Claimed

by Rebecca Zanetti

  Emma leaned over and took a good look at the wound. It looked like a deep scrape. Red and puffy, but not a hole filled with a bullet. She pressed a hand to her clamoring heart and dropped back into her seat. “Thank God. What in the hell just happened?” she whispered to Dage.

  As Talen bandaged the wound, Dage stood, a gaping hole in his pant leg showing the impact of a bullet. A bullet popped out of his neck to bounce on the ground and the skin slid together like melted butter. “We were attacked.” He cut his gaze to Jordan several seats up. “How in the hell did they know where we’d be? Only a few people knew we were leaving, and we didn’t tell anybody our route or which small airport.”

  Jordan growled, his tawny eyes blazing with a lion’s fury. “I don’t know. How the hell did anyone get close enough to infect Cara and Katie?”

  The plane leveled off and Talen finished bandaging his daughter. “The Kurjans have someone on the inside. Someone close to us.” He spoke quietly, calmly. Probably for Janie’s benefit.

  Emma swallowed several times to dispel the churning of her stomach, a dull ache setting up in her temples. Great. A traitor who knew their every move. One who had access to the virus threatening them all. She fought to concentrate and understand the other weapons involved so she could counter them. “The green laser bursts turn into bullets the second they touch flesh, even human. Right?”

  Dage kept his gaze on Janie, a furious muscle working in his jaw. “Yes.” His anger filled Emma’s nostrils and she struggled to breathe past her mate’s fury.

  Wonderful. Special, flesh seeking bullets. Freakin’ great. Emma fought the bile rising in her throat. She needed pure oxygen.

  Talen bent and lifted Janie into his arms. “Cara and Janie are going to use the back bedroom for the two-hour trip.” He turned and helped his mate up.

  Janie scrunched her nose in a frown, tiny tear tracks adding frailty to her small face. “Auntie Emma? You’re bleeding.”

  Dage knelt next to her in an instant, his hands moving to unbutton her shirt. “Na pari i eychi.”

  “What?” Emma looked down at her chest in slow motion, a numbness setting into her limbs. “How many languages do you speak, anyway?”

  “All of them.” He peeled off her shirt and the amount of red made her gasp. A buzzing set up in her ears. “You’re in shock, love.” He wiped her flesh with the fabric to reveal a hole in her upper left arm. Tugging her forward, he glanced at her back, grimaced, then released her. “She’ll be fine. Talen, take your family to the bedroom, please.”

  Cara protested but Talen grabbed her arm and gave her no choice but to move.

  Dage waited until the back door clicked shut before pinning Emma with a hard gaze. “You’re losing too much blood for my taste, Emma.”

  “Won’t I heal like you now?” Geez. The man had branded her. Shouldn’t that come with some immortal benefits? She wished the odd buzzing sound would stop. Grayness fell across her vision.

  Dage gave her a little shake. “You’ll heal faster, but we’ve only been mated since last night. The talent takes some time to develop.”

  Her mind spun. “This isn’t how I die, Dage.” Sure there was fire and pain in her vision. But no bullets.

  He paled. “Of course not, damn it.”

  Jordan cleared his throat. “If you don’t need me for this, I’ll get Katie settled into a lounger in the front row.” The shifter glanced at Emma’s bleeding wound, then graced her with a sympathetic smile. “It’ll be okay, Highness.”

  Max turned, his gaze on Emma’s injury. “I’ll move.” The stoic vampire crept up the aisle toward Jordan.

  Emma tried to focus on the plush gray seats of the private jet. “Um. Why is everyone squirming? Am I dying?” She lacked the ability to focus. Shock was good. She should be in a lot of pain.

  Dage brushed her curls back. “No love, you’re not dying. But you might not like my solution.” His voice softened, while his eyes hardened with purpose.

  She tried to roll her eyes, but even that slight movement tugged her stomach into a nauseous swirl. “I am not having sex with you right now, Dage.”

  A snort sounded from a few rows up.

  Dage grinned, slow and sexy. “Turnabout’s fair play, love.”

  “Turnabout?” Why did her head feel so heavy?

  “Yes.” A flash of silver sparked. Dage slit the vein in his left wrist. He cupped her head and brought his arm toward her mouth.

  “No.” Emma yanked to the side, squirming to get away from him. Oh God, no way. Clarity came with a flash, as did a shrieking pain in her arm.

  He held her still, his hand firm. The bloody wrist came at her relentlessly. The wet skin met her lips and she fought a gag, clutching both hands into his arm to push it away. Dage pressed harder, forcing the liquid into her mouth. “Drink Emma, or I’ll plug your nose until you do.”

  The king’s strength easily outmatched hers. She opened her mouth to scream, and he took full advantage, shoving more of his wrist inside until her teeth had no choice but to clamp on. Blood dripped down her throat and burned. The thick liquid sizzled like carbonated hot coffee.

  A craving for more lit her on fire.

  Moaning deep, she sucked with great pulls, her mind spinning with the greatest high imaginable. It was ... heaven. Beyond heaven. Against her will, her jaw slackened. Her body became too heavy to move and her eyelids dropped. She stopped fighting.

  Her heartbeat slowed and she barely registered when Dage removed his arm, brushing a gentle kiss to her cheek. “Sleep now, love. You’ll be all better when you awaken.” A soft blanket swished over her, and she snuggled down with a whispered sigh.

  She dreamed in color—bright flashes of inspiration and beauty through tunnels of expectation, of history, of the future. Visions flashed into her brain with a rapid staccato—some new, some old.

  There was nowhere to hide from one vision that caused her heart to shatter, her mind to scream, her soul to thunder in fury. She’d been asleep for several hours, knowing full well she needed to awaken to keep it from happening. But the darkness won, as always.

  The vision opened on a summer dawn, pure sky, a slight tulip-scented breeze with Dage striding toward a white metal building where she worked, a lab of some sorts. She knew without question she was inside. Shadows walked with him, probably his brothers. But this plan, this glimpse into the future was about the king. He looked strong, a smile on his face, those dangerous dimples flashing. Safe.

  He nodded, saying something to a shadow as a flash of fire reflected in his eyes. The earth trembled. A cloud of black billowed into the sky where the building had stood.

  Death danced around the destruction, and the king fell to his knees. Raw agony ripped across his face, and it was as if Emma could actually see his heart harden and disappear. Gone. Destroyed. His head dropped to his chest.

  She came awake with a start, her mouth opened to scream.

  “Shh, love, it’s okay.” Dage settled himself more securely around her, his breath whispering against her hair.

  Air shot into her lungs and she gulped, trying to quell the rapid beating of her heart. Darkness met her gaze. “Where am I?”

  “Colorado. In a residence facility outside Boulder.” He ran a gentle hand over her arm. Her healed arm.

  “I slept the whole way? Even from the plane to here?” Her mind spun as she stretched against him. Her body felt fantastic. “Your blood provides a serious whammy.” Too bad her heart ached from the vision.

  “Thank you.” He flattened a hand against her tummy. “Tell me about your dream.”

  Dread flushed through her. “I don’t remember it.”

  “Liar.” The room tilted and she ended up under a vampire. He dropped a gentle kiss on her mouth. “I want to know what frightens you so, love.”

  She couldn’t tell him. He’d made no secret of his intent to love and protect her, a path that might destroy him. Past failures already haunted her, and she was a woman who learned from her mistakes. This
vision she’d heed. “How is everyone else?”

  “Fine.” He settled himself more comfortably at the apex of her legs, and she fought a whimper.

  A sudden thought occurred to her. “Why aren’t you reading my mind?”

  He lowered his head to run his heated mouth along her neck to nibble on her ear. “You have shields up. Even when you’re asleep.”

  Her hands crept down his back to clench his tight ass on their own volition. “Couldn’t you breach my shields?” He’d won their last psychic contest of wills hands down.

  “Yes.” His palm spread over a breast before he rolled the nipple between his fingers.

  She arched into him, her mind spinning for a moment. “So why didn’t you?”

  He pinched and she fought a moan. Then he grasped the back of her thigh and pushed her leg up, opening her for him. “Because I respect your privacy?” His heated palm reached around to clench her hip.

  Oh God. “Is that why?”

  His hand slid under her ass to squeeze. “No.” He nipped at her jaw until reaching her mouth, sliding his tongue between her lips to tempt her with pure male.

  Her head spun when he deepened the kiss and it took a moment to refocus as he began to wander that mouth down to her breasts. “No? What do you mean, no?”

  He sighed, raising up until his silver gaze slid through the darkness to pin her in place. “I didn’t breach your mental shields because you’re too fragile right now.”

  Fragile? Bullshit. “I’m not fragile.” He needed to learn she was strong enough to protect him, maybe even stand beside him someday. She tried to lower her leg, but his broad hand clasped her thigh and held it in place.

  “Yes, you are. You’ve recently been marked and now you’ve been shot. I could damage you if I ripped open your shields.” He sighed. “Though I’d hoped at some point you’d trust me enough to take them down.”

  The damn king had a sweetness to him he’d certainly deny. One that she was going to miss. “I’m done talking, Dage.” She reached for him, so full and hard.

  He growled low when she took him in hand and began to lightly run her fingernails along his length.

  She smiled. “So. Are you going to use this or what?”

  Grabbing her hand, he manacled both wrists above her head. “Nice distraction, love. Though I’ve had enough of this bullshit.”

  The crass language from the king sent an alert through her system. “Ah, doesn’t duty call? Shouldn’t we get to work?” She tried a tiny struggle, not surprised when he held her in place.

  He settled his erection against her core. “The king’s life is about duty, love. You belong to the man.” The nip to her lip nearly stung. “And the man wants to know why you deny what he can feel in your heart.”

  She rolled her eyes, fighting the urge to rub against him like a cat in heat. “Talking about yourself in third person is a bad sign, Dage. Nutsville.”

  He grinned. “True. Not letting me help is crazy as well. Tell me what you’re running from.”

  She couldn’t. Well, she could, but there was no way Dage would allow the visions to alter his life. For once, someone would have to protect the king. And the man.

  Determination filled his eyes. “Is it about your childhood?”

  She froze. “What do you know about that?” Her hands loosened their hold on his butt.

  A ticking set up in his jaw. “Cara told me your father was a mean drunk who liked to hit.”

  Cara had told him that? Interesting. “She never talks about that time in our lives. I’m surprised she said anything.”

  Dage planted a soft kiss on the underside of Emma’s jaw. “I think she was trying to explain why you’d be a pain in my ass. She told me about the times you purposefully put yourself in his path so she wouldn’t get hurt.”

  Loyalty welled up in Emma’s heart. “Cara saved me more than once. She even bit him so he’d drop a knife. She was so brave, Dage.”

  A broad hand that would never hit brushed Emma’s curls off her forehead. “You were both brave.”

  She sighed. “I wasn’t sorry when he died. Something in me should’ve been, but ...” The guilt from letting her mother die, too, would forever eat at her, but she couldn’t tell Dage about that.

  “I don’t blame you. But times have changed, your life has changed. As has your role.” A firmness entered the king’s tone to replace the kindness.

  “My role?” Emma tensed.

  “Yes. You’re no longer a shield, love. That’s my job.”

  Her mind began to spin. “I don’t understand.” Hoping to distract him, she wrapped both legs around his heated hips. Damn but he felt amazing against her. Power hummed through her veins from the blood he’d given her, and she wanted to take it for a spin—with his incredible body.

  “You understand. Use that gigantic brain and click the facts into place. Why did you think you needed to protect your sister and mother?” Desire turned his voice to a raspy timbre that made her shiver.

  She struggled to focus on the thread of conversation. “Because I could. I’m stronger—harder to hurt.” Physically and emotionally. Cara’s gift as an empath came from the heart, while Emma’s psychic ability was all mental.

  “Are you stronger than me?” He lifted his eyebrows as if in a dare.

  Come on. The guy was twice her size as well as being a vampire. “Pain doesn’t have to be physical, Dage.” Emotional scars cut much deeper than a backhand from a drunk. And the king had his own ghosts. She wouldn’t become one of them. She’d never haunt him, so long as their relationship ended quickly.

  “Listen.” He swept a kiss across her mouth, his gaze pinning hers. “I may not be inside your head right now, but I can feel enough to know you’re protecting me. It’s beginning to piss me off.”

  Too bad. For too long the king had single-handedly shouldered the world, and she’d be damned if she’d allow him to lump her in with the rest of those he needed to shield. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The brand on her shoulder began to burn. An ache deep inside her wanted him to fill her. Now.

  “Yes you do. I don’t want your protection. I want your trust.” And your love. The unspoken word hung in the air.

  Enough of this. “You need to listen to me. I don’t want this life—I’m not staying.” Her heart sliced into pieces as she said the words. She’d loved him since the first time she’d shared his past in a vision. “After we find a cure for Cara, I’m moving on.” She needed him prepared just in case she didn’t beat death, so she tensed, waiting for the explosion.

  A smile flirted with Dage’s lips until spreading into a full grin. He began to chuckle, his eyes filling with amusement. “You’re adorable.”

  Fury instantly burst into her. “Don’t you even think about being condescending with me.” She was a top-rated geneticist for God’s sakes. People with brains took her seriously. The king better follow suit, especially since power now pumped through her blood.

  He shrugged, grasping one of her hips and plunging inside her with one powerful stroke.

  She gasped, digging her nails into his skin. Fire lanced through her and nerves jumped to life as he filled her. Completely.

  Dropping his forehead to hers, he tightened his grip. “Then stop being silly.” His fangs flared in the dim light. One strong hand tugged her head to the side, revealing her neck. “Mine.”

  Quick as a flash, he struck.

  Chapter 9

  Several hours later Dage threw a stack of papers down on the glass table in a conference room. Shades let in the soft light of dawn from the two wide windows and he fought a growl at how exposed his people were in that place. They should be underground at headquarters.

  He glanced at Kane. “So we’ve confirmed Cara, Maggie, and Katie have been infected.” His mate might as well have a target on her back.

  The Kurjans would be coming for her.

  A burning lit along his spine to explode at the base of his neck, the beast inside him clawing to be
free—to protect and avenge. Quelling the creature took him several deep breaths as well as a formidable will unmatched by human or immortal beings. As his mind took control, he flirted with the thought of passing the reins to Talen or Kane. But he couldn’t do that to his brothers.

  “I’ve double-checked the results using a direct fluorescent antibody stain similar to the H1N1 flu test—only takes thirty minutes. The virus is alive and duplicating itself within the cells of Cara, Maggie, and Kate.” Kane leaned against a wall papered in an executive green and maroon stripe, his intelligent eyes trained on Dage. “Preliminary tests show that Emma hasn’t been exposed.”

  “How good are the tests?”

  Kane shrugged. “The Kurjans have been mapping DNA for the last century and thanks to Talen’s raiding last month, we have all their research. Of course, we’re double-checking and confirming the data as fast as possible.”

  Dage rubbed a hand across his eyes. “I hate this. Bringing in the human researchers might be the decision that takes the Kayrs family down for good.” Though then he wouldn’t have to play king any more.

  “I know. But we need fast results and the humans have the necessary bodies to get it done. Since I’ve separated them into small labs, they have no idea what they’re working on.” Kane sighed. “I should’ve been concentrating the last century on genetics and not on weaponry.”

  “No.” Dage shook his head. “We knew our peace with the Kurjans would end and advanced weapons would be crucial.” He’d never thought a biological weapon would threaten his people. The failure here was his. “So what happens now? I mean with the virus?”

  Kane shrugged. “Viruses are either progressive or the host fights them off and wins, like with the common cold.”

  Dage’s shoulders tightened to rock. “Progressive? Explain.”

  “I will. But first I need to read the latest information from Talen’s raid as well as review the blood samples from the women. The most helpful at this time are Maggie’s. Since we’ve had her blood for a few weeks we can trace the development of the virus.”