloody furrows into his skin.  In his Werewolf form he towered over her, his
thick, black fur shiny with blood from her strikes.  His muscles bunched with
power as he swiped back at her, but she was quick, jumping out of the way of
his claws, then lunging back in to attack with savage grace.

 She came at him again and again, leaving bloody rivulets down
his chest and arms, her lighter form enabling her to dart away before Temple
could land a blow.  He howled out his frustration and rage, moving quickly to
corner Tambra.  She sprung at him, claws aimed at his throat.  He barely had
the time to raise his arm to protect himself.  She ripped deep gouges into it,
and Temple snarled.  He lashed out with his other arm, connecting solidly with
her shoulder.  The impact spun her into the glass wall with a resounding
crash.  Tambra went down, momentarily stunned, giving Temple the time he needed
to close the distance between them.  Picking her up by her throat, he threw her
again into the wall, the force causing a crack to appear in the glass.  Her
body slumped from the second impact and he released her.  She crumpled to the
floor. 

 Marcus saw Temple through the red haze of his rage.  He launched
himself at the Lycan even as Temple charged him, and they collided in the
center of the room.  Temple’s claws raked down Marcus’s chest, while Marcus
sliced deep into the Lycan’s side from armpit to hip.

They broke away, their breath harsh and gasping as they circled
each other, both looking for any weakness to exploit.  They came together again
in an explosion of fists and claws, slashing and pummeling, each looking to
wear down the other to get the upper hand, but too evenly matched.  They
continued the aggressive dance until Temple stumbled from the blood loss
incurred during his fight with Tambra.

 Seeing his chance to finish him off, Marcus moved in fast,
slashing at Temple’s throat with his nails, just missing the Lycan’s jugular as
Temple arched back.  Marcus spun low, kicking Temple’s legs out from under
him.  Marcus was on him as soon as Temple hit the floor, his hands on the
Lycan’s throat, squeezing tightly. 

The sound of shouting seemed to come from a great distance as he
stared down at Temple struggling, his face bloody and bruised, his gaze filled
with hate.  Hands pried at his fingers around Temple’s throat, pulling him away
from the enemy,
his enemy
.  Marcus roared with anger as he turned to
face whoever was keeping him from his kill and found himself face to face with
Tegan.  But Tegan’s attention was on something else. 

Following the direction of his eyes, Marcus watched as Tambra
stood, her eyes boring into Temple for a moment before she turned her attention
to Marcus.  She moved gracefully toward Marcus, stopping on when her furry
chest brushed up against his.  She breathed his scent, her chest rising and
falling with her quick, panting breaths.  Her head swung to his face, her blue
eyes sharp with intelligence.

 “I choose you,” she declared in a half growl.

“No, you cannot do this, I forbid it!”  Temple spat, his body
trembling with the aftershock of battle and rage.

 “You can do nothing, Temple. It is done.  She has chosen, in
full compliance with Lycan law.”  Tegan’s voice cracked like a whip.

 Marcus snarled, moving forward toward Temple.  “Time to die.”

 Tegan’s arm held him, as unmovable as a steel bar.  “It’s over
Marcus, you can’t kill him.  Let it go.”

 “He hurt her, Tegan. 
That
I can never allow!” Marcus
rasped, his voice gravely with his anger.

 “Think about it.  You’re better than this,” Tegan snapped,
running a hand through his hair in frustration.  “You are an Enforcer, not a
vigilante.  You can’t take his life.  You have no grounds.”

Slowly the rage left Marcus, his body relaxing as Tegan’s words
penetrated his bloodlust.  He turned toward Temple, staggering to his feet in
his human form.

“Help him, Tegan.  See that he gets to his car.”

Tegan grabbed the Lycan’s clothes off the floor and moved up to
him, his hand out, ready to steady him.

“Don’t touch me.  I need no one’s help,” Temple barked, painfully
rising to his full height and snatching his clothes from Tegan.  He plowed
through the men and out of the lab, stopping only once he made the stairs.

He turned back to face Marcus, his face twisted with hate.

“This is far from over, Valerian,” he warned, before disappearing
up the stairs.

 Christophe gave a low whistle.  “That went well, don’t you
think?”

Cody punched him hard in the shoulder.

“Ow! That hurt!” Christophe complained.

“Aren’t you dead?” Cody teased.

“No,” Christophe replied in annoyance.

“You could’ve—” The rest of Cody’s retort died on his lips.
“Marcus, something’s wrong with Tambra.”

Everyone’s attention turned toward her as the lines of her body
blurred.  Her fur grew longer and she was forced onto her hands and feet. 
There was a sudden flash of golden light and a wolf sat on its haunches, her
white fur thick and shiny.  The link they had formed enabled Marcus to see
Tambra through her eyes.

 “
Oookay, so I’m a dog.”

 Marcus heard her clearly through their link and couldn’t stifle the
laugh that erupted from him.  Tambra actually looked affronted by his reaction
and he hurried to soothe her through their link.

“Wolf.  You’re a wolf, sweeheart.”

“Whatever!”

 
He heard the irritation in her voice and a smile crossed
his face.  Then her eyes narrowed in on him.

 
“Don’t you even think about putting a collar on me, buddy.  I’ll
bite you.”

 
Marcus chuckled at her threat and raised his hands in
surrender.

“I would never dream of doing that,” he said aloud.

 She made a point of looking out the glass walls to where Cody
stood with the Enforcers, not even trying to hide his amazement as he stared at
her.

“
Make sure you tell Cody the same thing, alright?”

 “You can tell him yourself.  Just visualize your human body and
concentrate.”