A Mate for Lance (The Program Book 5)

by Charlene Hartnady

  “My baby.” Her mom grabbed a hold of her and yanked her into a tight embrace. By the sniffing, she could tell that she was crying.

  “Mom, I’m okay. I had my meds. Lance stayed with me through everything.”

  “You should’ve told us. Maybe the two of you should move in here.” Her mom’s eyes were wide and pleading.

  Lance put a hand on her mom’s shoulder. “Your daughter won’t have to worry about her allergies for too much longer.

  Say what?

  This was news to her.

  Her mom let her go and shook her head so hard, her hair flew about her face. “Denial is a sure fire way to disaster. We tried the desensitizing route, it didn’t work. Amber is one of those people that will suffer with this illness for the rest of her life. You don’t just get over allergies. Not as an adult sufferer. Isn’t that right, Ken?”

  Her dad began to nod.

  “You do if you mate a vampire.” Lance winked at her mom.

  Her mom’s mouth fell open. She giggled like a schoolgirl. It was freaky.

  Her dad frowned. “How is that even possible?”

  “There is some science to it,” Lance said.

  “What kind of science?” Her mom looked excited. “You need to tell us all about it. A cure. Are you sure?”

  Lance nodded. “Amber will take on some of the vampire traits when we are bonded in”—his eyes drifted up in thought— “marriage. She will become stronger, see better, live longer.”

  “Yeah.” She heard the shock in her own voice but went with it. “I’d forgotten about that part of it.”

  “You’ll be cured.” He looked deep into her eyes.

  “I will.” She smiled. “That’s awesome.”

  “I still don’t quite understand…” Her mom was smiling. “How exactly…?”

  “Magic. Vampire magic,” Lance explained.

  Her mom gave a little jump and clapped. “Magic. Did you hear that, Ken?”

  Her dad looked like he wasn’t quite buying it. “Yeah, darling, I sure did.”

  Then her mom cleared her throat, seeming to realize for the first time that they were still in the hallway at the front door. “Please come in…how rude of us. Ken, show them to their room.”

  “Our room,” Amber said in a shocked tone.

  “Well, you are engaged. I suppose you can share a room with your soon-to-be husband.” Her mom grabbed Lance’s arm. “Right this way.”

  Lance glanced back and smirked at her. Asshole!

  Amber had to smile though. It was surreal. All of it.

  ****

  Amber finished brushing her teeth. It felt weird being in her room. The one she’d grown up in. It felt like years had passed, instead of weeks. So much had happened. So much had changed.

  She walked back into her bedroom almost tripping when she caught sight of Lance sprawled across her bed and in all of his naked glory.

  He grinned at her. “Get over here.” He patted the bed next to him.

  “What are you doing? Put some clothes on.” It would be a waste of all those muscles. His ripped abs, those wide shoulders, those drool worthy pecs. Having him naked without being able to take advantage…maybe they could fool around…a little. No! It wouldn’t be right. It just wouldn’t. Her parents were just up the hall.

  “I can be quiet if you can.” He licked his lips. Why did he have to be so damned attractive? Why?

  She shook her head, unable to take her eyes off of him. “No way.”

  He smiled.

  “I need to ask you something.” It had been on her mind all evening. Maybe it would take his mind off of sex. Amber sat on the edge of the bed. “Were you serious when you said I would be cured? I mean…you weren’t just saying that to make my folks feel better?”

  His whole demeanor softened. “I would never say something like that just to make them feel better or to score brownie points.” He reached out to cup her cheek. “You will become cured over time. I checked with our healers and Becky agreed. I’ve seen it in the other mated females.”

  “Really? I mean, magic?” she said, a little bit awed but not entirely believing it.

  Lance chuckled, he pulled her closer, planting a kiss on her forehead. “You’re so damned cute. No…there would be zero magic involved.”

  Amber gave the side of his arm a smack. “Why did you lie to my folks? What was the whole magic thing all about?”

  “The truth is that the more we fuck…” He leaned closer so that there was only an inch separating them. “The more of my genetics you will take on.”

  “Oh!”

  His gaze turned heated. His stare dropped to her lips. “You should also start taking some of my blood as well. You already bite me from time to time so…now…” He kissed her. Soft and tender. “Let me wave my magic wand.” He pulled her against his erection.

  Amber had to giggle. “You’re so bad.”

  “It’s magic, sweetheart. Vampire magic.”

  “Yeah right.” She lifted her arms as he pulled her nighty up over her head. They shouldn’t be doing this.

  “We need to get you cured and as a matter of urgency. Back to my original question. Can you keep it down?”

  “Lance…” It came out breathy, especially since his hands were all over her boobs. “We can’t…” She moaned and he swallowed the sound with his own mouth.

  His fingers were on her, inside her. Then he was inside her. Buried so deep that all her nerve endings fired to life and all at once. This was going to be pure torture.

  “Oh yes we can.” He smiled against her lips.

  “You’re a bastard. You know that…oh…” He thrust back into her.

  “A bastard and an asshole.” He kept moving and her head fell back, her mouth open. A bastard that knew exactly what he was doing.

  She sucked in a breath. “And a jerk.”

  “I’ll show you jerk.” He pushed back into her.

  “Oh,” she gasped. A loud gasp.

  “Shhh…” His chest vibrated as he laughed. “Quiet, your dad has a shotgun and your mom would never forgive me if I ruined her carpets. Blood stains are nasty things to try and get rid of.”

  She gave him a smack. “That’s not funny.”

  He nipped at her neck as he pushed back into her and she gave another breathy, “Oh!”

  “I love how shocked you sound…every time… I fucking love it.” He gently swept the hair from her forehead, looking deep into her eyes. His cock was buried deep inside her. His hips flush with hers. “I hope that in a hundred years’ time, that you still sound as shocked. I aim to make it my mission, as your mate, to keep you saying that one little syllable.”

  She felt a lump rise in her throat. “That’s so sweet. You might be a jerk but I love you.” She brushed her lips against his.

  He pulled back and then pushed into her…hard. She moaned into his mouth. He broke the kiss, putting his forehead to hers. “What do you say we get you cured? One orgasm at a time.”

  Then she had to bite her lip and hang on tight. Who knew that quiet sex could be quite so explosive. Then again, it was Lance.

  A Mate for Kai is available for pre-order

  Author’s Note

  Thank-you for reading the fifth book in the series.

  If you want to be kept updated on new releases please sign up to my Latest Release Newsletter to ensure that you don’t miss out http://mad.ly/signups/96708/join. I promise not to spam you or divulge your email address to a third party. I send my mailing list an exclusive sneak peek prior to release. I would love to hear from you so please feel free to drop me a line mailto:charlene.hartnady@gmail.com.

  Find me on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/authorhartnady

  I live on an acre in the country with my gorgeous husband and three sons and an array of pets including a ball python.

  In my spare time you can usually find me typing frantically on the computer completely lost in worlds of my making. I believe that it is the small things that truly matter like
that feeling you get when you start a new book or a particularly beautiful sunset.

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  If you enjoyed this book please review it so that others can find it. Even if just a line or two, every review is greatly appreciated.

  Books by this author:

  The Chosen Series:

  Reading Order (All of the individual parts are available in Kindle Unlimited at this time):

  1# Chosen by the Vampire Kings

  Complete Edition: Part 1-6

  Part1: Mate's Lore

  Part 2: Torn Desires

  Part 3: Love & War

  Part 4: Wild Heat

  Part 5: Red Lust

  Part 6: New Moon

  2# Stolen by the Alpha Wolf

  Complete Edition: Part 1-3

  Part 1: Accidental Theft

  Part 2: Deliberate Theft

  Part 3: Determined Theft

  3# Unlikely Mates

  Complete Edition: Part 1-3

  Part 1: His First

  Part 2: His Last

  Part 3: Their Everything

  4# Awakened by the Vampire Prince

  Complete Edition: Part 1-3

  Part 1: Rosebud

  Part 2: Flower

  Part3: Thorn

  5#Mated to the Vampire Kings (Short Novel)

  6#Wolf Whisperer (Standalone Novella)

  All of the individual parts are available in Kindle Unlimited at this time

  The Program Series (Vampire Novels):

  Book 1: A Mate for York

  Book 2: A Mate for Gideon

  Book 3: A Mate for Lazarus

  Book 4: A Mate for Griffin

  Book 5: A Mate for Lance

  All of these books are available in Kindle Unlimited at this time

  Demon Chaser Series: (No cliffhangers)

  Book 1 Omega

  Book 2 Alpha

  Book 3 Hybrid

  Book 4 Skin

  Demon Chaser Boxed Set Book 1-3

  Excerpt

  Wolf Whisperer: Novella (Previously published as ‘Shifter beneath the Mistletoe’ in the ‘Shifter Wonderland Box Set’)

  Chapter One

  The gathering storm clouds looked ominous. Dark and angry. Maybe it would be a white Christmas after all. Jackie sighed.

  “Deck the halls with boughs of holly…” She changed the radio station. “Jingle bells…Jingle Bells…” She changed it again. The next station was no better. A duet, something about love and eggnog and Christmas cheer. Jackie turned the radio off with an even heavier sigh.

  It wasn’t that she was a scrooge or anything. It was just that this was the first year that she would be staying in Sweetwater for Christmas. Her family was only a five hour drive away. However, she had to work today! Who the hell worked on Christmas Eve? To make matters worse, she was also on stand-by for the entire holiday.

  She had been invited to Christmas lunch by her best friend, Angie, but she felt like she would only be a third wheel if she intruded on their day together. She didn’t really belong. Angie and her hubby were great people. Their two kids were adorable. If she was really honest with herself, she was maybe a little bit jealous of them and what they had together. Going would remind her too much of everything she was missing in her own life. She had two failed relationships behind her and no real prospects for the future. At this rate, she might just end up as a spinster complete with twenty cats. So far she had two, so eighteen more to go and her road to spinsterhood would be paved.

  Though on the other hand, there were a ton of things that she still had going for her. Jackie loved her job. She really did. There was nothing better than making a difference. Saving a life or sometimes having to end one. Always doing what was in the best interest of the animal in question, no matter how difficult. Her patients were way better than any human ever could be. They were so loving, so trusting. It was all that innocence and unconditional love that made her feel happy and needed. There was nothing better than receiving a wet kiss or running her hands through soft fur. It lifted her spirits like nothing else could.

  Screw it.

  So what if she was alone this Christmas. Jackie glanced down, she switched her radio back on just as the soppy duet reached its climax.

  She lifted her eyes just in time to see a large object in her direct path. It was hairy and moving quickly. Jackie slammed on the brakes. Her tires locked. There was a skidding, screeching noise. The vehicle veered slightly to the right. She grit her teeth, wanting to close her eyes, but couldn’t. She was unable to take them off of the still moving object. An animal of sorts.

  Dammit!

  For a second there, she thought that the creature would make it, and then came the impact. There was a loud thud. A sickening noise as metal hit flesh. The creature catapulted, flying through the air in an almost graceful manner before landing hard in a heap of mangled, broken limbs.

  Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, her hands were white knuckled on the wheel. She was panting. The whole thing had only lasted mere seconds and yet she could feel that she was sweating. Her foot hurt from the pressure she had exerted on the brake pedal. There was a ringing noise in her ears.

  “Oh god!” She whimpered, covering her mouth with her hand.

  From the size of the heap of fur, it had to be a bear of some sort. The creature shivered and one of its legs kicked out uselessly before stilling.

  “It’s still alive.” She whispered to herself, unable to believe what she was seeing. Surely something so broken, had to be dead. Blood leaked from several wounds. Oh no! She should have been paying attention. She reached for her bag on the back seat. Maybe she could still save it. For a split second, she hesitated, worried that the injured creature might end up hurting or even worse killing her. Then she grabbed the door handle and yanked it hard. There was no way she was leaving this animal to suffer. She should never have taken her eyes off of the road in the first place, not even for a second. This was her fault.

  As she moved closer, she could hear its labored breathing. Quick, shallow breaths. The animal was bigger than she first realized. She glanced back at her vehicle, there was a major dent in her fender and the right headlight was broken.

  Damn.

  Her eyes were drawn to the streak of blood that marred the white paint on the center line. It made her heart beat even faster.

  “Holy freaking hell!” She gasped as she drew closer. It was a wolf.

  No way!

  Wolves were not this big. Not by a long shot. The creature that lay before her, seemingly on the verge of death, was about three to four times the normal size of a wolf. It wasn’t as dark as she first suspected but rather a mottled, gray with hints of rust through its fur. She crouched down next to the creature. Its chest continued to expand and contract in quick succession. Still alive, but for how long?

  On the plus side, none of the wounds that she could see seemed serious. Jackie did suspect internal injury though. After hitting an animal with that much force, it was pretty much a given. Its pulse was rapid. Jackie pulled back a lid, its eyes were glazed over. Not a good sign. Without thinking about consequence, she pulled back one of its lips, noticing that the gums were pale. This didn’t look good.

  One of the animal’s legs was clearly broken. Thankfully it was a closed fracture, but it was bad enough that the wolf’s tibia was at an angle. There may be a couple of greenstick fractures, but none of that concerned her at the moment.

  The animal was already suffering from shock. Jackie began palpitating its abdomen. It whined and tried to move. The heart wrenching sound tore at her.

  “Okay, buddy,” she soothed. “You”—she touched the area again—“don’t like that do you?” The animal made another whining noise.

  Next, she palpitated the animal’s large chest. It seemed that two of its ribs might be broken.

  Double damn.

  It looked like a damaged liver and a possible pulmonary contusion as well. It was difficult to tell without the use of the practice’s
equipment though. A couple of x-rays and a sonogram would go a long damn way.

  The creature needed to be stabilized but she didn’t have oxygen, steroids or any of the other required items. They were on the side of a country road, technically, in the middle of nowhere.

  “What am I going to do with you?” She ran her hand along its fur. “You wouldn’t fit in my car and even if you did, there is no way I could carry you.” She sighed.

  One thing was for certain, she couldn’t just leave the animal here to suffer and die. “Sit tight.” She instructed. As if it was going to miraculously get better and run off. Would be nice if it did. “I’m going to get help.”

  Who was she going to call? Someone with a flat bed truck and enough muscle power to lift this brute? Though, moving it might not be the best idea at this point anyways. The jostling might cause further injury, particularly if it was bleeding internally. On the other hand, not doing anything would mean certain death for the creature. As she made to stand, the wolf began to shiver. He made a throaty growling noise.

  If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she would never have believed it.

  Its shivers became more pronounced and the fur on its body began to retract. As in, disappear. Poof. Goodbye. Gone. She made a strange noise in the back of her throat. Part of her wanted to run away screaming while a bigger part of her needed to watch. Was riveted to the spot. Eyes glued to the wolf…although it wasn’t going to remain in that form for very long.

  There were loud cracking noises as limbs began to reshape and shorten. His eyes flashed open. They were a bright golden color that mesmerized her. It snarled as its jaw shortened and its long, ivory teeth retracted. Paws became clawed fingers which curled into fists. The growling, snarling noises became groans and long drawn out moans. His chest heaved as he sucked in deep lungfuls of air.

  Wolf Whisperer is available now