“What’s wrong?” asked Darien.
“They took two of ours.”
“Who was it?” asked Rome, cracking his neck like he was ready for a fight.
Vane swallowed but when he tried to speak nothing came out.
“Vanessa and Vince. We need runners out now. They’ll be taken as hostages,” Dmetri said.
Vane nodded slowly but he looked shell-shocked. Rome and Darien stepped forward to embrace their brother.
“We’ll get them back,” Rome said.
Darien hugged Vane hard enough to crack ribs, then all of them, including Jacks, took off into the woods. Shouts sounded, giving orders to search for the missing.
Vane still hadn’t moved. His eyes were glued to the grass.
Brayden stepped forward. “Your mate was almost killed!” Dmetri almost jumped at the sound of Brayden’s shout. The man never shouted. Vane met Brayden’s gaze.
“Your child has been taken. They will kill them. Do you hear me? They will die if you don’t move.”
Vane started trembling, first at his shoulders then down to his hands.
“Do you want them to die, Vane? Go! Go and get them back. Now! ” Vane stumbled back a step as if he’d been pushed. Then he nodded slowly, then faster.
His eyes darted off in the direction his brothers had gone. He took off at an impressive sprint a moment later.
“You yelled,” Dmetri said.
Brayden looked at him with hard eyes. “I know how to treat soldiers in shock.” His words rang true but there was something else to them, something in his eyes that said there was more to the story.
The next several hours were a mess. Fire trucks were called in, and Dmetri watched as Christine rushed person-to-person until it was too much. She called an ambulance and sent some of the worst to the hospital. She couldn’t treat them all. He’d never felt prouder of anyone.
The pack came together quietly and started gathering wood from the exploded cabins into big piles.
Two were dead. A mother and daughter who were outside of the second house when it exploded. Mourners already surrounded the house with flowers, their heads bowed low. He wanted to kill that bastard again for murdering two innocents, but the dead could only die once.
Thunder boomed overhead and when the rain started pouring no one was bothered by it.
Chapter 13
As though everyone needed to stay together, the pack fortified themselves in the field in the center of town. The rain had stopped but the ground was soft with mud making each step a slippery challenge. Dmetri stood at the edge of the crowd watching Christine work on the injured. Some of it was bad. Most of it not too terrible. Many had cuts from flying glass and debris, some had been knocked back by the blast and suffered severe burns and broken limbs.
Luckily the lykaen healed faster than humans so with a little treatment they’d be better in a few days.
A sudden hush fell over the crowd.
Dozens of faces turned at once to the edge of the field. Dmetri’s gaze followed as well.
The Kategan men walked towards them. They’d finally gotten back after hours of searching.
Vane held a small bundle in his arms. Sarina stood from the crowd with a soul-wrenching cry and ran to him. He stopped with a pained expression on his face when he saw her. Her steps slowed as she neared him and even Dmetri’s gut tightened.
She looked from the baby to Vane’s face again and again, and when he finally held out the bundle, she took it with shaking arms. A harsh sob, tears streaming down her face she looked at the baby’s face.
A heavy silence settled over the pack.
Then she turned and flashed the whole pack a brilliant smile. “He’s alive!” For the first time since the violence started the pack let out cheers and smiles.
She turned back to Vane and cupped his neck, pulling him down for a long, passionate kiss. Dmetri’s chest tightened as if something was trying to burst from it. They held each other close, the baby between them protectively, and just stayed that way. The rest of the Kategan men followed suit with their mates.
Brayden came up beside him, a dark look on his face. “Where’s Vanessa?” Dmetri shot him a look. Shit. He’d forgotten about the young Kategan.
Dmetri and Brayden made their way to Vane. When Vane spotted them, he slowly released his mate, but kept his arm around her shoulder.
“What happened to Vanessa?” Dmetri asked.
Vane looked torn, his eyes raw with pain and anger. “We finally caught up to them. They were in two groups. They split when they saw us. We went after the one with Vince first, got him back. We searched for her scent for hours but we couldn’t pick it up again.” Rome stepped forward after kissing his mate. “Don’t worry, we’ll get her back. They’ll be taking her back to Claude’s clan. Or some place in between. We won’t stop searching for her.
We just needed to get Vince back.”
“I’ll bring her back.” Brayden leveled his gaze on Vane.
Vane blinked. “Why?”
“Because I’ll find her.”
Chapter 14
Christine finished the last stitch on eight-year old Garrick’s leg.
“You’re a champ, Garrick.”
The boy had been brave this whole time. No tears or whimpers as she stitched closed the nasty gash on his leg so it wouldn’t scar.
He tilted his chin up. “I’m a man.”
She chuckled softly. “Yes, you are. Think you’ll be as big as your dad some day?” His chest poofed up. “Even bigger.”
Christine put away her kit and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “All right, get out of here.
You’re all done.”
The boy sat up and limped back to his mother. Christine sighed, rolling her neck to ease the stiff muscles in her shoulders. It worked, but the second she stopped rolling the pain shot back through her neck feeling ten times worse.
The night air was damp and thick with the smell of fire. The fires had long been put out but the humidity in the air refused to let all of the smoke dissipate, shrouding the town in a foggy cloud.
Her leg muscles were tight and when she stood sharp prickles like needles stabbed her.
The feeling in both of her legs wasn’t quite there so she teetered and waited as a burning rush of blood filled her legs. Her head pounded with an angry headache, her hands hurt, and even her arms felt heavy and limp.
A big hand wrapped around her shoulder. The relief she felt at seeing Dmetri was so great she could have fainted.
“Hey,” she said, attempting to smile. Her lips wobbled though and she didn’t quite manage it.
His lips were pulled into a hard line as he looked at her. “Come on.” She let out a surprised squeak as he picked her up into his arms and started carrying her.
It was on the tip of her tongue to protest but hell, it felt too good, so she kept her mouth shut and enjoyed the ride.
Her head fit perfectly against his shoulder. A perfect cushion. She closed her eyes and relaxed, letting his strength carry her exhausted body. At the sound of a door opening, she popped her eyes open to see them at his cabin.
“Why didn’t you take me home?” God she just wanted her bed, her warm blanket, and at least ten hours of sleep.
“It’s too smoky there from the explosion.”
Oh, right. Her neighbor’s house exploded. Two people died.
He took her into the bedroom and tightened his hold around her as he pulled back the covers and set her on the bed. She was ready to curl up but he stopped her, then started taking off her shoes.
“Oh yeah,” she said softly. She hadn’t even thought about her muddy shoes.
He pulled off her wet socks too, and then pushed her back under the covers. She sighed as soon as her head hit the pillows. She closed her eyes and let her sore muscles relax into the mattress.
“Goodnight, Dmetri.”
“Night, millaya moya. ”
My sweet. She liked hearing him call her that. She smiled and passed
out in an instant.
* * *
A ferocious growl dragged Christine to the realm of consciousness. She blinked at her surroundings, first noting the dulled sunlight that came in through the window and then the man wrapped around her. That growl came again and she petted her belly. Damn thing was a beast when it was hungry.
She’d slept in his arms for the second time. She sighed at the whole situation. She liked Dmetri, she did. He took himself so seriously that she couldn’t help but get a lot of entertainment being around him. It also didn’t take much to see that he kept his emotions locked up tight inside.
He said mating wasn’t in the cards for him when what that really meant was that he was afraid to fall in love. The notion was so ridiculous to her that she started laughing. The arm around her waist tightened, pulling her more fully against him.
He nuzzled her neck and in a slumberous voice said, “What are you laughing at?” Her throat constricted and she swallowed hard to ease it. Waking up next to him with his body wrapped around hers created a stir of feelings inside her—feelings that she liked. What would he do if she told him that? If she told him that if she let herself, she might be able to care for him. The picture came easily to her. He’d stiffen then curtly tell her the arrangement was off before shoving her out of the cabin.
“At my stomach. I’m hungry.”
His heavy sigh across her neck shot goose bumps down her arms making her shiver. His arm tightened around her and then he pushed her onto her back. She stared up into his eyes, heavy-lidded from sleep. But what made her breath catch was the look in his eyes. Soft, gentle, dare she say, caring. They traced over her face as a painter might before he dabbed into his paints and began.
“Suppose I need to feed you then.”
His words were dark, erotic. All she could picture was his beautiful cock sliding between her lips, feeding her. Quickly, she pulled away. He tried to grab her but she stood and started pulling her muddy shoes back on.
“What?” Impatience and his thick accent made the simple word sound incredibly sexy.
She couldn’t do this with him. Well, hell, she could, but it wasn’t right. She still planned on going on that date with Alpha Jason. It was for the best and she knew it. It all came down to a matter of wants and needs. Did she want Dmetri—terribly. But she didn’t need him. She needed an Alpha to finally put her and her mother’s conscious at ease.
He sat up in a move so fast she barely registered movement and then he snagged her wrist and pulled her on top of him.
“Dmetri.” She struggled against him while trying to keep her dirty shoes off the bed.
He pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “Say my name again. I enjoy hearing it from your lips. Course, I love your lips.”
She laughed as he started nibbling on each of her lips. He tucked her beneath him and slowly moved on top of her. The breath she was taking caught in her throat as his body completely covered hers. Where she was soft, he was hard and firm.
“Say it,” he said darkly. He caught her lips in little kisses before tracing down to her neck to give soft bites that left her trembling.
“Dmetri, Dmetri, Dmetri!”
His laughter flowed over her like warm wine. She really liked that sound, deep and rich, accented.
“Ochen horosho.” His hands trailed over her hips and up her side in a long sweep.
“What does that mean?” she asked a bit breathlessly.
“Very good.” He started down her body in slow increments. A kiss to her neck then to her collarbone. Her breath hitched and memories of the night outside the restaurant drifted through her mind.
“Dmetri,” she gasped.
His hands pushed her shirt up and over her breasts. The bra she wore offered no protection because he easily released the catch at her back and pulled it down her arms. The straps trapped her arms to her sides but freed her breasts.
“Just keep saying my name, sweet. It’ll be good practice for when you come home with me.”
Christine’s stomach tightened with nerves; her sex grew needy and wet. His mouth captured a hard nipple, pulling it, sucking on it. Her breasts responded at the attention, pulling tighter, pressing towards his talented tongue.
His mouth trailed to the neglected breast. “I love morning fucks.” Her eyes shot wide at his words. “What?”
Hands on her hips pulled open her jeans then he pulled away, shoved them down her legs, and pushed off her shoes again. He didn’t even pull the jeans all the way off, just let them sit like a knot around her ankles so she couldn’t move them.
“Fucking in the morning. Surely you’ve heard of it. With how passionate you are I’d be surprised if you hadn’t.”
He pulled his shirt over his head, stirring the long blonde strands of his hair in an array around his shoulders and back. Still his compliment made her smirk.
“I knew you liked it.”
He gave her an arched look. “I loved it, which is just another reason why you’re mine now and coming back with me.”
She shook her head no. He ignored it, trailed his lips up one leg, over her knee with a kiss, and then further. The further up he went, the farther he spread her thighs, slowly crawling in between them.
“Though don’t expect our sex to always be like that.”
Huh. She blinked, confused. Big warm hands pressed on her thighs, squeezing then trailing over her hips as his came over her, his mouth once again finding her breasts.
“Why not? I thought it was pretty...amazing.”
He grunted against her breast then braced himself on a strong arm to play between her legs with his other. He flatted his palm above her mound. He let his thumb idly swing across her clit.
“Because I’m in charge and will always be.”
Christine gaped at him then she started laughing.
“Always laughing at me,” he growled.
And then he ripped her panties off and thrust inside.
There was no time to prepare, to expect it. He just took her in a hard stroke. And he didn’t stop moving.
His thrusts were hard, fast, steady. Christine moaned, head swishing side to side at the full, stretched feeling. He leaned down and sucked a nipple into his mouth. Her thighs squeezed tightly around his hips wanting to wrap completely around him but her jeans kept her still for his thrusts.
With each thrust, he built her up higher and higher. Breathing grew difficult, body burned hot as a sensual haze clouded over her. He was right there with her, groans meeting moans as he thrust into her body again and again.
Christine liked it, but she wanted more. Calling on the beast which happily purred with contentment at his touch inside her, she used it to kick her legs apart. The denim tore with a loud rip and he lifted his mouth from her breast to give her a strange look. She wanted to know what that look was, it almost looked...accusing.
Each thrust hit her clit, slapped their flesh together, sending her close to the peak. So she wrapped her legs around his ass and started pumping her hips. His eyes shuttered closed as a harsh sigh left him. He couldn’t thrust hard like this as she pumped, working her sex over his cock. She held him deep inside, right where she needed him, bumping him over a part of her that made her breath catch and her blood boil.
“Dmetri,” she whispered.
His arms wrapped around the top of her head, caging her in as he rolled his hips back against hers.
She let out a short scream as the pleasure mounted. Her arms reached down and latched onto his ass, her thighs locking around his hips as they pumped against each other, rocking and thrusting.
His breaths came in hot, hard pants against her neck as he buried his face there. Hands curled into fists in her hair; and then she started coming.
The pleasure was instantaneous—incredible. Her hips met his and shook with the power of her orgasm.
“Oh!” She shouted again and again as she clung furiously to his back. Waves and crashes pulsating and pounding inside her muscles and blood.
; “Christine.” He groaned like a dying man. And then he bit her neck and hammered into her.
The bite took her fading orgasm and ramped it back up, fresh and new. She couldn’t keep quiet, couldn’t stop her body from trembling so hard against his, couldn’t stop from digging her nails into his back as she held on for dear life. But he liked it.
He moved even faster, flesh pounding against flesh. With one last push, he held himself deep, his hips jerking against hers as he shot hot seed inside her.
Christine gasped, holding onto him like she didn’t want to let go. Slowly, he pulled away from her neck, licking at the bite marks he’d just made. He pulled back to kiss her. It was slow and lazy with passion. Their tongues met gently before parting ways.
He pulled back to look down at her. “You’re mine.”
She shook her head in denial.
“Say it. You’re mine.”
A small smile played at her lips. “Okay, you’re mine.” His eyebrow arched. “I suppose so but that’s not what I meant and you know it.” His eyes grew dark as a midnight sky. “Say it,” he commanded.
Christine looked away, her heart beating frantically against her ribs. She wanted to say it, she realized. She wanted to say it and mean it.
“I can’t.”
He frowned at her, his jaw working side to side.
“You will,” he promised, then kissed her once more.
Chapter 15
The three vampires stopped to rest. One started to build a fire; the biggest of the bunch went to take a piss in a small stream. The last one stayed with the girl.
She’d been beaten; her eyes were black and blue, swollen completely shut. Her clothes hung in tatters around her...that which she still wore. They’d taken off her shirt and shorts, leaving her only in her underwear. Her battered chest was red and bruised down along her ribs and stomach; her breasts looked scratched and swollen.
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