Eternal Captive: Mark of the Vampire by Laura Wright

him.”
    “Not that easy,” Nicholas said.
    Synjon pushed back his chair and stood, frustration evident in his corded muscles. “And why the hell not? Bron is mine! She wears my mark!”
    “This is going well,” Sara said, shaking her head.
    Kate chuckled beside her. “I’d say so.”
    “We’ve only just learned of his existence,” Nicholas said, his own frustration barely contained. “It’s why we came to France. To track him down.”
    Through gritted teeth, Syn asked, “And have you?”
    “Not yet.” Nicholas shook his head, his eyes dark with ire. “We’ve moved on every tip we’ve received, but the
paven
is…slippery.”
    Synjon sneered. “Brilliant. And by that I mean, whata sodding cock-up.” He glanced at Lucian. “Why did we come here, then? They have nothing to offer me.”
    A hiss erupted from Lucian’s throat. “No one invited you anywhere. Screw this twin bastard brother of ours. We’ll find Bronwyn ourselves!”
    “What do we know about this
paven
?” Syn said, ignoring Lucian as though he’d said nothing at all, and eyeing Nicholas again. “Why would he want Bronwyn?”
    The dark-haired brother shook his head. “I don’t know. She’s Pureblood—she’s your true mate. Perhaps you should ask yourself the same question.” He narrowed his eyes. “Perhaps this is about you, your past—your enemies.”
    Syn cocked his head. “Bugger off, all right, you stupid git. Bugger the fuck off.”
    “Oh crap,” Kate uttered, turning to Sara. “Here they go again.”
    “Would anyone like something to eat?” Sara asked, in a tone meant to gentle the air in the room. “Blood, perhaps. It may not be straight from the vein, but—”
    “Blood!” Lucian said the word, rising from his seat and pointing at Synjon.
    “What the hell are you doing?” Synjon asked. Shooting his gaze around the room, he demanded, “What the hell is he doing?”
    Nicholas shrugged. “It’s not always clear.”
    “You and Bronwyn have mated,” Lucian said, his tone threaded with disgust. “Have had your Veracou.”
    “Yes. Do you have a point, or are you just reminding yourself that I am Bron’s mate?”
    Lucian ignored the barb. “You should be able to find her, track her, know where her blood is. Isn’t that right, Alexander?”
    Alexander nodded, his eyes suddenly graying over with thought. “It is.”
    “There’s no need for any of this,” Lucian said, his voice rising, his fangs dropping. “Let’s go. Let’s go and get her.”
    But Synjon didn’t move. “Stay where you are, Frosty. I haven’t taken her blood. She was nicked from me before we could have our consummation, both in blood and in body.”
    Lucian growled fiercely.
    “Chill out,
Duro
,” Alexander warned in an almost parental tone.
    Sara felt for the youngest brother. Everyone knew that he was denying his feelings for Bronwyn, and she was pretty certain Synjon suspected the truth and was enjoying torturing the
paven
.
    “The bond is unshakable,” Nicholas said quickly before another kind of blood was shed. He glanced up at Kate and gave her an easy, loving smile. “True mates should be able to find each other even if they haven’t—”
    “Wait a moment,” Synjon interrupted, pointing at Lucian. “You’ve taken her blood, haven’t you?”
    Everyone in the room turned to stare at Lucian.
    “She drank from me,” he clarified, his chin lifting just a fraction. “Not the other way round.”
    Synjon’s lip curled.
    “And she drank quite a lot, as I recall,” Lucian said thoughtfully. “Nearly drained me dry.”
    Synjon slammed his arm into his chair and sent the bit of wood flying across the room, his growl low and feral.
    “Alexander!” Sara called to her true mate with both her voice and with her gaze. This was getting out ofhand. Time was ticking by and they were nowhere nearer to finding Bronwyn than when they’d started. She knew the moment had arrived to spill the secret she and Alexander had been carrying