Page 69 of Fangbanger

I trace the tendons at the edge of his shoulder, where it meets his powerful neck. He shudders under me, gaze flashing from silver to black and back again.

“I don’t want this to be the end.” The words spill out of me and I wince. I didn’t mean to make things sad, or weird, or worse than they already are.

“It will not end, Leah.” Marcus cups my face. His gaze is fastened on mine. “I promise you. The bond will always be there.”

My chest feels heavy. “Can we still see each other after? From far away, maybe?” It’s foolish to even ask, but I have to. I can’t bear to let him go.

His head tips, his gaze crawling over my face. When did he become so dear to me? Somewhere between punishing my high school bully and having coffee with me, I suspect.

His thumb feathers gently over my cheekbone. “A broken bond means we could not see each other.” There’s something in his phrasing that makes me narrow my eyes. Something he’s trying to protect me from, knowing him.

“How badly will it hurt when it breaks? I know you broke the bond with Julian⁠—”

“It will not hurt, little mate.” There’s a faint smile on his face. “Now bite me. Do not let me die tonight without doing this for you.”

A pit yawns inside me. “I don’t have teeth, vampire.”

He plucks a dagger from the belt at my waist. I’m armed beyond my wildest fantasies tonight, thanks to the box.

“Let me,” he says roughly before he sets the dagger to his carotid and slices. Blood trickles, sluggish and slow. He presses my face to his neck, and I lick, then suck at the iron-rich liquid. It’s cool and salty. Power punches me in the chest, making me lightheaded. It’s working. My magic roils under my skin, stretching me until my skin feels too tight. Marcus trembles under me.

“I can feel you,” he rasps. “And the bond. More.” Fear spikes inside me that he’s going to seal it, but he simply cups my nape and presses his cheek to my hair. “Leah,” he says hoarsely. “You are a gift. Fate may have given me to you, but know that if we had eighty years together, I would spend every night attempting to earn your happiness.”

My heart tries to wrench free of my chest. This is goodbye.

“How touching,” a cool voice says. “Looks like I’m just in time for the festivities.”

Julian.

44

MARCUS

Ishove Leah behind me and face my brother. Too close. He’s too fucking close. The bond sparks in warning, and I snarl at Julian, who lingers beyond the wards, idly leaning against the wall.

“Slayer,” he says, just to irritate me, in the way of all brothers. His gaze is on my mate, and a rumble dredges from my chest. “Brother,” he says with a smirk. His eyes are fully black, as they have been for two centuries now. I have not seen him without his fangs fully descended in just as long. Madness rides him. I know now not to wish for things to be different. They will never be different for him.

He slides off the wall, his joints liquid. Leah stiffens. “You don’t have to kill him, Marcus.” Her voice is quiet and desperate, but I know he hears her.

My soft mate. “I do.”

“He’s your family. I know what it’s like to lose family.” Her eyes are shadowed, even as she draws the silver dagger from its sheath. “If he can stop killing, I can find a way to…forgive him.” The last words are husky with emotion, one that makes me want to draw her close and show her how special she is.

“How quaint,” Julian interjects before I can answer. “No, slayer. He’ll have to kill me, because I’m the big bad and he’s the good one.” His final words are mocking. “Or are you so good, brother?”

I pull the swords from my back. Normally, I’d fight with fangs and brute strength, but the surprised flare of my brother’s eyes tells me I’ve made the right choice. I step away from Leah and swing both swords, warming my wrists up, loosening my shoulders.

“I should have killed you years ago.”

Julian snarls, baring his teeth. “And there it is, brother. You should have killed me and you didn’t.” He scores one thumb with a fang and plants a hand on the wall. The ward pulses, then dissolves, and Leah makes a soft, shattered sound.

She’s pale, and the hand that grips her dagger shakes. “It hurts,” she grits. “I’m fine. Go, Marcus.”

“Remember the plan,” I tell her in a low voice. It’s a simple one. I fight him, weaken him, enough for Leah to hold him with her magic while I cut off his head. My fight, but her kill. We burn his body. Even a vampire cannot return from that.

Julian saunters through the front wall, deceptively calm, but blood drips from his nose. I’d bet anything he spent these intervening nights draining humans just to build enough strength to break the wards.

Leah lays a hand on my arm.