“I will date Sebastian,” she blurted. “In due time.”
Brynn shook his head. “In my experience, two people are either attracted to each other or they’re not. Attraction in itself is not enough for a long-term relationship, but… friends… dating…” He shook his head.
“Have you ever wanted to date a vampire?” It was her turn to laugh. It was the main tag line on the advertisements the vampires had used in the paper. Human women applied and were selected. “You will be dating a whole lot of females over the next period. What a double standard.” She shook her head.
“Human females are different. They like to get to know a male first. Not always, but very often. Us non-humans are either attracted to another person or not. We can very often know just by looking and scenting another person whether or not we would be compatible and it doesn’t take long after that to know whether we would want them as a mate. Humans would find it too fast and overwhelming. They don’t have our senses.” He shrugged. “I will date.”
“Yeah. I might be stalling a bit.” Why the hell was she telling him this? Maybe because he was objective. Most females would leap at the opportunity to mate Sebastian, especially a beta. Her family would love the idea. She would be looked at like a complete idiot if she turned him down. She had no one to talk to about the male.
Brynn folded his arms and nodded his head. His eyes were on hers.
“I’m a little worried about being challenged if I agree to mating him.”
By the way his expression morphed to confusion she could tell that he’d never heard of challenges before.
“We don’t challenge human females but female wolves can challenge each other. Sebastian is a sought after male. There could be challengers. If Jasmine—she’s an alpha bitch—challenged me, I would never win. Hell, most of the betas walk circles around me.” She sounded so damned sorry for herself. It was sickening. “Listen, none of this is your concern. I’ve said too much. I’m worried about dating Sebastian. Worried I don’t want him and worried that I might end up wanting him only to be challenged.” She bit down on her lip to stop the slew of words. “I needed to get away. I needed to think. I ended up here.” She raised her hands and looked around. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cross your border. Please don’t take me to the castle. Don’t call a meeting with the wolves. It would be so embarrassing and not something I need in my life right now.”
“Have you never been taught how to fight?”
“After everything I’ve just told you, you ask me that?” Her voice came out in a rush.
Brynn touched the side of her arm. It was the softest, briefest of touches. “Please answer the question.”
“What’s to teach? With us shifters it’s strength pitted against strength. Beast against beast. We go at each other canine and claw.” She swallowed thickly. “As you can see, I’m small and lightweight. The others outweigh me by a mile. I sometimes get lucky but I could never hope to beat an alpha. Most of the females would tear me apart, especially if Sebastian was the prize.” Shit! She was talking too much again.
The vampire took a step forward, his eyes firmly locked with hers. “I’ll help you.”
“What?” It came out sounding high pitched. She must have heard him wrong.
“I’m—as you pointed out earlier”—he narrowed his eyes— “somewhat shorter than my teammates. They all outweigh me and yet I am an elite and one of the ten. I was given my elite status and had to work damn hard to prove myself as a result. I’ve learned how to excel despite my shortcomings. If you are willing to work hard, to learn, then I can show you how to beat those other females. You need not let that keep you from exploring a future with this male.”
“I told you that I’m not sure about Sebastian. Not sure whether—”
“Do it for you.” He growled, his voice rough yet soft. “For yourself. Not for some male. I’ll show you. Give you some pointers.”
What? Could he be right? He was a smaller… less big… male so it made sense that what he was saying was true. “You’d do that for me.” Why?
The vampire nodded. “I know how it feels to be different. To be dismissed and seen as less. It’s something I use to my advantage.”
“You’re not less.” She snorted. “I mean look at you. You’re huge. Maybe not as tall as most others, but damn big. Your muscles have muscles.”
His whole face shone with pride and a really gorgeous smile took up residence there. Brynn shrugged. “I wasn’t always like this. It takes dedication. If you’re willing to put in the work, you could be a good fighter. I’ll show you the ropes. We would need to meet a couple of times and from there, it would be on you.” He raised his brows.
Could she do it? Could she learn how to fight? How to get the edge on her opponent and fight like them?
Yes.
Excitement coursed through her. It wasn’t because she wanted to see him again. Not at all. It was the prospect of becoming a fighter. A real fighter.
Tiffany nodded. “Okay. Yes. I want to learn.”
Brynn smiled. “Good. Be here at this spot”—he pointed to the ground beneath his feet— “in three days. I won’t be able to get away before then. Don’t come any closer to the castle or you’ll be captured and interrogated and I don’t need that kind of hassle. This agreement stays between you and I.”
“Believe me, I don’t want anyone else to know about this either.” He seemed to visibly relax. Tiffany licked her lips. “I appreciate your help.” She meant it.
They set a time.
“You’d better get going.”
“I’ll see you in a couple of days.” Tiffany began to turn away in the direction of home.
“Oh and, Tiffany.”
She turned back.
His eyes glinted with mischief. “Make sure that you bring some clothes. We’ll have to go at it hand to hand, full contact.” His cheeks became tinged with pink. “Um…” he rubbed the ball of his foot in the dirt. “I just thought, you’d be more comfortable.”
“You mean you’ll be more comfortable.” She laughed. The sound morphed into a soft howl as she shifted. The transition was smooth and quick. Her claws found purchase on the soft earth. Her snout pointed in the direction of home.
She heard the easy sound of the male’s laughter as he chuckled behind her. A bloodsucker, longtime enemy. Possible friend? It confused her. It might be best not to think about it too much.
Chapter 4
Tiffany fell on her ass. She hit the ground hard. It hurt like hell. It infuriated her to no end, especially when the blasted vampire chuckled at her distress. He held out his hand.
She narrowed her eyes and sprung to her feet on her own steam. She didn’t need his help.
This only made Brynn chuckle even louder. “Suit yourself. Let’s take a break.”
There was a sheen of perspiration on her brow and her muscles ached. Who was she kidding, her whole body ached.
“You need to think a little outside the box. You need to be faster and smarter than your bigger opponents. You need to be willing to play a little dirty. To take all opportunities.” He sat down on a fallen tree trunk. The male was wearing another pair of running shorts. There was no bulge today.
Shit! She quickly snapped her eyes back to his. If he had noticed her looking—there—he didn’t let on.
“For example.” He offered her a bottle of water and she shook her head. She didn’t want anything from the asshole. What did he think, that he could throw her down one second and she’d accept handouts from him the next? Not happening.
Brynn chuckled. “See… you’re seriously pissed. It’s interfering with your mind and your thought processing. You’re acting irrational. Not thinking things through. I’m taking complete advantage of the situation.”
Tiffany chewed the inside of her cheek. He was right. The asshole was right. She rolled her eyes. “I can’t just switch off how I feel.”
“You’re going to have to if you want to win. Don’t let your opponent g
et under your skin. It doesn’t matter what they say or do. It’s the main rule, let’s call it fight rule 101. Don’t let them get to you no matter what. I don’t care how you clear your mind. Count to ten. Focus on yourself, things you can control like the position of your legs, your arms. Focus on what your opponent is doing, their position, not what they are saying or the fact that you just saw your ass five times. The fight’s only over when it’s over.”
“I take it that’s fight rule two?”
“You’re learning quickly. When I say over, I mean dead, incapacitated or unconscious.”
“Got it.”
“No, really. Fight hard if it’s something important like your dignity or”—he shrugged—“if you decide this male is worth it. Don’t do it for pride though. There are occasions when backing down is the better option.”
She nodded. Everything he was saying made sense. She struggled to concentrate because her mouth felt really dry. She watched as he took a drink of his water. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. Brynn quirked a brow. “Are you sure you don’t want some?” He held the bottle out to her.
Tiffany didn’t want to seem too eager so she waited a second or two.
“Come on… drink it.”
She nodded once and gave him a half smile, before taking it and thanking him.
“So.” He smiled. Crinkles appeared around his eyes. He sported a five o’clock shadow and looked really handsome.
Asshole!
She didn’t want to find a bloodsucker attractive.
“How are things going with the alpha? How’s the whole friendship thing going?” he grinned.
She’d seen Sebastian twice in the last few days. “Good. He’s a sweet male.” Tiffany smiled.
“Sweet.” Brynn barked out a laugh. Then he caught the look she was giving him and held up his hands. “I didn’t mean anything. I’m glad he’s such a good friend.”
“Well he is. I’ve even agreed to go out with him on a date.”
He raised his brows and nodded his head. “Oh, well that’s something. When is the big event taking place?”
“This afternoon.” She tried to sound upbeat. “He’s taking me on a picnic. I think it’s really romantic.”
If the vampire thought she was full of BS, he didn’t say anything.
“How are things going with the humans?” She took a seat next to him, sure to keep some space between them.
The she-wolf sat down next to him.
Good.
Great! At least he didn’t have to look up at her anymore. The female was nuts. A tight white t-shirt and a tiny pair of denim shorts was her idea of workout gear? In a way, she was even sexier in this scanty outfit than she had been naked. He knew what she looked like under those clothes. He could see right through the shirt. It normally wasn’t an issue but he hadn’t been lying when he’d said she was different from vampire females.
Those hips.
Those breasts.
Flared and full. Their cherry tips begged that he taste them. Begged! Brynn had to suppress a groan.
“So…” She raised her brows and turned to him expectantly. “The humans, how is it going?”
“Oh…” he tried not to sound like an idiot and failed. “Yeah…” he nodded his head. “It’s going really well.”
There were several females who were really sweet… sweet. Oh shit!!
“Okay and… is it a big secret? I told you about my date with Sebastian.”
He shrugged. “Nah, not at all. I’m getting to know one of the females. Her name is Sylvia.”
“Oh. What is she like?”
“Very…” He couldn’t say sweet to her. He’d laughed at her for calling Sebastian sweet. “She’s very nice.”
Nice! Shit! Nice was worse than sweet.
Tiffany laughed. “Really? Nice? Not interesting or intelligent? How about fun or—”
“She’s great fun. I really like her a lot.”
Tiffany pretended to yawn.
“Sebastian is sweet and a good friend to you. You have no leg to stand on here.”
“He’s also really good-looking. Did I mention that part?”
He snorted. Sure. So attractive that she was head over fucking heels in love with him. Not!
“He’s tall and… and has huge—”
“Stop right there… I don’t need to know about his huge—”
“Muscles, you asshole. He has huge muscles and he has these big brown eyes that make all the females sigh.”
Brynn got to his feet. “Oh really?” he folded his arms. “Big, brown eyes.” He nodded his head.
Tiffany nodded as well. “Yup… even my grandmother swoons whenever he’s around.” She sucked in a breath. “His wolf is just enormous. The beast is a beautiful brindle color with smudges of rust.”
“Are you attracted to the male?”
It was a simple question and yet she hesitated. Tiffany’s eyes flicked away for a second before moving back to him. “He’s the perfect male specimen.”
Brynn narrowed his eyes at her. “Yes, but are you attracted to him?”
“I like the male. I’m spending time with him to—”
“If there is no attraction then you are wasting your time, you know that don’t you?” Sometimes the truth hurt. He didn’t know this female very well but he liked her. He didn’t understand the drive inside him to help her but there it was anyway.
She chewed on her bottom lip for a beat or two. “Mating with Sebastian is the logical thing to do. It would make my family happy. It would—”
“What about you? Shouldn’t you be happy?”
“Sebastian is a good male. He would take good care of me. I think that he has real feelings for me.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to dissuade her further. To tell her that she would be doing the male a disservice by mating with him regardless of his feelings for her but he held back. He had no right to do so. Within the next week or two, he would never see her again. “That is important,” he mumbled.
“He’s everything a female could wish for. It’s only a matter of time before I fall in love with him. I’d always thought that I would see a male and know instantly that he was the one, but I have since realized that you can’t trust such base emotions.” She put her hands on either side of her, leaning on the trunk.
God but she was stunning. Her scent floored him. It was delicious. Vanilla with hints of chocolate and melted marshmallows. It was crazy but that’s what he got with every breath. The scent of her beast was intermingled but he found that he didn’t mind it. Normally the strong musky scent of a shifter’s animal was off-putting, but not when it came to her.
The attraction was a little unnerving. A she-wolf. It was the last thing he expected.
“That’s where you’re wrong, it’s those very base emotions—as you put it—that give us non-humans an edge.” Saying what he had just said, made him a little uncomfortable although he couldn’t say why exactly.
Then again, he knew what it was, he needed sex. It was that simple. Brynn was training hard and rutting would help him to stay strong. Help his body to heal.
Tiffany was an attractive female. Small, yet plump in all the right places. Her eyes were just about the most beautiful things he had ever seen.
She licked her lips, clearly mulling over his words. Fucking sexy lips. Shit!
“I’m also going on a date,” he blurted. “That female I was telling you about, Sylvia.”
“Oh.” The word came out sounding timid. A little hurt. Nah… he must have just imagined it because she smiled. “That’s great news! What do you have planned?”
Brynn shrugged. He hadn’t really given it much thought. “It’s this evening, so, a dinner-date. I was going to have them fix us something and pick it up. I thought we could just hang at my suite. Nothing fancy.”
The she-wolf choked out a laugh. “Do you want to get to know her for the purpose of possibly mating her or do you want to rut her? If you take her to your place, she wi
ll think the latter. I’m just warning you. Sebastian has filled me in on some of the dating rules.”
“Why does it have to be so damned complicated?” He shook his head.
“It’s called life. It wouldn’t be so much fun if it wasn’t a little bit complicated, if there weren’t a couple of twists and turns along the way.” Tiffany jumped off the tree trunk.
“Yeah!” he sighed. “You’re right on that one. I’ll have to think of something.”
“I can only talk for myself but I think that all females are similar deep down. We like to know that you went to some effort. It shows that you care.” She lifted her eyes in thought and tucked a few wayward strands of hair behind her ear. “You could set up a dinner somewhere outside under the trees…” She looked around them, her eyes wide. “Or—I don’t know—somewhere special to you. Or to both of you. What is she like?”
“Like I said, she’s really nice. She smiles and laughs a lot. She’s very pretty.”
“What does she look like?” Tiffany seemed to hold her breath.
“She’s small. All humans are small.”
Tiffany nodded.
“She has blond hair all the way down her back and the bluest eyes.” Talking about her made him look forward to tonight. He hoped to get to know her intimately, and soon. Sylvia was exactly his type. She was a human.
Chapter 5
Why the hell had she asked?
The human was the polar opposite of her. She was a small shifter but that still made her bigger than most humans. Her hair was black, her eyes dark. Tiffany had nothing in common with the other female.
Why did she even care?
“We should get back to work,” she said, as she moved back towards the clearing. She could hear the vampire following. “I need to go soon or I’ll be late for my date.” She turned to face the male. “You have a ton to do before tonight as well, so let’s do this.”
Brynn clapped his hands together. “That sounds like a fantastic idea. I’m going to come at you. I want you to practice those defensive techniques I taught you.”
Taming the Vampire: Over 25 All New Paranormal Alpha Male Tales of Contemporary, Military, Shifters, Billionaires, Werewolves, Magic, Fae, Witches, Dragons, Demons & More Page 36
