So she was working Devon, too, was she?
“Now look what you’ve done,” Devon shouted. He pointed at Chloe’s leg.
Sly glanced down and his eyes widened. A huge shard of glass was sticking into her thigh. Pain was written over her face and a trickling of red blood—red, not the black that he was used to with vampires—soaked through her pants.
Devon helped Chloe back into the room and set her on the bed. Sly remained where he was, struggling to reign in his anger long enough to explain what was really going on.
“What were you doing?” Devon hissed at him as he yanked the glass out, earning a cry from Chloe. He quickly wrapped up the wound. “If you wanted to beat up on her you didn’t have to throw her into the cabinet. If that’s what was happening.”
Devon looked pointedly at the sex doll and then the bulge in Sly’s jeans. More embarrassment flickered through Sly and he finally loosened his tongue.
“Keep your filthy suggestions in your head. I’d forgotten I left it in the closet and when I came down to get it, she had her hands all over it.”
Chloe flushed bright red and looked away.
“And then she made some filthy suggestions—”
“No,” Chloe squeaked. “No, I didn’t make any suggestions. I was scared.”
Devon growled.
And Sly was suddenly beside himself with rage. How dare he? How dare he take the vampire’s word over his own superior? After everything they had been through together, why would he believe Chloe? Sly lunged, punching Devon square in the jaw. He fell back, surprise on his face while Chloe scrambled backward on the bed, her eyes wide.
“I would never do that,” Sly howled. “Don’t you dare think that I ever would!”
“Did I fucking say I thought that?” Devon jumped back to his feet.
“You didn’t have to.”
Devon took a swing at him, but Sly blocked it. He laughed but Devon shifted his weight, knocking Sly to the floor. He stomped down on Sly’s chest, pinning him down while a snarl curled his lips back.
“You’re telepathic now, are you? You know what I’m thinking better than I know it myself? Is that what you’re saying?”
Sly knocked his foot off his chest and got back to his feet. He glowered at Devon, but despite the urgings from his wolf, he didn’t attack—not yet, at least. “And just what were you thinking, then?”
“I was thinking we’re going to have to get blood for the vampire now. Since she’s been injured it’s not going to be as simple a matter as we first thought. Something that could have been avoided if you didn’t come waltzing in here as horny as fuck and then go assuming that our literal prisoner is driving herself crazy wanting to get a taste of wolf cock.”
Chloe squeaked, her face red. Both her hands pressed over her mouth and so it was difficult for him to know what she was thinking.
But the implications of Devon’s words—that sent him over the edge once more. He punched out hard, his fist connecting with Devon’s solar plexus. Devon bent double, the wind knocked out of him.
“So you do believe her over me? She was doing it on purpose. Fingering that doll, asking me if that’s what I wanted to do to her. How else was I supposed to take it?”
“But I didn’t mean it like that,” Chloe wailed. She huddled on the bed, looking so small and scared that for a crazy moment, Sly did want to go to her, comfort her, assure her that nobody was going to rape or molest her here.
But she was a vampire. And there was still a voice at the back of his head whispering that it wasn’t rape or molestation if she agreed.
He seized Devon’s arm and dragged him from the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Quickly he locked it again and marched up the stairs, Devon following as he coughed. Once they were out of earshot of the vampire, Sly whirled on him.
“How is it going to help us if the vampire knows she can play us off each other?” he snarled, not letting himself consider everything that had happened just now, all the assumptions, the thoughts that went through his head. The erection still bulging against his jeans. “Get Ian and Shawn to come watch the prisoner while I go cool down. And you? You’d better not show your face around here until I tell you to or I’ll beat the crap out of you, understood?”
Devon narrowed his eyes. “More like I’ll beat the crap out of you. What’s wrong with you, Sly? Since when do you get horny for vampires?”
“Shut the fuck up and do as I say!” Sly roared. And because he was still too desirous because he couldn’t get himself back under control, he darted back down the stairs and picked up the doll. Devon eyed him as he walked out the door but said nothing. And that was the smartest thing he’d done all day.
Chapter Six
As soon as Ian and Shawn arrived at the cabin, Devon took off. He ran as hard as he could through the woods and when his legs were exhausted but his mind still churning, he returned to his cabin and turned on some hard rock so loud that it almost hurt and went at it on his punching bag. His entire body ached by the time he’d worked out his aggression enough to actually think about what had happened.
None of his thoughts were pleasant.
What he had seen seemed obvious from the state of things. After hearing Sly’s excuses, it had only made him angrier. From their encounters with Chloe before, Devon didn’t think she was the wicked beast Sly seemed to want to paint all vampires as. And so, seeing that there, hearing him blame her and say she was deliberately trying to arouse him…
It had made Devon wonder if that was what he’d kidnapped Chloe for in the first place. Especially since that fucking doll looked so much like her!
Devon rolled his shoulders, hating all of these thoughts. Hating that he couldn’t trust the man he’d willingly followed into the most awful situations he’d ever been in. They’d all seen things during their undercover stint. Not just seen things, but done things to keep their covers intact… The memories pressed against Devon’s mind and he very carefully shoved them away.
Compartmentalizing was a necessity for survival. None of them talked about what they did while they were part of that terrorist organization. What mattered was that they had brought it down.
And now, they were protecting Deville. Just because Chloe wasn’t wicked didn’t mean there weren’t other vampires here that were. Devon just wished he could believe that was Sly’s real motive. Something had to change, that was certain—he shouldn’t have such little faith in Sly to believe he might sexually assault a prisoner!
He sighed heavily as he turned off the rock music. The sudden quiet was almost unnerving, but he was past the point of needing the music.
Whatever really happened down in that basement, he was certain of two things. One, Sly wanted Chloe. He might protest and talk about how disgusting vampires were, but that didn’t change the fact that he wanted her. And bad. If what he had said was true, it meant that he didn’t even know he wanted her. Which could have been amusing in other circumstances.
As he considered the situation, he tried to think about Chloe herself. Had it only been fear that he saw in her face? No, there had been pain as well—and no wonder with a chunk of glass in her leg. But before this, back when they knew each other before the Howling Ops became the Wolves of Devil Mountain, he’d often caught her looking at Sly with a certain expression on her face—a certain lustful expression.
Devon smirked as he started to move through various stretches to keep his muscles limber after putting them through their paces. If he could find a way to talk with Chloe alone, he might be able to find out if those feelings were still there or if time and captivity had cooled them. If they were…
Well. Sly wouldn’t be happy to be encouraged to fuck a vampire, however much he wanted to. But he needed something to calm himself down with. Devon supposed that since they left the military and came out here, there wasn’t a lot for Sly to command. In fact, the sleepy little town of Deville was more than sleepy—it was downright dead.
That must be why Sly was so
excited to start running a mission again.
“And what am I going to do about Sly? If he really brought Chloe in as a prisoner so he could have unfettered access to her then he is no longer fit to be our leader.” Devon grew grim as he considered it.
He wished he could just talk to their captain, as the guys liked to call him. His wolf growled, wanting to physically beat sense into Sly’s head. Devon smirked. There were times when that was the only way to do it, for sure, but with how bull-headed and angry Sly was lately, he had a feeling it would only make things worse, rather than better.
It wasn’t just this whole thing with Chloe. Over the past few years, Sly had gotten angrier and angrier. Little things set him off, and he’d earned quite a reputation in town. More than once, Devon had come to collect him from the drunk tank and had to pay off a judge to keep him out of jail for brawling or beating up random strangers.
Sly always said the same thing about it—they had it coming—but rarely did he have reasons for why they had it coming. The fact was, though, he wasn’t the same leader Devon knew before. The one who would throw himself on the line to protect them, the one who kept an eye on all of the men to make sure they were alright. More often than not these past few years, that had been Devon’s job.
Was it time to officially take over? Challenge Sly to his face and become alpha of their little pack? Devon hated the thought, but his duty was to the men first and foremost. And if Sly was just going to sink deeper into his dark place, then there was no room for him among them.
Not yet, he told himself firmly. “I just have to stick around with Chloe, watch them. Confirm that I was right or wrong about my assumptions. I’ll decide what to do based on how he continues to treat her.”
And if there were any more hints of sexual assault? Well, then Sly would have to be brought down. No way was Devon allowing him to stay their leader if he was going to start doing things like that. It would be disastrous for them all.
His wolf snarled and Devon rolled his eyes. “Alright, maybe I do feel a little protective of Chloe,” he snapped at it. “Maybe I do love every curve of her body and wish that I could have seen her fondling that sex doll. Maybe I think it’s hot, thinking about Sly fucking her roughly. But only if she’s into it. And she’s not the reason I’m going to challenge Sly if it comes to that.”
He shook his head as he grabbed a towel to dry the sweat off his body. It was getting late; the sun had descended some time ago while he was beating up his punching bag, and it was time to get back to Sly’s place. He probably left it too long already. After all, if Sly returned, the others would be more than willing to take his orders to leave… which would mean he was alone there with Chloe.
As he left the house to get to his motorbike, a shape leapt into the darkness. It rammed into him, sending him flying across the yard. The wind was knocked out of him, but the thing was there again soon enough—claws biting into his arms, pinning him down as an inhuman screech filled the air.
Vampire.
Devon bucked, throwing the vampire off. Its claws remained deep in his skin, tearing it open. The scent of his blood filled the air as he snarled, bringing his wolf forward. The vampire was quick and strong; it launched itself onto his back, biting at the scruff around his neck.
Fangs pierced through his hide and Devon howled. He threw himself to one side, rolling to crush the vampire beneath him. He twisted and bit and did everything he could to get it off him, but it clung to him like a leech, arms wrapped tight around his chest until he could hardly breathe; ribs cracked and the vampire kept tearing at his neck, ripping fur out until it got a sizable patch clear.
And then its fangs sunk in deep, and Devon knew he was dead.
Or maybe not. Devon groaned as pain rippled through his body. A sharp throbbing came from his neck and his ribs ached. It took him a moment to realize that the vampire wasn’t there anymore. Wasn’t drinking from him. Instead, he was laying on a soft surface that smelled vaguely familiar. His eyes flickered open to find that he was in a cabin—Sly’s cabin—laying on his air mattress in the living room. Blankets were piled over him, and a kettle whistled on the stove.
“Still think that she’s nothing but a victim of circumstances?” a voice growled above him.
He turned, groaning slightly at the pull on his neck. His wolf was sort of fuzzy in his chest and he grimaced. Vampire venom had some sort of compound in it that prevented a shifter from shifting. It forced them into their human form and kept them there. Easier to drink from, he supposed. There was a synthesized version that prisons used on shifter prisoners, but they didn’t know where it came from.
Sly sat beside him, phone held loosely to his head. Even though he was glaring at Devon, the relief on his face was still clear to see.
“How long was I out for?” Devon asked, pushing himself upright. The sooner he got up and started moving, the sooner he’d work the poison out of his system.
“Couple of days. It was touch and go there for a while. The vampire had drained quite a bit by the time I got there. I imagine your wolf is still pretty distant because of it.”
Devon grunted. A couple days unconscious? “That sucks.”
Sly laughed. “That’s the way the cookie crumbles.”
“I know, but it still sucks.” Devon shook his head as he stood. He was a little woozy still but that would pass soon enough. He glanced at Sly and shrugged. “Thanks, man. Glad you were there.”
“Me, too.” Sly sighed. “Look, we need to talk. I… well, I guess I might have read into Chloe’s actions wrong. I’ve been thinking about it a lot I guess… well…” he shrugged. “Even if she was trying to seduce me, which I’m not so certain about anymore, it’s not like blowing up like that helped anybody. And I understand what it sounded like, me saying what I did. So… yeah. You were… not wrong.”
It was Devon’s turn to laugh. “Meaning you were.”
Sly narrowed his eyes.
“Hey, you’re not going to get anywhere if you don’t admit it.” Devon sank onto the couch and let out a heavy sigh. “Ugh. Sleep for two days, wake up exhausted. While you’re looking after me, mind making some soup?”
“I am not looking after you,” Sly grumbled as he got to his feet. “All I’ve got is clam chowder.”
Devon stretched out and grinned. There was no challenge for leadership today—hopefully, Sly recognizing what he said and did was wrong meant that things were going to change… finally.
Chapter Seven
Chloe ripped open the blood bag with her fangs, hungrily licking up the last few drops. She didn’t know how Sly got his hands on these and she wasn’t about to ask. Even though it still made her feel sick to her stomach if she thought too much about drinking blood of all things, she craved it too much to risk not having any at all. Of course, that was because her body needed it—she’d tried other things, like taking iron supplements, but the herbs were the only thing that sort of helped push back the cravings.
And she was running out of those.
She threw the empty bag into the trash and then threw herself onto the bed. Sly had only come in on occasion for the past couple days; usually, he sent someone else to escort her to the bathroom. He’d threatened to make her use a bucket at one point but apparently decided against it. Not that the bathroom was any escape route; it was windowless and there were always at least two wolves who stood outside of it while she went. Although Sly had allowed her to shower once and that did feel good.
She didn’t care if he was just playing a game, trying to get her to lower her guard. It was just too nice to be able to wash off the sweat and worry from her body.
With a grunt, she got off the bed again, filled with restless energy. None of the books looked appealing and trying to sit still for a movie would be impossible, she already knew that. She needed to move. To do something.
The doll that looked like her crossed her mind and something inside of her tightened. If she told him she wanted him to, would Sly tie her up like t
hat? But the real question was… did she want him to?
The answer that came to her mind was simultaneously yes and no.
It was only then that Chloe realized what this meant. The New Moon—or as vampires liked to call it, the Mating Moon. The few days every month when the moon didn’t shine and they were filled with restless energy, a call to seek out the most powerful among them and release all inhibitions. It was the time when vampires were most volatile, most prone to giving into instinct and kill—and at their strongest, physically.
Chloe’s breath caught in her throat. Strong.
From the moment she was put in this room, escape had not crossed her mind. She had thought about being rescued; she had thought about being let go. But escape? Maybe she was just too weak for that—or at least, she would be most of the time. Her heart slammed against her ribs, more powerful than normal because of the blood she had just consumed.
If she could get away, then she could run. Just run far, far away. Get away from Deville, away from Sly and Devon, away from these wolves. She could go back to Erica and Evan for their protection. It was returning to exactly what she was trying to get away from and she would spend the rest of her life cowering in their basement, but was it really so different from this? At least she knew her sister would take care of her.
Sly would take care of me if I asked him too.
Chloe shook the thought from her head. She didn’t want Sly—well, her body did but that was just her body. She didn’t want to be stuck with a man who was so angry. Whose very presence exuded danger and rage.
And pure animal attraction. Sexiness beyond degree. Him and Devon both. Would they both fuck me at the same time if I asked them to? Devon was protective of me. Does that mean—Stop it! Stop that right now, Chloe. She sucked in a deep breath, focusing her mind again. “Get out of here and far away from them. It’s just the new moon making you think this way.”
This despite the fact that for the past five years, the new moon had never affected her this strongly.
Kidnapped by the Wolves Page 4
