The Chosen Series Box Set: Books 1 - 3

by Charlene Hartnady

  There was a loud cry from outside. Definitely a young child. Her protective instincts were on high alert and she found herself reacting and heading outside. A small boy rolled around holding his knee. Blood seeped through his clenched fingers. She recognized the boy as one of Angela’s children. She knew the female would not like her touching the youngster. The boy whimpered, his face pale. Stephany could hear his heart race at a mile a minute. It would take a few minutes for the wound to heal. In the meantime, it would hurt terribly. She could remember hurting herself once as a young girl. Although she knew of her healing capabilities, she was too young to really understand. From the sheer terror edged on his little face, this one didn’t realize that he would soon be healed either. Stephany looked around to see if Angela was close, wishing to avoid a conflict if possible.

  Cradling her belly, she carefully dropped to her haunches beside him. “Let me see.”

  The boy shook his head, his lip wobbled. “Momma doesn’t like you and I’m not allowed to talk to you.” The air in his lungs hitched as he tried to catch his breath.

  “Am I allowed to talk to you then?”

  He shrugged.

  “My name is Stephany.”

  “You’re a vampire.” His eyes widened.

  “Yes, I am.”

  He seemed to forget all about not being allowed to talk to her. “You drink b-blood,” he said. “Mamma says you will want to drink my blood.” He glanced down at the blood seeping between his fingers and clasped the wound while sucking in a deep breath.

  She smiled at him. “I won’t drink your blood.” When his eyes stayed large and unwavering, she added. “I promise you.”

  He blinked a few times. “Will you drink Ward’s blood then?”

  For a second she contemplated lying. “Yes, I do drink Ward’s blood, but I won’t take from anyone else.”

  “Does it hurt?” His blue orbs grew solemn.

  She smiled and shook her head. “No, it doesn’t.”

  “Daddy also bites momma sometimes. I’ve seen the marks. I think that she likes it. Maybe you are not so different from us shifters after all.”

  She shook her head, her smile growing wider by the second.

  The little boy’s eyes twinkled. “One day when I grow up, I’m going to be just like my daddy and just as strong as Ward. I can’t wait to find out what the color of my wolf is. I sometimes feel him inside me, but most days he is sleeping. Is Ward your mate?” His big blue eyes stayed on her, blinking every so often.

  How did she answer that? She carried his pup, lived with him, missed him when he left her for any period of time, feared for him if he left the village. According to the vampire lores, she was mated to Lance but more and more, she felt like Ward was her true mate.

  “Get away from my boy.” Angela stomped towards them. “What have you done? I said to get away from him, vampire.” With some effort, Stephany rose to her feet, putting some space between herself and the child.

  “I fell, momma,” the boy said. “I hurt my knee.” He pulled his hand away, gasping when he noticed that the wound was no longer there.

  “Let’s get you cleaned up.” Her voice softened. “I’ve told you not to run off like that, Sebastian. You’re only four.”

  “Nearly five.” He shouted bouncing to his feet.

  “Nearly five,” she said. Angela’s back was to her, but she could hear the smile in the female’s voice.

  “I like the vampire, momma. She’s nice.”

  “Let’s get you home.” The human’s voice hardened up.

  “Okay,” he said, turning his head towards her. “Goodbye, Stephany.”

  “Bye, Sebastian.” She waved at him, her smile died when Angela turned to glare at her.

  “You don’t have to worry, she doesn’t want our blood, momma.” His little hands folded around the human’s neck.

  The female’s eyes hardened up a whole lot more, her meaning clear. She walked away, Sebastian’s little legs wrapped around her middle.

  “Don’t listen to her.” Patricia walked up from behind Stephany. Her blond hair blew about her face in the light breeze. “It takes a bit for her to warm up to new people. She only recently started talking to me and I’ve been here for two months now.”

  Stephany shrugged. “You can’t win them all. I don’t like her telling the children that I will drink their blood if they come near me though. She doesn’t have to like me, but she also shouldn’t go around spreading untruths.”

  Patricia smiled. “She doesn’t know any better.”

  “That’s no excuse. Her son was petrified when he first saw me. Now I understand why the village children run a mile when they see me coming.”

  “I must admit that I was a bit afraid of you when I first met you as well.” Patricia reached out and touched her arm. “I’m really sorry.”

  Stephany shook her head, rolling her eyes. “Don’t worry about it. Drinking from someone is an intimate act. When done between lovers it is akin to the rutting itself. Between friends it is like the sharing of a secret. The taking of blood is always done behind closed doors.”

  “So you only take from Ward then?”

  Stephany nodded, her eyes must have clouded or something because Patricia cocked her head. “What is it? Looks like I struck a nerve or something.”

  “I don’t really know what’s happening with us, where we stand with one another.”

  Patricia looked around them. “Let’s go inside. You can make me some tea.”

  Stephany nodded. They walked together, Stephany put a kettle on the stove, mimicking how Ward had made his own tea on countless occasions. Both the humans and the wolves seemed to enjoy drinking the hot substance. Since her craving for blood had diminished, she preferred the cool mountain water and poured a glass for herself.

  Patricia leaned up against the counter, folding her arms across her chest. “Ward seems completely taken with you. I can attest that when a shifter claims a female he imprints on her and doesn’t want another.” Patricia paused for half a beat. “They are nothing like human men. He wouldn’t cheat on you, would want no other female. I’m not sure if vampire males are the same.”

  “Yes, vampires are exactly the same.” Stephany put a hand to her belly, feeling the little one squirm inside. There had been a lot less kicking over the last few days and a lot more pushing movements. She tried not to focus on the growing panic at the thought of the pending birth. The little one could come any day now. “Do you know if claiming and mating are the same thing?”

  “They are the same thing.” Patricia smiled. “You are considered his mate to his pack as well as to the rest of the clans.”

  “Does Ward consider me to be his mate?”

  She answered immediately. “Yes, he does.” The kettle whistled and Stephany switched off the gas. Patricia helped herself to a teabag out of the canister, putting it into the mug on the counter. Next, the human poured water into the cup.

  “I don’t understand why you would even need to ask. Has anything happened?”

  “More like what doesn’t happen.” When Patricia frowned, she added. “He doesn’t bite me.” Stephany fidgeted with the zipper on her sweater. “I know that biting is normal between mates.”

  “Never?” Patricia’s blue eyes looked thoughtful for a second or two. “Does he at least nip at you?”

  She shook her head.

  The female chewed on her lip. “That’s not right. Eliot has started to nip at me. He says that he can’t wait to bite me for real. I have noticed that he is finding it more and more difficult to control the urge. You are right, biting is normal, even though I am human I still get the urge to bite him as well.” Patricia removed the bag. She added sugar and stirred. “I am sure that when he mates me, I will bite him back.”

  Stephany felt her brow crease. “I don’t understand. Ward says that over time, if a couple have feelings for one another and share”—she cleared her throat—“genetic material…they imprint on one another, thus becoming ma
tes.”

  Patricia nodded her head in agreement, looking like one of those bobble head thingies the humans liked. “Yep. Our bodies are already imprinting. Physically at least we are probably mated. Once our trial period is over, he will publicly claim me and I him, and then we will be considered to be officially mated. Let’s go sit” The human gestured to the living room.

  “No ceremony? No waiting for the full moon?”

  She shook her head. “No. Like I said, we have already imprinted on each other. He can’t get enough of me.” She smiled, her cheeks turning a light shade of red. “I love the way he sniffs me.”

  “Ward sniffs me too. Often.”

  The human’s eyes clouded in thought. “That means that he has probably imprinted on you. He must enjoy your scent. Eliot has told me that it drives him crazy with need. I don’t understand why he doesn’t bite you or at least nip you though. Eliot has told me that he has to use all of his will power to keep from sinking his teeth into me.”

  Stephany trusted the human. They hadn’t known each other for long, but she had found that Patricia was open and honest. “I know what might be the problem.” She relayed the whole story about how her and Ward had met. About Lance and the accidental mating.

  “Oh my word…the male waited until Ward was looking the other way?”

  Stephany nodded, telling the rest of the story.

  The human took a sip of her tea. “I think I might know what the problem is as well.” She put the almost empty mug down on the coffee table. “I told you that Ward considers himself mated to you and that the clans will feel the same. It’s important that you know that shifters are hung up on making sure that their partner feels the same way. They normally do not allow themselves to imprint on someone unless they are two hundred percent sure that the feelings are reciprocated.” She paused, pulling some loose hair behind her ear. “Although Ward has clearly imprinted on you, he doesn’t believe that you accept being mated to him.”

  Stephany pulled her legs underneath herself. “I want to be mated to him, with all my heart, but according to my coven I am mated to Lance.”

  Patricia nodded. “There’s your problem. Ward must really care for you to have allowed himself to imprint on you. He is waiting for you to return the claim. To tell him that he is yours.”

  “I want him to be mine, but that isn’t fair considering I’m not really his.”

  Patricia sucked in a breath. “Don’t let him hear you say that. It would drive him crazy.”

  “I can’t change the lores.”

  “It doesn’t matter what some old, dusty book says. Listen to your heart.” Patricia’s blue eyes were wide and pleading. She touched a hand to her breast.

  Stephany nodded. “I will think on it. It is difficult to go against something I have believed in my whole life though.” It couldn’t be as simple as Patricia was making it out to be. “Has it been easy for you to forsake your human traditions?”

  Patricia frowned.

  “Won’t you miss having a joining ceremony? I know that humans like to wear a pretty dress and get a ring with a big shiny rock on it.”

  Patricia shook her head. “No. There are humans that expect all of those things, but I am not one of them. I think a female like that would have a hard time adapting to life out here. I’m very happy.” She smiled for a few beats before turning serious. “I know that you are not that type of female either. You really need to give this some thought, Stephany. Ward needs to feel accepted by you as well.”

  She nodded, feeling miserable. It seemed that the shifters had abandoned some of their lores without any major consequence. It just didn’t seem right to her though. She was relieved that Ward considered them to be mated, yet deep down inside she felt like they were living a lie. Maybe it was because she had thought herself mated to Lance for so many years. Maybe it was because the vampires didn’t know any better, and if that made her a fool then so be it. She only hoped that in time she would be able to accept Ward as her mate. To openly admit what she felt inside. The biggest hurdle of all would be to forsake her lores. She wished that she could do it right now, and was irritated with herself for not being able to just follow her heart as Patricia had put it.

  It had been two days since he had seen Stephany. Two long worrisome days. His limbs felt like lead. No one had come for him, so he knew that she must be fine.

  Both Rushe and Sawyer were panting heavily by the time they arrived back at the village. It was the last time he would be joining the scouting team, the last time he would be leaving, at least until the baby came. Ward felt that it was important to take on all the tasks of his pack members from time to time. He felt that he would be a better leader if he kept himself grounded. It would be easy to put himself inside an ivory tower and exempt himself from menial tasks like scouting their borders. No one would think twice if he put himself above such tasks. It was important to him though that he continue to make the best possible decisions for his pack, that he could show himself to be a strong and capable leader amongst the clans. He’d watched others make poor decisions on behalf of others without understanding their roles. He refused to let that happen to his pack.

  The familiar scents of the village were carried to him on a light breeze. The smoke tickled his nostrils. Finding their jeans stash, they dressed quickly.

  He took a deep breath as they arrived at the first dwellings, sure he caught his female’s lemon buttery scent. He had to suppress a groan of satisfaction as he definitely inhaled hints of her mouth-watering fragrance on his second try.

  “Someone has missed his female.”

  Ward glanced at Rushe who had his eyes solidly on his midsection. Ward glanced down, seeing the head of his dick peeking out from the top of his low riding pants. “Get your eyes off my cock.” He tried to sound stern, but the thought of his female had put a permanent grin on his face for the last half an hour. Even in wolf form he must have looked like a grinning fool, with lolling tongue and all. Ward tucked himself into his pants better. Next time he would take a little care instead of dressing so hastily.

  Rushe shook his head. “You’re so fucking lucky. I would give anything to be able to sink myself into—”

  “Spare us the visual.” Sawyer kept his eyes on the path ahead.

  They turned the corner and his cabin came into view. The door opened, both Stephany and Eliot’s human walked out. Ward paused mid stride and then quickly picked up the same pace as before. His female’s eyes widened as she turned to face their direction. Stephany waved and he reciprocated.

  Rushe whistled, and before Ward could stop him he had opened his big trap. “Wow, Stephany, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a female with a belly that size before.”

  Stephany paled, her hand traced the deep contour of her stomach. “Is this not normal? Why didn’t you say something?” She turned to Patricia.

  “You’re the second person I have seen pregnant since coming here. What do I know?” She put her hands up. “You’re smaller than most humans in their final stages. You look fine to me.”

  Her belly had almost doubled in size since he saw her two days ago. Putting a strong rein on his emotions, he turned to her and smiled. “You are pregnant with the alpha’s heir, so it is expected that you will be a bit bigger than normal.” He wanted to tell her not to be concerned, but the words died on his tongue as the fear welled inside of him. Had he been wrong to think that this baby would take on his traits? He would never forgive himself if something happened to her.

  “That’s not a bit bigger”—Rushe said while pointing at Stephany’s belly—“That’s just plain enor—”

  Needing to shut him up, Ward punched the other male with one quick jab to the nose.

  It wasn’t hard enough to break anything, but Rushe grabbed his face, his eyes watered heavily. “Hey….what the hell was that for?”

  “You are both dismissed.” Ward put an arm around his trembling female and ushered her into their home.

  “Oh God, oh God…” She
mumbled under her breath. “I’m so worried for him.” She sniffed, both of her hands were on her belly, fingers splayed.

  “Please don’t cry. I can’t take it when you cry.”

  “I’ve only ever cried once.” She turned her beautiful eyes on him.

  “It was the worst five minutes of my life.” He kissed her. “I missed you.”

  “Oh, no,” Stephany gave his chest a push. “Don’t you dare try and change the subject. Level with me, Ward.” When he didn’t answer immediately she added, “Please.”

  He frowned, feeling deep grooves appear in his forehead. “You are bigger than any human or shifter female that I have ever seen.”

  She gasped into her hand, her eyes welled with tears. “You need to promise me that you will try to save him. I will do my best to birth him, but if it comes to it, you have to…”

  Ward had to work hard to suppress a roar, he put a finger to her lips. “No, Steph. I don’t want to hear such negativity.” He worked hard to keep his heart rate under control, but the thought of her dying had adrenaline coursing through his veins. It made him want to punch something. Hard and repeatedly. To tear something apart, with teeth and claw.

  “We need to face facts. We need to be prepared. It’s not going to help to bury our heads in the sand.” She traced his face with her fingers.

  “The baby can come anytime now. Size wise, where are you in relation to a vampire female?”

  She sighed. “You are worried.”

  “Let’s sit.” He led her to the lounge area and they took a seat next to one another. “It is my job to be worried. Like you said, we need to face facts. Now, how big are you in relation to a vampire female?”

  Stephany shook her head. “I have not seen that many vampire females in their final stages, but I am still smaller. Patricia says I am smaller than a human and vampire females get much bigger than humans so”—she shrugged—“I’m definitely smaller.”

  “We’re okay then.” He growled, trying and failing to keep the concern from his voice. His eyes dropped to her distended middle, his hand absently rubbed her belly in slow circles. Ward locked his jaw to suppress another growl that threatened. The thought of losing his female, of something happening to his son.