Vincent had always made her feel special, like she was the only star in his universe. But seeing him fucking her roommate - in his bed, the bed they'd shared - made her sick. How could he betray her like this? Especially when she needed him so badly right now.
She got to the top of the stairs and walked down the hall to her room. Brushing her fingers across her pocket, she realized she'd left her keys in the door downstairs. But her bedroom door was ajar. Fuck.
She pushed it open, and new waves of tears welled up into her swollen eyes. Her roommate Samantha was reading in the chair next to the window.
“Kara,” Samantha looked up slowly. Her eyes got big and she jumped from the chair, dropping her book to the floor. “Oh my God, girl, what happened to you?”
Kara raised her arm. “How could you?” Tears poured down her cheeks in fiery rivers. “You’re my roommate. My sorority sister!”
“I don't know what you are talking about, Kara. Calm down. You look like you got hit by a truck.”
“I did! I tripped and stumbled into the middle of the road after running from Vincent's house last night.”
“You were at Vincent’s?” Samantha's eyes got wide. She took a step back and nervously twisted a trailing piece of her bleach blonde hair. “When?”
“Just in time to see him eating something he shouldn't have been, bitch. But you go right ahead and keep the lying sonofabitch. I don't want him anymore.”
She turned and dashed back out of her room. Taking the stairs two at a time, she burst out the front door and started running across the lawn. But her car wasn't by the curb. She'd left it parked at Vincent's.
Damn it.
“Kara,” a familiar male voice called from across the street. She glanced up and saw Noah VonBrandt jogging toward her. At least he had clothes on now. What the hell had he and his brother been doing buck naked out in the forest last night, and why was he suddenly interested in her?
Her body shuddered; the waves of different emotions flowing through her was overwhelming. On one hand she just wanted to curl up in a hole somewhere and die; on the other, she wanted to scream and hit something. Life had served her a pile of crap over the last twenty-four hours, and she'd had just about enough.
Noah was next to her in moments, his strong arms wrapped around her and lifting her from the ground. She stiffened at first, not wanting to be so close to a male body at this point in time, but gave up when his arms only tightened. “I don't know where my idiot of a brother is, but let's get you cleaned up, sweetheart.”
Cleaned up? She'd totally forgotten that she was filthy, and her hair felt like it'd been attacked by a superglue bottle. Her hands were covered in scratches and blood stains, too. Then there were these really beautiful but strange tattoos encircling her wrists, pine needle green and permanently inked on her skin. They hadn't been there before the accident. She rubbed her thumb across one of the designs and sighed.
Noah shoved open the front door to the AKO frat house and kicked it closed behind them, barely breaking stride as he carried her up the stairs. “I’m not supposed to be in your room.” Kara wiggled a little. Others would see her, and they could get kicked out by their house for breaking rules. Not that guys and girls didn't sneak in all the time to each other's frat houses, but normally it was under the cover of darkness and everyone was drunk off their asses. It certainly was never in the morning when people would be coherent and awake.
“They're passed out. Don't worry. Nobody saw us.” He slipped into a room at the end of the hallway and closed the door quietly, locking the bolt at the top before setting her gently on her feet. “Shower is in there. Fresh towels are in the cabinet under the sink. I'll find you something to change into.”
She stood, staring at him, unable to understand why he was being so nice. Not that he and his brother were mean. Quite the opposite. She couldn't ever remember a time when Luke and Noah VonBrandt had been anything less than sweet to her when they'd crossed paths. Still. It was strange.
He grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts from a laundry basket full of folded clothes. “They’re clean, promise.” He pressed them into her arms and turned her toward the bathroom. “This way.” He opened the bathroom door and gave her a gentle push toward it. “Do you want me to start the water for you?”
She sniffed and wiped a fresh line of tears from her cheeks. “No, I can do it. I don't know why you are being so nice to me, but thank you.”
“You're important to my brother, which makes you important to me.”
Important to his brother? Why?
She nodded, not knowing what to say. The bathroom door closed with a click and she leaned back against it. She was shocked to see an organized, clean bathroom. The mirror was clear of spattered toothpaste, the sink was clean like it'd just been scrubbed. She opened the door under it and pulled out a large fluffy green towel. Laying the towel on the counter, she stripped out of her clothes and stepped into a shower stall cleaner than the one in her room. Kara turned the faucet, and within moments hot water poured over her body. The water around her feet was stained red from the blood caked in her hair.
Hopefully everything would make a little more sense once she was clean.
CHAPTER TWO
Luke parked his truck outside the KAS house, pulling up slowly behind Vincent Harris's pickup truck. Crap. He'd never get a chance to talk to her if that jerk was already here. Still, he'd said he would bring her some food, and he wasn't about to turn around and leave without at least checking to make sure Vincent was doing his usual half-ass job of taking care of her.
He hurried up to the front door with the coffee and pastries he'd picked up. Instead of knocking, he used her keys and slipped inside quietly. None of the lights were on in the house, and he could only hear a couple of heartbeats upstairs. Most of the house was empty.
Climbing the stairs, he walked slowly down the hallway toward Kara's door. He paused midway when he heard Vincent and another girl arguing. He heard the girl say “she saw us,” and Vincent reply that “he wasn't breaking up with Kara.” The unfamiliar girl's heart raced as she wailed that “You promised you were done with Kara,” that “I wouldn't have slept with you if you hadn't.”
Luke turned and hurried back out of the house, closing the door softly behind him. Kara wasn't in her room; in fact, she wasn't even in the house. He took a deep breath, trying to get an idea of which way she might've gone. He could scent her, but it was mixed with... Noah?
His boots thunked against the sidewalk as he marched down it and across the street to his frat house, his brother's and Kara's scent growing stronger with each step. What was his trouble-causing, pain-in-the-ass twin brother up to now? At least they weren't identical twins, so it's not like Kara would mistake Noah for him. Still, there was no telling what might come out of Noah's mouth just to make things more difficult.
Hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and a growl rumbled in his throat. If he'd told her anything before he got a chance to explain, he’d beat his brother to a pulp and kick him out of the house. Whoa, where had that come from?
He shook his head and took a deep breath. This new possessiveness he felt toward her was going to be tough to curtail if she rejected him. He couldn't force her to like him, but surely she was done with Vincent now if that girl said she'd seen them. Through the years he'd stayed back, in the shadows, just waiting for Vincent to mess up and Kara to leave him. He couldn't stomach being the one to tell her that her beloved boyfriend cheated on her with everything female he could get alone. But he had no problems picking up the pieces and helping her now that she did know the truth. Seeing her so upset and torn apart by Vincent’s betrayal was like a kick in the gut. That guy didn't deserve even a “hello” from Kara. And he’d make sure personally, that she was never bothered again.
The AKO house was his home away from home. The guys who lived there were like extra brothers, but they were horny devils, and he didn't trust a single one of them around Kara if they knew she
was available. Luckily, most of them were hungover from the couple of cases he and Noah had stocked the kitchen with yesterday, so none of them would notice their absence last night.
Turning into a wolf every month on a full moon was the biggest catch to being one of their kind. They could change whenever else they wanted to, but on a full moon, they were trapped in their wolf bodies until the sun rose that morning. Almost everything else was a perk, except the fact that they had to hide what they were from everyone.
How much would he have to hide from Kara? What would she think if she knew he was a freak of nature, his ancestors cursed by witches a thousand years ago? What the hell was he going to say at all?
He burst into his room and stopped cold, Kara was standing in the bathroom doorway with a brush in her hand. Her wet hair smelled like his shampoo and her floral scent was masked by the piney scent from his bath soap. Goddess alive, he just wanted to go rub his face on her skin and drink in her sweetness. His brother, Noah, was lounging on the recliner in front of their TV, with a look he recognized instantly - adoration.
“Noah.” He stalked forward, kicking the corner of the recliner on his way across the room. He set the coffee and bag of pastries on the small table next to Noah, his eyes fixed on Kara.
“Hey, man. Thanks for the coffee.”
“Not for you, dude.”
Noah laughed. “Yeah, I didn't think so. I'll be downstairs if you need me. Glad you are feeling a little better, Kara.” He gave his brother a once over and then cocked his head to the side. “In a bit of a pickle, bro, aren't you?”
“Did you say anything?” Luke hissed.
“Nope, I'll let you figure out that shit.”
“What about mom and dad?”
“I wouldn’t really do that to you,” Noah answered with a grin. “You won't be able to hide those tats for long anyway.” He patted him on the shoulder and shook his head before slipping out of the room.
Once his brother had left, Luke trained his gaze back on Kara. The outline of her body showed beneath the white t-shirt, not hiding the swell of her breasts and sweet pink color of her nipples beneath the thin fabric. His brother's long black basketball shorts hung very low on her hips, cinched with a drawstring as tight as she could get them. One of her hipbones peeked above the waistline and he licked his lips, his pants immediately becoming uncomfortably crowded.
Possessive jealousy surged in his blood again. She was his. But in truth, he wasn't any closer to having her than he had been a few days ago. She could choose to reject him. He wouldn't handle it well, but it was her choice. As for Vincent, it would be a cold day in hell before he'd let her go back to him. She deserved someone who truly treasured her. His days of standing aside while that jackass took advantage of her were over.
He walked to his closet and pulled out a lightweight hoodie and brought it to her. “Kara, would you put this on?” Her face colored bright crimson, and she took the hoodie, slipped it on, and zipped it up to her neck. At least he might have a chance to think clearly without having her breasts staring him down from beneath that white t-shirt.
She picked up the brush from the counter from where she'd laid it and began working through her long, wet, red-gold tresses again. “I guess we're even, huh?”
“What do you mean ... oh.” He grinned and took a step backward to give her a little more space. “Not quite. I seem to remember flashing a bit more skin.”
A tiny smile pulled at the corner of her rose pink lips. Lips he wanted to kiss. They looked petal-soft, and he bet they tasted as sweet as he imagined. She didn't speak again, though. Just watched him intently. He could feel her gaze travel up and down his body before coming to rest on his hands.
He leaned back against the dresser and shoved both hands into his pocket. Some of the bond marks still showed. Noah was right, he wouldn't be able to hide them from his parents for a second. Wearing long sleeves outdoors in this stifling August weather wasn't an option either.
“What do you remember, Kara?”
“I stumbled into the street and got hit by a truck. Was it yours ... you?”
A deep sigh slipped from his chest and his shoulders sagged. “Yes.”
“Luke.”
“Yeah?”
“I thought I died.” She set the brush on the bathroom counter and came into the bedroom, taking a seat on the bean-bag chair in front of the TV. Then she tucked her legs under her chin and hugged them with her arms. Her matching bond marks showed clearly against her creamy white skin.
So small. She'd made herself as tiny as she could; nothing about her body language inviting him anywhere near her.
“You almost did,” he finally answered.
“I was covered in blood, but I can’t find a wound.” She lifted a hand and looked at one of her wrists. “Then there’s this.”
“Kara, there's an explanation for everything, I just —”
A hard knock at the door interrupted his words. “Luke, dude. Your brother is kicking the shit out of Vincent Harris downstairs. He’s yelling about you taking Kara in between the punches.”
“Shit.” He ran for the door and threw it open, running past his frat brother and down the stairs toward the sound of the ruckus. No doubt Noah would make short work of the varsity football player. For a human, Vincent was a big guy, but he still didn't have a chance against six-foot-five-inches of pissed off werewolf.
***
“Hey, Kara.” A red-headed, musclebound guy she'd never met waved at her before following after Luke.
She jumped up from the bean bag and winced. Her body might not have any visible wounds, but her guts told another story. Her insides still felt like they'd been hit by a giant pickup truck, but the pain was better than it'd been earlier. Whatever had healed her was beyond anything modern medicine had at its disposal. But then, what did that mean? How had she been brought back from the brink of death without a scratch?
A loud thump made her pause, but she had to go downstairs. Noah shouldn't be beating up on Vincent for her. But when she saw Vincent's bloody nose and black eye she couldn't help but feel a small amount of satisfaction. Noah had him pinned to the wall with one arm when Luke approached, his fist sailing forward, making contact with Vincent's face with a sickening crunch.
“She's too good for your cheating ass. Get out.” Luke's voice rumbled with an authority that made Kara glad it was Vincent they were mad at and not her. He knows he cheated? How? She hadn't said anything about seeing Vincent and Samantha together.
The redhead who'd called down Luke down stepped up beside her as she watched Vincent slither out of Noah's grasp and ram him in the stomach. The VonBrandt brother barely made a sound before flipping himself to the side, sending Vincent hurling into Luke, who then swatted him down like a fly. “It's good you're done with that asshole. He's slept with half the girls on the cheer team down in the Sigma Delta Phi ‘ho’ house.”
“Who are you? And how do you know who he's been sleeping with?” There have been others?
“Vincent never missed the Delta Phi parties. They’re always up for a good fuck, and they buy the best beer.” He chuckled. “Luke has been waiting a long time for him to screw up with you.”
Waiting? So that means ... He's interested in ... me? Kara watched the way Luke snarled at Vincent before literally tossing him out of the frat house on his ass. If her brain wasn't so screwed up, she might have been able to feel good about Luke and Noah going all ninja protector for her, but as it stood, she was confused and hurt, and really just wanted to crawl into her bed back at her home and disappear.
“Nice tattoos, by the way. When did you and Luke get those?”
“I ... don't remember,” Kara murmured, looking down at the markings on her wrists again, and then at Luke, who was powering toward her.
The other guy scurried away, leaving her facing the giant of a man that Luke VonBrandt was. Six-foot-seven-inches, two hundred ten pounds —at least that's what his varsity high school stats had said a couple yea
rs ago. He and his brother Noah were the only athletes in Somewhere that were bigger and had better scores than Vincent. It was the only reason she remembered, too. Vincent used to go on and on about how it was unfair that they grew so quickly in high school.
Not that Vincent's six-two was small, but when the competition was three to five inches taller and outweighed him by thirty or forty pounds, he seemed average by comparison. Vincent was in shape, but he was very slender compared to the VonBrandts, who looked like they might have walked off the set of a gladiator movie.
“Kara, I'm sorry.”
“Did he hit Noah first?”
Luke nodded, but his aquamarine blue eyes still held embarrassment and disgust for his actions. “I shouldn't have taken it that far. Neither of us should’ve.”
“I would've kicked him in the nuts,” she said, her voice flat. “I think he came out ahead.”
A muffled snort of laughter came from Noah a few feet away before he and several other guys sidled out of the room to give Luke and her privacy. What was it with the way they all deferred to him? Maybe he was the house president. That would explain the giant room upstairs. Though his parents’ money would explain that as well.
"Can you take me home?" She watched his eyes caress her face and wondered how she could've been so blind not to see his attraction to her before. It'd been so long since Vincent had looked at her that way. She'd forgotten what it felt like to have that... love. It reminded her of the way she would catch her mom or dad looking at her when she would sing to them after dinner. Something she would never see or get to do again. A tear rolled down her cheek and Luke reached out before she could step back.
He cupped her face in his hand and wiped away the tear with his thumb. She felt safe, but something was off. He'd admitted to hitting her with his truck, almost killing her, and then, what... she magically woke up like it hadn't happened? And what the hell with the matching tattoos? Who does that to someone without their permission while they are unconscious?
To Save A Mate (A Western Shapeshifter Werewolf Romance): Somewhere, TX (VonBrandt Family Book 1) Page 2