Hunter Claimed (Dark Wolf Enterprises Book 3)

by A. M. Griffin

  Clarissa watched out the window with cool indifference. “Like I said, Asha. The choice isn’t yours anymore.”

  No. I have to get out of here.

  Francisco chuckled. “Why are you so upset, human? This is what you’ve always wanted. Once you become one of us, you’ll forget all about that mongrel of yours.”

  “I don’t want to forget about him.” Tear after tear flowed down her cheeks. Francisco was probably right. She would forget about Hunter. She would also forget this feeling of family that was deeply rooted in her core now. She didn’t want to ever lose this. She couldn’t.

  “I’ve been waiting for your change for a very long time,” Ricko said. His gaze roamed up and down her body.

  “After the change, we’ll break you in real nice,” Rocko added.

  “We’ll do things to you that no human would ever be able to endure,” Ricko said.

  “And you’ll love it,” Rocko said.

  Every ounce of Ash’s being screamed for her to flee.

  The car came to a stop. Ash pushed past Angelica and scrambled out, stumbling as she did. She looked around. She didn’t see anything but a cornfield and barn. “This isn’t the house. Where are we?”

  Clarissa came out of the car gracefully. “This is where we’re getting picked up.”

  Ash glanced around again. There was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Not that she could’ve outrun five Vampires, but the courage coursing through her veins made her want to try. “We’re leaving? Tonight?”

  “Our work here is done. Andras found the embezzler and we’ve eliminated her accomplice. We can leave now.”

  “Then why aren’t we at the airport?”

  Clarissa peered at the sky. “If I had to kill you, I didn’t want to make a scene about it.”

  Ash pulled back her shoulders and lifted her chin. “So this is it, then? You lied about turning me into a Vampire to watch me squirm, only to kill me in the middle of nowhere.” She thrust her hands down to her sides. If this was going to end, then it would be with her knowing what a real family felt like, if only for a few minutes. She wasn’t going to cower or beg Clarissa for her life. It wouldn’t matter now anyway. “Go ahead and do it, Clarissa. Kill me.”

  “Calm down, Asha.” Clarissa chuckled. “I didn’t bring you out here to kill you. I plan to change you at home, where it’s more comfortable.”

  A helicopter sounded. Ash looked up, and although she couldn’t see the helicopter, she knew it was there. And knowing that made her pulse quicken and her breathing increase. She couldn’t go with Clarissa.

  She took off running. She didn’t know where she was running to, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was escaping Clarissa.

  Before she could clear the road and get to the cornfield, she was yanked back by her hair. Pain radiated across her skull and she screamed. She struggled and fought as Clarissa dragged her back, her heels digging into the ground. The others smirked and laughed, not trying to hide their amusement at her expense.

  Wind whipped around her, and dirt flew up to pelt her face when the helicopter landed.

  This is it.

  “Come, darling. Pretty soon all your wishes will finally come true.”

  The wolf heard the helicopter. His paws beat against the grass, kicking up bits of dirt as he did. His legs moved just as fast as his heart. He couldn’t lose her. His world would fall apart.

  When he finally spotted the helicopter and recognized one of the bodies getting inside as Ash, he ran faster. He wanted to call out to her, letting her know that he was close, but that would’ve only slowed his course.

  The helicopter lifted into the air. He ran and jumped for the entrance. And missed. He hit the ground and rolled. He gathered himself and jumped again.

  It was no use. The helicopter was out of reach.

  He howled, letting his mate know that he would find her.

  The sounds of paws beating against the ground came from behind him. The others were coming for him, but he didn’t care. He’d lost his sister and mate, all in one day. He tucked his tail between his legs. His life-mate was gone. He slumped to hit the ground.

  He howled again to ears that couldn’t hear him and that might not ever hear him again. He closed his eyes. The man inside curled into a ball and cried. His soul hurt. Their souls hurt.

  A cold nose nuzzled his neck, pushing him. He whimpered. He didn’t want to move. He wanted to lay where he was and die.

  Magic from a shift sizzled in the air around him.

  “Hunter,” Andras whispered. “We’ll get her back.”

  He turned his head away from his Alpha. He wanted to believe him, but he couldn’t. Soon his Alpha would ban him from the Pack then he would truly be alone.

  “But we’ll need your help to do it,” Andras continued.

  “Shift and talk to us,” Kristof said.

  He howled his defiance.

  “Shift,” commanded Andras.

  He had to listen to his Alpha until he wasn’t his Alpha anymore. The wolf subsided and let the crying man take control.

  Hunter spread-out naked on the grass. He couldn’t stop the pain. It was in every nerve. His very being. It hurt so bad—everything hurt.

  “Do you want her back?” Andras asked.

  “Of course I do,” Hunter croaked.

  “Then get up and act like it. We’ll need to fight for her.”

  Hunter opened his eyes at hearing the word ‘we’ll.’ Both Andras and Kristof sat on the ground next to him, naked as the day they were born. “You’ll help me get her back?”

  “Of course. She’s Pack,” Andras said.

  “For how long? You banned Erzsebet and I was next.”

  Andras frowned. “Ban you and Erzsebet? You’re family.”

  “But I thought…?”

  “You thought wrong. I knew you were covering for her and I also knew that Erzsebet really didn’t think that she was the one embezzling money. I wanted to separate you both so that we could get to the bottom of what was going on. That’s why I didn’t want you going anywhere.”

  “But Ezie?”

  “I didn’t ban her. She left on her own. I’d been mentally tracking her all morning. She’d finally understood what she’d done and she was coming to tell me the truth.” His eyes watered. “At the last second, she removed herself.”

  “I can’t imagine what she’s going through right now. She needs me now more than ever. I’m so sorry, Andras. Ash found evidence that pointed to her, but I didn’t want to believe that she would do something like this. I was trying to buy time so that I could find out what was really going on. I screwed up. I should have gone to you right away. I-I was…”

  “Trying to protect your baby sister as your father asked you to.”

  “Sorry.” Hunter averted his eyes. “And sorry for defying your orders.”

  “In this instance, it’s okay. You had to follow your life-mate.”

  Hunter pushed himself up to sit. “Clarissa came in and took Ash away from me, even though I told her we had mated. Ash only went with her to protect me. I’ve lost them both. What am I going to do, Andras?”

  “We will get them back. I put out an all-points bulletin for Erzsebet. The other Packs know that I’m looking for her. She’ll turn up sooner or later. But right now we have another Pack member to rescue.”

  Kristof stood. “Let’s go get her.” He shifted and ran off into the distance.

  Andras stood and Hunter followed. “Where are we going?” Hunter asked.

  “To the airport. Katalin is meeting us there with clothes. From there, we’re heading to Clarissa’s den in New York.”

  Andras shifted and, before he could run off, Hunter whispered, “I’m coming for you, Ash,” then shifted to follow his Alpha.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Clarissa, you always told me that I can leave whenever I want,” Ash said, trying in vain to reason with her as she’d done the entire flight to New York.

  Clarissa continued to
drag her, not paying Ash any mind. Ash twisted her arm. She couldn’t release Clarissa’s hold on her, she was too strong. Ash only ended up hurting herself more than anything else.

  “So, I lied,” Clarissa said with a hint of amusement.

  Ash dug her heels into the carpeted floor, but that only made Clarissa tug violently. Something snapped, followed by a whole lot of pain. Asha howled, her knees buckled, and she couldn’t catch her breath. “My arm,” she said between pained breaths. “It’s dislocated.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about that. It’ll repair itself soon enough.”

  Even with pain shooting through her body, Ash pulled her useless arm back and dropped her butt to the floor. It was no use. Clarissa was much stronger than her. She dragged her across the carpet. Ash’s pants fell from her hip. Carpet burned against her skin.

  That still didn’t matter. To Clarissa, Ash weighed nothing.

  Clarissa unlocked the door to the bedroom they both shared. Ash’s stomach clenched. If Clarissa got her beyond those doors, Ash wouldn’t come out alive.

  “Please, Clarissa,” Ash begged. “I’m sorry for everything that I’ve done. I’ll stay with you until the day I die. I don’t want this anymore.” Ash’s chest burned as she spoke.

  The lock clicked free. As if in slow motion, Clarissa glared down at her. “You’ll be with me forever now.”

  There was no hope.

  Clarissa pulled Ash into the room and closed the door behind her. Clarissa released her. Ash scrambled backward on her knees and good hand, while the other arm hung limply at her side. Her breaths came out hard and ragged. Ash looked around the room wildly, trying to find something, anything that could be used as a weapon against Clarissa. Of course, there was nothing that could harm a determined Vampire.

  Clarissa turned to face her. The angelic smile on her face had lost its ability to comfort many years before. Asha knew to fear that smile for good reason now. It meant something terrible was about to happen.

  Clarissa opened her mouth wide and Ash watched in horror as her pointy canines grew longer, until they touched her bottom lip.

  Ash shielded herself with her good hand. “Please, Clarissa,” she whispered. “Please don’t do this to me…to Hunter. He had no choice in choosing me as his life-mate, but I do in becoming a Vampire. This might kill him.”

  Clarissa took slow steps toward her, as if she glided on air. Ash had never witnessed a turning. It had never been discussed. Any illusions she might have had about it being glamorous were quickly dispelled. In a flash, Clarissa was on her neck, pressing her ear painfully to her shoulder, ripping tendons as she did. The prick of teeth normally felt on her wrists and groin was replaced with a full-on bite. Clarissa tore a chunk out of Ash’s neck and spat skin and blood on the floor.

  Ash’s vision dimmed. Screams were on her lips, death was at her door and Hunter was on her mind.

  Pain quickly subsided to numbness. Clarissa gurgled as she feasted on her flesh and blood. The noise soon faded into the background. Fear was replaced by sadness. So much sadness. For the life that she’d lost and the love that hadn’t had time to grow.

  The connection that bound her and Hunter began to weaken. She was alone, yet again.

  “Hunter, I’m so sorry,” she whispered as darkness claimed her.

  * * * *

  Hunter paced the short length from one side of the airplane hangar to the other. He couldn’t keep his legs still and his mind clear. He imagined all the wrongs and evils that Ash was probably enduring and he couldn’t do anything about it while he was stuck waiting for the private plane to refuel. Each thought was like a separate car on a fast-moving locomotive, barreling through his head, one right after the other. His wolf wasn’t any calmer. He prowled and whined, sending him picture after picture of Ash—the scared look in her eyes whenever she glanced at Clarissa, Clarissa breaking her finger and the open wounds on her wrists.

  It was his fault that she was back in that blood-sucker’s hands.

  With a roar, Hunter pulled back a closed fist and, using all of his might, slammed it through the wall.

  “What the hell?” Meisha said, glancing at him.

  Lajos and Meisha had cut their extended honeymoon short and returned home after learning that Erzsebet had left the Pack. The jet had landed just as Andras, Kristof and Hunter had finished dressing.

  Hunter had wanted to run up the steps just as Lajos and Meisha had come down them, but the plane had required maintenance before making another trip. Hunter now had to tack on thirty more minutes until he could get to Ash. And thirty more minutes with Clarissa would probably feel like a lifetime.

  Andras paused the conversation that he’d been having with Kristof, Lajos and Meisha and turned to Hunter. His dark eyes, while showing compassion, also held power behind the irises. “Hunter, we’ll leave shortly. Destroying property won’t get the plane ready any sooner,” he said in steady and calm voice. “Try to calm down.”

  How could he be calm when his life-mate was in trouble? He could feel her anxiety. It was palpable within his bones. “I can’t.”

  “Andras will make this right, Hunter,” Katalin said, trying her best to keep him calm. She’d been by his side ever since meeting them.

  She rubbed her hand across his back. Normally, Hunter would’ve appeased the younger Shifter. She was anxious and her wolf was having a hard time dealing with losing two Pack members at once. But now wasn’t the time. He pulled away and growled.

  Katalin jumped away from him. She had a stunned look of hurt in her eyes. “I-I’m sorry. I was just trying to help.”

  Hunter drew his hand back to punch another section of the wall. He thrust his fist forward with all his might and hit something else. Lajos caught him.

  “I know what you’re going through,” Lajos whispered to him.

  Hunter tried to keep the forward momentum of his fist going, but Lajos wouldn’t budge. He wanted to tell Lajos that he couldn’t possibly know how he felt, but if one person knew exactly what he was going through it was him.

  Lajos had mated with Meisha and, right after their bonding, Meisha had been taken hostage by a rogue Russian Shifter group in Miami. Lajos had been beside himself. It had taken all of Andras’ Alpha control to keep him from rushing into a trap alone and risk getting killed in the process. Hunter and the rest of the security team had flown to Miami to rescue Meisha, only to find out that she’d been handling the situation herself and had been about to scale down the building to freedom.

  Hunter closed his eyes and dropped his hand. “I can feel how much she needs me,” he whispered.

  “I know the feeling. But what’s best is for you to give her strength and courage. The stronger you are, the stronger she’ll feel. If you feel despair, so will she. Let her draw from your energy.

  Hunter closed his eyes and used his mating bond to reach out to her. She was scared and confused. He took a deep breath and projected courage and strength, letting her know that she wasn’t alone, he would always be by her side, no matter how many miles separated them.

  Hunter opened his eyes. “It helps a little, but I need to get to her as soon as possible.”

  “Ten minutes before we’re ready for takeoff,” the pilot called out.

  Hunter let out a heavy breath. In ten minutes, he’d be closer to getting Ash back and in his arms. “Thank you for your counsel,” he said to Lajos. Then to Katalin he said, “I’m sorry.”

  Katalin gave him a weak smile and lifted a shoulder. “You’re having a hard time. I think we all are. We all want them back as soon as possible.”

  “And I’m sorry that you and Meisha had to cut your honeymoon short because of all of this,” Hunter said to Lajos.

  “Don’t worry about that. You were there to help me get my mate back safely, and I’m here to help you.”

  Hunter frowned. He hadn’t expected Lajos to go with them. He was still on honeymoon. “Meisha is letting you go to New York with us?”

  Lajos shifted on his
feet. “Umm, she…”

  “She what?” Meisha asked as she came into earshot.

  Lajos turned to his wife. There was adoration in his eyes that Hunter quickly recognized as love. “Honey, I’m going to go to New York with Hunter to get his mate back.”

  She wrapped her arms around his waist and he pulled her close to his body. “Fine with me. But I’m going, too.”

  “Absolutely not.” Lajos shook his head vehemently. “We may have to go up against Vampires. I don’t want you anywhere near them.”

  “I can handle myself. The Yaruzi, Lycans, Vampires, it doesn’t matter to me. I got this.”

  Meisha was half Japanese and half African-American. Although she only stood around five-feet-one and weighed about one hundred and ten pounds, she was a force to be reckoned with. Her family had fled Japan when she’d been a young girl because the Yaruzi gang boss had wanted her father to turn her and her mother over to them as payment for a wrong that he’d done. Meisha’s father had trained her and her younger brother Miko in martial arts, readying them for the day that the Yaruzi came knocking on their door. Meisha and her family had been hiding from them ever since, but now, with Lajos’s love and the Pack’s support, her family didn’t hide anymore.

  “Meisha,” Andras said, drawing everyone’s attention to him. “You’ll have to sit this one out. Because of your bond with Lajos you’re stronger and faster, but you still aren’t a match for a Vampire. Stay here.”

  “But—”

  Andras leveled his gaze on her. His Alpha dominance crackled through the air. “No buts. There’s a ton of work that’s waiting for you here. Trudy is excited about your return. She’s anxious to get started on the budget for the new school.”

  Meisha was a teacher by trade and, now that she was part of the Pack, Andras had tasked her to help build and run a small school just for the Shifter kids who were currently being homeschooled by their mothers. With a real school on the Dark Wolf Enterprises’ property, the kids could spend their days together learning, instead of at home alone.

  Meisha opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She tried again and, after the same result, shut it with a huff.