Forbidden Blood

by R. L. Kenderson

  Everyone said good-bye, and Kenzie hugged Naya. She knew Naya was upset, but she hoped Naya’s parents were the only reason.

  In the meantime, Kenzie needed to go to the gym or buy a bottle of wine—maybe both. There was a certain male she wanted to cleanse from her brain.

  STUPID VAMPIRE BITCH!

  The cat-shifter slammed his fist on the table. This pregnancy was about to ruin everything. He had calculated it all out carefully, and now, he didn’t know what the hell he was going to do. Thanks to the meeting, everyone in the Pride knew Vaughn was a soon-to-be father, and all eyes would be on him and his bitch for a while. Although, without the meeting, the cat-shifter wouldn’t have known what was going on either.

  He needed to seriously rearrange his plans.

  The original idea was to have the wolf-shifters abduct Vaughn and Payton from the Llewelyn home to get rid of them, saving Vance for himself. But now, Vaughn was staying at his apartment in Minneapolis, which was in a much more populated area. Plus, there was the female vampire to consider.

  The cat-shifter slumped back into his seat.

  Everyone loved the Llewelyns and considered Vance to be a great leader. The cat-shifter fucking hated Vance. Once he’d decided to eliminate Vance, he had known he would also need to get Vaughn out of the picture, seeing as the Pride would expect him to be the next alpha. Then, he’d realized he should get rid of Payton, too. He wouldn’t put it past the Pride to accept Payton as the new alphena and her future mate as the new alpha. And now that Vaughn had impregnated the vampire princess, the Pride might decide to save the position for one of his future children, appointing an alpha-by-proxy until the children were old enough. No, he couldn’t risk losing his chance to be alpha.

  He had to kill all of Vance Llewelyn’s family, including the vamp—all except for Lilith. Once Vance was gone, he would make the alphena his. He planned to lock her in the bedroom and make sure she knew whom she belonged to. He’d wanted to get a piece of that pussy since he was seventeen, and he wasn’t going to wait a minute longer. He might even get a cub from her. He rubbed his hands together at the idea of her belly swelling with his child.

  Both times Lilith had been pregnant, he’d wanted to rip the baby out of her womb. Just knowing it had been Vance’s seed growing in there, instead of his, had made him furious. She was supposed to be his. And once he got rid of Vance, she would be. She would lie down and spread her legs for him even if he had to make her. Eventually, she’d learn to like it, and even if she didn’t, he still would.

  At this point, he wasn’t sure what excited him more—the thought of getting between Lilith’s creamy thighs or offing Vance. He wanted to make the son of a bitch suffer, and just knowing he would be fucking his wife made life sweet. Maybe he’d fuck her before he killed Vance, so he could make Vance watch.

  His laughter filled the room. By the time he was done with Vance, he would be begging for death. He couldn’t wait to reduce that proud man to a sniveling pile of nothing. He adjusted the hard-on in his pants. One step at a time, he told himself.

  He picked up the phone to call Dwyer.

  “What?”

  “There was a meeting tonight,” he informed Dwyer.

  “And?”

  He gritted his teeth. The wolf-shifter continued to make things more difficult. “I found out Vaughn is going to keep working for his father, but he’s not planning to move back to the house yet. Plans have changed. You’ll have to grab the stupid vampire, too. I’m not sure when you’ll be able to grab them or Payton.” He sighed. “Damn it, Dwyer, I need them gone, dead and gone.”

  “Isn’t Payton taking classes at the U of M for her master’s degree? Aren’t some of those classes at night?”

  “Yeah. So?”

  Dwyer scoffed. “We could grab her from the campus at night. If we can’t take Vaughn and his female at the same time, Payton’s family might think it’s unrelated to being a Llewelyn. It would throw everyone off their game.”

  He gritted his teeth. Why didn’t I think of that? “How did you know about Payton?”

  “I do my homework, cat-shifter.”

  The fucking dog was too smart for his own good. Good thing—

  “By the way, it’s going to cost you double for the vamp.”

  “What?” the cat-shifter spit out.

  “When we started this, I agreed to get rid of Vance’s spawn, which was fine by me since I have my own agenda. But now, you could potentially bring the wrath of the vampires down on the Pack. The King and Queen might be pussies, but I’ve seen their Guardians. It’s double or nothing, or we can just forget about the vamp.”

  The cat-shifter kicked his desk, knocking over his favorite lamp. Damn it, damn it, damn it. He briefly considered overlooking the vamp whore and leaving her out of the whole mess. No, I can’t risk it.

  “Fine,” he said through clenched teeth. “I’ll pay you double.”

  He could practically hear the wolf-shifter smile.

  “Good. Now, you only have a little over a month to figure out what you want us to do. We’re still out of here when the two months are up, and you’re paying either way,” he said before hanging up.

  The cat-shifter jumped from his chair and threw his cell against the wall.

  Stupid wolf-shifter. Stupid Vance. Stupid Vaughn. Stupid vampire bitch.

  His chest heaved in and out with the force of his anger. The only calming thought he had was that this would be over soon and then it would all be his.

  Damien came around the corner just as his father ended his phone call. Although wolf hearing wasn’t as developed as a cat-shifter, it was better than any human, and he’d heard both sides of the conversation. He studied his father. With his white and charcoal gray hair that matched his wolf coat and crystal blue eyes, they actually looked more like brothers than father and son. The slight differences were Damien’s hair was dark gray with less white, and he had three more inches and an extra thirty pounds of muscle on his father.

  Inside though, they were nothing alike.

  “So, we’re into extortion now? And let’s not forget kidnapping and murder,” Damien said to his father’s back.

  “You wouldn’t understand.” Dwyer sighed. “You should have stayed gone, son. Your conscience is only going to get in the way.”

  “What’s to understand? You’re planning on committing several felonies—and for a cat-shifter, no less.”

  “I made a deal, and I’m doing it for me and the Pack.”

  “What kind of deal?” When his dad didn’t respond, he raised his voice. “I am next in line to be alpha as well as the head of your sentinels. I need to know what you have planned if I have any hope of having a pack left to lead.”

  Dwyer swung around. “Don’t you understand? I’m doing this so that you will have a pack left to lead when you become alpha!” his father yelled.

  Damien didn’t back down. Instead, he stepped closer, forcing his father to look up at him. There was a reason he was next in line to lead his people, and it wasn’t due to birth alone. He wasn’t planning to take the position of alpha from his father—yet. Damien made eye contact with him until Dwyer looked away. Their actions spoke louder than any words.

  Damien knew he was the more dominant of the two, and now, he knew his father did, too.

  “Fine,” Dwyer said. “The deal is, I get rid of the Llewelyn brats. I wanted Vance for myself, but part of the deal is that the cat-shifter gets him. Then, once he’s alpha of the Pride, we’ll get to move home and reclaim our rightful place.”

  Damien stepped back in shock. “You’re actually planning to kill Vaughn and Payton?”

  Ten years had passed since he’d seen either of them. Vaughn was two years older than Damien. Damien had been twenty-two while Payton had only been thirteen. They hadn’t been close, but Damien had gotten along with both of them. While he knew a lot could change in ten years, he doubted either of them deserved to be murdered.

  “No. I’m not stupid. I’m just g
oing to abduct them and get them out of the way. I’m just letting the stupid cat-shifter think I am going to kill them.”

  “Do you not see the irony of what you are saying?”

  His father thought he wasn’t stupid because he wasn’t going to kill them. But the very fact that he’d planned to kidnap them was just as stupid.

  Damien just shook his head. “And after you snatch them? Then, what? Where are you going to take them?”

  “I haven’t gotten that far yet.” Dwyer waved his hand in dismissal. “We’ll figure it out when we get there.”

  His father was blinded by hatred and vengeance. He couldn’t see that he wasn’t thinking straight. He only had half a plan in place, and it was a dumb-ass plan at that. He wanted back into the Minneapolis territory, but if he went through with this, there was no way the Pride would ever let the Pack return.

  “You do realize I can’t let you go through with this?”

  His father snickered. “Son, I’d like to see you stop me. The sentinels still answer to me.”

  And there was the problem. Damien was stronger and faster. He would win if he challenged his father, but unless he had the sentinels to back him up, the outcome was uncertain.

  “Good luck changing their minds. Besides, the last time I checked, I’m still the alpha, and I forbid you from telling them.”

  The bastard was probably right about changing their minds. They were loyal to his father, and they could very well go through with the mission without considering the consequences. If Damien went behind his father’s back, it might look like a betrayal, and then they’d never trust him. So, until he could tell them what his father had planned, Damien had no hope of gaining their support. Until he gained their support, Damien couldn’t tell them what his father had planned. He was fucked and on his own. The smart thing to do at the moment would be to let his father think he’d won.

  “You’re right, Dad. You do have the sentinels’ loyalty.”

  Dwyer smiled with satisfaction, and Damien stormed from the cabin. It was partially for show and partially because he was actually upset. He might not be able to tell the sentinels what was about to go down, but he could talk to each one and get a feel for where they stood on his father. Then, he needed to find out as much as he could about Vaughn and Payton. Damien didn’t have it in him to submit to his father’s plan, and he would do everything in his power to stop Dwyer from destroying the Pack.

  Vaughn watched Naya where she’d already fallen asleep beside him. It had been a long night, and he felt relieved the sun would be up soon, so they both could get some shut-eye.

  After the meeting with their parents, Naya had sat silently during their ride home. She hadn’t said much the rest of the night either. She’d spent the whole night on her computer, telling him she needed to catch up on some things, but he had known something was wrong. Besides her responses to him, the only words she’d spoken had been about his plans to go back to work.

  Then, she’d asked, “What would you say if I told you I have a job offer at the animal shelter where I volunteer?”

  “I would ask what you think about it. Does it sound like something you would like? Is the pay worth the work you do? Could you do it without being there during the day?”

  “I think it sounds like a good job. I don’t know the pay or the hours, but they already know about my ‘sun allergy,’ so I know they would be willing to work around it.” A minute later, she’d asked, “So, you would never suggest that I don’t take the position?”

  Figuring her question must have something to do with her parents, he’d said, “No. Never—unless you didn’t want it or if you thought you were forced to settle for this job. Then, I would say you should look for something better. You have time.”

  He swore he saw Naya flinch, but it was subtle, so he wasn’t sure. He was confused. He’d thought he was being supportive about the job thing.

  After that, she had been completely quiet. She’d barely grunted out a, “Nothing,” when he’d asked what was wrong. This might be his first serious relationship, but he did have a mother and a sister, so he was smart enough to know nothing really meant something.

  When they had gone to bed, she’d grabbed one of his T-shirts to wear as pajamas. Then, she’d lain on the bed, turned away from him, and moved to the edge. She never wore pajamas. Instead, she always slept naked beside him, open and ready.

  He didn’t like her shutting him out, and it had really pissed him off, but he’d told himself she needed time to process everything that had happened that night. He would let her sleep on it, and after they awoke for the night, he’d let her know not to close herself off from him. After all, on their first night together, he had told her never to hide from him. Maybe she hadn’t realized that he meant more than just her body.

  He lay back and closed his eyes, but ten minutes later, sleep still hadn’t come. He didn’t like her to be unhappy, and he didn’t like to be unhappy either. He pulled her closer and gently sliced his T-shirt from her body with his claws before flinging the remnants across the room. He wasn’t going to let anything separate them. He needed to feel her skin against his own.

  He drew her naked body beside his, and she sighed as she wiggled closer, pressing her breasts against his chest and muttering his name. His dick instantly got hard, and he had to resist the desire to spread her legs and slide into her wet heat, showing her exactly how much he didn’t like her shutting him out.

  Instead, he wrapped his arm around her and tucked her to his side. She slid one leg over his, and he kissed her on the head, inhaling her vanilla scent intertwined with his. The knowledge that she still subconsciously wanted to be close to him and the fact that she wore his scent helped him fall asleep peacefully.

  NAYA PULLED INTO the parking lot at Second Chances. It was her first night back after all her weeks of being gone. The clock told her she had a few minutes before the meeting with Marilyn. Naya was surprisingly nervous about discussing the open position, so she closed her eyes and took a few deep calming breaths.

  It had been a week since meeting with her parents, and she was still in the middle of processing everything. Unfortunately, the meeting to resolve some of her issues had only created more problems.

  When she’d asked Vaughn about taking the animal shelter job, he’d said, “You have time.”

  He never once said she didn’t have to because he would take care of her. She didn’t expect him to support her. She could pull her own weight. But his response had made it sound like she needed to find work before the babies were born, that employment wasn’t an option but a necessity. It was no wonder she had so many questions flying through her head.

  What will happen after I give birth to the babies?

  At the meeting, Vaughn had said they would live in his apartment until they were born. But then what? Would they stay together or go their separate ways? Is that why he hadn’t suggested she be a stay-at-home mom? Or was he undecided? She appreciated everything he’d done and was doing, but at times, she was disappointed in his lack of commitment. She wished he would share what he was planning for the future.

  Yes, they lived like a couple, but she required his blood. And what guy would turn down free sex every day? It wasn’t that she didn’t cherish the sexual part of their relationship. It made her feel special and loved when he was affectionate and they were close. She wouldn’t want to avoid being with him sexually, and she probably couldn’t even if she wanted to.

  After the meeting, she had felt upset and frustrated about their questionable future, and she’d needed time to think. She would usually fall asleep while snuggled with Vaughn, but she knew that wouldn’t clear her head. Needing distance from him, she’d considered sleeping on the couch, but she’d known that would only create questions, so she’d gone to sleep on her side of the bed, wearing Vaughn’s T-shirt. She’d hoped the clothes and empty space between them in the middle of the king-sized bed would be an effective barrier.

  She should have k
nown better.

  At sunset, she’d woken up naked in Vaughn’s arms. She’d opened her eyes to find him watching her, and without uttering a single syllable, he’d rolled her onto her back, pushed her legs open, and entered her. Barely giving her time to adjust, he’d pumped into her over and over, pushing her thighs up so that he was so far inside her that he hit her cervix. His show of dominance and his command of her body had been a surprising turn-on, and while she hadn’t been ready at first, she had soon been more than prepared for him. Holding her hair in his hand, he’d forced her to look at him. If she’d closed her eyes, he’d tugged on the strands until she opened them again. When her orgasm had taken over and she’d felt tempted to shut them again, he’d nipped her mouth. He’d brought her to peak twice more before her final climax when they’d stared into each other’s eyes. This time, as they both had come, more than just her body had been bared to him.

  He’d waited until his barbs receded, but since she hadn’t been quite prepared for their lovemaking in the beginning, his withdrawal had made her more aware of her tender flesh. In fact, every move she’d made the rest of the night was a reminder of Vaughn. When she’d stood from the bed, she had seen the T-shirt she wore to sleep ripped in half on the floor across the room.

  She hadn’t tried to shut him out again.

  Naya glanced at the clock again, and then she grabbed her things and exited her car. She might not have been shutting Vaughn out, but she hadn’t shared her thoughts with him either. With a sigh, she knew she was going to have to step up and talk to him if she wanted to find out where his head was. Now, she just had to work up the courage.

  As she walked through the doors of the animal shelter, she reminded herself that she still had several months to figure things out before the babies would arrive. The best thing she could do was plan for every situation. And that was why she’d come to speak with Marilyn about taking the job. Part of her would love to be a stay-at-home mom, but she was tired of relying on others to take care of her. If Vaughn and she didn’t stay together, then they would probably have joint custody, freeing up some of her nights to work. Although, she tried not to think about that scenario because she didn’t want to be away from her babies…or Vaughn.