Eternal Demon: Mark of the Vampire by Laura Wright Read Free Book Online

light was dim, the candles nearly burned down, but he could see everything. His diamond eyes were useful in the dark. They would help him find her. They must. There was no way he was allowing his bargaining chip to escape. Panic flared inside him as he burst out the front door into the gentle rain. The boy needed him.
    He sniffed the air. It wasn’t easy to locate her direction in the mist. His nose was good, but it did not have the strength of Lycos’s. That wolf
mutore
could scent a rabbit at a thousand feet in a tornado.
    Scent pushed into Erion’s eager nostrils and his body tensed.
Ahhhh . . .
There she was. His prisoner. He growled into the night and took off into the rows of sleeping grapevines. He wasn’t sure what the female was—human or otherwise—but she couldn’t flash; he knew that. And she had no vampire blood in her. Not yet anyway—not until she was reunited with her beloved.
    He flash-ran, one stop to the next, row after row of vines, and toward the hillside, following her scent. The woman was running to Cruen for protection and mating. Cruen! Making Erion seem like the evil one. What a sick joke. In the valley between the hillocks, he stopped at a tree and ran his nose down the bark-covered trunk. What female in her right mind would agree to wed that bastard? Granted, she was a vile-tempered creature, but she was truly the most beautiful female he’d ever seen in his life. A face to die for, and a body to live for. She could stake claim to any male of her choosing, surely. Why that
paven
? A male so incapable of love?
    Catching her scent again, he flashed over the hill, then to the outskirts of town. He stood atop the rise, his gaze panning the landscape, buildings, homes, and churches. This was human territory, and he needed to be cautious. The rain fell harder now, soaking through his clothes, causing his hair to lengthen and grow heavy, but it didn’t mask the intense scent that shot up his nostrils.
    It wasn’t the woman, and it reminded him of Lycos. Canine. Dammit! He whirled around, flashed into the woods on the far side of the village. Where the hell had she gone? She couldn’t have gotten far. He flashed again. Then again. He was dripping wet and spitting ire when he dropped down in a dark alleyway behind a pub in the village. He leaned back against the stone, cursing himself, cursing Cruen, when suddenly he caught her scent. It was mixed up in the scents of other animals, but he instantly took off toward it.
    The village was quiet and dark, everyone tucked away, escaping the rain. Erion’s insides shook as the woman’s scent grew thicker, sweeter, inside his nostrils. He came to the edge of the church grounds and slowed. This is where she hid. He moved out of sight quickly, down the alley behind the church. He would have to come upon her without detection and attack without pity. He couldn’t have her running away again.
    Her scent continued to thicken with every step. It was a heady, delectable aroma that made his lower half stir, but he forced that disturbing realization away. She was bait, his bargaining chip to have Ladd back where he belonged, and he was nearly upon her. He rounded the corner, flashed ten feet ahead to the steps of the church, where he believed she took cover. But no woman stood before him, no female scream met his ears. There was only the yip of a canine whose tail was now lodged under Erion’s boot.
    “Damn it!” Erion stepped back and waved away the little brown-and-white beast who’d no doubt escaped his home in the village. “Get.”
    But the dog didn’t run. He crouched down and growled.
    Erion’s gaze shifted to take in the churchyard beyond, then returned to the canine. “I have nothing for you, mongrel. Move on. Go back to the humans you belong to.”
    The dog growled again, then barked—three times in succession.
    Something fell from its mouth. It was white against the black pavement. The rain quickly soaked it through, but Erion could tell