Undercover Magic by Judy Teel Page B

mouth to tell him where he could stick his slur against my boyfriend.
     "You really have no choice in the matter. Under the stringent requirements you, yourself,
     insisted upon, I can trust the job to no one but myself."
    I glanced at the street, now only a scant few yards away and wondered if the fear
     and outrage surging through my blood stream would give me the speed to out run him.
    "Speechless with gratitude? I shall mark my calendar," he said, his tone dry.
    That did it. Cocky bastard.
    "I'm trying to decide why I'm about to shoot you. For insulting a man who outclasses
     you in every conceivable way, or just because you're too vain to live."
    Bellmonte's eyes glittered in the faint light and his features flickered toward the
     skeletal monstrosity of his kind before smoothing back to normal. Good. I'd gotten
     to him.
    "An accurate assessment of one's obvious attributes is never vanity. Pride, now that
     is another matter entirely," Bellmonte said.
    I started toward the street as he gave me a benevolent smile. "Don't let yours prevent
     you from taking advantage of the considerable resources at my disposal."
    "It isn't the resources that worry me. It's the considerable obligations that come
     with them."
    "No strings attached, as you humans say."
    "Puppet masters always have strings." I backed into the street, turned and ran. 
     
    *  *  *
     
    Above the alley, Cooper struggled to break Marc's hold on him without hurting him.
     His fight was not with his clansman. His fight was below.
    The need to protect Addison crashed over him again, drowning him with fear, anger,
     and the urge to kill. He would rip the vampire to pieces for daring to threaten her.
    For looking at her with an insatiable hunger and lust he would split his skull open
     and crush his brains, shred his muscles to tattered ribbons, and splinter his bones.
     He would protect her no matter the cost.
    Cooper growled and Marc's grip on him tightened.
    "She got away," Marc rumbled in his ear.
    Below them, Lord Bellmonte strolled toward the street, stopping just short of it.
     He cocked his head slightly, focusing on a point somewhere behind and above him.
    "Poor little wolf," he said, his voice bouncing off the buildings and rising to pierce
     Cooper's heart with rage. "She will be mine, Your Highness. And there is nothing you
     can do to prevent it."
    "Let him go," Marc cautioned.
    Bellmonte straightened his cuffs. There was a blur of movement and the alley was empty.
    Cooper shoved Marc off of him. With a roar, he slammed his fist through the roof,
     crushing shingles, wood and steel.
    "She's safe," Marc said, his tone calm, reasonable and designed to force Cooper to
     recognize that he was being neither.
    "For how long?" he growled.
    "She can handle him."
    "She's mine!" He spun around and snarled at Marc, letting the frustration and blood
     lust surging through him spill onto his face. His Beta paled and backed away, dropping
     his gaze as he raised his hands, palms out.
    "What does Lord Bellmonte know that we don't?" Marc asked.
    Damn it, he didn't care. But Marc was right, and the truth of it seeped through the
     instinctive madness drowning him and pushed it down.
    Cooper struggled to get his emotions under control. He knew he was being unreasonable,
     but he couldn't seem to let it go, which frightened him. "I'll kill him before I let
     him touch her."
    "With Bellmonte involved, the importance of discovering who's behind the VR is more
     crucial than ever," Marc said, careful to keep from meeting his gaze. "We have to
     choose."
    Cooper knew he had to focus. If only he could get her scent out of his blood.
    Fighting millions of years of instinct, he paced away from Marc, struggling to control
     the howling need to go to her that burned inside him. Slowly, he pushed down the urgency
     vibrating into his very bones. After a moment, he turned back, determination settling
     over him. His Beta risked a glance up and relaxed.
    "Your orders, sir?" he