[Dark Hunter-Were Hunter 2] - Night Play Read online

  * * *

  NIGHT PLAY

  Dark-Hunter - Were-Hunter Novel

  By

  Sherrilyn Kenyon

  * * *

  Contents

  Gennisi

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Epilogue

  * * *

  Bride McTierney has had it with men. They're cheating, self-centered, and never love her for who she is. But though she prides herself on being independent, deep down she still yearns for a knight in shining armor.

  She just never expected her knight in shining armor to have a shiny coat of fur…

  Deadly and tortured, Vane Kattalakis isn't what he seems. Most women lament that their boyfriends are dogs. In Bride's case, hers is a wolf. A Were-Hunter wolf. Wanted dead by his enemies, Vane isn't looking for a mate. But the Fates have marked Bride as his. Now he has three weeks to either convince Bride that the supernatural is real or he will spend the rest of his life neutered—something no self-respecting wolf can accept…

  But how does a wolf convince a human to trust him with her life when his enemies are out to end his? In the world of the Were-Hunters, it really is dog-eat-dog. And only one alpha male can win.

  "Move over, Anne Rice. Kenyon's Dark-Hunter books are changing the face of the vampire novel, making it hip, darker, and all the more appealing."

  —Publishers Weekly on Dance with the Devil

  Visit Sherrilyn Kenyon's Web site at:

  www.sherrilynkenyon.com and www.Dark-Hunter.com

  * * *

  ALSO BY SHERRILYN KENYON

  KISS OF THE NIGHT

  DANCE WITH THE DEVIL

  NIGHT PLEASURES

  NIGHT EMBRACE

  FANTASY LOVER

  From St. Martin's Paperbacks

  And turn to the back of this book for an excerpt from her upcoming novel

  SEIZE THE NIGHT

  Coming soon from

  St. Martin's Paperbacks

  * * *

  OUTSTANDING PRAISE FOR

  SHERRILYN KENYON AND HER NOVELS

  DANCE WITH THE DEVIL

  "Dance with the Devil cinches Sherrilyn Kenyon's place as a master of the genre! Zarek is a hero to die for, and his story will pull you in and keep you flipping pages into the wee hours; I couldn't put it down."

  —Julie Kenner, author of Aphrodite's Secret

  "A sensual, fast-paced read with a hero who is definitely worth the risk."

  —Booklist

  "Powerful and unforgettable, Dance with the Devil is my pick for Best Paranormal of the Year, and it is my pleasure to give it a perfect 10."

  —Romance Reviews Today

  "Truly exceptional!"

  —Old Book Barn Gazette

  "Using figures from mythology, Sherrilyn Kenyon provides a deep novel that a romantic fantasy lover will cherish. A powerful story that makes believers of skeptics that ancient gods and goddesses, Dark-Hunters, Dayslayers, and other mythological characters walk among us… another fine myth from a superb storyteller climbing to the top."

  —Baryon Magazine

  "Kenyon pulls out all the stops in this fast-paced action-filled adventure… the passion is fiery-hot and the unique characterizations of shape-shifters will leave readers hanging on the edge of their seats… this entire series of outstanding books is a keeper."

  —Rendezvous Review

  "Sherrilyn Kenyon's world of Dark-Hunters, Katagaria Slayers, Olympian gods, Oneroi, Apollites, demons and Daimons is a fascinating one. Her Dark-Hunter series sweeps readers away into a dangerous and sensual world… Dance with the Devil is a tempting delight for both old and new Kenyon readers."

  —www.bookloons.com

  NIGHT EMBRACE

  "With her steamy, action-packed Dark-Hunter novels, Kenyon is ushering in a whole new class of night dwellers… an abundance of hot sex and snappy dialogue keep the plot both accessible and appealing. With its courageous, unconventional characters and wry humor, this fast-moving fantasy will fill the void left by the end of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series."

  —Publishers Weekly

  "The second novel in Sherrilyn Kenyon's hot series is just as exciting, sexy, and thrilling as the first. Kenyon has hit on a fabulous premise that promises to be fodder for many more outstanding page-turners."

  —Romantic Times

  "Her heroes are not only the ultimate alpha men, but are also the embodiment of every female fantasy… well rounded, with romance as its cornerstone and plenty of action, suspense, humor, and sorrow."

  —The Road to Romance

  "A marathon of discoveries and pleasures—a wonderful addition to the Dark-Hunter series. Ms. Kenyon delivers another exciting, heart-pumping, virile male to titillate us… it's full of surprises, but this author's great storytelling talent is no surprise at all."

  —Old Book Barn Gazette

  NIGHT PLEASURES

  "A perfect ten!"

  —Rendezvous

  "If you love Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel, then boy, is this the book for you… original and complex… the characters are unforgettable and the action thrilling."

  —Romantic Times Top Pick

  "A wild, wicked delight, Night Pleasures made me laugh and cry and sigh with longing for the luscious Kyrian. No one does sexy, tormented heroes better—or more inventively—than Sherrilyn Kenyon."

  —Nicole Jordan, bestselling author of Ecstasy

  FANTASY LOVER

  "By turns funny and touching, Fantasy Lover is a compelling story that will make you laugh out loud. The gods haven't been this much fun since Xena!"

  —Susan Krinard, author of Secret of the Wolf

  * * *

  St. Martin's Paperbacks Titles

  by Sherrilyn Kenyon

  Fantasy Lover

  Night Pleasures

  Night Embrace

  Dance with the Devil

  Kiss of the Night

  * * *

  NIGHT PLAY

  Sherrilyn Kenyon

  St. Martin's Paperbacks

  * * *

  NIGHT PLAY

  Copyright © 2004 by Sherrilyn Kenyon.

  Excerpt from Seize the Night copyright © 2004 by Sherrilyn Kenyon.

  ISBN: 0-312-99242-4

  EAN: 80312-99242-2

  Printed in the United States of America

  St. Martin's Paperbacks edition / August 2004

  St. Martin's Paperbacks are published by

  St. Martin's Press,

  175 Fifth Avenue,

  New York,

  NY 10010.

  * * *

  For my husband and sons who are my world. For all my friends who are there through thick and thin: Lo, Janet, Brynna, Tasha, "Nick," Dara, Ret, Cathy, Donna, Chris, Rebecca, and Kim.

  To the DH fans all over the globe who make the world of the website and loops thrive and who give me endless hours of smiles—I wish I had space to list all of you by name, but from the bottom of my heart, thank you. For my RBL sisters who are always there and for my readers who make it all worthwhile. I can never, never thank you enough.

  To Kim and Nancy for all the hard work you do and for still allowing me to take the DH to the outer limits of my imagination and beyond. And I haven't forgotten either of you, Alethea and Nicole!

  Words can never truly express just how much I adore all of you and ho
w much you mean to me.

  May God bless and keep you all. Hugs!

  * * *

  Gennisi

  ^ »

  Come with me, modern traveler, back to a time that has been shrouded by mystery. Back to an ancient legend that has been mostly forgotten. Or at the very least…

  Distorted.

  We see remnants of it in our advanced world. What present-day mortal doesn't know to fear strange noises in the light of the full moon? To fear the howl of the wolf? The cry of a hawk? To look with caution into the darkest alleys. Not in fear of human predators, but in fear of something else.

  Something dark. Dangerous. Something even deadlier than our human counterparts.

  But mankind didn't always hold this fear. Indeed, there was a time once, long ago, when humans were humans and animals were animals.

  Until the day of the Allagi. They say the birth of the Were-Hunters, like most great evils, started out with only the best of intentions.

  King Lycaon of Arcadia had no idea that when he wed, his precious, beloved queen wasn't human. His wife held within her a dark secret. She was born to the cursed Apollite race and was destined to die in the heart of her youth… at age twenty-seven.

  It wasn't until her last birthday when Lycaon watched his beloved die horribly of old age that he realized the two sons she had borne him would follow her to an early grave.

  Grief-stricken, he had sought out his priests who all told him there was nothing he could do. Fate was fate.

  But Lycaon refused to heed their wisdom. He was a sorcerer and he was determined that no one would steal his sons away from him. Not even the Fates themselves.

  And so he set about experimenting with his magic to prolong the lives of his wife's people. Capturing them, he magically spliced their essence with various animals who were known for their strength: bears, panthers, leopards, hawks, lions, tigers, jackals, wolves, and even dragons.

  He spent years perfecting his new race, until at last he was sure he'd found the cure for his sons. Blending them with a dragon and a wolf, the strongest of the animals he had experimented with, he imbued them with more strength and magic than any of the others. In truth, he gave of his own power to his sons.

  In the end, he received more than he had bargained for. Not only did his sons have longer lives than his wife, they had longer lives than any known species.

  With their magical abilities and animal strength, they now lived ten to twelve times longer than any human.

  The Fates looked down and saw what the proud king had done. Angry at his interference in their domain, the Fates decreed that he must kill his sons and all like them.

  Lycaon refused.

  It was then the Fates sought out their own form of punishment for his hubris. His children and all like them were cursed anew.

  "There will never be peace among your children," Clotho, the Fate who spins the threads of life, proclaimed. "They will spend eternity hating and fighting until the day when the last of them breathes no more."

  And so it was. Whenever Lycaon blended an animal with a human, he, in fact, made two beings. One being who held an animal's heart and one who held a human heart.

  Those who walked as men and who held human hearts were termed Arcadians after Lycaon's people. Those who held animal hearts were termed Katagaria.

  The Katagaria were born as animals and lived as animals, yet once they reached puberty, when the magical powers were unlocked by their hormones, they would be able to become human—at least externally. Their animal hearts would always govern their actions.

  Likewise, the Arcadians were born as humans and lived as humans until their puberty brought with it their magic and their ability to shift into animal form.

  Two sides of a single coin, the two species should have been at peace. Instead, the goddesses sent Discordia to plant mistrust between them. The Arcadians felt themselves superior to their animal cousins. After all, they were humans with human rationality while the Katagaria were only animals who could take human form.

  The Katagaria learned quickly that the Arcadians weren't honest about their intentions and would say one thing, then do another.

  All throughout time, the two groups have preyed upon each other while each side took the moral high ground. The animals believe the Arcadians are the real threat while the Arcadians believe the Katagaria must be controlled or put down.

  It is an endless war.

  And as with all wars, there has never been a true victor. There have only been casualties who still suffer from the prejudice and unfounded hatred.

  * * *

  Prologue

  « ^ »

  New Orleans, Mardi Gras night, 2003

  "I'm so sorry, Vane. I swear didn't mean to get us killed like this."

  Vane Kattalakis ground his teeth as he fell back from trying to pull himself up. His arms ached from the strain of lifting two hundred pounds of lean muscle up by nothing more than the bones of his wrists. Every time he got close to raising his body up to the limb over his head, his brother started talking, which broke his concentration and caused him to fall back into his hanging position.

  He took a deep breath, trying to ignore the severe pain of his wrists. "Don't worry, Fang. I'll get us out of this."

  Somehow.

  He hoped.

  Fang didn't hear him. Instead he continued to apologize for causing their deaths.

  Vane strained again against the sharpened cord that held his hands tied together above his head, secured to a thin limb, as he hung precariously from an ancient cypress tree over some of the darkest, nastiest-looking swamp water he'd ever seen. He didn't know what was worse, the thought of losing his hands, his life, or falling into that disgusting gator-infested slime hole.

  Honestly, though, he'd rather be dead than touch that stank. Even in the darkness of the Louisiana bayou, he could tell just how putrid and revolting it was.

  There was something seriously wrong with anyone who wanted to live out here in this swamp. At last he had confirmation that Talon of the Morrigantes was a first-rank idiot.

  His brother, Fang, was tied to an equally thin limb on the opposite side of the tree where they dangled eerily amid swamp gas, snakes, insects, and gators.

  With every movement Vane made, the cord cut into the flesh of his wrists. If he didn't get them freed soon, that cord would cut all the way through his tendons and bones, and sever his hands completely.

  This was the timoria, the punishment, that they were both receiving for the fact that Vane had protected Talon's woman. Because Vane had dared to help the Dark-Hunters, the soulless Daimons who were at war with the Dark-Hunters had attacked Vane's Katagaria wolf pack and slaughtered his beloved sister.

  Katagaria were animals who could take human form and they followed one basic law of nature: kill or be killed. If anyone or anything threatened the pack's safety, it was put down.

  So Vane, who had caused the Daimon attack, had been sentenced to being beaten and left for dead in the swamp. Fang was with him only because their father had hated both of them since the hour they had been birthed and had feared them since the day their preternatural powers had been unlocked by their pubescent hormones.

  More than that, their father hated them for what their mother had done to him.

  This had been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for their father to be rid of them both without the pack turning on him for the death sentence.

  Their father had seized it gleefully.

  It would be the last mistake his father ever made.

  At least it would be if Vane could get their asses out of this damned swamp without being eaten.

  Both of them were in human form and trapped by the thin, silver metriazo collars they wore around their necks that sent tiny ionic impulses into their bodies. The collars kept them in human form. Something their enemies thought would make them weaker.

  In Fang's case that was true.

  In Vane's it wasn't.

  Even so, the collar d
id dampen his ability to wield magic and manipulate the laws of nature. And that was seriously pissing him off.

  Like Fang, Vane was dressed only in a pair of bloodied jeans. His shirt had been ripped off for his beating and his boots taken just for spite. Of course, no one expected them to live. The collars couldn't be removed except by magic—which neither of them could use so long as they wore them—and even if by some miracle they did get down from the tree, there was already a large group of gators who could smell their blood. Gators who were just waiting for them to fall into the swamp and provide the gators with one tasty wolf meal.

  "Man," Fang said irritably. "Fury was right. You should never trust anything that bleeds for five days and doesn't die. I should have listened to you. You told me Petra was a three-wolf humping bitch, but did I listen? No. And now look at us. I swear, if I get out of this, I'm going to kill her."

  "Fang!" Vane snapped as his brother continued to rail while Vane tried to manage a few powers even through the painful electrical shocks of the collar. "Could you lay off the Blame Fest and let me concentrate here, otherwise we're going to be hanging from this damned tree for the rest of eternity."

  "Well, not for eternity. I figure we only have about half an hour more before the cords cut through our wrists. Speaking of, my wrists really hurt. How about yours?" Fang paused while Vane took a deep breath and felt a tiny movement of the cord coming loose.