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  Mercury Rising 11

  Meet Me at Sunrise

  Colton has been fighting for nearly a year not to become Master of the vampire coven. When a capture warrant brings him to Black Dragon, he has no choice but to face the Veneto triplets. Colton is split between his allegiance to his pack and his responsibilities to the coven he left leaderless after killing Magnus. When Matt basically disowns Colton, he has no choice but to turn to the coven he’s loathed for so long. But the brothers aren’t fighting fair, and when they claim Colton as their mate, his loyalties are torn.

  Lucian, Corbin, and Antonio have been trying to lure Colton to the coven, but their efforts have been fruitless until Colton shows up with a capture warrant. They finally have their wolf where he belongs, but can they keep Colton at their side, or will he rejoin his pack to hunt down the creatures from the veil that have been set loose in Mercury?

  Genres: Alternative (M/M, Gay), Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Romantic Suspense, Shape-shifter, Vampires/Werewolves

  Length: 30,805

  MEET ME AT SUNRISE

  Mercury Rising 11

  Lynn Hagen

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  Meet Me at Sunrise

  Copyright © 2019 by Lynn Hagen

  ISBN: 978-1-64243-571-9

  First Publication: January 2019

  Cover design by Emma Nicole

  All art and logo copyright © 2019 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book or print book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at [email protected]

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Lynn Hagen loves writing about the somewhat flawed, but lovable. She also loves a hero who can see past all the rough edges to find the shining diamond of a beautiful heart.

  You can find her on any given day curled up with her laptop and a cup of hot java, letting the next set of characters tell their story.

  For all titles by Lynn Hagen, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/lynn-hagen

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  MEET ME AT SUNRISE

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  MEET ME AT SUNRISE

  Mercury Rising 11

  LYNN HAGEN

  Copyright © 2019

  Chapter One

  Colton smiled at a joke the bartender had just told him, though the expression didn’t match his mood. For close to a year now all he could do was fake his emotions so everyone would think he was fine. Though he knew he wasn’t fooling most, not when he used to be carefree and laughing all the time.

  He had to fake it until he could get out of his own headspace, which he didn’t think would happen anytime soon.

  Not since you were held captive by those filthy vampires.

  He shook his head and then drained his glass of beer as the people in the tavern chatted and the television above the bar displayed some music video—which held no sound. Life went on all around him, as though Colton’s problems didn’t exist.

  “Now that’s what I’m talking about.” Darius whooped and slapped his beefy hand against the bar. “Good times, my brother, good times.”

  The bear shifter was just trying to cheer Colton up—something everyone seemed to be trying to do lately. What Colton wouldn’t give to go a few months back and stop the life-altering events from unfolding.

  His kid brother had been killed by vampires. Colton had slain the Master in retaliation. In turn, Colton had unintentionally become the new Master of the coven.

  A job he refused to take.

  No fucking way was Colton leading a coven of the dead. Lucian—the temporary coven leader—was bent if he thought Colton was doing anything for him.

  Darius set a shot glass on the scarred wood and filled it with bourbon. He slid the glass to Colton. “I’m gonna get your head on right.”

  Colton snorted. “Like yours is screwed on tightly.”

  Darius winked. “This isn’t about me.”

  And Colton was tired of it being about him. He just wished everyone would leave him alone. He wasn’t broken, and he wasn’t a mental case. He didn’t need to be asked at least twice a day if he was cool or if there was anything he needed.

  Colton just…shit, he wasn’t sure what he needed, but being smothered wasn’t it.

  “Darius!”

  The bartender groaned and looked toward the kitchen, where a big, burly man who resembled a biker stood, glaring Darius’s way. “Yeah, Pa?”

  Devin LaSalle was the father of—Colton couldn’t remember how many sons the guy had. He just recalled that there were a ton of them. Even so, Devin kept them all in line, or tried to. The guy had his hands full when it came to his sons, but it was the mother they feared the most. One evil glare from Teresa and her sons scattered.

  “Dawson didn’t show up, and the delivery guy is here,” Devin said. “I need you to take care of this.”

  “I’m gonna kill Dawson,” Darius grumbled. “I swear my brother is the laziest son of a bitch on earth.” He grabbed the bottle of bourbon and set it in front of Colton. “Drink until you drop. It’s on me.”

  Colton didn’t plan on getting wasted, but he did pour himself another shot. He also leaned over the counter and grabbed a fresh beer from the cooler underneath.

  Maybe he would get wasted. The alcohol always numbed his thoughts, made him forget…Colton snarled as he tried to wipe the current thoughts from his head, but lurking close to the surface was Lucian.

  Since Colton had met the dark vampire, his thoughts were always about Lucian…or Corbin…or Antonio. They were triplets, nearly impossible to tell them apart, but Colton had gotten to know them, and their personalities set them apart from one another.

  Lucian was the most commanding of the three. He bled authority from every pore of his body, was quick to dole out punishments, and was always deep in thought.

  Corbin was the practical one. He thought things through before making a decision. He was a laid-back guy who liked his fun.

  Antonio oozed sensuality. Colton couldn’t remember how many times he’d told the guy to keep his hands to himself. Antonio loved touching, brushing his hands on some part of Colton’s body, dropping innuendos with a gorgeous smile.

  Colton rubbed his temples. Getting drunk might not be the wisest thing for him. The more he drank, the more he missed those triplet bastards.

  Turning on his stool, Colton got up and headed for the door as the night breeze skittered through the screen door. As soon as he stepped outside, Bo, the resident alligator who lay on the side of the tavern, hissed and backed away into the shadows.

  “
Everyone’s a critic,” Colton groused. He’d shoved his hand into the front pocket of his jeans to fish his keys out when he heard the leaves rustling behind him.

  Colton looked over his shoulder, but aside from Bo—who had moved even farther back—he didn’t see anyone. Another stray breeze skirted past him as Colton walked to his car. The Charger sat close to the tavern under a security light, which attracted a ton of bugs. The weather had grown a lot warmer, drawing the insects from wherever they went when the weather was chilly.

  He fumbled with his keys to hit the fob and then dropped them in the dirt parking lot. With a sigh, Colton bent to retrieve them, only to feel someone move in behind him. No shadow appeared in the dirt from the security light.

  In one fluid motion, Colton stepped forward, spun, and straightened to his full height to face whoever was there. “Goddamn it, Darius. Are you trying to get your throat torn out?”

  Darius chuckled as he folded his beefy arms over his massive chest. “Like to see ya try, wolfie. I’m a mass weapon of destruction that ain’t easy to take down.”

  “Unless it’s your mom who’s taking you down.”

  Darius’s grin faded into a scowl. “I just came out here to tell you Matt’s looking for you. He said to turn your fucking cell on.”

  As Colton dug his phone from his back pocket, Darius stomped away. He guessed the bear shifter didn’t like having his badass persona wrecked by the mention of one of two people he feared on earth. His father being the second.

  Sure enough Colton’s cell phone was dead. He used to keep up with important crap like charging his phone because he was always on call, but Colton’s priorities had shifted nearly a year ago. Now all he concentrated on was not thinking about the triplets or going back to the vampire club.

  Gah, he missed the simpler times in life when his only problem was keeping his baby brother on the straight and narrow. But Anthony was gone, and Colton hadn’t visited his mother since the night he’d killed Magnus. As far as he knew, she thought him dead.

  Colton thought about going inside the tavern to use the phone but decided not to. He just might take up his stool again and finish the bottle Darius had given him. Instead, he drove to the agency.

  Colton scowled when he entered the reception area to find a few bounty hunters milling around. He wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone and hoped his brethren ignored him but knew there was a fat chance of that happening. Everyone—except for Pierce—was mated.

  For some reason Colton hadn’t figured out, his fellow bounty hunters thought mated meant meddling. It was as though they’d all grown softer since finding their mates, and everyone wanted to stick their noses into his business to try and “save” him from himself.

  When Tap looked his way, Colton snarled.

  Tap was seated in one of the reception chairs up front and narrowed his eyes at Colton before going back to whatever he’d been doing on his laptop.

  Stephen was seated behind his desk, typing away as he actively ignored Colton, as though he hadn’t just walked in.

  Heading down the hall, he rapped his knuckles on Matt’s open office door. “You wanted to see me?”

  “I got a warrant I thought you should know about.” Matt nodded at the door. “Close it and take a seat.”

  “Are you sure all the bugs are worked out of the program?”

  Matt scowled. “There was nothing wrong with it. That panther was guilty, although she had everyone fooled.”

  “So what’s the problem?” Colton dropped into the seat in front of Matt’s desk and slouched, entwining his fingers before resting them on his stomach.

  “The warrant is for a vampire.” Matt placed a piece of paper at the edge of his desk. “Since it involves your coven, I thought—”

  “It’s not my fucking coven,” Colton snarled. He pressed his lips together so he wouldn’t give Matt a piece of his mind. After all, the guy was his alpha, and as badass as Colton considered himself to be, he wasn’t suicidal.

  Matt narrowed his eyes as the tips of his canines showed just below his upper lip. “Regardless of whether or not you choose to lead them, we both know the truth, Colton. So save your protests for someone else.”

  Colton leaned forward and snatched the paper from the desk before looking it over. He recognized the name. Pierre Bontemp. While being held hostage at the nightclub, Colton had a run-in with the vampire a few times. Pierre was a douche bag who thought he ran the world and had never hidden the fact that he hated Colton. But Pierre hadn’t been the only vampire to sneer at him. There seemed to be quite a few who didn’t care for a wolf shifter as their Master.

  “I felt you should handle this one,” Matt said.

  Colton set the paper back on the desk. “Send someone else.”

  He might’ve gotten close to the club, feeling its draw, but he hadn’t stepped foot back inside Black Dragon since he’d been rescued. He didn’t need the temptation. Colton might fight against ruling over the vampires, but he had to admit, if only to himself, the allure to be their Master was overwhelming.

  Not that he wanted to, but something must’ve happened to him the night he’d killed Magnus because, ever since then, Colton had been fighting against the urge.

  “Everyone else is working on something,” Matt said. “Let me put this differently. I’m not asking you to execute this warrant. I’m ordering you to do it.”

  Colton worked his jaw back and forth, his anger boiling over as he snatched the paper and stormed from the room. If Matt hadn’t been his alpha, he would’ve told the guy to shove the warrant up his ass.

  The reception area was empty as Colton left the agency. With the mood he was in, he was glad no one was around. In truth, he didn’t want to take his hostility out on anyone who didn’t deserve it. His brethren had been there for him when his brother had died, had gathered together to fight the vampires, and, as much as it irritated him, were there for him now.

  God, I’m so fucked in the head.

  Colton climbed into his Charger and headed across town. A small part of him was thrilled at the idea of seeing the triplets, but a larger part of him snarled at having to deal with them. All three had been relentless over the past year in trying to persuade Colton to come home.

  The coven wasn’t his home. It never would be. Colton belonged with his wolf pack, though he felt as if he didn’t belong there, either. No place felt like home, and that, most of all, always crushed him. He felt as though he was all alone, navigating through life and trying to figure shit out with no one at his side.

  He knew Matt would be there for him if he let his alpha in, but Colton wasn’t one to go running to anyone with his problems. It was a catch twenty-two. He didn’t want to let anyone in, yet he needed to let someone in.

  Which made him think of the triplets.

  Colton sighed. Why did life have to be so fucking complicated?

  He parked in the lot next to the club. It was late afternoon, so the club was closed until the fading sun fully sank behind the horizon. He sat there and stared at the brick building with its blacked-out windows.

  Knowing he couldn’t sit in his car forever, Colton got out and used the passcode Lucian had given him to get in through the back door. The club was shadowy, with only a few lights on behind the bar. Colton didn’t need the lights. He saw fine in the dark.

  He walked over to the door that led downstairs where the coven slept, but before he could figure out how to get the door open—since he hadn’t accepted the Master role, he hadn’t been given the code to this door—Lucian appeared at his side.

  Lucian pressed the palm of his right hand against the door as his gaze slid over Colton. “You refuse to take your place as Master, yet you will come here to execute a warrant.”

  An unstoppable shudder raced through Colton at Lucian’s deep, silky voice. “I still have a job to do.”

  Lucian’s dark irises faded to red. Colton had seen the triplet’s eyes do that when they were angry or turned on. “You do not get to execu
te anything in my home if you are not Master. If you weren’t my mate, I would tear out your throat for having the audacity to assume such privileges.”

  Colton bared his canines. “I’d like to see you try.”

  Before he could sense what Lucian was doing, the vampire had him pinned against the door, his hand curled around Colton’s throat, his other hand pressed against the wall. He sniffed along Colton’s jaw in such a way that Colton wasn’t sure if he was pissed or playing with him.

  Lucian leaned back and stared into Colton’s eyes. “You play a dangerous game, my love.”

  For a moment Colton forgot to fight against his attraction as he was swept away by Lucian’s scent, his beguiling eyes, and how firmly they were pressed against one another. He hadn’t been with anyone since the triplets claimed to be his mates, and the closeness had him hard.

  “When will you stop this foolish game and take your rightful place?” Lucian grazed his jaw over Colton’s. Colton knew the inner workings of the vampire world. If he hadn’t been Lucian’s mate, the vampire would’ve have killed him by now and seized the coven as his own.

  Power was everything to their kind.

  “The longer you wait, the less likely they will follow you.”

  “I don’t want them to follow me,” Colton snarled.

  Lucian didn’t look convinced. “You could have allowed someone else to execute that warrant, but you chose to come here. Tell the truth, love. You wanted to be near me.”

  His hand slid down Colton’s side and then moved to the front of his body and gripped Colton’s trapped cock. Colton hissed. “Get your goddamn hand off me.”

  The air sizzled with tension. Colton’s heart beat wildly. He swallowed as his gaze landed on Lucian’s perfect lips. He wanted Lucian to kiss him, but Colton would be damned if he uttered a single word, if he would give any indication of just how badly the vampire affected him. Lucian might feel his swollen cock, but he had no idea the erotic dreams Colton had had of him and his brothers, the constant yearning he held inside.