He cupped her cheek, drawing her gaze to his. “We don’t have to talk about him if it pains you.”
“Yes, we do. You were his commander and friend. I’m not the only one hurting from his passing. He was my protector, my overbearing brother, and an ass, but I loved him. He was the last of my natural family.” She sniffed, and Torin wiped a tear from her cheek.
“You were the squirt and the bratty sister he brought everywhere with him.” Torin swallowed. A flicker of sadness flashed across his features. “Jason was a good male. He loved the Pack and his job as its protector. He died with honor.”
Smiling, she stared into his eyes and felt comfortable doing so. She didn’t know what had changed. Maybe her wolf recognized she wasn’t the only one who had lost Jason. The whole Pack lost him. It could also have had something to do with the relaxed way they sat and talked, getting to know more about each other.
She cupped his face in her hands. “I’m falling in love with you.”
His lips lifted in a sensual smile. “I fell in love with you years ago.”
She squeaked when he lifted her up and turned her so she straddled his lap, then all thoughts vanished as he kissed her. She could be with him like this for the rest of her day.
Chapter Eight
Cora hummed softly as she packed the backpack with the things she needed to begin the first stages of laying out the new security system. The system would be made up of wireless sensors, cameras, and magic, encircling both dens about five hundred feet from the property lines. And that was only the first layer.
Two more layers of security would be set behind the first, about one hundred and fifty feet from each other. Then wards would protect each individual den. Was it overkill? Maybe, but Alec and the Alphas loved the idea of the layers and how each one would differ slightly from the other.
Cora glanced up as Ana and Gina entered the command center—as Alec called it—and nodded. Frowning, she studied Gina as she came to stand next to her. The third layer of security had small bombs filled with tiny balls of silver, the one thing mutants had a weakness for.
Gina picked one of the round, palm-size bombs. Cora’s heart skipped a beat. “Please be careful with that.”
“I know, Miss.”
Drawing her brows together, Cora studied the female. Her brown hair was pulled into a tight ponytail, and Cora saw a little more confidence in her. She held her head a little higher and actually made eye contact with Cora.
“How are things going, Gina?”
Her face flushed, and she set the bomb on the table. “Good. Sven tried another treatment this morning. He thinks it didn’t work, but I can feel my wolf a little more.”
Without thinking, Cora drew the female into a hug. Gina stiffened, then relaxed and returned the embrace. “That’s a really good sign. Why did he say it didn’t work?”
“Because he’s trying to fix my human genes and not my animal’s.”
“Oh, yeah, I guess I can see where he believes it was a failed attempt.”
Gina possessed two different shifter genes in her DNA: wolf and tiger. As Cora understood it, Gina had an ancestor—no one was sure how far back—who mated with a shifter. Sven guessed the children of the couple were either latent or the shifter parent was and believed he or she was human. Therefore the shifter genes diluted over the years of mating with humans. The other shifter gene came from the mutant virus Felix injected her with when he abducted her.
Sven was trying to figure out which shifter gene she was born with in hopes of reversing the effects of the virus.
The door opened, drawing Cora’s attention. Jasmine entered, and Cora smiled. “What are you doing here?”
Jasmine nodded to Gina and the others before tugging Cora into a hug. “I’m meeting Graham to go over design ideas for the rebuild of the bar, so I thought I’d stop by and see how your date went.”
Cora averted her gaze, her cheeks warmed, and she tried to ignore the fact the room grew quiet. All of them were nosy as hell. “I shifted.”
Jasmine squeaked and hugged her again. “Wonderful!”
Cora laughed. “It felt wonderful.”
“I sense a ‘but’ in there.”
Cora glanced around the room. Instantly, everyone started working again. She leaned into Jasmine and spoke in a soft whisper. “I know in my heart Torin is my mate. You can stop pretending to not see his mark.” She giggled then continued. “We made promises and spoke the words, yet the bond never formed.”
Jasmine wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Oh, honey. Sometimes it takes a little while for the bond to form. It doesn’t mean you are not mated.”
“That’s what Tor said. I can’t shake the feeling there is something blocking it, though.”
Kissing her cheek, Jasmine released her and took her hand. “Give it time. You have been through a lot. It’ll happen.”
“Thanks. You always know how to make things right.”
Jasmine smiled and winked. “Just doing my job as you BFF. I’ll see you later.”
“Yep. Have fun with designing the bar.”
“I will.” Jasmine waved and left.
A moment later Torin entered the room with two cups of coffee and a brown paper bag. He had dropped her off, saying he had something to look into. Now she wondered where he’d gone.
The sweet scent of sugar and dough made her mouth water, even though she had eaten breakfast before leaving Torin’s place. “What do you have there?”
The silver in his eyes darkened, and one side of his mouth lifted. “A snack and coffee.”
She took the bag and opened it. Her mouth watered as she inhaled the sweet aroma of the large cinnamon roll with cream cheese icing. Lifting her gaze to him, she cupped his cheek and kissed him.
“Thank you.”
The room grew quiet again, and, when she looked around, everyone was watching them with smiles plastered to the faces. She rolled her eyes, tore off a piece of the roll, and fed it to Torin. “We can share the rest during my break.”
He snaked an arm around her. “I look forward to it.”
Laughing, she pushed out of his hold and turned to her team. Keegan, Ana, Robyn, and Gina had their backpacks on and were waiting on her. Butterflies fluttered in her belly. “I’m ready.”
Alec snorted from his spot in front of the computer station. “Cora, you’re supposed to say, ‘Let’s go people. Move your asses.’”
She shook her head, laughing. “No, that is something you would say.”
He nodded. “True. Then move your asses, and let’s get this party on the road.”
Keegan chuckled. “I have no clue where he gets his bossiness from.” He held out his hand. “After you, boss.”
Boss. She wasn’t so sure, but, coming from Keegan, it was an honor. “Okay, let’s do this.”
****
“Cora seems happier today.”
“What do you mean?” Torin knew where Alec’s train of thought was headed. He’d noticed it this morning when she woke, in his arms.
Alec shrugged. “She seems more confident. Her wolf is no longer hiding.”
“We had a good run yesterday before the hunters showed.” He growled. Damned humans. He’d never understand their obsession to kill for sport.
“Yeah, Blaine mentioned it. Once the outer layer is in place, we don’t have to worry about nosy, gun-happy humans anymore. Robyn’s magic crystals will create a large, bubble-like ward which will keep humans away and confuse those who mean us harm.” Alec punched a couple keys on the keyboard, and an image popped up on the main screen.
“Is that Cora’s camera?”
Alec nodded. “Yeah, baby girl, can you hear me?”
Cora’s soft voice came through the speaker. “Yep, loud and clear. Travis is here now.”
“Good.”
Torin ground his teeth, not liking last minute changes in the process. “Why is Travis there?”
Alec glance at him, then shook his head. “Calm your wolf, man. Because
the team has to split up, we needed two people to be able to activate the magic in the crystals. Shay is due to deliver any day, so Travis is the only other magic-born in the den.”
Oh. Made sense. "Magic-born" was an old term the Elders used to call witches and shifters with witch parents. Travis’s mother, Robyn, was half-witch. As was Shay’s birth mother.
Cora’s voice brought Torin from his thoughts.
“This is the spot.” Her handheld GPS came in view on the screen. “Gina, start here and dig a new hole every yard. Ana and I will set up the sensors.”
“She’s a natural leader,” Alec said as he sat back in his chair.
Torin rolled over a chair so he could sit at the computer station beside Alec.. “Most submissives are. They’re just more polite about it than we are.”
Alec burst out laughing. “So true.”
About ten minutes later, Ana spoke into her mic. “I’m picking up on something. Dad, you feel that?”
Keegan’s voice came in from the other side of the property. “Not here.”
Cora spoke quietly. “Humans.”
Torin sat up in his chair. “How close?”
“Too fucking close,” Travis growled.
There was a rustling over the radio, then Cora asked, “Ana, where are you going? Shit. Alec, she shifted and is going after them.”
The next moment, a gunshot sounded off. Torin didn’t wait around for confirmation that anyone was all right. He jumped from his chair and rushed out the door. Once outside, he took off, running as fast as his legs would go. His only thought was for the safety of his mate.
Chapter Nine
“Ana!” Cora tore off her headset, dropped everything in her hands, and ran after the leopard. She didn’t get far before Travis grabbed her from behind.
“She’s fine.”
Cora shook her head and wiggled to try to escape the cage of Travis’s arms. She needed to see if Ana was okay. Fear rushed through her like lava when the gun fired right after Ana shifted and ran toward the humans.
“She’s not hurt. I can sense her through the blood bond.”
It took several moments before his words sank in. The blood bond was what all the soldiers, enforcers, and sentries—and anyone else directly connected to the Pack hierarchy—
shared. Travis was the Pack tracker.
A growl stopped her heart for a brief moment, followed by Torin’s low, rough warning. “Let her go.”
Slowly, Travis released her and held his hands up. “She was worried about Ana and ran after her.”
Torin tugged Cora to him, wrapping her in his arms and burying his nose into her neck. A tiny thread of awareness formed inside her and grew. When he kissed her, thrusting his tongue in her mouth, the thread strengthened. She fisted his hair and met his hunger with one of her own. The connection between them became too much for her to deny.
Then, as if being zapped with a shot of electricity, the mating bond snapped into place.
Torin broke the kiss and rested his forehead to hers. “I love you. God, I was so scared. I heard the shot….”
She held his face in her hands. “Shh. If I knew making you jealous would snap the bond in place, I’d have tried it first.”
His lips twitched, then he twisted her hair in his hand, pulled her head to the side, and bit her. A cry of pleasure, mixed with the sting of his fangs piercing her skin, tore from her lips.
Retracting his fangs from her skin, he met her gaze and smiled. “You’re mine.”
“Always,” she breathed. “What about Ana?”
“I don’t want her.”
“Torin.”
He laughed. “She’s fine. I’ll take you to her.” He took her hand and nodded to Travis as if to say something, but the other male shook his head.
“I’ve been in the dance. And now my mate is about to give birth. Believe me, I get it.”
“Thanks for stopping her from risking her life.”
Travis waved him off and headed in the direction Ana went. Torin tugged her hand as he followed him. Cora’s heart was still pounding, but her body started to relax. Why were the humans here again? If they were the same ones from the day before….
When they reached Ana, Cora gasped as she saw the mother bobcat barely alive at Ana’s feet. Keegan and Blaine stood on either side of the cat. Ana turned, eyes red with tears, and in her arms was a cub. Cora guessed the baby was no more than a couple months old.
Cora’s vision blurred as she closed the distance between her and Ana. Her new friend handed the cub to her. “I can’t keep her. I live with Blaine, and with the babies on the way….”
Torin spoke up. “We can keep her. Teach her to track and hunt, so she can return to the forest one day.”
Cora hugged the baby bobcat close. “Thanks!” She turned to the mother. “Can Dani help her?”
Keegan frowned. “No. Dani’s healing powers only work on shifters. She can give her something to ease the pain until she passes.”
Cora sniffed, and Torin drew her close, kissing the top of her temple. “Come, let’s get the little one home and figure out what to feed her.”
“What about work?”
Blaine answered her question. “We will stay and finish it. The outer layer needs to be done by tonight. I’m afraid the human activity will draw out the mutants. I called in another team to help finish it. You can start on the second layer tomorrow as well as inspect what we do tonight.”
The cub let out a cry, and Cora’s heart broke. “I know baby. It hurts, but it’ll be okay because there is a whole Pack who will love you.”
Just like they did her.
She wrapped an arm around Torin’s waist as they walked toward MoonRiver. “I Love you, Tor.”
He scooped her up in his arms and kissed her. “Love you, too.”
The cub whimpered and butted her head against his chin. He laughed and scratched under her chin. “We love you too, squirt.”
Cora laughed. “I think I’ll name her Spring.”
“Why Spring?”
“Because it is the season of new beginnings. This is a new beginning for all three of us.”
Torin smiled. “I like it. Spring it is.”
Cora laid her head on his shoulder as he carried her and Spring to their new home. Jason would be proud. Love you, brother. Rest in peace.
Sangue Fever
By Ann Mayburn
Sangue Fever
After spending hundreds of years alone, focused only on her revenge, Lisabetta has finally vanquished her enemies and built an empire that will allow her to live out eternity as a vampire in comfort. No longer focused only on revenge, Lisabetta finds herself alone and dealing with the consequences of shutting down her emotions until her heart became encased in ice. Sargon, her Maker, an ancient and powerful vampire who'd been a king during his mortal years, has loved her from the moment he laid eyes on her, but she still fears him too much to allow herself to love him in return.
Drifting now without a purpose, Lisabetta finds herself yearning for something more, something special, and she finds it one night while hunting for her next donor at a night club. One look at the older, experienced Taylor and she knows that somehow this rough and ready cowboy belongs to her, but their love can never happen. Lisabetta refuses to make another vampire, but when she discovers that all is not quite as it seems and that Sargon will do whatever it takes to make her happy, even allowing a mortal man to challenge his claim on her heart.
Chapter One
Lisabetta Diana Marta Piero sank back into the lush black leather seats in the VIP area of the club she was hunting at during her stay in Dallas. She was here to visit with her Maker, Sargon, an ancient Mesopotamian king turned vampire with a taste for war and pleasure. So far the trip had been a big, flat bust. This was supposed to be her vacation, her well-earned rest after building her empire and vanquishing her enemies with a ruthless determination that led to her rise in rank from adult vampire to vampire elder.
Now, as a
fully recognized elder within the vampire community, she had the freedom to indulge herself and celebrate her victories but found that nothing she did made her empty heart feel anything but melancholy. She’d earned the right to kick back and find some random mortal to drain. They’d have fantastic, out-of-this-world sex, and then she’d wipe their memory and be on her merry way with her hungers eased. Couldn’t have a man remembering fucking a woman who never looked older than eighteen, no matter how many times he saw her.
Even worse, women always noticed that she never seemed to age first, catty bitches. And now the world had entered an era where men went to jail for having sex with women under eighteen. The fact that Lisabetta was six hundred and twenty years old meant nothing when guys were scared to come near her. And the ones that did approach were usually drunk, their blood saturated by alcohol.
Yuck. Made their blood taste like medicine, something to be endured rather than savored.
Memories of all the men she’d had sex with while she took blood from them flashed through her mind, and she sighed, saddened by the knowledge that so many virile, amazing men she’d slept with were now nothing more than dust in the ground. The melancholy—the yearning in her soul—grew, and she struggled to contain the hopelessness that wanted to take her over. She needed…something. Someone.
She gave herself a mental pinch and tried to shake her funk off. Maybe she should pull the stick out of her ass and find someone. It had been so long since she hadn’t had eager men throwing themselves at her that she found her pride a bit stung. She was pretty, a bit curvy for today’s standards, but she knew how to work what she had. Tonight she wore a pale champagne glittery dress that made her naturally tan skin glow. Her long black hair was swept up into a high ponytail, and she’d gone a heavier on her makeup than normal in an effort to look a bit older.
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