When Bride told Vane to do his worst and to let her see the real man er, wolf she'd had no idea just what she was letting herself in for.

He seldom did anything normal and she was beginning to appreciate how much effort he'd used to stay in the "normal" world for her when he'd pretended to be her wolf.

After leaving Ash, they'd gone downstairs to gather up Fury. One minute she'd been telling Amanda that she'd call her and the next, they were inside another house.

"I really wish you'd give me some warning before you do that," she said to Vane as she looked around to get her bearings.

They were in a huge living room that was twice as large as the one in Kyrian's home. The whole house was completely dark and tomblike. Sterile. Cold.

The room had expensive, hand-carved mahogany paneling and was filled with more antiques than Bride had ever seen in one place before. Not to mention the marble floor with its intricate Roman-style pattern. It was like touring a European castle. Or a mansion. Everything she could see bled good aristocratic breeding and taste. Unlike Kyrian's house, there was nothing modern or comfortable here. No stuffed sofas, no television, no obvious phones or computers. Nothing. Even the books lining the exquisite bookshelves appeared to be leather-bound antiques. The sofa was obviously from the Georgian era and had very little padding underneath the burgundy fabric.

But the strangest thing of all was the statuary. Statues of two women who appeared to be nude Roman nymphs flanked the winding staircase. The fact that they were antiques wasn't what was odd, it was the bright red pasties that covered their stone-white nipples.

"What in the world?" she asked.

Fury burst out laughing as he saw them.

"Jeez, Vane, call before you drop in. You're lucky I didn't shoot your ass."

Bride turned to see a tall, darkly handsome man enter the room. He had shoulder-length black hair, sharp dark brown eyes, and about three days' worth of beard.

Dressed in a loud orange Hawaiian shirt and ripped jeans, he carried himself like a man who knew he could kill anyone who came near him.

"Is he the vampire?" Bride asked in a low tone.

"No," Vane said as he looked at the man in disbelief. "He's Mafia. Otto, what the hell are you doing here? Dressed like that? What the hell happened to your clothes? You look like you're morphing into Nick Gautier."

"Suffering in eternal damnation," Otto said, scratching at his beard as he neared them. "They transferred my ass over here, against my wishes I might add, to serve Dickhead Rex because he has to have someone who speaks Latin and Italian. God forbid the man have a normal plebeian Squire who just speaks English. Oh no, we must have one with breeding." Otto sounded much like Alfred Hitchcock with that last word.

"So why are you dressed like Nick?" Vane asked.

"Just to piss him off. It's truly the only thing that keeps me sane around here."

Vane burst out laughing. "Let me guess, you the red pasties man?"

"Oh, hell yeah. I can't wait till he gets up and freaks over that one." Otto deepened his already low baritone voice and added in an accent that was almost Italian but not quite, "Do not touch nor even breathe upon the statuary, Squire.

Unlike you, it's priceless." His voice went back to normal. "Nah, priceless will be his face when he sees it tonight."

This time it was Fury who laughed. "I don't know you," he said, walking toward Otto with his hand extended, "but I can already tell we're going to be friends.

Fury Kattalakis."

"Otto Carvalletti." He shook Fury's hand, then looked back and forth between the two wolves. "You two related?"

"Brothers," Vane said.

"Cool," Otto said, turning toward Bride with a charming smile. "You must be Bride." He took her hand as well and she noted he had a black spiderweb tattoo over the back of his knuckles. "Welcome to the madness that is our world, my lady, though personally, I think you're insane for wanting to be here."

Otto kissed her hand and bowed low before her. The action elicited a deep growl from Vane which Otto chose to ignore. "By the way, Bride, you can relax. I am technically human, though my multitude of siblings would deny it. And barring the pasties, I'm really not some sicko. When you meet my boss, you'll fully understand why I have to rattle his cage."

Otto headed for the stairs. "If one of you good wolves would howl, I could do the whole 'the children of the night, what music they make' speech." He looked back at them when neither Vane nor Fury howled. "Or not. Okay, mental note to self that the wolves have no sense of humor or have never read Dracula or seen one of the movies. No problem. Follow me and I'll show you to your rooms.

One quick rundown of the rules. We try to be as quiet as possible in the daylight so as not to wake Count Penicula."

"Penicula?" Bride asked.

"My pet insult for Valerius. Much like the good Roman general who owns this house, it's a combination of penis and Dracula."

Bride would have laughed, but had a feeling it would only encourage Otto to be bad.

They followed Otto up the stairs.

"When did you get so chatty, Carvalletti?" Vane asked. "I always thought you were a man of few words."

"I normally am, but I've been locked in this mansion for so long now that I'm going stir-crazy. I'm thinking I should have stayed up in Alaska. Hell, I've even been talking to Nick just to break the monotony."

Otto paused on the stairs to look at them. "Valerius isn't a Dark-Hunter, he's a life-sucking Daimon out to bleed me dry. No wonder his last Squire quit. I keep putting in for a transfer and my father keeps telling me to be a man and take my assignment with dignity. I swear, that man better not get feeble or I'm locking him up in the worst retirement home I can find."

"Dog, and I thought I had issues with my parents," Fury said from behind Bride.

"Mine just want to kill me and put me out of my misery, not add to it."

"Yeah," Otto said from the top of the stairs. "You're lucky. I wish mine would kill me."

Otto led them down a hallway while Vane leaned over and spoke in her ear.

"Don't let Otto's current bizarreness fool you. He was valedictorian at Princeton."

She gaped.

"And I had a brain until this place killed it. You try dealing with Valerius and Nick and you too will find yourself regressing into infancy in a matter of days.

But whatever you do, don't tell Master Valerius that I ever stepped foot onto Princeton soil. He thinks I dropped out of the Barbizon School of Modeling."

Bride laughed, then looked at Vane. "So this is the world you're bringing me into? No offense, but these people are really nuts. We have a Princeton graduate who dresses like Don Ho putting pasties on statues, a brother-in-law who's a dog"

"Yeah, but don't forget, Tabitha came with you," Vane reminded her. "You have your own share of nutcases."

She held her hands up in surrender. "Okay, but that's only one nut I came with."

"And your dad neuters for a living," Fury said from behind them. "I think that's the sickest thing I've ever heard of."

"Want to go visit my parents, Fury?" Bride asked.

"I'll pass."

Otto opened a door that led to a huge bedroom with the most elaborate antique canopied bed Bride had ever seen. Deep blue velvet curtains hung around the hand-carved cherubs and angels that decorated the ancient wood. "This is magnificent."

"Valerius insists on the best. You two can bunk in here, and I'll take dog-boy farther down the hallway."

"Hey!" Fury snapped indignantly.

"Relax," Otto said. "It's not like I'm making you sleep in the garage or anything."

The two of them left Bride and Vane alone in the room.

"So here we are," Bride said, unsure of herself.

Vane pulled her close. "It's weird not to have to hide myself from you."

"So what all can you do?"

"Just about anything. I can travel through time in any direction. I could flash us from here to Paris or anywhere else you'd like to visit."

Bride considered that. She could have anything, but there was only one thing that would make her really happy. "Can you make me thin?"

Vane looked less than pleased. "I could."

"Do it."

He frowned at her as if the request completely baffled him. "Why?"

"Because I've always wanted to be one of those tiny little women and I never have been."

He moved to stand behind her so that he could pull her against him and hold her close. "I don't want you skinny, Bride. I like you as you are." His breath tickled her neck as he spoke and sent heat all over her. "My people have a saying. Meat is for the man, the bone is for the dog."

"Yeah, but you're both."

"And when given a choice between ribs and steak, I go for top choice every time."

Bride hissed as he placed his lips against her neck and nibbled her. She closed her eyes and inhaled the warm, masculine scent of him. He felt so good holding her. It made her weak and breathless.

"Is this all there is between us, Vane? Just sex?"

He laid his cheek against hers in such a loving gesture that it tore through her heart. "No, Bride. Sex is just the physical demonstration of what I feel for you." He took her hand and led it to his heart where she felt it pounding against her palm. "No one has ever touched me like you do. You're like a whisper. Gentle, soft. Soothing. In my world, the people only shout and scream.

But you you're my haven."

She shivered at his poetic words. "God, you're good."

"It's not a line, Bride. I may be human, but I'm also an animal and the animal in me doesn't lie or deceive. I never thought that part of me would be tamed, but it is now. It doesn't want to lash out at anyone. It just wants you."

How could a woman say no to that?

Bride gasped as her clothes vanished. "Vane?"

Before she could get his name out, they were both lying naked in the bed, under the covers.

"That's some talent you have there," she said as he nuzzled her neck.

"You've no idea," he breathed in her ear before he licked it.

Bride's head swirled at the ecstasy of his touch. For once he didn't waste any time with her. He slid himself inside her with one forceful thrust.

They moaned in unison.

Bride looked up into the raw pleasure on his face. This wasn't playtime to him, he was most serious about taking her.

She slid her hands over his back, feeling his muscles ripple as he thrust into her, strong and powerful. He was the wolf and he was hungry. His green eyes devoured her.

Vane couldn't think straight as he felt her softness under him. The animal in him wanted complete possession. It wanted to mate and to dominate.

The man in him wanted her tenderness. Her heart.

Most of all, he wanted to spend the rest of his life staring into her amber eyes. They were dark now with passion. Her lips were slightly parted as she panted with pleasure.

Vane claimed that mouth. He growled at the taste of her. At the sensation of her tongue against his while he thrust himself deep inside her over and over again.

Famished for her, he forced himself to be easy with her body. To remember that she was human and frail.

He would die if he ever hurt her.

But oh, the feel of her hands on his back. The way she clutched at his ass.

She didn't just screw him. She made love to him. And that meant more to him than anything else.

Even if he were immortal, he would never feel anything better than her long, smooth legs entwined with his.

Bride was breathless as Vane devoured her. No man had ever made love to her like this as if he couldn't get enough of her. As if he were desperate to be inside her body.

There was so much power and strength in the arms wrapped around her.

Arms that held her tenderly. Carefully.

Every forceful stroke pounded pleasure through her.

"I love the way your hands feel on me," he breathed raggedly as she cupped his rear. "And I love being able to take you like this."

"Like what?"

"Face-to-face," he said, punctuating each word with a deep, lush stroke. "So that I can feel your breasts on my chest. See your expression when you come for me."

He kissed her then. It was masterful and devouring. Fulfilling.

Bride was completely swept away by him. By the intense pleasure of him so thick and full inside her. The way he felt sliding against her body.

Vane let his powers flow through both of them. There was no longer any need to harness them or mask them. He let their passion fuel his powers, charging them to their highest level.

The sensation of it went through him like lightning, heightening every aspect of her flesh against his.

He knew the minute she felt the swell of his powers. She threw her head back in ultimate ecstasy. Her breathing ragged, she met him stroke for stroke.

And when she came, he had to shield her scream with his powers to keep the others from knowing what they were doing.

He smiled at the sight of her lost in the throes of her orgasm. At the feeling of her hands on his back as she gripped him tight.

Then Vane let himself join her. He growled as he released himself inside her. He lay on top of her, panting while his body continued to shiver and spasm.

All the while she played with his hair and held him close.

"That was incredible," Bride breathed. Then she frowned. "You do get bigger toward the end, don't you?"

"Yes," he said, nibbling her lips, "and I can't pull out of you for a few more minutes without hurting you."

Bride could still feel his body quivering. "Why do you do that and how did you keep me"

"I used a time spell so that you weren't aware of how long it took me to finish." He hissed as another wave of orgasm went through him.

Vane half-expected her to be repulsed. She wasn't.

Instead, she cradled his head to her and toyed with his hair until he was completely spent.

When he was finally finished, he slid himself out of her and collapsed by her side.

She turned to face him. "So this is what you're really like?"

Vane nodded and waited for his heart to stop pounding. She draped herself over his chest and kissed his right nipple. He growled as she gave a light, playful lick to it.

"If you keep doing that, we'll be in this bed for the rest of the day."

Bride scoffed. "I know you men. You'll need at least a few hours to" Her voice trailed off as she felt him hardening against her thigh.

"I'm not human, Bride. Sex invigorates us. It doesn't make us tired."

She lifted the sheet to see the truth of that statement. He was already hard again. "So I can play with you as much as I like?"

"Um-hmmm. I'm all yours, pet."

Biting her lip, Bride slid her hand down to cup him gently and to explore the entire length of him. Since Taylor had never made love to her with the lights on or in daylight, she'd never really had a chance to examine a guy up close before.

He bent one leg up and said nothing while she gently learned every nuance of his body.

Vane watched her closely while he played with the tendrils of her hair. He'd never had a woman so curious about him. She-wolves didn't care what a male looked like so long as he could please her. Once the act was over, their females pushed them away and left. There was no sharing of bodies. No care given to caress and to love. To nurture.

That was what he cherished most about Bride.

Her fingers tenderly examined him. She carefully massaged his sac and his cock.

Chills spread over him. His outstretched leg actually twitched.

Bride giggled as she continued to stroke him. "Like that, do you?"

"Yes," he said raggedly as he felt his cock harden even more.

She looked up at him, then did the unimaginable. She took him into her mouth.

Vane threw his head back and buried his hand in her hair as pleasure racked him.

He locked his jaw to keep from howling as she licked and teased him from the base to the tip. She slid him deep into her mouth as she sucked and played.

He cupped her face in his hands while his entire body burned. The unselfishness of this act

He hadn't known such a thing existed. A Katagari female would sooner die than touch a male like this. It was the male's job to satisfy the female, not the other way around.

Bride groaned deep in her throat as she tasted the very essence of Vane. She looked up to see him watching her, his eyes hooded with pleasure and disbelief.

It was a heady combination.

He looked as if she were showing him heaven. He brushed the hair back from her face, then stroked her cheekbone with his thumb while she tongued the underside of him.

She felt the air around them literally sizzle. She paused at the sound.

"It's okay," Vane said breathlessly. "It's just my powers surging. They do that sometimes."

She returned to him.

Vane ground his teeth as his pleasure built to an unbelievable high. Any second, he was going to come again. Afraid of hurting Bride, he pulled her away from him an instant before his body exploded.

It wasn't the only thing. Every lightbulb in the room shattered with the force of it as his powers played havoc in the room.

He covered himself with the blanket and used his hand to help his body as it orgasmed.

He felt Bride's hand on his. Opening his eyes, he watched as she took him into her hand and gently milked him until his body was completely drained.

"You didn't have to pull me away, Vane," she said after a few minutes.

"I double in size when I come, Bride. I didn't want to see you get hurt by it."

She pulled her hand away from him and kissed his lips.

Vane held her close to him, cherishing this novel moment with her.

She pulled back to look at the shattered bulbs. "I hope our host isn't too" She broke off as he repaired every bulb with his powers.

"That is some talent you have there."

He smiled wickedly at her. "I prefer yours."

She was confused by that. "I don't have any talent."

"Yes you do. That mouth of yours is definitely magic."

"Mmm," she said, kissing him again. "But it only works for you."

"Good."

Bride pulled back as she realized something. "Wait a minute. You can't ever cheat on me, can you?"

He shook his head. "Without you, I'm a total eunuch. My powers would lessen, too. Once sex is taken away from us, we have no way to recharge our energy.

Eventually we lose all our magic."

"Then how is your father the leader of your pack if he can't wield magic?"

He frowned. "How did you know my father was our leader?"

"I heard the medieval people talking about it."

Vane took a long, deep breath before he explained it to her. "He became the pack's leader before I was bora. The only reason he's still in charge is that he's extremely strong physically as a wolf and he makes deals with the Daimons for magic."

"Daimons?"

"Vampires. Unlike your television and movies, the real vampires don't thrive on human blood, they thrive on human souls. If they take the soul of a Were-Hunter or a psychic human they can then absorb their powers. Daimons who are truly powerful are able to share that power with someone else. My father routinely makes sacrifices to them so that they'll leave his pack alone and siphon off a bit of their magic to him."

"Sacrifices?"

He sighed as if the thought pained him. "He pretends someone has betrayed the pack and singles them out to be left for the Daimons. My brother Fang and I were the last sacrifices he made. I knew he'd send assassins out to kill us once the Daimons didn't return to share power with him."

She couldn't imagine anything worse than that. His father had sacrificed him to die. His mother hated him and would gladly kill him, too.

Her poor wolf. No wonder he had come to her.

"Oh Vane, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. I'm only surprised my father waited so long to set us up. I think the only reason he didn't do it sooner was that for all his faults, he loved my sister, Anya, more than anything, and she loved us. So long as she lived, I don't think he wanted to hurt her by killing us. But the instant she died"

"He came after you?"

He nodded.

She pulled his head to her breasts and held him there, wanting to make it all better, knowing she couldn't. But at least Vane seemed to be at peace with the past and with his parents and their unreasoning hatred of him. His strength amazed her. She didn't know of any other man who could have had his past and his pain and be so compassionate and loving.

"What was it like in your commune?" she asked, wondering what other scars he hid with such dignity.

"I don't know. We live like animals. We stay mostly in wolf form unless we head into the cities for something."

"Like food?"

"Or sex. Sex is much more enjoyable as a human than as a wolf. There's a lot more stimulation, especially for our females."

That was something she didn't want to consider. She didn't like thinking about Vane with anyone else. But at least she didn't have the fear of him cheating on her. There was much to be said for that. Her own sister was currently going through a divorce over that very thing.

"So you pretty much live out your lives as wolves?" she asked.

He nodded. "For the Katagaria it's really easy since the wolf is their base form. It's what they default to whenever they rest or are hurt."

"But you're Arcadian."

She could tell by the way he stiffened that it bothered him. "Yeah. So for me, it was unrelenting torture to maintain a wolf form. One of the reasons I'm so strong magically is that I had to learn to channel my powers so that I could remain a wolf while I was fighting, injured, or sleeping. Things that I should do as a human."

"And the tattoo on your face?"

"It's more like a birthmark." He let out a deep breath and it reappeared on his face.

Bride traced the scrolling pattern that was oddly beautiful.

"Sentinels are Arcadian guardians," he explained. "Once an Arcadian is finished with puberty, the Fates choose who they think is strong enough to guard the world from the Slayers or animals who are out to prey on Arcadians and humankind."

She winced as she understood what he was telling her. "So you were living with wolves when you became human and then you became their worst enemy."

"Yes."

Her heart ached for him. "You must have been terrified. Why didn't you leave?"

"I probably should have, but I was young and frightened. I knew nothing about the Arcadians and even less about humans. Remember, I was a wolf as a child. Our young are never allowed near real humans. I had no idea how to conduct myself or interact with your world. That was why I made a bargain with Acheron to take me into the past to meet my mother. I thought if I told her I was no longer an animal, she would help me adjust."

"But she didn't."

"No. She called me a liar and drove me away."

She could kill Bryani for that. What kind of mother would be so cruel? But then, cruelty existed everywhere in the world even though it shouldn't.

"Meanwhile Fury was going through the same thing in reverse."

"Yes."

She didn't know which of them had it worse. It was probably Fury. Unlike Vane, he hadn't had a brother and sister to accept him. "So you went back to your pack after you met Bryani?"

He nodded. "It was all I knew and I couldn't ask Fang and Anya to leave because of me. I figured if my father killed me, at least they would still have a home and be protected."

"And no one ever knew the truth about your base form changing?"

"Just Fang and Anya, and apparently Fury. I should have known when he came to us. But he always kept to himself. Stefan and the others tried to turn him into an omega, but he wouldn't have it. What he lacks in magic, he makes up for in brute strength and willingness to kill anyone who crosses him."

Bride paused, her hand in his hair as she tried to understand his world.

"Omega?"

Vane kissed her stomach. "In every pack, there's a scapegoat that the other wolves pick on. It's always a male and he is called the omega wolf."

"That's awful."

He lifted himself up to stare down at her. "It's nature and we're animals. You said you wanted to know me and so I'm answering all your questions about my world, gruesome though things can be."

Bride tried to imagine the Vane she knew being cold and merciless. It was hard when he looked at her with such love and desire in his eyes. "Did you ever pick on the omega?"

He shook his head. "I usually came between the omega and the others. It's why the pack hates me. Fang always thought I was an idiot to bother."

Her heart soared at that. He was a good man, even when he was a wolf. She shouldn't have doubted him. "I don't think you're an idiot. I think you're wonderful."

He kissed her for that.

Someone knocked on the door.

"Hey, Vane," Otto said from the other side. "I meant to tell you two that dinner's in an hour, so if you guys wish to eat with Valerius, be in the drawing room promptly or he'll have a major meltdown."

"Does he want us to dress for dinner?" Vane asked loudly.

"Of course he does, but I'll be wearing Bermuda shorts and a T-shirt."

Vane chuckled. "He's going to kill you, Otto."

"I wish. See you guys later." She heard Otto's footsteps receding down the hallway. Bride lay back in bed, amazed to realize she wasn't the least bit body-conscious around Vane. She should be, given how ripped he was. But she wasn't.

It was so strange to be with a man who was so accepting of her, faults and all. He didn't try to alter anything about her. It was a great change of pace.

She laid her hand against his whiskered cheek and drank in the sight of his lean, languid handsomeness.

But in the back of her mind was that awful voice that kept whispering "All good things must come to an end."

"Do you believe in eternal love, Vane?"

He nodded. "When you live for hundreds of years, you see all kinds of things."

"How does someone know the difference between that and infatuation?"

He sat up between her legs, then pulled her into his lap to cuddle. "I don't think there is a difference. I think infatuation is like a garden. If tended and cared for, it grows into love. If neglected or abused it dies. The only way to have eternal love is to never let your heart forget what it's like to live without it."

His wisdom stunned her. Bride pulled back to stare incredulously at him.

"That is profound, especially coming from a man."

"It was what Anya always said." The sadness in his eyes made her heart clench.

"I wish I could have met her. She sounds like she was a wonderful woman."

"She was."

Bride frowned as an idea struck her. "Can't you go into the past and visit her? Or better yet, save her?"

He placed her head under his chin and stroked her arm. "In theory, yes. But we're not supposed to. Time is a very delicate object and it's not something that should be tampered with lightly. As for saving her, no. The Fates have a nasty way of dealing with anyone who trespasses on their territory. Once a life is ended, they tend to get really upset at anyone who thwarts them."

"You sound like you've made that mistake."

"I haven't. But I know someone who did."

"Fang?"

"No, and I won't betray this person by naming them. Destiny is destiny and no mortal should fight it."

"But how do we know what our destiny is? Am I to be with you or not?"

"I don't know, Bride. The only one I know who could answer that is Ash and he won't."

She found that hard to believe. "Ash is what, all of twenty-one?"

"No. He's eleven thousand years old and is wiser than anyone I've ever known. There's nothing, past, present, or future, he doesn't know. The only problem is he won't share that knowledge. It seriously pisses me off most of the time.

He has this tendency to say that we make our future by our decisions, but he knows what we're going to decide before we decide it so why he won't tell us is beyond me."

"Because you learn from your mistakes," she said as she realized the reason.

"And if you choose wrongly and it turns out badly, you can't blame him for it because he told you what to do. Likewise, if it turns out well, you can take credit for making the right decision on your own. Good or bad, it's our life to do with as we see fit. Jeez, that little booger is smart."

Vane laughed at her words. "He's not little, but the rest is true enough."

She waited for him to ask her what her decision would be regarding them, but he didn't.

Instead, he held her in his arms, as if purely content with this moment. Part of Bride was content as well, but another part of her was scared. What would be the right thing to do?

She wanted to stay with him, but where? She wasn't a wolf to live out in the wild and he wasn't the kind of man to be content owning a store in the French Quarter.

At the end of the day, Vane was wild and untamable. He wasn't just a man. He was a guardian.

And a wolf.

She pulled back to stare up at him. All she wanted was to keep him like this forever. But could she really tame this man? And did she really, truly, want to spend the rest of her life looking back over her shoulder in fear that his parents or brother Dare would be coming for them or their children?

It was a scary proposition.

And the clock was ticking for them. In a few short days she would have to make a decision that could either make them supremely happy, utterly miserable, or It could kill them both.

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