As Damien approached, he understood why he hadn’t sensed them. They were humans. His father had fucking hired humans. So, where the hell were the sentinels?
“Fuck.”
There would be no reasoning with these guys, but at least humans would be easier to fight.
The last guy paced behind his friends, so Damien silently ran up and used a choke hold on him until he passed out. When the other two noticed Damien, one pulled a gun, and the other had a knife. Damien went for the man with the gun. He now had his arm around Payton, trying to drag her away.
Damien sprinted toward him, and the guy shot him in the shoulder, just under his clavicle. He spun his body with the gunshot to decrease the impact, giving the guy with the knife the opportunity to cut his back from shoulder to waist. The laceration was deep, and both injuries burned like hell, but Damien was full of adrenaline, and he pushed the pain away. His shifter genetics ensured that he was strong enough to survive the wounds. He’d still need to stop the bleeding soon, which meant he needed to get Payton and him out of there as soon as possible.
The kidnapper had looked almost surprised when his gun went off, and Payton had taken the opportunity to break free from his grasp. She didn’t have her full range of motion due to her big winter coat hindering her movements. Damien swung around to put the guy with the knife out of commission before he got cut again. The guy tried to punch him, but Damien ducked and managed to land a blow to his stomach and his temple, and then the guy was out.
The knife guy fell to the ground, and Damien heard the gun go off again. He turned to see Payton clutching her side. The gun guy shoved her, and she fell to the ground. The horrible sound of the back of her head hitting the pavement followed, and even if she were still conscious, Damien knew she wouldn’t be much longer.
He attacked the guy with the gun. He punched the guy with his good arm and landed a roundhouse kick to the head, knocking the guy unconscious. Damien’s back was on fire, but he grabbed Payton in a fireman’s hold and made his way to his truck. He’d left the truck unlocked, making it easier to get back in, and he laid Payton across the bench seat before resting her head in his lap to cushion it.
With both of them injured, he needed to make a decision and fast. He didn’t know how long it would take to contact her family to get her to safety, and he couldn’t take her to a hospital because gunshot wounds were an automatic call to the police. He chose to head to his cabin to tend to their wounds, figuring he’d worry about her parents later. It wasn’t like he had any other options.
Naya looked at Vaughn as his smile fell, and his expression turned to rage. His eyes turned completely cat, and she was overwhelmed by the strength of his emotions through their blood bond. He slowly lowered his phone.
She grabbed his arm. “Vaughn, what happened?”
“That was my father. Payton was abducted. She was talking to my mom on the phone when it happened. And Sawyer and Kenzie were kidnapped from our house. Sawyer made a quick call to my dad before it happened. He was upstairs when he heard someone taking Kenzie. He didn’t get much more out before he was shot with a tranquilizer gun. He removed the dart from his leg, but the drug worked fast, and my dad heard his voice start to slur. Sawyer managed to get out that the abductors were humans, but they smelled like wolves, which means they had been near some recently. But, Naya, they referred to Kenzie and Sawyer by our names. They thought they were kidnapping us.”
People had tried to abduct them. Instead, they had taken her best friend—her fragile human best friend—and Vaughn’s sister. She knew Vaughn and his family would be all over this, but she couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.
She grabbed her phone and made a call she never thought she would have to make. She silently thanked her parents for making her program this number into every phone she’d ever owned. She knew the ones on the other end wouldn’t give up until everyone was home safe.
The phone was answered on the first ring. “Guardians.”
“This is Princess Anaya. I need your help.”
Naya looked up to meet Vaughn’s eyes and took his hand. No matter what happened, they would always have each other.
FOUR MONTHS LATER…
VAUGHN LEANED AGAINST the doorway of the nursery, feeling like the luckiest son of a bitch in the world. He watched his beautiful mate as she gazed into the crib. The serene smile she wore showed she’d already forgotten about the fifty-plus hours of labor she’d gone through. It would take him a little longer to do the same.
The delivery had been hard on her body, and Naya’s doctor had feared she would have to go to surgery to get the babies out. Almost like a miracle though, baby Aidan and baby Victoria had decided it was time, and five minutes later, they had been born. Vaughn had never been that scared in his life. He’d known Naya for less than a year, but he couldn’t imagine his life without her now. She was his everything.
He entered the room and slid his arm around her, pulling her against him. She rested the back of her head against his chest and let her body relax. He rubbed her almost flat belly and marveled at the fact that his children had come from there.
He glanced down into the crib as the two slept. They looked tiny in the big crib. The day they had been born, Aidan and Victoria had cried nonstop until a nurse had placed them in the same bassinet at the clinic. So, now, they slept together and would most likely keep doing so until they outgrew their crib.
Vaughn and Naya had only brought the twins home a few hours ago, and it felt wonderful to have his family under one roof. Both of them had been born with dark hair. Baby Victoria had inherited his black hair and blue eyes while baby Aidan had Naya’s chocolate locks and blue eyes that looked like they might change to purple. But Vaughn didn’t really care who looked like whom. Both babies were the most fascinating things he’d ever seen.
Naya arched up and kissed his cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered.
He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “For what?”
“For being my mate, for giving me the most precious gifts, and for making me the happiest female in the world.” She kissed his jaw. “I love you.”
He turned her to face him and cupped her head. “I love you, too. Don’t you ever forget it.” He bent to kiss her. “And it should be me thanking you. You did all the work.” He smiled at her. “But I did have fun making them.”
“Vaughn,” she said, scolding him with a grin.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He opened his mouth, and she licked the inside. He was instantly hard. He missed being inside his mate.
With effort, he broke their kiss and rested his forehead on hers. Their breathing was ragged, and he groaned.
“The next four weeks are going to kill me.”
She grinned, and he stood up straight.
She smiled seductively and rubbed her fingers down his chest and to his stomach. “I’m sure we can find other ways to have fun.”
Really? What is she waiting for?
The twins were sleeping, and he had a few minutes alone with his mate. He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the door.
“Vaughn?” She giggled and tugged on his hand.
“What, baby?”
“We don’t have time right now.”
He spun around to look at her. “What? Why?” He feared he sounded like a whiny child.
She laughed, stepping closer. “Everyone’s going to be here within the hour, remember?”
“No.”
She chuckled while he felt like sulking.
She wrapped her arms around his neck again. “After everyone leaves the babies’ celebration and we lay them down to sleep, I promise, we’ll go in our bedroom, just the two of us, alone.”
“Okay,” he resigned.
She leaned up, kissed the corner of his mouth, and grinned. “Don’t be a grump. Plus, I know how much you are dying to show off the twins.”
He gave in with a smile. “You’re right. I am.” He put his forehead on hers again
and growled. “But I’m holding you to your promise, Mrs. Llewelyn. I haven’t slept beside you since you went to the hospital almost a week ago, and I miss you.”
“I’ve missed you, too, but I doubt you plan to sleep.”
She had him there, and he kissed her again. Just when he thought he might get her to change her mind, the doorbell rang. She broke their kiss, and he grumbled a complaint. Whoever was at the door was impatient because they rang the doorbell again. Victoria woke up and started crying, which led Aidan to follow.
Naya and Vaughn smiled at each other and went to the crib. They each picked up a baby and walked hand in hand down the stairs. After everything they had been through in the last few months, they deserved something good. This was more than good, and he couldn’t wait to show off his new family.
Even though Naya and Vaughn’s story is complete, the world of the Forbidden series is far from over. You’ll find out what happens to Payton and Damien, Kenzie and Sawyer, as well as the other sentinels and some other characters you have yet to meet in the next book. Forbidden Heat will be out at the end of 2014, which will feature Payton and Damien, and will Forbidden Temptation, Kenzie and Sawyer’s story, will be out in 2015. If you want to keep up on our release dates, sign up for our newsletter.
Thank you for letting us share our story with you. We hope you enjoyed it and will be back because we have a lot more to come.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
R.L. Kenderson is two best friends writing under one name. Renae wrote her first poem in third grade and learned she might have a knack for this writing thing, while Lara remembers sneaking her grandmother’s Harlequin novels when she was probably too young to be reading them and always knew she wanted to write her own.
When they met in college, they bonded over their love of reading and the TV show Charmed. What really spiced up their friendship was when Lara introduced Renae to romance novels. When they discovered their first vampire romance, they knew there would always be a special place in their hearts for paranormal romance. After being unable to find certain storylines and characteristics they wanted to read about in the hundreds of books they consumed, they decided to write their own.
They both live in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area where they’re a sonographer/stay-at-home mom and pharmacist by day and a sexy author by night. You can find them at www.rlkenderson.com, R.L. Kenderson Facebook page, and R.L. Kenderson Tumblr blog or email them at [email protected]. You can also find them on Twitter at @rlkenderson but don’t hold it against them that they’re not big tweeters. Some day they might get the hang of it.
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