Free Undying Hunger by Jessica Lee

closed, his brows drawn, lips in a taut line. Elle crossed the room to her mate’s side.
    “Okay,” Kenric finally spoke up, drawing everyone’s attention. “Now that we’ve appeased our beasts, maybe we can at least try to tolerate one another’s presence. Because like it or not”—Kenric scanned the room, connecting his gaze for a moment with each person—“this is the Enclave. The men and women in this room are all we’ve got, and dammit, we have one another’s back.”

Chapter Six
    “What do you mean Seth Keller is dead?” Enrique hissed, and pitched the glass tumbler in his hand at the wall of his apartment. It shattered against the brick, spraying jagged shards onto the wood floor.
    With a firm grip on the cell phone at his ear, Enrique jerked the straight-backed chair out from his desk with his free hand and plopped onto the seat. “This can’t be true,” he continued. “How do you know this?”
    “From what I hear¸” his contact on the other end of the receiver said, “Seth, his lover, plus several of his colony were slaughtered several months ago…maybe even a year now.”
    What the fuck? Seth had been obsessed with tracking the alleged born-vampire, one who was rumored to walk in daylight. Seth was his best prospect for the kind of wealth and connections he needed in order to get his hands on this female. Many thought the German master had been crazy—that he was on some kind of bigfoot hunt, searching for something that didn’t exist.
    Luckily for Enrique, having been in Marguerite’s service for many years before her untimely demise, he’d once or twice, when she hadn’t thought he’d been within earshot, overheard her boasting about a very special child she herself had carried. But because Enrique had valued his continued existence, he’d never asked Marguerite any questions on the subject. Besides, she’d been a master of deception, and the idea of a vampire female conceiving was implausible.
    Thusly, he’d never dug around for any further details. The risk would have been too high if any word traveled back that he’d been snooping into his Mistress’s business. If Markus had learned of any indiscretion on Enrique’s part, he wouldn’t have blinked at the opportunity to toss Enrique’s ass at Marguerite’s feet for sacrifice.
    Not that Enrique wouldn’t have done the same.
    With Markus, though, he would have taken a different route. He’d have used the info, as he had with the male’s feelings for Alexandria, to further blackmail the gorgeous vampire for yet another fuck. He sighed. Like all good things, he and Markus had eventually come to an end.
    “A master traveling with another vampire from the States,” his contact replied, snagging his attention and yanking him back to the present.
    “Repeat that,” Enrique demanded. “Who did you say killed Seth?”
    “I said I had heard that a new master, along with another vampire, had entered the area unannounced. Word is…” The informant paused for effect. “He, his partner, along with a couple of others, raided Seth’s home, eliminating him, in order to rescue someone the crazy bastard had been holding.”
    “Is that so…” Enrique stood, his mind racing. Kenric St. James and one of his Enclave . It had to be.
    “That’s the rumor. Whether it’s true or not, I have no way to verify. But I haven’t seen Seth in a very long time. Neither has anyone else I know.”
    “Thank you for the information, Stefan. You’ve been very helpful.” Enrique tapped end call on his cell and dropped it to the table.
    “My bet is”—Enrique stroked his chin, eyeing his lover who rested on his side, watching him from the bed—“Markus ran his mouth to Kenric about the possibility of a long-lost daughter, and they jumped on a plane to Europe.” Enrique unbuckled his belt, pulled it free, then shed his pants before climbing onto the bed with the redheaded man. He stroked the Calyx’s cheek and grinned. “I wonder if Seth