Vampires' Embrace [Southern Supernatural Alphas] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour)

by Sara Anderson

  She rolled her eyes a bit. Her dad was old school about language around ladies.

  Their dad nodded with a warning glare at Matt.

  “Anyways, animal attacks, people come up missing, and then when they reappear, they don’t know what happened to them.”

  She swallowed. She didn’t remember anything either, but she wasn’t missing. She stood before her thoughts caused her to freak out again. “I’m going to go and check on Mom.” She stood up and left out the back door, intent on not dwelling on the scary thoughts that were trying to take hold in her head.

  Rufus and Gus joined her and trotted along with their tongues hanging out and tails wagging.

  As she walked down the dirt path to the flower garden, she couldn’t shake the chill. She stopped and looked around, but saw nothing but trees and pasture. The two Labs stopped and gazed at her as if they were wondering why she stopped. The bright sunlight drowned out the shadow areas. Still, she had this cold feeling that something menacing was watching her.

  “Come on, guys,” she called and smacked the side of her leg to get their attention. She felt a little better having the dogs with her. At least they’d bark if something came out after her.

  Wrapping her arms around herself, she sped up to reach the oasis her mom planted. No matter where they lived, her mom had to have her flowers and waterfalls. It was where she grounded herself before she took on the stress of the day.

  “Hi, baby girl,” Karen said as she put her book down and stopped her swing long enough for her to take the seat next to her.

  Once she sat down, her mom resumed the gentle rock. “You’re looking a little better now, but I’m still worried about you, sweetie.”

  “I know, Mom, but I didn’t want to worry you. I just really needed to come home.”

  Her mom took her hand. “I am not sure what happened to you exactly, but you’re a strong girl. You’ve got a good strong foundation. You’ll come out on top.”

  Rachel glanced over at her. She hadn’t asked in a long time, but now she needed to know. Maybe she had odd genes that caused all of this craziness. “What do you know about my real parents?”

  Karen smiled gently. “I honestly do not know a lot about them, sweetheart. There were no birth records that DFS could find about you. You were just a baby when a firefighter found you in a burning house. There were no other people in the house and no bodies recovered. They placed you in foster care as they tried to locate any sort of family for a year or so before you came to us. We had you as a foster child for another year before you were cleared for adoption.”

  She had known this before. She’d always wondered how her parents could have left her in a burning house. Now, after what the Vampires had told her, she wanted to know who her parents were, just so she could get some answers. “So, nothing was ever discovered about them?”

  “No, I’m sorry. I know you would like to know, but even the PI your dad hired came to a dead end at the fire.”

  She laid her head on her mom’s shoulder. “I just always wanted to know why they left me. I was just a baby. How could they run out and leave me to die like that?”

  Karen’s arm wrapped around her and she pulled her close. “I can’t answer that for you, sweetie. But I can tell you that you have been such a gift to me and your dad. I was never able to get pregnant, but biology doesn’t make a family. I love you, Matt and Addy with all my heart. I can’t imagine leaving any of you behind. Something must have happened to them, because as a mom, I can’t imagine knowingly leaving my baby to die.”

  “I know, Mama.” She nuzzled her mom’s shoulder a bit. She couldn’t imagine having a better mom. She was thankful she didn’t remember anything other than Karen and Dean as her parents. “I hope when I ask you, you don’t ever think it’s because I don’t love you.”

  “Oh, I know, sweetie. It’s normal to wonder about such things. Maybe one day you will have some answers.”

  She rocked with her mom and felt the peace of being at home, but the cold chill wouldn’t pass. As much as she hated to admit it, it was time for her to go. Was it the knowledge that Marcus and his enforcers were looking for her that scared her so much? She hadn’t felt this until this morning.

  Tears filled her eyes. While she’d come home a lot when she lived in North Carolina, something was different now. Was it the attack or the fear of dying that had her clinging to home so much? She couldn’t be sure, but the thought of packing up and leaving home had her ready to weep as if she’d lost her family.

  * * * *

  “Got her!” Dylan slammed his hand down on the desk, making Kieran and Devon stand up and join the enforcer around the computer.

  “Where is she?”

  “Karen and Dean Dawson just bought a sixty-acre ranch just out of pack territory near Paris, Texas.”

  Devon wanted to run after her and collect his mate, but she’d run from them once before out of fear. They needed to think this through a bit instead of running in there and scaring her all over again. “Do you have an address?”

  Dylan nodded. “I do. It’s way out there, too. My pack has been fighting some activity out that way. My Alpha, Sam, has been all over the territory chasing them, but the dogs and their demon masters run back to whoever’s controlling them before they can find the source. He’s getting tired of not being home.”

  “I have a bad feeling it’s Mortef. Yerel warned me about this.” Devon shuddered to think of the havoc a demon and his hellhounds could cause. They scattered and were damn fast.

  Devon met Kieran’s gaze. “We need to get our asses out to that ranch, now. If it is Mortef who sent hellhounds after our mate, he’s desperate enough to capture her, that he is willing to defy the Vampire council. He no longer cares if he is declared a rogue and tossed out.”

  Dylan grabbed his keys. “I’m coming with you.” His face hardened when Devon put his hand up. “No way am I missing out on a good fight with hellhounds. I’m coming.”

  * * * *

  She glanced at the clock and saw it was close to four in the afternoon. She’d have to seriously start thinking about where she was going after she cooked supper. She pushed the melancholy behind her and was determined to enjoy the evening with her family.

  She could hear the bacon frying as she stirred the melted butter into the eggs for the cornbread. It had been a long time since she’d had homemade beans and cornbread. She’d gotten so caught up in college and then work that she forgot about the simple pleasures of smelling bacon as it cooked and sipping sweet tea on the porch as the sun set and lightning bugs came out. The doorbell rang, making Rufus and Gus both bark and run for the door.

  She glanced up long enough to see both of the dogs circling at the door with their tails wagging as they waited to greet whoever had come to play with them.

  “Gus, Rufus, sit,” Dean said before she heard the door open.

  “Good evening, sir. I am hoping I found the right house. I am US Marshall Dylan Clanton. I was looking for the Dawson residence.”

  “US Marshall? Is there a problem?”

  Rachel nearly dropped the bowl of cornbread batter and as the blood drain from her face. She recognized Dylan’s voice, and she knew he was in some sort of human law enforcement. The Vampires had told Marcus about her, and they were here to drag her off to some supernatural prison or kill her.

  Nausea rolled through her stomach as her face went numb. She stood frozen in place while terrifying images flashed through her mind. She could see herself screaming and begging for them to let her out of some dank underground prison where they kept things like her. They wouldn’t overlook her ability to kill people. Surely, they would deem her too dangerous to live and kill her. She imagined Anna begging Marcus to spare her life moments before his claws came out and slashed across her throat.

  She tried to take in every bit of life going on as if she’d never see home or her family again. Matt, who was rarely home, tried to take a swipe at Mom’s white mountain frosting, and Mom smacked hi
s hand. “After supper, child.”

  Karen glanced over at her, and then did a double take. “Rachel, sweetheart. What’s wrong? You’re white as a sheet!”

  “Mama,” she began and tears began falling and she began to feel like she would lose complete control of herself. She couldn’t breathe, and it felt like she was suffocating. Her heart was beating so hard and fast, surely she would die right here. The room spun a bit as she felt herself growing faint.

  Dylan would be in the kitchen at any moment to drag her away, and there was nothing her parents could do to help her. If they tried, Dylan might hurt them. She didn’t know much about him, but she knew he was lethal. She’d heard Logan telling another enforcer that Dylan was the enforcer that dealt with threats to the Lycan packs. He hunted them down and eliminated them. She felt lightheaded as the thought hit her. He’s here to eliminate me.

  “I’m so sorry,” she choked out before her vision started to fade. She felt like she was going to pass out. Maybe it was for the best if she was unconscious. They could kill her and she would never see it coming. Her legs lost their strength and she fell against the counter hard. She felt her hand hit something searing hot, but before she could even react, someone jerked her arm away.

  “Rachel!” Karen screamed. “Oh my god, Dean!” Her mom’s voice was so far away now as her body started to go numb. The burn on her hand hardly hurt at all. More like a pain she knew should be there, but it wasn’t. She hit her knees and heard her mom screaming, “Dean. Help me!”

  “Let me see her.” Rachel recognized the voice and she tried to turn toward the person. A deep love and trust burst through her panic at the sound of that compassionate voice. Someone lifted her as if she was weightless and carried her cradled in their arms.

  She just saw Dylan and the others were in shadows. “Let’s get her laid down. She is having a panic attack. Get me a cold rag.”

  “Darlin’, come on, slow your breathing down, sweetheart. You’re okay, I’ve got ya, girl. You’re all right. Listen to my voice. It’s me.” The southern drawl drew her back, as well as the feeling of a damper on her panic as if someone put a cold wet blanket over a fire to smother it.

  “Here, put this paper bag over her face.”

  “Really, Devon? Seriously?”

  She definitely knew whose voice that was. When a lady spent the night having wild sex with two men, or rather Vampires, she knew their voices. Kieran, my love, is holding me.

  “Devon, that is just on the TV. No one wears a paper bag for a panic attack.” My powerful warrior Devon is here, too. She hoped Dylan wouldn’t hurt them. She loved them so much and she’d die if she lost them because of her. It was one of the reasons she ran.

  “What happened to her?” Karen asked, and she winced at the worry in her mom’s tone.

  “She’s coming around,” Kieran said and she could feel his warm hand over hers. It was so odd that a Vampire would be so warm. She glanced over at the large windows and noticed the late afternoon sun was still high. It dawned on her that the real Vampires she’d seen never hid from the sun. Weren’t Vampires supposed to burn up in the sunlight?

  “Rachel, sweetheart. Talk to me.” Kieran patted her hand and then rubbed her arms with his warm hands.

  “What’s wrong with her?” her mom asked, clearly frustrated that no one was giving her answers.

  Dylan turned to Karen. “Rachel was a victim of a crime, and I am afraid we may have given her a bit of a scare by coming here to talk with her.”

  “What crime? What happened to my baby?” Her voice was high and frightened.

  “It’s not for me to discuss with you with privacy issues, but new evidence came to light and we had to speak with Rachel.”

  She met Kieran’s deep blue eyes. She didn’t see any fear in them. Just the concern and compassion she was used to seeing. She took in Kieran’s handsome face. My very own Thor.

  He grinned at her as if he heard her thoughts and she couldn’t help but blush.

  Glancing at Devon, it struck her how much the world seemed to weigh on him. My Gladiator. His masculine square chin had a day’s growth of dark hair and she knew from personal experience what it was like to grip those muscular shoulders as he thrust into her.

  She shivered at the vision of her with her legs spread wide as Devon pounded into her. His dark eyes were fixed on her face as his fangs elongated. Kieran reached over and pinched her nipples as Devon spread her legs even farther apart to force her to take more of him. The more helpless she was to them and their desires, the more she enjoyed their kind of rough sex. Kieran lowered his head, scraped his flat teeth over her sensitive nubs, and then bit down. The pain made her pussy clench around Devon’s cock, making him snarl as he thrust in harder. She had lost count of the amount of times they’d had sex that night. They’d taken her every way she could imagine a man could have a woman, and she was sure she couldn’t come again, but then her body coiled as she prepared to fly once again. There must be a limit to the amount of times a woman could climax.

  Her nectar drenched her panties just thinking about their night of lovemaking. They’d never bitten her, but she’d never come so hard or that many times before.

  Stop thinking about sex and stay in the here and now, girl. “What is he talking about?”

  “You, we came to talk to you.” Devon leaned in and she felt his breath fan across her skin.

  “You ran out on us last time we tried to talk.”

  She felt her cheeks flush with shame. “I’m sorry. I should have stayed and faced whatever punishment I had coming.” Her hand was really starting to hurt now that she had calmed down.

  Matt handed Devon a bag of ice with some water in it. “Here’s the ice pack you asked for.”

  Devon took the ice pack and put it on her burned hand. “Punishment?” His head tilted to the side as he stared at her. “Why would you be punished?”

  She closed her mouth and stared at her hand. She didn’t want to give anything away that might endanger her family. She glanced over and saw Dylan’s eyes glowing a bit and she started to stand. “What is he doing?”

  “He’s protecting your family, darlin’.” Kieran picked her up and pulled her into his lap. She couldn’t help but to rub her face into his neck. The desire to lick his skin had her opening her mouth to do just that. While they had both taken control the night they’d spent together, she’d seen his fangs and longed for him to bite her. She felt that longing again now as she breathed in his woodsy, wild scent. It made her core heat even more and she longed to feel the two Vampires claiming her in every way.

  “I’m so glad you brought that up,” Dean said as Karen nodded. “My neighbors lost several head of cattle. That was no coyote attack. Do you have any idea how much cattle cost?”

  “Yes, sir, I do.” Dylan was still staring at Dean as he talked.

  “We were just discussing hiring some guards for our cattle at night. Something or someone is killing cattle around here.” Matt talked animatedly as their dad nodded. “My house is on the back part of the property. We can go over the plan there,” her brother offered as they walked out the back door.

  “Interesting. I know of a couple of men who would be happy to stay on here and watch over your ranch.” Dylan’s eyes flashed and it looked like her family was under a trance.

  The sights and smells of the house intensified for her. The bacon set on low to crisp still sizzled slightly, and she gazed at the dark mahogany cabinets with her mom’s country touch at decorating over them. She’d come home for the sense of peace and safety she’d always felt with her parents, but that had been so wrong of her. She could see that now, and she had to make it right. She couldn’t drag her family into this mess. It was so wrong of her to run home as she’d done. It had been foolish of her to think she’d be safe here, and that they would stay in North Carolina and Tennessee. She’d really thought she would be safe for a few weeks in Texas while she decided what to do next. “Listen, whatever you want to do with me, I�
��ll go quietly. Please don’t hurt my mom and dad though, please. I’m begging you. I never told them a thing, not even what happened to me.”

  Kindness and sympathy shone in Devon and Kieran’s eyes as they stared at her. “Tell us, Rachel, what is it you think we will do to you?”

  “You can see the evil in me, can’t you?”

  “Evil?” Kieran’s mouth opened and he gasped. “What in the world are you talking about, love?”

  Swallowing hard, she prepared to reveal the secret she’d kept to herself since her rescue from Mortef and his coyote followers. “I have something evil inside of me. It killed people, and I felt them die. I felt their life energy going through me and the light just faded from their souls.” She started to shake uncontrollably. Admitting that out loud caused a dam to break. All the fear, anger, and hatred toward the evil Vampire that had caused all this came pouring out. She let out a sob as she pushed away from Kieran. The full horror of the danger she’d put her family in weighed on her and she felt tears running down her face. “I’m so sorry.”

  Strong hands gripped her and pulled her into a firm, warm embrace. “My poor mate. How could you have forgotten everything we talked about last night?” He held her close and stroked her back. “Let it out, love. I’ve got you. Go ahead and let it all out.” Kieran’s soothing words and stroking hands softly caressed her skin.

  Her mom blinked and shook her head. “What is wrong with my baby? Get your hands off me and let me see my child.”

  Dylan’s eyes flashed once again as his gaze locked onto her mom. “Come on this way, please,” Dylan said and she heard their voices fade.

  “Don’t hurt my mom.” She lifted her head off Kieran’s chest. Devon’s body pressed her from the other side, forming a wall of solid mass around her. Even though she’d just confessed how evil she was, still she felt safe and loved with these two.

  “No one is going to hurt your family, Rachel.” Devon’s gaze locked on to hers. “I don’t know where you got the idea that we were here to hurt you or your family. We came because you need protecting.”