by Bethany Shaw
“I am a guy.”
Sarah laughed out loud.
“We can talk if you want,” Vincent offered.
Sarah rested her head against him. It was a comfort to know that while he wanted her physically, he also wanted to talk to her as well. “What are we going to do with a day to ourselves? How much time do we have free, and how much time do we have to spend planning to meet Malakai?” It would be nice to get out and do something normal. She wasn’t sure she even remembered what normal was.
“We already have weapons and Daniel’s a lot better at this stuff than I am. I don’t think we need to spend the whole day planning. We should scope out the park though—know where our exits are and the lay of the land,” Vincent suggested.
“So, we can spend the day in Six Flags?” Sarah asked, hopeful.
“Probably. I’m holding you to your promise of a rollercoaster ride.”
“You better not chicken out on me,” Sarah poked him.
“Hey, some of us haven’t ridden one before.”
“You never went on a family vacation before?” Sarah asked curiously. Surely, they had done something fun as a family.
“No, the Alpha doesn’t leave the pack unless he, or she, has to for a meeting with other Alphas. Even then, male and female Alphas don’t both leave at the same time. There has to be some type of order in place,” Vincent explained.
“But Gene and Talia left,” she argued, remembering back a few months ago.
“They did. But that’s a little different. Gene and Dev are so close they could be brothers. And the packs are literally a few miles apart. There is no reason why one Alpha can’t look over both packs at the same time,” Vincent replied. “Back in Guymon our closest pack was an hour or so away. Too far away if an Alpha was needed immediately.”
“All these pack dynamics can be so cumbersome,” she said quietly. Preston had explained most of the rules to her, but not everything. Besides, there were some rules that just didn’t make sense to her. Maybe she was too human.
“They can be. But it’s how we operate.”
“I guess it’s been engrained into you since birth; it’s probably second nature,” Sarah reasoned. “I’m sure there are some things humans do that are odd to you.”
“Are you implying that I’m not human,” he teased, nipping at her earlobe.
Sarah shivered as anticipation rolled through her. “No, you’re human. I don’t care if you’re a little different genetically. It’s who you are that matters.”
“I think that’s a compliment,” he breathed against her throat. “The wolf thing really doesn’t bother you? I know you’ve known about werewolves for a while now, but things have changed since then. It’s more dangerous,” he murmured, placing openmouthed kisses to her collarbone.
Sarah inhaled sharply, trying to focus. Why does he have to feel so good? “It doesn’t change who you are as a person. There are just as many crazy people as there are crazy wolves. When I saw you shift the other day, it was the first time I’d ever actually seen a change. It was pretty cool.”
Vincent ducked under the covers as he lowered himself further down her body. His fingers hooked around her shorts and panties, dragging them down her legs. “To clarify,” he paused, looking up at her with a smirk. “You think me breaking every bone in my body is cool?”
Before she could answer, his head ducked down and his mouth found her hot, wet core. She gulped, suppressing a scream, as he tasted her. She fisted her hands in his hair and her hips arched up, needing more. She could already see herself turning to putty under his touch. Their playful banter had been the perfect mix of flirting and talking. She enjoyed the ease of relaxing with him—loved the way he seemed to know just what to do to pleasure her.
His tongue flicked against her clit as he suckled her. Sarah moaned. This feels so good. No one had ever touched her—loved her—like this before. She’d always fantasized about it, but never in her wildest dreams did she imagine it would feel this good.
Vincent knew just where to kiss her. She bucked up as Vincent nuzzled her, hitting a particularly sensitive spot inside her. His hand pushed down on her hips, holding her in place so he could continue to love her tender spot.
White burst behind her eyes as her body exploded with bliss. Vincent continued his ministrations as she slowly came down from her high. She quivered as Vincent slowly made his way up her body, his touch igniting her all over again. She didn’t want this to stop.
Vincent’s lips found hers as he slid into her, causing them both to moan. She curled her legs around his hips. He fit perfectly against her—inside her. It was like they were made specifically for each other. I really shouldn’t think like that. Who knows how this is going to turn out. What if he doesn’t feel the same way?
She didn’t want to think about that right now. No, this moment was incredible and she just wanted to feel every part of it.
A gasp tore from her throat as he took one of her nipples into his mouth. He thrust into her, angling his hips so he was hitting just the right spot again. How does he do that? How does he find that special place so quickly? Could their bodies just be that in tune with each other? I’m not ready for this to end yet.
Her hips flew up from the bed, matching his movements. She groaned, feeling his cock throbbing inside her. Sarah squeezed her legs tighter around his waist, pulling him deeper, hoping to give him as much pleasure as he was giving her. He felt so good, she was going to come again, she realized. Her body tensed. Vincent gripped her ass with his free hand, pulling them even closer together. The sensations were too much. She careened over the edge again with his name on her lips. Vincent quickened his movements, drawing out her orgasm.
His mouth found hers in a fierce kiss. She nipped at his lips as his body stiffened over hers and he growled out something that sounded like her name.
They lay together, neither ready to move quite yet. Their breathing labored and their sweaty bodies stuck together.
“I think I’m relaxed enough that I can go back to sleep now,” she whispered as she ran her fingers through his matted brown hair. Her body felt like Jell-O. She doubted she could get up—not that she wanted to. Sarah would be perfectly content to lay here just like this.
He pecked her lips. “I see how it is. Can’t sleep so you sex me up,” he teased. “Glad I could be of assistance.” He gave her another lazy kiss before rolling off of her.
“You know it’s not like that,” she laughed, swatting his arm.
“It’s not?” Vincent asked his voice, suddenly becoming serious.
Sarah gulped, trying to make out his features in the darkened room. “No, I mean...” What does she mean? If she admitted she felt something more than just sex, it could ruin this whole thing. She didn’t want to do that because she had no idea how Vincent felt about her. This could be just a fling for him. The irony of her situation was laughable.
Preston had always felt more for her than she did for him. She’d gone along with it, not wanting to hurt her best friend, convinced she could love him the way he deserved if she persisted. Now she was in the same situation. Although, she was certain Vincent would never placate her if there were no future for them. She’d done Preston wrong that way.
“Sarah?” Vincent said, disrupting her thoughts.
She swallowed hard and forced a smile. “Sorry. I guess I’m just tired.” Her heart pounded in her chest as she silently prayed he wouldn’t press the issue.
Vincent pulled her against him, tucking her into his solid body. “Let’s get some sleep then.”
Sarah sighed and shut her eyes. What if he didn’t care about her like that and here she was falling for him?
***
Loud banging drew Vincent from his sleep. Sarah grumbled, blinking her eyes as she sat up. Who is knocking and what do they want? It was way too early for this. Vincent squeezed his eyes shut and opened them in an attempt to wake up.
“Vincent!” Daniel called through the door.
Sarah squeaked as she dashed out of bed, grabbing the bag of clothes, and ran into the bathroom.
“Just a minute,” he called, sliding his boxers on. He looked at the alarm clock on the end table. Oops—it’s after eleven. Guess it’s not too early.
“You just woke up!” Daniel greeted as Vincent opened the door.
“Good morning to you too,” he shot back. It wasn’t a secret Daniel was an early bird and Vincent enjoyed sleeping in.
“It won’t be morning for much longer,” Daniel grumbled. “We have planning to do and a park to scout out. Even if this is a public meeting, we need to be prepared and alert.”
Vincent turned on his heel and walked to the bag he’d grabbed yesterday. He plucked out the journal and laptop and returned to his brother. “Here is our evidence. Read at your own risk. It isn’t pretty. I also found the laptop. There is communication in there with dates and times between Charles Luna and Dad.”
“Good. I’ll get started sorting through it,” Daniel nodded.
“I’ll get dressed and be right over to show you what I found,” Vincent said as he started to close the door.
“Vincent,” Daniel started, blocking the doorway. He shifted on his feet before meeting his eyes. “I don’t know what you’re doing,” his gaze flicked to the closed bathroom door where Sarah had turned on the shower, “but she isn’t like your usual girls.”
“I know she’s different, Daniel,” he acknowledged. Sarah was unlike anyone. He could be himself around her. For the first time ever, he wasn’t afraid of taking the next step. His biggest fear was that Sarah wasn’t ready.
“Okay,” Daniel nodded, seemingly satisfied with his answer. “Come over when you’re ready. We have some fruit you can have for breakfast. We’ll go to lunch in a bit, too.” Daniel closed the door behind him as he left.
Vincent let out a long breath; he was thankful Daniel hadn’t been too nosy. That was one good thing about his brother—he didn’t pry. It would still be a good idea to get dressed and get over to the other room. Speaking of getting ready, Sarah had taken the bag with all their clothes into the bathroom. He definitely wouldn’t mind going in there to retrieve some.
***
Sarah blinked as she read the words on the page. They’d printed off the emails from Emmett and Charles and divided amongst them to speed up the process.
She’d been lucky enough to get a section that rambled about fertility and the low female to male ratio. It had been utterly boring up until when she’d found an interesting theory.
She leaned forward, chewing on her lower lip, giving the paper her undivided attention. Pieces of the puzzle began to click together.
“Did you find something?” Vincent asked, peering up at her from his documents.
Sarah nodded as her stomach churned with obscurity. No wonder the Lunas had been so relentless; it all made sense now.
“What?” Vincent asked, his brow furrowing with worry.
“I think I found out why the Lunas have been chasing after us so much.” Sarah cleared her throat, scanning over the paragraphs again. “This doesn’t really pertain to our plan,” she acknowledged, but it had everything to do with her.
“It’s okay. If it’s important, we need to know,” Daniel commented.
Sarah set her papers down and pointed to them. “This is talking about how all werewolves have the same blood type—AB negative,” she paused as her finger began to shake. That’s not all it said about the blood type, but she didn’t know what to make of the rest of it. She curled her hands and rested them in her lap so the others did not see her unease. “This blood type is very rare. Less than one percent of the human population has it. There is an unproven theory that people who with AB negative blood are descendants of werewolves. There is a lot of doctor jargon here, but the basic gist of it is the wolf gene is guaranteed to be dominant in humans with AB negative blood, which means a werewolf child or an Alpha would be highly likely if a human with this blood type were to reproduce with a wolf.”
“Interesting,” Daniel commented. “I know we have white wolves when humans and wolves mate, but the wolf gene does not always carry over in every pregnancy and we can have human children with humans. But it would make sense that the blood type would be dominant, I think. You said it’s unproven?”
Sarah nodded. “My guess is they want to try it. I don’t know if it makes sense genetics-wise.”
She looked around the table to see if any of them had the answer. When they all shrugged, she supposed they were as clueless as she was. Great.
Daniel let out a long breath. “I don’t think it matters if it makes sense. People like Juarez are clearly desperate and willing to try just about anything.”
“But it wouldn’t guarantee a female, would it?” Nora asked. “I thought males determined the gender. Unless it’s different for wolves.”
“According to this, the men still do determine the gender,” Sarah continued. “It wouldn’t guarantee a female, but it would ensure an Alpha if the wolf was an Alpha, regardless of sex.”
“Why exactly are female Alphas so important?” Nora asked quietly, looking to Daniel for an explanation.
Sarah turned to both wolves too, curious herself. A female was a female.
“Back in the day,” Daniel started as he dragged a hand through his hair, “Alphas were forced to mate with each other, regardless of their feelings toward one another. But in more modern times, things have changed. Some packs believe it is the tainted bloodlines that have caused the fertility problems.”
“But wait!” Vincent turned back to Sarah with a frown. “What does this have to do with you?”
“My blood type is AB negative,” she whispered aloud.
“Are you sure?” Vincent asked, his voice full of concern.
Sarah lowered her eyes to the table. “When my parents had their accident, Lark and I both had our blood tested to see if we could be donors for a transfusion.” Tears welled in her eyes as the painful memories resurfaced. Her entire world had changed in one night because of one man who’d had too much to drink.
“I’m sorry,” Nora whispered.
Sarah closed her eyes as Nora patted her arm.
“What blood type is Lark?” Daniel asked.
Sarah sighed. Maybe this information wasn’t all bad. Lark and Devon could continue his Alpha line. “The same as me.”
“I’ll have to find some way to tell Devon and Lark. And we’ll need to be extra vigilant watching Sarah,” Daniel explained as he thought out loud.
“How did they find that out?” Nora inquired, her eyes wide.
“Medical records,” Daniel answered quickly.
“It makes sense,” Vincent began. “I mean they did get a body to make everyone think we were dead. I’m sure they have other connections, too.”
Sarah shuddered. Her stomach rolled at the thought of someone poking around in her personal records. Not that she had anything to hide; however, the thought that they could find out everything about her was unnerving. “So much for privacy laws,” she muttered.
“There are corrupt people everywhere,” Daniel shrugged it off like it was no big deal.
“It’s going to be okay, Sarah,” Vincent assured, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“Yeah.” She appreciated his effort, but it seemed the more they learned, the deeper they got tangled into this mess with the Lunas. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know anymore about why the crazy werewolves were chasing after them. It was already terrifying enough without adding more to it.
Chapter Sixteen
Vincent took one last look around the bustling park. The place was definitely crowded. Thousands of people moved around them—it was the perfect meeting spot. There was no way Malakai would dare try anything in this place. Even if he had become a little crazy at the airport with Gene and Talia, he would not risk exposure in front of this many people.
“I think we have everything we need,” Daniel said, tapping him on the shoulder. “
Let’s get some dinner and get headed back to the hotel.”
Vincent’s gaze drifted to Sarah. She was leaning on a rail, looking longingly at the Ferris wheel.
She’d been in a funk most of the day—ever since she’d discovered the blood type theory. He couldn’t begin to imagine what she was feeling right now. Is she scared? Upset? He’d have to ask her more questions when it was just the two of them. But since they were already in the park, maybe he could lift her spirits.
“You know,” he started as he turned to Daniel, “we’re already here—why not stay and have some fun?” He had promised to ride a roller coaster and he was curious about what it would be like.
“This isn’t a social visit, Vincent,” Daniel snapped. “We don’t have time for that.”
“We could make time. Don’t you want to take your pretty girlfriend out for fun?” Vincent suggested, his eyes drifting pointedly to where the two women stood.
“I want to keep her safe. You should want to keep Sarah safe. It’s not all fun and games,” Daniel growled.
“I know,” he hissed. “But I also know we have to live. And right now, Sarah’s scared. We’ve spent the past week running for our lives. There were days we didn’t even sleep and barely ate. Give her one ride to calm her nerves and let her be a person again. Hell, why don’t you live a little too? Have some fun with Nora. When was the last time you had fun?”
A tick formed in Daniel’s jaw and Vincent sighed, waiting for Daniel to shoot him down. Daniel’s gaze flicked to Nora, some of the anger leaving his face. Could the pretty ginger get his brother to liven up a little? He’d never seen his brother look at someone like that. Is that adoration and love on his face? Who’d have thought his stiff, loner brother would ever fall in love.
“I’m sure Nora would love to stay,” he said, defeated. “But only one ride.”
Vincent grinned in disbelief. “Wow! I’m impressed. I didn’t think you’d ever get that stick out of your ass.” Nora was definitely good for Daniel.
