Tessa tried not to stare too pointedly at Raphael, but neither did she want to look away from his intense, gray eyes that drew her in like a magnet. Sure, vampires were thought of as cold-blooded creatures, but Tessa felt hot in so many ways right now, even though she wanted to tell this fool that he had no idea who he was dealing with.
Seth entered the cabin and frowned. “What are we going to do with her now?”
“Well, I suppose we should take her back to Shadow Creek.”
Tessa stared from one man to the next. “A-Are you a werewolf, too?”
“Nope, I’m about as human as can be.”
“Can I leave now, or are you planning to force me to submit to you?” Tessa asked Raphael, who sneered, “Not even in your dreams. I prefer women who have a pulse.”
* * *
From the moment Raphael straddled the vampire who’d attacked him outside, he wanted to see what she looked like, really looked like in the light of the cabin. He stared over to the king-sized bed and how he longed to bring her straight there. From the look in Seth’s eye, he wanted it, too. They’d shared women on many occasions, but with Seth being human, it wasn’t the usual triad that most might expect.
This dark beauty who stood before him was vulnerable, and she couldn’t quite mask that. She was also newly turned, or else he’d have had his hands more full trying to fight her off. She didn’t quite have the strength that a more confident vampire would have. She had spunk, though, and he loved that. Well, that and the challenge.
“We’d better get her back to Shadow Creek before daylight,” Raphael said as he walked into the far corner of the room and donned jeans and a tee shirt.
“I can find my own way back.”
“I’m taking you back. I insist.”
* * *
Tessa had no choice as the men took her out of the cabin and into a truck not far off. All the way to Shadow Creek, Tessa was tense as she saw dawn threatening on the horizon with a show of pink sky.
As if Raphael knew what she was thinking, he slammed his foot on the gas pedal and they were at Shadow Creek not five minutes later. Instead of stopping at the main house, Raphael stopped at the large cabin behind it. Tessa was pulled out of the truck and forced to walk along, stopping as Raphael rapped on the cabin door until a disheveled Brendan answered it.
“What’s going on here?” he asked, his eyes narrowing as they fell on Seth. “What are you doing here, Seth? You know you’re not allowed at Shadow Creek.”
“Oh, I know, but I’m only here because Raphael insisted I come along.”
Brendan moved out of the way and the trio entered. Katlyn sat up in the bed in the far corner, rubbing her eyes. Chase moved to cover her nakedness with a blanket, but Katlyn moved away slightly and grabbed her robe, donning it as the men looked away until she stood in front of them, demanding, “What did you do to Tessa?”
“Nothing at all,” Raphael said. “She tried to make a meal of me. Keep your vampire off Silver Creek’s land. She’s lucky she ran across me and not one of my pack.”
Tessa wouldn’t meet Katlyn’s accusing eyes, and said, “It’s not what you think.”
“No? What am I thinking, then?”
“That I’m some monster that can’t be trusted.”
“I don’t think that at all. It’s not your fault what you are, but you know you can’t feed off humans or animals. I thought Paige kept you supplied with blood.”
“Drinking cold blood from a bag is like eating a raw steak for you. It’s not tasty at all.”
“You know full well how dangerous it can be out there, Tessa. You’re newly turned and you need to get your bearings before you go off alone. It’s nearly dawn. I’d hate to think what would happen if Raphael hadn’t found you and brought you back before daylight. I don’t want to think what might have happened if you were out there all alone with nowhere to hide until nightfall.”
“Don’t worry about it, Katlyn, but I’d better get home before daylight.” Tessa darted across the drive and ran into the cabin just as the sun was rising. When she slammed the door shut, she pressed her body against the door, her chest rising and falling. The last thing she needed to worry about was disappointing Katlyn, again. She was always so sweet to her, but she just didn’t get it, didn’t know what it really felt like to now be a vampire.
Tessa had come to Shadow Creek with Katlyn when the Shifter Patrol was pursuing her, but not long after they had arrived, Katlyn fell for Brendan and Chase and Paige bit Tessa, turning her into a creature of the night—turning her with the first bite. Tessa still didn’t know the how’s or why’s about that yet and had all but avoided Paige since she’d woken up, after her initial instructions to always take her medication and to only drink from the blood she was supplied by the blood bank. She was glad that Paige had stayed away, giving her time to adjust on her own.
She walked to the refrigerator and pulled out an IV bag, yanking the cap off. She tipped it up, drank a few sips and her stomach rebelled against the invasion. No, she hated the taste of cold blood, but was forced to feed this way since any other way was just unacceptable. All she’d wanted to do tonight was to feed off an animal, not even livestock, but a warm-blooded animal that didn’t happen to be a shifter of any sort.
Tessa recapped the bag and tossed it into the refrigerator, making her way up the stairs and into her tomb of darkness. Unlike in all the vampire movies, her room was upstairs with the windows covered with thick, heavy curtains, and there she’d remain until she awoke in the evening. She couldn’t even accompany Katlyn during the day at the classroom, which made her sad since spending time with a child might just lift her spirits. Children were so innocent and non-judgmental, unlike humans or shifters.
When her eyes snapped closed, she reached for her iPod and placed the earbuds snuggly in her ears. Her only comfort was to drift off to sleep listening to Lee Brice. His soothing tunes did it to her every time, and it didn’t take longer than halfway through the playlist before Tessa finally was able to get Raphael’s gorgeous body from her mind and she fell fast asleep.
Chapter Four
Katlyn stared at Brendan as he paced the room, spouting off, “Seth has some nerve coming back here after what he’s done, and has never owned up to.”
“Who is Seth, really?”
“I’ll tell you who he isn’t. He’s someone who isn’t ever coming on Shadow Creek’s property again.” Brendan waltzed out the door, slamming it behind him.
Katlyn glanced over to Chase, who shrugged. “Leave it alone, Katlyn. There’s history there.”
“Well, Brendan didn’t need to snap at me. It’s not my fault Seth showed up here. Is he a shifter, too?”
“Come back to bed. It’s not time to get up quite yet.”
“Meaning you won’t tell me anything about the man, either?”
“Seth doesn’t matter anymore, unless he comes back here again.”
Katlyn climbed back into bed and snuggled next to Chase, interlacing her fingers with his. “Fine. I’ll drop it for now, but why would he come here with Raphael? Are they friends?”
“I thought you were going to drop it.”
Katlyn laughed. “Okay, fine, but I really would like to know why Tessa left Shadow Creek. She knows how dangerous it can be to hunt. I thought Paige had set her up with a blood supply.”
“Take it easy with Tessa. This is all new to her and I’m sure she’s adjusting the best that she can.”
“I know she is, but sometimes the way she looks at me really unsettles me. It’s like I’m looking into the eyes of a stranger, not a woman I’ve known since I was a teenager.”
“She’s not the same person. Deep down, I’m sure the old Tessa that you know and love is there, but the emerging vampire part of her has taken a firm hold of her now and she’s unpredictable. I’m sure she’ll never harm you, if that’s what worries you.”
“Yesterday morning she told me to leave because my blood was singing to her. That doesn’t sound like
something I shouldn’t fear. I just wish I knew more about the process is all. Paige should help her adjust, since she was the one who turned her to begin with.”
“It’s my understanding that Tessa hasn’t spoken to Paige since all that business with the Shifter Patrol.”
“I can’t blame her, but since Tessa went off on her own last night, something needs to be done to protect her.”
“We’ll have to have a meeting this evening with Paige, with all of us together. We need to assure ourselves that Tessa isn’t a danger to herself or anyone else.”
“If only she found a mate of her own. I can well imagine how lonely she must feel now since I moved over here with you and Brendan.”
“Give it time, Katlyn. Things will all work out.”
“How about you?” Katlyn asked. “Are you really happy I’m pregnant and that you’ll be a father?”
“We don’t really know at this point whose child you carry, but we’ll both act as the baby’s father.”
“You really acted strange when you found out, Chase.”
“It was a shock is all.”
“Shock? You do realize that you weren’t using any protection when we were together. Neither of you were.”
“I know, but I’ve gotten over the shock, and believe me, I’m a stand-up shifter, not like so many others I could mention.”
Katlyn sat up now. “Like who, exactly?”
“Where is this coming from?”
“Well, mountain lions aren’t known to be monogamous.”
“I know, but Brendan and I took you as our mate, and we take the responsibility seriously.”
“I don’t want to be a responsibility. I want you both to love me and these—I mean, this baby.”
Before Chase had a chance to say anything, Brendan strode back into the cabin, eyeing Katlyn and Chase suspiciously noted by the narrowing of his eyes. “What’s going on here?”
“Going on?” Katlyn asked. “What does it matter? Chase is as much my mate as you are. We’re just talking. What else do you think?”
Brendan yanked out a chair at the table and sat down. “Nothing. I’m not thinking about anything. Go ahead and enjoy each other, if you like, but make damn sure you don’t harm my baby.”
“That’s just it. Neither of you knucklehead’s will make love to me the way I want. What’s wrong with the both of you?”
“We just don’t want to harm you or the baby,” Chase said.
“Making love to me is not going to hurt the baby, but it might just hurt this relationship if you both distance yourselves from me now. Both of you can go with me to my next doctor appointment and then you’ll find out just how silly you’re being.”
“But we’ve pleasured you,” Brendan insisted.
“I don’t want just your fingers and tongues, I want your hardness between my legs.”
“Not now. I have too much on my mind.”
“Well, I didn’t mean this moment, but whatever you’re thinking bothers me, too.”
“I highly doubt that, Katlyn. You don’t even know what I’m thinking about.”
“I know, but I’d like to know. Please tell me. Who is Seth and why are you so angry that he turned up at our door?”
“There’s plenty that you don’t know about.”
“You know, I asked the children about their history and I learned quite a bit about how they came to be at Shadow Creek and Creeksboro.”
Brendan’s jaw tensed. “Oh?”
“Yes. It broke my heart that so many of them are fatherless—and motherless, in Maxwell’s case.”
“How is the young werewolf doing?”
“Seems fine so far. His Uncle Raphael seems concerned about the boy. I’m just happy that he has allowed the boy to come back to school.”
“I don’t know all that much about Raphael, but he seems guilty by association.”
“So because Raphael is friends with Seth, that makes him a bad werewolf or alpha?”
“I didn’t mean it that way, but I’ll be keeping an eye on the both of them. Tessa certainly put herself into danger last night and we need to deal with that this evening.”
“Chase said as much, and I want to be there when you talk to Tessa.”
“We’ll be doing it back at the main house. This involves Paige, too. I’m just not sure how Tessa will handle seeing Paige now since she’s avoided her.”
“Can’t really blame Tessa, but she’s kept her true feelings buried. She needs to tell Paige just how she really feels about what she did to her.”
Brendan walked over and pushed the button of the coffeemaker that was always filled and ready to go for the morning. “What she needs to understand is that Paige can help her if she’ll only allow her to. I can’t begin to imagine what Tessa’s going through, but she needs to let any and all resentment for Paige go.”
“How can she? I haven’t even been able to do that yet.”
“Really? I thought you had.”
“Of course you did, because I let you think it. I’ve kept things bottled up for Tessa’s sake. I figured if I didn’t make a big deal out of it that she’d adjust easier. When Tessa was out for so long, I vowed that if and when she did awaken I’d do whatever I could to support her, but I have worried about Tessa’s lack of emotion over it. She has to feel something, and I doubt that it’s good.”
Brendan nodded, pouring three cups of coffee and carrying them to the table. It didn’t take longer than a few minutes before both Katlyn and Chase joined Brendan as he sat down. The sunlight shone through the windows now and Katlyn was just so very happy that Tessa had made it home okay, even if it was with this Seth who Brendan despised.
When they’d finished their coffee, Katlyn took a shower minus her mates, who she felt were having a private conversation, no doubt, about Seth. She vowed that today she’d find out just what Brendan was going to such pains to keep hidden, and she knew just who she’d ask.
Dressed in a floral dress and ankle boots, Katlyn went out the door. She immediately snapped on a pair of sunglasses since the sun was near blinding. Over at Tessa’s cabin, all of the blinds were closed with heavy, black curtains covering the upstairs windows where she slept.
Instead of taking off on the UTV, Katlyn went into the barn to check her brand new filly, Raven. She raced up to the stall; the sight of Clover nuzzling Raven was heart-wrenching. The filly was standing right next to her mama and licking her.
“It’s sure quite the sight, isn’t it?” Angus asked as he ambled towards Katlyn.
“Sure is. I wonder if that’s how I’ll feel when I have my babies. I mean baby. Deeply in love at first sight.”
“So it’s twins, is it, then?”
Katlyn’s face flushed now. “No,” she lied.
“Have you told Brendan and Chase yet?”
“Tell them what?”
“That you carry twins.”
“H-How do you know?”
“Well, ma’am, you’re face betrays you when you lie, for one. Not such a bad trait, since women shouldn’t be telling lies, anyway.”
“Fine. I know you’re right about that. I’m a horrible liar.”
“Good to know.” He smiled. “What are you looking at me like that for?”
“Not sure what you mean?”
“You look like you want to ask me something, but are too afraid to.”
“It’s about Tessa. What do you think about her? Do you perhaps like her just a little?” Katlyn asked hopefully.
“That ship has sailed. I just don’t think I’m her type, the way she was staring at Raphael and Seth when they brought her back this morning.”
“At like the both of them?”
“Why should that surprise you? Both of them are enough to make any woman swoon.” He then patted his ample belly. “I’m more of the huggable type. Don’t get me wrong. I like the ladies just as much as most shifters, but for some reason, they don’t like me the same way as they do some of the others.”
“That’s sil
ly. There are plenty of available shifters, from what I hear.”
“Not sure who you’re talking about, exactly.”
“Well, the children I teach have some awful cute mamas. There’s Hannah, for one. She’s a mountain lion shifter.”
“She’s not approachable at all. The last time I said hello to her, she practically broke her neck running the opposite direction.”
Katlyn’s hands went to her hips. “Oh, my. Okay, then there’s Wenise, she’s—”
Angus threw up his arms now. “No, way. That one is off limits. I don’t need that kind of trouble.”
“Is it true that Brendan and Wenise used to date until another man came into the picture?”
“It might be, but maybe you outta ask Brendan about that. I don’t want to get into trouble for spreading that kind of story, especially to his pregnant mate.”
“So you won’t even tell me who the other man was?”
“Not a chance, and it don’t matter now that he’s long gone.”
“Was it Seth?”
“Not saying another word about this. I better get back to work now.”
Katlyn stomped a foot. “Don’t you dare until I’m finished with my list of potential mates for you.”
“You can say anything you’d like, Katlyn, but there’s just no shifter that would want to hook up with a llama shifter. I would hardly believe myself that they exist if I wasn’t one myself.”
“That’s a story I’d love to hear.”
“Would you now. Well, llama shifters go all the way back to the Middle East, where we have been guarding livestock for generations. It’s been mighty easy for us to blend in that way.”
“Of course, llamas are really from South America, not the Middle East. Perhaps that’s what you meant.”
“You know, I think you’re right. I can’t hardly remember all the history since I never even learned to read and write. Llamas aren’t known to be the brightest shifters on the planet.”
“You stop this now. Llama’s are plenty bright enough to guard a herd and I won’t allow you to say otherwise.” Katlyn thought for a moment. “Would you allow me to teach you how to read and write sometime? It would be our little secret.”
Taken (M/F/M red-hot menage shifter romance) Standalone (Shadow Creek Shifters Book 2) Page 3
