Twenty-Five
When Vance had selected Saxon and Ram as the ones to go to the fight tonight, Ram had been looking forward to doing something outside of the bunkhouse…and away from Siya. He needed to clear his head, and he wanted to do that without someone reading his every thought.
He also wouldn’t have minded doing a little fighting. Not only was he a trained Guardian, but he was also tall and muscular. He was sure that he could take on any civilian who challenged him.
Unfortunately, Frank hadn’t shown up, so he wasn’t as foolish as they had hoped.
Hunter’s contact, Trey, had been there, but he didn’t seem to know where Frank was, and Hunter and Quentin could only ask so many questions without making Trey suspicious. Eventually, they’d had to leave when the crowd started to thin. They hadn’t needed Trey wondering why a bunch of guys were standing around, not betting and not paying attention to the fights.
The only good thing was, they had been able to locate Trey’s vehicle and put the tracker on it. Whether or not it would lead them to Frank and Monica remained to be seen.
Once they left, they went to a nearby twenty-four-hour café and waited for the tracker to move.
Even though they could be called away at any time, they were six full-grown males, so they ended up ordering enough food to feed a dozen humans. Once the server walked away with a look of shock and awe on her face, Ram turned to Hunter.
“Hey, can we go outside and talk for a minute?”
Hunter looked slightly surprised, and Ram didn’t blame him. They had never been very close, but Hunter was the only other vampire around, and Ram had questions and time to kill.
“Sure.”
His mate didn’t protest or ask questions, but Hunter still told him he’d be right back.
Once they were outside, Hunter waited patiently for Ram to speak.
“I apologize for getting personal, but has Quentin ever drunk your blood?”
Hunter blushed but answered, “Yes.”
“That means, he can feel your emotions and everything, right?”
“If I let him.”
“So, he reads about as much as other vampires do?”
“Probably less but not by much.” He tilted his head to the side. “Why do you ask?”
Ram fell back against the side of the building. “Well, shit.”
“What’s going on?”
“You heard how we’re protecting Saxon’s mate’s friend?”
“Yes.”
“Siya and I had sex. And I was caught up in the moment and fed her some of my blood. Not much. Just a bit from my thumb.”
“A very small amount. I understand.”
“And now, she knows everything I’m thinking. Like everything. I can’t block her, and even though I’ve drunk way more of her blood, I don’t get the same in return. I can sense her feelings like I can with anyone else, but it’s not as strong as what is happening with her. I thought maybe it was a non-vampire thing because I don’t know what else it could be.”
Hunter crossed his arms over his chest as he moved to stand next to Ram. “I could be wrong, but if what is happening with Siya was simply a non-vampire thing, I think Dante would have warned us since his mate is a shifter. He protects his mate, but something like that could really mess with our security. And I don’t know about Princess Naya, but I feel like she would have mentioned it, too. Or her mate would have. Vaughn is just as protective of Naya as Dante is of Phoenix.”
Ram kicked a small rock at his feet. “Yeah, I already came to that conclusion myself. You were my last hope.”
“Maybe it’s our fault,” Hunter said.
Ram lifted his head. “What? How do you mean?”
“We’re constantly underestimating humans. They don’t live as long, they’re not as strong, their sight and sense of smell is weaker. Maybe this is their way of evening the playing field. Or biology’s way. Obviously, your human has no control over this.”
“You got that right. She told me to go away because she couldn’t handle my thoughts.”
“It sounds like you have a few options then.”
Hearing this perked Ram’s hopes up. “What’s that?”
“First, you’re probably going to have to tell Dante and Vance, no matter what. That part is not an option because you know they need to know this.”
Ram rolled his eyes. “Yes, I realize that.” He wanted Hunter to get to the good stuff.
“You’re going to have to stay away from her until your blood leaves her body, which is going to take a while since she’s human and her metabolism is slower than ours.”
“Fuck.” He hadn’t thought of that. “Dare I ask what the second option is?”
“You’re going to have to mate with her. If she’s your mate, she can have access to that crazy head of yours all she wants. It will be her right. But you’re also going to have to try and train her to block you and work on your own blocking since you can’t seem to keep her out.”
“That sounds like a lot of work.”
Hunter laughed. “Not if she’s worth it.”
Ram looked the other vampire in the eye. “What would you do?”
Hunter’s mouth dropped open. “The fact that you’re asking me that means a lot. But I can’t make that decision for you.” He turned and looked through the window of the café. “I can tell you what I would do if it were Quentin. One hundred percent option two. But if it were anyone else, I would go with option one.” He turned back to Ram. “I guess you need to figure out if Siya is your Quentin or not.”
Twenty-Six
Raven dropped her bag down in her room and fell onto her bed. It felt good to be back home with the other shifters. And while she was excited to find out what had happened to Monica and her brother while she was gone, she couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
After the end of her heat, she had fallen asleep. When she’d woken again, she had been alone in the bedroom, so she had gone to look for Chase and Ranulf. There hadn’t been any sign of them, except for the clean kitchen and a note on the counter.
They’d had to leave to help Damien, but they would see her later.
At the time, she hadn’t cared too much because she was still tired. She’d found some food to eat, taken a quick shower, and thrown the bedding into the wash. She’d packed her suitcase and waited to put the sheets in the dryer before she left.
But now that she was back, it dawned on her that she’d left for her parents’ house alone and come home alone. She knew that Ranulf and Chase cared about her, but she felt almost…used. She almost wished they had just left her by herself because she had loved being with them too much. And how was she supposed to go back to the way things had been before? She wasn’t sure if she wanted to.
She felt different. Changed. She looked down at her stomach. Of course, that could have to do with the swelling in her belly. She’d been mostly trying to ignore it, knowing it wouldn’t last. She hadn’t even looked in the mirror when she showered, afraid she’d stand there and admire herself too much.
There was a knock at her door, and Kendall poked her head in. “Hey. I thought I’d heard you come home.”
Raven quickly sat up. “Come in.” She didn’t know if Kendall and the others were aware that she’d been with Ranulf and Chase the last few days, so she thought it best to hide her stomach. Except she blanked out the most obvious thing.
“Wow. You smell like both of them,” Kendall said as she came over and sat on Raven’s bed. “You’re the only female I know who’s been with two men, so I want to know all the details.”
Raven relaxed. “So, you already knew?”
Kendall frowned. “Yes. Damien told us that Ranulf and Chase went to be with you.”
“Oh.” Since it wasn’t a secret, she fell back on the mattress again. “I didn’t think they’d told anyone.”
Kendall didn’t answer. Her eyes opened wide as she stared at Raven’s belly.
Raven tried to cover it with her hands.
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“Oh my God. You look as big as me.”
Raven shot her friend a look. “We both know that’s not true. You’re about to pop. And you have a baby in you. My stomach will go down in a few days. I’m sure I’ll start bleeding tomorrow even.” It’d always happened soon after her heat in the past.
“I don’t know. Those boys really did a number on you. I wasn’t that big after my mating heat.”
A weird feeling whipped through her body, but she didn’t want to acknowledge it. “Your mating heat was a little different.”
Kendall sighed. “That’s true. I spent most of it miserable and in pain.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how much more powerful it was with a male around. And the fact that you and Eldon kept your hands off each other shows how strong you are. You’re a badass, Kendall.”
Her friend blushed but then said, “I kind of am, aren’t I?”
The two of them laughed until Kendall jumped. “Oh.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just got kicked.” She moved closer to Raven and pointed to a spot on her abdomen. “Here. Feel.”
Raven put her hand on Kendall’s belly, and after a few seconds, she felt the baby kick. “That’s so cool.”
Kendall smiled dreamily. “It is. Sometimes, I can’t believe there’s a whole shifter growing inside me.”
Raven looked down at herself. She remembered thinking a week ago, she wasn’t ready for kids, and now, she was feeling sad about not being pregnant. Couple that with thinking during her heat about what a little Ranulf and a little Chase might look like, and she didn’t know what to make of herself.
“The hormones suck, huh?” Kendall said.
“What?”
“The hormones. The ones that make us have sex, but also the ones that kick into gear to urge us to be a mother. It’s rough.”
Raven curled her lip. “I don’t like it.”
Kendall laughed. “I think it will go away.”
“I hope so because I don’t know what I’ll do if it doesn’t.”
“How so?”
Raven almost told Kendall how she felt about Ranulf and Chase, but she stopped herself. It would feel too real if she said it out loud. And like Kendall had said, the hormones would go away. Maybe her feelings would, too.
She was about to spout out some bullshit when there was a loud hoot that traveled through the house.
Raven sat up. “I think we need to go and see what is going on.”
Kendall stood. “I agree. Do you think that was a good noise or a bad noise?”
“Hard to tell.”
The two females walked downstairs to find Damien, Lachlan, and Eldon already there. Lachlan was hunched over his computer, and Damien had his phone to his ear.
Kendall walked over to her mate and slid her arm around his waist. “What’s going on?” she said in a low voice.
“The tracker is on the move,” Eldon said in an equal tone.
This got Raven’s attention. “Tracker? What tracker?” Her heart rate sped up at the thought of closing in on Monica.
Eldon frowned down at Kendall. “Didn’t you tell her what was going on?”
She smiled awkwardly. “I kind of forgot.”
“You forgot?” Raven said too loudly, and Damien shot her a look. “Sorry,” she said to her alpha. “You forgot?” she asked her friend again but in a hushed voice.
“I have pregnancy brain. You try remembering everything when someone is sucking your life force out of you.”
Raven simply stared at her for a few seconds and then looked up at Eldon. “Eldon?”
“There was a fight tonight. Frank didn’t show up, but they put a tracker on Hunter’s contact. We’re hoping that leads to Frank and Monica.”
“Oh my God, I need to go.”
Kendall stepped away from her mate and in front of Raven. “Raven, they have it handled.”
She ground her teeth together. “Who has it handled?”
“Quentin, Hunter, Chase, and Ranulf are there.”
“Also, Vance sent Saxon and Ram,” Eldon chimed in.
She felt like she’d been punched in the gut. This was what Ranulf and Chase had gone to help Damien with. And they hadn’t even told her.
She hurried over to Lachlan. “Give me the location,” she bit out.
Lachlan looked up from his computer and over to Damien.
“Tell me, Lachlan.” She was ready to wrestle his computer from him, but he still didn’t answer.
He looked down at her stomach, and she felt sick. First, her heat had stopped her from helping, and now, they were going to tell her no because they wanted to make sure she wasn’t pregnant. She understood it. Shifters took a long time to get pregnant, so every pregnancy was protected. But right now, she didn’t know if she wanted to keep a baby from either of the men who’d betrayed her. They knew how important this mission was to her.
She leaned over, grabbed Lachlan by the collar, and said, “Fucking tell me now. I’m not pregnant, and even if I were, this theoretical child is no more important than all the girls suffering under Monica.”
“Raven,” Damien snapped. “Let him go.”
She reluctantly did so and straightened. She slowly pivoted toward her alpha. “Damien, I have every right to be there.”
“You’re right. You do.”
She lost some of her grit. She hadn’t expected that. “I do?”
“Yes, but the fact of the matter is, the ones I sent are close to the vehicle they’re tracking. You will not make it in time. They are much closer.” He looked down at her abdomen as well. “And I will support you, no matter what you decide, but if you are pregnant, is this something you are willing to risk when there are others who can go in your place?”
Despite thinking moments earlier that she didn’t want to have either Chase’s or Ranulf’s baby, she knew deep down that she didn’t want to risk anything. But she was too pissed off to say it.
So, she stomped away and yelled, “I hate being a woman.”
Twenty-Seven
Ranulf was following behind Quentin and Hunter in their SUV when Chase said, “Uh-oh.”
“What?”
“Raven is pisssssed.” Chase dragged out the last word.
“Why?”
“Because she’s back home and she knows where we are. She’s mad that we didn’t tell her.”
“We didn’t want to worry her.”
“I know that, but we probably should have figured out she wouldn’t stay at her parents’ and she would come home.” Chase held his phone up. “Oh.”
“What now?”
“I can’t say it out loud.”
“Too bad. You have to.”
“She said she’s going to cut off our nuts and put them in the garbage disposal.”
Both Ranulf and Chase reflexively cupped their balls.
“Ouch,” Ranulf said.
Chase typed something on his phone.
“What did you say back?”
“That we wouldn’t be able to get hard-ons anymore.”
Ranulf shook his head. “I think that might be the goal.”
Chase laughed. “That’s what she just said.”
“How about you tell her we’ll make it up to her when we get home, but right now, we need to concentrate, so we don’t get hurt or killed?”
Chase typed away. “Sent.” A couple seconds passed. “And she says we might want to rethink that because we’re going to get hurt worse when we get home.”
Ranulf couldn’t help but smile. Raven was perfect for them.
“What do I say to that?”
Ranulf gave it a thought. “Tell her we’ll take her punishment like the adults we are.” He held up his finger. “As long as our manhoods are not in jeopardy.”
“Yeah, it would be really hard to make love to her without our balls intact.”
“I agree, but do not say that.”
Chase snorted. “I’m not an idiot.”
Ch
ase’s phone rang.
“You did say that, didn’t you?”
“No, asshole, it’s Quentin.” He hit a button. “Yeah?” he said into the phone.
“I just got a call from Damien,” Quentin said through the speakerphone. “Trey’s car is stopped at an address. We’re going to park a block away and go the rest of the way on foot.”
“Got it,” Ranulf said to let him know he got the message.
Chase ended the call, and they followed Quentin and Hunter a few more minutes through a working-class residential neighborhood, where the houses were small and older but well taken care of, before pulling over and parking next to a curb. Saxon and Ram pulled up behind them, and all six exited their vehicles.
Once they were out, Quentin rattled off the address in case they got split up. “Damien said that we should remove the tracker from Trey’s car if we spot Frank—or Monica. Then, hopefully, one of them can lead us to the other. If they’re both there, we need to figure out if this is where they’re holding the girl. If this is not the location, we still need to track one of their cars in hopes that they lead us to Emery.”
There was a collective nod to let Quentin know they understood, and they headed in the direction of the house.
When they reached their destination, they fanned out and made sure to keep their distance, so their scents would not attract unwanted attention. Ranulf noted that Saxon was able to easily slip the tracker off of Trey’s vehicle before he headed around back. He scanned the yards to make sure no one was watching before peeking in some windows.
No one spoke, but they all signaled at one another. Frank was in the house, but Monica wasn’t there.
The group of them headed back to the vehicle, and once they were a safe distance away, they finally spoke to each other.
“I put the tracker on the other vehicle in the driveway, which has to be Frank’s. I also sent the make, model, and license plate number to Reid. He said the license plate came back stolen, so that’s a dead end,” Saxon said.
“You all saw the same thing I did, right?” Quentin asked.
“That there was no furniture or another soul in the house?” Chase asked. “Yeah, we all saw that.”
Forbidden Hunger (Forbidden #8): Siya & Ram Page 12