by Shae Shannon
Gabe stopped mid-stride and turned to look Aiden in the eyes. “I assure you, Chloe is more than trustworthy. To ease your mind, she is the one they are after. I highly doubt any form of terrorism is on her to-do list.”
“Well, that does ensure a certain amount of confidentiality.” The tension in his taut shoulders seemed to visibly ease. They approached the huge, solid door to the den.
Chloe could sense that something was going on, but she wasn’t sure what. She knew that Gabe and Blake were returning but with guests, which had her on full alert. What she didn’t expect was the group of man hunks that followed. No, not men. These were something else, but enormous and perfect. And, drool-all-over holy shit balls, shirtless. Her gaze traveled over, taking in his jet-black hair that whisked over his forehead and fell in waves around his face and down his neck. His eyes were pools of the deepest emeralds. Dark, thick lashes lined them, giving them the appearance of black eyeliner. His face was ruggedly handsome, hard and chiseled, with lips that begged for attention. They were full and plump, and she swore she knew they would taste of ripe berries. As if sensing her gaze, he stared her in the eyes, reaching straight to her pussy. A small, almost unnoticeable smile tugged at the corners of his lips, as he was obvious to her reaction.
“Come here, love. I want you to meet some of my dear old friends. Chloe Kent, this is Aiden Grey. Aiden, I’d like you to meet my soon-to-be wife and blood mate, Chloe Kent.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Aiden.”
“The pleasure, I assure you, is all mine, Ms. Kent.” As she went to shake his outstretched hand, he pulled it up to his mouth slowly. Deliberately taking his time and causing her to shy away, he sniffed in her scent deeply before placing a kiss that lingered inappropriately too long.
Gabe let out a throaty laugh. “Okay, Aiden, tighten your wolf’s leash, or I might be forced to put a muzzle on you, buddy.”
Laughing, he reluctantly let go of her hand and turned to Gabe. “I was merely admiring the lady of the house. She is a true beauty and would bring the animal inside of anyone out to howl. How on earth did you manage to get such a woman, Gabriel?”
“Pure luck, my friend. It has to be the attraction to my large…fangs.” With a playful slap to Gabe’s arm, Chloe moved to allow the rest of the group into the area.
Behind Aiden were two other equally jaw-dropping, enormous, topless beefcakes. If steroids had commercials, these guys would be the superstars.
Gabe pointed at the two others accompanying Aiden. “Chloe, this is Chase. The other pup over there is Brett. He is barely housebroken, and Chase just stopped chasing his tail.” Her eyes gazed over each of them, her mouth gaping open in surprise. Chase was blond haired and blue eyed, his features adorably handsome and his body a solid brick wall of muscle. He gave her a sexy sideways grin as he shook her hand. Brett had chestnut hair that was draped in ringlets in a moplike fashion, giving the term “bedhead” a whole new meaning. His jaw was squared, and he had two of the most adorable dimples perched at the corners of the softest kissable mouth she had ever seen. He was obviously enjoying her visual inspection as his grin grew to flash perfect white teeth.
“Hello, Ms. Kent. It is so very nice to meet you. You are way too young and beautiful to be with such an ancient, old man. If you ever decide to date someone worthy of your elegance, I would be more than happy to show you love like you have never imagined.” With a loud oomph, Brett was knocked to the side by Gabe’s fist. Chloe’s eyes widened, only to witness him mess up his hair and give him a noogie.
“Keep your Pampers latched, pup. This ‘old, ancient man’ will bend you over my knee and whip your ass.”
They all laughed, continuing into the room. Gabriel introduced Giselle, once again having to keep the wolves at bay. He left Blake to introduce Amy, who, after a rather awkward long, intimate kiss, left her lips swollen to greet the guests. The men all laughed at Blake’s bold claim and slapped him on the back in appreciation. Giselle excused herself to gather refreshments for everyone. As she returned, she asked them all if she should retire to her room to give them privacy.
It was Aiden who jumped to answer first. “No, I think it would be beneficial for you to hear what we have to say and get your input. We need all the help we can get, and you are a very talented woman. Plus, your beauty is enticing, and you seem to be the only available female among us.” He gave her his best devilish smile, bringing a pink flush to her cheeks.
“You are too kind, Aiden. I appreciate you flattering an old lady.”
“Giselle, love. You are anything but old. You are at the peak of your life, radiating your inner and outer sexiness.”
“Okay, boys, I think we have flattered all of the women in the room enough for tonight. Let’s get down to business.” With that, Blake sat down and waited for the others to follow suit.
They discussed the information they had received from the other wolves regarding Lucard. Some had denied his gift of immortality and a higher-breeding program and lived inconspicuously to tell about it. Their inside information of the harebrained operation that the dipshit, ego-power-hungry Lucard had planned was soon going to fall in a big way. His evil reign would come to an end forever. A plan of action was set, and everyone had a job to do. The wolves were joining the ranks along with other vampires from all over the world who would be congregating to stop the ritual Lucard was planning on the next full moon. It was strange that, after all of the centuries, the two different species were at last friends instead of foes. All it took was a single superstrong, ancient vampire that wanted world domination. Who would have thought?
After they had discussed the business for the night, Gabriel, Blake, and Aiden went back out to confront the audience that had been lurking around the corner. It was all too easy to convince Chase and Brett to stay behind, offering more security to the ladies, but he couldn’t blame the pups. Gabe had known them since birth and had full faith in their ability to protect them, even if they did flirt shamelessly.
When they entered the woods, the group had their “spidey senses” on. When they walked up on a clearing, the other pack members that were patrolling had the vampire pinned to the ground.
“It seems our creeper has a few things he’d like to share, Aiden. Talk, varmint!” Hunter, another huge wolf, emphasized his demand with an extra hard squeeze of the vampire’s neck. “Start talking before I pop your head like a zit!” A few strangled gurgle sounds came from the vampire’s lips, bringing it to the attention of Hunter that relaxing his hold a smidge would probably be a great idea.
“I was sent to follow the wolves. The boss wants me to get them to follow me back to a remote location where he is planning on capturing them all and injecting them with vamp venom. My name is Dante. I am not here to follow through with the plan, but am hoping you can help me. I don’t want to be turned into one of his freaks.”
“So we are just supposed to believe that you aren’t a traitor, but want our help? Nice try, suckface. You are trying to save that cold, clammy skin of yours. You might want to come up with something a little better than that if you want to keep your head and extremities attached.” Gabriel flashed an unspoken command to Hunter, who immediately tightened his arm around the creep’s neck. Dante squirmed, attempting to loosen the muscled noose.
Dante begged through clenched teeth. “No! Please. He is building a freak-show army.” Hunter loosened his arm enough to allow Dante to continue. “At first he was taking volunteers, with the promise of something amazing. The wolves are not reacting like he had planned, and some of them are losing their wolf side when the vampire venom is given to them. It is killing others. The few that make it are becoming his minions. Lucard is injecting werewolf venom into turned vampires, but most of them are too evil inside to become a shifter also. They end up dying. Me, I ain’t like the other nasty bloodsuckers. I was turned, but I was not an evil human. I had a family and was a professor. Most of all, I believe in God. I have his love in me no matter what form I am. We must stop
this lunatic before he builds this Frankenstein army.”
All of the men looked at each other, strangely believing the outsider. It was Gabe who spoke up first. “We are aware of his plan. And we plan on stopping him. There are a lot of things going on that you aren’t aware of, but you have brought some answers to questions we had unsolved. Have you been injected with the wolf blood yet?”
“No. It was to be my reward for delivering the wolves. I knew I had to figure out what to do before time ran out, and I saw that the wolves didn’t kill you immediately, so I hoped that if you were present they wouldn’t automatically kill me.”
“Hunter, release Dante for now,” Aiden commanded his pack. He turned to Dante, his face drawn. “Where is he getting the wolf blood? Vamp blood would be easier to obtain, because the ones he associates with are all evil and willing. The wolves are different. There is no way any of our kind would help, willingly anyway.”
“He has abducted pups. He drains them almost dry, compels them, and leaves them for their family to find them. It’s easiest for him because it just seems as if the young pups wandered off a little too far and got lost.”
“That bastard! I can’t wait to rip his slimy, oozing head off of his shoulders and burn the son of a bitch!” Aiden clamped his hands in tight fists, looking around for something to hit. He shook from anger, his claws extending and his face transforming into a wolf. It wasn’t until Gabe patted him on the back and told him to settle down that his human form took back over.
“Okay, Aiden, do you have a place you can hide Dante? I think it best he stay with you all, just in case. No matter what happens, I know the pack can handle it. Even if our new friend here isn’t telling the truth, he is but a mere turned. One of your youngbloods could take him with one hand tied behind their back. And it will be the last place Lucard will think to look.”
“Yes, we can arrange lodging for you, Dante. Just know this now, if you are a traitor, I will make it personal. And it has been a long time since I have had the opportunity to torture and slowly kill someone. Some of my pack are chomping at the bit for a kill. Keep that in mind.”
“Yes, sir. Like I said, you are the only ones I can go to for help. I want to help you as well. I mean no harm.”
Blake perked up at that, giving one of his boyish smiles. “You can always give him to the teens if things go bad. They always need a new chew toy.” Aiden relaxed some at the corny joke, and some at his friend’s attempt to ease the tension. Leave it to Blake. He could find humor in any situation.
“We will be on our way now, old friend. We have a lot to do, and a short time to do it in. Chase and Brett will stay here with you for added protection. We will have a few people showing up tomorrow for added help, if a need should arise.”
“Thanks, Aiden. It was good seeing you, even if it was because of a psycho asshole on a power trip. We have got to quit seeing each other like this! When this is all over, we are getting together for dinner. The whole pack and us.”
“Sounds great, but I don’t think you know how much the dogs eat! The women would love to get to know Chloe and Amy though. I can only imagine the trouble they will get into together.” Laughing, the trio turned back to Hunter and his almost hostage. “Hunter, take our ‘guest’ to the trucks. We can go to the camp for a few days until this is resolved.” Aiden drew Gabe then Blake each into a man hug.
“Okay. See you later, Gabe, Blake.”
“Later, bro,” they replied in unison. The wolves left silently and undetectably.
Chapter 9
The next two days flew by like a tornado. Chase and Brett, along with a handful of other dogs, had decided it best to also take residence in the mansion to help protect Chloe. They stayed scattered throughout the mansion, some residing in the upper floors, some underground. They rotated shifts patrolling the land that surrounded the property.
Tonight was the night of the Masquerade Ball, and the place was buzzing with activity. The catering had started to arrive. A buffet from steak to BBQ overloaded the serving area in abundance. Desserts and appetizers graced the tables around the bar. The stage had been set up, and the decorations were magnificent. Silk festooned from the ceiling, cascading black and silver trimmed in gold lace. Elaborate masks were hung all around, and ribbons hung dangling in tangles of bows and bloodred roses. Deep-red, green, blue, and golden lights were shining around, giving the place a fairy-tale atmosphere. As the final touches were being put into place and the band was setting up, the group went to dress and prepare for the event. Giselle was waving her wand to put some final decorations in place, giving the illusion of floating candles. To the humans, it would look like a great parlor trick. Chloe had told her to envision Harry Potter and to do what she could to bring that to life without it being obvious that it was witchcraft. It was tasteful and elegant, with a twist of mystery to keep the eye wandering.
“Chloe, love, we are going to be late. Are you almost ready?”
“Yeah, just finishing up now.” She stepped out of the bathroom, her hands perched on her perfectly accented hips. “Well, what do you think?”
Gabe’s jaw hit the floor. His eyes were like saucers, and no sound would come out of his mouth. She stood before him like a goddess. Never over all of the centuries could he have imagined such a delightful and splendiferous sight. Her hair was cascaded down her back, allowing the curls to bounce around her shoulders. One side had been drawn up and fastened with the jeweled comb of the Shalay jewels. Her face was glowing. Chloe’s eyes were lined in the darkest black, making them look the deepest chocolate color he had ever seen. Smoky shadow had been swept over her eyelids, and her lashes looked to be that of a feline. But what got him more than anything was the way her lush, full lips were coated in a deep burgundy. They begged to be kissed. His dick tightened against his zipper, yearning for them to be wrapped around his growing member, sucking the juice from him. She had the Shalay jewelry on, including the collar, and the dress he had bought her so long ago. This was a moment he wanted to capture forever. A deep, feral growl escaped his lips.
“I think you need to get over here now!”
“What’s wrong?” Her face was twisted with anxiety and fright.
* * * *
She walked over to him slowly, not sure what to expect. Did she not look okay? As she walked, she slid her hands down her sides, along the lines of the glove-fitting gown. This is as good as it gets. If he is disappointed, then we have a major problem. She went to reach for her hair, to make sure it was in place and snakes hadn’t sprouted from her head to cause such a reaction, when he grabbed her hands. “You should be scared, pet.” The words flashed in her mind as soon as he made contact with her skin. She inhaled a sharp breath, and he spun her in a blur to rest against him, her ass against the hard bulge in the front of his pants. He ground it against her hard as he inhaled by her neck, lingering long enough to make her fully aware of what he intended.
“We need to get upstairs. The guests will be arriving shortly, Gabriel.”
“The guests, and the rest of the world for that matter, will have to wait until after I claim you. Tonight is the night. I am going to take you fully, forever. Once we are blood bonded, we can see through each other’s eyes and feel what the other feels. I am marking you as mine, pet, and you are marking me. You will take my blood tonight. We will be married.”
Chloe smiled, her heart spilling over with emotion. She fought to keep the tears from spilling from her eyes and cleared her throat to voice her concern. Relief flooded her, replaced by excitement. “I thought maybe I disappointed you. The dress is so wonderful, maybe you expected more.”
“Even in my dreams never did I envision such stunning beauty, Chloe Kent. You have blown my mind. I had planned on waiting until after the party, but one look at you and I can’t tame the beast inside of me. I have to make you mine now!”
“But, I thought we would have a wedding. A real one. I wanted a traditional ceremony with our friends and family.”
; “Oh, love, we will. This is just our personal joining. One that will mark your soul and brand your heart, baby.”
A hushed “oh” slipped from her lips, in a simple breath of a word.
Desire slammed into Chloe. Her face turned flush, her pupils fully dilated, and she pulled against her restrained wrists and spun to face him. Chloe vibrated with a fierce need, her body pulsing against Gabriel. He wrapped one arm around her and levitated as he captured her lips in a desperate huger. As he swept his tongue over the crease of her lips, she let out a sigh, and he took the opportunity to plunge into her mouth. He found her tongue and started a fiery paso doble, their tongues in a violent dance, desperate to entwine deeper. He hovered with Chloe over the bed as their aerial ascent still went unnoticed.
The blood in Chloe’s veins started to boil. Exigent need burst from every pore on her body. She had to have him now. Gabe’s lips brushed against hers, and she could feel orgasm budding in her soul. He dove into her mouth, exploring with a deep, feral hunger. With that simple impact, her senses exploded, capturing her breath. She returned all of the urgency back, snaking her tongue along every crevice of his mouth. The kiss was beyond anything she had ever imagined or experienced. Fueled by desperation, Chloe caressed each one of Gabe’s extended fangs with her tongue. He moaned an uncontrollable response, his lips becoming almost violent as he kissed her deeper and crazed. Chloe’s mind was a kaleidoscope of colors and clouds. It actually felt like she was flying. She was floating in a subspace not of this dimension. Alice falling down the rabbit hole held nothing compared to the sensations being experienced at this single glorious moment. She opened her eyes to undress and jerked with shock.
“How long have we been floating? I thought your kiss made me feel that way. I didn’t actually think we were floating.” With a toothy smile, she caressed his cheek. “You surprise me every day, Gabriel. Will you help me out of this dress so it doesn’t end up in shreds?”