Lure of the Blood by Doris O'Connor Page A

to his solar plexus, Marnie shook him off. She
jumped over the wolf closest to her, desperate to get to Ion and to stop him as
he raised another paw, claws poised for the kill.
    “Ion, no, don’t!”
    ****
    Marnie’s terrified shout got through the blood
mists of anger clouding Ion’s vision and he hesitated just long enough for
Lucas to bring one powerful arm up and side-swipe him. He rolled off with a
yelp, as he fell on his injured side, his blood boiling at the sight of Marnie
leaning over Lucas, defending him from his pack. Ion called the advancing
wolves back with a low growl and reined his own beast back under control with
sheer will, as he shifted back to his human form. He couldn’t give his wolf
free reign right now. Seeing Marnie in Lucas’ arms made him want to howl his
frustration to the moon and tear the vampire to pieces.
    “So, you’ve made your choice, then. You choose
him?”
    He was so fucking choked up, his voice was
barely a croak and he shut his eyes in disgust at his own weakness, made worse
by Lucas’ knowing chuckle.
    He ordered the pack to disperse and made to
turn away himself, not wishing to see the reunion in front of him––in his
fucking territory, no less––when a small hand on his injured side stopped him. 
The rip of cloth followed by pressure against his side had his wolf yip in pain
and he was stunned to see Marnie looking up at him, her expressive eyes
shimmering in tears.
    Had it not been for his shifter hearing, he
would have missed her whispered denial.
    “I’m not choosing Lucas, you big hairy idiot. I
just don’t want anyone else killed on my behalf.”
    Before his foggy brain could process that,
Lucas’ soft laughs made the little human whip round and advance on the vampire.
Every line of her body screamed her fury, and Ion watched in stunned disbelief
when she poked Lucas in the chest repeatedly.
    “And you, you bloodsucking leech. If you ever
thought I would choose you after what you coerced me into, you need your brain
examined. I thought I made myself perfectly clear the last time. Now, fuck off
the pack’s land and leave them alone. How dare you come here and start a fight.
This is a family, for god’s sake, they all have children and you come here
and…”
    “Chere, I came here…”
    “I.am.not.your.chere! Got that? And I don’t
want to know why you came here, all I want to see is you buggering off where
you came from and leaving us alone.”
    The ancient vamp’s amused laugh set Ion’s teeth
on edge, whilst Marnie’s exasperated growl in response made his wolf yip in
approval. Damn, she had spunk for a human. And that growl, if he didn’t know
better he’d have thought there was wolf somewhere in her bloodline. But that
was impossible. He would have sensed it.
    Lucas blocked the incoming slap to his face and
spinning her around shoved her into Ion’s side hard enough for her to gasp in
pain. Her hands connected with his shoulders in an attempt to steady herself
and his skin burned where she touched him, every part of him aware of her
feminine curves, fitting against him. Her scent enveloped him, calling him home
and he knew his growled voice was barely human.
    “You heard her, Lucas, get the fuck out of my
territory.”
    Marnie’s eyes widened, the pupils dilating as
she too fell under the spell of the moon, their close proximity evoked. Ion
drank in the scent of her arousal, as her breath hitched and her heart rate
matched his own.
    “I can see I picked the wrong time for our
talk, but you can’t protect her from this, Ion. I’ll be back when you’ve gotten
this out of your system.” Lucas hesitated for a second longer, his expression
wistful, his wounds already healing. With a blur of air, he was gone.
    “Let’s get you inside, little one, you’re
frozen again.”
    Her protest was immediate and loud. “Never mind
me, you’re hurt and you’re naked and…” The blush staining her cheeks when it
dawned on her that he was indeed in