Yellow teeth gleamed as the Kurjan dragged her onto the road before leaning in to sniff her neck. “She’s mated,” he growled over his shoulder at the Kurjan dragging Katie and the doctor toward them. Cara started to struggle against the strong hands holding her. She had dropped the gun when he’d pulled her from the truck, and her mind worked furiously to come up with an escape.
The Kurjan soldier gave her a sharp shake. “Stop.”
Cara looked in desperation at Katie, who stood with one Kurjan while the other held the doctor. The moon shone down on a quiet scene made for love—not blood. Dressed in all black from their boots to thick vests, the Kurjans had various weapons tucked throughout. Their thick hair glowed an unearthly red in the soft light.
Another Kurjan strolled out of the forest to stop before Cara. He stood taller, broader than the others, and two metallic red bars decorated his shoulders. He shot out a sharp nail against her chin and tugged her head up to face him.
“I’m Lorcan.” His voice resonated through the night, and Cara struggled not to cringe away. “You were to be my mate, Cara.”
She stared in surprise at his use of her name, and then fury washed over her. “I guess you’re too late, asshole.”
The claw under her neck sliced the delicate skin. Sharp pain lanced through her followed by pure terror. He forced her face farther up, and she bit her lip to keep from crying out.
“Not necessarily, human. Our scientists have been working on more than our aversion to the sun.” He stepped back and put his red finger into his mouth. “Delicious.”
Cara’s stomach revolted. Strong hunger, dark and evil, slammed against her shields, staining her. She stamped down the bile rising in her throat.
“Where’s your daughter?” He stepped closer and almost gently scraped the same overly long fingernail down the side of her face. The Kurjan behind her prevented her from backing up, so Cara could only stand there and glare.
Bigsby began to struggle and the soldier holding him brought an elbow down on his neck, sending the scientist sprawling to the ground. Unconscious.
Cara peered at Bigsby, sighing in relief when the man’s chest moved as he breathed. He was still alive. “You’ll never find my daughter.” Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Katie pivoting to stand between two of the Kurjan soldiers.
Lorcan smiled sharp yellowed teeth at her. “We’ll see about that. The lives of our oracles depend on their being correct about the future. They always are.”
Cara kept her face calm as Katie gave a signal and tossed a green gun her way. Then the air started to shimmer around the young woman.
“Fuck,” the nearest Kurjan bellowed as a force of air blew him back several feet. He landed with a sharp thud on the dark asphalt. The other Kurjan went down to all fours as a mountain lion stood over shredded clothes where Katie had been. She wasted no time in going for his throat.
Cara caught the gun and fired into Lorcan’s chest, throwing him back several feet. She turned to run, only to have the Kurjan behind her wrap both arms around her, effectively immobilizing her. She kept her wide gaze on Lorcan as he struggled to regain his balance, which happened sooner than she would have liked. With a fierce roar that raised the hair on the back of her neck, he rushed forward and wrapped one bony hand around her throat. He squeezed, cutting off her air supply. Her eyes watered and her lungs clenched. He nodded to the monster holding her. “Go take care of the shifter.”
Cara’s arms fell uselessly at her side. Her vision going grey, she swayed toward her enemy. Lorcan lowered his face to an inch of hers, his foul breath washing over her mouth as he spoke, “Breaking you shall be enjoyable.”
A sharp feline yelp pierced the night followed by a furious howl miles away.
Awareness hit her as she realized she still held the gun. She lifted and pulled the trigger. Lorcan released her and fell back two steps. The air started burning down her throat to her screaming lungs and she gulped it in. A murky haze still clouded her vision, but her hand kept firing at the monster in front of her.
Lorcan fell back with a shrill howl. Then he leapt to the left and lifted Bigsby’s limp body off the ground to use as a shield. With a sob of fury, Cara stopped firing and searched for a way out. Katie lay unconscious in naked human form with a decapitated Kurjan next to her. The Kurjan soldier thrown by the blast still lay prone several yards up the road. He slowly climbed to his feet and started prowling toward them.
The one who had bound Cara stood over Katie and deliberately placed his booted foot on the back of her neck, pressing her face into the rough asphalt.
Lorcan gave a high-pitched hiss. “Drop the gun, or I’ll have him crush her neck. Even a male shifter wouldn’t heal from that, Cara.” He continued to hold an unconscious Bigsby in front of him.
With one last desperate look around, Cara dropped the gun at her feet.
“Kick it over to me.” Lorcan’s fangs flashed bright and dangerous.
Shivering in the damp night, Cara kicked him the gun.
“Cara,” Lorcan spoke softly, “watch what happens when you challenge me.” With a dark gleam, he lifted Bigsby’s body a foot off the ground, latched his fangs into the doctor’s neck, and began to drink with sharp pulls. His eyes darkened to black, then swirled to red.
“No,” Cara cried as she started forward, only to have the returning Kurjan grab her by the hair and tug her back. She struggled as Bigsby’s color turned from a healthy flush to pasty white. Until his blood was drained. His eyes remained shut until Lorcan gave an unconcerned shrug and dropped him to the ground. Lorcan shot his tongue out to lick the red liquid off his stained lips.
He took a step toward her. “You tasted better.”
A grey fog descended across her vision, and she began to sway. A roar sounded, the Kurjan holding her was ripped away and the ground rose up to meet her. The last thing she saw before succumbing to blackness was Talen, his eyes a wild green, his face a feral mask, and his fangs covered in blood.
Talen hadn’t truly felt fear in centuries and thought furiously that he didn’t like it. He swiftly ripped the head off the Kurjan who had dared to touch his mate. Then he lunged toward Lorcan, taking the leader to the ground in a crunch of bone. Blood splayed by his hand before two soldiers tore him away.
Throwing elbows, he knocked them back and turned. They both jumped for him. He stopped the younger one in midflight with a mere thought. But he allowed the second one to tackle him to the ground. So he could feel the warm blood of his enemy. He vaguely heard Jordan roar into the clearing.
His knife flashed out, sharp and wicked. Deep red blood coated the asphalt while the Kurjan’s head rolled away from its body. Talen rose, his gaze on Lorcan, his canines elongating until the animal within hungered.
The one he’d froze broke loose with a shrill shriek of anger and rushed him in a crushing tackle. They hit the road, leaving a bowl-shaped dent in the hard surface. Talen shot an elbow into the soldier’s windpipe and rolled until he straddled the struggling enemy. One swift slice through the neck and the struggles stopped.
Talen stood, fury filling his pores at the now empty roadway. Lorcan had disappeared. The strong urge to hunt warred with the need to take his mate to safety. As always would be the case, his mate came first.
Chapter 18
The last woman hadn’t died easy. Kalin wasn’t sure why, but he liked that about her. Nothing special, no extra abilities, surely not someone he could take back to camp. Yet, she fought death like an animal.
Yet in the end, she’d taken her last breath. Even her God wouldn’t save her, further proof of the damnation of this silly, easy prey. The thick trees had provided canopy from the bright moon in the quiet forest, with no life shuffling around. Nothing in the wild was as deadly as him.
He wondered when the sport would become exciting again. When the thrill would return. Possibly not for decades, when he finally met her. Janie. So far away, yet a blink of an eye to his people.
The fall
Minnesota nights had cooled to a comfortable temperature. He buried the shovel with his latest prey, kicking the remaining foot of dirt around. Rolling his neck, he surveyed the area, making sure he’d cleaned up. Then, with a glance at the waning moon, he began to jog for home, his thoughts on his future mate. He’d tried repeatedly to enter Janie’s dreams but bounced against something strong each time; somebody else was there, somebody who probably didn’t even know they blocked him.
Kalin had little interest in the young Janie at this time, but the other presence, a dangerous, still developing presence, well that was interesting.
Still wondering about the new player, Kalin scaled the rock wall and dodged inside the obscured cave entrance before pressing his palm against speckled rock. The wall slid open, revealing a large elevator which he rode down into the earth. He ignored the sentries posted on either side as he emerged and strolled across plush carpet to his father’s quarters.
Three human women exited just as he reached the door. Pale, trembling, reeking of sulfuric fear, they kept their eyes lowered while passing him. He inhaled deep, swiveling to spot the red oozing out of one thin neck. Copper and sweet temptation filled his nostrils. His father had been feeding.
Grinning, Kalin strutted through the door. Muted light, ivory carpet, and thick oak paneling showed class and elegance while stark black, red, and white paintings adorned the walls. Scenes of blood and twisted death. If nothing else, his father truly had excellent taste in art.
“Father?” he called, moving toward the small kitchen to the left.
“Here,” Lorcan returned in a low growl.
Kalin stopped short at the sight of his father bleeding over the oak table. “I take it the plan did not go well?” They should’ve let him go.
Lorcan hissed, pressing a blood-soaked towel to his neck. “No. Bastard damn near ripped out my jugular and the helicopter ride home took forever. It’s taking me forever to heal.” He ran appraising reddish-purple eyes over his son. “Where the hell have you been?”
Kalin shrugged, reaching for the tin of cookies in the cupboard, specially made in London. “Out.”
Throwing the drenched towel into the sink, Lorcan ripped off the remainder of a tattered sleeve, revealing several breaks in his left arm. “I can’t wait until you finish with puberty; this is getting tiresome.” His eyelids closed, and he took a deep breath, the bones snapping back into place with a sharp crack. His eyes swirled purple through the red when he reopened them. “Did you cover your tracks?”
“Of course.” His father’s failure irritated Kalin. He’d looked forward to meeting Janie’s mother, maybe of having her. “I take it one of the Kayrs showed up?”
“Yes. Talen Kayrs. Along with a clan of shifters.” Lorcan rubbed his chin. “I can only hope cousin Franco doesn’t hear of the disaster.”
“You think he’ll challenge you for the throne?” Kalin munched on a cookie, wondering if he’d be the one to eventually kill his father for the title.
“Yes. I’d thought to get my sotie in place and with child before Franco becomes too tempted. I’d hate to have to kill one of our best fighters on the eve of another war with the vampires.”
Kalin shrugged. “I say we take him out now.”
His father sighed. “Kalin, you need to understand strategy. Right now, we need Franco and his force to battle the Realm. Starting our own internal war would lead to disaster for us. And your future mating is imperative.”
“Do you understand why?” Kalin tossed the tin back inside and shut the thick oak cupboard. “What is so special about this human girl?” He wondered what the oracles had revealed.
Loran speared him with a sharp gaze. “No. I’d thought you’d have an idea, considering the psychic skills of your mother.”
Kalin lifted an eyebrow, lying easily. “I have no idea. Maybe your sotie didn’t pass on enough of the psychic ability to me.” Knowledge was power, and he intended to gather the most. “Well, father, I’ll let you rest. See you in the morning.” He turned, wondering if tonight would be the night he finally broke into Janie’s dreams. He had a feeling that his biggest adversary, whoever that presence was, would be waiting for him there.
Kalin’s fangs elongated, his heart sped up, and he smiled.
Chapter 19
Cara woke up well rested and stretched, thankful to be alive. Talen and Jordan had taken care of the Kurjan soldiers while Lorcan had escaped. She shuddered in the warm bed at the thought. Katie had only been knocked out and had returned to consciousness on the ride home after one of Jordan’s men had retrieved them, and Bigsby’s body had been buried by the same man later that night. While she and Katie had gone to bed, the men had moved on to an additional research facility they’d discovered from files taken in the earlier raid. Talen had warned her that several guards were positioned around the ranch, and she was to stay put.
The sound of the shower made her jump from the bed. Talen was back. He had informed her the night before that they’d discuss her activities when he returned and she’d had a good night’s sleep.
With a grimace, she threw on her clothes and all but ran out of the room and to the quiet kitchen. It was empty. It was too early to be out of bed. She looked at a full basket of apples on the counter and her stomach swayed. She wasn’t hungry.
“Hello, mate. Running, are we?” His voice was a deep growl.
Startled, she flipped around with her back to the granite counter, knocking over the basket of apples. “Talen, you scared the heck out of me,” she hissed on a breath.
“I believe I told you to stop and return to the ranch last night.” His silky voice awoke the butterflies in her stomach as he advanced into the kitchen to halt a few feet from her.
She took a good look at the man before her. The extremely pissed off, pure dominant form of a male. “Um,” she started as the tension began to surround her, fill her. “We had to go after Bigsby, you know that.” Then, as she realized her vulnerability in answering to a man, especially this man, she lifted her chin.
Dark golden eyes narrowed in a strong face. The wet hair curling at his nape did nothing to soften him. He raised an eyebrow at her slight show of defiance, and his muscles rippled much like a Doberman controlling itself before receiving the attack command. “After Bigsby? Knowing full well the Kurjans waited for you?” The very air vibrated around him as he moved, his voice dangerously soft.
He stalked another step closer.
She suppressed a shiver at the tension. At the danger swirling around her. She noticed belatedly that her thong was getting wet. Danger shouldn’t turn her on, she mused, as her wide pupils tracked the threat before her. This shouldn’t turn her on.
He’d dressed in all black, a tight T-shirt emphasizing the sheer strength and muscle of his torso. As did his crossed arms with steel biceps. A muscle ticked in his inflexible jaw as he checked her over, head to toe, much like a predator examining prey, ensuring himself of her safety.
Man, he looked pissed, and a shiver ran down her back. Her panties got even wetter. She tried to cover the telltale shiver, but his amused smile showed he saw. Not just the shiver, but his effect on her. And that ticked her off. She welcomed the arrival of her temper as a relief from this other, desperate feeling. In fact she clung to it.
Her chin lifted higher, and she met his steely stare head on. “Yeah. It was the right thing to do. And you know it.” Her cheeks flushed as she spoke in the face of danger. But her eyes remained steady on his, even as her body tensed to flee.
He stilled. Completely. His eyes changed into something predatory, something intense. He cocked his head to one side and his voice, when he spoke, was dark, silky, and dangerous.
“You want a taming, little one?” He moved a step closer, a bare foot of tension-filled air remaining between them.
Unwelcomed heat rushed through her body and nearly doubled her over. Temper and desire warred throughout. He wasn’t playing games. She didn’t need to read him to know he meant his words. Her e
yes darted around the large kitchen, searching for escape from the intimidating alpha male before her. There was none.
She had no words to combat this effect on her senses—to combat him. Defiance was her only defense, so she tilted her lips in a small smile that was part sweet and pure sass.
“So be it,” he growled in immediate reaction. One long step closed the distance between them before he ducked and tossed her over a broad male shoulder. The jarring impact took her breath as he spun around and headed down the hall. Her breath came back in a rush as she struggled over his shoulder, her clenched hands beating on the wide expanse of his hard back.
“Knock it off.” A large male hand smacked her rear. Hard.
Her cry of outrage and increase in struggles had no effect on him. He stalked through the bedroom door and banged it closed with one thick boot. He easily controlled her struggling body, swinging her around to cradle in his arms. “A taming it is.” His eyes showed no mercy as one hand ripped off her jeans and thong before flipping her to the bed onto her hands and knees.
The sheer strength of his movements made her catch her breath as she found herself facing the headboard, fully exposed to this being stronger than any human man. She tried to move forward as a strong arm banded around her waist. His hand slid up her torso to wrap around the front of her neck. Desire controlled her as he pulled her to her knees, his fierce erection digging into her back, her ability to breathe commanded by one broad hand.
She gasped as his other hand swiped the soft top and bra over her head. Her bare back met his thick T-shirt. The brand on her hip started to burn. She stifled a moan of desire and tried to bring common sense back into the situation.
“Talen, please,” she breathed as his left hand tangled in her hair and pulled to the side. He dipped his head to run a sharp fang from her exposed ear to the hollow of her vulnerable neck.
“No, baby,” his coarse voice was pure sin in her ear as he held her where he wanted her. “I’ll tell you when to beg.” He bit down.