Eternal Demon: Mark of the Vampire
Praise for Laura Wright
and the Mark of the Vampire Series
Eternal Beast
“Absorbing and edgy, darkly seductive—everything vampire romance should be! Eternal Beast is an enthralling read. . . . Laura Wright turns up the heat and takes you on a wild ride. I can’t wait to see what’s next!”
—Lara Adrian, New York Times bestselling author of Darker After Midnight
“Grabs you by the heartstrings from the first page and pulls you along until the cliff-hanger of an ending. . . . [The] complexity of emotion is what makes Laura Wright’s books so engrossing. . . . One of the best new series and authors around, [and] I highly recommend Eternal Beast to all lovers of paranormal romance.”
—Sizzling Hot Book Reviews
“This has been a series I love to read and seem to fall more and more in love with.”
—Paranormal Reads
“Laura Wright did my two favorite characters justice and gave them an awesome story. . . . Eternal Beast is the best in the series!”
—Under the Covers
“An incredible installment to the series. . . . If you haven’t experienced this series yet, you are totally missing out.”
—Literal Addiction
“Laura Wright has done it again and totally [blown] me away. . . . Laura Wright has created an original and extraordinary world, and I am her fan girl for life.”
—Book Monster Reviews
“I’d put Laura Wright’s level of world building and character development in with Black Dagger Brotherhood and Immortals After Dark.”
—Scandalicious Book Reviews
Eternal Captive
“Riveting. . . . There are plenty more stories to be told in this fascinating universe.”
—Romantic Times
“An action-packed read . . . enough twists that leave one anxious for the next in the series.”
—Night Owl Reviews
“Very sexy. . . . The emotional strength of the story elevated this above other paranormals I’ve read of late.”
—Dear Author . . .
Eternal Kiss
“The perfect book for anyone who likes sexy, dangerous vampires with dark secrets.”
—Fresh Fiction
“Complex and riveting.”
—Romantic Times (4 stars)
“A super urban romantic.”
—Genre Go Round Reviews
“I fell in love with book one in this series, but this second edition moved me from innocent love to full-blown love addiction. . . . [I] could not put it down.”
—Shameless Romance Reviews (5 stars)
“A great ride where a sweep-off-your-feet romance ignites within a high-risk plot. Laura Wright has found her niche in the paranormal romance genre with her larger-than-life Roman brothers!”
—Leontine’s Book Realm
Eternal Hunger
“Just when it seems every possible vampire twist has been turned, Wright launches a powerful series with a rich mythology, page-turning tension, and blistering sensuality.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Dark, delicious, and sinfully good, Eternal Hunger is a stunning start to what promises to be an addictive new series. I can’t wait for more from Laura Wright.”
—Nalini Singh, New York Times bestselling author of Tangle of Need
“Action, passion, and dark suspense launch a riveting new series. Laura Wright knows how to lure you in and hold you captive until the last page.”
—Larissa Ione, New York Times bestselling author of Lethal Rider
“Dark, sexy vampires with an urban bite make Eternal Hunger a must read.”
—Jessica Andersen, author of Spellfire
“Paranormal fans with a penchant for vamps will find Eternal Hunger a must read, but be warned, you will quickly become hooked!”
—The Romance Readers Connection (4½ stars)
“Deliciously dark while making you believe in the concept of soul mates.”
—Fresh Fiction
“In a field brimming with rehashes of the same theme, Wright has managed to create a sound, believable vampire culture with plenty of tension and interesting plot points. The pacing is smooth with well-developed characters, and the satisfying conclusion leaves ample room for more from this strong new series.”
—Monsters and Critics
“A bold new voice in vampire romance.”
—Romantic Times (4 stars)
“Wright does an incredible job in wrapping everything up in a deeply satisfying conclusion while enticing readers to continue on. I know I’m looking forward to the next in the Mark of the Vampire series.”
—Sacramento Book Review
“Wright has taken a common theme and transformed it into her own creation, a unique and intriguing world that stands out from the pack. A captivating take, Eternal Hunger is certain to make it onto your list of favorite books and will leave you thirsty for more.”
—Romance Reviews Today
“If you like testosterone-heavy man candy and sex scenes hot enough to curl your toes, you are going to kick yourself for not reading Eternal Hunger!”
—Bitten by Books
“In Eternal Hunger classic paranormal romance elements mesh with a fresh and exciting plot and characters. . . . [Wright] sure made an unforgettable impression with her storytelling.”
—Leontine’s Book Realm
Also by Laura Wright
Mark of the Vampire Series
Eternal Hunger
Eternal Kiss
Eternal Blood
(A Penguin Special)
Eternal Captive
Eternal Beast
Eternal Beauty
(A Penguin Special)
ETERNAL
DEMON
MARK OF THE VAMPIRE
LAURA WRIGHT
SIGNET ECLIPSE
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,
New York, New York 10014, USA
USA | Canada | UK | Ireland | Australia | New Zealand | India | South Africa | China
Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
For more information about the Penguin Group visit penguin.com.
First published by Signet Eclipse, an imprint of New American Library,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Copyright © Laura Wright, 2013
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
SIGNET ECLIPSE and logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
ISBN: 978-1-101-60765-7
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.
Contents
Also by Laura Wright
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Mark of the Balas
>
1 Chapter
2 Chapter
3 Chapter
4 Chapter
5 Chapter
6 Chapter
7 Chapter
8 Chapter
9 Chapter
10 Chapter
11 Chapter
12 Chapter
13 Chapter
14 Chapter
15 Chapter
16 Chapter
17 Chapter
18 Chapter
19 Chapter
20 Chapter
21 Chapter
22 Chapter
23 Chapter
24 Chapter
Epilogue
Excerpt from ETERNAL SIN
To those who are searching for their true mate:
Keep your eyes open, your heart ready,
and your blood warm.
Mark of the Balas
Erion landed on the familiar cobblestone street, not giving a shit who saw him flash, who saw him feral. The rage within him was raw, painfully uninhibited, and strangely uncontrollable. Only minutes had passed since Cruen had taken the balas from them—from him—and yet every breath he drew felt heavy and prolonged.
He moved down the street, letting his nose, not his memory, guide him. He needed information, and the male he sought had better be there to give it to him. Evening was dropping down in blankets of shade over the tops of the antiquated buildings and stores in the small French village, but Erion knew the mutore male stayed in his shop well past closing time. In fact, it was possible he lived in the rooms above.
Erion pursued the weak scent at a quicker, irrepressible pace, almost as if an invisible wire were pulling him. Every human he passed was an inconsequential blur. Every storefront the wrong one. The dire need to know if the boy his adopted father—the mad vampire Cruen—had stolen was breathing and well consumed his mind and his focus. It was insane to think that Ladd had been snatched right out from under him, the child’s large, liquid eyes wide with fear as he was sucked back into Cruen’s flash. Erion growled at the thought, at the vibrant memory. It was more than diabolical anger he felt. It was as though a limb had been ripped from his body. And gods help anyone who got in his way, he would not rest until it was returned.
He came to a halt outside the mutore shifter’s shop, his keen sense of smell alerting him to what he had already suspected—to the male inside. Just as he’d hoped, Raine was still at work. He entered the dusty space in a rush of manic testosterone, his gaze taking in every inch. He’d been inside the antique-furnishings shop only once before with his twin, Nicholas. The Roman brother had purchased a home about thirty miles away. Not far from where they had been born—born and thrown away, in Erion’s case. Nicholas had wanted to put down some roots. A concept Erion had never considered before, not until the boy he’d never known he had was introduced to him.
Ladd.
His guts ached like an infected fang. He had to find him, get him out of the clutches of that cruel vampire before any permanent damage was done. Dammit, he should’ve had an inside track, since Cruen had raised him, but that cagey bastard moved from one secret location to the next as often as a pair of rabbits fucked.
He shouldered his way through masses of antique furniture, rolled rugs, and ornately framed landscapes and up to the front of the shop. But before he reached the massive desk and the brass bell atop it, a humorless voice stopped him.
“That’s far enough, Beast.” In the far-right corner of the store, Raine appeared behind a thick wood table that lay on its side. The reptilian mutore skulked toward Erion, his brown eyes wary, his mouth a thin, grim line. “I hope you’re here to purchase something.”
“I am,” Erion said. He was a good foot taller than the mutore shifter and had no problem using it to his advantage.
As he approached, Raine’s gaze moved around the store nervously. “What is it you seek, then? Love seat? Chaise? Whatever it is, make it quick.”
“The location of your uncle.”
Raine froze halfway to his desk, his eyes blinking rapidly as he stared at Erion. “Get out,” he uttered tersely.
Erion forced a cool smile. “Your customer service leaves much to be desired, mutore.”
“You are no customer here,” Raine said fiercely, “only a pest that wishes to infect and destroy.” Eyes down, he made a beeline for his desk, but Erion shot past him and blocked his way.
“Why do you protect a monster?” Erion growled.
Raine’s gaze lifted and his eyes narrowed. “I see only one monster, and he stands before me.”
“Then you are a fool.”
“Perhaps. But I remain alive, and that is all I can hope for now.” He started forward again, and this time Erion allowed him to pass. “I’m surprised you came alone,” Raine continued, rounding his desk. “Without the added muscle. Where is the other one? Like you, but Pureblood?”
The sting of the male’s words found their mark. Erion was as pureblooded as his twin, but, unlike Nicholas, he had been born a mutore—a mutant vampire with strains of other creatures’ DNA. Granted, the Romans and the mutore were all children of the Breeding Male, the genetically altered vampire monster, but mistakes like him weren’t used, weren’t even deemed worthy of breath. Erion and his beast brothers and sister—Phane, Lycos, Helo, and Dillon—had been luckier than most, though only if you call being rescued from the trash bin by a mad vampire and raised in a laboratory lucky. Erion wasn’t sure what he called it. Or whether the life he’d led thus far had been worth saving.
Jury was still out, as Alexander said.
“My brother is searching for Cruen as well,” Erion told the nervous-eyed male. In fact, now that the moon and stars provided the only light to brighten the sky, all the brothers, mutore and Roman, were spread out searching for the vampire and for Ladd.
Raine clucked his tongue. “A fool’s errand. Whatever you want him for, you would be best to forget it. My uncle wouldn’t hesitate to kill even the ones he calls family if they get in the way of what he wants.”
“I will take that chance,” Erion stated flatly.
From behind the counter, the mutore laughed softly. “How brave you are, mutore. I, however, have no interest in baiting a rabid shark with my blood. My death weighs heavily on my mind—and my family’s—at all times.” He flipped through a file of papers on the table. “Speaking of which, where is my elixir? The one you promised me. The one you believe Cruen may have. The one that may prolong my life.”
Erion grunted. “I must get to Cruen to find it.”
“Then we are at an impasse,” the male said sadly. “I don’t know where he is. He has not contacted me in some time.”
Erion’s eyes narrowed. “You know something. I can feel it, smell it.”
The male lifted his head, locked eyes with Erion. For one moment, he looked the true reptile his shifter genes carried. Scales appeared on his face and neck, and between his teeth a forked tongue darted out.
“Yes, you know something,” Erion hissed.
The reptile retreated on a gasp, and left the shell of a bereft-looking male with deep fear in his eyes.
The demon inside Erion, the lionlike animal that clawed to get out, growled with possessive ire. “Cruen took something that belonged to me.”
“What? Your dignity?” Raine sighed. “Welcome to my universe.”
“A balas.”
Raine stilled, his gaze holding Erion’s tightly, curiously. “Why would he take a balas?”
“It belongs to me.”
The words took a moment to sink in. “It?” Raine looked horrified.
“He,” Erion said gruffly. “A boy. He belongs to me.”
The words were strange on his tongue. It had been a mistake, the boy’s conception. After learning of Nicholas’s existence, Erion had been watching his twin for some time, was so curious about his brother’s strange relations with wome
n. Now Erion knew that Nicholas had only been carrying out a long stretch of torment from his past, a pattern of prostitution that his mother—their mother—had forced upon him as a young vampire. But Erion had seen only pleasure, connection, the bliss of being touched, in Nicholas and the females he mounted.
He’d wanted that too.
Fuck, he’d wanted that desperately.
He’d met with one of Nicholas’s females, allowed a mating to take place between them. It had been a good union, comforting. He’d had no idea she’d bore a child from their coupling. Hadn’t known until several months ago. He’d thought such a thing impossible, as Cruen had told him and all the mutores that they were unable to breed.
A growl escaped his throat, rumbled through the dusty air of the mutore’s shop. Another of Cruen’s many lies. For too many years the bastard paven had pretended to care about them all, pretended to be a father, when in truth he’d used them. They were nothing but tools. Heavily muscled lab rats that Cruen had deemed unworthy to breed.
Erion’s face and body language must’ve taken on a raw, hostile air, because Raine had inched back, shaking his head and looking fearful.
“I am sorry he has taken your balas,” he said in a careful voice. “I wish I could help.”
“You will help,” Erion said, retreating from the blips of his past with barely suppressed rage. “I don’t wish to harm you, but if you keep something from me—something that would help me find the balas—I won’t hold back my beast from ripping you apart.”
Abject fear glittered in Raine’s eyes. “It is only rumors, rumblings.”
“Whatever it is, I want it.”
Behind the desk Raine crumpled into a chair. He looked utterly miserable. “It is nearly too fantastical to be believed. I don’t want to send you on a wild, impossible ride.”
Ah, the male did know something. He had been wise to press. “Nothing is impossible when Cruen is involved.”
“This is true, but . . .” Raine’s jaw tightened. “If I give you the information I have, you must promise me something. My daughter is in swell. I wish to live to see this child. If you find it, this elixir you believe Cruen possesses, will you bring it to me?”