Crave Page 10

  It was then he caught the scent of werewolf.

  Were the couples on stage werewolves? He didn’t recognise any of them from his scouting mission but then he rarely paid close enough attention to potential performers for him to remember them once they reached his stage, and Antoine had mentioned that the couple had also sourced performers.

  He looked back at Antoine.

  The aristocrat vampire was glaring at the stage, his displeasure rolling off him in tangible waves. Something had annoyed him, and Callum had the feeling it wasn’t his disappearing act. Was it the show that had him more agitated than usual or had something happened with Snow again? Whenever Snow was going through a bad patch, Antoine turned into a bear with a one-track mind bent on bloody murder. Callum normally requested he be allowed out to scout for new performers whenever Antoine got into one of those moods and left Javier to deal with him.

  The performance ended and when the curtain rose again there was a large box-shaped object in the middle of the stage, draped in a black velvet cloth. It shifted as though someone was underneath it. The audience murmured, their excitement lacing the air.

  The veil covering the box rose, revealing a steel cage and three naked women huddled in the centre. One blonde, one brunette.

  And Kristina.

  Callum snarled.

  Kristina turned her hazel eyes in his direction and ran at the bars, growling and trying to reach him. “You bastard!”

  His heart stopped dead. Ice filled his veins. She thought he had betrayed her. Her pain ran in his blood, conveying her disappointment and anger.

  Three large male vampires entered the stage, wearing only tight black jeans, each one carrying a black bull-whip.

  The audience jeered.

  The gate of the cage lifted and then one man stepped forwards, thrust his hand into the cage and grabbed the blonde werewolf by her throat. He dragged her kicking and screaming out into the middle of the stage and threw her to one side. His whip cracked across her back a moment later, sending her arching forwards and screaming as a bright red streak appeared and the scent of her blood filled the air. The audience gasped and leaned forwards as one, eager for more.

  Callum growled and ran at the stage, leaping up to balance on the edge. He gripped the thick steel bars and tried to pull them apart, snarling and verging on losing control. The steel bars started to give and his heart lurched when a second vampire dragged the brunette werewolf out of the cage by her hair, pulling her across the stage on her backside.

  The third male approached the cage. Kristina backed into the far corner, growling and snarling at the vampire.

  “Kristina!” Callum called out and she turned fearful teary eyes on him. He reached out to her through the bars, desperate to get through to her so he could protect her from the man.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Antoine grabbed his ankle and dragged him down. He toppled and hit the red carpet with a sharp thud.

  He was on his feet again and reaching for the steel bars before a beat had passed. Antoine grabbed his upper arm, fingers pressing painfully through the layers of his black shirt and jacket. Callum snarled and shoved him away. Antoine’s pale blue eyes turned glacial and then began to turn red.

  “She’s my lover!” Callum snapped and gave up on trying to make it through the steel bars. He wasn’t strong enough. He crashed through the double doors instead and banked left, sprinting for the door that led onto the stage.

  He tore it open and ran out into the fray. All three vampire males sported wounds now and a good deal of blood coated the black stage floor, turning it slippery. He ran forwards, past the now transformed female werewolves. One of the male vampires lashed out at him with the whip and Callum caught it by the tip before it could strike him, twisted it around his arm, and pulled it out of the man’s grip. He wrapped his fingers around the thick handle, twirled it in the air above his head, and sent it at the man who had attacked him. It cracked across his chest, leaving a bloody streak. The vampire snarled at him and Callum roared back.

  The audience started to jeer louder, as though this was all part of the act. Two voices rang out above the noise though, protesting loudly about what he was doing.

  Callum didn’t listen. He cracked the whip again, keeping the three men at bay. The wolves gathered behind him, growling and snarling, their hackles raised. Callum glanced at all three of them. He didn’t know which one was Kristina. The smell of their spilled blood combined and he couldn’t pick hers out.

  “Kristina.” He cracked the whip again when one of the vampires tried to rush him. He didn’t recognise any of them. Antoine had said that the lord and lady responsible for this horror show had brought some of their own performers. These men had to be theirs. Everyone at Vampirerotique knew him and knew not to mess with him. “Stay back. I’ll protect you.”

  The wolves growled behind him and it didn’t sound like a favourable response.

  Two launched past him, one on either side, and locked their jaws on to two of the vampires. One man went down with a werewolf on his arm. The other was less fortunate. The female had a good aim and bit into his throat, sending blood gushing down his broad bare chest. He hit the floor and struggled in vain.

  The other vampire shook off the werewolf who had attacked him and Callum attacked the third. He dropped the whip and launched himself at the man, slashing his claws down his chest and spilling blood. The man punched him several times across the jaw, sending his head spinning. Callum didn’t relent. He clawed at the man between punching and dodging, weakening him by spilling his blood.

  Another werewolf attacked the male that had fallen, tearing at him.

  The vampire who had been bitten on the arm barrelled into Callum and sent him crashing into the hard black wall at the back of the stage. Callum kicked out as the man reached him, catching him hard in the balls, and he hit the deck.

  “Enough!” Antoine’s voice cut through the cacophony of shouts, jeers, snarls and growls. The sound of steel creaking under pressure had Callum, the two remaining male vampires, and the three wolves stopping and turning towards the source of the sound.

  Antoine pulled the thick steel bars apart with his bare hands as though they were made of rubber. The formidable display of strength and the rage rolling off the powerful aristocrat vampire had everyone on stage staring, the fight forgotten. The three female werewolves slunk back towards the corner, gathering into a group so tight that the brown, black and tan of their fur blended together.

  Antoine stepped through the bars and frowned at his dirtied hands and then at the two male vampires.

  “I have allowed this to go on long enough,” he said, the calm edge to his tone unsettling Callum. He sidestepped away from the two vampires, experience making him move. He had seen Antoine in a foul mood and normally when he sounded as calm as he did now, it ended in bloodshed and then death for some unfortunate soul.

  A squat fair haired man came to the edge of the stage. “Explain what is happening here!”

  Antoine turned icy eyes on him. “The performance is off. I never would have agreed to this if I had realised this sick show was your intention. You requested performers, not victims. I consider that a contravention of our agreement. I suggest you and your companions leave before I decide to make everyone pay for bringing such a depraved and disgusting act into my theatre.”

  The man didn’t move.

  Antoine roared.

  A few seconds later, Snow burst through the double doors, broken chains rattling against the thick metal and leather cuffs around his wrists, his overlong white hair bright in the darkness of the theatre. Javier rushed in behind him, wearing only his black trousers, closely followed by Lilah. Her chestnut hair was wet and her black bathrobe swamped her slender figure.

  Snow looked around, eyes wild and searching, his broad bare chest heaving as he dragged in deep breaths, and spotted the source of his brother’s irritation. He snarled, his eyes flashing bright crimson.

  Lord Hallebran
d moved then, backing away from the immense, snarling vampire heading towards him. Snow was older than most aristocrats, his strength twice that of his younger brother Antoine, and his power unsurpassable. The audience made a break for it, fleeing towards the exits, leaving Lord and Lady Hallebrand and their son to fend for themselves.

  Javier caught Snow’s arm and pulled him back, tugging on the broken restraints. It looked as though he was trying to restrain a three hundred pound attack dog as he grappled with a snarling vicious Snow, taking a few blows in the process.

  Lilah leapt in front of Snow.

  “Lilah, no!” Javier shouted with obvious distress at the thought of Snow hurting her.

  The hulking mass of vampire stopped dead, his glowing red eyes on her, his snarls lowering to rumbling growls. Javier clung to Snow’s arms, holding them both behind his back, his dark eyes pinned to the back of Snow’s head, watching him. Callum didn’t doubt that he would seek to wound Snow if the vampire dared to even attempt to harm his mate. The Spaniard was fiercely protective of her, and Callum could understand why now that he had a woman in his life that he would do anything to protect.

  Lilah bravely reached out to Snow, so small and fragile compared with the immense male, and gently laid her hand on his cheek.

  Snow instantly calmed, his eyes closing and the sharp spikes of anger emanating from him turning to gentle ripples.

  Antoine hadn’t moved an inch since roaring. He stood immobile in the middle of the stage, eyes glued on his brother, horror filling them.

  Lord and Lady Hallebrand chose that moment to make an ungainly dash for the exit, their son hot on their heels. The two vampires opposite Callum fled too, throwing the stage door open so hard it didn’t swing back again.

  “Snow?” Antoine said in a soothing tone and the large male vampire looked up at him and huffed like a wild beast. Antoine carefully approached him, crouched at the edge of the stage, and reached through the bars to his older brother.

  Snow shifted his cheek to rest in Antoine’s large hand and closed his eyes.

  “I did not mean to disturb you,” Antoine whispered and Callum turned away, leaving him to calm his brother.

  He had more important matters to tend to.

  The three female werewolves had yet to change back. He approached them. The tan and the brown one moved forwards, snarling and bearing their fangs, their hackles rising again. They were protecting the black one.

  All three of them were injured, blood staining their fur. Was the third injured worse than the other two? He couldn’t tell. The wolf’s fur was so dark it obscured the blood.

  “Kristina?” He looked at each wolf in turn. The two at the front growled at him again and took a step forwards, holding their heads low, their ears going backwards. “I am not going to hurt you... any of you.”

  The black wolf slowly changed, her fur sweeping backwards to reveal pale bloodstained skin as her limbs twisted back into human form. She snarled and whimpered, and then curled up on her side when she had finished her transformation.

  “Kristina.” Callum reached for her and the other two wolves lunged for him. He backed off again and Kristina pushed herself up, sitting with her legs tucked to one side and her arms crossed over her breasts.

  “I had nothing to do with this,” he said and she looked at him through her tangled brown hair, her hazel eyes dark and cold. “Please, Kristina. You know me. I only source performers, never victims. None of us knew what was going to happen. We thought they wanted werewolf performers, not people they could treat like animals and abuse.”

  His stomach turned at the thought of what might have happened if he hadn’t returned when he had. The vampires had obviously been ordered to break the werewolves and bring them to their knees before violating them, and possibly killing them. It sickened him.

  It was one thing to act out something natural like a vampire hunting a human, feeding on them before an audience, giving the human their pleasure so they felt no pain and creating an illusion of death that would satisfy the vampire audience. It was completely another to violate and abuse a conscious creature, using it for sport and then killing it.

  Vampirerotique hadn’t killed anyone on stage in years. It was easy to fool the audience into believing the humans died just as they had always done in the past. The scent of blood and sex when combined with the sight of a vampire feeding was enough to make even the strongest, oldest of his kind hazy with hunger and pleasure. All the vampire controlling and feeding on the human had to do was send a command for their heartbeat to slow as far as it could go and the audience were fooled.

  It certainly made business a lot cleaner and easier. Everyone was happy. The humans were paid handsomely for their erotic dealings, just as they had been promised, and had their memories of the night wiped, the audience got their high from the blood and the sex and apparent death, and the vampire performers were well fed. No need to dispose of bodies. No conscience nagging him. Just the way he liked it.

  “Kristina,” he whispered and sank to his knees. “Please believe me. When you disappeared, I didn’t know what to do. I looked everywhere for you. I thought you had been taken by those werewolves, and then by your pack. I came here tonight intending to tell Antoine that I would be leaving again straight away to track down your pack and find you.”

  “You what?” Antoine turned on him and Callum ignored him. He muttered to himself. “I don’t need this. Not after Javier.”

  Callum knew that. He had openly declared that she was his lover in front of a large group of aristocrats tonight. It would filter through to the others and then down to the elite vampires. The potential impact on their business was frightening, but not as much as the other problem that firmly settled at the front of his mind, terrifying him. His parents were going to be paying him a visit when they heard that he had a werewolf lover.

  Bringing humans into the family was one thing. A werewolf? He wouldn’t be surprised if they disowned him.

  And he didn’t care.

  He would endure it if it meant being with Kristina.

  “Kristina,” he said, trying to get her attention again. “Let me tend to your wounds. I only want to protect you. I love you, Kristina... and I know you love me.”

  She cast her gaze downwards, crimson heating her cheeks.

  He rose to his feet and stepped towards her. The two female wolves growled again.

  “It’s fine,” Kristina said at last. “He won’t hurt me. He means it.”

  “It damned well is not fine,” Antoine muttered and strode to the bent bars. He slipped through them and hopped down onto the red carpet. He took Snow from Javier and led his brother out of the theatre.

  Javier looked over at Callum, smiled, and led Lilah out too.

  Callum wasn’t going to celebrate the fact that Antoine hadn’t killed him, not just yet. He was sure that the older more powerful vampire would be requesting his presence in his office soon enough. He would face him when the time came, but right now he had to tend to Kristina and the other two females. They changed back, covering themselves with their hands.

  He picked up the black velvet cage cover and tore it into three pieces. The two women took all three pieces from him, the blonde wrapping one around Kristina’s shoulders as she stood.

  “Are you hurt?” He waited with bated breath for her response. With all the blood on her, it was hard to tell whether any of her wounds were serious, or whether it was just shallow cuts and the rest was blood from the vampires.

  She shook her head. “Nothing more than scratches... just a little shaken up.”

  He wanted to track down the vampires who had done this to her and butcher them for that reason alone. Fear still lingered in her scent and in her blood within him. He resisted his need to reach out to her and touch her, to comfort himself and soothe his anger by feeling her and confirming that she was alright. He looked at the other two werewolves.

  “What about you?”

  They still looked wary of him but bo
th of them shook their heads. He walked towards Kristina and he half expected them to snarl again and force him away.

  “I have a car outside.” Callum looked from her to the two female werewolves. “I will take you all to The Langham, all expenses paid of course, and will see to everything for you. I can’t make up for what happened to you here... but I can promise that you will all be safe there.”

  The two females didn’t look as though they were going to accept such an offer from a man obviously involved with the theatre that had almost got them killed.

  Kristina stepped past them and held her hand out to him. Relief beat through him and he slipped his hand under hers, closed his fingers around it, and sighed. It felt so good to touch her again. He drew her into his embrace and held her close, wrapping her carefully in his arms, reassuring himself that she was safe now. He didn’t care what the future held for them, or how angry Antoine was or how his parents would react to the news that he had fallen in love with a werewolf. He only cared that Kristina was safe.

  “I love you,” he whispered close to her ear, aware that the two females were watching them and listening. He tangled his fingers in her wavy hair and leaned into her.

  Kristina tipped her head back, so her cheek pressed against his, and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you too.”

  Callum closed his eyes and sighed, warmth filling him and urging him to make her say it again. He didn’t get a chance. She spoke before he could.

  “We’ll need suites.” Kristina drew back and looked thoughtful, a wicked glint in her eyes. The sight of it reassured him more than anything she could have said. She was safe and unharmed, and wasn’t going to run away from him, but he was certain that she was going to make him and Vampirerotique pay handsomely for what had happened to her and her companions. “The best suites, and the best food, and the finest clothes, and no check out date... and the name of the bastards who set this up.”