by Alana Hart
“Please, you don’t understand, we had to go—”
“Fuck that!” He shoved her away, and the man caught her. He started toward Liam, but the woman stopped him. “Twenty god damned, fucking years!” Liam roared. “I was five, you stupid cunt!”
Tears streamed down the woman’s face. The man held her, his throat jumping. Lyss remained by the van contemplating taking off on her own.
Liam picked up a tire that had apparently fallen off the van, and threw it hard into the woods. It broke a birch tree in half. He screamed, tears on his face. Lyss’s heart clenched as she watched him sob. Finally, he sniffed and swiped a hand across his cheeks.
“Fuck it,” he said. He looked at them, the hatred gone. All that was left was agony. “I haven’t needed you for twenty years. I sure as fucking hell don’t need you now.”
Lyss wasn’t about to argue that without them, they would still be on their way to the facility…
“Give me your keys.” He held a hand toward the couple. “Some money, too.”
The woman clambered to hand over the things Liam asked for. He glared at her, yanking his hand away when her fingers touched his. “You are dead to me. Stay the fuck away.”
He turned and climbed into their military-grade Jeep with an iron grill. Lyss glanced around, wondering if she should make her get away now, and then Liam yelled out the window.
“Let’s go, Lyss.”
Lyss wasn’t going to acknowledge the relief that flooded her. She gave the couple a small wave, noticed their crying faces, said awkwardly, “That’s for saving us,” and then she hurried to get in the Jeep with Liam.
He peeled out, leaving the couple in the bloody sunrise behind them.
Chapter Thirteen
Liam had killed people for his uncles. It was part of the job. But never before in his life had he wanted to murder two people as much as he did right now.
Lyss was blissfully quiet for an hour as he sped through the morning along highways and back roads. He had one destination in mind; somewhere he could go and decompress before facing his pack, and by eight in the morning they were pulling down a long driveway, and parking beside a small cottage.
Lyss sniffed the air and perked up. “Are we at the beach?”
“Yeah. My brother’s not home, so we can stay here for the night.”
“Are we still far from your pack?”
“No.” He didn’t offer more than that, and she nodded. Her blue eyes drifted over the veil of green. Liam could smell the salt water and hear the waves. He opened his door, and so did she, but once she was out, she ran past the house, through the trees, and disappeared.
Liam followed slowly, his brain trying to process everything. Lyss stood in the ocean, the water lapping peacefully at her feet. Out against the rock wall that blocked the little cove from view, large waves crashed. Seagulls screeched as they flew toward a public beach out of sight.
He was already regretting coming here. Yes, it was his brother Connor’s, but before that, it had been his parents’. This place had always given him a sense of calm, but right now it just made him sad.
Lyss turned; giving him a smile so bright it could have eclipsed the sun. “The fucking ocean,” she said, grinning.
He couldn’t peel her away from the water, so he went inside and scoped the place for food. There wasn’t much. Leaving her walking along the water, Liam shifted and ran along the property. It bordered a stretch of woods; walking paths actually, but as long as he stayed away from humans, he would be safe. An hour later he brought back a nice, fat duck. It was cooking on the grill before Lyss wandered up the path and sat in a lawn chair on the weed-choked patio, the grass in the backyard long.
Liam handed her a beer. They couldn’t get drunk, but they could enjoy the taste. It was almost nice, sitting here with her, enjoying the quiet. And then she had to talk.
“Were those lovely people your parents?”
Liam frowned, turning the duck on the grill. He grunted rather than answer.
“I thought you said they were in Alaska?”
“Far as I knew, they were.”
“Hmm. Seems awful nice of them to come all this way to save our asses.”
Liam glared at her. “We would have been fine without them. My uncle would’ve found me.”
“But would you still be alive?”
“How do you like your duck?”
“Crispy. Think she meant it?”
“What?”
“That you don’t understand. Maybe there’s more to it than you know.”
Liam slammed his beer, spilling it all over the chipped, brick patio. “You don’t have a fucking clue what you’re talking about. You don’t even fucking have parents or a family or anyone.”
Her carefree, unaffected façade faltered and she glared right back at him. “No, I don’t, asshole. But thanks for reminding me.”
“You’re welcome.” Now that he had finally pissed her off, Liam went back to grilling. His beer was gone, but at least she would shut up.
“I’m leaving after we eat,” she said, staring through the trees at the water.
“Like hell you are.” She met his gaze. He pointed his tongs at her. “I don’t bring you back, my uncles’ll have me go after you anyway. I’d like to take a break before I go on another job.”
“I really don’t give a shit what you’d like. I’m not going with you. I spent two years being treated like an experiment. I’m done with that shit.”
He grinned. “You won’t be treated like an experiment.”
“No?”
“Nope. You’ll be locked up like an animal until we know what you are.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “Goodbye then.” He could feel her heartbeat speed up and then she was up and walking fast around the house.
Liam dropped his tongs and went after her. She spun before he reached her, and started fighting dirty. Her hands had shifted into those deadly claws, so Liam released his. She swung, too fast for him to see, and gouged four bloody lines into his chest.
He laughed, the thrill of the fight flooding him with adrenaline and the anger and frustration of the past months boiling over. He lunged at her, catching her around the middle, her claws digging into his back, and they crashed through a window into the living room. Jumping to their feet, they glared at each other, circling like dogs before a fight. Glass crunched under them.
She growled, the sound deep and menacing. He was almost tempted to push her to shift, but decided he didn’t need that headache. Instead, he swiped at her with one hand, and when she blocked, he grabbed her throat with the other. Slamming her against the wall, he brought his body right up against hers, pinning her there.
Her knee came up fast. Liam knew it was coming and moved, but not quickly enough, and she caught him on the inside of his thigh. He growled in her face, one hand around her neck, the other pressing his claws into her belly. Her own claws were an inch deep in his shoulders and she growled, her fangs emerging, much larger than his own, long and sharp and deadly.
He knew it was coming and braced himself, but when she bit him, her fangs sinking into his shoulder, he wasn’t prepared for what he felt. There was pain, sure, but something stirred deep inside him, waking his groin, making him gasp. Instinctively he pressed himself between her legs. She growled in response, the sound different from before, and her fangs retracted. Her mouth clamped onto his neck and she sucked at him, her tongue dragging a trail of fire across his throat.
God fucking damn this woman, he thought and planted his face in her neck, drinking in the sweet taste of her skin.
The smell of burning meat brought them back to their senses. Liam froze, his hand on her thigh as he had been about to wrap her legs around his waist, and Lyss panted against his throat, pressing her body back into the wall, away from him.
Awkwardly, they disentangled themselves and adjusted accordingly. Liam felt his face burning, but hers was red, too. Clearing his throat he took a step back, putting space between t
hem.
“My, uh,” he couldn’t meet her eyes. “My uncles won’t lock you up.”
“Good to know,” she said casually, but her voice shook.
Without another word they went back outside and sat in lawn chairs to eat their now extra crispy duck.
Liam kept to himself the rest of the day. He showered, careful not to bump Lyss when she slipped by him to take her shower, but still getting a nose-full of her scent. He boarded up the living room window and did some yard work for Connor. Because his brother always had spaghetti on hand, Liam made that for dinner and he and Lyss ate at the small dining table that Liam used to share with his brothers and parents decades ago.
Lyss refused the bedroom, instead curling up on the couch under a blanket. Liam watched her, firmly telling the part of him wanting her to be in his bed to shut up, and then went through the kitchen and down the hall to the bedroom.
It was hours before he realized he wasn’t going to be able to sleep. Pulling on a flannel and his jeans, Liam wandered into the living room quietly, but Lyss wasn’t there. His heart stopped. Barefoot, he ran out the door and had his hand on the Jeep’s door handle when her scent floated toward him on the breeze.
She sat on a plastic lounge chair, her legs stretched out in front of her, her eyes wide and staring at the glittering stars above them. The waves were quiet and peaceful. The only light came from the sky. It was chilly enough that she had a blanket over her bare legs, but otherwise she wore only a big sweatshirt, her bare feet hanging over the end of the lounge chair to press into the cold sand.
“There’s another chair by the shed if you want to join me,” she said without looking away from the sky.
Liam dragged the other lounge chair beside hers, leaving space between them, and sat. He shivered, more from her nearness than from the cool breeze. They sat for a while quietly, listening to the sound of the waves.
“I’m sorry about what I said, about your parents,” Lyss spoke to the sky, her bright eyes luminous. “Your shit is yours and I shouldn’t have made it into a joke.”
Liam cleared his throat. “It’s fine. Sorry for saying you didn’t have family…”
She shrugged. “It’s true, and honestly, I don’t care.”
He stared at her, his throat tight. “You do care.”
She looked at him then, those bright eyes finding his. “I don’t,” she said. “That’s what’s great about me. I don’t care about anyone. Once we’re safe I’m leaving. No strings, no ties.”
Liam swallowed, nearly drowning in her eyes. “What if I asked you to stay?”
She stared at him a long time, and then finally she said, “Don’t.”
He opened his mouth to tell her he wouldn’t promise that, but she was in front of him in seconds. Moonlight danced off her dark hair and her skin. Kneeling beside him, she reached under his chair and laid him back so that he was stretched out before her. And then she opened his jeans. He was already hard, and when she put her mouth on him he was lost.
Chapter Fourteen
Lyss devoured him, enjoying the heady taste, the silken feel of him in her mouth. She couldn’t let him ask her to stay, because if he did, she might do just that, and staying was dangerous, for so many reasons.
This little diversion was as much for her as it was for him. She really was going to leave once they were safe, and this, giving this to him, it was her way of giving back what she took. And taking something with her.
He made little noises in his throat, moans and growls that sent heat pooling between her legs. She sucked faster thinking to touch herself, but then his hands grabbed her hips and he lifted her from the sand. In a moment she was on top of him, her mouth still on him, and then he pressed his lips between her legs.
She gasped, gripping him harder. His arms wrapped around her waist as his tongue explored and licked, and his lips sucked and kissed. Taking him in her mouth again, she matched his pace, slow and teasing.
His hips moved slightly, gently pumping into her mouth. She moved as well, rocking back against his mouth. It was a slow burn that she could have kept up all night. And then he slid his fingers inside her. She screamed and sucked at him faster.
She came hard against his mouth, bucking against his arms around her. Even as she came down, her head spinning, Liam lifted her, turned her, and then sank her down onto him, burying himself deep inside her womb.
Digging her feet into the sand, Lyss rode Liam, her head thrown back, her fingers clutching his shoulders, his hands gripping her hips.
She watched his face as he came, watched the pleasure and pain that clouded his brow. The heat of him pumping himself into her was enough to make her want to cry.
When he opened his eyes, catching hers, she leaned forward and kissed him. His hand went into her hair, massaging her scalp, his other hand sliding under her shirt to her breasts.
Still inside her, she felt him harden again. Without breaking the kiss, Lyss rocked in his lap, her arms wrapping around his neck, his holding her close.
This time they came together, mouths locked. She felt the wetness on her cheeks as he filled her and didn’t know if they were her tears or his.
They spent the night taking and giving as much as they could. They swam, recharging, and Lyss wanted to drown in the ocean, but Liam held her, the water lapping around their shoulders, the cold water freezing, their bodies hot against each other. He kissed her breasts, taking each nipple into his mouth, nibbling sucking, and then moved down, his head disappearing under water. His fingers found her, parting her folds, and then his mouth was on her, hot in the cold water. Somehow she wound up in the shallows, Liam bringing her to climax and then pushing himself inside her.
Again and again, they took each other. Instead of taking a break, they went down on each other, but otherwise they fucked hard and fast, slow and sensual. They growled and got almost violent against a tree outside, and then moaned and gasped as he took her from behind, nothing in front of them but the bathroom mirror, her knee balanced on the counter.
She watched him as he ran his hands over her body, pumping slowly into her, exploring her with his eyes. She did the same, her hands reaching behind her to touch him.
He was covered in tattoos, his body lean and muscled, tall and hard. He moved faster, letting his claws emerge to drag over her skin. The feel of it made her claws come out, and then their fangs.
He reached up, sliding his thumb into her mouth. She sucked him, running her tongue over the salty skin, and then she took him deeper into her mouth and sank her fangs into the meaty part. Liam growled and bit her shoulder. They came, him slowing enough that she could feel his cock pulsing as he filled her.
She felt the sting of tears, and to hide them, she turned and kissed him.
They finally fell asleep sometime before dawn, wrapped in blankets on the lounge chair, the sound of the ocean lulling them. Liam lay behind her, his long arms holding her close. She could feel his heart beating against her back.
It was sappy to think, but she was glad for all of the shit she had gone through, because it had brought her to this moment with Liam.
Chapter Fifteen
Liam woke to rough hands grabbing him and forcing him to kneel in the sand. The sun was up and warm behind a layer of clouds. Men in black riot gear surrounded him and Lyss.
Liam fought for show, but he knew there was no way he could fight all of them. It was only a matter of time before someone in his family showed up. His note at the gas station had said he would head here and hide if he didn’t make it home by the end of the day.
Neither Liam nor Lyss wore any clothing, but that didn’t seem to matter to the man walking toward them now, a large bandage over his right eye. The doctor’s usual cold indifference teemed with quietly seething rage.
Liam felt Lyss stiffen as Nurse Greta joined Anderson. The woman leered at the pair of them.
“Get them in the van,” Dr. Anderson said. “We can be back at the lab in less than three hours.”
&n
bsp; “You’re wasting your time,” Liam said. The doctor stopped the men from lifting Liam.
Anderson met Liam’s gaze, his cold eyes chilling in their apathy. He was a tall man and he got right up in Liam’s face. “The bitch will be scanned for changes and then sent to the breeding program. If she does not comply, she will be forced. You,” he touched Liam’s shoulder. “Your blood and venom will help propel this program beyond auctioned pups and into the future of medicine.”
“Fuck are you talking about?”
Anderson’s eyes warmed as he looked Liam up and down. “I believe your blood and venom will cure diseases, prolong life. You will turn A-Tech Laboratories into the leader in the medicinal world.”
Liam snorted. “Fuck that. My family is—”
“Your family?” Anderson’s mouth twitched at the corners. “Yes, I know of your family. And I’m afraid that won’t help you.”
Dr. Anderson stepped aside. Beside Liam, Greta was finishing a basic scan of Lyss with several instruments. She glanced at the doctor, a gleam in her eye, and nodded.
“She’s changed all right.”
“Good,” said Anderson. “Get them in the van.”
“Stop,” the voice came from the path leading to the house, and relief flooded through Liam.
Gavin O’Neil stepped from the shadows, long, dark hair tied back, face covered in day-old stubble, and the blue eyes hooded under a heavy brow. Shorter than Liam and just as lean, Gavin wasn’t the most intimidating of his uncles, but if he was here that meant the rest were hiding nearby.
None of Anderson’s men drew guns or did anything to try and stop Gavin as he sauntered over to their little gathering by the water.
And then, to Liam’s horror, Gavin shook hands with Dr. Anderson.
“I’m sorry it’s come to this,” Dr. Anderson spoke to Gavin. His uncle wouldn’t meet Liam’s eye.
“Yeah, I know. Was hoping you’d done away with him before now. My brothers are on a bender looking for him.”
“Well there’s no need to worry now,” said Anderson, and he showed Gavin something on a tablet. “We need to run more tests, but this hybrid’s blood is extraordinary. Propelled the female’s change faster than we’ve ever seen. In several years we could be looking at selling the cure for cancer.” Glee was strong in the doctor’s voice.
