Syndelle welcomed Rafe's semen into her body, holding him to her as he shivered, hugging him as he calmed. He gave a shaky laugh before lifting his face from her neck and saying, "Sure beats the hell out of coming all over the front of Brann's expensive shirt and trousers."
Her eyes widened in amusement at the image his words provoked. She pressed a kiss to Rafael's mouth and ran her fingers down his backbone, teasing him with light strokes at the base of his spine. "It was a small price to pay for something so valuable as your life."
Rafe's eyes met hers and she could feel his desire to believe that he was truly worthy. She kissed him again, a soft offer of reassurance followed by a rub of her nose against his, and when the wolf rose inside her, she let it turn the gesture into a greeting, into a show of satisfaction with its choice of a mate, Syndelle's tongue licking across his lips in the second before the wolf disappeared, making Rafael laugh. "Good thing it takes a lot to freak me out these days."
Skye called a little while later, tempting them from the cocoon of Rafe's bed by saying, "I think I have a lead on where Yvonne is. Want to ride along with me when I go to talk to her?" When they arrived at Skye and Rico's home for a second time, she joined them in front of the house. "Sorry for the interruption earlier."
"Rico's cousin is all right?" Syndelle asked.
"Depends on who you ask." Skye's smile faded somewhat. "Rico's family tends to be..." She shrugged. "Almost every one of them works in law enforcement. Francesca seems flighty and high-spirited to them, which leads to conflict, and she seems to have a penchant for doing and saying things that leave her mortally embarrassed."
Syndelle sensed the underlying sadness in Skye, the desire to be accepted by her human mate's family. She took her sister's hand in hers, the low humming in her blood turning to a roar before Syndelle mentally turned the volume down and with a thought showed Skye how she could do the same. "Give them time. They will come to see the light shining inside you and the love you hold for Rico. They will come to understand how lucky he is to have been chosen by an Angelini, by you."
Skye frowned and Syndelle stilled, accepting her sister's mental probes, allowing her to find the blood connection between them and follow it to Syndelle's thoughts. This is our family pathway? Skye finally asked.
Yes, through our mother's blood, through the Coronado line, and through Sabin's line. You will always know when you are in the presence of one who is related to us.
The hum? Skye tried to think back to the Angelini she'd encountered at Big Daddy's.
Yes. Though it will not be so loud with the others as it is between us.
Skye's frown deepened. They'll be able to read my thoughts at will?
It is no different than the link between you and Gian. Syndelle's smile held just a hint of mischief. And I have seen you keep him from your thoughts.
Skye studied her sister, meeting her gaze, not realizing what she was looking for until she didn't see it. Instead of the cold, eternal flame of the vampire that she saw in Gian's eyes, and that Rico swore he sometimes saw dancing in hers, there was nothing in the centers of Syndelle's pupils except a blackness so vast that it made Skye shiver as she remembered the dark abyss, the terrifying, silent place she'd experienced before Syndelle shared her memories.
In a heartbeat, foreign thoughts pressed on Skye. Commands whose origins she could only guess at. Warning her that even though Syndelle had formed a bond with Brann, she must still be guarded closely. Hinting that in the future there would be those who would do anything to destroy her sister, and still others who would slaughter to possess her.
Skye blinked and found herself staring at very human eyes. Blue eyes so similar to hers that it was like meeting her own gaze in the mirror. Shrugging off the strangeness of the experience, she said, "Ready to go?"
Rafe grinned. "You'll have to drive, unless you want Syndelle in your lap."
Skye frowned at the Boxster. "Not a very convenient car. Don't you and Brann have something less conspicuous and more practical? I can't believe this thing hasn't been stolen and parted out by now."
Rafe laughed. "Only someone with a death wish would be stupid enough to try and steal it."
"Right. And your common, lowlife thief is going to know this car belongs to a vampire because...?"
"I can see you and Gian spend all of your time fucking." Rafe ran his hand over the hood of car. "He obviously hasn't taught you what every good companion needs to know, how to avoid stealing property that belongs to another supernatural."
"Yeah. Stealing cars is something I do every day," Skye said, her mind seeking Syndelle's as curiosity overrode her uneasiness at still knowing so little about the world she found herself a part of.
"Find the place in yourself that you call other, Skye. Look at the car through those eyes. See the magic instead of the prey signs you usually hunt," Syndelle said and Skye could feel her sister's willingness to show her, but also her confidence that she could find what she was seeking on her own.
She concentrated, amazement leaving her momentarily stunned. "It's like seeing another world layered over the one I'm used to seeing," Skye said, her voice hushed and awed. Strange symbols screamed from the surface of the Boxster, and while she couldn't read them, the warning they shouted would have battered through the subconscious of even the most drug-crazed car thief.
Her eyes moved to the coin held on a chain around Rafael's neck. For a moment it looked ordinary, appearing as it always did. Gian's voice whispered in her mind, warning her to brace herself in the second before Rafe's hand touched hers and Brann's power rushed into her, a psychic lightning bolt that had the power to kill.
Gian's voice was amused as he repeated a warning he'd given her several times before. Never forget that Brann is a force to be reckoned with.
I'm starting to see that.
Good.
Skye turned her attention to her own companion medallion. And like Rafe's, it looked ordinary at first, but as she watched, the ruby at its center darkened in ominous warning, issuing a clear message easily read by a supernatural-that she was a vampire companion to one of Brann's line.
Her eyes met Syndelle's, and it was almost as if something warm and furry rose up inside herself, and with that sensation, the part that she'd always named other, took shape, becoming something separate and yet inexorably entwined, the wolf of Riesen's line greeting the sister wolf she saw staring back at her in Syndelle's eyes. And for the first time in her life, Skye felt fully whole. As though she'd finally found all the missing parts of herself. As though she now could offer her mates everything she was.
Gian's caress was almost as real as a physical touch. Trust me. We have not felt cheated. Now go and deal with this human business you feel compelled to involve yourself in. The sun will set in a few hours and the night does not last long enough for me to share you-a ripple of lust moved through them both-except with Rico. He will join us tonight?
Perhaps. Skye let the wolf and her Angelini senses fade so that the world around her looked as it always looked. "Yvonne's staying at a place not far away from Bangers," she said as she opened the door and slid into the Boxster.
Syndelle settled on Rafe's lap, comfortable despite the tight fit. Glad for the physical contact and warmed from the inside out by the feel of his erection against her buttocks.
As if it ever goes away, he teased and she snuggled closer, suddenly wishing they were alone, that they could couple again. His arms tightened and she could feel the answering need flare through him.
She tilted her head, giving him access to her neck, to the place he and Brann had repeatedly bitten. Rafe pressed his lips to her skin, sucking on the spot, sending heat to her nipples and clit, along with comfort to her heart.
Skye parked the car and got out, laughing as she said, "I'll give you two sixty seconds to decide whether you want to cool off and come with me or stay here and come with each other."
Rafael lifted his head and snickered. "Very funny." He reached for the door and swung it open, giving Syndelle a gentle hug before shifting her to her feet and getting out of the car himself.
"This is a residence hotel?" Syndelle asked, taking in the despair-coated walls, and the sunken, hopeless nature of the people she saw sitting on their small porches, smoking, or drinking, or simply staring into space.
"Residence hotel. Shithole," Rafe said. "Take your pick."
They followed Skye into a dull-gray hallway, holding their breaths as they trod on carpet smelling of urine and vomit. Skye stopped in front of the last door on the right and knocked.
Footsteps sounded on the other side of the door before it was flung open, as though the person on the other side had no concerns about what she might find waiting for her. There was a second of recognition in Yvonne's eyes, of core-deep fear, before she slammed the door shut and refused to respond when Skye knocked again.
"We could probably force it open," Skye said, but felt oddly reluctant to do so.
"No. We can't," Rafe said.
It took a second for Skye to put it together, to join the fact that Yvonne's face bore no evidence of the vicious attack she'd suffered, with the sensation of foreboding she felt at the thought of forcing the door open and pushing her way into Yvonne's room. She found the mark near the base of the door and crouched down to get a better look at it, guessing, She's a vampire's companion?
Syndelle joined her, both of them careful not to let their knees touch the fetid carpet. "A slave."
Skye frowned. "She recognized at least one of us and was afraid."
"Yes."
"Why didn't her 'owner' kill our killer?" Skye's frown deepened. I've assumed he's human. Am I wrong?
I have found nothing to suggest he is other than human. Most likely she traded her life to a vampire in exchange for being healed.
What's so special about her? Why would a vampire bother? The vampires I've encountered at Fangs view most humans as little more than food and an occasional plaything.
"Did you see the telescope at her window?"
"No," Skye admitted. "Her reaction took me by surprise."
Rafe moved so that his legs were against Syndelle's back, steadying her. "Can you tell who she belongs to?"
Syndelle rubbed her fingers along the symbol carved into the wood, the dark-colored crevices filled with Yvonne's dried blood. "No, the mark pronounces her a slave and binds her to the room, protecting her from harm while she's in it, but whoever made her a slave left no trace of themselves."
Rafe helped them both to their feet. "Let's see what she's watching through the telescope."
Skye grimaced. "I don't know about you two, but I'm suddenly being hit with wave after wave of compulsion to get out of here."
Rafe laughed, a flash of white teeth and challenge. "And you'll obey, of course."
"Go to hell," she shot back.
"Already been there. No thanks."
They left the building and went around to stand in front of Yvonne's fenced porch. The curtains were closed, but it was still easy to see where the telescope was probably focused. Bangers.
Suspicion flashed through Rafe and immediately Syndelle remembered an earlier conversation.
You were at Bangers, when you could have been anywhere else.
I was there because Brann ordered me to be there.
Why?
Who the hell knows with vampires?
Her mind touched Brann's just as Rafe's did, the mix of emotions in Rafe too complicated to untangle, though anger resonated in his words as he said, You want to tell me what the fuck is going on?
Irritation rippled back along the link as Brann answered Rafe's unspoken accusation with a rebuke of his own. Do you think I would knowingly send you into a dangerous situation without warning you first? For all that you try my patience, Rafael, I have no desire to see you hurt or killed nor do I wish to collect more enemies by having to avenge you.
Rafe bristled and amusement flashed through Syndelle along with the image of two large cats, their backs arched and their hair standing on end as they spit at each other. But when she shared her vision with her mates, they turned their scowling attention on her, the force of their regard rubbing against her like two prowling tigers and making her body grow heavy with the knowledge that passion of one kind could easily lead to passion of a different kind.
Later, Brann promised. His voice a purr that licked over her. His earlier irritation gone.
Why did you send Rafe to Bangers?
There have been a number of new slaves at Wyldfyres, faces I have seen in Rafe's memories of Bangers.
Syndelle's heart jerked, her stomach tightened and she felt a stab of quickly suppressed pain move through Rafael. Wyldfyres?
It was Rafe who answered, Skye wondered if there was a place in Vegas where vampires go to fuck and feed in the company of other vampires. Wyldfyres is that place, though I have not been through its doors.
And you wish to go? Brann challenged. You, a companion who doesn't even offer his blood freely?
Exasperation tangled with a mix of less easily identifiable emotions inside Syndelle. If she wasn't careful, her two mates were going to give her a headache that even a vampire's blood couldn't cure!
Do you think this has anything to do with the slaves from Bangers? she asked, once again redirecting Brann and Rafael's attention to the matter at hand.
It would seem likely, Brann said. From his mind she got a glimpse of the club with its theme of fire and its rooms designed for public sex and various forms of violence.
Syndelle shivered, wondering if her new mate enjoyed such entertainments, but she didn't ask.
What faces did you recognize? Rafe asked, and along the link, Syndelle sensed Brann's hesitation, his wariness, and wondered about it, especially when a heavy sigh escaped before he flipped through a number of images, all women that Rafe had fucked.
She stiffened, hurt by the images though she had no right to be. There had been plenty of men and women before her, she knew that, and yet...
None of them mattered to me, Rafe said, hugging her to him, and then asking Brann, Who owns the new slaves?
Syndelle felt Brann's shrug before she heard his words. Minor vampires. None that I would give a second thought to, but given what you have found here, perhaps I need to check into it further.
By going to the club? Syndelle couldn't stop herself from asking.
A phantom caress glided over her cheek and across her lips. Do not upset yourself, Syndelle. I will feed only-and choose among the men available for such activity if you would prefer that I not touch another female-even as a source of food. I will do nothing more but take sustenance. There will be no other lovers for me except my Angelini mate and perhaps, one day, my presently reluctant companion.
Skye's cell phone rang and she answered it, speaking only for a brief moment before saying, "That was Augustino. He's got someone lined up to put the temporary tattoo on Rafael."
They returned to the car, tossing around theories as to why a vampire slave was watching Bangers, but coming up with nothing that could be proved or disproved.
When they got to the police station, Skye said, "There's Augustino, I'll drop you guys here then park the car."
"Just Rafael," Syndelle said, opening the door and climbing out, her manner distracted, her hand clinging to the car door, a silent indication that she intended to get back in.
Uneasiness moved through Rafe, his own and Brann's. Neither of them wanted to let her out of their sight, and yet she was safe enough in front of the police station with her Angelini sister.
Rafe couldn't stop himself from hugging her briefly and saying, "See you in a few minutes," before moving away to join Augustino.
"What's up?" Skye asked when Syndelle got back in the car.
Syndelle turned so that she was facing Skye. "Is your mate listening?"
"Not anymore. He flickered out before I blocked him."
"I'd like you to take me to the strip and leave me there."
Alarm poured through Skye and it was all she could do to force the overwhelming emotion out of her body and mind. Shit! The memories she'd acquired of her family were great, but the compulsions involving Syndelle's safety were overpowering, almost smothering.
"Why do you want to go there?"
For a moment, uncertainty hovered around Syndelle, tempting her to confide in Skye. To tell her that finding the slave mark on Yvonne's door and the discussion of Wyldfyres had made the ancient power restless, impatient, that even now it pushed at Syndelle, as though it was suddenly anxious to escape. She shook her head. It wasn't Skye's burden to bear. It was hers. "I can't tell you what you want to know, only that I need some time alone." To walk among the humans freely as I have been unable to do. To come to terms with what the freeing of the magic means for them.
"The part that's only me wants to say yes," Skye said after a few minutes of silence. "But that part seems to be at war with every other part." She shook her head, trying to free herself from the inherited compulsions. No wonder Syndelle wanted some time alone! Leaving the care of their parents and brothers only to end up with Brann and Rafael was like never knowing a moment of freedom. And yet... Skye's heart raced and adrenaline surged through her system at the idea of leaving Syndelle on the Vegas Strip.
Syndelle said nothing, though the blood memories spoke volumes to Skye. Until the Angelini magic had kicked in and driven her to take Gian and Rico as her mates, Skye had been alone, but not lonely. She'd gone where she wanted to go, done what she wanted to do, proven her worth to herself and to those who had hired her to find the missing. She'd been her own person, taken risks and suffered the consequences or gained the reward. She'd lived.
Her sister's life had been the complete opposite. From the day of her birth she'd been protected and guarded, at first because she was female and their parents couldn't bear the thought of losing another daughter, and then later Syndelle and their brother Niall had been attacked by rogue werewolves after sneaking away from the compound. Somehow they'd managed to survive the attack, but the protection surrounding Syndelle had intensified. Here the memories were blurry and Skye assumed this was when their parents determined that Syndelle would never be a hunter.
Skye shrugged off the feeling that there were things about her sister that she didn't understand. She sighed, knowing there was probably going to be hell to pay over this, but Skye pulled the car away from the curb and headed toward the strip.
