Claiming Marcus (Lords of Discord 1)

“I’ll speak to Winter about Mr. Cline when he appears again,” Marcus muttered. He stood staring up at the apartment building for a couple of seconds more, wondering if the light on in the front left window on the second floor belonged to Ethan. Was he awake still? Excited for his first day of work with Marcus?

Disgusted with himself, Marcus turned back the way he’d walked, stepping around Rafe, who looked at him with a confused expression. He really didn’t want Rafe pondering this too much. He didn’t want him digging into Ethan. Didn’t want him talking to Ethan.

“The Ministry is considering a new vote,” Marcus said, mentioning the ruling vampire body for the Americas. The pompous, power-hungry creatures loved thinking of ways to complicate their lives, and their actions were a guaranteed distraction for Rafe.

“When aren’t they?” Rafe grumbled.

“They are considering whether to ban vampires from using social media.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? I’ve got more than two million followers on Instagram.”

“And you are likely the reason they are considering such a ban.”

Rafe tilted his head toward the sky and groaned in disgust. “If only they knew the images I haven’t posted. I’m using incredible restraint to keep them happy.”

Marcus didn’t believe that for a second. Restraint was not something Rafe truly understood. “Try limiting yourself to fashion for the time being. At least until this ban talk blows over.”

“Don’t attempt to make me boring, dear brother. It will never happen.”

“Was there another reason for you to hunt me down?” Marcus asked. He didn’t want to think Rafe had come looking for him simply because he was in an unexpected part of town.

He didn’t question Rafe’s ability to sense the locations of his brothers. Rafe admitted that Bel was the easiest of them to pinpoint, followed by Marcus. Winter was more nebulous, and Marcus had little doubt that it greatly annoyed Rafe. If he tried, he could probably find Winter within a few hundred square miles, but that wasn’t incredibly useful.

Of course, they all had ways of keeping track of each other. It was a struggle not to look around for Ozzie. But if Bel’s enormous black raven wanted to hide, Marcus wasn’t going to see him.

What was surprising was that Rafe could easily trace their sire, Aiden. Unlike his brothers, Marcus couldn’t sense their sire when he was close. But then, vampirism had manifested itself in strange and unique ways for each of them.

“Aiden has returned from Rio,” Rafe announced.

Marcus stopped and turned to look at his brother. “He’s here?”

Rafe shook his head. “Miami.”

Marcus grunted and continued to walk to where he’d parked his car. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, made sense for Aiden. It was a distracting enough place with just enough crime that a hunting vampire could move unnoticed. It was a place where he could forget about his beloved Julianna and the knowledge that he could never be close to her again.

But Miami was less than seven hundred miles from their current location. He had to have returned to the United States because of the upcoming move. He wanted to be close in case there was a problem. Even from afar, after more than a century, Aiden would do anything to protect Julianna, as well as her children. Even if it meant protecting her children from their mother.

Marcus sighed, shoving his hands deeper into his pockets. “I do not think we were meant for love.”

Rafe’s bright, carefree laugh rose up and echoed through the night above the distant rush of cars. “Nonsense! I fall in love with a new beautiful face and sweetly curved ass each night.”

“That is not love, brother,” Marcus grumbled.

Rafe purposefully bumped into him with his shoulder, and Marcus looked over to see his brother’s wild smile. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t trust your sense of love.”

Marcus couldn’t blame him. He’d never been in love. Never known a lover’s touch. The soft, tender words whispered from a lover’s lips. Maybe Rafe did know more about love than he, but Marcus didn’t want to believe that the hedonistic love that his brother had found was all there was.

But he also didn’t welcome the endless torture that Aiden suffered for his love of Julianna.

No, their kind was not made for love.

Chapter Five

Ethan arrived on the Varik doorstep at five minutes before ten the next morning with a heavy duffle bag slung over his shoulder. He felt a little awkward in his jeans and plain black T-shirt after seeing how sharply Marcus was dressed, but Janice had reassured him that casual attire was appropriate, considering the kind of work he was going to be doing.

He’d actually arrived downtown more than an hour ago but hung out in a coffee shop waiting until it was closer to his assigned start time. No reason to be obnoxiously early on his first day.