His Dark Embrace

by Verika Sloane

  Kimber snapped a look at Lucinda. Did she take all the credit for the new recruits, when she knew that, without Kimber’s LikeMinded group idea, they wouldn’t have nearly that many?

  It took a lot of willpower not to object, but doing so would be insolent. When your alpha talked, you waited until you were directed to speak.

  Griff, only ever concerned with brute force responses or managing territorial conflicts, groaned his apathy. “Who cares if she went on dates? She needs a mate anyway. I don’t blame her. Not like she was going to settle for one of our own.” He sent her a little wink as if to say This will be over real soon.

  Little did he know…

  Amos growled, rolling his eyes to Griff. “One of them…was a fucking…vampire.”

  Griff’s face fell and his gaze dropped in respect. “What?”

  “No goddamn way,” Benny shouted.

  “Can’t be true,” said Darryl, one of the pack’s EMTs, who’d been spacing out from the conversation until the word “vampire” was said.

  Lucinda murmured to herself, shaking her head.

  Amos pounded his ham-hock fist on the table. “Shut up and listen! Crawford was interested in Kimber, but according to him, she was disrespectful, acting like she was too good for him. Which we can imagine her doing, even to an alpha, since she’s rejected every shifter that’s tried to claim her in the past. Lucinda can attest to Crawford’s claim.”

  Nya gnashed her teeth at the insults.

  Lucinda was more than happy to testify. “That’s right. Despite her immediate insolence to an alpha, Jackson pursued her. Even after her scent proved she wasn’t his true. She was hot and cold for sure, but eventually agreed to go on a date. I’ve no clue why he’d want—”

  “Really?” Luke interrupted. “You have no idea why an alpha would want her after dozens of others have?”

  Lucinda clamped her mouth, scoring her tongue across her teeth and rolling her eyes.

  “Point is,” Amos exclaimed, “we know how she can be. That gave the first part of his story credit. He explained how, one night, when they were out on their first date, a group of vampires were harassing them. Naturally, he faced all five of them, and protected her from being raped, even murdered that night.”

  What?! Kimber gripped the wooden arms of her chair in quiet fury.

  Amos went on. “And what does she do? She offends him by spitting on how aggressive he was, toward our greatest enemy.” He pounded the table again and Kimber flinched.

  Her limit was about to be reached. Any second now, she was going to explode with defiance.

  “They go out again,” he continued, squinting his eyes at her. “Are attacked by three vampires in some back alley. Not the same ones from before, appears they were randomly preyed on, and again, Crawford comes to her defense. The vamps put on a blitz attack, handicapping him, and he’s forced to go get help.”

  Griff snorted.

  At least Jackson couldn’t lie about the part where he fled, since he’d have no explanation of having a video of her and Shain, which was inevitably coming next.

  “Upon returning, he sees her and one of the vampires, and they were in each other’s arms…” A grrr rumbled from his chest. “Like lovers.”

  Darryl groaned, then cast her a disgusted glance. “I’m going to be sick.”

  A corner of Lucinda’s mouth lifted.

  What had Kimber ever done to her to deserve the woman’s hatred?

  Amos was so close to her face she could smell his tobacco-chewing breath. “I can see it in your eyes it’s true,” he spoke low. He drew back and announced, “There’s a video of them.”

  Glances of interest were exchanged, then mutters.

  “He recorded the scene with his cell. It’s proof he’s telling the truth. We’ll hear from our sister to get her side of it. And then we’ll need to decide what to do.”

  Griff blazed contemptuous eyes at her. “A shiya involved with a vampire? There’s only one thing we’d need to do.”

  This was her family? The one she’d defended to Jackson? Well, she’d said what she had to say to him because she guessed he was as vindictive and vengeful as he promised. Had he told Amos about how disrespectful he was by coming to the townhouse uninvited? By blackmailing her to steal from them? No. He hadn’t.

  Every pair of eyes was on her, their judgment on what her fate should be burning behind their fuming, offended, disloyal faces. Not one of them looked like they were going to give her the benefit of the doubt. Not one.

  It was time to tell her own story.

  Kimber planted her palms on the table and slowly rose to her feet, the chair scraping nosily behind her. She looked each of them in the eye, including her alpha, before she spoke.

  “It’s true. I seduced a vampire.”

  Chapter Forty-One

  She’d had five days to come up with her story and had…maybe five minutes to tell it.

  Alpha Amos didn’t interrupt or command her to sit down. He was being fair, for the moment, even when he must’ve thought he was looking at a traitor.

  Kimber gently cleared her throat. If they didn’t believe her, if they chose Jackson’s version over hers, she was already doomed. “One night, I couldn’t sleep, so I snuck out of the house and took a bus, just riding around until the final stop. I walked around until I found this rural neighborhood that reminded me of home. And I saw a pond, so I went for a swim. I thought I was alone, and for a while, I was. And then he came out. The…the vampire. He was watching me.” She paused. She had their attention so far. It was easy to tell the truth and omit the details. “I was terrified. I’d never really been close to one before, not by myself, let alone trapped. And I couldn’t get out, I was afraid he’d chase me down. Since I know they love the sound of their own voices, I started talking to him.”

  Benny opened his mouth and Amos shot out a hand for him to stay quiet.

  Kimber continued. “I noticed that he was attracted to me and, I don’t know, maybe that’s why he didn’t hurt me. He let me go.” She shrugged. “I wasn’t aware he’d followed me home, but he had, and made me agree to see him again. Since…since he knew where we were staying, I didn’t want to risk endangering my sisters’ lives, so I met up with him a few times a week to appease him. I didn’t know what else to do.”

  Lucinda threw up her hands. “Appease a vampire? This is unbelievable, Amos—”

  “Let her talk, woman,” Luke barked. “Go on, Kimber.”

  She swallowed, making a show of wringing her fingers. “He didn’t attack me. He didn’t even try to feed from me. He was…just lonely, I guess.”

  “Don’t be a moron. He wanted you,” Benny remarked bluntly.

  She rolled her eyes at him. “But he didn’t force himself on me. Ever. That’s not how a vampire operates, from what I learned. They want their prey to want them, to fold, to give in. It’s a game. They get their jollies from knowing you couldn’t resist. I guess he thought I’d be a fun challenge, since he couldn’t use any of his mind manipulations on me.”

  “Did you give it up?” Darryl asked with a snarl. “Did you fuck him, Kimber?”

  She met his gaze. “No.”

  No, because she’d made love with him. That was how she was able to deny it, looking him in the eye. “I manipulated him,” she said with a note of pride. “I knew what he wanted, and he wouldn’t give up the chase. His ego wouldn’t let him. So, I led him on.”

  “What for?” Luke studied her.

  “Because, after a while, I sensed I could get something out of him.”

  “And what would that be?” asked Lucinda.

  Oh, I’ll get to you in a second. She ignored the question.

  “I was playing this back-and-forth game with the vamp when I agreed to go out with Crawford. I admit I was reluctant. It wasn’t that I thought I was too good for Jackson, or intended any disrespect. It was just…well…” She looked at the men one by one. “I want my mate to have the same qualities as the men I’ve grown up wi
th. Yes, I have standards, and that’s because of you all. True, he’s an alpha, but his balls haven’t even dropped. He acted more like a frat boy with those vampires than a real alpha. I’m sorry, but I know what one should act like, and no matter what he said about that first encounter, they were the ones that walked away. You know vamps can’t and won’t fight unless they have to. We were in a busy place with dozens of people. There was no threat of rape or murder.”

  Two self-given points for giving her alpha an indirect compliment, and for inferring Jackson’s story was embellished. Which it had been. “There were four of them the first time, by the way, not five. And since Crawford is so keen on video evidence, I’m sure we could get the security video from the bar to show he was the one who came up to them, and they were the ones who left. I’m telling the truth. I’d almost insist we get that footage so I can prove it.”

  Amos’ stance relaxed for the first time since she started talking. “Unnecessary. Not surprised a new alpha would exaggerate a story like that.”

  Griff drummed his fingers on the table. “So, you go out with him, even while this vampire is practically stalking you. Why didn’t you tell Crawford to handle him?”

  “Because by then, it’d been weeks, and the vampire had feelings for me. Feelings I knew I could use.” She inwardly flinched. God, she hated talking about her mate like this, as if she’d manipulated Shain like a puppet. Despite how it ended, she loved him, would always love him, and hated that she had to tell this skewed, ugly version of their beautiful summer.

  “Use to what end?” Amos asked with impatience.

  She lifted her chin. “Something that would benefit us all.”

  No one saw that answer coming.

  Lucinda called her out. “Like what?”

  She shot her a look. “I’ll get to that in a minute.”

  Luke looked up at Amos, who slanted a glance down to his omega. They respected her backbone, at least.

  Nya wagged her tail, giving Kimber a signal that the alpha wolf had backed down. Finally.

  “I gave Jackson another chance and went on a date with him, but the vampire followed us, because by then, I think he was obsessed. But so was Jackson. He was determined to prove how brave he was, so he hired shadows to pretend to jump us so he could be the hero. I know this because my vampire mistook the scene and intervened, thought I’d be hurt by his own kind. Crawford bolted because he knew the shadows would give up the real story. And they did, because my vamp forced them to spill. I had to pretend I was grateful to him for rescuing me. I had to keep up the charade. What I didn’t know was that Jackson had returned and recorded us in the alley. That was what you saw. Me thanking the vampire.”

  Amos’s brows drew down, part of his mouth covered by his huge hand.

  “Get to the end, shiya,” Luke said. “What was all this playacting for?”

  She drew in a deep breath. “I’ll show you.”

  The group walked behind her while she led them to her bungalow. Her pulse pounded in her ears. She wasn’t out of the woods yet, nothing had been voiced that anyone was on her side.

  The six gathered in her small living room that faced her bedroom doors, lined up like a row of soldiers with their hulking general in the middle.

  Please let them believe me.

  She pulled the duffel out from under her bed, unzipped it, and dumped the bundles of cash on it, some of them tumbling to the floor.

  No one moved. None of them made a sound.

  The shock was so deafening, she heard the autumn wind rustle through the trees.

  Luke was the first one to come out of his stupor. He bent and took one stack, thumbing them to see crisp twenty-dollar bills, one after another.

  Amos snatched the stack, mouth open. “Money? You got him to give you money?”

  She gave one nod. “Like I said, he had feelings for me.”

  “I don’t believe this,” Lucinda declared. “No vamp is going to give cash to a shifter, no matter what he feels.”

  “This one did,” Kimber countered matter-of-factly.

  “In exchange for what?” Darryl stepped to the bed, eyes wide with the amount of money he was adding up in his head.

  “Does it matter? It’s ours, free and clear.” She gestured to the pile, sick to her stomach she’d painted such a wicked picture of what really happened. “He gave the money to me because I told him I needed it, no questions asked. He’s rich and practically called this chump change. We agreed to never contact one another again, but if you insist, I can have him confirm he gave the money to me to do with what I want.”

  A sharp pain hit her gut. That was the last time they’d spoken, the night he’d handed her the cash. Their last kiss. Their final words.

  Oh, God, she wanted to scream.

  Griff looked her up and down. “How can you be sure he’ll leave you alone? You said yourself he was obsessed.”

  She shrugged. “I’m sure. The chase is over. I amused him for a while, but now that I’m gone, he’s moved on to another game. They’re sick and conceited, and he’s no exception.”

  “Who was he?” Griff asked.

  Nya whined, urging Kimber to protect their Shain. I will girl, I will. “What do you mean?” she asked, a flip in her stomach making her nauseous.

  “The vamp’s name. I want to know in case he dares to try and come for the money. Or you.”

  His name? They couldn’t have that. They couldn’t have anything on her mate. “Come for me? No chance. He’s done with me. Period. And he’s not stupid, Griff. He won’t seek us out to reclaim the cash from a wolf pack.”

  His green eyes narrowed. “I’ll only ask this once. Did you steal this money or was it given to you like you said? Either way, we need to know in case we need to be prepared.”

  Nya snarled, and Kimber controlled the impulse to do the same. It was his job to ask these questions, after all. “Given. I swear.”

  “What was his name?” Luke repeated.

  She scrambled to think of one. “V-Vince. That’s all he told me.”

  Darryl rolled his eyes. “Vince the vampire. Right, Griff. I doubt he’d give her his real name, anyway. He was probably lying.”

  “Exactly,” Kimber rushed to agree. “It’s their nature, remember? They lie like they breathe.”

  Griff gave a grunt, seeming to concede.

  Amos looked at his omega, then at the other men.

  She desperately wanted to halt any further discussion about Shain. And now, for my final act.

  She pulled out her cell phone. “Crawford not only approached the place we were staying, uninvited, ignoring the unspoken rule never to approach a group of shiyas without their alpha’s approval, but he also convinced Lucinda he could be trusted. And I’m going to prove what a mistake that was.”

  With a few taps, she pulled up the recording app on her phone and hit play.

  Jackson’s voice filled the room.

  “Something different about you…I’ll stay right here until I get a notification the money’s been sent…”

  She watched her pack brothers and sister listen with intent while she replayed the entire exchange.

  “…I have the word of an alpha…”

  “…You called them country-ass cunts with no brains…”

  “…Wire me the money right fucking now…”

  “…I refuse to give you one penny… I’d rather die than betray them…”

  Thank God she’d had the foresight to record the conversation, repeating everything he’d said to her about her pack, and how he’d blackmailed her. Every word until the moment Claudine came outside had been captured.

  Benny’s jaw unhinged.

  Lucinda was paler than an egg.

  Darryl snarled, staring at the floor.

  Griff and Luke glanced at each other, then at the alpha.

  Amos gritted his teeth, a growl so menacing, Kimber wasn’t sure what he’d do.

  His pride wouldn’t allow him to apologize for doing what any alpha would
’ve done, nor did she want an apology. It wasn’t the whole truth, after all. She said what she had to, in her defense, and because she’d hurt no one in order to do it, remained free of guilt.

  And saved herself from being exiled or executed.

  Shain would be proud. She’d talked her way out of trouble, fought with words, told a tale that weighed with more truth than lies, and because of it, she’d be alive to see another day.

  Amos cleared his throat and looked at Luke, then gave a silent command that Luke understood. The omega started putting the cash back in the bag.

  “No one in this room says a word to the others or they’ll answer to me,” Amos warned.

  A quarter of a million dollars, half of what Shain gave her. The other half was under a floorboard beneath her bed. Money she’d use to get her own place and save for her future. She could’ve kept more, but she felt she owed her pack, and they needed the cash.

  Everyone would benefit. The alpha would let her leave the territory because of what she’d done, knowing she could’ve easily hidden the cash from him, but instead shared it with her pack as a loyal, devoted shiya should. The others were sworn to silence, so she wouldn’t have to endure questions or opinions from anyone outside the room. And their pack was now richer for doing absolutely no work.

  Moreover, Lucinda would likely be reprimanded for allowing a snake into their garden, and would have to leave Kimber alone going forward. She wouldn’t even bring up the fact Lucinda had stolen the credit for recruiting more shiyas than anyone had before. Let the woman have her petty victory. She wasn’t likely to shine like that again. Kimber didn’t require recognition for it and they both knew the truth.

  One by one, the group filed out, leaving Amos to go last.

  He grasped her forearm. “You did what you had to. You turned the tables on a vampire and you walked away in one piece. With a shit ton of money.” He chuckled. “Had he been anything but a vampire, I would tell the shifter world and you’d become a legend overnight, Kimber.”