by Lynn Hagen
Raven was shocked that Malcolm knew Darcy was his mate. He hadn’t said a word to anyone. Maybe the way Raven had come racing out of the house and pulled the damn shifter off of Darcy was a huge clue. The shifter better be lucky he was still breathing. Riley had ripped the man from Raven’s arms before he had a chance to do anything, and then he had seen his mate’s bloody face and lost all thought about the attacker. His only goal was getting Darcy inside and healed.
Malcolm grinned at Raven. The smile was mischievous.“Just because I’m an old bear doesn’t mean I don’t know what’s going on in my own home.” The bear’s eyes slid over to Riley and then back to Raven.“I’m not out to pasture just yet.”
“But you will be if you don’t get up here and put Cole to sleep,” Luke, Malcolm’s mate, called from upstairs.
Malcolm chuckled as he walked his cup to the sink.“Yes, sir,” he said playfully and then headed out of the kitchen.
“Where did Pa hide him?” Riley asked Chance as he stood, looking toward the back door.
“Oh, hell no. You are not going to have Pa pissed at me,” Chance said as he stood.“I know nothing about where that shifter is being held.”
“He’s tied up in the barn,” Chauncey said as he walked into the kitchen.“Oops.” He grinned.“Wasn’t supposed to tell you that.”
Raven watched Riley push the screen door open and head out. The bear looked downright pissed.
“Pa!” Chance shouted.“Your dumbass son told Riley where the shifter was.”
“Snitch,” Chauncey said as he grinned.
Chance flipped him off as Malcolm raced down the steps and out the back door, but not before cuffing Chauncey on the back of his head.
“Damn it, Chance.” Chauncey scowled at his twin and then walked out of the kitchen, rubbing where his father had smacked him.
Chance chuckled.“Gods, I love living here.”
Raven was starting to see why. As loony as these bears acted, he could see the love they had for one another in everything that they did. It was the polar opposite to the way he had grown up. It was a wonder Raven wasn’t a coldhearted bastard from the way Magnum had raised him.
He knew that it was Daniel and Dudley who kept the humanity in Raven and Remus. Both of his brothers kept Raven and Remus from becoming just like their father, although it had been close. By the time their father had kicked them out, Raven was teetering on the edge between good and jackass.
Which side won was still in question some days.
“I’m going to check on Seth and Oscar. Have fun,” Chance said before he walked out, leaving Raven standing there in the kitchen by himself. His eyes snapped up when the back door opened and Maverick walked in, a few men trailing in behind him. Raven would never get used to how tall and menacing the man looked at times. The alpha put Magnum to shame in the scary department.
“Hello, Raven,” Maverick said, a smirk on his face.“Nice to see you again.”
Raven had met Maverick when he went to the alpha’s house to kill Sloane, Maverick’s cousin. Sloane was mated to Raven’s youngest brother, Dudley. It hadn’t been pretty. Magnum was the one who sent Raven, Remus, and Daniel after Sloane. That hadn’t worked out so well. And honestly, Raven hadn’t wanted to hurt the man. All he wanted was for Dudley to be happy. And his youngest brother was, although Sloane was still pissed at them for trying to kill him.
Since living here at the Lakelands’, Raven hadn’t seen Maverick. He had forgotten how damn big the man was.
“Alpha,” Raven replied, dipping his head slightly in respect. He may have been raised to believe shifters were beneath him, but Raven was no fool.
Secretly, he liked Maverick, but Raven would never admit that out loud.
“Is Malcolm around?”
“He’s in the barn trying to stop Riley from killing the shifter.”
Maverick laughed.“Gotta love those bears.” He turned, the men with him leaving, Maverick following. Raven was curious, so he followed as well. He walked into the barn behind the men and saw that Malcolm had Riley pushed up against the barn wall, growling low.
“You will wait.”
Riley turned his head, his lips thin and his eyes spewing hate. Raven knew that Riley was an uptight man who barely spoke and kept to himself, but he had never seen Riley this angry before. It was a sobering sight.
“Am I interrupting?” Maverick asked as he stepped closer.
“No,” Malcolm said as he released Riley.“You’re just in time. He’s over there.” Malcolm pointed to a man gagged and tied to one of the poles in the barn.
Raven could feel his fangs itching to tear the man’s throat out. This was the person responsible for hurting Darcy. It took every ounce of restraint not to charge forward and kill the bastard.
“I know him,” one of the men that had come with Maverick said.
Maverick nodded, glancing over at Malcolm.“This is Kenway.” Maverick waved a hand toward the man who had spoken.“He’s one of the men I allowed to stay here.”
No one said a word.
“How do you know him?” Maverick asked as he walked over to the bound man and knelt in front of him.
“He is one of the men who burned down our homes.” Kenway was fucking huge! Raven raked his eyes over the man, wondering what kind of shifter he was. He could smell shifter on the man, but not what breed. But there was no mistaking the man for anything but Native American. His long black hair shined in the dimly lit barn. He also had high cheekbones and a dark tan that complemented his complexion.
“So your enemies have come a-calling?” Maverick asked.
Kenway bowed his head, but not before giving a slight nod.“I didn’t mean for our trouble to follow us here, alpha.”
“Yes,” Maverick said as he turned back toward the shifter tied to the pole,“you did. But I knew this would happen.”
“Did you know he would come after my—Sterling?” Riley growled, but Raven caught the slip. Riley’s hands were fisted tight at his sides as he paced back and forth in front of the pole, his eyes murderous as he looked down at the shifter.
“No,” Maverick answered Riley and then pulled the gag from the shifter’s mouth.“So why don’t you tell us why you came here.”
When the man spoke, it was between clenched teeth. It looked like it hurt like hell. Riley really must have broken the prick’s jaw like Malcolm said.
“Fuck you,” the man snarled and then spit in the direction of Maverick’s face. He winced with the effort, but the spittle fell short. Guess a broken jaw isn’t as effective as the man would have liked.
Raven blinked and almost missed how fast Maverick’s hand flew up and then barreled downward, slamming across the shifter’s face. “Let’s try this again.”
The man’s head wobbled on his shoulders, his eyes dazed. Damn, even Raven’s jaw hurt after that blow to the face. Maverick’s hands weren’t small.
The man smirked, his eyes narrowed as he licked his busted lip. He gritted the words out, but Raven understood each and every one. “Was going after Kenway. Saw a hot piece of ass standing by the corral.”
Riley growled as he lunged, his boot kicking the man square in his ribs. Maverick stood, taking a step back, and raising his arm for Malcolm to stop, giving a slight shake of his head. Riley laid waste to the man’s face, his fists connecting repeatedly. When it looked like Riley was going to kill the shifter, Maverick grabbed Riley around the waist and hauled him away.
The bear’s chest was rapidly rising and falling, his canines elongated and showing from under his upper lip. He looked wild, unfocused as he lunged again, but his claws were still sheathed. Raven watched as Maverick held the bear back.
“How many are with you?” Kenway asked as he walked behind Raven and stopped in front of the bloody shifter. The bound man’s eye was swollen shut, and blood was trickling out of his nose, bathing his mouth and chin in bloodred color.
The shifter gazed up at Kenway with his one good eye, but refused to answer. Either that o
r his damn brain was scrambled. Riley had unleashed on the man.
“I asked, how many are with you,” Kenway said with a growl.
The shifter turned his head, his lips tightly sealed. He was slightly tilted to one side, and he winced heavily as he tried to push back up into a sitting position. Raven could feel his claws extending, thinking of what the shifter had done to his mate. He wanted a piece of the action, but feared killing the man.
No matter what his father thought, Raven was not a monster like dear old dad. He wouldn’t kill the shifter. He wasn’t going to prove his father right. Magnum had tried like hell to turn Raven into a killing machine. But as hard as his father pushed, Raven had pushed back. He wasn’t a murderer. He wasn’t going back to Darcy with blood on his hands. Watching the attacker get his just dues was enough for him. The guy wasn’t going to attack anyone else. That was for sure.
“I’m going to take him somewhere more comfortable,” Maverick said as he untied the bloody mess of a man.“It seems this piece of shit needs help in remembering how to count.”
Raven glanced toward the barn door when he saw movement from the corner of his eye. Sterling quickly ducked out of sight. He wondered how much of what just took place that Sterling had seen. Raven looked over at Riley, but the bear was too busy staring daggers at the man who had attacked Darcy’s younger brother.
“I want to be in on his punishment,” Riley said as he wiped the sweat from his face with his shoulder.
Malcolm stepped closer to his son, lowering his voice. Raven wasn’t sure why Malcolm was whispering. Everyone there had exceptional hearing.“I will not have one of my sons in on a vindictive revenge. You doled out your punishment, Riley. Let it be.”
Riley opened his mouth as if to argue and then tilted his head back, looking up at the ceiling, letting out a long breath.“Fine.”
Raven turned and walked away. It may have been Sterling who was targeted, but Darcy was the one who felt the shifter’s malicious intents. He once again felt the need to rip the man’s throat out and with that urge came images of his father taking him on hunts.
“Go ahead, Raven. He’s nothing more than a savage shifter. They know nothing about kindness or mercy. Kill him and feel what it is like to rid the world of violent, unrestrained creatures.”
Raven shook the memory off, gritting his teeth as he headed toward the house. He was not a monster, and he wasn’t going to kill anyone. Magnum had taken Raven on many hunts. Hunts where vampires chased shifters into the ground, killing them in the name of whatever the fuck they thought was righteous at the time. To Raven, it was only an excuse to feed their darker sides with bloodshed. He hadn’t seen it at the time, but Raven’s eyes were wide open now to what his father truly was.
Magnum, and his buddies, had been the violent, unrestrained creatures, not the shifters they hunted.
Pulling the screen door open, Raven climbed the steps until he was standing outside of Darcy’s bedroom. He stood in the hallway debating on whether to go in and crawl back into bed with his mate or go to his own bedroom.
It had been their first time together, their bonding, and their claiming. Raven should be curled around his mate, inhaling Darcy’s clean, fresh scent and nuzzling into his warm flesh. But he felt the rage and pain warring inside of him. He wanted to avenge his mate, but he feared turning into the very creature Magnum tried to mold Raven into.
Blowing out a deep breath, Raven walked across the hall and entered his own bedroom. Besides, he couldn’t wake up with Darcy. There were no protective curtains up to shield Raven from the harmful morning sun.
With a heavy heart, Raven glanced at Darcy’s bedroom door and then shut his.
Darcy stretched, yawning as he glanced at the empty space next to him. He wasn’t used to waking up with anyone next to him. So why did he feel so disappointed when he saw that Raven had left his side sometime during the night?
Logically, Darcy knew that Raven couldn ’t get caught out in the sunlight. Well, he didn’t really know, now did he? What did he technically know about vampires?
Garlic?
Stakes?
Holy water?
Sunlight?
Who the hell knew? He sure didn’t. Darcy was only praying
sunlight was what drove Raven from his bed. Pushing his disappointment aside, Darcy got up and began to get ready for his first day of work. He had to impress Cody in order to keep the job. It wouldn’t be hard, but he wasn’t sure how stringent Cody was about prep cooks.
Darcy winced, feeling sore in all the right places. One thing he did know, Raven knew how to knock the kinks out of Darcy’s back. The man was a dream in bed. He snickered to himself, remembering how Raven had worked Darcy’s body, making it go nuts. He finally knew what it was like to be with another man, and Darcy was addicted now. He wanted to run across the hall and jump into Raven’s bed, begging the man to fuck him again.
“ Get your hand off of your snake, Darcy. Roman is waiting on us downstairs whenever you’re ready,” Sterling called from the other side of Darcy’s bedroom door.
“ Almost ready,” he shouted back, grinning. Sterling was something else.
Glancing in the mirror, Darcy saw that he didn’t have one scratch mark on his face. Whatever Raven had done to him last night, it worked. The large gash was gone. Not even a scar remained. Glancing at his shoulder, Darcy saw that there wasn’t a mark there either, and his collarbone felt fine.
He needed to talk to Raven though. Darcy needed to know if he would become a vampire now. With all the great sex Raven had given him, Darcy had forgotten to ask.
Darcy grabbed the extra toothbrush from the bathroom drawer and brushed his teeth, washed his face, and then saw that there was a fresh shirt sitting on the closed toilet seat.
Raven had remembered.
Darcy pulled the T-shirt over his head, grabbed his shoes and laced them up, and then headed for the bedroom door. He looked back at the bed, images of Raven taking him last night playing in his mind.
Too bad he had only one night here. Would Raven ask him to stay now that he said they were mates? Darcy wasn’t sure and too intimidated by all the large men running around this house to ask. They had already been generous enough by letting him and Sterling stay the night. Darcy didn’t want to wear out their welcome.
Trotting down the creaking wooden stairs, Darcy met Sterling at the front door. His brother stood there staring up at Riley, grinning like a loon. What the hell?“I’m ready.”
“Riley said he would run us into town,” Sterling said as he walked out the door behind Riley. Darcy was a little puzzled at the way Sterling was acting around Riley. The man was quiet, and wore a grim face half the time Darcy saw him, but Sterling didn’t seem to notice Riley’s sour mood.
“Don’t forget me,” Steven said as he jogged down the steps.“Seth is getting a ride into town from Chance.” Steven walked past Darcy, a smile on his face.“Which means he’ll be late.”
Just how many people in this house worked at the diner? Darcy headed outside, climbing into the backseat of the truck. Steven sat next to him, and Sterling sat up front. He watched his brother the whole ride into town, listening to Sterling talk Riley’s ear off.
“Do you like working on a ranch?” Sterling asked.“I think it would be cool to work around all those animals. I like animals, although I’ve never had one of my own. Darcy would never let me have a pet. Can you teach me how to ride a horse after work?”
Riley grunted, cutting his eyes at Sterling and then looking back at the road.“We’ll see how much daylight is left when you get back.”
Well, that answered Darcy’s question of if they were coming back here. It only made him smile knowing he would see Raven again. Now that was something he was totally looking forward to. Maybe Raven would come back to his room tonight. Darcy could hope.
“Do you have your own horse? Can I have one, or will I be borrowing someone else’s? It’s okay if you don’t have enough of them to just give me one. I�
��m new at riding a horse, so if you have a starter horse, that would be great.” Sterling prattled on. Darcy could see the way Riley was stealing furtive glances at Sterling. It was as if the man was trying to figure Sterling out.
Darcy knew how Riley felt. Some of the things that came out of Sterling’s mouth baffled even Darcy, and he had known the man his entire life.
“How late is late to you? I don’t want to get here five minutes before it’s too late to ride.”
Riley gave a low grunt.“We’ll see when you get back.”
“That’s not a clear answer,” Sterling replied.
Poor Riley.
“So, are you gay?” Sterling asked Riley. Darcy coughed and choked, his eyes watering as Steven patted him on the back. What in the hell was wrong with Sterling? He knew his brother had no buffer between brain and mouth, but even this was beyond what Sterling normally said.
“ Here we are,” Riley said, pulling into the spot in front of the diner and apparently ignoring Sterling’s last question.
If Riley only knew, ignoring Sterling was not going to make the man go away. Sterling had a way of getting the answers he wanted.
Darcy darted from the truck, not wanting to stick around for any more of Sterling’s personal questions. He just prayed his younger brother didn’t talk them out of a place to stay.
Chapter Six
Darcy scrambled in the kitchen of the diner to get things ready for Steven as his mind wandered back to Raven for the hundredth time.
Why would Raven give him a mind-blowing orgasm and then leave him in the middle of the night? He had tried to convince himself it was because Raven was a vampire, but Darcy wasn’t sure if he should feel used or not. He thought they had been great together last night—although Darcy wasn’t sure what to think about the whole vampire biting thing. That wasn’t his kink, but after Raven had given him not one, but two mind-blowing orgasms from biting him, Darcy was quickly changing his mind.
When he checked his face in the mirror this morning, he not only didn’t see any marks left from the attack, but he hadn’t seen any bruises on his neck as well. That was a damn good thing. Explaining bite marks to Sterling wouldn’t have been easy.