Forbidden Claim

by R. L. Kenderson

Bram’s car slammed into the male. The crunch of bones breaking and the thump of a body landing brought a tranquil peace over him. The icing on the cake was the vehicle tipping as he ran over the vampire on his way out of there.

  If the bloodsucker lived, he’d know to stay away from the shifters now.

  As Bram turned off the driveway and onto the road, he turned on the radio and began to whistle along.

  Despite his dead end this morning, today was turning around. It just might end up being a good day.

  But, as he pulled onto the main road and then the interstate, leaving the wolf-shifter suburb behind, lights began to flash in his rearview mirror. He had just passed the sign saying he was in the city of Minneapolis. He looked down at his speedometer. He was going the speed limit.

  With a sigh, he pulled over.

  He’d get rid of the stupid cop and be on his way. All he had to do was flash a little fang, a little claw, and his wolf eyes, and they always ran, screaming, for their cars.

  Dumb, pussy humans.

  His window was still down from earlier, so he leaned out of it as the police officer approached.

  For the second time in twenty minutes, Bram was surprised by someone’s smell. First, the vampire he’d thought was a shifter, and now, the wolf-shifter he’d thought was going to be a human.

  This day was getting even better. A shifter cop. Bram laughed. He’d be out of there in no time.

  “License and registration, please.”

  Bram smiled. “Hello, Officer”—he had to look at the cop’s name tag—“Rawling.”

  The officer didn’t return Bram’s smile. “License and registration.” No please this time.

  “Okay.” What is this guy’s problem? Bram opened the glove compartment for his registration and his wallet for his license. He handed them over.

  “Sir, I need you to step out of the car.”

  “What? Can’t you just tell me what’s wrong and send me on my way?”

  “Your tags are expired, and so is your license. I can’t let you drive anywhere until this is taken care of.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “As a heart attack. Now, please step out of your car.”

  Fuck.

  The day had gone from good to bad in less than half an hour.

  TEGAN KICKED THE covers off the hotel bed and sighed. She was still alone.

  She swung her legs off the mattress and left the room. Chase was sitting in front of the TV with droopy eyes. He tried to smile at Tegan but yawned instead.

  She directed a thumb over her shoulder. “Go to bed. I got this.”

  He shut off the TV and threw the remote on the couch. “Oh, thank God.” He shook his head as he stood. “I don’t know how your mate does it. He’s been up all night, staring at his computer, wide awake.” Chase stepped around her. “Good night.”

  “Good night,” she said, her mind on how Chase had called Reid her mate. Sure, they’d gotten married under human law, but they weren’t mates. The term made her anxious and giddy at the same time.

  She left the living room and went looking for Reid. After stopping in the kitchen for a glass of water, she found him outside, sitting at the patio table. He was on his computer, just like Chase had said. It was sitting in his lap with his feet up on another chair.

  Reid looked up as she neared. She hadn’t said anything and was barefoot, but he must have sensed her anyway.

  Reid smiled. “Hey, Angel.” His shirt was unbuttoned, and he was barefoot in jeans. He looked way too good after staying up all night.

  “Hey. Looks like your night wasn’t very exciting.”

  “Not for us. But Bram showed up at the wolf-shifters’ home this morning.”

  “No kidding?” Tegan pulled out a chair and sat down at this news. “What happened?”

  “Not much, from what Chase said. Damien played dumb. It seemed to work. Bram left.”

  “That’s good. Unless he’s planning to come back.”

  “Yeah. Damien wants us to stay here for a while until it’s safer to come home. I talked to Vance, and he agrees. So, it looks like we’re staying here for a few days.”

  Tegan held her arms out. “In this dump? Darn.”

  Reid chuckled. “For now. We don’t know when Bram will figure out that Isabelle came to Vegas.”

  All humor left Tegan. “What if he’s doing that now? What if he finds us?”

  Reid smirked. “Well, he’s not coming here now.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Quentin pulled him over this morning after leaving the wolves’ home. The idiot has an expired license and expired tags.”

  “But both of those would just be fines, wouldn’t they?”

  “He might have thrown a punch when Quentin told him he couldn’t drive anywhere until his license was renewed and that his car would be towed.”

  Tegan’s good mood was back. “That is hilarious. Serves the asshole right.”

  “How did you sleep last night?” Reid asked, changing the subject.

  “Pretty good. The million-count sheets are to die for.” She looked him in the eye. “Of course, I would have slept better if I hadn’t had to give myself an orgasm.”

  Tegan watched heat fill Reid’s eyes as he sucked in a breath.

  He visibly swallowed before he said, “That doesn’t sound too bad.”

  She didn’t know why he wanted to keep her waiting, but it was nice to know she affected him.

  She pushed her chair back and stretched. She wore an oversize T-shirt nightgown, and she watched Reid stare at her legs as she put her arms over her head.

  He wasn’t the only one who could tease.

  “I looked at the weather for today, and it’s supposed to be over seventy. I think I’m going to go for a swim.” She stood and stepped away from the table, and then she stuck a foot in the water. It was cool, probably too cool for a human, but it was fine for her.

  “Did you bring a suit?” Reid asked.

  Tegan pulled her pajamas over her head and threw it in his lap and over his computer. “Nope.” She walked to the opposite end of the pool, making sure to put a little sway in her walk as she went. She didn’t want Reid to miss checking out her naked ass.

  Part of being a sentinel was knowing how to swim well, so when she reached the other side, she dived into the water with ease. She put Reid out of her mind and swam laps until she felt the burn in her muscles, and then she pushed herself a little more.

  She swam toward the shallow end of the pool and stepped out of the water. She grabbed her hair and wrung out as much water as she could.

  “You’re cold.”

  Tegan looked up. “What?”

  “You’re cold,” Reid said again.

  She flipped her hair behind her and made her way over to him. “How can you tell?”

  Reid pulled her in between his legs and traced one of her nipples with his thumb. “Your body is giving you away.” He brushed his hand down her stomach and over her hip. “You’re beautiful.”

  “So are you.”

  She wiped her hands on his sleeves and then picked up his laptop and set it on the table. Then, she grabbed her nightgown and placed it on the ground between Reid’s legs. The front of his worn jeans were distended against his fly.

  She took her forefinger and ran her finger up to the button of his pants. She took her time, waiting for Reid to stop her and ruin her fun, but the only thing he did was keep his eyes glued to her.

  She unbuttoned his jeans and then pulled down the zipper. Black boxer briefs looked like they’d been painted on his impressive package.

  “Did you really masturbate last night before falling asleep?”

  She looked up into his face. “Yes.”

  “What did you think about while you touched yourself?”

  “You.” She wrapped her hand around him the best she could with his underwear still on and squeezed. “Are you going to stop me if I pull down your pants and put you in my mouth?”

  Reid
brushed his thumb across her lips. “I should say yes, but I have only so much willpower, and the thought of being in your mouth is past my limit. I won’t stop you, Angel, if this is what you really want.”

  With his permission, she grabbed on to his boxer briefs and jeans and pulled them down as Reid lifted his butt up for her.

  His cock sprang out, free and beautiful and huge.

  “Wow,” she breathed as she took him in both her hands. Zane hadn’t been joking.

  Reid groaned and closed his eyes.

  “Hey,” she said, and Reid looked at her. “Remember, you’re still on duty, and Chase went to bed. You have to keep your eyes peeled for any danger.” She swiped her finger over his tip. “We wouldn’t want anyone sneaking up on us now.”

  Reid groaned again, but this time, it was out of frustration rather than pleasure. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up and onto his lap. “I have a better idea.”

  “Oh, yeah? What is that?”

  He adjusted her on his lap, shocking her when he pushed his thickness deep inside her.

  “Holy shit,” she said, digging her nails into his shoulders.

  She was turned on and ready for him, but he was big.

  “I say that my shift is over, and you’re on duty now.”

  Reid kissed her, and she melted into him, her pussy relaxing around his length.

  He pulled his lips from hers. “How about you keep your eyes open while I fuck you senseless?”

  She lifted her hips and pushed back down onto him. “I don’t know if I can do that. You feel so good.”

  He gripped her hips in his hands and rocked her over him. “All I ask is that you try, Angel.”

  And Tegan did try.

  Tried and failed.

  QUENTIN RETURNED HOME just as the sun was coming up into the sky. He went to his room to drop off his stuff and change. He should collapse into bed and sleep for a while, but he was a little amped up from his encounter with Bram. And Quentin knew that Damien wanted a full debriefing on what had happened.

  When Quentin entered the living room, the room was full, and everyone started clapping for him. He hated being the center of attention, and his face heated. Good thing his darker skin hid it. He was embarrassed that he was embarrassed.

  He waved away the praise. “Stop. I was just doing my job. If Damien hadn’t given me a heads-up about Bram’s expired tags, I wouldn’t have known.”

  And Quentin was lucky that Bram had come within the Minneapolis city limits. If he had gone a different direction, Quentin wouldn’t have been able to pull him over.

  The group was still smiling at him, and that was when he sought out Hunter. Quentin hated to admit it, but he hoped that Hunter felt the same as the sentinels. Why Quentin wanted to impress the vampire so badly, he didn’t know, but he did.

  “Hey, where’s Hunter?” Quentin asked when he didn’t spot him.

  “He was with me last night,” Raven said. “When we got home, he said he was going to go for a walk.”

  Alarm bells began to go off in Quentin’s head. “Did you see him come back?”

  Raven shook her head and looked around at everyone else. Quentin scanned everyone’s faces, and they all shook their heads.

  He turned and took the stairs two at a time to Hunter’s room. It was empty.

  He ran back down to the main floor and looked at the sun peeking through the blinds on the front window. “If he’s out there, it’s not good.”

  Damien clapped his hands. “Okay, everyone, split up. We’ll do a grid search of the property—”

  Quentin didn’t wait for his alpha to finish. He charged out the front door and stuck his nose in the air. He thought he might have caught a scent, but he couldn’t be sure. He practically ripped off his clothes as he shifted into his wolf.

  His sense of smell now stronger, he lifted his nose to the wind again. There. He sprang off the front steps as he heard the rest of the sentinels and Payton following him outside.

  He found Hunter on the edge of the property. His leg was twisted in a way that wasn’t normal, and there were tire marks on his clothes.

  Quentin had come to a full stop upon seeing Hunter. Now, he slowly approached, afraid the vampire wouldn’t be alive. Quentin sniffed around Hunter, relieved to find his heart was still beating. Quentin licked Hunter’s face, but he didn’t budge.

  Quentin shifted back into his human form and put his fingers on Hunter’s neck, just to be sure. His pulse was strong under Quentin’s fingers.

  “Quentin,” Damien called from behind him.

  “He’s alive,” Quentin yelled back. “We need to call someone. I don’t want to move him without a neck brace.”

  Damien already had his phone out and was dialing as he reached Quentin. He threw Quentin’s clothes at him as the other sentinels were behind him.

  “Oh, shit,” Raven said as Quentin pulled his jeans on. “I should have paid more attention to him coming home.”

  “Now’s not the time to beat yourself up,” Quentin said. “Go get the big tent out of the basement and something to cut the bottom off. We need to get Hunter out of the sun.”

  Raven nodded and ran back to the house.

  Quentin looked at Damien. “Who are you calling?”

  “The infirmary.” Damien’s face changed as someone answered the phone. “Yes, I need…” he said as he walked away.

  “Payton, can you call your brother?” Quentin asked. “It’s good that Damien is getting a doctor here as soon as possible, but Hunter should probably be seen by a vampire physician. Maybe Vaughn can figure out a way to bring one to us.”

  “On it.” She pulled out her own phone and started hitting the screen. She stepped away as she began to speak into the mouthpiece.

  “Why don’t we just take him to the Vampire Clinic? Wouldn’t that be faster?” Lachlan asked.

  “Yes, but we don’t know if he has a neck injury, and I don’t have a neck brace,” Quentin explained.

  Vampires along with shifters were faster healers than humans, but they weren’t immortal. They could be injured, and being paralyzed was a very real possibility.

  “It’s a good thing you’re here,” Lachlan said.

  “It’s a good thing I’m a first responder,” Quentin countered.

  Several hours later, Quentin sat by Hunter’s bedside at the Vampire Clinic.

  When the shifter doctor had arrived at their home, he’d decided it was best to bring Hunter to the clinic. They would have to X-ray Hunter’s leg, and they couldn’t do that from the house.

  They had gotten the neck brace on him, put him on a stretcher, and loaded him in the back of the shifter ambulance to take him to the Vampire Clinic.

  Once there, they’d decided that Hunter’s leg needed surgery along with his spleen and liver. Both had lacerations that needed to be closed before he bled to death.

  The only good news was that Hunter didn’t have a spinal injury.

  There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that it was Bram who had hit Hunter. And they needed to figure out how to proceed with the situation. Quentin could call his captain and tell him everything—minus the shifter and vampire information—and they might be able to hold Bram in jail longer. But, if they did that, they wouldn’t be able to exact shifter law on him. It would look pretty suspicious if Bram turned up dead after everything they reported to the police.

  And that was just what the shifters wanted to do to him. The vampires were out for blood—from what Quentin had heard—and were ready to storm the clinic as soon as the sun went down.

  Hunter began to stir, and Quentin jumped from his chair.

  “He’s waking up,” he yelled. He panicked and looked around. There had to be some sort of button to alert the nurse that he was awake.

  “I already pressed it.”

  Quentin looked at Hunter. The vampire’s eyes were closed, but they were the only two in the room.

  “I already pressed the nurse button,” Hunter said, his voice low and grave
lly.

  Quentin crumpled in his seat and dropped his head into his hands, trying not to cry.

  Damn you, Hunter. Damn you for making me care.

  “Hey,” Hunter said, trying to get Quentin’s attention.

  Thankfully, Quentin didn’t have to show Hunter how much he was affected because the door opened, and the doctor and nurse walked in. Both females began to look over Hunter’s monitors and check his vitals.

  “Mr. Esmund, you gave us quite a scare,” the doctor said. “Can you tell us what happened?”

  “I got hit by a fucking car.”

  Quentin tried not to laugh, but it was better than crying.

  “I understand this,” the doctor said. “But do you know where you were impacted and what was hit? We have done a thorough examination, but we don’t want to miss anything.”

  Hunter shook his head. “I don’t know exactly. I remember hitting the windshield but not much else, except being in pain everywhere. Especially my leg.”

  “That is broken, so you’ll be off your feet for about three weeks at least.”

  Hunter grunted at the news.

  “But that’s as long as you feed,” the doctor said. “You’ve not only sustained injuries, but you were also out in the sun this morning. You need blood.” She turned to the nurse. “Who is available right now?”

  “I’ll do it,” Quentin said.

  The doctor looked startled. “Oh, there’s no need. We have vampires here just for this reason.”

  Quentin stood up. “I said, I’ll do it.”

  The thought of anyone else’s blood, male or female, in Hunter was too much for Quentin at the moment.

  The females looked at each other, clearly confused by Quentin’s tenacity, but he wasn’t going to explain it to them. He appreciated all they had done for Hunter, but they could go fuck off for all he cared.

  “Uh…” The doctor looked at Hunter, but Quentin kept his eyes on the doctor. He didn’t hear Hunter say anything, but the doctor looked at him again. “Okay then. But he might need more than you can give at one time.” She straightened her spine, ready for a fight. “I don’t need a shifter falling down on me because he gave too much blood. If you pass your limit, you’ll be done until you recover. Understood?”