Primal Claim

by Marie Johnston

  The howls were on top of them now. She felt, more than saw, the Agents disappearing into the night. Their goal of her capture would not be fulfilled tonight.

  “You were a good Agent, Doll,” X called back, the wind carrying her words clearly. “I’ll miss our time hunting shifters.”

  Oh. Shit.

  Dani knew the time would come when the major detail she’d been omitting had been revealed. She’d just hoped that when it did, Mercury and the other Guardians would trust her enough to listen to the rest of the story. She seriously doubted they’d reached that point yet.

  He stopped just feet away from where she crouched in the rain. Her eyes met the swirling, shining eyes of the familiar mammoth black wolf.

  Two more large wolves were highlighted by the lightening behind Mercury. With stunning synchronicity, they flowed from their wolf state into stunning human males. They were several inches taller than Mercury with longer brown hair plastered to their identical chiseled faces and their eyes were probably brown when they weren’t highlighted by the hunter’s shine. Like the rest of the Guardians, they were heavily muscled and devastatingly handsome. And naked.

  “The Agents are gone. Those bastards run fast,” informed one of the twins in a deep baritone. His gaze locked onto her. “Or should I say, most of the Agents are gone.”

  “I’m not an Agent,” Dani rushed to explain.

  “Did you or did you not hunt shifters?” Bennett’s voice from behind her spooked her, but she didn’t spin around. He was probably naked too, having transitioned already. Only Mercury remained in his wolf state, his unblinking gaze locked onto her.

  “Only the ones that killed my family. And they were feral.”

  “How many of us have you killed?” the same twin who spoke before asked.

  “There were three who were responsible for my parent’s death,” Dani hedged, still unwilling to get to the complete truth.

  “And how many of us did you kill?” Bennett asked, from between clenched teeth.

  Dani swallowed and hoped it wouldn’t be all black and white with them.

  “There were two others, also feral. The three that took out my family were part of the deal I made when I joined Sigma.”

  A sharp inhale from Bennett spoke volumes.

  “I would join to become an Agent if they allowed me to take out those males. By the time I was done hunting the feral males, I had seen enough. Realized I made a mistake, then...” She looked at Mercury, pleading with him to believe her.

  “Then they decided to make you an incubator for one of our abominations?” Bennett said with a caustic tone.

  That made Dani angry, but before she could react, Mercury swung around and loped off into the night. The three other Guardians silently watched him, then locked their incensed gazes back in on her.

  Chapter Eight

  “Three drinks and that’s final, X,” Demetrius bargained.

  “Two sips,” X countered.

  A slow, sensuous smile curled Demetrius’ full lips and he opened the door to let her in.

  X sauntered in, dropping the trench coat from her shoulders, wearing only black heels.

  “I want the information before we’re done.”

  Demetrius’ eyes glittered as he scanned X’s naked body. His tongue stroked one fang. “Deal. But I need to warm you up. It’s been a while hasn’t it? Since the last time you needed some intel?”

  X’s fiery green eyes narrowed, she put her hands on her hips. “The warm up counts as one sip.”

  A low chuckle reverberated through the big male’s body.

  “Fine,” he agreed, closing in.

  She looked up at him through her lashes as he neared. Demetrius probably started as Madame G’s vampire equal, heading up this chapter of Sigma. But she far surpassed his power and no one knew how. X suspected Demetrius had insight. She also suspected his powers weren’t as far surpassed as everyone thought and he was always helpful, for a price.

  Taking in his shoulder length amber hair that reflected the light filtering in from the compound’s exterior, his pale green eyes swept over her breasts and naked lower half, heat flaring when he noticed she still wore her heels.

  There were worse missions. Fucking Demetrius for information was something she did occasionally. Getting to drink shifter blood, freely without a fight, was a rare treat for vampires with the added benefit that her strong shifter body could take the pounding of a male feeding vampire. Otherwise, they tried to separate the two. Too many casualties. She chose Demetrius, because although his motives seemed aligned with Sigma, they were still his own. In that respect, she felt a kinship. He was cruel, but not unnecessarily so. Madame G often tried to tempt him with female shifters, but he refused to force or seduce the captives. With X, he played the game of give and take.

  It was a fine line X walked. To do this, she had to give up on any hopes for her own future. Walking around with the stench of a vampire on her would burn a bridge that made her heart ache. But that stench would keep her in Madame G’s good graces and ward off suspicion that the evil matriarch’s top pet was turning over a new leaf. Using her body was inevitable, but at least she reached a point of power where she could choose who, when, and how often.

  Demetrius, wearing only black leather pants, his defined chest and chiseled abs on display, wrapped his hands around her back and slid them down to her backside, his mouth close to her neck.

  “Oh, my first sip won’t be from here.”

  Reaching down, he lifted her up from behind and set her up on his table. A single vampire didn’t need a six foot dining room table for family gatherings. It was obvious he enjoyed many different courses on it.

  X stretched back, allowing him to spread her legs. He knew she liked to get down to business. Don’t play with breasts, don’t suckle anything longer than needed, take your drink and pass the information.

  He dipped his head down to her center, where she was spread for him. His soft hair tickling her inner thighs. As he used his strong fingers to spread her, he looked up at her. She raised an eyebrow. He chuckled again and got to business.

  Demetrius’ talented tongue quickly warmed her up, but she knew he needed to prep her for his second feeding. It had indeed been awhile and this was not the male she wanted inside of her. What she wanted was irrelevant. She had one mission and one mission only. And this exchange between her and Sigma authority aided in that mission.

  X leaned on her arms and rocked against Demetrius’ mouth, moaning when he inserted one finger into her, quickly followed by another. The fire was stoked now and rising rapidly. She held her legs apart, watching him work on her, his hair brushing her inner thighs, his arm the thrusting force behind his fingers and his tongue flicking rapidly.

  X let her head fall back as she rocked with him, the moans overtaking her. When the first ripples of orgasm moved through her, Demetrious replaced his tongue with his thumb, bared his fangs and struck her inner thigh.

  The intensity of the bite slammed into her and she cried out with the force.

  Demetrius withdrew his fangs with her final shudders and straightened, undoing his pants. His impressive size sprang free, he kicked his pants aside and climbed up onto his knees on the table in between her legs.

  He was looking greedily at her wet center when she put a heeled foot on his chest, stopping him. His eyes blazed as he looked up to her face.

  “Information first, before round two. You know I’m good for it.”

  He inhaled sharply, wrapping a fist tightly around her ankle. A fully aroused vampire male in the middle of a feed, not yet released, could be a ferocious predator, but she didn’t care. A deal was a deal.

  “She tied herself to the fetus, her intention to always know where it was at and when it was born, become a part of it. Like her failed attempt at mating a couple months ago, she seeks to combine herself with the child,” he finally indulged a portion of the information she was seeking.

  Duh, of course Madame G incorporated he
rself into the conception somehow. That’s what Madame G did.

  “How?”

  Demetrius shrugged a heavily muscled shoulder. “The easiest way is by blood ritual. All she’d need is a drop, it wouldn’t destroy the genetic material, and would grow when conception was successful.”

  “So if they wanted to separate her from the bundle of joy?”

  He leaned over her, his head directly above hers, placing a hand by her ear while another held himself steady for entrance. Her foot still rested on his chest, ready to stop any forward motion until she felt her question was adequately answered.

  “I really don’t know how they could do it. Vampires and shifters may have started walking the earth at the same time, but they took drastically different paths. One chose the dark, one chose the light. How they can remove her essence would differ with how we could remove it. I don’t imagine the Guardians would place a call into any dark powers asking for advice.”

  His fangs were bared, his hand stroking himself, she didn’t have much time.

  He surprised her when he continued, “Shifters already have a way to bind to each other. I’m sure any unbinding ceremony would do the trick.”

  X’s heart sank. The only way to unbind shifters is death and that was an unacceptable answer in this scenario.

  “Why does Madame G want a baby?” she risked one final question.

  He gave a sharp bark of laughter. “Now, Love. Isn’t that the million dollar question?”

  Moving her foot aside, he surged into her. She gave a sharp gasp at the sudden fullness. Demetrius began his rhythm, his powerful buttocks clenching and undulating to move inside of her. X brought her knees higher, resting the points of her black heels into his butt cheeks, knowing he liked the jabs of pain.

  Demetrius groaned, leaning his head down to lick at her neck.

  “Just take your drink,” she got out between pants. His thrusts were increasing in strength so she reached out to hang on to the edges of the heavy table. It was only temporary, once he bit, her body staying on this table would be at his discretion.

  “Not ready yet.” She could feel him smiling against her neck, smug bastard, his fangs scraping her super sensitive skin. He kept up his pounding rhythm, and right before he struck, he moved his hand between them to rub her clitoris, sending her over the edge.

  Fangs sunk deeply into her vein. Waves of pleasure rolled over, continuously. X shut her mind off after cursing her genetic makeup, dropped her legs to the table, and let go. She was held in place by Demetrius at her neck, while his frantic pumping kept her orgasm going. As long as he fed, she’d continue coming.

  Skin slapping skin and Demetrius’ grunts were all that could be heard until he released her, threw his head back, and roared. Veins popped out of his neck and shoulders as he strained against her, she could feel him convulsing deeply, emptying himself inside her tight channel. Unfortunately, that was another necessity of this transaction. She needed people to know who she was with, needed them to smell Demetrius on her, or they’d start thinking she’d gotten chaste, and chaste equaled rebellion in Madame G’s world. To dominate another’s body was the gateway to complete mind control.

  His sides still heaving, he hung his head above her. Her own fangs had slid down, they weren’t always at the ready like a vampire’s, thankfully, and she watched a bead of sweat trickle down the side of his neck and hover over the pulse point, beating at a rapid rate. Her tongue swirled over one fang as she eyed his vein. She wouldn’t do it. Couldn’t. She might have a small measure of respect for him, trust him slightly with the content of their information exchange, but she’d be stupid to trust him with who and what she really was. That was her only trump card. The only thing that could possibly make her suicide mission successful. Instead, she pushed lightly at his chest.

  When he withdrew and climbed off the table, she sat up and did the same, donning her trench coat while he climbed into his pants.

  “Good game,” she said heading to the door.

  “Anytime, Love. I enjoy our negotiations.” He walked her to the door. She noticed he couldn’t help but being a gentlemen at times. “Tell me X.”

  She turned to face him.

  “Where do you go in your head when we’re together?”

  A small, sad smile lifted the corners of her mouth and she walked away.

  Commander Rhys Fitzsimmons weaved through the club, techno dance music pounding in his chest. He was out searching for Agents or recruits to torture for information when he smelled her and whenever he smelled her, it meant trouble.

  “Wanna dance?” an eager, not so young anymore, woman asked. He regarded her with the same impassive expression he used on everyone. She gave him what was meant to be coy smile and sashayed away.

  That scent. Anger coiled in his gut. He knew that specific scent of that female. He’d only smelled it a couple of times before. Rhys wove his way through the people until he reached the single bathroom in time to see a tall, dark figure disappear inside.

  Bursting through the door on Demetrius’ coattails, Rhys shoved the powerful vampire against the wall. A woman shrieked and cowered in the corner next to the toilet.

  “Why, Commander, to what do I owe the honor?” Demetrius asked, completely unruffled by being held against the wall by his throat.

  “What the fuck are you up to Demetrius?”

  “Now, now. I know how your kind tries not to draw attention to themselves. I’m just here, enjoying a good dance. I had the brunt of my aggression squeezed out of me earlier, leaving me free to partake of the more delicate goodies here.”

  Rhys glared at Demetrius, rage boiling over, squeezing the vampire’s throat harder. The woman cowering behind him continued to whimper. Unable to speak, and knowing he wouldn’t be killed in public in front of witnesses, Demetrius allowed the commander to release some aggression.

  With a snarl, Rhys released the infuriating creature and turned to go.

  “It’s the games we play to stay alive, Commander,” Demetrius said almost wanting to comfort the distraught Guardian.

  “One day, Demetrius, I will find out exactly what you’re up to and you will pay.”

  “I look forward to it,” Demetrius replied glibly as Rhys marched out the door looking for the woman who approached him earlier.

  He found her drinking alone at the bar, scanning the crowd for more lonely males.

  Her eyes lit up when she saw him heading her way. Putting her drink down and straightening her clothes, she gave him what was meant to be her most winning smile.

  “I want to dance,” he told her.

  Almost shyly, she took his hand and followed him to an empty bathroom next to where Demetrius was successfully taking his female’s mind off the confrontation.

  “I don’t usually do this,” she admitted.

  Riiight. Except he kind of believed her. She smacked of loneliness. He would know.

  He closed them in the dark room and pinned her against the wall, smashing her mouth with his. His lonely woman was taken my surprise, but quickly returned his kiss with enthusiasm. When he did nothing else, just kiss her, she tentatively reached for his fly, fumbling with the buckles.

  Rhys reared back. What was she doing? She’d find nothing there worth her time. He remained limp, whether through anger or the woman he was with, it didn’t matter. He had to stop and think.

  “Sorry, ah...I can’t,” he admitted.

  “It’s all right,” she breathed, rubbing against him. “I can work on you first, if you need it.”

  When she dropped her knees and went back to his crotch, he batted her away.

  “I need to go.” He walked out, leaving the bewildered woman alone.

  Leaving through the back exit, not even the dealers and the smokers loitering in the dimly-lit lot attempted to mess with Rhys. The cloud of confusion and anger and menace warning them he was best left alone.

  This thing with that shifter. The last time he turned to other women when he smelled X on that
male, it made him feel empty and sick inside. A random fuck would do him no good and it would do the frustrating Agent no good. Whatever she was up to kept her loyal to Sigma and he was determined to find out why. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to help her, and goddammit he would, whether she needed it or not. Making himself vulnerable to getting killed while he got a blow job in some yuppie club wasn’t going to help anybody.

  He dedicated his life to his species. Now he dedicated it to annihilating Madame G and finding out X’s secrets. Once he was appeased, then he would walk away.

  Chapter Nine

  Three weeks. Over three fucking weeks. Dani had been stuck in the prison cell for close to a month.

  They tried to drag her back from the woods after she realized screaming for Mercury to come back wasn’t working. Bennett finally grabbed her like a sack of potatoes while she hollered for the massive wolf to come back. He still hadn’t returned.

  Three weeks. He’d been gone the entire time. She would’ve sensed his return, even if it was just to his cabin. Instead, she felt empty. And alone. And really bored.

  Her new, and probably temporary for only nine months, sixth sense suggested she could leave at any time. Wish the prison cell door would open and voila! There was no point. She was safe in the depths of the lodge and trying to escape would only enforce the Guardians’ suspicions she was guilty.

  She explained everything to them, in full detail, no omissions this time. Even they sensed her honesty and sincerity. Then they locked her up.

  The small room was like an economy apartment. Her dorm room in college had more amenities, but overall it wasn’t a bad place to be imprisoned. It even had little windows that strategically let in the strongest rays of the day. They may have been put there to torture vampire prisoners, but they were really nice for a human prisoner.

  Mason was dead. The shot to his chest was from E’s special “boom stick,” as she heard him call it once. It blew silver-laced ammo designed to make craters in whatever it hit. And it hit Mason square in the chest, blowing his heart into fragments and out through his back.