Eternal Beauty: Mark of the Vampire (A Penguin Special from Signet Eclipse) by Laura Wright Page A

who got in his way, he would not rest until it was returned.
    He came to halt outside the
mutore
Shifter’s shop, his keen sense of smell alerting him to what he had already suspected—the male inside. Just as he’d hoped, Raine was still at work. He entered the dusty space in a rush of manic testosterone, his gaze taking in every inch. He’d been inside the antique-furnishings shop only once before with his twin, Nicholas. His Roman brother had purchased a home about thirty miles away, not far from where they had both been born—born and thrown away, in Erion’s case. Nicholas had wanted to “put down some roots”—a concept Erion had never considered before, not until the boy he’d never known he had was introduced to him.
    Ladd
.
    His guts ached like an infected fang. He had to find him, get him out of the clutches of that insanely cruel vampire before any permanent damage was done. Dammit, he should’ve had an inside track since Cruen had raised him, but that cagey bastard moved from one secret location to the next as often as a pair of rabbits fucked.
    He shouldered his way through masses of antique furniture, rolled rugs, and ornately framed landscapes, and up to the front of the shop. But before he reached the massive desk and the small brass bell atop it, a humorless voice stopped him.
    “That’s far enough, Beast.” In the far right corner of the store, Raine appeared behind a thick wood table that lay on its side. The reptilian
mutore
walked toward Erion, his brown eyes wary, his mouth a thin, grim line. “I hope you’re here to purchase something.”
    “I am,” Erion said. He was a good foot taller than the
mutore
Shifter and had no problem using it to his advantage.
    As he approached, Raine’s gaze moved around the store nervously. “What is it you seek then? Loveseat? Chaise? Whatever it is, make it quick.”
    “The location of your uncle is all I want.”
    Raine froze halfway to his desk, his eyes blinking rapidly as he stared at Erion. “Get out,” he uttered tersely.
    Erion forced a cool smile. “Your customer service leaves much to be desired,
Mutore
.”
    “You are no customer here,” Raine said fiercely, “only a pest that wishes to infect and destroy.” Eyes down, he made a beeline for his desk, but Erion shot past him and blocked his way.
    “Why do you protect a monster?” Erion growled.
    Raine’s gaze lifted and his eyes narrowed. “I see only one monster, and he stands before me.”
    “Then you are a fool.”
    “Perhaps. But I remain alive, and that is all I can hope for now.” He pushed past Erion, and this time the
mutore
allowed him to pass. “I’m surprised you came alone,” Raine continued, rounding his desk. “Without the added muscle. Where is the other one, like you but Pureblood?”
    The sting of his words found their mark—always did. Erion was as Pureblooded as his twin, but unlike Nicholas, he had been born a
mutore
—a mutant vampire with strains of another creature’s DNA. Granted, the Romans and the
mutore
were all children of the Breeding Male, the genetically altered vampire monster, but the mistakes like him weren’t used, weren’t even deemed worthy of breath. Erion and his Beast brothers and sister—Phane, Lycos, Helo, and Dillon—had been luckier than most, though, if you call being rescued from the trash bin by a mad vampire and raised in a laboratory lucky. Erion wasn’t sure what he called it. Or if the life he’d led thus far had been worth saving.
    Jury was still out, as Alexander said.
    “My brother is searching for Cruen as well,” Erion told the nervous-eyed male. In fact, now that the moon and stars were the only light to brighten the sky, all of the brothers,
mutore
and Roman, were spread out searching for the vampire and for Ladd.
    Raine clucked his tongue. “A fool’s errand. Whatever you want him for, you would be best to forget it. My uncle wouldn’t hesitate to kill even the ones he calls family if they get in the