Ascend (Wolf in Exile Part 3): Werewolf Shifter/Vampire Paranormal Romance (5 page)

“
H
ow often do you shift
?” Kalena asked, glancing at Thane from across the table as she enjoyed the last remnants of her breakfast.

“Every day. Several times a day.”

She picked up a piece of watermelon with a fork and ate it before saying, “I’ve only seen you do it a couple of times. Once when you fought by the cages in Area S2, and then again when you left David and I in the hut.”

“Surely you’ll see more of my wolf in the future,” he teased.

Thane had since finished his breakfast. After three plates full of omelets, biscuits, bacon, and fruit, he was now sitting back in his chair observing her from across the small, round table.

She smiled. “I have some of your DNA and you’ve already imprinted on me, what’s mating like?”

“It involves a declaration surrounded by my Pack family.”

“Like a wedding?” she asked.

“Yes, almost like a wedding.”

Almost like a wedding. But was she ready for that commitment? Could she be a good companion for not only the man but also the wolf?

Kalena put down her fork, pulled the linen napkin off her lap, and folded it neatly on the table.

“Finished?” Thane asked.

“Yes, I’m full.”

He lifted a finger and several of the house staff came running to clear the table. When all the dishes were gone and the room was quiet, he reached across the table with his palm held upright. She slipped her fingers into his waiting hand. He raised it to his lips and kissed the back of it.

“I don’t want you to worry about anything. I never want to see you hurt,” he said. “I’m Alpha here and this is my domain. When we are mated, everything that is mine will be yours. I’m also a leader, and that means my Pack matters are my own to worry about. My responsibility is to protect and cherish you, and I’ll do that with everything I have. If you’ll accept me.”

“I already have,” she replied.

“Come here,” he said in low, seductive tone and then led her to stand.

Kalena closed the distance between them and sat on his lap with her legs facing outward. Thane didn’t miss one beat as he claimed her lips. He tasted salty and sweet like the food they’d just finished eating, but with every breath she took, there was no denying the rich scent of sandalwood and fresh rain all over his skin.

In their frenzied haste, Thane grabbed both sides of her hips, lifted her up, and then led her down so that she was straddling his lap. She groaned and threw her head back the moment his cool lips came in contact with the delicate juncture along her collarbone. His hands found their way under her short sundress and his thumbs were flirting along the edges of her panties.

“Thane…”

“You’re addicting,” he whispered, his tongue leaving hot trails against her skin.

“The door…anyone could walk in…” Her fingers were tangled in his hair, pulling his mouth closer to her breasts.

“They already know that you are mine,” he mumbled just before he bent lower to gently kiss the tops of her breasts. “Your heat smells like strawberries and glaze.”

She laughed softly. “That’s probably because I just ate them.”

“Now it’s my turn.” He pushed her panties aside and glided a finger along her wet center.

Kalena gasped. “Quick. I need you. Don’t tease me.” At this point, she didn’t care what anyone thought of her or if they saw, she only focused on how much she loved being in Thane’s arms.

He unbuttoned and unzipped his pants in record time, freeing his engorged cock and letting it brush against the insides of her thighs.

“Quick, huh?” He grinned. “Quick doesn’t always mean gentle.”

“Who said anything about gentle?” She lifted her hips and positioned her sex against his cockhead.

An expression washed over his face as she slid down onto the meaty length of him, inch by inch.

“Something tells me you enjoy this position,” he rasped, grabbing her ass and coaxing her lower.

“I like it a lot,” she replied, just as they found a rhythm that suited them both.

They got lost in the moment. There was absolutely nothing that could ruin this high for her. Her clit pulsed on each downward stroke, and her sex clenched tightly around his cock on the upstroke. Her orgasm was a quick build this time, almost as if he’d willed it so. His tongue lashed against her nipples, luring her further into ecstasy. His fingers gripped her meaty backside, driving her down to the root of his cock.

Her climax spread through her, blossoming like a tulip after the rain. When he joined her in completion, his seed pulsed straight up into her core. She muffled her cries by pressing her lips together. His groans were low and hoarse, but still sounded like music to her ears.

Thane let his head fall onto her chest right near her heart. She held him tightly against her as she struggled to gain her breath again.

There was a sharp knock at the door to the left of them. Before they could prepare themselves for company, Brant pushed through the doors holding an envelope.

“Oh!” Brant exclaimed as he looked back and forth between the two. “Um, sorry.” He turned and headed back to the door.

“Give us a few minutes, Brant,” Thane called out behind him.

“My God,” Kalena breathed, her face as hot as molten lava.

“It’s all right.” Thane kissed her forehead and helped her to stand. He stuffed his semi-erect cock inside his pants and fixed his clothes. “Next time we’ll lock the doors because I plan on being inside of you a whole lot longer.”

She smiled. “We’ll see about that.

Kalena smoothed down her dress and ran her fingers through her hair a few times just before Thane called Brant back inside.

“I’m very sorry,” Brant said. He looked just as flustered at catching them in the act of sex as Kalena felt for being caught.

“There’s no need to apologize,” Thane said. “It seems one of us couldn’t make it to the bedroom.”

Kalena shot Thane a warning look and he returned a taunting grin.

“You have something for me?” Thane asked Brant.

“Yes, Alpha. It’s urgent. It was just hand-delivered by a Delta—straight from UCON.”

Thane’s brows furrowed as he accepted the envelope and pulled out a slip of thick vellum paper. His eyes moved quickly over the contents of the note and his expression turned from curious to troubled.

“What is it, Alpha?”

“UCON demands my presence at their next meeting,” Thane said slowly.

“Did it say why they want you to appear?” Brant asked.

“No, but given the circumstances, isn’t it clear why?”

Brant gave Thane a knowing look.

“
A
re you ready
? Or would you like to do this some other time?” Thane asked Kalena just before she took a seat on a side chair in front of the coffee table.

She took a quick glance up at several laptops seated in front of them and the unfamiliar men standing in the room. “No, I’m fine. Better now than never, while I’m still able to recall some of the details.”

“This is Jugkar,” Thane said, introducing a thin male with blond hair and ice-blue eyes. “He works as one of my spies on this particular assignment. He’s a computer scientist by trade and has succeeded in hacking into the firewalls of dozens of notable security and financial systems.”

Jugkar nodded. “Hello, Kalena.”

Kalena returned the gesture.

“To my right, we have Tomas. Tomas is a vampire. He’s here on behalf of a very old friend of mine whose name is Tor. Tomas’s vampire abilities allow him to dig out old memories. He’s here just in case you wish to use that option to help us retrace your memory back to the night you entered the labs.”

Tomas was dark and brooding with long black hair that reached the middle of his back. His skin was deathly pale, but even that minute detail did nothing to derail the fact that he was easy on the eyes.

“Hi, Tomas.”

Brant, Thane’s Beta, was standing behind them. No one else was in the small den.

“The goal here is not only to uncover the evidence, but to recover the original formulas as approved by the FDA. It’s also crucial that we contact anyone who has ever unknowingly come in contact with the harmful replica of D996 so we can offer the cure.”

“I’m ready.” Kalena rubbed her thumbs together, nervously. “Where do you want me to begin?”

Jugkar turned to Thane, who returned a nod of approval.

Jugkar smiled, his bushy blond brows coming together in the center. “With your very first training day on the job,” he said.

“Okay. Wow, that’s really far back, but I think I can remember,” she replied. “Um, I was introduced to Rhonda, the VP of accounting, as well as the other team members in that department. I was given a tour of that specific area and told I wasn’t allowed in other areas, especially the labs. I had never ventured back there until the night I was kidnapped. I actually met Tracy across the street one day at lunch. She told me she was a new employee too, so we would meet up to eat lunch whenever we could, except it was always a late breakfast for her since she worked a different shift.”

Jugkar and everyone else listened intently.

“Can you tell me what your time was like with Rhonda? Were you given any special access to anything?”

“Yes, sometimes when she was away, she gave me some codes to approve the reports in her absence. She wasn’t supposed to, but she said she really needed the time off.”

“We’ll need those,” Jugkar stated.

“They were never the same. In fact, the accounting staff would complain every month about how the access codes frequently changed. I might be able to recall the last few I used,” she said.

Jugkar exchanged knowing looks with Thane from across the table and then slid a notepad over to her. “Write down what you remember. Whatever comes to mind.

Kalena wrote down two sets of codes, surprised that her short-term memory was so shoddy. “I think these are right. I don’t know for sure.”

“They’ll do,” Thane told her.

“Now, the next steps get a bit trickier. Research shows that D996 works to deplete memory in reverse order, and sometimes sporadically. Some of your recollections will be clearer than others, while some will be gone indefinitely,” Jugkar said. “My understanding is that the last thing you saw before you were injected was the inside of the labs and a particular report. Is that right?”

“Yes.” She swallowed. “Death reports.”

“How did you access these reports?”

“I…” she looked warily at Thane.

He placed a hand over hers for comfort.

“I knew I wasn’t supposed to, but when I entered the lab no one was there. The computer was sitting right there as if taunting me. I felt there was something strange about the company and its practices by the way it quarantined employees and such. Even the hiring and firing practices were suspicious. One screw-up from anyone in my department and that person was gone the next day with someone in their place within hours. Maybe it was by accident or maybe I did something, but suddenly I had access to all of the reports. Of course, I didn’t have enough time to read through every section because that’s when I got sidetracked and discovered that woman’s body. Becca, right?”

“Yes. She was working on the same assignment with Tracy. All evidence points to her cover being blown,” Thane replied.

“But how?”

“She and Tracy were put there to actively tweak the formulas and skew the results. I don’t think Becca was killed by mistake. The fact that Gavril has gone into hiding and abandoned the company tells me he’s on to me, too. Which reminds me…” Thane turned his chair and called out to Brant, “Get me an ETA on Danika. They’re to arrive today. I wanted to see her in the flesh before I leave to meet with UCON.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Brant said and then left the room.

“Do you think the code you used is one of the ones written on this pad?” Jugkar pointed to the notepad where she’d written the codes.

Kalena pressed her fingers to her temples. “I’m so sorry. I thought this would be easy, but I don’t know.”

“The drugs have really got her train of thoughts messed up.” This came from Tomas, who hadn’t said a word up to that point.

“Test it,” Thane commanded.

Jugkar leaned over the coffee table and began to type furiously on each laptop, going back and forth between each one. After he was done, he looked up with a frown on his face. “Unauthorized access code.”

Kalena released a muted sigh. “You said Tomas had another option for me. To retrace my memory?”

Thane looked warily from her to Tomas and then back again. “Yes, but it’s a last resort. It involves some rather invasive procedures.”

She frowned. “Invasive procedures?”

“He’d have to drink your blood,” Jugkar said.

Kalena cringed. “And then what?”

Thane was clenching his fists beside her as if this option weren’t what he preferred. He didn’t say anything, but she could tell he was uneasy.

“And then he’ll have your memories,” Jugkar added. “There is a good and bad side to it. The good thing, this just happened recently, so he won’t have to take much or go back too far.”

“And the bad?”

Jugkar looked up at Tomas, who hadn’t taken a seat at all.

“There’s a chance that Thane’s imprint will fade,” Tomas said.

Kalena’s heart dropped. “What happens to me if it does?”

“Don’t worry,” Thane said. “The antidote has already run its course. You’re fully cured.”

“But your imprint?” She spoke in a rushed tone, suddenly aware of the consequences of her decision to help Thane with his case against his brother, Gavril.

It also dawned on her how powerful the D996 drug—or weapon—was. She’d forgotten things she hadn’t even known she’d forgotten. Memories had been stripped from her without her knowledge.

Thane brought her into his embrace and kissed her forehead. Her heart warmed as he held her tightly.

“We’ll make love again after this,” he whispered. “Over and over again. This changes nothing. I assure you that we belong together. You will carry my imprint forever, and soon we will be mated if that’s what you want. Do you understand?”

She nodded.

Thane turned to Jugkar. “Is there another way, besides the codes?”

Jugkar shook his head. “This is the only way that gets us in to view possible victims and any distribution outlets that Gavril may have used. Ninety-nine percent of the employees have no fucking clue what is going on behind the scenes. Only Gavril and a very select few are aware of these secret formulas.”

“It’s okay, Thane. Let’s do it this way. I just need you to stay close. I didn’t even know they existed, so obviously a vampire has never bitten me. I’ve never been bitten by anything really, besides the occasional mosquito.” She tried to chuckle to lighten the situation, but when she turned around, Tomas had already dropped fangs.

Tomas stepped forward. “I’m an expert memory tracer. Don’t worry. I’ll go slowly. You’ll feel nothing more than a pinch. Almost like a needle.”

The vampire’s sly smile did nothing to calm her nerves.

“I hate needles,” she said and rose from the chair.

Thane followed her lead and held both of her hands as Tomas flanked her back.

“Close off the wound when you’re done,” Thane said, his gaze focused on the vampire behind her.

“Certainly,” Tomas replied in a hoarse whisper.

Kalena pushed her hair to one side, took one last look at Thane, bent her head, and closed her eyes.

She felt a cold draft of air on the back of her neck, and then one swift strike as Tomas’s fangs punctured her vein. She gasped as she gripped Thane’s hand tighter. Her skin prickled and her muscles tightened as Tomas drew on her memories.

They’d forgotten to mention one thing. Not only did Tomas have the ability to chase memories, he apparently had the ability to bring them back. They came washing over her with the force of Niagara Falls.

The images were in reverse…

Thane’s mansion and the gates to the ShadowRock estate. Her heart dipping in her stomach as the helicopter lifted them from Area S2. Her body pressed against Thane’s as they shared their first night of passion in his hut. Thane carrying her in his arms across valleys and through dozens of trees. The women of Area S2 and the way they’d scolded her and gave her looks of pity at the same time. The sting of a needle in her arm. All over her arm. Her bouts of vomiting while being kept in the dark cargo area of the van.

There was a brief pause, and Tomas siphoned faster…

She saw more images, still in reverse…

She was back in the labs behind the computer. She’d gone inside looking for Tracy, but had deliberately entered Rhonda’s access code into the system when she’d found the computer on. She saw the set of digits and special characters as clear as day now.

The vampire’s fangs sunk deeper into her neck…

Kalena’s memory shifted to her hands tied behind her back while she’d sat in a chair blindfolded. She was in a room. Male voices were heard. One of the voices stood out the most. The voice and his commands hurt and betrayed her. It was Gavin.
Her lover.
He had betrayed her.

“She’s seen too much. Get rid of her,” Gavin said. “Clean up her memory first. Three doses.”

He issued more terse commands, but her head spun out of control. She felt sick. And used. The voice belonged to Gavin, all right. The man she’d trusted. Only, the people he commanded didn’t call him Gavin. They called him Gavril.

Kalena’s blood thundered. Her heart pounded wildly as she gripped Thane’s hands harder.

More images…

Sex on black satin sheets with a man who could have been Thane. Only it wasn’t Thane. It was Gavin. She was in love with Gavin, but she could tell Gavin did not love her. He didn’t want to commit. He just wanted her body.

Kalena gasped and tried to shake the vampire’s lure, but she couldn’t. She wanted it to stop. The images had to stop. This couldn’t have been her life. It couldn’t have been…but as the moment passed, she realized that it was.

She’d had a lover while working at Silex Pharmaceuticals. She’d met him in the elevators on the way home from work one day.

“Hi there, beautiful lady.”

He was handsome. Tall and dark. Hard-set jawline. A full set of perfect, masculine lips. Impeccably dressed.

“Hi.”

He grinned. A dark smirk that had sent shivers up her spine.

“You look kind of lost,” he said.

“That’s because I am. I forgot where I parked my car this morning. I’m kind of new.”

“Can I help you find it?”

She’d hesitated at first, but then she saw the Silex Pharmaceuticals brand on his briefcase. “Oh, you work for Silex, too?”

He quickly switched the briefcase to the other hand. “Not really. I was on an assignment here today. I’m an independent investor, so to speak.” He held out his palm. “I’ll help you find your car.”

“I don’t even have your name.”

“My name is…Gavin. And you are?”

“Kalena.”

They’d met for dinner the next night. They’d gone out on dates at least two nights a week. She’d been intimate with him on the first date and every date thereafter. She’d never seen him at Silex Pharmaceuticals again. And not once had she made the connection between Gavin, her lover, and Gavril Silex, the CEO.

Tomas siphoned ounce after ounce, drawing on her memory until she was too weak to decipher them anymore. Without warning, the vampire extracted his fangs and shoved back away from her as if revolted.

Kalena’s eyes flew open and connected directly with the confused gaze of Thane.

“Oh, my God,” she panted and grasped her chest.

“What’s wrong?” Thane helped her toward the chair.

“She…your brother…” the vampire muttered from the opposite corner of the room.

“My brother what? Did you get the code?” Thane urged impatiently.

“Yes, but…” Tomas didn’t have time to finish.

Jugkar pushed a pad and pencil into the vampire’s hand. “Write down the damn code before you lose it.”

Tomas did as he was told, and Jugkar snatched the notepad from him and got to work on all three laptops.

“I’m sorry, Thane,” Kalena muttered, her eyes watering on instinct. The betrayal she’d felt back at the labs when she’d found out Gavin—Gavril—wanted his men to
get rid of her
still fresh from the memory retrieval
.

“Why? Why are you sorry?” Thane looked panicked beyond reason. He turned to Tomas. “Why is she sorry?”

Tomas arched a brow at her. “Are you gonna tell him?”

“I didn’t know…I didn’t know he was your brother.”

“She might be confused,” Tomas said and then slit his wrist with his own fangs and held it out to Thane. “The memory is still fresh in my blood for the taking. Won’t be for long…”