Scions: Insurrection (2 of 3 free samples)

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Scions: Insurrection by Patrice Michelle. Copyright 2008 by Patrice Michelle.
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PROLOGUE (CONT'D)

Landon glanced up from talking with a police officer and nodded to Jachin when the vampire entered Jamie’s Pub in New York’s Lower East Side. Jachin looked healthier than Landon had ever seen him. Apparently, mated life suited the Sanguinas’ leader well.

“Gotta meet with a friend.” Landon stood up from the table.

“Later, Rourke.” The burly officer with a red-veined nose picked up his mug, saluted Landon and then knocked back his entire beer in one big gulp.

Clapping the man on the back, Landon smiled. “Make sure you take the subway home, Mike.”

“Yeah, yeah, I hear ya,” Mike called after him. Smoke clung to Landon’s skin as he wound his way around small café tables and headed toward the bar. The scent of peanuts and alcohol, intertwined with the patrons’ sweat—heavily loaded with varying emotions, from depression to euphoria—reached out and yanked at his heightened senses while he passed through the crowd. Out in open air, his sense of smell wasn’t as acute as his werewolf brethren, but in close quarters... the onslaught left him a little dizzy and reeling. Landon snorted, blowing a gust of air out his nose to clear it. He needed his senses on full alert around Jachin.

Jachin’s deep blue gaze watched him with predatory wariness as Landon approached the bar. He lifted his shot glass in salute. “It’s been a while.”

“Three months.” Landon settled on a tall barstool and called to the bartender, “I’ll have a Guinness.”

After the bartender set his draft in front of him and walked away, Landon took a deep drink. The thick beer tasted good going down. Eyeing Jachin, he wondered how Jachin’s human mate was faring living among the vampires. “How’s Ariel? She’s a resilient human, surviving that bullet wound like she did.”

Jachin frowned. “If it hadn’t been for my sister’s medical knowledge... ” He paused, then shook his head and chuckled. “My mate’s tough. She’s finally feeling herself again. She’s pregnant and has been throwing up like a champ for several weeks.”

A child? While a smile tugged at Landon’s lips, a burning sensation spread through his chest. Was that jealousy? Probably indigestion. Damned raw steak he’d had for dinner a few hours ago.

“How are things with your pack?” Jachin rolled his empty shot glass along his cupped palm and his gaze turned serious.

Tension whipped through Landon, knotting his shoulders at the center of his spine. He gripped his mug’s handle tight and stared at the dark liquid in the glass. “The Alpha kicked me out for challenging him at the sacrificial circle.”

“Attacking your Alpha was ballsy.”

Landon’s gaze snapped to Jachin’s. “Nathan was too caught up in you trespassing on Lupreda land. He would’ve called for the entire pack to kill you, no matter the losses on either side. I had to give you enough time to move the ascendancy chalice and claim your leadership. With you as the new vampire leader, peace between our races might one day be a reality.”

“You shouldn’t be separated from your pack.”

Landon shrugged at the anger in Jachin’s tone. He knew he’d eventually kill Nathan. Was it justifiable homicide if the man deserved to die from sheer, arrogant stupidity? But dammit, if he did take the bastard out, Landon didn’t know if there was anyone with enough balls to lead the pack. Nathan had brass ones. Unfortunately, the shithead didn’t have the brains to go with the role.

After a few tense seconds passed, Jachin said, “There’s a reason you called me here.”

Landon met Jachin’s steady gaze head-on. “The Omega want to know if the Sanguinas have anything to do with the disappearance of three of our weres.”

Jachin’s easy smile faded. “The Lupreda think the Sanguinas are responsible? Why?”

“Because our men are missing.”

The vampire’s deep blue eyes narrowed and his angular jaw hardened. “You’d better have more than that if you’re going to accuse the Sanguinas, my friend.”

The tension levels between them increased considerably. Landon heard Jachin’s heart rate lower to a deadly slow thump and smelled the vamp’s testosterone levels increase. The primal scent hung heavy and thick between them... as if the man was intentionally waving a red flag in front of Landon just to rile him.

The posturing smell made Landon’s nose hairs burn. He snorted and pinched the bridge of his nose to keep from reacting. A good brawl was probably exactly what he needed, but it wouldn’t be conducive to his reason for being there.

“The weres weren’t taken unharmed,” Landon said in a cold tone.

“And who could’ve done that, Landon?” While his black eyebrows drew downward, Jachin’s expression held sincerity. “What Sanguinas would be able to walk into the middle of a wolfpack and take three weres without being detected and attacked by the rest of the pack?”

The hairs on the back of Landon’s neck rose in defense. “The weres weren’t living with the pack.”

A lethal calm settled over the vampire’s features. “Why would these other weres be living outside of the group? Did the Alpha kick them out, too? The Lupreda’s best defense is their cohesiveness.”

“No humans could’ve taken these men,” Landon said, evading Jachin’s question. “So I’ll ask you again... are the Sanguinas responsible?”

Jachin’s fingers cinched around the shot glass, shattering it. Shards of glass scattered across the bar top as he growled in a low voice, “Have you considered the possibility one of your own might’ve attacked your missing weres?”