Magical Holiday Love (The Anthology Novella Series Book 4) Read online

  Rayne scanned the coordinates for the small island off the coast of Fiji and growled, his eyes blazing now, “The fucking, tropics? Really?”

  “Sorry,” he apologized with a tired shrug. “Take a few of your best men; but have them wait offshore in case of trouble. From what I have been able to discover, you’ll need to go in alone. It’s a very small compound with approximately ten to fourteen men, including Maurice.”

  Rayne nodded curtly and headed for the door. “Have the plane ready for take-off within the hour,” he directed, and Alex nodded. “I’ll be taking Sam, Kaden and Max.” With that, Rayne slammed out of the office and went to grab his ready bag, cursing under his breath the entire time. The damned tropics! And a damned human! Merry freaking Christmas to me!

  Chapter 3

  Mara opened her eyes slowly, trying hard to fight off the effects of whatever drug they had shot into her. Her vision was blurred, and she felt as if she were trying to swim up from a quagmire of quicksand. Geez, just what in the hell did they hit me with?

  She carefully moved her hands, trying to get a feel of where she was as she waited for her vision to clear.

  She felt the thin mattress of the cot under her, and could smell a dank, mildewy odor that made her want to sneeze. She slammed her eyes shut and rubbed them, needing desperately to get her bearings about her.

  Her vision cleared slightly as she opened her eyes once again, and found that she was in a small cell. A thick, heavy looking iron door in front of her dashed any hope at all of her escaping in an instant and she felt the sting of hot tears well up in her eyes. At just a little over five foot, four inches tall, and weighing only one hundred and two pounds, there was no way in hell that she was ever getting through that door. A single bulb hung from the ceiling, illuminating her tiny prison in a sickening yellow glow.

  Mara could feel the tears sliding down her cheeks as she fought to gain control of her emotions. Falling apart was not going to help her…at all. She needed to keep a clear head.

  She gasped when she heard the lock on the door disengage, and felt her body begin to tremble as it opened with a headache inducing screech. She watched silently as a very tall; very intimidating man glided through the entrance. He was close, but not quite to six-foot-tall she instantly surmised, with wavy blond hair that hung to his shoulders, and an arrogance about him the oozed from his very pores.

  Mara backed up against the wall as he approached her, his eyes not leaving hers for a moment. Her survival instinct kicked in the closer he got. There was just something so evil about the man that it was taking the air right from her lungs and causing her heart to beat around in her chest like a bass drum. It was a gut, primal reaction that she just couldn’t stop.

  “Ah, my lovely, Dr. Prescott,” he whispered, his voice silky smooth… and that did nothing at all to comfort her. In fact, it only made her unease triple. “Or may I be so presumptuous to call you, Mara? I’m delighted to see that you are finally awake. You’ve been out for almost two days.”

  “Who in the hell are you?” Mara spat, trying to digest that she had been completely unconscious for two days. Oh, my God! What had they done to her? She fought off the urge to check her body as she glared at him.

  “I, my dear, am Maurice Dufrane… and it seems that I am in need of your services,” he responded softly, as if she should know just who in the hell this maniac was.

  “Yeah, well – you sure have a lousy way of asking someone for their help,” she bit back angrily, wanting nothing more at that moment than to slap that smug smile right off of his arrogant face.

  His demeaner changed in an instant; almost as if a switch had been flipped, and his eyes glittered dangerously. “Do not take that tone with me, human.” He hissed in disgust, and Mara felt her mouth drop open. Human? Did he just say Human? What. The. Hell?

  “Who are you?” she whispered again, her body beginning to vibrate from the fear that was beginning to creep its way along her belly, and there was a very large part of her that wanted to ask what he was, but afraid that he might just tell her.

  Rayne watched the island from the bow of the boat, his eyes scanning the area for any type of movement; but all was deathly still. Max came up and stood beside him, his eyes staring out over the water at the dark clouds that were beginning to gather, and Rayne could sense that it was making his friend tense.

  “This is a bunch of bullshit,” Max mumbled, not happy with not being in the thick of things at all. The wolf shifter liked to be in the midst of a mission, not sitting on the sidelines, and Rayne knew that he was thoroughly pissed off.

  “From what Alex’s recon has discovered, the compound is small with only a few of Maurice’s lackey’s in residence. For the safety of Dr. Prescott, I need to go alone, Max. We can’t go in guns blazing on this one. This is a special case that has to be handled carefully.”

  Max growled, low in his throat, his golden eyes glowing. “I can’t believe Alex had a human working for him without bothering to tell her just what in the hell we are,” he complained, shaking his head in disgust. “It would be so much easier if we could all go in together. And, now there’s a fucking storm coming.”

  Rayne gave Max a smile, knowing that his loyalty was beyond reproach, and that he didn’t like his commander and friend going into an unknown situation alone. “I’ll be in and out before you know it,” he laughed.

  “You had damned well better be. I don’t like this solo shit! I don’t like it at all.” He grumbled. “We’re a fucking team, damn it!”

  “Well, if you can hold your breath for the mile and a half to the island, feel free to come along,” Rayne chuckled lightly when Max shot him an irritated glare.

  One of the advantages of being a Vampire was the ability to swim underwater for very long distances. When you didn’t need to breathe, it was easy. “As for the storm, if it gets too rough, you guys are to abort immediately. I’ve marked a few places where I can take the good Doctor for shelter once she’s been extracted. I don’t need to be worrying about you jarheads fighting the elements out here. I’ll radio you when we are all clear.”

  Max gave him a disgusted grunt, which Rayne took as a reluctant agreement, and grinned. “This can’t wait for the weather to blow over,” he explained. “She needs to be extracted now.”

  Rayne shrugged off his shirt and shoved it into the waterproof bag that was tied around his lean waist. Along with his flare gun, radio and other necessities.

  “Just remember, if this all gets too intense and the shit starts hitting the fan, you call for back up. We’ll get to you.” Max reminded him, and Rayne nodded briskly. “Dufrane and his followers are a vicious bunch of ass hats, Rayne. Don’t play the hero. We’ll be here if you need us.”

  Rayne nodded and slapped his friend on the shoulder, “No worries. I’ll get her out and back here before you know it. I’ll have you home with Hannah and that son of yours for Christmas dinner,” he chuckled before turning and diving into the water, instantly disappearing from view.

  Max let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. He glanced up once again at the foreboding sky and shivered. Damn. He had a bad feeling about all of this.

  Mara watched in silence as the man seemed to size her up; his intense gaze doing nothing to alleviate that stark terror curling itself around her like a snake and choking her.

  “You have been working on a cure for a disease that I hold very near and dear to me,” he finally said, his mouth lifting up in a grin that only made her want to cringe. It was predatory and cold. “You have stumbled upon something that my kind craves more than you could imagine. And, I wish for you to finish your research here.”

  “You have to be completely insane,” she breathed. “Why in the world would I help you after you’ve drugged and kidnapped me?” Mara bit out as she lifted her chin defiantly; which only served to anger him more. Obviously, this asshole wasn’t used to being told no.

  She was pretty sure that her mind had finally snapped only a moment later wh
en she saw his eyes glow red, and fangs descend from his gums. Oh, dear Lord, it couldn’t be! She had to still be drugged or something! This just could not be real. This had to be some type of drug-induced nightmare! There was no other explanation! Things like this didn’t exist.

  Maurice grabbed her by the neck and pulled her up to him, his face dangerously close to hers as she struggled to free herself; but the strength of this creature was unimaginable. And, she realized with a sinking feeling in her gut that he could snap her neck in a millisecond if he chose to.

  “Please,” she choked, her eyes watering as she gasped for air.

  Maurice snarled at her a moment before tossing her back down to the cot, as if she repulsed him. “It’s a very simple choice, Dr. Prescott,” he remarked, brushing a piece of lint from his shirt. “You either finish your work here…or my men and I will drain you dry.” When he heard her sharp intake of breath, he smiled viciously. “And, I do promise you, I will not be gentle. Not to mention that my men have a very bad habit of playing with their food. You have until tomorrow evening to decide.” With that he turned and left the room, locking it firmly behind him.

  Mara waited until she heard his receding footsteps fade before burying her head in her hands and sobbing. Dear God! This had to be a nightmare! Not real! She had to have fallen asleep at the lab! That had to be it! Oh, please, she silently begged…let that be it! She couldn’t have been kidnapped by a Vampire! Vampires weren’t real! They couldn’t be!

  Chapter 4

  Rayne stealthily slipped onto shore and quickly scanned the beach around him. Something seemed off. It was much too still. The thick tropical underbrush was completely silent, and he wondered if it was due to the approaching storm…or something else.

  As if in answer to his unspoken question, the sky lit up and a thunderous boom followed only a moment later. Damn it! Max had better get them the hell out of there! He pulled the map from his pack a quickly found the marking showing him where the caves were located. He ran off in that direction, planning on stowing some of his stuff in case they needed to take shelter there… and by the looks of the sky, they would.

  He needed to just get her the hell out as quickly and efficiently as possible before those bat-shit crazy assholes could do anything to her, and waiting a minute longer than was necessary, was just not an option. She had already been gone for two days! He didn’t even want to think about what they might have already done to the lovely creature. She was temptation personified...plain and simple.

  Shit, he hated these missions! He thought with a growl as he silently made his way into the jungle, the vision of huge blue eyes popping into his head as he did, and he scowled. Christ, maybe he was just burning out.

  Rayne found the small cave, hidden well behind some brush and quickly stowed his gear. The sound of thunder rolling in the distance caused him to curse as he grabbed his radio, calling Max.

  “I want you guys to head in to safety,” he ordered when the Wolf finally answered.

  “Rayne,” Max began, but he wasn’t about to waste any time arguing with the mule-headed Were.

  “Just do as I say,” he growled. “I’ll radio you when I have her and all’s clear. Understood?”

  Mara lay on the cot, her body curled up into the fetal position as she tried to get a grip on the nightmare that she was now living. This just couldn’t be real, her mind screamed at her. But, with a sinking feeling to her heart that threatened to cut off the air to her lungs, she realized that it was. And, if she had any hope at all of getting out of here alive, she had to put on her big girl panties and man the hell up! Mara Nicole Prescott had never just laid down and given in. For every problem…there was a solution.

  She took a deep breath and sat up, slipping her legs off of the cot and standing. Her body screamed in protest at the movement. She was stiff and her muscles ached…and she could really use a bathroom. She looked around the dingy room and felt an overwhelming sense of dread when she realized that there was nothing in the small cell except for the cot…and a small steel bucket. Oh! Not bloody likely!

  A grin spread across her lips as she stared at the wire handle of the bucket and an idea began to form in her brain. Every problem did have a solution, she thought with a quiet giggle.

  Rayne crept up to the compound as silently as death-his eyes surveying the area for any sign of movement.

  He caught sight of a shadow to his left and watched as the burly guard walked around the corner of the building. The Vampire leaned against the door and glared out into the jungle, looking thoroughly bored and just a bit pissed off. Oh, this was going to be too easy, Rayne thought with a grin.

  He heard the Vampire spit out a string of curses as the sky opened up and the rain hit, coming down in sheets as thunder boomed around them and lightening lit up the sky. This was just getting better and better!

  Rayne crept around the side of the building on the South side of the door and jumped to the roof, the wind and rain helping to keep any sounds that he might make hidden from the guard as well as everyone inside compound.

  He strode over to the edge and looked down, his mouth twisting up in a sneer. In a flash of movement, he leaped from the building and landed right in front of the guard, snapping his neck in an instant. He pulled a stake from his pocket and ended the bastard before he even knew what hit him.

  He grabbed the Vampire’s arm and began dragging him towards the jungles thick vegetation; thinking that it would be as good a place as any to hide the body until it disintegrated. He didn’t need someone finding him while he was inside and sounding the alarm.

  As he covered the vampire up, he heard the heavy steel door creak open behind him and turned just in time to see an absolute vision slip out of the building. What in the ever-loving Hell?

  Mara had worked the handle of the bucket back and forth until it snapped off in her hands, a triumphant smile curving her lips. She dashed over to the door and leaned down, carefully twisting the metal into the lock as Simon had shown her so long ago.

  She fought back the lump forming in her throat as the vision of her brother’s face flashed before her eyes. His easy smile and warm eyes teasing her that she needed to learn to pick a lock in case she ever accidentally got trapped somewhere and he wasn’t around to save her. He had been obsessed with the show MacGyver, and had taught her how to get out of sticky situations with things that he would find around the house-constantly forcing her to play super spies with him for hours on end.

  She blinked back the tears that were gathering on her lashes with a deep, cleansing breath. She would never have thought that his teasing would actually come in useful someday. Always the protector, Simon, she thought with a painful twist to her heart. Who would have ever thought that her amazing brother’s bright, beautiful mind and wonderful imagination could possibly be her saving grace against Vampires! She heard that familiar click, and smiled. Thank you, Simon.

  Mara slowly opened the door and peered out, her eyes scanning the hall for any sign of that creature moving about, and shakily let out the breath that she had been holding when all seemed quiet. Letting her gut instinct take over, she chose a direction and swiftly and as silently as possible ran for her life.

  Rayne watched in fascination as the beautiful little sprite slipped through the door and glanced around a moment before taking off at a dead run towards the jungle. Shit!

  It wasn’t hard to catch up with her, and when he did, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to a stop, the pounding rain and thunder masking her scream of fright.

  Rayne pulled her back against his chest as she fought and kicked, trying valiantly to get out of his steely grip. She twisted around and he saw her hand come up, a piece of wire held tightly in her fingers as she tried to stab him with it, but Rayne was much too quick. His free hand snapped up and he yanked it from her grip and tossed it aside.

  “Let me go!” she screamed, still wriggling and lashing out with all that she had, and Rayne was hard pressed not to ad
mire the little spitfires spirit. She sure as shit had spunk!

  He swept her up into his arms and headed toward the cave where he had stashed his bag. They needed to take shelter before it was discovered that she had escaped or before this damnable storm turned into a full-fledged hurricane.

  He could hear her yelling and cursing at him as he swiftly made his way through the dense jungle and had to bite back the grin that so wanted to break free as he heard her cursing at him like she was a damned sailor! And, it was absolutely adorable!

  Rayne dashed through the entrance of the cave and reluctantly set her down, a part of him enjoying the feel of her in his arms a little too much.

  She wiped the rain from her eyes as she glared at him, and he knew that she was preparing to make a desperate attempt to run.

  “Easy there, Angel,” Rayne husked, raising his hands in front of him to let her know that he wasn’t going to hurt her, “I’m here to help you, Dr. Prescott. Alex Black sent me.”

  Mara stared silently at the man standing in front of her as a mixture of relief and gratitude rushed through her. She couldn’t make out his features clearly in the darkness; only the massive hulk of his outline, but when only a moment later a flash of lightening lit up the sky behind him she gasped. He was huge!

  She felt the rush of breath leave her body when he told her that Alexander had sent him. How did they know where she was? And…did they know what these creatures who had taken her were?

  Her head was swimming with a million different thoughts and questions all at once; to the point that it was making her dizzy.

  “I’m just going to grab my bag and get some light in here,” she heard him say as he cautiously moved closer to her.