Fangs with a Heart

by Tempeste O'Riley

  “Welcome back, love.”

  “Um….”

  Sasha chuckled. “Wow.”

  “Um-huh. I kinda hope it’s not like that every time.”

  That only seemed to make Sasha laugh harder. When he calmed, he said, “No, I think that was because we both sent out our bonding at the same time, and I had you a little ramped up at the time.”

  “Yeah, just a bit.” Trace tried to think, but his mind was still a bit floaty. “Wait, but you didn’t… I mean, I came, but what about you? That’s not right.”

  “Mal’chik, I am more than pleased with you, and if you must know, you satisfied me quite well.” Sasha looked down, and Trace realized Sasha no longer had on his jeans, and Trace could scent Sasha’s seed in the air. He also realized he was no longer in the restraints. Damn! He’d wanted to know what those thigh cuffs were for.

  “Oh, oh!”

  “Oh, indeed.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “DIMKA, TELL him I’m right.” Trace flopped back in his chair, eyes squinted as he stared at his mate. “This is the best course of action at this point.”

  “Don’t drag Dimka into this. I will not have you used as bait, Trace.” Sasha all but vibrated in his seat as the four of them sat discussing the current standstill in finding the ones behind the attack.

  Trace hadn’t been attacked again, but he hadn’t been alone either, so how would they get to him, tempt anyone wanting to come after him? No one would go after Sasha directly. That would be suicide, pure and simple. “How else would you suggest we draw them out? I refuse to be under close guard for the rest of my life, Sasha. It’s not going to happen. I have things to do, a life, work. As do Dimka, Summer, and the guards they command. I understand that, as your consort, I will have to deal with some of the guard nonsense, but to this level? No.”

  “Sir,” Dimka said, leaning forward. “He’s right. Plus now that the bond is sealed on both sides, he should be stronger, and you should know his safety even better. We would never let anything happen, but things need to change.”

  “Your people are becoming more and more antsy too,” Summer added. “It’s not healthy for everyone to be so nervous, even within the walls of the coven. And with your uncle here, that won’t change. You’re letting him walk free as long as he doesn’t leave the grounds. He keeps trying to stir people up against you. Well, more against Trace and the no-killing law you have in place, really. But it’s the same thing.”

  “And he keeps trying to go after Tatiana,” Trace tacked on. “She’s been through enough, losing her lover, fleeing here while pregnant, giving up everything to make sure her unborn child is safe. Just because we’re the only ones who know—well, and Jalin, of course—doesn’t mean the others aren’t picking up on the stress. Nor is any of it good for her.”

  “Ugh!” Sasha bellowed and threw his hands up. “You three are impossible. Fine, but bait doesn’t mean actually alone, Trace. I will not lose you. They almost killed you the last time. Being my bonded, fated heart ought to help you some with your life span—you have mine now—but it won’t stop them from ripping out your throat.”

  “Such a cheery fellow, you are.” Trace scrunched his nose at Sasha. “I was thinking that since they attacked last time at a club, they likely followed me and waited until I was alone. They didn’t want even the humans with the tribe around. Generic humans were okay for the initial contact, but otherwise no. So we need to have me get belligerent, publicly, and defy you. For me to go out alone and see if we can’t get them to come out and play.”

  “I don’t like this.”

  “Nor do we,” Summer said. “But they—whoever they are—want to use him as a catalyst against you, both for the tribe and the coven, from what we pieced together before. I still say it’s not Vlad, but to be sure, we won’t let him or any of his people know anything other than what we feed them. He can think you can’t control your fated heart. It won’t hurt if he’s not in on it for him to think that, as he already has that opinion.”

  “But how do we make sure Trace is safe if he’s not properly guarded?” Sasha hopped up and began pacing. “I mean, bait means you have to stay back, so how do you make sure we can get there in time? That nothing goes wrong? That we don’t lose him if they snatch him?”

  “Did you know that the tribe’s second, Vance, had tracking apps installed on all the tribe’s cells? Not everyone has it activated—Alpha Keith won’t force you to—but mine always is on. At any given time, Alpha Keith or Vance, his beta, could find me by my phone. And when all this started, Dimka put a tracker on my BMW, though he didn’t tell me right away,” he added, giving Dimka a playful glare.

  Dimka grinned. “My prince said not to let anything bad happen to you. I’m going to do as he says, sorry.”

  “Yeah, you look so sorry. Not.” Trace shook his head. “The point is, they would have to take me from the car and take my cell and leave it behind to make it where these two couldn’t find me. Maybe. You still could, though,” Trace added, looking back at Sasha. “As you proved the first time.”

  “And if they don’t want to kidnap you, but kill you as they tried ‘the first time’?”

  “That’s why I will be out in public, but not that cut off from one of you three or Keith and Van.”

  “Wait what? When did they get in the middle of this?” Sasha ground out. “No way am I endangering Keith. Jason would kill me if anything happened to his husband.”

  “I said both of them together, and Alpha Keith is a Chosen of Baast. He’s not so easy to take on, Sasha. He, Vance, Chance, and Kelley have been training with some of Summer and Dimka’s guards, so none of them should be all that susceptible to whoever is after me.”

  “You’ve been training the shifters to be vampire hunters?” Sasha asked, glaring between his guards.

  Summer gave a tight nod and smile. “We have, sir. If you want Trace and Jason, as well as your nephews, safe, this is the best way. The lynx guards need to be able to handle more than humans and shifters. And while each of them is powerful in their own right, shifter versus vampire, vampire wins in a one-on-one fight.”

  Dimka smirked. “We’ve merely evened the odds a bit.”

  “I don’t like it, but I will agree to your insane plan. However, nothing will go wrong.”

  “It’s cute that you think a pronouncement will make it happen in a case like this. It won’t, but things will still go right, simply because we plan ahead to make sure they do. Now relax. They’re good at what they do, and I won’t do anything I shouldn’t when dealing with the nutcases. Now to tempt them.”

  “And how do you plan to do that, Trace?”

  “He’s going to storm out and go out clubbing to show you that you don’t own him.” Dimka shifted in his chair, not quite looking at Sasha. “I will have gone out for the night to check on Dr. Niko before this. Summer will ask you, publicly, if you want him to call me to go meet up with Trace. You will snap no and go do something else, declaring that if he won’t listen to reason, he can have things his way for once and to hell with him the rest of the evening. Or something to that effect. If there’s anyone here that is in on what’s happening, they will relay the information, which will help us speed up things. I hope there’s no point to the in-house acting, but there’s too much at stake right now to chance it.”

  “Vlad had better not be in on this,” Sasha ground out. The barely leashed violence sent a chill skittering up Trace’s spine. He was certain he wanted nothing to do with whatever happened after the culprits were caught. Knowing Sasha was violent and lethal when needed was one thing, but seeing it…. Yeah, no. That was one thing he wanted no part of, thanks.

  “For your sake, I hope not too.”

  SASHA HAD tried to force Trace to eat, but he couldn’t. They were supposed to have a real date, but the need to mate the night before had hijacked that, and before they could replan it for the following evening, Summer and Dimka had approached him with the plan to draw out the ones behind
the attack. Now he stood in his closet at the covenstead, dressed for a night out, hands shaking and breath coming too fast. Going out wasn’t the problem. The idea of facing the ones who had bit and nearly killed him again was.

  He wasn’t sure how, but Sasha seemed to know Trace wasn’t comfortable with biting thanks to those creatures. The bond hadn’t worked that way with Ford—or the asshat had ignored the signs and his pain, which was just as likely. Still, the idea of Sasha biting his throat for feeding, even after the mating, the giving of himself, the bloodletting…. That, however… he couldn’t stop the flashes from overtaking him if Sasha even teased his pulse points too hard there. He hated not being able to give that to Sasha—what kind of mate to a vampire couldn’t let them feed the most common way? Ugh!

  Thankfully Sasha didn’t push or act bothered.

  Now he needed to get it together and go have a temper fit before he went dancing. This wasn’t his style, to lash out like they wanted, but it made perfect sense. Most of the vampires wouldn’t know better, as they didn’t deal with him on a normal basis before all this insanity began. Though he hated that it would look bad for Sasha in front of his people, Trace would simply have to find a way to fix things later.

  For now….

  Trace took a deep breath and squared his shoulders before he turned and strode out of the walk-in. He stopped long enough to gather up his bangles, bracelets, and rings, then his wallet and keys before he headed for the door. The smile he flashed Sasha was anemic at best, he was positive, but Sasha’s wasn’t any better, as they were both sick with nerves.

  “You don’t have to do this,” Sasha whispered as he came up behind Trace and wrapped his strong arms around him. He pulled Trace to a stop and then tight against his hard body.

  “Yes, I do. We do. I can’t live like this for the rest of my life, nor can you. It might take a few nights, but I doubt they will wait all that long. The longer they take, the more likely whatever they’re hoping for will fail, that you will figure it out. They can’t afford to give you time. They shouldn’t have tipped their hand how they did in the first place. That was either the sign of stupidity or overconfidence.”

  “Or both,” Sasha agreed from behind, his head resting against Trace’s shoulder. “I wish we had time for me to mark and taste you a bit before you went out. I hate the idea of them putting hand or fang on you.”

  “Just think of all the fun you can have reclaiming every inch of me after this is over,” he murmured hoarsely. Damn, his dick perked up at the thought. He wanted Sasha all the time, and suggesting things like that wasn’t helping him get out the door. What he wanted was to be at Sasha’s feet, or on his hands and knees. Oh yeah, that would work nicely.

  Sasha slid one hand around to cup Trace’s cock and balls, squeezing firmly but not too tightly. “Be good, and maybe I’ll remember where I put the key to the toy chest I have.”

  That wasn’t a whimper. That totally was not a whimper that escaped him!

  “Love the noises you make for me,” Sasha purred, giving Trace another firm squeeze before he let go and stepped back. “For now you have to go yell at me and then storm out. Just remember I’ll make you take back every word later.”

  Oh damn. He swallowed hard as he tried to remember how to speak. “Promise?”

  “Mmm-hmm. Now go be a brat so I can teach you not to be one.”

  “Evil fang boy.”

  “That’s Sir Evil Fang Boy to you.”

  Trace huffed out a laugh as he took hold of the doorknob. Once he had calmed, he focused on the drama of the night, ripped it open, and stormed out. “I don’t fucking care what you want! I’m sick of being stuck here under lock and key like some damned damsel. I’m not a girl and I’m not one of your vampires!”

  He continued out, throwing snide comments out as he went, grumbling if vampires got in his way. He tried not to be too rude to anyone, but he didn’t allow any of them to bar his path out of the mansion either. When he hopped into his BMW and sped out of the drive, making sure to squeal the tires, he fought the urge to wince—he had never treated his car that way and hoped never to do so again. Still, if he was going to act the drama queen having a hissy fit, he figured he needed to do it right.

  Trace didn’t allow himself to drop the attitude even on the drive over, knowing there was a chance he might already have picked up the attention of whoever they were after. Honestly he hoped he had. He kept an eye on his speed, as he didn’t want to attract the attention of the human police. That was one complication he did not need.

  He had suggested he return to the same club the vampires attacked him in before, though he never wanted to set foot there again, but Dimka and Summer both said no. If it were them, they would suspect a trap. So he chose one of the other clubs he’d taken the humans in the tribe to over the preceding months. If they had been watching him as they claimed, they would know he’d been there before. The fact he went there now, when upset, would seem logical—he hoped.

  It didn’t take long to get inside; the bouncer knew him, and in no time he had a drink and was close to the dance floor, sipping his Coke with a cherry in it. It was the way he usually acted in the clubs when he went out with the others, only he didn’t have the human mates to guard this time.

  It took until the third night, Trace returning to his lynx tribal home—once even finding that weird bird scent again and sending word back to the council about it—not back to Sasha, before something changed.

  “Looks like the prince isn’t so good at keeping ahold of his pets,” rumbled a voice that haunted Trace’s dreams when Sasha wasn’t there.

  “Thought you were kept under lock and key, kitty boy.” Yep, and there’s the psycho bitch now.

  “I thought you two left the area,” Trace snapped. “Don’t you know better than to stick around?”

  The male moved behind him and wrapped his hands around Trace’s wrists, squeezing so tight he imagined he could hear the bones grind. “Move it.”

  The female danced along against Trace, blocking what was happening from the others. It would look more like they had picked out a third for some fun, the way she kept rubbing against him.

  “Not into little girls or psychos, so could you stop trying to maul me with your boobs?” Please let Dimka and Summer be close!

  She whipped out one of her hands to wrap around his throat so fast he felt it there but never saw the movement. “Watch your mouth, you fuzzy sack of shit. You’re just a means to an end. You only live as long as we need you. How comfortable you are is up to you, though, so be a good boy, and we won’t have need to hurt you.” She squeezed enough that he could still breathe but not speak. “Understood?”

  He couldn’t reply, but using her hold on him, she forced him to nod as they slipped out the back of the club.

  “Don’t play with the puta, princesa. We need to get him out of here. The last time your idiot cousin showed up and ruined everything. That’s not going to happen again.”

  “Don’t worry. I have the car right around the corner from the alleyway.”

  “Good.”

  Trace fought them as they shoved him down the alley farther away from the club. Dammit, when would his cavalry show up? Any time would be good now, guys!

  Getting into the car was not on his to-do list. As the male tried to shove him into the backseat, Trace twisted and bucked, lashing out with his legs as best he could. He still couldn’t scream, thanks to the bitch, but he could make it hard to hold him. He only worried they would tire of trying to control him and decide to kill him. The male wanted him alive, though—he didn’t know why, but was thankful for the change in plans!—so he fought and hoped.

  His vision went spotty as the female tightened her hold and yelled at him to stop kicking. There was ringing mixed in with both their voices. Then, before he completely blacked out, he heard Dimka and Sasha. Then the pressure let up on his throat, and while the world still swam and was covered in dark and light spots, it stopped trying to gray out comp
letely.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  SASHA PINNED Ivan, Tatiana’s youngest brother, against the wall, blood pouring down his throat and chest where Sasha’s fingers dug in enough to break the skin. “How dare you touch my fated heart! Are you okhu`el?”

  “Let go of me,” Ivan hissed in Russian.

  “You are out of your fuckin’ mind, boy. You dared to touch my fated heart again!”

  “Sasha.”

  Summer’s voice broke in to Sasha’s rant. He snapped his head to the right and glared at his friend and guard. “What?”

  “He’s unconscious, sir. We have your cousin restrained and in the vehicle. Trace is in your car waiting. Let us take care of Ivan for now. You can interrogate him later. For now you need to clean up and take care of Trace.”

  Trace. Right. He released Ivan, who slumped to the filthy alley ground with a thump. Sasha looked at his hands, only then realizing how gruesome he had to look. “Dammit. Don’t suppose you have any water or something? I need to clean up before I get to Trace, and my kit is in the car… which is where Trace is.”

  The rumbling chuckle from Summer was not appreciated, though the appearance of the pack from his trunk with water, wipes, and such was. It didn’t take long for him to clean up, change his shirt, and put his things away. “Thanks, brat.”

  Summer smirked. “My pleasure, sir. Now go take care of your boy. I’ll finish up things here. I’m glad they picked loudassed clubs and dirty alleyways. Makes things easier for us.”

  “Yes, much easier than it used to be, that’s for sure. Just make sure there’s nothing left of any camera feeds from back here.”

  “No worries. Go on, sir.”

  Sasha only paused long enough to make sure Dimka and Summer had both idiots removed and restrained before he climbed into his Hellcat, where Trace waited.

  “Hon? Mal’chik?”

  “I’m okay, Sasha. But can we get out of here, please? I’d really love to go back to our suite, take a scalding shower, change, and maybe never see either of them again. Yeah, that sounds about perfect right now. By the way, who the hell are they?”