Fang Chronicles: Ivan

by D'Elen McClain

  Her lips softened and my wolf whined inside my head. “The Moor has offered his protection if I want to join your pack.”

  I threw my nearly empty plate against a tree ten feet away. She didn’t even flinch. I stood, towering over her. I gave her my fiercest glare while staring at her. Yes, I’d noticed her missing limb. It pissed me off. Not that it made her unattractive, because it didn’t. It pissed me off that she suffered. The limb was hacked off two inches above her elbow. I hadn’t noticed it slowing her down in any way, so it had happened long ago. But it still pissed. Me. Off.

  Her brown hair was wild even held back with a leather tie. She was thin, her breasts small. She was about six inches shorter than I was. Skinny legs, but they went on forever. She wore sweats, but it didn’t hide their length or the slight curves in just the right places. My wolf liked it all. The human side of me drowned in her eyes. Huge brown globes surrounded by long thick lashes. They were too big for her face, especially her tiny nose. I could almost put aside her age. I couldn’t put aside her beast that rumbled just beneath the surface as I stared at her. The alpha cat she contained with iron will.

  Her power hit me, but I was ready. I shoved my own alpha back at her. This had her scrambling to stand. I grabbed her before she was fully on her feet and jerked her into me. I seemed to do that a lot, but she was less dangerous if her legs were closer.

  I placed one arm at her back securing her flush against me. With the other, I ran my hand down the upper part of her arm until I came to severed flesh. I lifted it so I could see the puckered skin.

  She hissed.

  What remained wasn’t pretty. Deep inside me, my wolf howled. “Is he dead?”

  She looked at the stump and slowly lifted her gaze to mine. “I’m not sure.” Still defiant.

  “What’s his name?”

  Her voice dropped an octave. “Why do you care?”

  Why the hell did I care? “Because I killed many cats in South America and want to know if I killed this one.”

  “Raykon.”

  I couldn’t stop the growl that began deep in my chest and rumbled up my throat. I pulled her severed arm so I could see it again. The pain I felt at thinking of her suffering at the hands of that monster blinded me. Until I gazed back into her eyes. “He’s dead, but not by my hand. The women from your pack tore him apart. Their vengeance is yours.”

  Huge tears formed in her eyes. Her body trembled. There was nothing on earth that could stop this kiss. I sank into her soft lips. Her exquisite taste ran through me. My wolf whined as I moaned into her mouth. She didn’t fight. Her warm body went liquid as she melted against my chest. If I could absorb her pain I would. To kill the bastard again, I would give up my own arm. I released her damaged arm and tipped her chin to gain better access. I nipped and sucked at her lips knowing Raykon didn’t just sever her arm. He severed her soul. I breathed into her lungs offering a piece of mine. It was black and cold. She didn’t need it, but I needed her.

  “Claim her,” my wolf shouted inside my head.

  It brought me to my senses. Fuck. They were not Alba’s eyes. Talya didn’t taste like my true mate.

  I pushed her away harder than I meant to. She stumbled, but righted herself. I saw her confusion. It quickly turned to hurt, followed closely by anger. A twisted smile came next. “If you want to fuck me just say so. Kissing has never been a requirement of mine.”

  Now I wanted to spank her. And kiss her again. My stubborn human side won. “You need to stay away from me. The last thing I want is some cat tempting me every time I look around. For your safety and that of your friends, stay out of my sight.”

  I turned and headed to the new house without looking back.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Talya

  I watched his ass as he left. My eyes traveled upward past the defined muscles of his back and his scraggly hair. So why did he kiss me? He hated me and my cat liked him. Liked him too much. My stomach twisted into a ball of knots. When our lips touched a surge of… something I couldn’t describe ran through me. It happened the first time too, but this kiss knocked me further out of my comfort zone. Dmitri did nothing like this to me. Heck, compared to Ivan, Dmitri was non-existent. I couldn’t even picture his face.

  And, how the hell could I stay out of the fur ball’s sight? That was so impossible it was stupid. The man was driving me crazy. I could still taste him. I lifted my shirt and sniffed. His incredible scent was there. I breathed in deeply and my body tingled. I lowered the shirt and scanned the area to see if anyone witnessed me acting like an idiot.

  There was something strange taking place below the surface of my skin. My cat had scratched to get out before, but this was different. She seemed to roll through me. My breasts ached and that other part of me burned. It was physical. In all my years of being sexually active I’d never really felt desire. I thought I had with Dmitri, but I was wrong. I wanted the strongest mate at any cost and I was willing to use sex to get it. This was just… different.

  I walked back to the house replaying what happened with every step. I stopped for a moment when I remembered what he said. Raykon was dead. The female cats from my clan killed him—tore him to pieces. No, not my clan, my previous clan. Briefly elation filled me.

  The decision to remain here would be so simple if it wasn’t for the perplexing wolf who also happened to be alpha. The alpha to a pack of cats he hated. How could The Moor put up with him? I started walking again.

  Everyone was back at their earlier tasks and I pitched in. Today we were mostly clearing away the debris left behind by the work crew. The Moor told me this morning we were moving in today. When I asked why, he said the clan needed to work together to finish our home. It was all he would say about it.

  He and his mate accepted me. The alpha me. They wanted my help to build a strong family and they were willing to take in humans. My thoughts turned to Cecily as I hauled boards and stacked them away from the house. The Moor called her a beast tamer. It seemed ridiculous, but to humans, just the thought of beastkind and vampires was ridiculous. I’d noticed Cecily’s calming vibe. That I couldn’t deny. I always thought it was her grandmother persona. She just naturally comforted in between complaining and entertaining me and Rondy until we laughed so hard our bellies ached. She would join in and peace settled over my cat. It happened almost every night when we lay down in the hotel rooms to sleep. My cat purred to the sound of her breathing, well, actually loud snoring, and the thought had me smiling.

  I heard a noise and turned. An alligator crawled slowly in my direction and was about eight feet away. This couldn’t be a medium-sized one because the thing was huge, at least ten feet long. I waited for him to draw a few steps nearer and then I let my power soar. His entire body twisted from his center. He rolled, continuing to twist until he ran away faster than I thought the things could move on land. It felt good. And who the hell knew I could use it to scare off a predator planning on an afternoon snack?

  All these years I hid what I was. I still didn’t know what I was capable of, but I wanted to find out.

  Cecily approached dragging a piece of wood. She was supposed to be the supervisor, but I knew when Ivan gave her the task she wouldn’t obey.

  She huffed and puffed until she was closer. Goddess forbid I try to help.

  “I saw what you just did. Are you sure there’s not some way I can catch your virus?”

  Her human brain needed an explanation, so she’d settled on a virus that we passed down to our young. It didn’t matter what I said, she stuck with what worked for her.

  “No, you can’t catch it and if an alligator gets close to you please run. Hitting him on the nose won’t help you.”

  She smiled and her eyes lit up while imagining it I’m sure. “That wolf thing is testing my limits of refined patience.”

  I couldn’t help smiling back. There was nothing refined about her. “It’s a wolf thing.” Not quite true, but it’s all I had to offer.

  “Then we�
�re lucky there aren’t more of them. He watches you, though. Not like a wolf—like a man.”

  I groaned. “He hates me. Hates cats. They killed his mate. Well, really a vampire killed his mate, but he blames the cats.” I could feel his pain whenever I was near him, but I wasn’t telling Cecily that.

  “I see beating around the bush doesn’t work with you. He’s attracted to you and Rondy hates him. That boy has the biggest crush on you I’ve ever seen.”

  I could feel my cheeks heat up. “Rondy will get over it. I’m not for him.”

  “Well I’m glad you know it, but that doesn’t take care of Ivan. That man won’t be easily pushed aside. He might fight it, but sexual attraction wins every time. My Joe, he would be so angry with me, but he’d chase me through the house with a stiffy looking for a place to put it.”

  Could I just die now?

  “The dangles control the man. If you keep that part of him happy, the rest usually follows. Not that you need to keep Ivan’s dangles happy. I don’t think he has a happy bone in his body, including that one but...” She looked away for a moment then turned back. “I think maybe you like him too.”

  She didn’t get it and I had no way to explain something I didn’t quite understand myself. “We have work to do.” I walked around her and headed to the house, my thoughts in complete turmoil. She caught up and looped her arm through mine. At the contact, I relaxed and took a nice deep breath.

  “It will work out, dear. I have faith that you will find your way.”

  When she touched me I believed it.

  She changed the subject. “I need to supervise dinner. The stew was good, but I don’t want it again for at least a week. They have a walk-in freezer and the largest refrigerator I’ve ever seen. Isa, Lacy, and I are going to finish unpacking the supplies from the cabins and bring them to the big house. We’ll have a special dinner tonight to celebrate our new friends.”

  Give the woman something to do and she was in heaven.

  “And Talya?”

  I glanced at her as she released my arm. “I’m still not happy about the vampire thing. That was not cool young lady.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She turned away and headed over to the female cats. I lifted several boards and started carrying them away. It actually felt good to do some manual labor. Our beasts needed something to keep us busy when our lives were up in the air. And that’s exactly what my life was. I think I might want Ivan as much as my cat wanted him.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Ivan

  My anger needed a place to explode. I had work to do, but I couldn’t concentrate. I wanted Alba so fucking badly. I needed to feel her in my arms once more, hear her bitch at me, make her groan with pleasure, and sink into her warmth until nothing else mattered.

  Truthfully. Our lives were anything but tranquil when we were together, but I wanted her to pacify the storm I carried every minute of every day. So many years she’d challenged me and I’d loved every minute. She gave birth to my children. No, not the children of my seed. That was the hardest obstacle we ever faced. But I loved each one of them and I missed them terribly. I missed her and I wanted to scream until my vocal cords no longer worked.

  I could only think about holding her limp body and my willingness to give my life for hers. Letting her physical body go was hard. Releasing her memory was impossible. They needed me back at the new house, but I couldn’t be around the cats right now. I needed to run and somehow gain control of the anguish that pulsed through every inch of my body.

  An hour later, I returned to the spot where I dropped my clothes and shoes and went back to work. Running only tempered my anger, but it was enough for now. I was afraid the fire pressing in on me would end in dead cats. It wouldn’t take much to fuel the explosion. And I think The Moor would finally kill me.

  Rondy and Mase were attaching the final shutter to the house. They weren’t electrical like the ones at Marcus’s home, but when closed they completely blocked out the sun. Vampires could be in daylight for short times, but it zapped their strength and they preferred the night. The third floor was exclusively for The Moor and Becca. It had a huge balcony overlooking the inner courtyard. The Moor was giving Becca a home inside a home. I was glad I’d be living on the lower floor and not subject to bed thumping. And that thought poured a bucket of sadness over me. I would never feel Alba’s smooth skin again. I vanquished the thought. I had to. It was that or go insane.

  “Where do you want us next?” Rondy asked, bringing me from my doom and gloom thoughts.

  Mase rarely spoke to me, but Rondy, a human kid, wasn’t afraid. I scented jealousy on him but not fear. At least not right now. I didn’t want to like him, but maybe it was that smelly cats surrounded me and he was just more appealing. Wolves are pack animals, we crave a family bond, and I had limited options.

  “We’ve been storing the furniture in one of the garages. We need to bring it up here. You can go help Cecily with whatever she’s doing. This stuff is heavy and I’ll have Treson help me.”

  Rondy’s chest puffed out and I realized I offended him. “I may not be able to lift a semi-truck, but I can help move furniture.”

  Yep, he was pissed. “Fine, but if you break your back don’t come crying to me.”

  Rondy turned away and headed for the stairs muttering under his breath, “I might break your back and listen to you cry.”

  “Rondy.”

  He turned. I used just a small wisp of power and watched his eyes grow large. “You don’t want a piece of me.”

  His hands came up and rubbed his opposite arms. He was a kid and though he watched us lift hundreds of pounds with ease, he still had no idea what we were capable of. I had a feeling he would press me to the point that I would need to show him. He might not walk away from it if he pressed at the wrong time. And again, I had the feeling The Moor might kill me for it. Why the hell did he keep me around?

  “May I go, your majesty?”

  I could only shake my head. The kid was either stupid or the bravest son of a bitch I’d ever met. He loved Talya and thinking about it had my wolf growling low in my gut. Rondy didn’t have a chance with her, but he needed to keep his distance or it wouldn’t be his ear he’d be worrying about.

  I snapped my thoughts back to my hatred of cats. I didn’t give a fuck if Rondy tried for Talya or not. And if I told myself that a million times, it might be true.

  We carried furniture up the stairs for the next two hours. Rondy never complained. He and Mase spoke in hushed tones and appeared to be getting along. Mase did his best not to look at me. If I thought the day might have a small possibility of ending better than it started I was wrong. Cecily decided she needed to be upstairs and tell us where the furniture needed to be situated. Of course, we’d already spread it out how I planned to leave it.

  “Becca will want to decide where everything should go,” I grumbled.

  “Dog doo-doo.” Her words made Rondy snicker and I gave him hard eyes. Cecily continued her diatribe, “She deserves to come up here and find a home. She might move an item or two, but women know what women want and I’m more than capable of directing things to their proper place. Are you going to just stand around like a lazy dog or are you planning to help?”

  Tamer? Instigator is more like it. I didn’t know whether to throw her off the balcony or down the stairs. Both would be satisfying. I grumbled and groaned, but Grandma Hitler had us all moving things to her specifications for the next hour. During the entire experience, my wolf never made as much as a squeak inside me.

  At last, we managed everything to her liking. She placed her hands on her hips and gazed around. “This will do for now. Becca will add a feminine touch so The Moor feels welcome when he enters.”

  I truly couldn’t help myself. “She’s a bloodsucker too.”

  This time her hard eyes pinned me. “That was crass. For a flea-bitten mutt, you have a lot of nerve.” She lifted her hand and shooed me away. “Run along with your tai
l between your legs. I’m finished with you.”

  I could and would control it. I actually bit down on my tongue. It was too much, so I turned my back unable to hide the grin that swelled on my face. I was still fighting a laugh when I ran down the stairs.

  How the hell did the old bat do it?

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Talya

  As promised, dinner was fit for a king. The guys grilled thick slabs of meat in the courtyard while the women prepared everything from vegetable salad to pasta and rolls in the kitchen. There were long tables in the garage with stacked chairs. We hadn’t cleared the inner courtyard, but there was enough room for us to set up the feast and enjoy our meal without alligators and other critters.

  The women had the meal timed perfectly, and The Moor and Becca joined us just as the sun went down. Becca was excited. Actually, everyone seemed to be except Ivan. For the most part, he was ignored. The Moor had him sit next to Becca and I sat next to Morris, which he asked me to call him. Cecily had the seat next to Ivan, which had me smiling, and Rondy had the one next to me, which had Ivan sending angry eye laser jets Rondy’s way. Everyone else spread around the table waiting for The Moor to start our meal.

  He stood and silence descended. His wineglass contained water and he raised it. Everyone stood.

  His words went straight to the point and a thrill ran through me. “To the Southeast clan.” He drank and so did we. “Now eat,” he commanded with a smile.

  You didn’t need to tell hungry beastkind twice. Platters and bowls passed from hand to hand. Sadly, except for the sounds of eating, it remained unnaturally quiet. The cats remained on edge. But of course, Cecily had to stick her two feet into the feast.

  “So what kind of a dog does Dracula own?”

  I froze mid-bite, as did everyone else.

  It didn’t faze Cecily. “A bloodhound. Get it? What kind of dog would you find in a cave?”