Want (Vampire Beloved Book One)

by R. E. Butler

  Tears stung Angie’s eyes but she blinked them away, rolling her eyes to the ceiling and taking in a shaking breath.

  “I don’t think humans have to deal with this kind of bullshit from their families,” she said.

  Her mother chuckled. “I don’t know if that’s true or not. There are always people who don’t like one group or another, and sometimes families must make decisions that cause harm. Your father and I stand behind you three, though, so don’t forget that. We’ll be with you tonight and see how things go. And if it comes down to the pack wanting you and your mates out of the territory, then we’ll come to you next month to shift and hunt somewhere in the coven’s territory.”

  “You going to do that forever?” she asked. “You’ll miss being part of the pack, too.”

  “We’ll do what we need to so that you thrive, honey.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  “Meet us at seven where we met the other night on the service road. Your father and I will escort you to the bonfire, and Adam will make an official declaration allowing your mates to be with us for the celebration. I don’t know what will happen with the pack, just be prepared for some arguments.”

  “All right. See you in a little while.”

  “Love you, honey.”

  “Love you, too.”

  The call ended and Angie stared at the blank screen for several moments as her thoughts spun. She opened the bathroom door and found her mates waiting, their eyes full of concern. She joined them, sliding between them on the bed and snuggling close. Rage was at her back, his arm curled possessively around her waist and his face buried in her neck. Vex was at her front, his fingers laced with hers and his brow furrowed in worry.

  “You heard?” she asked.

  Vex hummed in agreement. “Do you think some of the wolves will protest us being there?”

  “Judging by my mom’s tone when she told me, I’d say the rumors she heard are true. I can think of a few wolves who really dislike vampires.”

  “Why?” Vex asked.

  “Well, Brent Dorian’s great-grandfather was in a blood dungeon in Europe at one point. He found his mate there and they had a child together before she was bled to death. He escaped with the child and they’ve held that grudge ever since. There are a few other pack members who have a history of being on the wrong end of a meet up with a vampire, but I think the Dorian family is the one that’s most often pointed to as being why vampires shouldn’t be trusted. Lit, the alpha before Adam, was the first one in pack history to agree to team up with the vampires.”

  “I don’t recall the other shifter groups having an issue with the alliances,” Rage said, his words warm against her skin.

  She smiled at Vex. “I think that was before my time.”

  “Indeed,” Vex said, kissing her fingertips one by one. “Whatever comes tonight, we’ll be by your side. I just wonder...” His voice trailed off and she arched a brow.

  “What?”

  “If you truly need the pack on the full moon to satisfy your wolf.”

  She frowned, unsure of what they were saying.

  “Perhaps,” Rage said, his voice soft but wicked at the same time, “we’ll be enough for our sweet wolf.”

  She inhaled and focused on her wolf, who was enjoying the snuggle-time with her mates. During previous full moons, she’d been consumed with insatiable needs, and she’d assumed most of those feelings had been full moon related. But perhaps it had been the need to find her mates that was exacerbated by the full moon.

  Vex rubbed his thumb over her lips and she nipped it playfully. “I don’t know what tonight will bring, but I’m not sorry that you’re mine.”

  Vex kissed her sweetly, his lips soft against hers. Rage bit her throat gently and snarled, pleasure sparking through her at their touch. The sweet gesture of them holding her while she came to terms with the coming night swiftly turned passionate, and they tumbled together in the sheets, bodies against bodies, hands clasping, tongues tasting, and heated cries filling the air. No matter what the rising of the full moon brought, she had found her dream mates and she was their immortal beloved, and no vampire-hating wolves would change that.

  * * *

  On the way to the pack that night, she’d found herself unhappy to have left the coven’s territory, and it wasn’t just because she’d enjoyed the hell out of her mates in the bed and then again in the closet when they’d been changing for the trip. She’d opted not to shower, because she wanted to be saturated in their combined scents so that no one would doubt that she was well and truly the beloved mate of two vampires. Coven members had caravanned with them as they’d done the previous trip to the pack and would be waiting at the edge of the territory for them once they finished for the night.

  The moment Angie stepped foot into the pack territory that night and hugged her parents, a gnawing sense of foreboding rode her. She couldn’t quite place where the feeling was coming from, but it intensified as they drew closer to the huge bonfire that licked at the night sky. The pack was milling around the area as Adam and Cinder stood nearest the fire and spoke quietly. When Angie reached her brother and his mate with her own mates at her sides, the pack quieted and the whole woods seemed to go silent.

  Brick stepped forward. Adam put out his hand to stop him and Brick paused, giving Angie a hard look. “You lied to me, Ang. I knew something was going on with you, but you lied to my face.”

  He was wounded, and she’d done it to him. His anger made her heart hurt.

  She opened her mouth to apologize, but he put his hand up. “I’m not done. I’m pissed that you lied, but I understand why you did. If you’d told me you were dreaming about vampires for your mates, I would have told you to get your head checked. I’ve never known anyone who had a mate dream, and I’ve never heard of vampires sharing a she-wolf. But here you are, and you’re different. You’re still you, but you’re also something other. You’re family, though. You’re my favorite cousin and if this is the path your life is taking you, then you’ve got my support.”

  She laughed as her eyes stung with tears.

  “Did you just say she’s your favorite cousin?” Adam snarled.

  Brick gave Angie a hug and then shook Rage’s and Vex’s hands. “Yeah, I did,” he said as he joined Adam. “She doesn’t growl at me.”

  “Idiot,” Adam said with an affectionate tone. Then he turned his attention to the pack. “Angie is my sister and a lifelong pack member in good standing. She’s mated to two vampires. Our laws relating to the exclusion of vampires speak specifically to covens who have wronged our pack. The Cleveland coven, led by Mishka, is part of our alliance. Vex and Rage, as two coven members, are part of that alliance which makes them allies and not enemies. I’ve taken note of the families in the pack who have been personally wronged by vampires, but the crimes against the wolves were not committed by the Cleveland coven, and more specifically, do not relate to Vex and Rage in any way. To hold them accountable for crimes other vampires have committed would be akin to humans blaming wolves for crimes committed by any shifters. I’ve held Vex and Rage to the same standard I would any male who was my sister’s mate, and I find them acceptable.”

  Adam looked at Angie and her mates, and she let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. Before she could celebrate her brother’s acceptance, a group pushed through the pack members, growls rumbling in their chests. Members of the Dorian family, with Brent in the lead, stopped before the fire.

  “You were warned, Alpha,” Brent said.

  Adam let out a low growl that made the hairs on the back of Angie’s neck stand up. Vex and Rage squeezed her hands. Rage subtly moved to block her from the group, his shoulders tense and his fangs glinting in the firelight between his parted lips.

  “I’m acting according to pack laws,” Adam said evenly. He, too, moved in front of his mate, protecting Cinder. Angie peeked around Rage’s broad shoulder and met Cinder’s eyes.

  “Vampires are the enemy. Your siste
r is delusional and should be locked up. It’s an abomination!” Brent was practically frothing at the mouth, his movements jerky and erratic as he pointed at Angie and her mates and then at Adam. “Maybe she needs to be put down.”

  “Threaten my mate again, and we’ll see who gets put down,” Rage said.

  “I’m not talking to you, blood sucker,” Brent spat.

  “Then talk to me,” Adam said. “I’m alpha. I’m the embodiment of the law.”

  “You’re wrong!” Naomi, Brent’s mate, shouted. “They can’t be trusted. They’re vicious and cruel. History proves this.”

  Angie saw the cords in Adam’s neck and the bright gold of his eyes as he took a menacing step toward Brent and his family. “I. Am. Alpha!” Adam roared the words and the woods shook with the sound. Even though Angie didn’t feel as connected to the pack as she had before she mated Vex and Rage, she still felt compelled to hit the ground on her knees in subjugation to the alpha. It didn’t matter that she was something other than just a wolf. He was a powerful alpha and he was to be respected and revered.

  Everyone in the pack dropped to the ground. Even Angie’s mates lowered reverently to one knee and bowed their heads.

  Brent was the only hold out.

  He stood his ground, eyes flashing to his wolf and body straining against the compulsion to bow. Adam howled and tore off his shirt, shifting mid-leap as he landed hard on top of Brent. Adam’s solid black fur shone in the firelight as he fit his massive jaws around Brent’s neck. Brent beat his fists against Adam’s head, struggling until Adam growled, a most unholy and furious sound. Brent stilled, and Angie couldn’t help but beam with pride as Adam lifted his head and howled once more.

  Cinder stepped forward and rested her hand on Adam’s head. Her voice had an otherworldly quality, her eyes glowing bright gold. “Because of Brent’s actions, the entire Dorian family is exiled from our pack. Brent challenged the alpha and lost. Our laws are clear on this matter. Your family has until dawn to leave our territory. Any who remain within our boundaries will be considered an enemy of the pack and eliminated.”

  Adam slowly backed off Brent, who scrambled to his family. Naomi was crying, as were the other female members of the Dorian family, but no one protested or tried to convince Cinder to allow them to stay. Every wolf was taught from a young age that if you were going to challenge the alpha, you better be ready to die.

  Cinder smiled at Angie and spoke to the pack. “It’s the full moon, people. Shift and hunt. Let’s put the events of the night behind us. We’re safe in our territory because the alpha has declared it so.”

  One by one, the pack members rose to their feet and left the area. Angie slowly rose with her mates and brushed off her jeans. Her parents and Brick were all that stayed by the fire with Adam and Cinder.

  “This is why you don’t piss off the alpha,” Brick said.

  Cinder chuckled. “Very true. I thought... well, I’m just glad that the Dorian family left peacefully.”

  “I’ll go keep an eye on them,” Brick said.

  “I’ll help,” Craig said.

  “What about shifting?” Cinder asked.

  “We’ll go in our shifts,” Brick said.

  “Adam and I will be around to check in on things in a bit,” Cinder said. To Angie and her mates, she said, “You guys okay?”

  “We’re fine,” Angie said. “Thank you both for standing up for me. For us.”

  Cinder looked down at Adam, who was staring intently up at her. “Adam poured over the history books to make sure he wasn’t treading on any laws by allowing your mates to be in our territory. He still doesn’t understand why you had mating dreams or why you were given two vampire mates, but he did come to realize it wasn’t about him. You know, after I told him.” Cinder winked and Angie chuckled.

  “Thanks.” Angie looked at Adam who was sitting on his haunches, leaning against Cinder. “I heard you were going to choose the pack over me. I was prepared for that.”

  Cinder shrugged. “If the whole pack had been up in arms about your mates, things might have gone differently. But when it came right down to it, only the Dorians cared enough to step up and voice their issues. No one stood with them.”

  “I thought everyone hated the idea of me mated to vampires.”

  Lucy shook her head. “Most pack members were going by the general tone in the alpha’s house. If Adam, or your father and I, had been very clearly against your mating, things might have shaken out differently. But your father and I accepted your mating, and after some time, Adam did, too.”

  “And Brick made that sweet, public apology,” Angie said.

  Cinder said, “It’s clear you all still have some things to talk about and hash out, but that can wait for another day. Family’s too important to let something like this get in the way.” Adam made a soft growling sound and Cinder said, “Oh, right. It is unfortunately in pack law that only shifters and humans can be recognized officially by the pack as mates. So while you’re clearly mated to Vex and Rage, Adam can’t perform a mating ceremony.”

  “That’s okay,” Angie said. “That you’ve accepted our mating personally is enough for me.”

  “Hopefully you’ll get married at some point,” Lucy said, looking pointedly at Rage and Vex.

  “Absolutely,” Vex said.

  “Good. Well, I’m glad you can stay with the pack, honey. Are you ready to shift? I bet we can bag a few rabbits together.”

  Angie looked at her mates. “Actually, I’m just going to stick around here with them.”

  “You can go hunt, beloved,” Rage said. “We’ll wait right here for you.”

  “It’s not that,” she said. “It’s that I don’t feel compelled to hunt. I want to shift, but I want to stay with you. Adam said you couldn’t go out into the woods, so I want to stay with you. Mom, you should go hunt, though.”

  “If you’re sure?”

  Angie stepped to her mom and gave her a hug. “I’m sure. Once I can change back, we’ll leave and I’ll call you tomorrow night.”

  “And come for dinner soon, I hope?”

  “We wouldn’t miss it,” Vex said.

  “Have a good night, honey,” Craig said, walking off into the darkness to shift.

  “You sure you don’t want to hunt?” Cinder asked.

  “Positive.”

  “Being different has its challenges. Whatever makes you and your wolf happy is what’s right for you.”

  “Thanks.”

  “See you on Sunday,” Cinder said. She touched Adam’s head and they strode off into the woods, leaving Angie alone with Rage and Vex.

  Angie turned to face her mates and tugged her shirt over her head.

  “Are you certain you don’t want to hunt?” Vex asked as he took her shirt.

  “Yep. I feel awful about how things went down in the pack, but I had an inkling something bad was going to happen when we got here, and I was right. I’m glad that Adam stood up for us, but I don’t want to spend every full moon with you two just sitting here waiting for me. It’s absurd. And honestly, I don’t really feel the compulsion to be with the pack like I did during previous full moons.”

  “Because you’re mated and immortal?” Rage asked.

  “I think so.”

  “You’ll need to shift, though, on the full moon,” Vex said.

  “But maybe not here within the pack.” She shucked her jeans, revealing to her mates she was wearing nothing underneath. Their eyes lit up and her skin pebbled as they devoured her with their gazes. “Save those sexy looks for when we’re back home. We can figure things out another time. We’ve got a month until the next full moon at any rate.”

  “Will Adam be upset that after all this you might not come back?” Vex asked.

  “I don’t think so. He needed to come to terms with our mating personally as much as he did as the alpha. He accepts us, and that’s worth whatever the cost was. I mean, I do feel a little guilty that he dealt with this all day long and I might not be
coming back on the full moons anymore. And my parents were making all sorts of plans to hunt with me if we weren’t allowed to be here.”

  “I don’t think you should feel guilty,” Vex said. “You’re still learning who and what you are now. There hasn’t been a beloved mate in your pack before, so no one could anticipate what you might need.”

  “Good point.”

  “Shift, beloved,” Rage said. “The night is slipping away quickly.”

  She nodded and reached for her wolf, shifting swiftly and stretching, digging her claws into the dirt. The bonfire crackled loudly at her back as she sniffed her mates, rubbing her cheeks against their knees and reveling in their curious touches. They’d never seen her in her wolf form, and she was excited to share the time with them. She trotted around the bonfire to use up her excess energy but spent most of the few hours lying next to her mates in front of the fire and listening as they spoke about their lives. When she could feel the mantle of her shift easing away, she changed back to human and dressed, then headed with her mates back to the SUVs. She stared at the woods for a moment, listening to the wolves on the hunt, the occasional howl punctuating the night, and then she climbed into the vehicle, snuggled between her mates, and promptly fell asleep.

  Chapter 14

  The night after the full moon, Rage sat at the desk in his office and thought over the previous night. He was supposed to be reviewing a damage report from the SyBl factory, but all he could think about was Angie and the pack. Rubbing the space between his eyes with his thumb, he leaned back in the leather desk chair and stared at the ceiling.

  “Humans call this time period the honeymoon,” Cella said.

  He lifted his head and found her standing in the doorway. “Isn’t that after a wedding?”