Seizing Darkness (Fur, Fangs, and Fairies) by Mariana Thorn Read Free Book Online

protruding through the skin. I took a chance and glanced at my arm, regretting it as soon as I did. It was a clean break, which was lucky, but rolling around on the ground had covered it in dirt and other debris.
    Dante’s phone rang. As he answered, we could all hear Val’s voice coming through the speaker, and man was he pissed off. I cringed. Val angry was a scary thing. The lower his voice was, the more enraged he was – and his voice was downright lethal right now.
    “What the hell happened? And why is Radek not answering his phone?” Val shouted.
    “He’s right here. You can ask him yourself.” Dante quickly handed his phone over to Radek.
    Radek made a face at him.
    Yep, they a re definitely brothers, I thought. It was amusing. My head was feeling light and I was beginning to get a little punchy too.
    “You start on her then,” Radek said, taking the phone out the door with him.
    “Val seems a bit perturbed.” I wondered what exactly Radek had done to deserve his ire.
    “Oh he is, and not just with Dek.” Dante took Radek’s place. He carefully held my arm over the sink.
    I felt his cool hands on my skin as he held my arm steady. I focused on his bent head, noticing the blond streaks in his dark auburn hair. How had he managed to get blond in his hair without going out in the sun?
    Pain flashed through my body, bringing my mind back to reality. “Why?” I asked through clenched teeth. He was using water and tweezers to remove the debris from the wound. My eyes watered from the pain, the tears making tiny streams along my cheeks.
    He glanced at me quickly, then went back to work. “He doesn’t like people messing with what he considers his family. And before you can argue, you are part of our family now,” he said, sternly emphasizing his words.
    “Yeah, I kind of figured that out,” I said, my voice thick with pain.
    “Dek isn’t too happy either,” he added.
    “I noticed. What’s his deal?” I asked, hoping to keep him talking so maybe I would have something to think about besides the pain.
    “Oh the usual, he likes to be in control all the time. He was supposed to keep you safe and he wasn’t there when you needed him. That’s eating away at him at the moment. But don’t worry, he’ll get over it. On top of that, the two bodies from last night were agents. That makes five dead in the last week alone. He’s a bit cranky to say the least,” Dante said calmly as he continued to clean my wound.
    “I can take care of myself, you know. I can see how he would be upset about the agents though,” I said.
    He let out a low sarcastic laugh. “Sure, I can see that,” he teased.
    I just growled at him, earning me another laugh.
    Something had been on my mind since yesterday morning. I tried to decide whether I should ask or not. The pain wasn’t helping my decision-making process, so I just went ahead and asked. “What happened between you and Radek when you became a vampire?”
    He glanced at me again, his expression not giving anything away, of course. Being a vampire made that easy for him. “He was a bit talkative, wasn’t he?”
    “No, it was what he didn’t say that made me think something was up.”
    “I see. Well, the short version is that I disappeared for a few years and he wasn’t too happy about it. He was really angry when I did show up with my tail tucked between my legs, so to speak, as a vampire. That was a long time ago though. He’s forgiven me. I think.” He added the last part in a whisper.
    So it had been that bad. I felt sad for Dante and Radek. They had a close relationship; I could tell from the short time I had seen them together. I wouldn’t want to see anything come between them. I cared for Dante. He was my partner and I could see it still pained him after all these years. I was sure this was why he hadn’t shared it with me until now.
    “You know, you aren’t too bad for a vampire,” I said. My vision was getting a little fuzzy around the edges