“Feisty! I’m going to have fun draining you, big guy.” All Lewis’s senses went on alert at those chilling words. Was this man a serial killer? Did he plan on opening him up and draining all of his blood? And where the hell did this man get all his strength from?
Lewis had to put all his efforts in pushing away from the passenger door.
“Fine. Since you want to do things the hard way.” Lewis groaned when he felt something hard hit him across his head. He fought to hold on, not to black out, which was easier said than done. “I’m a fucking cop.” He growled as he renewed his struggles.
“Goody. I get to eat a pig tonight.” A harsh cackle made a chill run up Lewis’s spine.
Lewis finally broke free, falling square on his rump in his drunken state. He had to get away. If this stranger managed to get him in his car, Lewis knew it was over.
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Chapter Two
Evan yanked the steering wheel, effectively blocking in the car in front of him. Anger the likes of which he had never felt before ripped through him at the sight in front of him. Either his mate was too drunk to get himself into another man’s car or the other man was forcing him. Either way, it wasn’t going to happen.
He slammed his truck door closed, getting the attention of the fucker touching his mate. Evan’s head fell back, a howl tearing from his gut when he noticed the fangs. A vamp was trying to take his mate. He tore straight for the undead bastard, claws extending as he ripped four gashes across the vampire’s chest. “Mine!” The vampire hissed, trying to get his own claws into Evan. Half shifting, Evan sank his canines into the vamp’s throat and applied pressure until the vampire’s struggles waned down, bile rising in the back of Evan’s throat at the taste of the foul blood. He dropped his prey when Lewis moaned.
Evan wiped his mouth, approaching his mate cautiously. Lewis was laid flat on his back, holding his head. Had the vampire taken a bite? Was Lewis hurt? Evan rolled Lewis over, checking for any injury but finding none. Pulling his mate up from the ground, he carried him over to his truck.
“Evan. Want Evan,” Lewis mumbled.
Evan’s chest tightened. His mate had felt the pull. Relief flooded him. For a time today, Evan had feared the worst, Lewis rejecting him and feeling nothing toward him. “I’m right here. You’re safe.” Lewis began to thrash around. “No!” he shouted as he tried to free himself. Evan tightened his grip until his mate lost the energy or the
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will to fight him.
“No one is going to hurt you.” Evan buckled the unconscious man into his truck. Going back, he heaved the vampire into the bed, not wanting to leave evidence behind. This had been one hell of a day.
When he woke up this morning, the only thing on Evan’s mind was finishing the book he had started. Nothing had prepared him for this.
After dumping the undead into the bed of his truck, Evan buckled himself in and started the motor, pulling out of the lot and onto the busy city street.
Merging onto the bypass, Evan reached over and slid his hand in Lewis’s, holding it for contact. The need to be near his mate was strong. The unconscious man moaned a few times, fidgeting around then settling back down. What the hell had happened tonight? Did his mate voluntarily go with the vamp? Did he even know what he was getting himself into? Evan shuddered at the thought of what would have happened to Lewis if he hadn’t called.
Why did he get so drunk in the first place? Was he fighting the pull? Evan was frustrated with the lack of answers for the questions bombarding his mind. When his mate sobered up, Evan had a lot of questions for him to answer.
Pulling into the drive, Evan parked his truck, gently pulling the unconscious man out and carrying him through the front door.
“Is everything okay, Evan?”
“No, there’s a vampire in the bed of my truck. I think he was planning on making a meal of my mate. Deal with him, please.” Evan didn’t wait for a reply from Commander Hawk. He took Lewis up to his room and laid him down.
Evan stood by his bed staring at Lewis, getting a chance to look his fill while the gorgeous man slept it off. He was stunning. Evan ran his hand over the cropped hair. Standard cop haircut. It was a mixture between a deep brown and black, as though it couldn’t quite make up its mind on what color to settle on. He was dying for those baby blues to look at him. That would have to wait.
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Evan ran his finger down the vein that ran the length of Lewis’s biceps. His mate was in shape and very well-defined. His hand scaled over the flat chest down to the tight abs, daring a glance when he pulled Lewis’s T-shirt up an inch, his mouth watering at the dark happy trail disappearing into his waistline. If he didn’t stop…Evan shuddered once again, this time with pleasure.
Pulling his mate’s boots off, Evan tucked the covers around him, effectively removing the temptation of his mate’s body. Leaning forward, he whispered his lips across Lewis’s, his eyes closing at the sweet flavor he tasted. Pulling back, Evan was stopped when Lewis’s arms draped around his neck, bringing him closer. Lewis deepened the kiss, pushing his tongue into Evan’s mouth. Cupping his mate’s face, he gave in for a moment, sucking on the pink appendage. The taste made Evan crave more than just a kiss. He pulled Lewis’s arms from around his neck. His mate was in no condition for anything tonight. Climbing behind the gorgeous man, Evan pulled the cop to his chest, petting his hair as he fell asleep.
* * * *
Lewis woke with the mother of all headaches. Even the pounding of his temples was too loud for his overly sensitive ears. He lay there for a moment, wondering if he was still drunk. That was one hell of a dream he had last night. What made him dream of vampires and wolves? He couldn’t remember watching any movies recently with the creatures in it.
Palming his head, Lewis turned over. He stiffened when he felt a warm body pull him closer, cuddling him. What exactly did he do last night? Reaching down, Lewis felt denim on his legs and cotton on his chest. He still had his clothes on, so it must not have been sex.
“Feeling better?”
Lewis smashed his eyes closed tighter. He knew that voice. He would hear it in a room full of a thousand men talking at once and be
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able to pick it out easily.
Evan.
What in the hell was he doing in Evan’s bed? What exactly
did
happen last night? “Depends on why I’m in your bed and not my own.” Lewis inwardly blanched, not meaning to sound so harsh.
He heard a low growl next to him and felt momentarily regretful knowing he had hurt Evan’s feelings.
“You are in
my
bed because I had no clue where you live. After getting so drunk that someone tried to kidnap you, fighting him off unsuccessfully I might add, I had to rescue you. At your request, that is.”
Lewis searched his brain, coming up blank on last night’s events.
Had someone really tried to kidnap him? Why? And how did Evan know where he was at? Rolling over to his other side, Lewis tried to sit up, nausea swamping him. A trash can was shoved under his chin at the exact same moment his stomach decided to return everything he had eaten and drank the previous day. Vomiting was a foul reflex.
Lewis always felt worse afterward.
“You’re in no condition to get up, let alone leave. Lay back and rest. No one is going to bother you.” Evan eased him back once he was done donating his used stomach contents.
“What if I don’t want to be here? Gonna force me?” Why was he being so damn mean? Evan had driven all the way to the city to help him, made sure he was safe, and was now playing nursemaid, and all Lewis could do was bite a chunk out of his ass? What was wrong with him?
“Doesn’t matter, I won’t bother you while you sober up. Sleep it off.”
Lewis winced when Evan got up from the bed and slammed the bedroom door behind him. The sound ricocheted through his alcohol soaked brain. Jackknifing, Lewis grabbed the can as vomit shot out of his mouth and nose, stinging his orifices. Dropping the can back down, Lewis fell back onto the bed. Maybe a few more hours of sleep
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wouldn’t be so bad. Thank god he had today off.
* * * *
Evan ran through the woods. His wolf form ate up the miles as he tried to exorcise the demons hot on his heels. He couldn’t understand why his mate hated him so much. Sure, he had been a prick on their first encounter, but only because the need to claim what was his had hit him so hard. He apologized for his behavior. Did that give his mate free reign to spit venom at him?
To go to a bar to seek out companionship from another was a slap in the face. Evan knew without a doubt that Lewis had been ignorant of the fact the man was a vampire, so he was willingly going with another man to do…what exactly? That unknown factor, the thought his mate was going to lie with another, was driving him over the edge.
Evan howled as he ran. No one ever dared treat him this way. Not even his old pack. They voiced their opinion on his sexual preference, but none were foolish enough to challenge him. He had left them of his own free will when his friend Gunnar had told him of Maverick’s pack. A pack that was for only gay wolves. That was over two hundred years ago, when he was a thirty-four-year-old pup. To take it from his mate now was bitter-tasting, to say the least.
What in life had shaped his mate to be who he was? What had happened to make him such a cynic? Evan knew if he barged into his bedroom and demanded answers that Lewis would only dig his heels in, refusing to answer anything the wolf asked. This mate stuff wasn’t as easy as the others made it look. Wasn’t Lewis supposed to follow his every word? Behave as a mate should? On second thought, there were a few mates that didn’t behave as they should. The Alpha’s mate Cecil was the biggest offender.
That mate kept the Alpha in a ready supply of aspirin. Evan wouldn’t be surprised if Maverick started to drink because of his mate and his mischievous behavior, if only Timber wolves could get drunk.
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Still, Evan would rather deal with that than the rejection he was getting from Lewis. Was he that bad of a mate? Was the thought of being with him that despicable to his cop?
Evan shifted back to human form, jogging up the stairs to take a shower. He prayed his mate was asleep, not wanting to see the loathing in his eyes. The only thing keeping him sane was the fact that Lewis had said he wanted him last night in his drunken state. His mate’s defenses had been down, his true thoughts spilling from his lips.
He cursed to himself when he entered his room. Lewis was lying on the bed staring right at him, a look of defiance on his face.
Ignoring the pain his heart felt, Evan headed straight into the bathroom and climbed under the hot spray.
Wrapping a towel around his waist, Evan emerged from the steamy bathroom and straight to his dresser, needing to dress himself before the temptation was too much.
“I’m ready to go home.”
Just like that, Evan’s anger shot through the roof, spinning around he sneered, “Too damn bad. You’ll go when I’m damn good and ready to let you leave.”
“And who in the hell made you king?” Lewis raised an eyebrow, his voice calm but filled with sarcasm.
Evan watched as Lewis pushed himself off of the bed, dropping to his knees to look for his boots. Feeling his claws extending, Evan rushed his mate. Lewis stood at the last moment, their chests smacking, and his mate stumbled back onto the mattress. With a human growl, Lewis pushed himself up, shouldering Evan out of his way as he made for the door.
“Don’t think so.” Evan leapt, anger coursing through his veins at his mate’s attempt at leaving him, his aloofness, and his downright lack of concern for anything Evan felt. With all the commotion in the room, Evan didn’t notice Tank entering.
Evan howled when he was knocked to the floor, rage consuming
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Lynn Hagen
him. The warrior Tank grabbed Lewis around the waist and hauled him off of his feet, carrying him out of the room.
Evan shifted, not caring who it was on his back, wanting only to have his mate returned to him. His jaws snapped, saliva dripping from his muzzle as he fought to dislodge his unwanted guest from him.
Evan whined when canines applied pressure to his throat, pushing him steadily toward the floor. Flipping to his back, he got his first glimpse of the wolf subduing him.
Maverick.
His anger dissipating and his movements restricted, Evan lowered his eyes in a sign of submission that ate at his gut. No matter how much he wanted to knock his Alpha off of him, it wasn’t going to happen. Maverick was six feet from snout to the tip of his tail and four feet from floor to head. In wolf form, he was the largest Timber wolf ever born at three hundred and ten pounds. Evan wasn’t being released anytime soon, at least not from any struggling he himself tried.
The pressure eased, and a tongue licked his throat, nipping it in the process. Evan ran human hands through his hair as he watched Maverick. Once the wolf removed his canines, Evan pushed from the floor, grabbing clothes from his dresser. He didn’t need to turn around to see who was entering his room. He knew Maverick’s mate, Cecil, was bringing the alpha some clothes to put on.
“I warned you, Evan. If you go near him before next Friday, you will be asked to leave this pack.” Maverick’s tone was deadly, quiet, and brooked no argument. Evan knew there would be no inches given if he violated this.
What was he going to do about his mate for the next seven days?
“He will be watched. No harm will come to him.” Maverick turned to leave.
“Who?” Evan growled. “Who is going to be with my mate?” Placing his hands behind his back, Maverick approached Evan, his face stopping mere inches from Evan’s. “That doesn’t concern you.
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What does concern you is the lack of respect you have shown your mate. If I had not stopped you—” Maverick closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them, crimson colored the irises. “Do you understand what just took place? The strength you were about to unleash onto that human? Think about it, and I’ll see you in my office in no less than thirty minutes.”