Taken as Theirs

by Kryssie Fortune

  She remembered one of them telling her feral human gangs stalked London’s streets. They’d said nothing about rogue vampires or werewolves, though. She considered detouring east through Windsor, but there was no guarantee that route was any safer.

  Deciding to spend the night in Sidcup, she found an abandoned house and raided its tinned food supply. She hated the cold beans and corned beef that seemed to have been a household staple. Trying not to think how she’d thrown up last night’s dinner, she ate them anyway.

  Her heart shattered all over again when she thought about how Dane and Eli had deceived and betrayed her. Sleep took forever to claim her, and she woke before dawn. Back on her bike, she headed for central London. Seeing the weeds reclaiming the once busy road saddened her, but she needed to look forward. The northern tip of Scotland was hundreds of miles away, but she’d get there somehow.

  She prayed the rumors of a human colony on the Orkney Isles were true. Her family had given supplies to the few humans who found their smallholding. If they made it to the Orkneys, they’d have friends there.

  Heading toward Tower Bridge, she pedaled harder. The quicker she got through the city streets, the safer she’d feel. She breathed a sigh of relief when she crossed the Thames. Once she cleared London, she’d find somewhere to hole up for the rest of the day.

  Cycling as though in a bike race, she headed north. The streets closed in on her, and in the distance, she heard dogs barking. The sound sent an adrenaline-fueled rush of power to her muscles and she pedaled like a lunatic. The dogs explained the lack of human bones. Facing them wasn’t on her agenda.

  Her werewolf attacker came from nowhere, careening toward her and charging her to the ground. She toppled with an “Oof.” Scrabbling free, she turned to run, but strong arms fastened around her waist.

  “You should have agreed to have my babies,” Michael snarled.

  Relief almost made up for her cut knees and bruised shoulder. Her adrenaline-charged need to flee faded, and she relaxed as he held her. “Michael, thank goodness it’s you, but you scared me senseless.”

  Rather than release her, he snarled again. “I’ll do more than scare you if you don’t do exactly as I tell you. The vampires should have taken you in Norfolk, but you were too damn wily. I even had Sable try to kidnap you, but she tells me she got carried away.”

  It took a moment for his words to register. When they did, she punched and kicked rather than let him carry her to wherever he’d made his lair. His claws ripped through one strap of her dungarees, and she lost one shoe as she fought him.

  Throwing her over his shoulder, he marched into a derelict building. Breaking into a cold sweat, Cassie hammered on Michael’s spine. She could have been a butterfly attacking an elephant for all the effect her fists had. Finally, he dumped her on the floor. The fall knocked the breath out of her.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Cassie darted quick glances around the room, seeking possible escape routes. The windows might provide a way out, but she’d need to evade Sable and Michael once she fled. Even their human forms dwarfed her.

  Sable curled her lip at Cassie. “I didn’t expect the stupid bitch to come running to us, but you’ve done well, Mike. She’s worth a small fortune; in fact, that’s what Marco paid for her at that auction. I wouldn’t want to be in her shoes after he vowed to flay the flesh from her bones before he screwed her.”

  Cold chills ran down Cassie’s spine. That vampire might hurt her so badly she’d never recover. Panicked, her pulse pounded and she took shallow, gasping breaths. Her stomach churned so much she thought she’d throw up.

  Her eyes widened when she spotted the puncture marks on Sable’s neck. No one fed a vampire by choice, let alone a brute like Marco. “You don’t have to let him drink from you. We could run together, and I’ll tell anyone who asks that you saved me.”

  Sable’s stare radiated hatred. Hauling Cassie to her feet, she shoved her into the kitchen’s small pantry. “As if I’d ever join forces with a puny human. This is the right place for your kind since it’s somewhere to store food.”

  Darkness surrounded Cassie as the door slammed shut. She heard one of them drag something across the kitchen floor—the table perhaps. It banged against the pantry door, trapping her inside.

  Hard as she threw herself against the door, it didn’t move. Escape seemed impossible. Even if she got the damn door open, Michael and Sable were still on the other side. All she could do was wait for Marco to collect her. She dreaded to think what that sadist would do if he got his filthy vampire hands on her again.

  * * *

  Dane and Eli turned primal and raced back to New Dover and Cassie. Their pack members usually waved or ran over for a chat. For once, they turned away without speaking. Dane blanched when a fifth pack mate avoided them. Resisting the urge to shake some answers out of him, he let a growl rumble through his chest. “Cassie better be okay.”

  “Something’s definitely wrong,” Eli agreed. “Let’s find our sweet little slut and see what’s going on.”

  They charged through the castle courtyard and turned human. Bounding up the stairs to Cassie’s apartment, they play-fought to be the first to reach her. Once they burst through the door, they found the cupboards bare and the bed stripped to the mattress. It was as if Cassie had never been there.

  Eli swallowed hard. “Let’s check the brew house. Maybe she’s moved into our place, but if she has, Gideon had better have moved out. We’ll have words if he hasn’t.”

  “Get in line,” Dane growled.

  Puzzled, they made their way back to the castle courtyard. Going from the dark stairs to the bright sun dazzled them. When their vision cleared, their father waited for them. Nyssa stood beside him, a hesitant smile on her face.

  Alpha Simon looked smug. “I got rid of that clingy human for you. Eli, aren’t you going to greet your soulmate with a kiss? Nyssa arrived a couple of days ago, and I’ve arranged your mating for the next full moon.”

  Dane ground his teeth. “What do you mean, you got rid of her? Where’s Cassie?”

  Nyssa moved toward them, her smile slipping. “Your father traded her for me since you’d insisted I was your soulmate. Eli, I left my home and my family for you. What’s going on?”

  Eli looked ready to throw up. “Traded her? What the hell have you done? And don’t pull any alpha mumbo-jumbo. Where’s Cassie?”

  Alpha Simon pursed his lips. “She’d have only whined when your mate showed up, so I traded her to Nyssa’s pack. I’d have had her stripped naked and beaten in the marketplace for causing the explosion at your brew house. The damn Black Cardinal wolves insisted I had no jurisdiction over her and forbade it. Either way, I was glad to see the back of her.”

  Growling, Dane took a step toward his father. “What the hell were you thinking?

  The alpha took a step back. “That human meddled with your brew house. Remember the valve she supposedly fixed? It blew up, almost killed Elena, and wrecked your brew house. She’s lucky I didn’t take her throat for her stupidity.”

  Hackles up, Dane growled again. “Not possible.”

  Nyssa looked close to tears. “Eli, I abandoned my pack for you. Aren’t you pleased to see me?”

  “Not especially,” he growled, past caring about anything but Cassie. “I stole one mediocre kiss and you screamed blue murder. It seemed easier to say you were my mate than argue with your pack. Cassie must hate me for this.”

  Scowling, Alpha Simon shook his head. “Your human hurt Elena. She’s not welcome in my pack.”

  Dane snarled as he extended his claws. “Not possible. I stripped that valve and checked Cassie’s work. It was spot on, but then,” his eyes narrowed, “I put a new valve on that beer kettle. The one she repaired is in the spares cupboard. And if Cassie’s not welcome here, I’m leaving.”

  Eli moved beside his brother. “That goes for me too. After the way you’ve treated Cassie, I won’t blame her if she never wants to come back here.”


  Dane glared at their father. “My home’s wherever Cassie wants to live. How big a start does she have?”

  Nyssa’s eyes sparkled, and she grinned like a loon. “Thank God. I didn’t want to come in the first place, but the Black Cardinals don’t have a breeder. Cassie left onboard our crabber the day after you left. Since you don’t want me, can I go home now?”

  “Whatever,” Eli snarled. Dane freed his monstrous wolf and ran for the docks, Eli on his heels.

  The harbormaster’s son waved. “Hey, guys, you going after your girl?”

  When Eli nodded, the boy grinned. “Good job those Black Cardinal guys weren’t real sailors then. I told them a few porkies about the double tides in the Solent being death traps before the full moon. They bought them hook, line, and sinker. I heard one of them say they’d weigh anchor at Rye Harbor and wait for the lunar cycle to run its course.”

  Dane acknowledged the boy’s quick wits with a chin raise. “We need a boat.”

  Elena emerged from the town and ran toward them. “You don’t. Dad’s out of line, and I told him so. I went to tell Sable to back off, but I heard her muttering about sabotaging your brew house. I tried to get Cassie to check it with me, but she wouldn’t listen. I went on my own, but I hadn’t a clue what to look for. The last thing I remember is steam hissing from the beer kettles then everything went boom. When I woke I was in a bed in the infirmary, and Dad had already traded Cassie. I let you and her down, and I’m sorry.”

  They didn’t waste words or time reassuring their sister. Dane nodded. “We’re leaving.”

  Eli stood beside him. “Why don’t we need a boat, sis?”

  Elena grinned. “I pulled rank on a few of our males and went scavenging for transport and petrol. And, yech, I won’t be siphoning that stuff again in a hurry. There are two bikes fully fueled and ready in what was the harbormaster’s office. Go get her. Tell her I messed up, but if I could have put a spoke in Dad’s wheel earlier, I would have.”

  Neither man had ridden motorbikes since their Special Forces days. They ran for them, only pausing for Eli to yell, “Elena, we owe you one.”

  Dane straddled a stripped-down Honda. “Once we find her, we’ll go where she wants, but we’ll send you a message if we start over somewhere.”

  The two of them roared off without a backward glance. Once they cleared the town, Eli pulled alongside his brother. “Race you to Rye.”

  It took less than an hour to reach their destination despite the decrepit roads. When they spotted a Cornish crabber moored in the bay. Dane yelled across the water, “Ahoy there, Black Cardinals, the deal’s off. We’ve come for Cassie.”

  A miserable-looking wolf shouted back, “She’s gone. We bedded down for the night and she jumped ship. We’ve searched, but there’s no sign of her.”

  Eli pulled in beside his brother and glared at the woebegone wolves aboard the crabber. “Then why aren’t you searching for her now? She could be in trouble but you’re sitting on your arses sunbathing. You might as well head back to New Dover and collect Nyssa. How long has Cassie been gone?”

  “Two nights,” a Black Cardinal yelled back.

  Dane turned toward the riverbank. “She’ll have swum ashore and gone up-river to avoid leaving a scent trail.”

  Eli stared at the abandoned boats and their rusted moorings. One shone brighter than the rest. “Until recently, something was tied up here. I’m guessing she took a rowboat rather than risk starting an engine. The last thing she wanted was to wake those sleeping beauties in the bay.”

  They rode the overgrown path alongside the riverbank, looking for places she could have come ashore. As they approached the outskirts of Tenterden, they slowed. Dane pulled up when he spotted a rowing boat buried beneath some bushes. Eli nodded his approval. “Our girl had her wits about her. The question is where would she go next?”

  Dane scowled. “Not back to New Dover, that’s for sure. Looks like she’s headed north. Did she leave family behind in Yorkshire?”

  Brow furrowed, Eli shook his head. “I don’t remember her ever mentioning her family. If she’s headed back north, she’ll have to make it through London. Damn it, we’ve just come from there.”

  Roaring through the deserted streets, they raced back toward London. Every mile took them nearer to a city run by feral human gangs. And they found no sign of Cassie.

  The demon-raised barrier around London should have kept those vampires out. Their scavenger team shouldn’t have been able to pass through it either. If the demons had fixed it, neither Dane nor Eli would be able to enter London. The worst-case scenario was if it blocked their route, and they had to circle the city. Picking up Cassie’s trail would be a nightmare.

  No mystic barrier prevented them from entering London. They’d worry about that once they found her. After crossing the Thames, they headed toward Whitechapel. A bicycle lay in the center of the road and a small, Cassie-sized trainer lay alongside it. Once they pulled up, they both to sniffed the air. A tic started in Dane’s jaw. “Cassie was here, but so was Michael.”

  Eli glowered. “And he wanted to father Cassie’s babies, remember?”

  Abandoning their bikes, they stripped and shifted. Michael’s scent trail led them through a maze of deserted streets. They’d kill him if he’d so much as bruised Cassie.

  * * *

  Alone in the dark, Cassie shivered. When she extended her arms, she could touch both walls. A cold wind from the air vent blew around her feet. Her left side ached where Michael had knocked her off her bike. By tomorrow, bruises would cover her shoulders and thighs. Then again, considering Marco intended to rape her, her aches and pains were a minor inconvenience.

  Her thoughts turned to Dane and Eli. She’d thought they used ropes, spankings, and even ginger root to make her squirm because they cared for her. Instead, she’d been a pawn in their dirty games. What really hurt was the way they’d stolen her heart.

  Wait! Cold wind? Air vent? Cassie dropped to her knees and felt around its edges. Daylight came through the grill, lifting her spirits and spurring her on. Four screws, one at each corner held it in place. Fiddling in the chest pocket of her dungarees, she pulled out her screwdriver. It only took moments to remove the grill from the wall.

  She stared at the outside world but claiming her freedom wouldn’t be easy. Once she squeezed through the vent hole, she’d be in a small porch. The open space that stretched before it meant there’d be nowhere to hide. Anyone coming or going would spot her.

  Heart beating a panic-stricken rhythm, she put her ear to the door, but she heard nothing. If Michael and Sable had gone to find Marco, she needed to move fast. She stared out the vent hole again. Black trouser-covered legs that ended in black boots walked past. Vampire legs. Marco had arrived to claim her.

  Chapter Twenty

  Knowing Marco had arrived to claim her spurred Cassie into action. She wriggled out the air vent and shot to her feet. Once she’d tiptoed off the open porch, she ran... straight into a wall of solid muscle. She panicked, hitting out and opening her mouth to scream. A hand covered her mouth as her captor carried her away.

  Eli held her tight, breathing in her sweet cotton-candy essence. “Quiet, princess. Let’s get you somewhere safe.”

  The fight went out of her when she recognized his deep, rumbly voice. Her werewolves? Here? Thank God. Even if they passed her back to the Black Cardinal pack, it beat Marco getting his vampire hands on her.

  She breathed in Eli’s fresh herbal essence as he raced away from Michael’s lair. They didn’t make it across the yard. A loud bellow echoed from the house.

  Marco burst out the door, his gaze fixing on Cassie’s werewolves. “The breeder is mine. Give her back or die.”

  Still in monstrous wolf form, Eli set her down and pushed her behind him. Already shifted, Dane moved alongside him. Cassie’s knees shook, but she wasn’t the runaway-and-let-the-males-deal-with-it type. She looked around for a weapon, but standing in a decaying concrete jungle, she found
nothing.

  “Cassie is ours.” Eli didn’t give an inch. “And we will destroy anyone who says otherwise.”

  Dane took a step back, forcing her to do the same. He spoke out the side of his mouth, keeping his voice soft and low. “The keys are in my bike’s ignition. Take it and get out of here while we take care of business.”

  Realizing their intent, Marco hissed like a snake. “Breeder, you’re mine, bought and paid for. Tonight, I’ll screw every hole in your body, and I won’t stop until you’re screaming for mercy. Actually,” he bared his fangs, “I’d enjoy your screams too much to stop then either.”

  Dane and Eli leaped at Marco, claws extended. In a practiced move, Eli growled and threw a punch to the left. Marco ducked right, straight into Dane’s claws. The vampire shrieked as Dane tore a lump from his throat. His torn flesh healed in an instant.

  Freeing his monstrous wolf, Michael hurtled toward Dane. Cassie had never seen anything so graceful as the way her Lycan warriors spun and turned. They threw punches so fast they blurred. Remembering Dane telling her to run, she did—but she didn’t run far.

  Stalking toward Cassie, Sable snarled, “What? No tiny places to screw yourself into? I’ll take your throat while Michael and Marco destroy those stupid Dark Moon Prowler wolves.”

  Eli batted Michael aside like a cat playing with a mouse. Shaking his head, he hurled himself at Eli again. Another bat of Eli’s mammoth paw and Michael went down again. If she hadn’t been so terrified, Cassie would have laughed.

  The next time Michael went down, he scrabbled backward, then took off like those wild dogs were after him. Eli gave chase. Dane clawed Marco’s cheek. He bled for a second than his paranormal healing kicked in. A werewolf strength punch in the gut had Marco doubling over. With a triumphant growl, Dane threw himself atop his opponent, ready to take his throat. A flex of Marco’s muscles and Dane flew off him, landing with an oomph on the tarmacked road.