Eternal Beast: Mark of the Vampire by Laura Wright

us, but now we do. Get yourhands on me and let’s see what happens.” Her breath jumped in her lungs as her words fell rapidly from her lips. She knew she sounded manic as hell, but she didn’t care. “Where are you going?”
    “As I said, I’ll be back soon. Make yourself comfortable. I’m having one of the staff bring you something to eat.” He glanced down at his phone, his brow wrinkled. When he looked up again, he gave her a stern expression. “Don’t scare them, snap at them, or berate them. I would suggest getting some rest.” He gestured to the foot of the bed, where a thick, oval rug sat. “You can have that whole space to yourself.”
    “The floor?” Anger made her fur bristle. She padded toward him, almost stalking him. “I get a kitty pad to sleep on?”
    He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Until the shift from Beast to
veana
is complete. Then we’ll decide where to put you.”
    “You’re going to drag this out, aren’t you?” she accused. “Keep me here on a leash, waiting with bated breath for that next stroke?”
    “Keep talking; you’re making me hard.” He sounded bored.
    Her nostrils flared as she came to stand before him. “Who are you? And what have you done with Gray Donohue?”
    “You mean that Impure who took you in a few months ago, tried to heal your wounds? That weak male who did nothing but lick your boots before you kicked him in the balls and told him to fuck off?”
    “Yes,” she purred, though she recalled no ball kicking,just a necessary reminder that she would never be the
veana
he wanted her to be. “Where is he?”
    His gaze gentled. “That’s not who you need, what you need.”
    “You’re going to tell me what I need?”
    “That is part of our agreement.”
    “You say jump and I say how high?”
    “No.” He reached down and placed a hand on her shoulder. The action screamed possession. “You say yes to everything I ask, and I say good little pussy cat.”
    She wanted to turn and bite a chunk out of the hand that held her steady, but heat was rushing over and through her like an ocean in a thunderstorm. She couldn’t get her bearings, couldn’t collect her thoughts—shit, she could barely breathe—and the shift that happened externally, from cat to female, was met with a nearly debilitating one on the inside. Total virgin territory: real lust, real need, real emotion—true bullshit.
    He released her then, left her breathing hard, mewling hungrily, and staring after him as he headed for the door. “Rest now,” he called back. “You’re going to need all your strength for the days and nights ahead.”
    The moment he left the room, Dillon charged at the door. Leaping up, she used her mouth to crank open the handle. The wood dropped back easily. No lock, no key, no chains on this cage. She was free. She could leave at any time.
    That fucker. Why did it have to be him…?
    Defeat swam in her blood as she padded over to the oval rug, circled it twice, and lay down. The thing was soft, she’d give him that—sort of unbearably, wonderfullysoft, and she cursed him again. Before her, the fire began to warm her angry thoughts and cold soul, and she put her head down on her paws and exhaled the strain of the night. She was truly caught and held by a ready and enthusiastic master.
    The thought made her suddenly bone weary, and she closed her eyes. Within moments, she was asleep.
    “Purebloods in our headquarters.
Mutore
in our headquarters.” In the warehouse’s main room near the Resistance symbol, Riordon James got in Gray’s path before he made it to the front door. He shook his head. “What makes you think that any of this is okay?”
    “Easy, Rio,” Gray warned.
    “Are you trying to get us found out?”
    “Yes. That’s exactly what I’m doing.”
    “Don’t be snide. I’m not busting your balls on this one. I’m trying to get you to see the potential problems in your choices.”
    Gray exhaled. The Impure warriors had every right