Marked by the Vampire by Cynthia Eden Page A

water and heading toward the seaplane that she didn’t even kick him for carrying her around like a sack of potatoes this time. He’d tossed her over his shoulder as he ran and she did her best to hold on as he rushed toward the droning/whirring sound of the seaplane’s engine.
    And the howls followed them. Howls and snarls that seemed to be getting so much closer.
    “Stop!” A male’s voice shouted. “Stop or I’ll shoot!”
    Shane staggered to a stop.
    “Put the woman down.”
    She twisted around, trying to see who was shouting orders, and her gaze fell on the armed guards who were positioned at the edge of the dock. Five men stood there, weapons at the ready. Five men who blocked their escape because the seaplane was landing behind them, coming in with a spray of water.
    Taking his time, Shane lowered Olivia to her feet.
    “Come here, Dr. Maddox!” A blond guard shouted. “We’ll keep you safe.”
    That wasn’t just any blond guard. She recognized Evan.  The man who’d left her with the wolves. And that jerk was offering her safety?  Did she look like an idiot?
    “Shane, it’s him, he’s the one who took me—”
    Evan fired. The bullet flew through the air. Only the bullet wasn’t aimed at Shane. It was aimed at her.
    Shane leapt in front of her. The bullet thudded into his body. She heard the horrifying, sickening sound as it sank into him.
    Then the other guards were firing.  For an instant, the gunfire drowned out the approach of the plane. Olivia covered her ears, screaming because the bullets were all around them.
    But the bullets didn’t touch her. Shane was in front of her. Shielding her. Protecting her and—and then leaping for the guards when they stopped to reload.
    He tore through them. All fangs and fury.  Blood flowed, but this time, that blood came from the guards.  Their bodies hit the ground as the men cried out in pain.
    Her hands had fallen away from her ears.  She stared at the men around her, but the scene seemed to flicker in her mind.  The past and the present merged.
    She saw another time. Another blood-soaked place.
    Shane hadn’t been there to shield her.
    Her…her father had been there.
    He’d laughed while he killed. 
Laughed. “No one controls me!”
Her father’s words were forever burned into her memory.
    Her body shuddered.
    The blood had splashed onto her when she’d been a child. It had covered her hands, her clothes.  The blood—
    “
Come on, Olivia!”
Shane roared, ripping her out of the past.
    She blinked and realized that he was running down the narrow, wooden dock. Heading right toward the seaplane.
    Shaking her head, she rushed after him. The men on the ground were still alive, she could hear their groans of pain.  She darted around them, staying out of their reach, and hurrying toward the plane.
    The pilot was still inside that seaplane. As Olivia watched, he shoved open his door and came out, armed.
    “Shane, look out!”
    But the pilot didn’t aim his weapon at Shane. The tall, dark haired man’s gaze flew toward her. Alarm flashed across his face. “
Hurry, run!”
    She
was
hurrying. It wasn’t like she had vamp speed.
    At the pilot’s cry, Shane whipped back around toward her. She saw an expression of horror flash across his face.
    Oh, no. If Shane was horrified, then whoever—whatever was behind her had to be very bad. Olivia ran as fast as she could. Shane was now leaping toward her and she wanted to get to that vampire because—
    He can keep me safe.
    Olivia risked a desperate glance over her shoulder.  A werewolf was just feet away. A fully shifted, terrifying beast of a werewolf who was moving far too fast for her.  The beast was easily twice the size of a normal wolf, and his thick fur was a stark white.  Saliva dripped from his razor sharp teeth.
    “
Get down!”
That bellow wasn’t Shane’s. Was it the pilot’s? Didn’t matter. Shane had just grabbed her wrist and pulled her against him even as more gunfire