Forbidden Love

by Natalie Hancock

  Keta gripped his hair tight, pushing his tongue harder onto herself while she grinded her hips to match his movements.

  Elijah put her legs over his shoulders, lifting her up as she arched, exploring her deeper.

  Keta shook with pleasure as heat spread from her stomach to her pussy. Needing to taste him badly, Keta moved her legs and her body away from his and, with her fangs throbbing almost painfully, sank them into his neck hard.

  Elijah entered her with a powerful thrust, growling as Keta sucked on his neck hard.

  His blood spilled into her mouth and if she could have moaned aloud, she would have as another orgasm took over her body. She raked her nails down his back hard.

  “Fuck!” Elijah succumbed to his own pleasure, slamming into her, his hot seed filling her.

  Keta pulled her fangs from his neck and pressed her lips against his, gripping his hair tight as her body shuddered with her orgasm.

  Elijah breathed heavily against her lips. “Oh, Keta, you’re the most perfect thing that has ever come into my life. Thank you.”

  Keta slumped against him, breathing heavily and unable to lift her hands to ask him why he was thanking her. I should be thanking him!

  Elijah chuckled as he slipped himself out of her and helped her to her feet.

  Keta swayed unsteadily as her legs shook and kept a tight hold on Elijah’s forearm as they walked into her bathroom.

  After washing quickly, Keta headed for the bedroom, not trusting herself with Elijah while he washed. She flopped down on the bed, not bothering to dry or dress, and shut her eyes, exhausted.

  When Elijah came into the bedroom, he lay next to her and pulled her into his arms.

  Keta rested her face in the crook of his neck, closing her eyes.

  Chapter Six

  Elijah woke when the sun shone through the window, almost blinding him when he opened his eyes. He turned away from the glare to see Keta laid on her stomach, her legs spread out and her face hidden by her hair.

  Long, jagged scars covered her back, the backs of her thighs and inside her thighs.

  Elijah clenched his teeth together as he ran a hand lightly across her back, feeling the raised skin.

  Keta jumped up, shifting into a wolf quickly, baring her teeth as she backed away.

  Elijah remained calm, sitting up and keeping eye contact with her. “Why did you make love to me if you were afraid?”

  Keta lowered herself to the floor.

  Standing carefully, Elijah dropped his towel and shifted into a wolf. As he neared Keta, she barred her teeth again. Elijah ignored her and nudged her head with his. Why? When Keta didn’t answer, Elijah nudged her head again and playfully nipped her ear. Why?

  Because you didn’t ask for it.

  Explain.

  Keta shuffled forward, resting her chin in his paws. You didn’t ask for sex, even though you could have because I had no idea what was wrong with you, or how to stop you from being in pain. You asked me to bite you instead. Pain, not pleasure.

  Elijah licked her ear before lowering his head, putting it on the back of her throat. Of course I didn’t ask for sex. Why would I?

  Most men would have. They would have taken advantage.

  And instead, you took advantage of me.

  I didn’t!

  Keta. Elijah lifted his head to rub his nose against hers. I’m grateful for what you did. Without you, well I’d be in a hell of a lot of pain. I would have gone crazy with hunger and rage and probably attacked you. What you did was brave.

  I just didn’t like seeing you in pain.

  Elijah didn’t speak. He let his body relax against hers, taking in her scent in his wolf form.

  At first I was scared.

  Elijah lifted his head, listening to Keta’s words.

  I haven’t been with a man since…I escaped.

  They raped you?

  I made them fight to get what they wanted, and that turned them on more than anything.

  Elijah growled.

  When I escaped, they hurt me more. Because I was half-breed, I healed twice as fast, but not fast enough to heal the damage done.

  They damaged your voice box?

  Keta moved her face under his legs. I can’t tell others what happened if I can’t talk. I once saw another woman like me try to escape, and they crushed her throat. Keta shivered at the memory. I took that risk again and again. I guess I am luckier than the other woman, she didn’t make it.

  Why not go home?

  And do what? Have my family kill me for being something I shouldn’t be?

  Keta.

  Keta stood and shifted back into her human form, cutting off the conversation. Elijah whined but she ignored him as she dressed quickly.

  When she pulled out her crossbow and stakes, Elijah shifted back into a human and pressed her against the wall. “What are you doing?”

  She struggled against his grip and got her hands free to sign. The only thing I can to get rid of the nightmares!

  “You aren’t hunting for vampires, Keta. I won’t let you.”

  You can’t stop me!

  Elijah picked her up and threw her onto the bed. He pounced and pinned her there. “There’s only one way you will ever be free.”

  And what’s that?

  Elijah smiled, brushing her dishevelled hair from her face. “Do the same thing I plan on doing. Kill Rio.”

  * * * *

  Keta was shocked into keeping her hands still, hovering in the air. Elijah was serious, she could see that clearly. He wasn’t laughing, or smiling.

  “Let me explain. I have this command set on me, whether or not you helped me resist the second one. I still have to find Katrina and I have to bring her back to Rio. You said so yourself, the chances of her being alive are slim. Rio will kill me anyway if I bring back his daughter dead. You are tormented with the fact that Rio sold you off to the werewolves and vampires but being half-wolf, you can’t do anything but hunt down vampires. You have no bond with them like you do with the wolves.”

  Keta frowned. I still don’t understand.

  “Then listen. If we kill Rio, we’d both be free.”

  We can’t kill him. It’s not in our nature.

  “We can and we will. Command or not, I plan on finding out what happened to Katrina because she has suffered by the hand of my own kind. It may not have been by my clan, but as I’ve said to you before, I help those who have been where you are. Those who kidnapped Katrina will pay with their lives.”

  Kill Rio? Keta loved the idea of not being tied to the bastard wolf and finding the peace she had been looking for when she killed all those vampires.

  Could she do it? Kill the man that practically owned her?

  Keta was glad Elijah didn’t speak or ease his grip on her. Killing Rio was a ridiculous idea, yet the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to trust Elijah and say yes. This isn’t going to work.

  Elijah raised his eyebrows a fraction. “Why?”

  How will we kill him? And what will stop the next male from acting the same way, selling other women, vampire and werewolf off to those sick men? You know how it goes. You’re connected to Rio and his pack. Killing him won’t break that.

  “Don’t worry about how we’ll kill him, and don’t worry about another male taking Rio’s place. I wouldn’t have mentioned this to you if I hadn’t thought it through. If we find Katrina, and she is alive, we’ll help her become alpha female of the pack. If not, I will challenge anyone who stands in the way of us getting freedom. Me from the command and you from the constant fear Rio brings in your eyes.”

  You’re a vampire. You can’t become an alpha male.

  “No, I can’t. But if I challenge the pack, and I win, I can claim what’s mine and I’ll kill Rio while I’m at it. A fair fight.”

  Keta searched Elijah’s eyes, her brows knitting down. What’s yours? She closed her eyes as Elijah’s lips touched hers, sending heat surging through her body, reawakening the passion from last night.


  “You are mine, Keta. Since the attack, I never felt as though I belonged, always torn between doing what was right for the clan, and doing what’s right for the wolves. You’ve changed that, made me feel like I have a place in this world, just as you have and I will do everything I can to heal you from your pain. If I challenge the pack and win, I’ll have no ties to the wolves and we can be our own pack, instead of connected to all of them, yet have no place in any.”

  Keta’s stomach lurched and her heart hammered in her chest. When she raised her hands, they shook. You would do that for me?

  Elijah took Keta’s hands in his and kissed each shaking finger. “Keta.” Elijah pressed his lips to her nose. “I would do anything for you.”

  Keta sucked in a shaky breath and turned her head away. Tears burned in her eyes and she wiped them away before they fell. Not once had anyone ever put her first, or done anything for her. She had always been the one to help others, to put their needs before her own. Always.

  Which made the betrayal hurt so much more.

  Keta squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed the lump in her throat. Slowly, she nodded.

  She kept her eyes closed, trying to control her hammering heart and the tears sliding down her cheeks as Elijah pulled her up and held her close.

  Could she tell him the truth about herself?

  Would he abandon her if he found out?

  Chapter Seven

  The air was cold, making Elijah’s and Keta’s breath rise in a mist in front of them as they stood in the shadows of the trees nearby. Like the other mansions the vampires owned, this one was large and surrounded by trees that stretched out all around. Any women screaming would never been heard by human hearing.

  Elijah clenched his teeth at the thought. If he could kill the vampires for what they did, he would.

  Shaking with anger slightly, Elijah pulled Keta close to him and put his lips near her ear. He instantly felt calm in her presence. “I’m going to go in through the front. I want you to go in through the back. They’ll not be surprised with my appearance, but when they run and see you, we’re guaranteed to have their attention then.”

  Okay.

  “No killing vampires, I mean it.”

  Keta rolled her eyes and shoved him away from her. She pulled out her crossbow and, stake ready, smiled widely.

  Elijah growled and pulled her against him. Even the feel of a stake against his chest didn’t faze him as he took her face in his hands and kissed her deeply, exploring her mouth and tongue with his own until the crossbow and stake dropped from her hands and she clutched him tight.

  He chuckled and moved back, his body burning for her touch. “When this is over, Keta.”

  After narrowing her eyes, she closed them and inhaled deeply.

  Elijah clenched his fists as he watched her breasts rise and fall. When Keta opened her eyes, he licked his lips as Keta bent to retrieve her crossbow and stake. When she straightened, she cocked an eyebrow and turned towards the mansion they were going to raid.

  Don’t forget to shout surprise.

  Elijah chuckled and headed towards the building. “I will, you know.”

  Keta shook her head. Be careful.

  “You be careful. Remember what I said about not killing anyone.”

  Keta nodded before jogging around the building.

  Elijah rolled his head and held a machine gun in both hands before kicking the front door hard. It flew off its hinges and slammed into the wall opposite as he stepped into the house, pointing his guns at the vampires. “Don’t move and I won’t shoot!” As he thought, they ignored him. Some rushed to gather the piles of money on the tables. Others went for their weapons.

  Elijah shot them in the legs and watched the others run towards the back of the house. He smiled as he walked towards the injured vampires. “Try to reach for your weapons, and I’ll make sure I blow your leg off next time.”

  “Bastard!”

  Elijah didn’t speak as the door opposite the front door opened and the vampires who ran, backed into the room with their hands up. Keta walked in last. “Surprise!”

  Keta smirked and rolled her eyes.

  “Now, time to talk truth. We heard a female wolf was seen here before she disappeared. Where is she?”

  “Wolf? We don’t deal with wolves.”

  Keta poked the vampire in the back with her stake.

  “Okay, okay. There was a wolf but he was male. He was talking about…I don’t know. A debt of some kind but that was it. I swear.”

  “Who was the wolf?”

  The vampire laughed. “Not that simple, mate. There’s all the confidentiality and all that between business men that can’t be discussed.”

  Elijah laughed. “You won’t be saying that when you have to deal with an entire clan who hunt people like you down, mate.” Elijah nodded to Keta.

  Moving swiftly, she knocked all the vampires near her down to their knees and pointed her crossbow at their heads.

  Elijah threw a gun to her, and while she trained it at the ones he shot, he moved around them quickly, tying their hands behind their backs and their feet together with cable ties. Once he had duct tape over their mouths, he pulled out his phone and text Blake the address and then turned to Keta.

  This was too easy. They didn’t even put up much of a fight. “Let’s go. Blake will arrive soon to pick these up.” With a hand on her back, Elijah escorted her out of the house. He wanted to get her away before anything happened, but once they got to the car they had hidden just beyond the mansion, Keta pushed him against the car and kissed him.

  A groan escaped him as he pulled her tighter against him, crushing his lips against hers while heat swept through him. When she ran her hands up his top, he opened the door, pushed her inside and followed her in.

  Keta raised her eyebrows at him over her shoulder and pushed herself into his growing erection.

  Groaning again, Elijah gripped her hips tight, resisting the urge to rip away her clothes to get to her milky flesh. “Bad move, Killer.” He pulled her up against his body and pulled the strings that held her top together. When it fell away, he grasped her breasts and ran his thumbs across her nipples.

  She arched away from him, her breasts rising and falling with her heavy breathing. When she reached behind her to palm Elijah’s erection, he bit her neck hard and pushed her back down onto her hands and knees.

  Elijah quickly pulled her skirt up and almost stopped breathing when he saw her bare flesh, wet with arousal. “You wore no underwear?” he asked while he freed himself from his trousers.

  When I shift, they rip apart. The corset and skirt don’t. It’s a loss I’ve learned to live with.

  Elijah grunted and thrust himself into her hard. She arched her back and slammed her hands into the steamed up windows with the force, but when she glanced at him over her shoulder, he saw the heat in her eyes.

  Shit, she’s beautiful. Elijah moved slower, watching himself slide out, his cock coated by a sheet of her arousal. When he slid back in, he blew out a hard breath when he felt her tighten around him, pulling him deeper inside.

  He inhaled deeply, taking in the scents of their arousal, and pulled her up against his body. Keeping her pinned against his body with a hand around her throat, he gripped her left breast with his free hand and slammed himself into her hard and fast. The sight of her nearly made him come but he held himself back, wanting to see and feel her come before he did. He knew she was close as her muscles constricted.

  Keta thrust her hips out and threw her head back against his shoulder with her mouth wide open and her eyes squeezed shut.

  Elijah put his lips to her ear and licked the shell.

  Keta came. Her grip tightened as she thrust her breasts out further. Her inner muscles tightened, soaking Elijah and drawing him in deeper.

  He couldn’t hold it in any longer. The sight of her breasts bouncing in time with his movements, her milky white skin flushing, and her nipples becoming hard made his balls
tighten and his cock harden. He groaned loudly, biting into her neck again as he came. He bellowed around her soft skin as she milked everything he had until he struggled to breathe.

  Withdrawing slightly, he let Keta slump forward, breathing heavily while her body twitched and her muscles still constricted against him. When the sensitivity became too much, he pulled out and leaned over her. “You are so beautiful when you come.”

  Keta’s lips pulled back into a smile when a loud knock against the window made them both jump.

  Elijah turned, baring his fangs and shielding Keta’s naked body with his own as the door to the car opened and a gun pointed at him.

  “Both of you get out of the car. Now.”

  Elijah knew the voice, but before he could open his mouth, the other side of the car opened and Keta was dragged out. Elijah growled and followed her out when vampires surrounded him, their weapons trained at them.

  “When Blake got a text that the famous Elijah Read had captured more rogues ready to take in singlehandedly, I just knew the Silent Killer would be with you. The stories running around are true it seems. Elijah and the Silent Killer, you’ve sunk low.”

  Elijah growled when he saw his gaze travel down Keta’s naked body.

  “Don’t worry—we haven’t come here to kill you. We’ve come for her.”

  “If you touch her, I’ll rip your head off!” When Elijah moved forward, his hands clenched tightly, the vampires raised their weapons higher, ready to shoot. Elijah knew he couldn’t escape the bullets to save Keta, but he knew she was strong and smart enough to get out of anything.

  “She may be a beautiful creature, but she is a killer of our kind—a kind that is still your own, Elijah, in case you forgot.”

  “Tell that to your father, Drake.” Elijah met Keta’s eyes, pleading with her silently. He needed her to escape and not worry about his safety. He needed her safe.

  Keta rolled her head on her shoulders, her skin paling when Drake pointed his gun at her head. She began to breathe heavily, and her body shook violently, her chest rising and falling quickly.