Shattered Restraint

by Cassandra Lawson

  The door slammed open, and a vampire Danny recognized as Nate hurried into the room with two other vampires. Nate had come with Claire once to bring him shifter blood, so he figured Nate was on his side.

  “Time to go!” Nate said. “We have about ten minutes to get you out of here before Roger heads back to this building. The shifters won’t keep him distracted long.”

  Danny moved toward the door, figuring he’d rather get the hell out of here than ask for details. Before they exited, Nate turned and tossed one of the vampires against the wall like he weighed nothing. The vampire crumpled to the ground, bleeding heavily from a head wound.

  “What the fuck?” Danny asked, looking at the injured vamp. He had to assume the guy was on their side if he knew about the escape plan.

  “We have to make it look good, so Roger doesn’t just randomly start killing people,” Nate explained before motioning for Danny to follow him. Since he wasn’t familiar with this settlement, he let Nate take the lead. The other vampire fell in behind him.

  “Claire made sure this corridor would be clear, so we shouldn’t have any trouble getting out of here,” the vampire behind him said quietly.

  “Where are you taking me?” Danny asked.

  “Just out of the settlement,” Nate explained. “Hold up a minute.”

  Danny stopped, and Nate handed him a worn brown shirt and hat, which Danny quickly slipped on.

  “With all the confusion going on outside, you should be able to slip away before anyone notices you’re gone. It’s probably best if you head toward Treasure Island and try to contact your people from there. Roger will expect you to go to your own settlement, and that’s the direction he’ll send everyone to intercept you.”

  “Good thinking,” Danny said, impressed with their planning.

  “We’ve been working this out since you were brought in,” the vampire behind him explained. “With any luck, it won’t get us killed.”

  “You could always come with me,” Danny suggested. “Connor could use people like you, and he’d take you in. I realize you aren’t too sure about them, but the born vampires aren’t that bad.”

  “We can’t leave the rest of our people to fend for themselves,” Nate said, making Danny respect him even more. “The only reason we’re helping you is that Roger’s plans for you put us at risk. He can’t be allowed to get the approval of the vampire council at their big meeting because, if he does, he’ll become even more dangerous.”

  “You’re right about that,” Danny agreed as they made their way out of the building and along the side of the nearly deserted courtyard. It wasn’t long before Danny was leaving through a hidden gate at the far end of the compound.

  “Are the shifters going to be okay?” Danny asked, concerned that the number of vampires they were dealing with might be too much for them to handle.

  “They’ll be fine,” Nate assured him. “They aren’t fighting so much as playing around out there. Roger’s dying to get his hands on one so he can try infecting them with the new version of the Moon virus. That’s why he’s out there barking orders instead of hiding inside like the coward he is. I guess he figures two shifters are no match for his guards. So far, he’s just trying to hit one with a tranquilizer gun, but they’re doing a good job avoiding the darts.”

  “Better get moving so we can let Roger know you escaped and take his attention off the shifters before someone gets hurt,” the other vampire said. “We’ll give you twenty minutes before we tell Roger you’ve escaped. With your increased speed, you should be able to make it to Treasure Island in that time.”

  Danny nodded and started to take off, but then he stopped and turned to face them. “Thank you for getting me out of there. I know this is a big risk for you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Nate said impatiently. “Now hurry!”

  Danny didn’t need to be told twice. He took off at a dead run.

  Chapter Seventeen

  It had been days since Quinn had been able to get away from the shifter community. Max was trying to keep one of her cousins with her at all times since her recent overnight disappearance. It was annoying as hell—especially since he usually sent Zane with her. She was pretty sure that was just to punish her for making him worry.

  Walking through the woods, Quinn felt at peace. She’d always felt more centered in nature, and she really needed this time alone today. The wind rustled the leaves and caressed her cheek, making her sigh.

  The cracking of a twig shouldn’t have been enough to put her on edge, but Quinn’s instincts told her it wasn’t an animal moving through the brush. Or, more accurately, it wasn’t a harmless animal. While her sense of smell was nothing compared to the other shifters’, she picked up the faint scent of cougar.

  Normally, it was foolish to run from a predator. In this case, it was the smartest thing to do because she sensed they were stalking her. These weren’t beings she could reason with. Darting to her left, Quinn took off, hoping she could make it back to the lynx territory before they caught her. Even though she wasn’t as fast, she was agile and able to dodge the trees and brush better than most shifters.

  “You’ll never make it there in time,” taunted a familiar male voice. Other males laughed.

  There were at least three of them pursuing her, and Quinn’s terror picked up as she heard their feet getting closer. Ducking under a tree branch, she veered to the right, hoping to make it to the creek that was overflowing after the recent rains. There was no way she could outrun them, but she was a strong swimmer and might be able to swim to safety.

  Just over a hundred yards from the safety of the creek, a large body slammed into her, tackling her to the ground. The wind left her lungs in a whoosh, stunning her. That was all the time her attacker needed to yank her from the ground and hold her tightly against his body with her arms pinned at her sides.

  “Gotcha!” he crowed with a triumphant grin. Most would consider Cord attractive, with his longish brown hair. His face was youthful, with dimples, tanned skin, and pale blue eyes. There was nothing about him that should frighten her, but the lynx and cougars were not on friendly terms. Her uncle had warned her many times to stay away from them, and her only experiences with Cord had reinforced that warning.

  Cord was the leader of the cougars, and he’d gone to her uncle to offer to take her as his mate. When her uncle had told him no, Cord had been angry. When she’d told him no, he’d assured her she’d change her mind. Her response had been pretty insulting, and she’d embarrassed him in front of several of his clan members. That had been a stupid move on her part.

  “What? No sassy little comments?” Cord taunted. “Could it be that you’re finally starting to learn your place?”

  That was all it took to pull Quinn from her moment of stunned obedience. Her knee came up, but Cord closed his legs around it. The others laughed at her failed attempt to unman him. Her hopes sank further when she realized there were three other cougar shifters. Pulling one hand free, she raked her fingernails across his face. Cord tried to grab her hand, but he was off-balance, so she was able to duck and shove him away before landing an awkward kick to his midsection.

  “You little bitch!” Cord sounded more amused than angry.

  Quinn had no idea why the other cougars weren’t helping Cord, but she figured it was her chance to run again. She was close to escape. Unfortunately, Cord was faster and caught her from behind.

  “Stupid move, Quinn,” he growled against her ear. “This is inevitable, and fighting is only making it harder on you.”

  “You have no right to do this,” Quinn spat out. “Max turned down your request to take me as your mate.”

  “Lucky for me, you’re too foolish to stay tucked away in lynx territory,” Cord said with a chuckle. “I can’t believe Max let you out without guards. A treasure like you should be kept safe. Don’t worry, my little mage, when I get you to your new home, you’ll never be left unattended again. I know your value.”

  “That is
by far the creepiest thing you’ve ever said,” she spat out.

  “There are plenty of females begging to have me claim them as my mate,” he said, sounding angry at her continued rejection.

  “Then go find one, and let me go,” she said, struggling against his hold and wishing she had a shifter’s strength so she could get away.

  The other cougars laughed, and Cord’s eyes narrowed. Somehow, she had to get away from him.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Danny was amazed by how quickly he could move through the trees without slamming into one. It wasn’t like he’d never seen the vampires run before, but doing it was totally different than watching. The hardest part was avoiding distractions. Suddenly, he could see better, and his nose was overwhelmed with smells. Even his sense of hearing was magnified, and it was that sense that alerted him to trouble nearby.

  “Let me go!”

  Recognizing Quinn’s desperate shouts, Danny ran toward the sound of her voice. In a small clearing, he found Quinn surrounded by four men. One of those men had his arms wrapped around her waist as he lifted her from the ground. Quinn was kicking and trying her best to claw at the man holding her.

  “You should be grateful to me for claiming you,” the guy holding her said angrily. Based on the scratch marks on his cheek, Danny would guess Quinn didn’t agree with him.

  “Claiming me?” Quinn screeched. “I am not some piece of property for you to claim, Cord.”

  “No, you’re a mutt with no prospects for a mate,” Cord said as he jerked his head back to avoid being head butted by Quinn. “I’m giving you the chance to have me, and you spit in my face? You’re going to be very sorry. I am not going to put up with this kind of disrespect from my mate.”

  “Put her down,” Danny ordered.

  “Danny?” Quinn gasped. She stopped struggling and just stared at him.

  “This is none of your business, vampire,” one of the men with Cord said. “Why don’t you just leave before you get hurt?”

  Cord glared at Danny. “He’s right, vampire. Move along so I can mark my mate and take her home.”

  The marking part alerted Danny to the fact that these guys were shifters, which meant Quinn was too. While the realization shocked him, he’d have to wait until later to react. Arms at his sides, Danny stood in a relaxed pose, but he was ready for a fight—looking forward to it actually. “I’ve had an incredibly crappy week, and a good fight really appeals to me at the moment, so you can let her go and walk away, or we can do this the fun way.”

  Cord chuckled and tossed Quinn aside like she was nothing. Danny sprang forward, catching the shifter by his throat. Cord slammed his fist into Danny’s diaphragm, and the other shifters laughed as Danny fell back. One of the shifters was stupid enough to try to pounce on him, but Danny kicked out with one leg and sent the shifter flying. Then he sprang to his feet with a grace he hadn’t possessed before.

  “Not bad, vampire,” Cord said with a condescending sneer. “Why don’t you let me take my mate? She has nothing to do with you.”

  “I’m not about to leave her with an asshole shifter she doesn’t want to be with,” Danny said, focusing on the sound of the shifter coming up behind him without taking his eyes off of Cord.

  “You’ve got it all wrong, vampire,” Cord insisted. “This is just how it is with shifters. She wants me to prove I can take her. Later, she’ll be clawing at me and begging me to take her.”

  “You’re a liar!” Quinn shouted, and Cord glared at her over his shoulder.

  Danny knew Cord would make Quinn suffer if Danny left. He seemed like the type who didn’t take rejection well.

  “I’m not leaving her with you,” Danny said, dodging to the side when the shifter behind him pounced, causing the shifter to lose his balance and topple over. He would have landed on Cord, if Cord hadn’t lunged toward Danny. Cord didn’t make it far before Quinn landed on his back, pulling his hair and scratching him. Then the bastard made his most serious mistake by slamming his body into a tree and knocking the breath out of Quinn.

  While Danny wanted to check on Quinn, he had to get rid of the immediate danger first. Danny’s fist slammed into Cord’s chin, and he followed that up with a sidekick to the sternum. Stumbling back, Cord looked a little dazed, and one of the other shifters recovered enough to join the fight. Springing forward, the shifter knocked Danny off his feet, but he only had the advantage for a moment before Quinn started pummeling the guy with a tree branch. Jumping to his feet, Danny caught the shifter with a roundhouse kick, and then spun to slam his fist into the face of another shifter. Cord had regained his feet but still looked a little shaky.

  “What the hell is going on?” called out a booming voice so deep it practically made the trees vibrate. Everyone froze, and Danny suspected this man was not often questioned. From his longish tawny hair and amber eyes, Danny could guess who this was.

  “The vampire tried to take Quinn!” said one of the shifters Danny had been fighting. “Lucky for her, we came along when we did.”

  “You dirty liar!” Quinn shouted and swung the branch at the shifter who’d spoken.

  “Enough!” shouted the older shifter. “Why are you out here alone?” he asked Quinn.

  Quinn looked guilty, and her cheeks flushed. “I was just walking.”

  “Alone?” the older shifter asked. “After everything we discussed, you still went out alone?”

  “She needs a mate,” Cord said. Danny was guessing he had some kind of death wish, because the older shifter looked pissed. Hell, Danny wanted to beat the crap out of the asshole for trying to claim Quinn.

  “And she will have one when she’s of age, Cord,” the older shifter growled.

  “She’s a mutt!” Cord spat out. “What’s the purpose of waiting until she’s twenty-seven? I’m offering to take her off your hands now. I’m offering her safety you can’t. You’ve been given my word that she’ll be treated well by my people.”

  Quinn was staring wide-eyed at the older shifter, obviously a little worried he’d give in.

  “Leave here now!” the older shifter said. “I have no idea what you hope to gain by taking Quinn, but it won’t work.”

  Cord hesitated, glaring at Quinn with some strange mix of anger and lust. Danny knew it was lust because he could smell the shifter’s arousal, and that was both disturbing and more than a little gross.

  The shifters who’d attacked Quinn left, but none looked like they had any intention of giving up. For his part, Danny was more than a little confused. Quinn had been on his mind more than once since he’d woken up with her in his bed. Thoughts of her had kept him sane during his captivity. Never had he expected to run into her like this, and he’d never suspected she was a shifter, or half-shifter if what the others said was true.

  Ignoring the older shifter, Quinn rushed toward him. “What happened to you, Danny? You said becoming a vampire was your greatest fear.”

  “It’s a long story,” Danny said in a tired voice. “Actually, it’s not that long, but I’m not ready to talk about it.”

  “No more talking,” the shifter barked out. “You’ll have plenty of time for long talks when we get back to the safety of our land. Cord will come back with reinforcements, and I didn’t bring a guard detail when I came looking for you.”

  “You’re right,” Quinn said and looked back at Danny nervously. “This is my uncle.”

  “I’m Max,” the older shifter said with a nod. “There are no words to express my gratitude for what you did for my niece. Come with us. I promise you will come to no harm.”

  Danny hesitated because he wasn’t so sure about going back to the shifter settlement. Then again, he wasn’t sure where he was headed when he’d stopped to save Quinn. He hadn’t been heading toward Treasure Island like Nate had suggested, and he sure as hell hadn’t been heading back toward the born vampire settlement. Maybe this was a good thing. Aside from giving him more time to figure out what he was going to do, this would give him more time
to get to know Quinn—something he definitely wanted to do.

  “Lead the way,” Danny said.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The shifter community wasn’t anything like Danny had envisioned. Admittedly, he hadn’t gotten much past picturing everyone walking around naked, but he’d had this idea of them all sleeping outside like the nymphs. Their community was in the hills and looked to have been established in an old park. Their homes were small and made of wood, with little variation from one to the next. That wasn’t the part that surprised Danny most. Nope, he was having trouble with the fact that the shifters weren’t running around naked. Come to think of it, the shifters who’d tried to kidnap Quinn had been wearing pants. At the lynx settlement, some shifters were naked, but most wore pants, shorts, or some sort of wrap around their waist. Very few wore any type of shirt, including the females, but pants seemed to be the norm.

  “Holy shit!” Jase said when he caught sight of Danny.

  “My oldest son does have a way with words, doesn’t he?” Max muttered to Danny. “Tell me, is he this well-spoken when he visits your vampire settlement?”

  Everyone was quiet, likely because it had been assumed that Max was clueless to his sons’ involvement with the born vampires.

  “Bring your brothers to my home,” Max ordered. “We have something to discuss.”

  Jase swallowed and nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  “I’ll be shocked if you can get Zane to act that way,” Danny said under his breath.

  Max let out a great booming laugh. “I’m not sure it’s possible to get Zane to behave. Lord knows I’ve tried just about everything.”

  Danny followed Max to his home, which was slightly larger than the others. Max’s home had no floor—no base at all, actually.

  “Why build a house and not build the floor to go with it?” he asked because it made little sense to him.