by Iris Abbott
****
Zoe heard the thunderous crash and whimper of the wolf, but she didn’t dare take her eyes off the thing she battled against. Her boot connected with his face several times, but the creature wasn’t fazed. She kept trying because Zoe knew from trial and error that she had to take the head. A sudden burst of kicks and punches sent him to his knees. She drew back her knife and sliced into the creature’s throat.
It wasn’t enough, and she jerked her hand back for another strike. Silky fur brushed her arm. Drew’s wolf flew over her shoulder, getting between her and the zombie. She watched in horrified fascination as he took off the creature’s head with one powerful swing of his massive paw and razor-sharp claws.
A piercing scream that sounded hauntingly familiar shattered the high of their victory. Zoe turned and ran down the long hall toward the noise as fast as she could. She heard the click of nails against wood close behind her. Zoe glanced over her shoulder long enough to see Drew’s wolf moving in fast. He must have slowed down to grab his clothes because his pants dangled from his mouth.
Usually, seeing a massive two hundred plus pound wolf closing in on her would freak Zoe out, but not this time. She instinctively trusted Drew, and she definitely needed his help. From the sound of the soul-shattering scream and the burning in her gut, Zoe knew that Tara was in real trouble. After seeing Drew fight in his wolf form, there was no one else she’d rather have at her side during a fight to the death.
Zoe skittered around the corner and into a large, open sitting room. Her wickedly sharp blade was drawn and ready for attack. She froze just long enough to take in the situation. Tara was sprawled on the hardwood floor. A zombie-like creature loomed over her. He clenched a knife dipped in blood between his beefy fingers.
Zoe screamed in outrage and charged toward the monster who dared hurt her sister. The sharp edge of her blade sliced into his back, but the cut didn’t faze him at all. He glanced at her with cold, lifeless eyes devoid of any will and lashed out.
He backhanded Zoe hard enough to send her flying across the room. She crashed with a muffled thud against the wall. All the air was forced out of her lungs. She struggled to suck much-needed oxygen into her body. When Zoe could breathe again, she swiveled her head around to take in the situation.
The massive wolf with huge paws tipped with dagger-like claws sank his extra-long canine teeth into the creature’s legs and forcefully dragged him away from Tara’s prone body. The vampire’s puppet had been trying to drink her blood, probably in a misguided effort to find life again and break away from his evil master. He growled and swung his knife at the wolf.
Zoe trusted Drew’s wolf to take care of the zombie. She needed to get to Tara while the creature was distracted. Her entire body ached, but she couldn’t give up. Zoe ignored the discomfort, swallowed hard, and crawled her way to her sister.
Tara wasn’t moving from where she was carelessly sprawled on the hard, unforgiving floor. Her normally beautiful, creamy skin was deathly pale. Dark blood seeped from the jagged wound in her neck and spilled out around her.
Zoe stifled a sob and set to work trying to save her sister. She ripped off a piece of Tara’s already too short skirt and used it to staunch the bleeding. Her sister’s heartbeat was faint, and her chest barely moved. It wasn’t much, but at least it was something. She was still alive, but for how much longer? Zoe needed to get Tara to the hospital as soon as possible.
The wolf howled. Startled, Zoe swung around in time to see the wolf take a swipe at the puppet’s head. The razor-sharp claws tore through skin, muscle, and bone, completely severing the head from its body. She was mesmerized by the macabre sight of the head falling to the floor and rolling a few feet before coming to a stop against the foot of a large wooden coffee table.
Raphael, one of the vampire’s from the meeting, managed to sneak up next to Zoe without her being aware of it. She was still reluctant to trust any vampire, even if this particular one didn’t seem to be tainted with evil. He moved around Zoe and gently cradled Tara in his arms. He stood, still holding her in his embrace.
Zoe grabbed his arm. “Wait what are you doing? Don’t move her! She needs medical attention!”
“It’s too late for that,” the vampire insisted. “She needs my blood to survive.”
He tried to walk away from Zoe, but desperate to save her sister, she tightened her grip. “No! She needs an ambulance, and she needs her sisters!”
Zoe’s legs buckled, and she fell to the ground, bruising her knees. A pitiful sob broke loose and echoed off the walls and ceiling of the castle. She tried to hold onto the vampire, but he brushed her aside and disappeared with Tara. She staggered to her feet to give chase. The twins were all the family she had left after the grisly murder of their parents, and she couldn’t let go without a fight.
Two strong arms wrapped around her body and held her tight. “Let him go, baby. He’s your sister’s only hope.”
Drew’s warmth and strength were comforting, and she involuntarily relaxed against his naked body. “He’s not going to turn her into a vampire, is he?”
“Would it matter?” he asked.
Zoe didn’t hesitate for even a second. “No! She’d still be my sister, and I’d love her no matter what, so would Kara.”
“There’s so much I’m gonna have to teach you,” he said with a sigh. “Vampires like wolf shifters are born not made,” Drew assured her. “But a bond will form between Tara and Raphael that will be almost impossible for either of them to break,” he warned.
Zoe’s only response was a sigh. The sisters could deal with any lasting repercussions later. “Where did he take her? She’s gonna want Kara and me with her when she wakes up.” If she woke up. Zoe still wasn’t one hundred percent convinced the vampire could save her sister.
Before he could answer, Kara and the guardian assigned to work with her came rushing up to them. Drew quickly pulled on his pants. It wasn’t much, but at least it covered the essentials.
Kara was flushed and out of breath, but at least she appeared to be uninjured. “That thing was almost impossible to kill,” she said with a huff. “Decapitation was the only thing that seemed to work. Thank God we’re all good with blades.”
“Kara, I need to tell you something,” Zoe’s sharp voice interrupted her sister’s chatter.
Kara immediately stopped talking and gave her sister a wary look. “What’s wrong?” She frantically looked around. “Where’s Tara?”
“She’s in bad shape. I’m not even sure she made it,” Zoe said in a shaky voice.
“No!” Kara snapped back. She wrapped her arms around her middle and stared down her older sister. “I would know if she’s gone. Where’s my twin?” she demanded to know one more time.
“Raphael took her,” Zoe admitted.
Kara narrowed her eyes. “You let an unknown vampire waltz off with her?”
“More like he disappeared with her, but that’s beside the point,” Zoe insisted.
“Well, let’s go get her back!” Kara started to storm off, but the guardian grabbed her arm and stopped her in her tracks.
“Leave them be. If your sister is in bad shape, Raphael can help her heal.”
Kara narrowed her eyes and shook off his hand. “Don’t touch me,” she warned.
Alexander put his hands in the air as if in surrender. But it didn’t stop him from taking control of the situation. “Drew, escort the sisters back to your place and stay with them. They’ll be safe in the midst of the pack surrounded by Gannon Security.”
“Now I get rid of my shadow? How convenient for you,” Kara sneered.
Zoe knew her sister well enough to recognize that the bluster and disdain of her words were an attempt to hide a deep hurt. “Someone’s got to stay behind for cleanup duty,” Zoe insisted. “Let’s get out of here. We don’t want to look like a hot mess when we see Tara, do we?”
“Fine,” Kara agreed. It was obvious all the fight had gone out of her only to be replaced with
worry for her twin.
“I need to convene with Lucian and the rest of the council,” Alexander said in the way of explanation. “I’ll meet all of you at the Gannon compound with updates on the situation as soon as I can,” he promised.
Zoe wanted to be in on that council meeting, but it had been a hard fight, and she was at the end of her reserves. She could tell that Kara was too. “This time,” she agreed with the guardian. “But tell Lucian Petrakos he’ll be hearing from us, and we better be reunited with our sister as soon as possible.”
Alexander nodded an acknowledgment without taking his eyes off of Kara. “Soon,” he said before disappearing right before their very eyes.
“Damn that man!” Kara said with a stomp of her foot. She continued to glare at the now empty spot where he used to stand. “I’m going to find out what makes him tick if it’s the last thing I do.”
Zoe would have laughed at Kara’s tantrum if Tara’s situation wasn’t so dire. The numbness was beginning to settle in, and she didn’t struggle when Drew wrapped an arm around her waist and guided her toward the parking lot. She glanced over her shoulder just long enough to make sure Kara followed them.
ELEVEN
Zoe vigorously dried her body with the fluffy blue towel Drew left out for her. Her mind still tried to process the shocking events of the night. It took three long, heart-wrenching hours before she and Kara could see Tara. Miraculously, their sister was still alive, but she was unconscious, in what the vampire guarding her called a healing coma.
She and Kara wanted to take her with them to Drew’s house, but that idea got nixed right away by everybody, including Drew. After an hour of reassurances that the quickest way for Tara to heal was to leave her in the care of the vampire and a bone-weary tiredness that had seeped into her very bones, Zoe finally agreed to return to Drew’s house. It helped that Kara decided to stay behind and keep an eye on Tara. Zoe would relieve Kara tomorrow at lunchtime.
Now that she’d taken a shower, she was wired and wide awake. Steam hung heavy in the air, swirling around and surrounding her in moist warmth. A part of her wanted to hide in the bathroom for the rest of the night, but Zoe Myers was a fighter, not a hider.
She took a deep breath and stepped into Drew’s bedroom. He lounged on the bed waiting for her. The sight of his naked chest pushed the fear, worry, and anger over her sister’s life-threatening injuries to the back of her mind.
The sexual tension that had been building from the first moment they laid eyes on each other reached a straining point. She needed him, and from the hungry look in his eyes, Drew felt the same way. “It’s been a hell of a night!” She stepped closer to the bed.
“Doesn’t mean it can’t close on a good note,” Drew said with a sexy wink. “I’ve got all kinds of ideas on how to make that happen.”
Her eyes glided over him. The sheet covering the lower half of his body was tented by a growing erection. She clenched her thighs together in an attempt to ease the growing ache. Zoe took another step toward the bed. Drew was within reach now. She traced the line of his strong jaw with a finger.
“After having my belief that all vampires are evil turned upside down and learning that they aren’t the only paranormal creatures walking amongst humans, I should be freaking out.” She ran a hand over his hair-roughened chest. “Oddly enough, I’m not. The fact that I’m about to make love with a werewolf should send me running from the room, but it’s not.”
Drew bared his teeth and growled. “Wolf shifter,” he automatically corrected.
“What?” Zoe didn’t know the difference, but she had a feeling that Drew was going to enlighten her.
“We’re wolf shifters, not werewolves. Like vampires we’re born not made. And as you saw tonight, we’re not ruled by the phases of the moon. We exist in either man or wolf form not somewhere in-between, and we’re not evil at heart.”
Zoe put one knee on the bed to help balance herself and leaned close enough to Drew that their lips were almost touching. “I want to know everything there is to know about you, but for now, I need to forget about everything except the way you make me feel.”
“Right there with you, baby. The door’s locked, and the phones are turned off. No one is stopping me from finally claiming what’s mine! The interruptions are getting old!”
Zoe couldn’t agree more. Talking was definitely the last thing on her mind. She flattened her palm against his chest to urge Drew’s back onto the bed. Zoe sat back on her heels and admired his impressive body and the even more impressive erection.
She was just about to move closer when Drew moved faster than lightning. His arm snaked out to grab her hips and put her firmly on the bed next to him. He placed a hand between her shoulder blades and gently pushed her forward until she was kneeling beside him on all fours.
“Don’t move,” he ordered in a harsh growl. “I want to take you just like this.”
Zoe didn’t even think about objecting. She desperately needed him inside her. She held her breath, waiting for him to make the next move. Thank goodness, he didn’t keep her waiting long.
He moved in behind her on his knees. Zoe could feel the rough hair of his legs and the warmth of his body settle over her back as Drew covered her. She wanted to touch him, but it was impossible in her current position. Zoe fisted the crisp cotton sheets between her fingers. She was so hot and ready for him she wiggled her backside to entice him even further.
“Hurry,” Zoe insisted. “We’ve both waited long enough.”
His moist breath puffed against the juncture where her neck and shoulder met. She felt the rasp of his tongue slide over the delicate skin where he’d nipped her before. He scraped his sharp teeth over the sensitive area. Zoe arched her back, pushing her hips against the hard ridge of his erection. She shuddered in anticipation.
“Hang on, baby. This is gonna be hot and hard the first time.” A finger slid between her legs and separated the damp lips of her sex. “So wet and ready for me,” he admired.
He rubbed her entrance until she was squirming and begging for more. Just when Zoe thought she was going to lose her mind, he pushed the thick digit inside her. She trembled with pleasure, but it wasn’t enough. She pumped her hips, encouraging him to go deeper. A second finger joined the first one, stretching and readying her for his claiming.
His fingers abruptly left her body, and Zoe moaned her objections. His hands gripped her hips, and the thick head of his erection rubbed against the entrance to her core. He lifted his weight off of her, thrust his hips forward, and suddenly she was blissfully filled. She pushed back, forcing him deeper inside and screamed his name.
He moved in and out of her, stroking every sensitive nerve in her core. Zoe clenched her sex, trying to keep him inside. He slid almost all the way out until only the tip of his erection remained inside her. Suddenly, he thrust forward, making her scream in pleasure once again.
Drew fell into her, giving her the weight of his body. She felt his moist breath on the side of her neck and the scrape of his teeth right before he bit down on the same spot he’d nipped before. She shuddered all over from the added sensation and intensity, but still, she needed more.
She tilted her pelvis and thrust backward as he plunged in and out of her. All the while, the tension in her body notched higher, her muscles strained, her breathing sounded harsh in the confines of his bedroom, and her heart raced. She speeded her way toward an orgasm. Suddenly it hit her with the force of a freight train. Her entire body bowed from the strength of her climax. It ripped through her body until every inch of her trembled from the power of her release.
She could no longer hold up her weight and fell to the bed, remembering to turn her head to the side at the last second so she could breathe. Drew followed her down, continuing to stroke in and out of her sensitive and swollen sex. After several thrusts, he froze and cried out her name before he collapsed on the bed next to her.
He wrapped an arm around her, and she snuggled against him. “I mi
ght not be able to move for a week, but it was worth every second,” she said with a well satisfied sigh.
“I hope you’re joking about the not moving part, ‘cause I’m far from finished. I’ll never be finished with you,” Drew added before kissing her on the side of the neck.
Zoe liked the sound of that because she was far from done too, but now that some of the passion between them had been sated, she needed answers.
****
Drew was ecstatic enough to howl. He finally claimed his mate, and it was as magical as he thought it would be. Zoe was gorgeous, courageous, and one hell of a fighter. Best of all, she didn’t run screaming when she found out he was a wolf shifter. Zoe wanted him just as much after learning what he was as she did when she was oblivious to his true nature.
He trailed his hand up and down her back. After several minutes of silence, he heard a soft sigh. Drew knew it was explanation time.
“Tell me everything you can about wolf shifters. I’ve got more questions than answers, and that’ll drive me crazy.”
“You’ve already met my wolf. That’s the most important part.”
“Yeah, I love your wolf. He’s a ferocious vampire-killing beast!” She turned until she was facing him.
Drew stared into her beautiful brown eyes. “As I mentioned before, wolf shifters are born. All male members of my family that share the Gannon bloodline are wolf shifters. Mitch is the alpha of the Enigma pack, his brother Justin is the second in command, and I’m their third.”
Zoe nodded her understanding. “How?” she whispered.
Drew sat up and propped his back against the solid wood of his headboard. He lifted Zoe, placing her back to his front and wrapped his arms around her. “I’ve got to go way back for that one,” he said. “According to the legend passed down through the generations, in ancient Mesopotamia, there was a wealthy old man who’d gone through three wives and still failed to father a son.”
Zoe had been holding herself slightly apart from Drew, but she slowly relaxed into his body. He took it as a good sign and continued. “The old man knew he was nearing the end of his time on earth, and he desperately wanted an heir. Against his latest wife’s wishes, he bargained with one of the lesser gods in the area. This god was generally thought of as evil, but the old man was desperate. The deity who sometimes took the form of a combination of canine and bird of prey was hungry for power and wanted to rise in the ranks of the gods.”