Claiming Marcus (Lords of Discord 1)

“Do you miss it? Going out in the sun?”

Marcus turned his head and found himself smiling down at Ethan’s worried expression. “Not as much as you might think.”

“Really?”

“You may find this hard to believe, but I’m not very good with people.”

“Noooo,” Ethan said in mock surprise.

“And I’ve found I’m more comfortable moving around at night when most people are at home. There’s a peace to the night. My brother would argue that there is more freedom in night’s embrace.”

“We know how much your brother loves his freedom.”

Marcus smiled at Ethan’s teasing, enjoying that he felt comfortable enough to do it. Of course, that wasn’t too hard after laughing over a naked picture of Rafe. He started to reply when someone knocked loudly on the front door.

Another vampire was at his house. He’d been so distracted by Ethan that he’d not noticed its approach. Now that he was paying attention, he could feel the power crawling along his flesh. It was someone older than him, stronger than him. This could be very bad.

“I’ll get it,” Ethan said easily. He released the curtains and started to walk past Marcus toward the door.

Marcus jumped in front of him, roughly grabbing both of his shoulders to hold him in place. There was no missing the way Ethan flinched at his touch, his entire body stiffening. As if he were afraid of Marcus. But there wasn’t time for that line of thought. He tucked it away for later and focused on his current, more pressing problem. Getting Ethan out of the house safely and without being noticed.

“No. I need you to stay in here and remain absolutely silent. Do you understand?”

Ethan nodded, his face becoming pale.

“Do you have everything you need to return to your home?”

“Yes. What—”

The knocking at the front door grew louder and Marcus barely swallowed back a growl of frustration.

“I’m going to take my guest to the second-floor lounge. When you hear the door close, I want you to slip quietly out of the house and go straight home.”

Some of the fear clouding Ethan’s eyes cleared and he frowned. “What about you? Are you in some kind of trouble?”

“I’ll be fine. Just follow my instructions.”

Before Ethan could ask any more questions, Marcus left the dining room, shutting the door behind him. The hard soles of his shoes clicked across the wood floor, and his heart hammered in his chest. He had a guess of who was waiting at his door, and her presence was never a good thing.

Taking a last deep, calming breath, Marcus jerked the front door open to reveal a short, slender woman with purple-streaked hair and a knowing grin. Meryl. Behind her stood Cain, a hulking man that made Marcus feel tiny. His dark skin glistened with rainwater as he glared at Marcus.

“Whew! What a storm!” Meryl announced before shoving her way past Marcus into the house. Marcus barely had enough time to move out of the way before Cain plowed through him.

The storm was no coincidence. She’d called it up. From what he could tell, most vampires came with an added gift, though few advertised it like Meryl. The storms gave her the freedom to move about during the daylight hours with reduced fear of exposure to the sun. She loved creating storms during the day so that she could randomly appear on a vampire’s doorstep.

Meryl strolled into the house, her heavy combat boots with the thick rubber soles thumping and squeaking on the floor. There was a soft jingle that rose from the bits of metal on her leather jacket and pants. She looked like an escapee from the London punk scene, though her accent was clearly American.

“Why are you here, Meryl?”

“What? I can’t stop in for a visit?”

She strolled around the foyer, eyes scanning over everything while Cain stopped next to Marcus as if he wanted him close at hand should he attempt anything against his mistress. Marcus balled his hands into fists at his sides.

“I’m not interrupting, am I?” She flashed him a wide, playful grin as she took a step across the hall, moving away from the parlor and toward the dining room. She took a deep breath and made a dreamy sigh. “Having a light snack?”

Marcus nearly growled. He had a feeling she was referring to the lingering scent of Ethan in the air and not the meal they’d had delivered.

“If you wish to talk, Meryl, then why don’t we move somewhere more comfortable?” He took a step toward the other vampire, extending his hand as he tried to direct her toward the stairs.

“That’s so kind of you, Marcus, but if you’ve got another guest in the house, I wouldn’t want to steal you away.”

Marcus was aware of Cain taking another step closer, positioning his body so that he was nearly between Marcus and Meryl.