Made for Him

by Lynn Hagen

  

  Series Name 1

  Maple Grove 10

  [The Lynn Hagen ManLove Collection: Contemporary, ManLove, Alternative, Paranormal, Shape-shifters, Vampires, MM, HEA]

  Jude Pearson is nearly killed twice, and now all he wants is to be left alone. But his ex-coven leader has different plans. He’s hired an assassin to kill Jude for something Jude had no control over. Things become worse when Deputy Roy Benton invites Jude out, and Jude reluctantly accepts the invitation. He has no clue his mate is the cook at the tavern. There was just one problem. Reese detests vampires.

  Reese Baas lost his little brother to a vampire attack a decade ago, and the pain is still fresh. When a panicked man runs into the kitchen at the tavern, Reese is shocked to find out Jude is his mate. Jude also has trouble on his heels, and Reese is torn between helping his mate and walking away. The decision is taken out of his hands when Jude becomes pregnant and the assassin closes in on them.

  Length: 29,400 words

  MADE FOR HIM

  Maple Grove 10

  Lynn Hagen

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  Made for Him

  Copyright © 2019 by Lynn Hagen

  ISBN: 978-1-64637-008-5

  First Publication: October 2019

  Cover design by Emma Nicole

  All art and logo copyright © 2019 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book or print book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at legal@sirenbookstrand.com

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Lynn Hagen loves writing about the somewhat flawed, but lovable. She also loves a hero who can see past all the rough edges to find the shining diamond of a beautiful heart.

  You can find her on any given day curled up with her laptop and a cup of hot java, letting the next set of characters tell their story.

  For all titles by Lynn Hagen, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/lynn-hagen

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  MADE FOR HIM

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  MADE FOR HIM

  Maple Grove 10

  LYNN HAGEN

  Copyright © 2019

  Chapter One

  “You think I don’t know that?” Jude paced his kitchen, his cell phone stuck to his ear. “What choice did I have?”

  Every time he closed his eyes he saw himself plunging his hand into his uncle’s chest and ripping Merk’s heart out. Jude swallowed as he rubbed a hand over his forehead, wishing he’d never been forced into that situation in the first place.

  If only his uncle had listened to him, had left Calhoun Reckless and Deputy Roy Benton alone. But Merk hadn’t wanted to hear Jude’s warning. He’d been hell-bent on revenge, and nothing Jude said had swayed him.

  Now his mother was going apeshit because Jude had been forced to kill her brother. Screw the fact that her brother had kidnapped her only child and starved him. That didn’t seem relevant to her. She hadn’t spoken one word of Jude’s imprisonment at the hands of his insane uncle.

  “You could’ve stayed out of it,” she said with venom in her voice. “Why on earth did you get involved? He was after the shifter, Jude. That wasn’t any of your business.”

  “Merk killed countless fae,” Jude argued. His uncle had bragged about what he’d done to Jude when he’d held him in that barn. Merk had described everything in detail, making Jude want to throw up.

  If he’d had something on his stomach, he might have. But his uncle had starved Jude for two weeks. The pain of not feeding had felt worse than death. Did his mother care about that? Clearly the answer was no. She was too busy defending Merk.

  And now he was hungry again, because the courier who normally delivered his bagged blood hadn’t shown up. Jude’s stomach cramped, and his throat felt dry and it burned. No amount of swallowing produced saliva. Why hadn’t the delivery guy shown?

  If he didn’t feed, and soon, Jude would turn into a ravenous vampire, striking at the first person he saw. That was exactly what had happened to him in that barn, and Jude didn’t want a repeat of that horrific day.

  “What he does is none of your concern,” she stated so casually that Jude couldn’t believe he was related to her. His mother wasn’t the type to bake cookies and tuck him into bed. She was more the type to kill an entire family then have a night out on the town.

  “He kidnapped me,” Jude reminded her.

  “Because you interfered.”

  Jude was done with this conversation. He had more pressing matters to deal with. Before she could continue her tirade, he hung up and tossed his phone aside. Jude wrapped an arm around his stomach and drew in several deep breaths. The pain was almost too much to bear.

  His doorbell rang. Jude looked up and prayed it was the delivery guy. When he went to the front door and opened it, his problems became only worse.

  “What’re you doing here?” Jude asked. Deputy Roy Benton stood on the other side of Jude’s door with a bag in his hand and a smile on his face.

  “I thought I’d come by and check on you after what happened.”

  Jude’s throat grew tight, and his heart beat faster. He gripped the edge of the door so hard he heard the wood slightly crack. His gaze zeroed in on the human’s neck and the rhythmic beat of his jugular vein.

  “I…” Jude swallowed around his bone-dry throat. “I don’t eat human food, Deputy Benton.”

  Roy had no idea how much danger he was in right now.

  “Oh.” Roy’s brows shot up. “I’m, uh, new to all this nonhuman stuff.” He furrowed his brows and stared down at the bag. “I should’ve figured that out about vampires, huh? I mean I don’t know how much of movies and books are true, but vampires drink blood, right?”

  The incident at the barn had happened over a week ago, and Jude hadn’t fed since then. He slid his tongue over his bottom lip as he slowly tilted his head to the side, his chest tightening.

  “Thank you for coming by, b-but I’m f-fine.” Just one drink. That was all Jude needed. His courier hadn’t come by with Jude’s order of bagged blood. That was how Jude normally survived. Off bagged blood. But ever since he’d drunk from the source while in that barn, his craving for a warm, natural vein plagued him.

  Just close the door and walk away.

  Roy tucked the bag behind his back. “So, do you want to go get a drink instead?” He grimaced. “That came out wrong. I didn’t mean we should go get a drink together. Not like, as in, finding a person to drink from and I’m so fucking this up.”

  Despite how badly he was starving, Jude grinned. “You’re doing fine. I know what you mean, and yes, I can drink at Tilted. They have something called Red Spanking that nonhumans can drink.”

&n
bsp; But that wasn’t what Jude wanted. Roy’s jugular was calling to him, luring him in like a moth to a flame. Just one tiny swallow. One taste and he could clear the fog that was forming in his head. Roy smelled so damn good.

  He took a step toward the deputy just as an unmarked van pulled to the curb. Jude looked toward the street and then back at Roy. His thirst cramped his stomach. A vampire wasn’t supposed to go that long without feeding. Jude was starving.

  The stranger opened the back of the van and pulled out a box. He kicked the doors closed and crossed Jude’s lawn. “Hey, you’re home,” the delivery guy said. “I tried coming by last week, but you weren’t here, and your instructions specifically state not to leave your orders on your doorstep.”

  He handed Jude a clipboard, and Jude signed. Then he snatched the box from the human’s hands. The guy shrugged and walked away as Jude turned to hurry inside.

  He practically ripped the box open. Inside were cold packs protecting the six units of bagged blood. Jude didn’t bother heating the bag he’d grabbed. His hands shook as he tore the top of the thick plastic open and downed the sweet nectar—fuck, it tasted like crap when it was cold, but Jude drank it anyway, giving his body the nourishment it needed.

  He turned when he heard a gasp. Roy had invited himself in and set the bag of food on the table. He stared wide-eyed at Jude, who was still sucking the red liquid down his throat.

  Roy held up his hands. “No judgment. I’m not a pretty eater either when I’m that hungry.”

  A cold, wet trail leaked down Jude’s jaw. He finished the bag and tossed it into the sink then grabbed a paper towel and wiped his chin.

  “I don’t recall inviting you in.” Jude hadn’t meant to snap. The cold blood had done the job, had fed him, but he was still craving it from a fresh source. He turned away, giving Roy his back. “You need to leave.”

  In truth, Jude didn’t want Roy to go. He had zero friends in Maple Grove. It was hard to hang out with anyone when he couldn’t come out in the daylight. That made for a very lonely life.

  “I thought we were still going to Tilted,” Roy said. “Do you need to eat some more before we leave? I can wait.”

  Jude smashed his eyes closed and sucked in a controlling breath. Instead, all he’d managed to do was suck in Roy’s scent. Maybe if he went to the tavern he could find some random person who he could bedazzle into letting him drink from him or her. He wouldn’t take much, and he could make that person forget afterward.

  It wasn’t much of a plan since Jude was shy when it came to drinking from a vein. Hence the need for bagged blood. But his craving wouldn’t go away, and he didn’t want to drink from Roy. He could make the deputy forget, but that was no way to start a friendship.

  “Let me clean up and we can go,” Jude said.

  Roy’s face lit up. “We’re really gonna hang out, like friends?”

  Clearly Jude wasn’t the only person who lacked them. “Sure.”

  After a quick shower and change of clothes, they rode in Roy’s car to the tavern. Jude was no longer starving, but he was still thirsty. He couldn’t stop thinking about how good Fred’s blood had tasted going down his throat and feeding Jude’s famished body.

  If Fred, and his sister, hadn’t orchestrated Roy’s kidnapping, Jude might’ve felt guilty about killing the human. Even so, he still had nightmares about their deaths. Jude wasn’t a cruel person. He didn’t normally go around draining people, but he’d been ravenous, and Fred’s broken body had been there for the taking.

  Jude closed his eyes as Roy drove through town. He couldn’t believe he’d even thought that. He didn’t have an evil bone in his body, unlike those in his former coven.

  “Hey, you okay?” Roy asked. “You look a bit pale. Well, more so than usual.” He pulled the car into the parking lot of the tavern and killed the motor. “Are you still thinking about that day?”

  Jude looked at Roy. “Do you still think about it?”

  Roy shrugged as he looked at his steering wheel. “I can’t get it out of my head, if you want to know the truth. I keep seeing Merk attacking me, seeing him kill Heather, and him nearly killing you. I don’t wake up in a cold sweat anymore, but that doesn’t mean I’m okay.” Roy looked at him. “I can’t believe I just told you that. I normally don’t like admitting to any weaknesses.”

  “What you went through isn’t a weakness.” Jude was right there with Roy, only he still woke sweating and fearing he’d find Merk standing over his bed. Once or twice he’d dreamed that his entire ex-coven had invaded his home to kill him, his mother leading them.

  “My mate said you and I share a bond now.” Roy ran his thumbnail over a tiny hole in the steering wheel cover. “That sounds sappy, huh?”

  A bond forged from violence. As terrified as Jude had been that he would attack Roy when the guy had first shown up at his house, he was glad the deputy had come by so he saw for himself that the human was okay.

  “Weren’t we supposed to go inside and get drinks?” Jude forced a smile he didn’t feel.

  Roy slapped the dash with his hand. “Let’s go have some fun.”

  The music, the riotous laughter, the loud conversations, and the barrage of odors that assaulted Jude when he entered the tavern made him want to turn around and run away. He’d been a resident of Maple Grove for a long time, but he’d never gone inside the tavern.

  He’d never had a need to. He didn’t eat food, and he wasn’t a drinker. He grabbed Roy’s hand and gave the warm flesh a light squeeze.

  Roy furrowed his brows as he looked at Jude with a questioning gaze.

  “It’s just a bit overwhelming,” Jude admitted. “I think maybe this was a mistake.”

  Roy pulled him to a booth and made Jude sit. “We both need the distraction. I’ll order some drinks, and soon you’ll forget the chaos around you.”

  Jude’s gaze bounced from one person to the next as he sat. He needed to find someone he could feed from, but every time he thought he had found the right person, he ticked off their flaws.

  Too big. Too mean-looking. Too short. Too loud. The list went on and on. In truth, he wouldn’t know how to invite someone out back even if he did find the right person. He’d never bedazzled someone before, either. Jude wasn’t even sure he would get it right.

  He looked up when Calhoun approached their booth. What would the tiger shifter do if he knew Merk had been Jude’s uncle? The thought froze his insides.

  “What’re you fellas up to?” Calhoun slid in next to Roy and eyed Jude.

  “Just having drinks.” Roy smiled at his mate.

  The look Calhoun gave Jude said the tiger didn’t fully trust a vampire around his mate. This had definitely been a mistake. Even though Jude had inhuman strength and speed, he was short and slim and Calhoun was big and muscled. Merk had tried to kill Roy in that barn. Calhoun would tear Jude apart if he knew that Jude and Merk had been related.

  “If you’ll excuse me,” Jude said as he stood, forcing his body not to tremble. “I have to use the men’s room.”

  He didn’t want to sit there and be scrutinized by Calhoun. Jude felt as though the guy would see right through him.

  As Jude pressed through the crowd, trying to find a back exit so Roy wouldn’t see him leaving, he felt as though he were suffocating. His breathing accelerated, and Jude became dizzy. There were too many people, too much noise, and too much chaos inside his own head.

  His gaze darted around until he spotted a door. Jude raced for his escape, his arms outstretched as he shoved the door open and ran through it.

  * * * *

  “You’re gonna need to hire a second cook if you want to expand the menu that much,” Reese argued with his boss, Mike. What did the guy think, that they were some kind of restaurant? They served bar food. If someone wanted more, they could take their ass to The Diner Train.

  “It’s just six more items,” Mike said. “I’m sure you can handle it.”

  Reese gritted his teeth as his boss walked away.
Mike Cage was a cool guy, a normally nice boss, and a person who could be trusted in a pinch. But sometimes he was a downright asshole.

  Annoyed, Reese had started to drop a basket of chicken wings into the fryer when the kitchen door crashed open. A slim, pocket-sized guy rushed in, looking frantically around as if the devil was on his heels.

  “Great, another drunk to deal with.” More times than Reese could count, drunkards stumbled into the kitchen for one reason or another. Most of the time it was because they thought they were walking into a bathroom. “The restroom is down the hallway,” Reese called out, hoping the guy turned around and left.

  Instead, the stranger moved farther into the kitchen, his arms clutched to his chest. He looked terrified. Reese studied him for a moment, noticing the sweat that was gathered over the guy’s brow.

  “Did you hear me?” he asked. “Bathroom is down the hallway.”

  “I just need—” The stranger closed his eyes and drew in a few short breaths. “So much noise.”

  If this person couldn’t handle loud noises, why had he gone to a tavern? The guy swayed and swallowed repeatedly as he pressed a hand against the wall.

  “Don’t you dare throw up.” Reese hurried across the room to shove the guy out of the kitchen and point him in the direction of the men’s room. There was no way he was gonna clean up someone’s vomit. Just the thought made him want to dry heave.

  “I’m not gonna be sick.” The stranger tried to wave Reese away, and that was when the smell of vampire hit Reese.

  “Have you been drinking?” He would have to handle the situation differently if the vampire had. Red Spanking was a powerful liquor for nonhumans and hell if Reese would allow this guy to attack him.

  “I don’t drink.” He drew in a few deep breaths and looked a bit steadier.