Fuck. Fuck. Fuck me.
The first time I tasted her blood at the hybrid lab I knew Cassia Walker was mine. I wasn’t prepared for the intense need to claim her when I saw her in the flesh. Her scent—strawberries and lavender—filled my senses. What was more fucked up? She was already mated to the wolf who protected her.
A feral snarl rolled from me. Jerking open the refrigerator, I groaned at the lack of contents. Being a vampire I didn’t need food to survive as long as I had access to blood a few times a week. Although the small vials of Cassia’s blood Harrison sent me once a month seemed to sustain me much longer than human blood. It also allowed me to stay out in the sunlight longer than a few minutes.
I lifted my gaze to my bedroom where I’d left Cassia after teleporting us to my home. It’d been an hour and she hadn’t woken. That worried me. I willed her to sleep to make it easier to teleport her without harming her.
Fuck. Why did I care? She was a hybrid, powerful and deadly. A mark. However, Harrison wanted her alive, which was a change in the kill order. For some reason Cassia and her sister were to be brought to Harrison alive. Not that I planned to take her to him anyway. She was mine.
Bringing in the hybrids alive was one of the changes within the council. The other was the divide in power. Lewis Walker had taken a stand against Harrison along with two other members. Lewis was also trying to align the Hunters with him. In fact, the male had asked me to take Cassia and run with her. That made me more curious about her. I had to make sure I got to her before Harrison sent other Hunters after her.
The bedroom door burst open and slammed into the wall. Cassia marched across the living room, her glare sharp. Her scent heightened as she drew closer. She was pissed. “Where the hell am I? Why was I cuffed to your bed?”
My cock jerked to attention. The command in her tone as she shot out her questions was hot. When she slammed the handcuffs on the counter that separated the living room from the kitchen, I met her green gaze. Her wolf peered at me through her vibrant green eyes.
She was hot. And mine.
Shaking my head, I had to force myself to look away from her. My gaze drifted to the cuffs. I wasn’t surprised she broke out of them. It was one reason I used them—to see if she was as powerful as I thought. “Would you like some soup? That’s all I have and I’m not leaving to go get you anything and risk you running off.”
A growl escaped from her. “I don’t need you feeding me. Where are we?”
I met her heated stare and let out a growl of my own. “You are in my home. I’m not telling you the location so you can mind link with your mate.”
She jerked back a step and scowled. Her scent sweetened with arousal. Did she feel the mating urge? After a moment, she stormed off in the direction of the front door. Fuck. I rushed around the counter and met her at the door, blocking her exit. “I can’t let you leave.”
With her hands on her hips and eyes narrowed, she said, “Don’t make me hurt you.”
There was a tremble in her voice that told me she would but knew it would hurt her as well. Although the thought of her inflicting pain on me made my dick twitch and harden more than it already was. Why the hell did she have to be my mate? The longer I was in her presence the more I wanted to claim her.
There was no way I’d turn her over to Harrison. Not now. “Do you know why the council wants you?”
“Move.” She pushed at me, but I grabbed her arms and twisted so I flattened her back against the door. She jerked in my hold, scowling. “Let me go.”
“Answer my question.” I pressed against her and breathed her in. A hint of arousal mixed in with her scent. Heat filled me. Desire rose and muddled my thoughts.
“Harrison doesn’t speak for the council as a whole. He’s insane and power hungry.” Her scent took on a sharp earthy note as her wolf surfaced.
Yeah, she hated the council leader. I studied her while feeling her magick brew just under her skin. “When Hunters are sent out, it’s to kill their mark. However, Harrison wants you alive. Do you know why?”
Fear clouded her depths briefly. It was gone in a flash. “No. I’m no different than any other natural-born hybrid.”
Natural born. Meaning she wasn’t part of the program and wasn’t created in the lab. Yet, her power said otherwise. “He could want to use you to get at your father.”
“What about my father?” Magick tingled my palms where I held her arms.
“Lewis is dividing the council. Rumor says he plans to get Harrison removed from his seat.” I watched her. There was no change in her features. Either she was good at hiding her emotions or she already knew of her father’s plans. I was betting on the latter.
“You won’t take me to Harrison alive.” She lifted her chin in a defiant manner.
“I’m not taking you to him.”
She stilled and locked gazes with me. Mistrust and confusion swirled in her depths. I could almost see her thinking. “Why?”
“Because you are my mate.” Giving in to the temptation, I leaned in and kissed her.
Cassia
The vampire crushed his mouth to mine and my emotions went wild. Need, desire, fear, and guilt made a dangerous cocktail. I wanted to push him way. Hell, I should push him away. Or zap him with magick. At the same time, I wanted more of him. Without a conscious thought of what I was doing, I deepened the kiss. Our tongues danced and twined together. Liquid heat filled my core.
Mine. No.
What was wrong with me? I claimed Eli. He was my mate. Not this vampire.
The thought of my wolf lover snapped me out of the desire haze from the vampire’s kiss. I brought my knee up and hit him in the balls. He cursed and jerked away, bent at the waist and holding himself.
Not wasting time, I yanked the door open and ran. There was no way I was the vampire’s mate. I had one and didn’t need another.
Especially one I couldn’t trust and didn’t know.
The house was surrounded by trees, which told me we were in a forest. At least I hoped I was. I had no idea if I was anywhere close to Eli’s safe house.
Damn it. Stupid vampire. I should have searched his mind. But I hated using my abilities for personal gain. Looked like it was time for me to get out of that habit.
Stretching out my senses through the mating bond with Eli, I called out to him, hoping he could hear me. That was when I noticed the damned vamp bit my bottom lip. I pressed my tongue to the cut on my lower lip. Fuck. The crazy fiend could track me anywhere.
He had tracked me to Eli’s. How? I hadn’t a clue. Nor was I going to hang around and find out. I pushed my legs to run faster through the forest.
Paranoia stirred within me. What if he did something to me when he knocked me out? I assessed my body inside and out with my Healer magick. Relief flooded me that the vampire didn’t rape me. But somehow I sensed he wasn’t the type to force himself on someone not willing…
The kiss back at the house was…hot and I wanted it.
I was about done with my self-check when I found a tiny thread, like a bond beginning to form. No! That damn vampire started a mating bond. Fear and guilt swirled inside my gut. Eli.
How could I have two mates?
“Cassia!”
I turned in the direction Eli’s voice came from. I’d never been so happy to see my Sentry in my life. That was considering less than twenty-four hours ago I wanted to be free from his hovering.
Rushing to him, I jumped into his arms. He caught me with little effort and hugged me tight. I shook as I wrapped my legs around his waist and buried my nose into his neck. After several moments, I regained my composure and lowered my feet to the ground. “We need to leave here.”
I didn’t sense the vampire chasing us. Odd. Where had he gone? Was he letting me go? I doubted it. After all he did start a bond with me. No, the vampire would follow us. Which meant I hadn’t a clue how long I had to figure out the mating mess.
Eli worked his jaw but nodded. I picked up on his jealousy through our mating bond and my stomach soured. Guilt rose up and made me ill. I remained silent as Eli and I shifted and ran toward the safe house.