A Love Worth Biting For (Hart Clan Hybrids)

by Roxy Mews

  Not really the way to meet your mate, but he was mine so two things hit my brain. First, I needed to put this guy in his place. Second, his voice was like melted Godiva chocolate turning my insides gooey.

  Did he really even need to speak? I could feel his presence in the pit of my stomach, but I couldn’t let him know how he affected me if I was going to walk away from the mating pheromones—and I had to do just that.

  “Are you asking because you’re interested or do you just want to know why am I not walking the other direction after seeing you?” The compulsion garbage still had me a bit ticked. I’d focus on that until I could get my feet back under me. “I guess I should feel glad your sister didn’t add ‘cluck like a chicken’ in there, but do us all a favor and tell your little sis that if she tries that shit again, I won’t pretend it worked to make her feel better.”

  His eyebrows met his dark hair. “You know she dazzled you? And you can overcome the compulsion?” He had silvery-gray eyes. The penetrating power of the steely gaze kept me in place. Silver and wolves don’t go together. It was another reminder that I had to make this go away.

  His pupils flexed. Those metallic eyes looked me up and down. He was taking me in.

  I really hoped he knew about mating, otherwise I was going to sound stupid. Not like it would be the first time, but for some reason I cared what he thought of me. Stupid mating pheromones.

  “I can’t be dazzled. It’s a cool trick I have. I’m not running in the other direction right now, because you are my mate and we need to figure out how to fix that.” Or I could just blurt it out.

  He stopped moving again. Man, that was creepy. “Excuse me?”

  I let the sigh escape me. I really had no patience. It was my wolf. I swear. “I don’t get it either, but I know you’re my mate. The la-la-land feeling. The happy music playing in my head. The fact that I stopped and stared at you and put up with your sister trying to compel me… It all adds up.” I didn’t mention the fact that my gut was clenching and my pulse was rushing blood to places that were totally inappropriate to be filling with blood in public.

  Hmm. He was a vampire. Wonder if he could sense that stuff like a wolf could. With our heightened sense of smell, any wolf for a mile could smell how wet I was getting in this guy’s presence.

  Jake—still didn’t know his last name—didn’t move. It made me want to push him. “I do give off certain pheromones to attract prey. Are you sure you aren’t just responding to those?”

  That would be convenient, but… “I’m sure. Your sister gives off those pheromones too. She couldn’t dazzle me, so I doubt the pheromone thing works on me either. And I had no desire to walk up and lick water off your sister’s chest.”

  His irises flexed, and his face erupted in a grin that could have made straight men gay. “You want to lick me?”

  Like a lollipop.

  “I wish I didn’t, but here’s the deal. I have to find out more about this mate-bond thing. I’m tight with the Pack doctor.”

  “Don’t you mean vet?” Great. A smartass. Damn fate.

  “Funny, Edward.”

  He frowned. “I hate that movie.”

  “Me too, but I wouldn’t be averse to Taylor Lautner joining my Pack for a bit. Anyway, before I was interrupted…” He waved his hand to tell me to continue, or get to the point. “I’m headed back to the Pack doc to see if there is anything I can do about this. Gotta be a way to fix this. Some kind of mistake. It’s not even possible for vampires and wolves to mate, is it?”

  “You should ask my mother.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “She was a wolf.”

  Of course she was.

  Chapter Three

  Escaping is another talent of mine. I have mad skills at avoiding topics I don’t want to discuss. That’s why Mary and I were out together, just sitting outside and watching the world. Mary was safe. Mary was human. And Mary had a thing for the dude standing across the street.

  “Does he really get paid to do this?” Mary asked.

  “Yup.” I was a bit too distracted to enjoy the show.

  “He’s so…sweaty.”

  “Yup.”

  “Think he’s going to take his shirt off? I bet he’s got that great sweaty-pecs thing going on. You know when it beads up and forms little lickable pearls. He needs to take his shirt off.” She looked pretty thirsty.

  “Think he gets paid more if he does?”

  “I think he just gets paid to dance.”

  I passed one of the bottles of water we had frozen that morning to Mary. She pressed it against her cheek before taking a drink. It was damn near thawed already. We were sitting a few blocks from the Quad partaking in people watching. Again. It was one of our favorite activities. Mary had her sketchpad, and I had my desperate need to be anywhere that Jake wasn’t.

  Our distraction today was a Nordic avenger, or he would have been in a past life. Long blond hair escaped piece by piece from his ponytail. His tank top couldn’t contain his muscled chest. I had to admit, despite the cargo shorts that had seen better days, he made up for the fashion with thick, tanned legs. Mary said she liked his bone structure. I think what she was interested in involved boning.

  He was tossing a sign in the air and catching it in various ways while dancing to random techno tracks being pumped into his ears by a bright blue set of ear buds. Mary couldn’t hear the music. She was human, and he was a few hundred feet away. I tried to tune it out. Techno grated on my nerves.

  I was about to start our never-ending argument about dancing versus spastic movements to computers, when my mouth went dry. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I felt him coming closer. That’s right. Felt him. I was so screwed.

  I tried to concentrate on the sign flipper, contemplating whether I wanted any cash for my gold, but Mary started slapping my bicep. It didn’t hurt, but she was putting some effort into it, so I gave her an obliging, “Ow. What?”

  “Freaking Jake Meyers is coming this way. And he is looking at me!”

  He had to be in the Meyers Family. The few times that I had paid attention at Pack Council there was one thing we were all told to do. Stay away from the Meyers vampires.

  No monster stories were needed when you are the monsters, just who was a friend and who was a foe. Meyers was a name that equaled foe. I turned and, unfortunately, the namesake of the big bad was looking right at me. That must have been why his sis gave me the cold shoulder.

  Why did he have to be so hot? I had been able to avoid him for two days now. After booking it home and blowing off two more classes, I had nursed a bottle of Pucker all night. I needed it because I found out that wolves and vamps can and do mate. Turns out, due to our long-lived situations and a little more forward thinking in society, even though it is uncommon, it’s not unheard of. I’m just sheltered. Very sheltered.

  Doc had looked like I was asking him to string up Elmo in front of preschoolers when I probed him for how to break a mating bond. The mating bond was beyond sacred. Got it, but with Jake so close, I wasn’t remembering last night’s conversation where Doc told me there was no undoing a mating call. And I certainly wasn’t even thinking about the fact that Doc said he wouldn’t say anything to my dad, because the thought that the Alpha’s daughter would think of mating outside not only her Pack, but her species…well let’s just say “frowned upon” doesn’t cut it.

  Wolves had the “Pack”. Vampires had the “Family”. And according to Doc, it needed to stay that way.

  None of that mattered to my mating-pheromone-filled brain. Nope. All I could think as he strode toward me was that I really wished he was naked, so I could see everything on him flex. Because from his forearms, to his hands, to his neck, this man flexed and pulsed and just plain exuded power.

  My wolf was impressed. And horny. If I could have turned and bent over with my pants and panties around my ankles for him right there without public embarrassment, my wolf would have had me do it. If I wanted to be honest, tha
t urge wasn’t all my wolf. But denial is not just a river in Egypt. It was my new motto.

  I couldn’t change it, so I was going to try and ignore it. Or avoid it.

  Both options were failing as he reached where we sat, and I stood at his approach. My height and attitude are usually enough to keep people from invading my space. This man jumped inside my personal bubble with both feet. He was mere inches from slamming into me when he stopped.

  “What did you do to me?”

  “I did nothing to you. And would you back up?” He allowed me to push him back. Man his chest felt nice.

  “I had a date last night.”

  Jealousy is not pretty. It’s painful. I was feeling it about a guy I didn’t really know. Fucking mating. “Yippee for you. Did you eat her afterward?” I meant suck her blood for nourishment. Really.

  His eyes narrowed. “I am usually a connoisseur of the female form, and if I do take donation, it is after my companion is numb from having her every desire satisfied, and every body part limp with pleasure.”

  Yum. I stuffed my hands in my pocket to keep them from unbuttoning my jeans on their own. He kept talking. Thank goodness. It gave me time to swallow and get some saliva back in my mouth.

  “I found myself unable to think of anything but you. Then I—what did you do?” He hissed the last part. He eyed Mary to let me know that we should probably have the remainder of this conversation in real words and in a real private place. Um…yeah, didn’t want to do that.

  “I really don’t know what you are talking about. Mary, I gotta get to class. Are you going to walk with me?”

  “Nope.” Mary’s sketchpad was filling. A quick glance told me it wasn’t the cash-for-gold guy anymore. It was me and my mate. She had drawn red swirls and lightning zings around us. For a human she was damn receptive. “I’m gonna stay here and watch sign dude after I am done watching you argue-slash-flirt with this sexy beast.”

  Jake’s mouth quirked. “You do not have class. I have acquired your schedule, and we need to talk.” He gripped my elbow. It was probably supposed to be intimidating, but as he leaned over and hissed in my ear, my entire body started to hum. “You need to fix this. Whatever you did, turn it off.”

  Soon we were a block away from Mary and headed through the small smattering of trees behind the library. Our only company was a few overfed pigeons that hung out to eat discarded chips. They were adding another layer of crap on the building of books. A wet splatter of ick landed a few feet from me, and I remembered to speak.

  “I can’t turn it off. I didn’t do anything to turn it on.” I pulled my elbow from his hand and walked away running my hands through my hair. This was why I couldn’t have short hair. I needed something to pull out at times like these. My long wavy auburn strands smacked against my lower back as they slipped from my grip.

  “I don’t know much about this, but what I have learned isn’t very promising. There is no spell to break this and no ritual to undo the initial connection. I even asked if we could just wait it out.”

  He raised his left brow. I knew it meant he wanted me to continue.

  “Far as I can figure, we just need to avoid each other. Making more of a connection, with talk, touch or sex would just bind us together in a more permanent manner. And quite frankly, I can’t be tied to you. My dad was pissed when I brought home a low-ranked gray wolf. I can’t imagine what would happen if I brought you home.” That was a lie. Sex would happen. Lots of dirty, sweaty, awesome sex.

  Damn. Was it too late already?

  “Well.” He cleared his throat. The sound rumbled across my skin. The man was smokin’ hot. “You aren’t the only one this is affecting. I have always thought my mother’s DNA was a recessive trait.”

  “Werewolf blood is like blue eyes? Vamp beats were? Sounds like a fucked-up Rock-Paper-Scissors game.” I wanted to leave less and less as we shared air space. Bring on the ultimate sexy weapon. Snark.

  He closed his eyes and gathered himself before his eyes pinned me in place. “Let me speak. If you can’t be quiet, I promise you, I have something ample to fill your flapping mouth with.”

  Pant.

  “As I was saying, I was on a date. I could not focus on the woman at all. I went to put my arm around her and not only did I suddenly find this fine specimen infinitely unattractive, but I also could not picture anyone but the busty redhead that had waved to me on the field. I nearly left the woman stranded to come find you.”

  Awww.

  “But then I came to my senses.”

  Never mind.

  “But before anything could happen…I…I started to change.” He gripped my shoulders. “I sprouted hair on my hands. I got claws. My heart started beating without my command. I have never had any hint of a change before. I tried to work through it, but it was as if another force overcame me, and I had to get out of there. I was possessed. I held no control when it overtook me.”

  “It was your wolf.”

  “I told you, I am not a wolf. I am a vampire. I have never shifted. A turning would have occurred by now if I were, would it not?”

  I shrugged. “I was turned, not born, so I didn’t shift until I was twenty, but yeah, most natural-born shifters turn around puberty. You’re a mutt, though. Maybe that makes you different.”

  “I am not a mutt.” He was getting irritated with me. Good. Maybe he would stop talking about his damn date now.

  “You’re a mixed breed. Isn’t that what ‘mutt’ means?”

  He still had a grip on my shoulders and backed me into a tree. The rough bark scraped and grabbed at my blousy tank top. His body pressed against mine. Oh boy. Rover wanted to play, even if his vamp half didn’t.

  Jake’s eyes flashed. He got the mottled golden tone, common in a were close to turning, and his fingers began to elongate and sharpen. His previously silent chest pounded once. Then again. He was moving the magic through his system.

  Vampires and werewolves both used magic to ignite the changes to our bodies. The magic flows through our blood. In a wolf, our heart beats faster and we push the magic through. Emotional control is really important for us for that very reason. Vampires don’t have to have a heartbeat, but can control their body functions. The blood that they acquired from humans can be manipulated through their system. Want to heal? Push the blood and magic there. Want longer hair? Push the blood and magic there. I wasn’t quite sure how it worked in a hybrid, but it looked like I was about to get a first-hand education.

  Jake inhaled and shook his head to try and clear it. “You smell amazing. Not the point.” He said the last part more to himself than to me. He also didn’t notice the smile I had on my face at that. I was getting to him as much as he was getting to me.

  “I did not feed on that woman, because she was not you. Thank goodness we have some donors who keep our Family emergency supply stocked, or I would have starved over the last two days. I can’t go near anyone. This…” He put one hand between our faces. Pointing from my eyes to his. “Won’t let me feed. If we have sex, will I get this under control?”

  Sex? Yes, please.

  My words came out a bit more breathy than I would have liked. “Yeah, giving the wolf what he wants will calm him down a little, but the control part takes practice. It took me a good three moons before I had enough control to stop shifting at the drop of a steak.”

  He smelled good too. I couldn’t stop myself. He was too close. I leaned forward and nuzzled my head under his chin. My body shivered at the contact, and the submission. His hands tensed, and then he growled. Oh gods, that was sexy.

  “This other part of me, this wolf, he wants me to take you.” When he stopped fighting his instincts, the wolf let him drop his hands a bit. They felt rough against my bare arms. Jake had so much power to reign in. When he pressed against me, I felt strength over and above any lovers I’d had before. Restless hands tried to grab hold. His fingers slid around the shell of my ears then, like he was trying to hang on to me wherever he could. When he fel
t his control slip, he reached behind me, and I felt the tree vibrate. The wood crunched like it was made of packing peanuts.

  It’s not every day a guy crushes a tree with his bare hands. I opened my mouth to say something, but the feral look in his eyes stole my words. I licked my lips, and he invaded. His tongue dominated. He took. And boy did I want to give.

  I had no idea who this guy was, but my wolf knew his. He was mine. I sucked his lip into my mouth as soon as his tongue retreated. I needed something of him inside me. His hips slammed against me. It was painfully obvious he needed something inside me, too. Grunts and little growls trickled down my body as he went for my chin, my neck, my collarbone.

  “Jake…we need to stop.” I sunk my hands into his hair. It was so soft compared to the hardness of his face. The description “chiseled” was born from men like him. Sharp cheekbones, dominating jaw—he was perfect.

  I fought my head up for air, and for an argument. He took the opportunity to move up my neck again. I felt his teeth scrape my skin, and my eyes crossed. I gripped harder and was finally able to move his head back enough to get his eyes to focus on me.

  “I think we need to go see Doc.”

  His eyes flashed and his whole body started to shudder.

  Crap. Not here. I looked around. We were alone, but far too close to campus. “Stop, Jake. You can’t shift here. You don’t have the control to work with your wolf. I know we are supposed to stay the hell away from each other, but I have a feeling it would be bad for both our factions if you suddenly turn wolfy and start eating people.”

  “Not people. Just you. I want you.” The golden glow overtook his eyes, the silver color in them melted under the wild blaze. His voice had dropped to a ridiculously low tone, and the vibrato that came with it was all wolf.

  I had to think fast. I sent the emergency text programmed into my phone. It was a call for help to the doc. It was for me, but I was using it for Jake. I let my wolf gauge the distance. Doable. I turned to Jake. He shuddered. His body began to twitch.

  He was huge already. I was 5’10” but he had me beat by a few inches vertically. He had me by a few inches everywhere. I couldn’t imagine he would get too much bigger. Damn I wished I had time to ogle him more, but his shirt was starting to tear at the shoulders. The seams were giving up as his broad chest expanded more with each breath.