Taming the Vampire: Over 25 All New Paranormal Alpha Male Tales of Contemporary, Military, Shifters, Billionaires, Werewolves, Magic, Fae, Witches, Dragons, Demons & More

by Mandy M. Roth

  In a move she didn’t know possible, he twisted her so that she was below him and he on top, pinning her down.

  What? That was unacceptable.

  She tried to slap him off of her with her free hand but he pinned her arm down with his shoulder and arm. His face was mere millimeters away from hers. She could feel his naked chest against hers. He was breathing hard.

  She noticed with satisfaction how the flesh around one of his eyes was puffy and a little red. She could still see how stunning his eyes were though, fanned by lashes far too long to be on a male. Damn him!

  “Let me go,” she growled low.

  “Stop fighting me.” His voice was low and husky. Bastard!

  His stupid vampire ass would get one last chance. “Let. Me. Go.” She tried to yank her body out from underneath him with every word.

  “Calm down.” She was appalled to find that he smelled good. The mingled scents of soap, sweat, iron and something else entirely. The mix appealed. She had obviously banged her head.

  “Easy.” He spoke to her like he was trying to tame an animal, which was apt. His eyes drifted to her mouth. “That’s it…easy.” He soothed, with those same caressing, deep tones.

  It felt like he was about to kiss her. Surely not. He did have nice lips. Plump but not too full. He licked them. Then she panicked. The warring emotions were just too much. He was a bloodsucker. He had hurt her – not really. He might hurt her some more – although, she didn’t think so. He was a vampire and she was strangely attracted to him.

  What the hell!

  No way! Forget it. Tiffany head-butted him. Not so hard as to break bone but hard enough to dislodge his hold on her. She pulled herself out from under him.

  In a flash, he grabbed her wrist and yanked her back to him. They lay on the ground, their bodies inches away from each other. His mouth was bleeding. No chance of any kisses coming her way now. She felt oddly disappointed. No she did not!

  “Let go of me or you’ll regret it.” Her voice was a low vibration as her wolf prowled just below her skin. The traitor didn’t want to run. Her beast wanted to play and maybe to bite a little. Her wolf wanted to rut. It didn’t seem to care that he was a vampire.

  The mangy beast didn’t know what was best. Her wolf acted on pure instinct. Tiffany was far more logical about these things.

  The male smiled. He used his free hand to wipe at the small trickle of blood. His lip already partially healed.

  Tiffany narrowed her eyes. “I said that you would regret it if you didn’t let me go. Last chance.” Her voice was softer this time, even though her wolf was still very much there.

  “I highly doubt that. I think I would regret it if you left.”

  Their position on the ground felt intimate somehow. The canopy of trees above them. The forest floor below. No one else for miles around.

  Tiffany swallowed hard. She didn’t know what to say. The male was strong, much stronger than she was. If she shifted, she might be able to get away but only because he wouldn’t use his full strength against her. The vampires would also probably send word to the packs that a female wolf had been on their territory, one with white fur. They would know instantly that it was her. Dammit, this wasn’t supposed to happen. Go for a run, she had thought. Clear her head, she had imagined. Not this. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go down.

  “Don’t fight me and don’t try and run. I’ll have to take you in if you do.” He let her go. “Trust me when I tell you that you don’t want to be questioned by my superiors, or my kings for that matter.” His eyes softened. “Let me help you to your feet?”

  Shit!

  At least he didn’t seem too bad for a bloodsucker. Maybe. She couldn’t trust him though, that much she knew. Their species had been at war for many centuries. It was only in recent times that a truce existed. Old habits die hard.

  Tiffany watched as he rose to his feet. He wore a pair of shorts and nothing else. His body was well muscled. His hair was dark and cut shorter than that of the males of her own kind. It looked styled. It was his eyes that really drew her in. Silvery grey, sometimes leaning more towards blue. His eyelashes were so long and black. Her breath caught in her throat as he leaned forward and held out his hand.

  Vampire. Enemy. Ignoring the gesture, she rose to her feet on her own steam. Crinkles appeared on either side of his eyes and his mouth twitched.

  “I’m sorry I hurt you. It won’t happen again.” he said, using those same soothing tones. He clasped his hands behind his back. The male was much taller than her, yet shorter than most shifter males she knew. Not by much, but still.

  His eyes stayed on hers. Gone was the lust and arousal of before. He didn’t seem in the least bit interested anymore. Then again, he was a male and she a female. They had been touching inappropriately before. He had probably just been reacting to that and not to her per se. That had to be it.

  “I said that I won’t hurt you and I mean it. About before, I didn’t realize that you were a female.” He looked solemn. Two worry lines had appeared on his forehead. “In all fairness, I did give you every opportunity to stand down.” He flashed her a ghost of a smile. It was apologetic.

  Tiffany kept her eyes locked with his. Her body ached but she would be fine. The healing process was already well underway. “Let me go and we’ll call it even.” She was sure to keep her voice steady and her shoulders back. Hey, it was worth a try.

  The male shook his head. “I can’t do that just yet.”

  Her chest vibrated with a low growl.

  The male smiled. “As much as I enjoy hearing you make growling noises, I need to know why you are here. I will be able to scent if you are lying, so don’t.” His eyes dropped to her chest and quickly lifted. He pulled a face. “I don’t have anything for you to wear but I promise not to look… I’ll try and… I’ll…” He shuffled from one foot to the other, clearly uncomfortable. “Let’s just do this. The sooner we talk, the sooner…” He hesitated, seeming to choose his words carefully. “The sooner, I can decide what to do with you.”

  Shit!

  He was considering taking her back to the castle. She’d heard stories about the vampire dungeon. Her father, the alpha, would be called. Everyone would find out. She’d be an even bigger disappointment than she already was.

  She nodded her head.

  The male visibly relaxed.

  Tiffany made the decision right then, that she would just go ahead and tell him what he needed to know so she could get her tail home. She had been living in her own cabin for several years but they were a close-knit pack. Word would spread if she didn’t get back soon.

  Chapter 3

  Brynn watched as the female’s shoulders hunched. How her eyes moved to the ground at her feet before flashing back to lock with his. Tiffany shrugged and huffed out a breath. “Alright.” She sounded defeated.

  Guilt still burned inside of him. For a second, he was tempted to just let her go but he couldn’t do that. His coven might be in danger. He doubted it, but there was a remote possibility. Who better to send to scout and spy than a small, unassuming female? He knew better than most how easy it was to have your opponent underestimate you and how to cash in on that.

  “I’ll tell you what you want to know and then you have to let me go.” There was still a growly edge to her voice. It was appealing. Vampire females did not have that husky, smokiness to their voices. Despite her words, she just stood there looking at him. Her eyes were wide.

  “My name is Brynn.” He wanted her to relax even though he didn’t blame her for being so guarded.

  The wolf went on as if she hadn’t heard him. “I needed a run. So I ran and I guess I went a bit too far. That’s all. When I realized where I was, I turned and headed back. If you hadn’t stopped me, I would’ve been long gone. There’s nothing else to it.”

  Skirt the truth and avoid details. In other words, get away with murder. Not that she’d murdered anyone, he would be able to scent that. He needed more information. �
�Why were you running in the first place?”

  She swallowed hard and lifted her eyes to the canopy. The female looked uncomfortable. “That’s personal.”

  Yeah. Sure it was. “For all I know, you might have been heading back after spying on us for the last week. The shifters could be planning to attack us. Your job being to find our weaknesses and report them.” He raised his brows. “Is that what you were doing?”

  “No.” Her eyes flared with annoyance.

  Okay so not spying then, or not spying for those reasons. Either way, she wasn’t lying. Not really. It still didn’t mean that she was innocent. “Why were you out on a run?”

  She shook her head. “I would rather not say but it didn’t have anything to do with spying on you bloodsuckers. It’s got nothing to do with you full stop, so let me go already.”

  Brynn ran a hand through his hair. She looked sincere but it didn’t mean anything. He finally shook his head. “I’m trying to help you here. Spill the damn beans and we can both be on our way.”

  “Why are you out here so close to the shifter border? I could ask the same of you.” She pursed her lips and stared daggers at him. Sharp, silver tipped daggers. She put her hands on her hips and widened her stance.

  Not looking down.

  Not looking.

  Brynn had to suppress a smile at her words and a groan at how beautiful she looked standing in the dappled light. There were thin beams of golden sunshine that managed to find their way through the leaves overhead. Damn, he really needed a female. Depriving himself might not have been the best idea.

  She sure as hell looked innocent. He wanted to believe that she was but she wasn’t helping matters. “I was also out on a run. I needed to blow off some steam. Despite being close to our border, I’m still within vampire territory.”

  She relaxed a smidgen, allowing her hands to fall back to her sides. “I needed to burn some energy and to think. I was not here to spy. I haven’t been anywhere near your castle.”

  For a second, he was tempted to just let her be and if it was only him, he would do just that. Problem was, it wasn’t. What if she was there to scout the border? What if there was more to it? He needed her to talk. Maybe if he made her think he was giving her something, she would do the same in return.

  “I’m one of the elite males.” The best of the best. The cream of the crop. There were only a small group of vampire males that could call themselves the elite. He was one of the ten.

  “You?” She raised her brows. “Forgive me. I’ve only met a few vampires in my life but you seem…” The female looked him over, her gaze drifted down to his feet and back up again. “It was my understanding that vampires were not much smaller than our shifter males.” She was frowning heavily.

  Really? Seriously? Brynn rolled his shoulders. “I’m not as big as some of the others.”

  “That has to be an understatement.” She had this incredulous look that was both cute and infuriating.

  This female was blunt. “I may be one of the smallest of the elite, although, less big might be a better way of describing me, but I’m still a warrior of the highest order.” He had worked hard to prove himself worthy of the title. Busted his balls every day.

  The shifter pulled a face like she didn’t believe him. Then she released a tiny breath and seemed to relax a bit for the first time since he met her. She probably thought him weak. Good! It was a mistake many made and to their detriment.

  The she-wolf gave him the once over again and he found that he liked her eyes on him. “You do look strong.” She said it almost grudgingly.

  Warmth spread inside of him like her approval mattered. It didn’t.

  The female folded her arms across her chest, plumping out her… not looking. Her brows were raised when he looked back into her eyes. A look of amusement was on her face. “You obviously don’t get out much.”

  What the hell did that mean?

  “I get out plenty,” he blurted.

  “Could’ve fooled me.” She sort of smiled. “You don’t look like you’ve seen many naked females.”

  “I’ve seen plenty of naked females. I believe I mentioned being an elite. It’s just that you aren’t like our females.”

  A hurt expression crossed her face for a second and then it was gone. Maybe he had imagined it.

  “Can I go now?” She huffed out a breath, sounding bored. “I was out on a run. I wasn’t up to anything.”

  He had definitely hurt her although he couldn’t say how.

  “You cannot go now. No.” He shook his head.

  She closed her eyes for a second and dropped her head before standing tall once again. Brynn didn’t really believe that she had been up to anything. He was a good judge of character. At the same time though, he still had to be sure. He decided to meet her halfway. To use a tact that normally worked. “I’ll tell you a bit about why I’m out here, a bit about me… and then I want you to do the same. I need to know why you are here. I need details. It will stay between us.”

  She shook her head. “I’d rather not.”

  “You will if you want to get out of here.” He paused to let his words sink in. Her eyes narrowed and anger flared in their depths. The color of hot fudge.

  He’d never had much of a sweet tooth before. Brynn suppressed a grin. “I told you that I was out blowing off steam. I haven’t rutted in a while, so I needed the exercise.”

  A look of shock crossed her face.

  “Not because I can’t get a female,” he added quickly. The female pulled a face like she thought he was full of shit. Brynn folded his arms across his chest. “I can get plenty of females.”

  “If you say so, vampire.”

  “I have been celibate by choice. Hence the need to run and why I might be reacting to your nakedness.”

  She raised her brows. “Why would you choose to be celibate? You vampires still have plenty of females, unlike our males.”

  “Have you ever heard of The Program?”

  The she-wolf nodded. “Yeah. You guys have been advertising it in all the papers. Who wants to date a vampire? The whole program is geared towards getting human mates and making lots of bloodsucker babies. I heard that only ten males are eligible at any given time. That you need to win battles in order to make the team. Must have been a rumor.”

  He bristled at her words. She was trying to wind him up and doing a damn good job of it. Brynn sucked in a deep breath and counted to five. He didn’t have the patience to make it any higher. “I’m one of the ten.” He pointed to the tattoo on his arm. “This proves it.” The intricate lines and points wove around his bicep. He didn’t give her a chance to react. It was a simple fact. The female could choose to believe him or not. “We are meeting the human females tomorrow. I plan on taking one of them for my mate. I wanted to be relaxed and—”

  “Yeah…” the wolf laughed. It held a husky edge. “You don’t want to be sporting one of those when you meet her.” She flicked a finger in the direction of his cock.

  Brynn looked down.

  Oh fuck!

  The head of his dick was sticking out of the top of his running shorts.

  The she-wolf laughed some more as he readjusted his junk. “You may be a bit on the shorter side but at least you’re not lacking in all departments.”

  Her words warmed him, which irritated him. He’d never cared about his height before. So what if he was a half a head shorter? At six two, he was still much taller than most human males. He worked out harder than every male on the elite team. Brynn ran every day and did yoga to ensure that he remained supple and flexible despite his muscled frame. No one knew about the yoga. His teammates would take him apart if they ever found out.

  “I thought naked was normal for you shifters.” He mumbled as he met her amused stare.

  “It is.” She shrugged. “Feel free to take the shorts off. I wouldn’t even notice.” Her eyes drifted off as she spoke, like maybe she was full of shit with that comment.

  “Now you know
why I’m out here. You know my story. I want to know yours. Don’t lie to me and don’t leave anything out. You can start with your name.”

  She licked her lips and finally raised those beautiful almond shaped eyes his way. “Tiffany. I passed the mating age years ago and am one of very few females in our area. My parents are pushing me to take a mate.”

  “I’m sure you could have your pick of males.”

  Her eyes flared with shock but she quickly schooled the emotion. “Not really. I’ve made it clear that I’m not interested.”

  “Why not?”

  Tiffany, it was a lovely name. It suited her. “I haven’t met a male that I held any interest for. That’s all. I don’t plan on wasting anyone’s time so I send them away. At least, I always have.”

  “I’m sensing a ‘but’ here…”

  She nodded. “Sebastian is an alpha. I should count myself lucky that he’s interested in me.”

  “Bullshit!” he growled before he could stop himself. “You’re an attractive female. I take it that you’re fertile if an alpha’s sniffing around.”

  Tiffany nodded, her cheeks looked darker than they had been. Was she embarrassed? It seemed like it. “Thing is, there is another female. An alpha. There are several of us betas and Sebastian could have his pick.”

  “You’re worried that he isn’t going to pick you?”

  Her eyes narrowed and she tensed up. “That’s not it. I just, I don’t know if I’m interested in him in that way but I’ve promised to give him a chance. I’ve agreed to be friends.”

  “Friends.” Brynn couldn’t help but to chuckle. “I’m sure he was thrilled with that idea.”

  Tiffany made a noise filled with irritation. “He doesn’t mind at all. I feel sorry for the human females if that’s your attitude.” She narrowed her eyes at him.

  More like jealous of them. Where did that come from? Where on earth…? No! She was not jealous. Not one bit. So what if he had great eyes and kissable lips. So what if his hair looked soft and made for tugging. Enough, Tiffany, enough! The male was a bloodsucker. Yuck!